Only I Am A Reader
chapter-222

Heavenly Demon Cult.

Ever since Internal Energy Practice had come to being, bringing forth the advent of Martial Artists and the establishment of murim, the fearsome 'Demons' had always existed. Some scholars even deduced that their history ran deeper than that of murim itself.

Within the ranks of those who rejected the fiendish demons who spoke with nothing but strength, there were still a few exceptions who studied their ideologies and beliefs. Beyond their reign of terror, the core doctrine of the cult was still to provide strength for the helpless…

Suffering was eternal. Even if one had knowledge of all future events, chances were that they still couldn't find a solution to all sufferings. Rather than trying to achieve the impossible, the Heavenly Demon Cult sought to provide those who suffered with a chance of redemption!

Those who suffered, those who desired, those who tried to reach out but failed to do so… Only those with the drive, the fear of being swallowed by eternal darkness, the resolve to grasp the light that created these shadows. Only those who had felt it all were qualified to become 'Demons'!

Demons were often a source of fear and plague, but the heavenly demons were different. They were those who were neither evil nor good, sides didn't exist for those rejected by the whole world. Their identity was defined by their freedom, the freedom to do whatever their strength permitted them to! The only moral distinction was their will!

The Heavenly Demon path was a neutral one, encompassing all possibilities from 'Cheon' to 'Ma'. There were no eternal enemies in the Evil Faction, nor ever-trusted allies in the Righteous Factions. An outsider's identity was something similarly decided by their strength.

Some members were even eviler than actual demons, while some others were more righteous than the noblest families under the Murim Alliance's banner. Absolute freedom easily propagated such diversity even if it wasn't exactly the correct way. Absolute strength also made it so no one could stand up to them.

Such strength exactly originated from the promise of absolute freedom. From the very beginning, picking orphans and victims of suffering was the only method that the Heavenly Demon Cult used to replenish their forces, the only candidates capable of practicing the true demon path!

Unfortunately, even the force that the entirety of murim feared couldn't withstand the passage of time, transforming into a hierarchical organization that only accepted internal descendants as new members under the hands of successive generations of Heavenly Demons. Before long, the whole world including the members themselves forgot the Cult's true principles, bringing about havoc in a way that only made them into a brutal fanatic version of the Evil Faction.

'And that's why it's different.'

The Wise Heavenly Demon, the last person to hold the formal title of the Heavenly Demon and the one who made it so!

After decades of deviation from the reason behind the cult's foundation, only he desired to go back to their true path. However, he also knew that it was too late to walk back! The only way was to start anew, that was how the Heavenly Strength Society came to be!

Through the reinstatement of discarded practice, the demonified cult regained its status as a converging point for suffering and hope.

The 'Demons' no longer appeared in the world as frequently as the restructuring took place. A long period of silence allowed the Righteous and Evil Factions to fully contend against each other while forgetting the true hegemon of the world. However…

"Heavenly Demon Cult! The Demons are here!"

The terror that was firmly carved into the minds of murim-ins throughout the centuries wasn't something that could be easily erased from their memories!

Be it the Heavenly Demon Cult or the Heavenly Strength Society, just the mention of 'Cheon' was more than enough to stir up several hearts!

"Demons? What are they doing here?"

"They even dare to casually walk into the Great Mount Hua Sect like this?!"

"Do you have no brains to appear on time for the Mount Hua Sword Conference?"

The crowd broke into chaos as shouts and mumblings created a stream of endless buzzing. The queue broke into disarray as an empty circle formed around the four youths. However, despite the big threatening words that could clearly be heard… No one dared to approach them.

"What is the cause of all of this ruckus?"

A shout overtook the incoherent noise, prompting all eyes to shift towards its source. A man with a clear frown on his face was slowly walking from the inner area of the sect.

Not only did he wear the exact same robe that the 'repeating machine' Daoist at the gate wore, but he also happened to have an almost identical face as well! The only difference that could be spotted between the two was that the one in front of them had flowing hair, unlike his bald counterpart.

"Junior Master Dogyo! It's the Demon Cult's people, they are here!"

The man responsible for registering the participants and starting the chaos spoke up to the frowning Daoist as if stating the obvious.

"Hah? These kids… What brought you here? Weren't you supposed to stay in your hiding hole?"

The frown disappeared from the Daoist face as he looked at Leo's little group. In contrast to the crowd, he didn't show too much of an impression other than a hint of lazy annoyance.

'You speak as if you are the ones that drove us there.'

A blank expression. That was all that Leo showed as he had already known such an incident would break out. The shadow of the Heavenly Demon Cult wasn't something that the lower runt could escape, but the ignorant higher-ups believed the Cult's reformation into the Heavenly Strength Society to be a sign of weakness that only deserved their disregard!

'Yeon only stated the obvious back then, but should I spice things up a bit?'

"Really? I'm pretty sure it was your 'great' sect that invited us to be here?"