Free Web NovelChapter 80: Chapter 74: The Curtain Rises
A lot had changed in these ten years. Not just with the Demon Lotus Squad, but with Murim as a whole. The Nine Sects had recruited more than three times the number of members than they usually would, all thanks to the Righteous Spearman. He had become a legend in the Righteous Alliance.
Although no one had ever seen him and all the people he rescued gave different descriptions of his appearance, nobody could deny his contributions. Especially considering the fact that the normal members of the alliance were practically brainwashed with the notion of righteousness and honor. Some even proclaimed it as the advent of the Golden Age of martial arts.
Coming back to the Demon Lotus Squad, their strength had increased by leaps and bounds. After all, they had been knocking on Death’s door for ten years straight. They had been completing missions after mission, each more dangerous than the last. Assassination of high-priority targets, theft, occasional skirmishes with the other three factions, etc. They had done everything.
The constant battles had made them much stronger. All of them had reached the peak of the High Demon realm and could break through to the Peak Demon realm at any moment. Yonggi, on the other hand, had surpassed them and reached the Fourth Transformation realm. The trio were suppressing themselves because Zeke had asked them to. Similarly, Zeke was holding himself back because the Vice Head had told him something about the Nine Lotus Hells Technique.
But these still were not the most drastic changes that occurred. No, the thing that had changed the most was the connection between Murim and Aurevion. It had become incredibly robust. Zeke could command a much greater amount of Faith in the Murim World. He could feel that the number of believers had greatly increased, which meant that the people he converted were completing their mission. He murmured, "Just a little more. Once we complete ’that’, we can begin."
Right now, the Demon Lotus Squad was returning to the Divine Demonic Cult Headquarters after a long time. They were so busy with their missions that they hardly ever returned. After completing a mission, they would just take another at the nearest branch and move on. This was also the reason that they were still a Lower Squad.
Granted that they were the squad with the most contribution points, they were a Lower Squad nonetheless. And it’s not that their squad didn’t qualify for a promotion. No, they just hadn’t attended Squad Ascension Ceremonies. Still, nobody in Demons’ Den would dare underestimate them.
While they were on their way back, Bum asked, "By the way, why are we returning to the Headquarters?"
Woo said, "Even I am curious about that. Didn’t you say that we should avoid that place as much as we can?"
Yonggi, who was in his humanoid form, also chimed in, "I wanna know too, Hyung."
Only Woong was silent. He glanced at Zeke with an understanding look and nodded. Zeke sighed and said, "We have no choice. The Heavenly Demon himself has demanded our presence."
Bum said, "Oh... Wait, what did you say?"
Woo was in a similar state. She said, "My hearing must be going bad because I just heard Ryeong say that the Heavenly Demon, Lord of all demons, and the leader of the Divine Demonic Cult has demanded our presence."
Zeke said, "No, you heard right. I did say that."
Woo retorted, "And you’re telling us now? When we’re just three days away from the Cult?"
Zeke stopped, his eyes glinting slightly as he stared at Woo. He said, "I didn’t know that I had to explain myself to you."
Woo didn’t back down either as she stared into his blood-red eyes. There was something... sinister about them. They seemed to contain a hellscape of flesh and blood, with mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. Her intuition told her that if she didn’t stand down right now, she would also become a part of it. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
She looked away and said, "I’m sorry."
Zeke ceased the illusion and said in a cold voice, "That’s what I thought. Besides, it’s my presence that has been demanded. Not yours. You all are just coming because we need to make some preparations regarding your breakthrough."
Then he looked at Yonggi and said, "You should transform into your beast form. When you’re this close to the Cult, you never know who’s watching."
Yonggi nodded and transformed into his Bloodborne Unicorn form. He kneeled in front of Zeke. Zeke sighed and got on his back. Yonggi neighed and started walking. Zeke did not know why but every time Yonggi transformed into his beast form, he would insist that Zeke use him as a mount.
