When Yi-gang killed Cheon Mu-do, the Sun Moon Divine Demon, he felt a complex emotion.

Even the emperor who ruled the world beneath his feet eventually dies.

A person can die instantly with a single strike to the jaw, and that is true even for absolute masters.

Yi-gang had crossed the line between life and death several times.

Nevertheless, Yi-gang himself did not know when he might die meaninglessly.

Therefore, Yi-gang wanted to assess the situation with cold rationality.

He must not die collapsing in a place like this.

If Yi-gang dies, there is a high chance that Ha-jun will die as well.

And if the war does not stop, tens of thousands will die.

If they fail to stop the Demon Cult, no one can even imagine what will happen.

Yi-gang, having left the leader’s hall, ran down without rest.

There were quite a few stairs, but that was relative.

For Yi-gang and Ha-jun, they could descend with just a few sprints.

However, that was assuming there were no obstacles.

Yi-gang, running, ducked his body.

Even without being a master, it was clear that something was flying toward them.

“Aaaah!”

The gatekeeper guarding the door was flying through the air.

When Yi-gang ducked, the gatekeeper flew past him and tumbled down the stairs.

He had no choice but to look back up the stairs.

“You bastards!”

The one who threw the gatekeeper like a cannonball was an elder at the extreme demonic realm.

Thanks to Yi-gang stopping, he quickly closed the distance.

“What suspicious act is this!”

Surprisingly, the elder was smiling broadly.

He could not imagine that Yi-gang and Ha-jun had killed the cult leader.

Only the joy of an interesting situation was visible.

“I’ll knock you down and dig you up thoroughly, hahaha!”

The momentum of the attack was considerable.

There were probably several elders at this Supreme Demon Realm level.

If delayed here, more elders would flood in.

Yi-gang wanted to finish the opponent quickly.

Ha-jun stepped forward in front of Yi-gang.

“Leave it to me.”

Even if Ha-jun had reached the Supreme Demon Realm, he shouldn’t be so confident yet.

For a moment, Yi-gang thought so but remained silent.

Ha-jun’s whole body was glowing bright red.

Not only that, white steam was rising from his body.

The elder, undeterred, jumped up with great momentum.

“Hahaha!”

That carelessness was an opportunity for Ha-jun.

「Ho.」

Though brief, Ha-jun had been personally taught by the Heavenly Demon.

In Ha-jun’s body, which possessed demonic qi arts, the demonic energy absorbed from the Sun Moon Divine Demon was raging wildly.

The red demonic energy from Ha-jun’s entire body materialized and burst forth.

The demon charging in screamed in horror and instinctively crossed his arms.

Then, a cracking sound came from Ha-jun’s elbow.

「It’s the Demon Piercing Light Killing Fist.」

Demon Piercing Light Killing Fist.

Ha-jun’s fist flashed brightly and shot forward, leaving a sound behind.

Crack!

The Supreme Demon Realm elder was repelled at a speed greater than his charge.

He bounced up the stairs and crashed into the main gate of the Cult Leader’s Hall.

A loud noise echoed.

No one inside the leader’s hall could have missed that sound.

As expected, the main gate of the Cult Leader’s Hall, unbroken despite the impact, swung wide open.

“Th-that’s him!”

One of the elders who rushed out of the door pointed at Ha-jun and Yi-gang and shouted.

Among them were two with unusually white and black skin.

They must be the cult leader’s bodyguards, the Black and White Fiend Duo.

“The Cult Leader’s assassins! Chase them!”

It seemed the situation inside was understood by then.

Yi-gang quickly grabbed Ha-jun and pulled him.

“Let’s go!”

No one was blocking their way yet.

Yi-gang and Ha-jun dashed down the stairs in an instant.

The old demons who hadn’t left the Cult Leader’s Hall began to chase them one by one.

The chase continued toward the direction of the True Demon Palace.

The commotion from the Cult Leader’s Hall was visible even at the True Demon Palace.

Not only that.

An alarm signaling an emergency rang throughout the sect.

Bright red smoke rose from somewhere.

It was a signal indicating the severity of the current situation.

When High Spirit Palace burned, only yellow smoke was seen. Red smoke meant an even more urgent situation.

Yo Yeon-bi muttered in a trembling voice.

That red smoke must mean Yi-gang achieved his goal.

“He really killed him…”

Yo Yeon-bi secretly hoped Yi-gang would not return.

But he clearly saw.

Yi-gang and Ha-jun running down the stairs of the Cult Leader’s Hall.

