Heavenly Demon Wi Seoryeon’s journey began as if nudged by the compelling forces of fate.
Though nothing was firmly decided upon departure, the destinations had already been somewhat predetermined.
Clearly, the movements of the Heavenly Demon Sect seemed to be laying the groundwork for the Mosan Great War, yet many remained skeptical about the sect’s influence.
The righteous factions in Sacheon likely wished to avoid rash contact until public opinion toward the Heavenly Demon Sect was more unified.
In this context, wandering around with Wi Seoryeon, who continuously scattered Black Dragon Qi, was not exactly a clever choice.
Sacheon’s righteous factions had specific reasons for their visits.
And they needed places to gamble.
There was only one place that satisfied both conditions in Sacheon.
That place was the Tang Clan.
After greeting the Tang Family Head with the Heavenly Demon by her side, Tang Do-yeon huffed and quickly left to repair the Bicheongmacha, with Tang So-yeol following behind as if he had turned into a startled deer.
”Sisters~!!”
”Aah! Rye-ah! How did you grow so much?!”
”You’ve completely become a young lady.”
Then, the now rapidly growing Tang Rye-ah came into the guesthouse. Now looking more like a girl than a child, Black Cat and Miss Yeo Il-ye were in a flurry, and seeing Seo Gong in Hyeok Gi-rin’s arms made Rye-ah squeal with delight. The group, seeing Rye-ah for the first time, began introductions.
After a while of giggly excitement, the ladies finally got up from their seats.
”Sisters! I’ll show you around the Tang Clan!”
”Senior! I’ll be right back!”
”Oh, alright.”
Once they arrived at the Tang Clan, unlike the inattentive Tang Do-yeon and Tang So-yeol who had dashed off, sensible Rye-ah would not be the cause for concern.
Looking at the group as they rushed outside, my gaze shifted. There stood Wi Seoryeon, nodding at Black Cat’s hand gesture.
”Are you sure you don’t want to join us? It’s a chance to explore the Tang Clan.”
”That would probably put a considerable burden on the girl named Rye-ah.”
”Hmm.”
I found myself momentarily speechless at the undeniable truth. It’s obvious the pressure of the Black Dragon Qi was no joke. For an ordinary person, merely facing Wi Seoryeon would be enough to make them bolt or scream in terror.
Although it was a somewhat sensitive subject, Wi Seoryeon spoke unhesitatingly as usual.
”At the very least, you should take time to get accustomed to it. Once familiar enough, a tour of the Tang Clan could be arranged, don’t you think?”
”That’s true.”
I hesitated to offer help as I sensed Wi Seoryeon was content on her own.
Does this mean the Heavenly Demon has her own way of making friends?
Reflecting on how Wi Ji-cheon had come to thank me for being friends with my daughter, it dawned on me that maybe such confidence wasn’t unfounded. But I decided to respect her approach.
Wi Seoryeon would see the world and make friends in her own way.
In that process, she’d tumble and break at times but also improve.
There was nothing particularly special about that.
It’s just the nature of stepping into the Martial World.
I just needed to prevent Wi Seoryeon, as the Heavenly Demon, from making mistakes that would lead her into irretrievable calamity.
Judging by our conversation so far, it seemed Wi Seoryeon planned to take it easy for a few days, so today I had my own matters to attend to.
”Then I’ll excuse myself for a bit. I need to discuss the remnants of the Blood Sect with the Tang Clan.”
Though the Blood Sect’s main base was destroyed, many horrors still roamed the world, controlled by the Blood Sect’s remnants.
And I carried something that could resolve that situation all at once — more precisely, inside the Bicheongmacha storage.
That item was a talisman created by the Mosan Sect Leader, Jo Jin-hwi.
The entities obeying the Blood Sect were bound by the Blood Ancestor’s spell solely because they recognized their kin. Entities are a kind of mutation and, having lived alone for a hundred or, at most, several hundred years, these beings couldn’t ignore the will of their long-sought kin.
The talisman created by Jo Jin-hwi would inform those entities of the Blood Ancestor’s death.
What would the entities do upon confirming the Blood Ancestor’s death?
The answer had already been revealed through the Mosan Great War.