They continued traveling without stopping. The trio were talking to each other but left Zeke alone as he seemed preoccupied with his thoughts. And he was. He had very mixed emotions towards returning to the Cult. After all, he still hadn’t gotten over what he had found out during their travels.
First, the fact that he was right. This was not the Murim that he had traveled to in his other/past life. He knew this for sure because the faction dynamics as well as the history of the two was too different.
In the Murim that he had previously traveled to, there were four mainstream human factions in Murim: The Righteous Alliance made up of the Nine Sects and Five Clans, the Empire, the Iron Blood Alliance made up of multiple Unorthodox Sects and Clans, and finally, the Divine Demonic Cult. Then there were the Spirit Beast Clans. That much was still the same but there was one major difference in this Murim.
About 30 years ago, the Divine Demonic Cult had waged war on the other human factions. The Great Bloodbath. That was the name given to the war. It was completely unexpected and out of the blue. From the information that he had gathered, the Cult’s goal was unknown.
In the beginning, everyone thought that the Cult wanted to conquer Murim because of the damages they had caused. Complete annihilation of two of the Nine Sects and one Clan, near destruction of Shaolin Temple, and betrayal of the Tang Clan.
And these were just the major damages they had done to the Righteous Alliance. Just when everyone thought that the Cult would defeat their enemies, they retreated. This was the reason nobody could realize the cause of the war. But he did. When he had learned about the Great Bloodbath, it was as if he had found the final piece of the puzzle.
The Great Bloodbath, the kidnappings, the hellish training, everything. Everything suddenly fit and it was that day when Zeke had finally found someone even crazier than himself. But then he laughed. After all, this just meant that OFSO would become much easier.
They continued on their journey until they reached a seemingly ordinary village. They entered the village and entered a seemingly ordinary hut. Then, they disappeared. The village was an illusion created by the defense formations around the Cult. They passed an identity check and finally entered the Headquarters.
Zeke looked at the trio and said, "You guys can rest until I’m done."
The trio nodded and moved to their rooms. Zeke, on the other hand, had some things that he had to do. First, he visited the Vice Head. The Vice Head smiled after seeing him. He said, "Well, this is a rare sight. You came back to the Headquarters. And you even came to visit me."
Zeke said, "You know that I didn’t have a choice. When the Heavenly Demon himself demands your presence, death is the only reason that you do not show up."
The Vice Head nodded in agreement. He said, "That is true. So, what brings you here? I hope it’s not to request me to promote your squad."
Zeke shook his head and said, "Of course not. That would soon be meaningless."
The Vice Head looked a little confused but then his eyes suddenly widened. He said, "Show me."
Zeke nodded and nine twelve-petalled black lotuses manifested behind him. Three of them had glowing golden patterns, three had glowing red patterns, and the final three had glowing blackish-purple patterns.
The Vice Head was in shock as he said, "You not only reached the peak of the High Demon realm, but you also awakened all nine of your lotuses? How?"
Zeke was confused. Awaken? What did he mean? Just as he was about to ask, the Vice Head said, "Never mind. It’s better if you hear about this from him. This reminds me, do you remember the Senior from the Treasury? He said something about you owing him wine. Just a heads up, he might appear out of nowhere so do be careful. He will also clear all–"
The Vice Head suddenly stopped speaking. He said, "Change of plans. The Heavenly Demon has been notified of your return and wants to meet you. Get changed and I’ll escort you."
The Vice Head ordered a servant to bring Zeke’s clothes. Zeke was soon changed and escorted to the Heavenly Demon’s Palace. When they were nearing the entrance, the Vice Head said, "I can only accompany you until here."
Zeke nodded and moved forward. He wasn’t stopped by any of the guards as he entered the Palace. He entered the throne room. It was a huge hall. But it was empty at the moment except for Zeke and the man on the throne. freewebnøvel.coɱ
As soon as he saw him, Zeke knelt down, his eyes on the ground and said, "I greet the Heavenly Demon..."
But then something changed as he stared right into the man’s eyes as he said, "Or should I say..."
His eyes started glowing and he said, "Father..."
