Yo Yeon-bi was so shocked his eyes nearly popped out.

“Huaap!”

Ha-jun, standing beside her, covered her mouth as she screamed involuntarily.

Yi-gang and Ha-jun, who appeared like ghosts, dragged Yo Yeon-bi to a secluded place.

Yo Yeon-bi was terrified.

There was no one beside him.

The martial artists of the Sky Sealing Blood Wolf Squad, who were said to guard him in secret, had left for the Central Plains following their father.

Only after reaching a sparsely populated area did Ha-jun release Yo Yeon-bi.

“You, you bastards…”

Yo Yeon-bi barely stopped his legs from trembling.

He never expected Dam Yi-baek, who he thought had left, to return here.

Seeing that shameless face, an emotion that overcame fear surged within him.

It was frustration.

Anger that the traitor could show his face again.

But the one who reacted to the name Dam Yi-baek was none other than Ha-jun.

“Dam… Yi-baek?”

It was a pseudonym that seemed roughly put together.

At the same time, it sounded somewhat plausible.

Yi-gang hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I am not actually Dam Yi-baek. Nor am I a wandering swordsman.”

“Gasp.”

Yo Yeon-bi was excessively surprised.

Could it be that he did not expect it was a pseudonym?

Yi-gang thought so, but what came out of Yo Yeon-bi’s mouth was unexpected.

“…Um, could it be really…”

“Are you… the Heavenly Demon?”

Zhang Sanfeng and the Heavenly Demon’s laughter was heard.

Yo Yeon-bi, waiting quite seriously for an answer, was heard swallowing saliva.

“…No, I am not the Heavenly Demon either.”

“Right? I thought so too.”

Anyone overhearing Yi-gang and Yo Yeon-bi’s conversation would think it was the ramblings of mad people.

While Ha-jun was on guard around them, Yi-gang quietly looked at Yo Yeon-bi.

He looked the same as ever.

A somewhat anxious expression. A naive appearance.

Yi-gang sighed unconsciously.

He had no intention of sparing any means to save Ha-jun and the others.

But Yi-gang felt sorry for this reckless young man.

He had used him to infiltrate the Demon Cult.

Yo Yeon-bi survived precisely because he was the son of the True Demon Palace Master. Otherwise, he would likely have died.

Because by the Demon Cult’s rules, execution was inevitable.

It was a crime so severe that dismemberment would not be surprising.

It wouldn’t matter if he were a stranger, but now a bond had formed.

“My name is Baek Yi-gang. That is my younger brother, Baek Ha-jun.”

He revealed his real name as an acknowledgment of that bond.

And because Yi-gang planned to use Yo Yeon-bi once again.

Yo Yeon-bi murmured in admiration.

“That’s a cool name.”

“…Yeah.”

Though nicknames like the Blue-Eyed Sword Immortal or Iron-Blood Sword Dragon were famous in the Central Plains, Yo Yeon-bi who was raised here, seemed unaware.

Yi-gang spoke with a more relaxed heart.

“I have to ask you for another favor.”

“N-no!”

Before hearing the details, Yo Yeon-bi shouted a refusal.

When Yo Yeon-bi made noise, Ha-jun grimaced irritably.

He made a gesture of slitting his throat with his thumb.

-Should I make him quiet?

Not hearing the tone, Yo Yeon-bi flinched in surprise and shrank his neck.

Yi-gang shook his head and calmed Ha-jun.

Then he patted Yo Yeon-bi on the back.

“First, listen to the details and then decide.”

“I don’t really want to hear it…”

Yo Yeon-bi shook his head with a reluctant expression.

But he had no more choices.

When Yi-gang glared quietly, he reluctantly nodded.

“Ah, okay. I’ll listen.”

“Good.”

A moment later.

Yo Yeon-bi wore an expression of deep regret.

It was because of the conversation with Yi-gang.

Yo Yeon-bi told him what he heard from his father.

The resurrection of the Heavenly Demon… and its connection to Yi-gang.

Yi-gang spoke with a very relieved expression.

“Then, you will follow your father’s will.”

