This series is currently in first place by less than 10 readers. Since, the number of readers is so close, we will wait another week before finalizing the upload rate for this series. If there is enough interest from readers, we can upload up to 20 chapters a week.

The Celestial Demon

It was a good deal. There was some ambiguity as to whether he was simply trying to make a Death Knight out of Shi Wu-yuan’s body, but it was a good deal because they were both satisfied.

“Oh, this is a little convenient.”

At the outskirts of Dreimoor, Kim Bongpal was repeatedly summoning and dismissing the Phantom Horse.

Callinan was a fairly skilled Black Wizard. He gave him the spell to summon the horse in a bracelet warded with mental protection. He said he just granted the summoning string to it, so the spell would be permanently available if nothing happened.

“Great. By the way, Old Man.”

“…?”

“Are they just going to watch over there?”

Kim Bongpal asked, pointing to two Blood Mages standing nearby. Of course, it wouldn’t be enough to simply describe them as Blood Mages; they were the last two Blood Masters.

“Fufu. What can those guys do?”

Callinan replied with a smile full of ridicule. It was said that Dreimoor was a city founded by Blood Mages and Black Wizards in cooperation, but it was not without its feuds. Nevertheless, the balance was maintained without a major fight because the force between the two groups was similar. However, Shi Wu-yuan was dead, and the Black Wizards had gained an advantage.

“Hmm. There are two of them, right? You don’t seem strong enough to deal with them.”

“Still, I can take one of the two. If that happens, the remaining one will surely die at Johan’s hand. And from their point of view, you look like someone on our side.”

As he said, Callinan would be able to kill one of them even if he faced both alone. The same was true of Johan. Even though they were all Lords of Dreimoor, there was a slight difference in authority between Black Wizards and Blood Masters, and that was why Johan and Callinan alone were in balance with the three Blood Masters.

“Hmm.”

The Blood Masters were looking at Kim Bongpal from a distance. But hostility? He didn’t see anything like that. Rather, they were vigilantly watching him. In the end, that was all. They were tied together but didn’t intend to take revenge just because one of them died. Far from revenge, they were worried that his anger would also affect them.

This was a familiar sight for Kim Bongpal. There were such people on Earth.

After a while, they vanished. Then, was it time to leave? Kim Bongpal summoned the Phantom Horse again and got on. He had never ridden a horse before but thought he would figure it out somehow. After all, he never had a hard time using his body.

“Are you going to the Evil Alliance’s territory?”

“Yeah.”

That was the end of their farewells. Kim Bongpal quickly left Dreimoor, and the Black Wizard happily sent him off.

* * *Two more days passed, and Kim Bongpal had no choice but to praise himself for asking for the Phantom Horse. It was fast. Very fast.

And that wasn’t all. It didn’t tire even after galloping for hours, and its presence warded against monsters. Kim Bongpal couldn’t believe how easy his journey had become.

Thanks to this, he was halfway to the territory of the Evil Alliance in just two days. Within those two days, Kim Bongpal succeeded in reading the martial arts books he purchased from Dreimoor. From the Unity of Mind and its commentary, he got from the black market and even the Black Shot Energy Technique from Callinan. The conclusion that Kim Bongpal reached at the end of that was:

“…Damn it. Why did they write it so fucking bad?”

They were difficult to read. Even though it came with commentary, the meaning was vague. Perhaps that was because it was written in Moorim’s language. Although translated, it wasn’t perfect. Most of the phrases were written in an archaic style, so it was more difficult to understand from the point of view of a modern person like Kim Bongpal.

What was the principle of heaven, the five elements, and what were Yin and Yang? What kind of bullshit was that?

Of course, it wasn’t without any results. Kim Bongpal understood the books through his own interpretation.

“So, by gathering mana around the top of my head and letting it flow through the spine…this way? Is it like this?”

That was something any other from Moorim would never do. Without proper understanding, he was trying to move Qigong — mana for Kim Bongpal— as written in the book. Only a maniac would try it, but what was even more amazing was…

Whoosh-

A small sound rippled through the air. It might be terrible in terms of power, but…something came out of Kim Bongpal’s hand and made a small wavy sound. In other words, he successfully used the technique. If someone from Moorim had heard it, they would have shouted that this wasn’t training but madness. However, such madness was showing results.

“Did I get scammed by that old man? Black Shot Energy Technique? I picked the book because the title sounds so strong, but is this all?”

Of course, Kim Bongpal didn’t know the significance of what he attempted.