While some entities chose to fight, the majority opted to flee when they confirmed the Blood Ancestor’s demise. Considering that battles still raged at the time, it was highly likely that entities scattered across the world would return to their original lives rather than cause chaos.
Regardless of how entities reacted, the Blood Sect’s remnants wouldn’t be able to control them any longer, so those remnants would soon be tidied up in every corner of the world.
Well, the decision on whether to use the talisman provided by the Mosan Sect would be made by the Martial Forest Alliance, but realistically, the situation would leave no choice but to use it, so there was no need for concern.
For the sake of the Alliance’s reputation, the reputations of each sect, or the refusal of aid from the betraying Mosan Sect, one could turn down using the talisman, but if they were stubborn, they’d end up with nothing.
Declaring victory over the Blood Sect’s remnants and entities alone would be impossible at this moment. Even if they finally managed to defeat those remnants and entities after long preparations, the regions that previously used the talisman would have already cleared out the Blood Sect’s remnants long before, leading to nothing but unfavorable comparisons.
And for the Martial Forest Alliance, it would be hard to decide to let the entities bound by spells remain idle for too long.
That was because of my presence.
Just as Seo Gong had followed me, it was not entirely out of the question for other entities to choose to follow me as well.
Was the Brain Knife Outcast, Ho Cheon-an, an ally of the Martial Forest Alliance?
While I had cooperated somewhat with the Alliance’s leaders, I had no connections with most of the Martial Forest Alliance’s factions.
From their perspective, I had been suspected of being a tool of the Blood Sect and had a bizarre position as a living disciple of the Heavenly Demon Sect, which made me difficult to define. Thus, the Martial Forest Alliance would have no choice but to show ambiguous expressions to that question.
So, from their stance, they might prefer to hastily break the spell on the entities rather than leave any chances of me collecting those entities.
Well, regardless of what conclusion the Martial Forest Alliance reached, I needed to quickly relay information about the talisman, so I planned to notify the Tang Clan.
”Hmm. Is it about that talisman? Then it will take some time.”
”Yes. I should include explanations, so it might end up taking longer.”
”Okay, I understand. Go on.”
Thus, Wi Seoryeon calmly saw me off.
And when I returned after finishing all discussions about the talisman with the Tang Family Head, Wi Seoryeon had vanished from the guesthouse.
—
The Tang Clan’s gambling hall.
Bustling!
The Tang Clan gambling hall was packed with more people than ever, all engaged in gambling their hidden weapons and poisons against one another.
Not only were the direct line members there but also the branch families, all due to various intertwined reasons.
The appearance of Jeong Cheol stirred the Blood Sect; in a situation where facilities for producing hidden weapons and poisons had to be rebuilt, the Blood Sect’s emergence only worsened things. While the Tang Clan, lacking Array Formation Teams, was not a primary target for the Blood Sect, clashes with rogue outcasts and blood persons had increased the consumption of hidden weapons.
With the conclusion of the Mosan Great War, conflicts with the Blood Sect had ended, but it didn’t mean the empty stores of hidden weapons and depleted poison pouches could easily refill, leading to those desperate to recover their losses crowding the gambling hall.
Direct line members, wanting to either hone their skills in real combat or practicing yet uncomfortable with the empty bags of hidden weapons and poisons, thronged back to a gambling hall they had naturally shunned during a long period of tension.
Clang!
The doors of the gambling hall swung open with a forceful energy!
Among the present folks, there wasn’t a single ordinary person, making everyone flinch as they glanced toward the entrance.
”Hmm. Is this the place….?”
There, the Heavenly Demon Wi Seoryeon was surveying the gambling hall.
Tang Clan members were caught off guard by the sudden arrival of the Heavenly Demon. While they knew she, along with Brain Knife Outcast Ho Cheon-an, had come to the Tang Clan, they never expected to face Wi Seoryeon in the gambling hall.
One of the Tang Clan members, hesitating, approached Wi Seoryeon.
”What brings the Heavenly Demon here?”
”I heard the experts of the Tang Clan host gambling here, so I came to see.”
The members of the Tang Clan recalled rumors that the Heavenly Demon enjoyed dice games even during banquets. They initially thought she’d come just to make acquaintance with the outcasts, but it turned out she genuinely enjoyed gambling.
Was she here just to spectate the gambling of the Tang Clan members?