“Uh… yes.”

“You have deep filial piety. You’re a dutiful son.”

There could be no words less fitting for Yo Yeon-bi than ‘dutiful son.’

But Yo Yeon-bi had no choice but to get involved with Yi-gang.

“I am not the Heavenly Demon himself, but…”

Because Yi-gang had shown it.

“I represent the Heavenly Demon’s will.”

What unfolded from Yi-gang’s hands was the Asura Sky-Shattering Dance.

And what his younger brother showed was undoubtedly the Heavenly Demon’s Sky Shattering Divine Art.

That vivid demonic energy was something even Yo Dae-soon and the Sun Moon Divine Demon had never shown.

“The Heavenly Demon’s martial arts are the proof. Also…”

It meant that the Heavenly Demon’s spirit was beside them now.

Yo Yeon-bi was terrified and looked around, but ghosts were not visible to his eyes.

Yi-gang added a thunderous statement.

“You want to meet the Cult Leader…?”

Yo Yeon-bi had no respect for the current Cult Leader, the Sun Moon Divine Demon.

That was what the Demon Cult’s Cult leader was like.

A demon who stood at the top of the Demon Cult by the logic of survival of the strongest.

That logic did not only work upward.

The weak must step down from leadership.

Not only old but also sick, in body and mind.

He still held the cult leader’s position because the palace masters below were so formidable.

“What do you plan to do by meeting the Cult Leader?”

“First, let’s go to your home and I’ll explain it to you.”

“Our… home?”

Yo Yeon-bi’s home meant the True Demon Palace.

It’s not like visiting a friend’s house, so why suddenly the True Demon Palace?

But Yi-gang’s will was stubborn.

With the True Demon Palace Master’s son, entering there was not so difficult.

Since most martial artists, including the Sky Sealing Blood Wolf Squad, had left, the guard was much looser.

Yo Yeon-bi had previously invited gamblers and idlers to the True Demon Palace.

Of course, after being beaten by his father, he stopped, but now the True Demon Palace Master was absent.

Yo Yeon-bi forced his way to let Yi-gang and Ha-jun in.

The expression of the warrior guarding the door was not good.

That was very frustrating from Yo Yeon-bi’s perspective.

Yi-gang stopped Yo Yeon-bi, who was about to return with resentment and scold the guard.

“Let’s go in quickly.”

They entered Yo Yeon-bi’s quarters.

Though meant for one person, it was spacious enough for Yi-gang and Ha-jun to stay together.

Yi-gang looked around Yo Yeon-bi’s room with satisfaction.

It was a space sufficient to plan operations while hiding for days.

It seemed they could also prepare for ‘escape’ here after the mission.

“What will you talk about when you meet the Cult Leader?”

At that moment, Yo Yeon-bi said with an anxious face.

If he had questions, shouldn’t he have asked earlier?

Yi-gang kindly explained.

The Heavenly Demon wishes…

“I will kill the Cult Leader.”

“…Huh?”

Yo Yeon-bi’s face turned pale after that.

Yi-gang handed Yo Yeon-bi a warm cup of tea that the maid had brought earlier.

Yo Yeon-bi took the cup and froze blankly.

“I sincerely thank and apologize to you. It’s a difficult matter, yet you gave me your room.”

Yi-gang took a sip of tea and spoke.

And he said firmly.

“When we escape, I’ll take you with us.”

“Me too…?”

Yo Yeon-bi answered with dull eyes.

“Yes, we’re going to the Central Plains. Didn’t you say you were interested? Xi’an is a beautiful place with delicious food and fragrant wine. The gambling halls you like are much bigger than here.”

No matter how sweet the words, they did not resonate.

“It’s better not to refuse. Your situation will become difficult.”

“Y-you! You’re trying to kill me!”

Yo Yeon-bi grabbed Yi-gang’s collar.

Yi-gang stopped Ha-jun, who flinched.

Yo Yeon-bi did not get angrier.

He just burst into tears and started sobbing.

“W-what did I do to deserve this?”

“It’s not your fault.”

