My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven [Novel] Chapter 158

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It Isn’t Over Yet
[Chapter 158]

The Heavenly Demon Divine Sect was located in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

Deep within it stood the Sect Leader’s Hall of the Heavenly Demon Palace.

A gaunt, middle-aged man with a long beard sat upon the throne of the enormous hall, whose walls and ceiling were covered with carvings depicting demons.

He was none other than the leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, The Heaven-Sundering Demonic Emperor, Gwak Cheonhu.

Yet right now, he wore an expression that suggested something was displeasing him.

“Tell me. What exactly am I lacking that makes me unworthy of becoming the Heavenly Demon?!”

His cold gaze turned toward a woman standing before him.

She was a beautiful woman with a cold expression, dressed in the white robes of a shamaness.

She was Wi Seolrin, the Divine Maiden who performed the rituals of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.

“There is only one thing I have to say.”

Despite Gwak Cheonhu’s fierce presence, Wi Seolrin calmly opened her mouth.

Her unwavering black eyes met his.

“Since ancient times, those who were called the Heavenly Demon have always lit the flame on the Heavenly Path. If you wish to be called the Heavenly Demon as well, Sect Leader…”

“Light the flame on the Heavenly Path, is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes.”

Wi Seolrin answered with an austere expression.

Gwak Cheonhu’s face twisted.

He had already heard that answer hundreds of times.

Throughout the history of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, only two people had been called the Heavenly Demon after the First Heavenly Demon.

Both had been hailed as the strongest martial artist under heaven in their respective eras.

Yet for more than a hundred years now, no Heavenly Demon had emerged.

And Gwak Cheonhu wanted to become the new Heavenly Demon.

Among the Twelve Supremes Under Heaven, he considered himself the strongest, and thus believed that he himself was the strongest martial artist in the current martial world.

Yet, absurdly, this Divine Maiden kept insisting that he was not yet the Heavenly Demon because of that ridiculous Heavenly Path.

It greatly displeased Gwak Cheonhu.

Only the Divine Maiden could officially proclaim the birth of a Heavenly Demon.

That was why Gwak Cheonhu had been pressuring her.

But such pressure had absolutely no effect on Wi Seolrin.

There was no definite method passed down for lighting the flame on the Heavenly Path.

According to what was known, some said that the flame could be lit by infusing the Heavenly Path with internal energy, while others claimed that offering a thousand days of prayer to the Heavenly Path would ignite it.

Of course, he had tried everything.

Yet no matter what method he used, the Heavenly Path had never lit up.

What exactly was he lacking?

“This is an ancient tradition and law established by the First Heavenly Demon, the founder of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect. No matter how venerable Your Excellency the Sect Leader may be, you cannot be exempt from this law.”

Having understood what was on Gwak Cheonhu’s mind, Wi Seolrin spoke with finality.

Her voice was not merely refusing him, it was so cold that it seemed to say that his request was utterly impossible.

No matter how powerful the Sect Leader was, this was one matter she could never yield on.

Proclaiming the Heavenly Demon.

That was her mission.

Whether she lived or died, she had devoted her entire life to fulfilling that mission.

A tense standoff continued between the furious Gwak Cheonhu and the unmoving Wi Seolrin.

But it lasted only a moment.

Soon, all expression disappeared from Gwak Cheonhu’s face.

He stared blankly at Wi Seolrin before nodding.

“I understand. You may leave.”

“Yes.”

Once again, the confrontation between the Sect Leader and the Divine Maiden ended with the Sect Leader backing down.

Wi Seolrin bowed her head and left the Sect Leader’s Hall.

Click.

The door closed.

“Hah! The Divine Maiden certainly is stubborn.”

Ten Demonic Stars, who had been listening to their conversation, began speaking one after another.

“What does that silly tradition even matter? The Sect Leader is practically the strongest under heaven already. Tsk, tsk.”

“The Divine Maiden has clearly lost her ability to judge.”

They all criticized the Divine Maiden and clicked their tongues.

Soon, as always, their conversation ended with them taking the Sect Leader’s side.

“Do not worry. The Heavenly Path will soon be lit, and Your Excellency will become the Heavenly Demon whom no one can deny.”

“We will follow you, Sect Leader.”

Only then did a sinister smile creep onto Gwak Cheonhu’s lips as he looked at Ten Demonic Stars bowing their heads before him.

“By the way, things should be finished by now.”