”As expected from the Tang Clan. Even at a glance, there are plenty of opponents to gamble against.”
However, Wi Seoryeon’s words diverged from the expectations of the Tang Clan members.
Wi Seoryeon looked like she was ready to jump straight into the gambling game. The members glanced at each other, a mixture of confusion and apprehension passing between them.
To suddenly gamble with the Heavenly Demon? That was a heavy burden from their perspective.
No matter what, the Heavenly Demon was a treasured guest of the Tang Clan. It wouldn’t be appropriate, socially speaking, to place such a guest in the gambling den.
Should the Heavenly Demon gamble, it would be more fitting for someone to visit her in her guestroom or organize a formal event to facilitate the wager.
As they exchanged glances, they decided to first seek understanding from Wi Seoryeon.
”Umm, I’m sorry, Heavenly Demon, but our gambling hall has its rules.”
”What kind of rules?”
“The reason gambling occurs here is to determine ownership of the poisons and hidden weapons produced by the Tang Clan. Naturally, to participate, one needs to possess the Tang Clan’s poisons and hidden weapons.”
“Oh, is that what this is?”
Just as the member intended to express, ‘If you’d like to enjoy gambling, we’ll arrange a proper time later,’ Wi Seoryeon pulled out a hidden weapon box.
The members’ eyes widened.
That was an advanced hidden weapon box adorned with the Tang Clan’s insignia! A collection of the Clan’s hidden weapon production techniques that shouldn’t be falling into anyone else’s hands — how did it end up in her possession?!
”Where did you get that?”
”A gamble was suggested, so Tang So-yeol handed this over to me.”
What the hell.
Unable to soliloquize their complaints in front of the Heavenly Demon, they cursed Tang So-yeol internally. He just gave it to her? Is he in his right mind?
The moment those thoughts crossed their minds, they quickly recalled that Tang So-yeol was never sanely grounded. They slapped their foreheads in exasperation.
At this rate, they had no choice but to gamble with Wi Seoryeon to recover the Tang Clan’s hidden weapons.
”So, who will be my opponent?”
With Wi Seoryeon confidently shaking the hidden weapon box, they had no option but to choose someone to pit against her.
—
”Are you my opponent?”
”…I’m Tang Geun. I’m the same age as Tang So-yeol.”
Tang Geun, who had been thrust into the difficult position of being Wi Seoryeon’s gambling opponent due to Tang So-yeol’s mistake, sat down at the gambling table.
“Since it’s a match over the Tang Clan’s hidden weapons, I won’t treat this lightly. Be prepared.”
Tang Geun’s spirited words brought a smile to Wi Seoryeon’s face.
“Heh heh heh! That’s what I hoped for! Let’s have a proper bout!”
The game began with the dice.
”Then.”
With the cue for commencement, Tang Geun’s arm moved.
His movements were swift and precise, skillfully mixing the cups. Even as he moved at an astonishing speed, the sound of the dice clashing didn’t escape from the cups, catching Wi Seoryeon in awe as she followed the movement of the cups.
Indeed, the Tang Clan!
Their basic skills in manipulating the cups were exceptional.
While Wi Seoryeon admired Tang Geun’s skill, Tang Geun, in turn, measured Wi Seoryeon’s reactions. To be more precise, he observed the minuscule movements of her eyes.
‘Lacking practical experience, I see.’
Tang Geun watched Wi Seoryeon’s gaze tracking the movement of the dice, reaching that conclusion.
She was surely a capable gambler.
Even while employing techniques to mix the cups, Wi Seoryeon’s focus remained locked on the cup containing the dice.
But to Tang Geun, that very persistence in following still felt like a sign of inexperience.
If she understood the techniques and knew which cup the dice rested in, she wouldn’t show it so plainly.
Clank!
‘I need to finish this quickly.’
Tang Geun accelerated the speed of his cup movements. Dragged into the game because he was born in the same year as Tang Do-yeon, he had no intention of letting this match drag on.
Snap!
Seizing the moment when Wi Seoryeon drifted off the right track, Tang Geun deftly placed his cup down.
“Hmm. It’s the left.”
He silently lifted the right cup. From within, Wi Seoryeon nodded and flashed one of her fifty bets.
“Now it’s my turn.”