And the elders of the Cult Leader’s Hall chasing after them.

“They’re coming noisily!”

Yi-gang’s destination was undoubtedly the True Demon Palace.

“The elders and those guys seem to be heading here!”

“Should we lock the door?”

The warriors guarding the door clearly looked flustered.

Yo Yeon-bi, who had left the door to the True Demon Palace open, grew anxious.

“Leave it open!”

The servants and warriors clearly saw Yo Yeon-bi’s anxious expression.

“I said let them in!”

The warriors’ expressions were strange.

But it was something they could not explain.

“Do you mean for us to go out and capture them?”

“Damn it!”

Yo Yeon-bi nervously bit his nails out of frustration.

Then, someone commanded in a deep voice.

“Keep the door open.”

The person was the chief in charge here and loyal subordinate of the True Demon Palace Master, Yo Dae-soon.

Left Protector had appeared quietly.

Yo Yeon-bi felt his heart drop.

Had it been discovered that he let Yi-gang in and participated in the cult leader’s assassination?

Left Protector gave a bitter smile seeing Yo Yeon-bi.

“I don’t know the details either, but I received a hint from the palace master.”

“A hint?”

“The cult leader is not in a normal state. The palace master told me to assist the young master.”

Yo Dae-soon was pleased, thinking Yo Yeon-bi meeting the Heavenly Demon was divine help.

Moreover, the Heavenly Demon who fell into the river, or more precisely, Yi-gang’s whereabouts were unknown.

Perhaps that was why arrangements were made.

“That…”

Of course, even Yo Dae-soon could not imagine Yo Yeon-bi would be involved in the cult leader’s assassination.

Yo Yeon-bi, about to point that out, shut his mouth tightly.

“T-thank you.”

He answered roughly and averted his eyes.

Yi-gang and Ha-jun almost tumbled into the main gate.

Yo Yeon-bi shouted reflexively.

“Lock the door!”

The gate warriors closed the door reflexively.

Yi-gang and Ha-jun were momentarily startled by the crowd, then gave Yo Yeon-bi a thumbs-up.

Yo Yeon-bi gritted his teeth and led the way.

“Damn it! Let’s go!”

Soon, loud knocking sounded on the main gate.

Left Protector greeted them with a stern voice.

“What is the matter!”

He winked at Yo Yeon-bi and gestured to hurry inside.

Soon, the angry voices of elders echoed beyond the door.

“The cult leader’s assassins entered True Demon Palace! Open up immediately!”

“We can’t open… What?”

Left Protector, about to refuse outright, was stunned by the unexpected words.

He hurriedly looked for Yo Yeon-bi, but they had already entered the building.

Yi-gang and Yo Yeon-bi ran quickly.

Their destination was Yo Yeon-bi’s room.

His room was at the innermost part of the True Demon Palace.

That also meant it was on the palace’s outer side overlooking the entire Sky Shattering Island.

They burst through the door and saw a wide-open window.

Yo Yeon-bi disliked feeling confined.

Therefore, from his room, the river flowing proudly around Sky Shattering Island and the Divine Demon Bridge were clearly visible.

“Good. Are you ready?”

Yo Yeon-bi nodded at Yi-gang’s question and pointed to the window.

There lay a bundle of cloth whose purpose was unknown.

It was a muslin cloth carefully coated with melted wax.

Strings sewn into the cloth were connected to a long wooden rod.

That was the ‘escape method’ Yi-gang had explained.

Yo Yeon-bi couldn’t help but repeat the question he had asked many times.

“Is it really safe?”

“Yes, Dam Hyun tested it. Go and hold on.”

Yi-gang did not lie.

That was the item Dam Hyun had tested.

Even if it was said to be a lightness technique, a person had to run directly, and riding a horse was too hard on the animal.

It was a futuristic idea for a simpler and faster means of transportation.

Ha-jun and Yo Yeon-bi each gripped the wooden rod tightly.

If the rod accidentally drops, they would fall to their deaths, so they wiped sweat from their hands on their clothes.

Bang, crash!

At that moment, loud noises echoed outside.

The guards at the door finally couldn’t withstand the elders’ pressure.

Yi-gang urged.

“Climb up!”

Yo Yeon-bi and Ha-jun stood on the railing.

Yo Yeon-bi’s room was on a protrusion of the True Demon Palace, and below was the ground far below.

“On one, two, three, jump.”

Though imagined many times, facing it now was terrifying.

Yo Yeon-bi’s legs trembled.

“One!”

Yi-gang, seemingly unaware of Yo Yeon-bi’s feelings, counted relentlessly.