How had it gone?

Gwak Cheonhu did not even consider the possibility that those he had sent to the Northern Hebei Peng Clan would fail.

Of course.

With that much strength, they were more than capable of fighting the Martial Alliance in an all-out war.

He was looking forward to it.

Once this was over and word spread that the Northern Hebei Peng Clan had vanished from the martial world, he wondered how those righteous sects would react.

Whatever they did, it would be entertaining.

Gwak Cheonhu wanted war more than anyone.

If possible, he desperately wanted to begin that war as the new Heavenly Demon.

War.

Just imagining how much blood would be spilled because of it made him unable to suppress his laughter.

With a languid smile returning to his face, Gwak Cheonhu raised his gaze toward the ceiling.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, his eyes widened.

Carved into the ceiling was an ornament symbolizing the leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect and Ten Demonic Stars who served him.

But aside from the Black Demon Stone that had already shattered, four other stones were now covered in deep cracks and had broken apart.

When did this happen?!

And there could only be one meaning behind it.

They failed? With that much strength?

Even with the former Sect Leader who had become a monster?!

“Ha!”

Gwak Cheonhu involuntarily gasped.

This was the exact opposite of what he had expected.

His face filled with confusion.

What in the world was happening?

And just what was there at the Northern Hebei Peng Clan?

Late at night.

Peng Mugang stood by the window, deep in thought.

That fellow…

Peng Mugang recalled Yeo Woonhwi’s face.

The face of the man he had now let go of his lingering resentment toward and fully accepted as family.

At first, he had certainly disliked the fellow.

No matter how blunt Peng Mugang was or how inexperienced he was at expressing affection toward his children, Seoyeon was his beloved and precious daughter.

And this was the man who had eloped with her in the middle of the night.

How could Yeo Woonhwi possibly have looked good in his eyes?

Even when his daughter returned.

Even when his heart softened toward his only granddaughter.

Even as the lingering resentment between him and his daughter gradually faded.

Peng Mugang still couldn’t easily open his heart to Yeo Woonhwi.

Perhaps his own particularly bad temper was partly to blame, but Peng Mugang believed that for a parent with a child, such feelings were by no means excessive.

So Peng Mugang had tormented Yeo Woonhwi.

He had made excuses about testing his abilities and whatnot, but in the end, appointing a scholar who supposedly knew nothing about martial arts as the commander of the White Wolf Unit had, to put it kindly, been his way of teasing him. In truth, he had deliberately made things difficult for him.

Peng Mugang had wanted to see Yeo Woonhwi return as quickly as possible, begging him to let him quit.

That never happened, however.

Instead, somehow, the White Wolf Unit under Yeo Woonhwi had completely transformed, almost as if it had been reborn.

Gradually, Peng Mugang’s gaze toward Yeo Woonhwi changed.

Because happy times had a way of making the past fade away.

As Peng Mugang’s heart melted at the smiles of his daughter and granddaughter, Yeo Woonhwi’s presence slowly began to seep into his heart as well.

Sometimes, Peng Mugang would even startle himself by how naturally he treated Yeo Woonhwi.

But there had been one thing that prevented Peng Mugang from completely opening the door to his heart until the very end.

It was his own instinct that Yeo Woonhwi was hiding something.

He certainly didn’t feel dangerous, so why had it been bothering him so much?

Just what was he hiding?

And only today had Peng Mugang finally learned the answer.

When the Peng Clan had fallen into a desperate crisis because of the Demonic Cult.

Yeo Woonhwi had appeared and saved the Peng Clan, and everyone else.

Displaying martial prowess that made no sense.

Peng Mugang had never been so shocked in his entire life.

And he had learned not only how Yeo Woonhwi had acquired that power, but another secret as well.

The unbelievable story that he had returned from the past.

Normally, Peng Mugang would never have believed such a thing.

If he hadn’t seen Yeo Woonhwi’s eyes.

He had seen those eyes when Yeo Woonhwi spoke of losing his wife and daughter.

Emptiness. Anger. Detachment. Sorrow. Resignation…

Those emotions were enough to make even the person watching him feel as though his heart were being torn apart.

What if I had lost my wife, daughter, and son like that?

For a moment, Peng Mugang thought that this man must have lived an incredibly painful life.

There had only been one thing he could say to him.

“You must have suffered greatly.”

And only then did he truly accept Yeo Woonhwi.