With the roles switched, Wi Seoryeon grasped a cup. The Tang Clan members collectively swallowed nervously as they watched.
With Tang Geun’s cup mixing skills confirmed to be superior, they thought, what would Wi Seoryeon’s abilities be like?
Clink, clink, clink!
With eyes wide open, the Tang clan watched intently as the cups filled with the sound of dice rattling. Initially, they could feel tension brewing, but eventually, that tension began to dissipate.
Clink, clink, clink!!
Wi Seoryeon’s cup movements hadn’t been bad for a novice gambler, but it certainly couldn’t deceive Tang Geun’s keen eyesight.
“It’s in the center.”
“That’s right.”
One bet was surrendered to Tang Geun, and as they watched, the Tang Clan began to feel somewhat reassured.
Right, no matter how troublesome Tang So-yeol was, he wouldn’t just carelessly pass over the Tang Clan’s hidden weapons! Clearly, he must have presumed they could regain everything in the gambling hall!
As the back and forth continued, the lines became clearer, and members of the Tang Clan started to slip away from the table.
Although it was an important matter involving the hidden weapons, it felt awkward to simply watch the guest, Wi Seoryeon, lose.
And so, as they typically did, the members engaged in decent rounds of gambling.
However, as time passed, the question emerged—wasn’t it about time the outcome was obvious?
Stealing a glance at the piles of bets, Wi Seoryeon had roughly ten bets left. Observing the trend, the Tang members nodded and returned to their own tables.
But after a decent amount of time had passed—why was Wi Seoryeon still seated and not rising?
The Tang members sneaked another peek at the match and gasped.
“It’s the left.”
“…Correct.”
Wi Seoryeon had increased her piles to twenty! The members, still astonished by the sudden rise, turned to Tang Geun; they were taken aback to see beads of sweat rolling down his previously calm face.
As they recognized the escalating seriousness of the situation, more and more members converged to Wi Seoryeon’s table, only to be utterly shocked yet again.
Clatter! Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!
Wi Seoryeon’s cup movements transformed completely from earlier!
The quality of her technique had significantly improved, her movements became fluid and lively!
Witnessing this, a member of the Tang Clan couldn’t help but mutter.
“Growth…?”
It was utterly absurd.
In just a few short hours, how could one person achieve such growth?
“It’s the left!”
“You’re wrong.”
Yet, against Wi Seoryeon’s performance, the Tang clan member knew they couldn’t deny the legitimacy of what had just happened.
“Is this… the Heavenly Demon?”
Is this the sort of talent carried by one who bears the title of Heavenly Demon? A being who achieves in a few hours what others toil for months or even years… is this what a Heavenly Demon is like?
All who witnessed were entranced as Wi Seoryeon’s prowess flourished.
“So that’s how it is.”
Watching Wi Seoryeon enhance her skills in real-time, the crowd collectively held their breath.
“Do you think you can withstand this technique?”
Seeing the inability to contend against Wi Seoryeon, Tang Geun bowed his head in defeat.
“…I lost.”
Upon hearing Tang Geun’s acknowledgment of defeat, Wi Seoryeon squeezed her eyes shut, recalling days gone by.
She had set out to meet gamblers from all over the world to sharpen her skills and prove her worth.
Months had passed since she left the Heavenly Demon Sect, and yet instead of facing worthy opponents, she had merely attracted lesser loses–until today. Finally, she had tasted true competition.
Did she merely get a taste?
Not so!
She had improved, and importantly, claimed victory — even someone called the Heavenly Demon couldn’t help but be moved.
“That was a splendid match.”
Offering words of consolation to the downcast Tang Geun, Wi Seoryeon stuffed her prizes into her clothing, feeling her arms weighed down.
Glancing around at the Tang Clan, who viewed her with odd expressions, they were all individuals of exceptional skill. How thrilling would it be to face off with them? Her heart raced with just the thought.
Amid the urge to begin another match, Wi Seoryeon held herself back.
Having already expended significant energy in her match against Tang Geun, the prospects of diving into another gamble were slim and likely wouldn’t yield anything fruitful.
“I shall return tomorrow.”
With that, Wi Seoryeon departed, leaving a tantalizing curiosity in her wake.
And after her exit, no need to mention the Tang Clan had been cast into chaos.