Certainly, it was not Yo Yeon-bi’s fault.

Even if he was the True Demon Palace Master’s son, if linked to the Cult Leader’s assassination…

Moreover, if it was discovered he let the assassins stay in his room, it would be over.

“I promise you.”

Yi-gang swore to the sobbing Yo Yeon-bi.

“I will definitely bring you alive to the Central Plains. Your father will be proud of your choice.”

This time, it was no lie.

The Sun Moon Divine Demon was definitely an opponent to be eliminated.

“He let the Evil Cult reach into the Demon Cult. Despite starting a war, he values his own life and remains here alone.”

Yi-gang’s eyes sank deeply.

Ha-jun, sitting behind, also flashed red eyes.

Yo Yeon-bi stopped crying at that extraordinary aura.

“It’s no lie that the Heavenly Demon wants that.”

It was not easy to give trust again to someone who had been deceived once.

“From your perspective, this must feel like a gamble. Life is the stake.”

What made hesitant Yo Yeon-bi decide was Yi-gang’s following words.

“But like before, won’t you trust me and take the risk this time?”

Back then, Yi-gang had brought Yo Yeon-bi the greatest victory of his life.

Yo Yeon-bi took a breath and answered.

“I promised to quit, but…”

He had firmly promised his father.

“I said I’d quit the gambling halls, not gambling itself…”

Though unconvincing, Yi-gang smiled.

Yi-gang made a plan.

The Cult Leader’s Hall was at the highest point of Sky Shattering Island.

Altitude usually correlates with authority.

The highest peak of Sky Shattering Island was a rocky mountain, sculpted to create the magnificent Cult Leader’s Hall.

That historic building was erected over 300 years ago when the Heavenly Demon founded the Demon Cult.

“I personally broke stones to build it.」said the Heavenly Demon.

As the Heavenly Demon said, he personally selected the land and broke rocks to build it.

Fortunately, it has maintained its appearance from 300 years ago.

“There is only one staircase leading up to the Cult Leader’s Hall.”

The stone stairs continuing from the Ten Thousand Demon Hall lead up to the Cult Leader’s Hall.

With no trees to hide behind and only desolation all around, anyone who intrudes can be seen from far away.

“Even I can’t meet the Cult Leader; only doctors or servants come and go.”

They can disguise as servants or doctors to get closer.

“Of course, there are warriors guarding the Cult Leader’s Hall. They’re not very strong… but the elders and bodyguards are dangerous.”

The words were familiar.

The bodyguards who protected the emperor.

Such guards also stood beside the Cult Leader.

“There are two old demons called the Black and White Twin Monsters. Both are at the Supreme Demon Realm and have amazing combined techniques. Even my father said he can’t easily guarantee he could defeat them.”

Yo Yeon-bi explained seriously.

Judging by this, his father, the True Demon Palace Master, also considered facing the Sun Moon Divine Demon.

“I’ll take them on.”

Ha-jun stepped forward.

Yi-gang pondered without replying.

“The doctor treating the Sun Moon Divine Demon isn’t affiliated with the Demon Cult, right?”

“The doctors inside the cult have already given up. They keep inviting new doctors, but if treatment fails, they’re killed, making it hard to find them. It seems a new one was found recently…”

“I need to investigate that.”

Yi-gang solidified his plan.

Then, Yo Yeon-bi asked cautiously.

“But… how do we escape?”

It was the most worrisome issue.

Even if they assassinate the Sun Moon Divine Demon perfectly, how would they escape?

Unlike Yi-gang or Ha-jun, Yo Yeon-bi was no expert and had no confidence in fleeing.

“Don’t worry about that. I was planning to have you prepare the groundwork for escape anyway.”

“Groundwork? Unless I grow wings, escaping will be hard…”

Yo Yeon-bi was right.

But Yi-gang answered cheerfully.

“Yes. We don’t have wings, but…”

Yi-gang raised his finger and pointed upward.

“We plan to fly out.”

“…What?”

Yi-gang explained a brief outline of the plan.

Hearing that, Yo Yeon-bi felt like quitting gambling and everything else.