As a member of the Peng Clan, as family, and as both his son-in-law and son.

And then—

The Martial God’s Opportunity?

The name of the strongest man in history, the Martial God Hyeok Jonghu.

It was already a legendary name in the history of the martial world.

Those who had witnessed him firsthand recorded that if he set his mind to it, there was nothing in heaven or earth that could stop him.

They said that when he swung his sword, the heavens split apart, and when he stamped his foot, the earth trembled.

A legendary tale Peng Mugang had heard since childhood.

Naturally, he had assumed there must have been some exaggeration in those stories.

But after witnessing Yeo Woonhwi’s power with his own eyes today, he finally understood.

There had not been even the slightest exaggeration in the stories passed down about the Martial God.

Peng Mugang was happy that Yeo Woonhwi possessed such overwhelming power, but he was also worried.

His son-in-law was simply a man whose entire life revolved around protecting his family and the people he loved.

Yet Peng Mugang couldn’t shake the worry that the Martial God’s power would not simply leave a man like that alone.

Great power came with great responsibility.

And this was the power of the Martial God, no less…

“Hoo…”

The clouds drifting across the moonlight seemed heavy.

Like Peng Mugang’s deep, weighty sigh.

Dawn came.

His wife, Peng Seoyeon, and his daughter Yul were fast asleep.

Yeo Woonhwi quietly stepped outside and headed toward the garden.

“You’ve come.”

Jin Sobaek was waiting for him there.

For some reason, he looked far more delighted to see him than usual.

There were probably several reasons, but above all, this incident had made Jin Sobaek firmly resolve himself.

He would stake everything on the man named Yeo Woonhwi.

Bae Chojin had also completely agreed with his thoughts.

No, he had been even more enthusiastic.

“From now on, the martial world will revolve around him! I think this is the time for our Hao Sect to stake everything on him. No. I’ve made up my mind. Let’s do it.”

Jin Sobaek was the leader of the Hao Sect, so he had no idea why one of his ordinary disciples was deciding the future his sect should pursue, but Jin Sobaek felt the same way.

After all, a person needed to know when it was time to stake their life on something.

Jin Sobaek’s constant grin made him seem suspicious, but Yeo Woonhwi also had much to thank him for.

He had done more than Yeo Woonhwi had expected.

If Jin Sobaek hadn’t promptly informed Yeo Woonhwi that the Demonic Cult was heading toward Hebei…

And if the Peng Clan had been attacked by the Demonic Cult without being warned…

The situation would certainly have been far worse than it was now.

Furthermore, Jin Sobaek hadn’t stopped there. He had personally hurriedly gathered the Hao Sect’s elite forces and sent them to help.

“Thank you. I owe you a great debt for what happened this time.”

Yeo Woonhwi felt that joining hands with Jin Sobaek had truly been the right choice.

Although the man cost him quite a bit of money, he was certainly worth every penny.

“Why make such a big deal out of it? It was only natural. Hahaha!”

“Really? It was only natural, you say? Well, then, I was going to give you a special bonus for this job, but I suppose I’ll just forget about it…”

“When there is a clear exchange going both ways, work efficiency naturally improves! As expected, our esteemed client knows what he’s doing. I would never refuse that special bonus. Hahaha!”

Yeo Woonhwi let out a small laugh at Jin Sobaek’s reaction.

Then Jin Sobaek spoke again.

“Oh. And just in case, I’ve also stationed Hao Sect forces at the other Five Great Families. We don’t know what the Demonic Cult might do next.”

At the moment, the forces of all Five Great Families were gathered at the Northern Hebei Peng Clan.

That meant each family was practically defenseless.

So Jin Sobaek had acted quickly.

As expected, he was excellent.

But—

“No. There’s no need for that.”

“What?”

“We can’t spend the rest of our lives being afraid of how the Demonic Cult will move from now on, can we?”

“Then what do you intend to do?”

“We should eliminate the cause.”

Eliminate the cause?

What did he mean by that…?

Jin Sobaek’s eyes widened.

“D-Don’t tell me…”

“Yes.”

Yeo Woonhwi’s gaze turned toward the distant sky.

“A debt must be repaid. Thoroughly.”

There was no reason to delay any longer.

Nor was he willing to simply sit around and keep taking their attacks.

From now on, he intended to make them understand exactly who they had chosen to mess with.

His eyes were already shining with a cold light.

This fight isn’t over yet.