“I should have known when he blabbered about the Longevity Pill. Still, he was good with words, so I put up with him.”

If Callinan had heard it, he would have protested.

* * *

Words are faster than horses. Even the Phantom Horse, one of the fastest horses in the Shire, couldn’t keep up with the speed of rumors.

“Blood Master Shi is dead?”

Before Kim Bongpal arrived at the area of the Evil Alliance, the news of Shi Wu-yuan’s murder spread through their territory. Kim Bongpal’s name didn’t factor in; it was only known that a man in his twenties killed him. And that this man left Dreimoor on a Phantom Horse.

“No one in Moorim knows who he is, right? I can’t believe there’s such a reclusive Master in this day and age.”

It was uncommon for a Master like Shi Wu-yuan to be killed by an unknown person. Even more so in the Shire, which had stabilized over the years since its appearance. And.

“Hmm. An unknown Master with no nickname….”

Whether they were from Lupaine or Moorim, it wasn’t uncommon for those who rose to the top to receive a nickname. Kim Bongpal was no exception to that either.

“Have you heard about the Sword Phantom?”

If Kim Bongpal heard it, he would have cursed their stupid naming sense, but anyway, such a nickname was attached to him. The Phantom Sword. It sounded grandiose, but it actually wasn’t that great. A few Moorim people in the Shire had Sword Phantom in their nicknames. Absolute Evil Sword Phantom of the Evil Alliance, Cloud Sword Phantom of the Justice Faction, and so on. Among them, the one who was considered the strongest Master was the White-Haired Sword Phantom of the Celestial Demon Cult. That man was now…

“Shi Wu-yuan? The guy from then died?”

“Yes.”He was sitting with his head bowed. The White-Haired Sword Phantom said to be the highest Master throughout the Shire, bowed his head to the current Celestial Demon.

“It was him, right? The one who came here about 10 years ago and was beaten up by you.”

“Haha. Did I beat him?”

Shi Wu-yuan visited the Celestial Demon Cult a decade ago, saying he was curious about their strength. He left after getting defeated by the White-Haired Sword Phantom, who didn’t even draw his sword.

The Celestial Demon laughed and continued.

“Well, anyway. The one who killed him is a Sword Phantom? Hmm. What an old-fashioned nickname, huh?”

Celestial Demon said so even though she knew that Sword Phantom was included in her subordinate’s nickname. The White-Haired Sword Phantom softly smiled and avoided answering. It was casual for a conversation between the Supreme Leader and her subordinate. However, it was a different story for the current Celestial Demon and the White-Haired Sword Phantom.

Sixty years ago. At that time, White-Haired Sword Phantom was a first-class Master, just like any guy in the Celestial Demon Cult. If there was anything special about him, he was an escort of the current Celestial Demon when they were a child.

It was a familiar story. A child whom no one expected, and the warrior escorting such a person. But at the same time, it wasn’t a familiar story. It was 30 years after that the daughter of the Supreme Leader beheaded her own father and ascended the throne. The warrior who used to escort that child had changed considerably too.

“Uhm. Come to think of it, was it today?”

“Yes?”

“The day I killed my father. That was exactly 30 years ago today. Right?”

The White-Haired Sword Phantom smiled bitterly and nodded.

“I was in a good mood since this morning. So that’s why.”

However, unlike the White-Haired Sword Phantom, there was a smile on the Celestial Demon’s face.

“Great. Then why not!”

Shouting like that, the Celestial Demon looked back at the White-Haired Sword Phantom.

“Old man, are they still here?”

“Who do you…?”

“The Otherworlders that the Shadowless Squad captured. That…what is it? Earth? The ones from there.”

“Yes. No one is dead.”

A few people lost their lives during their capture, but the White-Haired Sword Phantom didn’t bother mentioning it.

“Release them.”

“All right.”

“Tell them to become our Sect members. Kill them if they don’t want to.”

“Understood.”

“Ah! Except for her. That pretty girl, and she’s like the old me, so I like her.”

At that moment, the wind blew, and Celestial Demon’s hair flew back. One side of the Celestial Demon’s face was exposed. While not quite as long as an elf’s, her ear was more pointed than a human’s. It was natural for the people of Shire, but Kim Bongpal would have been surprised if he had known.

The current Celestial Demon, Chen Hua-lin, was the only female Celestial Demon in the long history of the Celestial Demon Cult. She was also the only Celestial Demon of a different race.