“Two!”

Yo Yeon-bi urgently grabbed Yi-gang’s arm and spoke.

“Now that I think about it, I just want to stay here…”

“Three!”

Yi-gang grabbed Yo Yeon-bi and jumped together.

A dizzying fall as if the ground was sinking.

Yo Yeon-bi screamed instinctively.

The fall did not stop.

In the end, the ‘parachute’ Yi-gang mentioned did not work properly.

How could a person fly in the sky?

In a breath’s time, they would hit the ground and die from a broken skull.

Even in this terrifying situation, anger surged.

He shut his eyes tightly and shouted.

“Baek Yi-gang, you son of a bitch!”

“Did you call me?”

Yi-gang’s calm voice sounded right beside his ear.

Yo Yeon-bi startled and opened his eyes.

The whole world was bright red.

Had he died and come to the fiery hell?

“We haven’t fallen.”

Yi-gang spoke as if he read Yo Yeon-bi’s mind.

Yo Yeon-bi was not falling.

Looking to the side, Ha-jun was the same.

The ropes tied to the wooden rods Ha-jun was holding were taut.

The cloth spread wide above was visible.

“That spread cloth creates air resistance to slow the fall. That’s the principle.”

Yi-gang explained the principle calmly.

“I-I’m alive! We’re flying in the sky!”

“Though it’s a bit different from flying.”

Yi-gang smiled too.

His body, having fully utilized the mystery of the lightness method, was very light.

Even sharing one parachute with Yo Yeon-bi, his speed was similar to Ha-jun who had his own.

Excited and grinning in this thrilling situation, Yo Yeon-bi suddenly asked.

“But how do we cross the river falling like this? Isn’t it all for nothing?”

“You’re quick to ask.”

Yi-gang laughed.

No matter how genius Dam Hyun was, he couldn’t design a perfect parachute.

Due to technical and material limits, what Yi-gang made only slowed the fall speed.

But Yi-gang had a special power.

“I asked, what do we do!”

Instead of answering Yo Yeon-bi’s urging, he formed hand signs diligently with one hand.

As he chanted the spell, a gentle wind lifted Ha-jun and Yo Yeon-bi.

Yi-gang casts a wind-calling spell.

The cloth filled with wind, and Yi-gang and Ha-jun’s parachutes began moving forward.

The descent ended, and gliding began.

Countless spears and arrows flew from behind.

The two swords circling around Yi-gang.

Shooting Star Fang and White Fang blocked them all.

Even among the Supreme Demon Realm elders, none could fly.

Once out of reach of their spears and arrows, the obstacles to their flight disappeared.

“Phew…”

At last, Yo Yeon-bi relaxed.

Then, things came into view.

“…Beautiful.”

The river below sparkled with the glow of the sunset.

It was so beautiful it seemed like gold flowed instead of water.

“I’ve seen this thousands of times, but it’s different.”

“Is that so?”

“The scenery hasn’t changed, right?”

What changed was only Yo Yeon-bi’s situation.

For some reason, his heart felt warm.

Several boats hurriedly set sail from the riverbank.

They were probably chasing Yi-gang’s group, but the parachutes moved much faster.

Yi-gang and Ha-jun safely reached the other side of the river.

Even the landing was extremely light.

Of course, not for Yo Yeon-bi.

Due to a rougher landing than expected, he tumbled on the ground.

“Ugh, damn it!”

Yo Yeon-bi, face buried in the sand, spat repeatedly.

Despite sand stuck in his mouth, a wide smile appeared.

“That was really awesome, wasn’t it?”

He looked up and asked, but Yi-gang was not looking at him.

Instead, he held his sword with a serious expression.

Could it be that the cult’s warriors were waiting here too?

In the direction Yi-gang looked, two people wearing cloaks stood.

“Who are you?”

Yi-gang asked in a voice as cold as dripping ice.

Instead of answering, they removed the cloaks covering their faces and bodies.

It was one man and one woman.

Clearly, their attire was not that of Demon Cult members.

“…You are!”

Surprise appeared on Yi-gang’s face.

He thought they might know each other, but the woman in front spoke differently.

“This is our first meeting.”

Their weapons and clothes were varied, but they clearly wore Taoist robes.

“The Grand Library Masterr sent us here.”

The Grand Library Master refers to Azure Forest’s Yu Jeong-shin.

Their robes all bore several purple flowers embroidered.

“It’s nice to meet you, Junior Nephew.”

The honor flower disciples who hadn’t been seen even in Azure Forest appeared.