Chapter 31: Ascension of the Abyssal Demon
The world trembled beneath the weight of fate.
The war had begun.
The Unorthodox Sects had crushed the Orthodox forces in their first confrontation, sending them retreating with their pride in tatters. But victory was never absolute. The Orthodox Sects, humiliated beyond measure, would never allow the Heavenly Demon Cult and its allies to gain the upper hand so easily.
And so, in the dark of the night, the real battle began.
A Sudden Halt – The Ambush at the Inn
The Orthodox Sects had planned meticulously. Knowing that confronting the Heavenly Demon within the stronghold of the Heavenly Demon Cult would be suicidal, they lured him away with a ruthless scheme.
A false message, delivered by a dying cultist, reached Jin Seol-Hwan—a report that an elite assassination unit had captured Cho Ha-Jin and other key figures of the cult. The message claimed they were being transported to an execution site deep within the Moonlit Forest.
"Those bastards dare to touch my people?"
Furious, the Heavenly Demon left the cult's fortress alone, moving at lightning speed through the wilderness, determined to slaughter those responsible.
But as soon as he entered the darkened depths of the forest, the trap was sprung.
The Grandmasters of Ironclad and the Orthodox Sects—hidden in the shadows—struck with terrifying force, turning the forest into a battleground of destruction.
Lucian—Nam Gong-Wook, now feared as the Abyssal Sovereign—had sensed something wrong.
He had left the main encampment, his instincts urging him forward. A storm brewed in the distance, and his Abyssal Sovereign Sword hummed in response to the chaos unfolding ahead.
But as he passed through a secluded inn at the mountain's base, they came for him.
Seven figures emerged from the darkness. Grandmasters.
"You are going no further, Nam Gong-Wook."
Lucian's gaze flickered with irritation as he stopped, his grip tightening around his sword. The air itself grew heavy, the oppressive presence of the Orthodox Grandmasters suffocating.
The leader of the ambush, Wei Zhenhua—the Grand Elder of Wudang, stepped forward.
"You are strong, but we cannot allow you to interfere with what is happening in the deep forest."
Lucian's heart clenched.
Heavenly Demon…!
His form blurred.
BOOM!
The inn shattered in an instant as his sword clashed against the reinforced qi barrier of the Grandmasters. The surrounding mountains quaked, and the sheer pressure of his attack sent three of them flying.
The battle erupted.
Lucian's Abyssal Sovereign Sword Art unleashed torrents of devastating force, each slash splitting the earth and carving deep ravines into the mountainside.
A single swing of his blade sent shockwaves strong enough to tear apart trees by the thousands, leveling entire sections of the forest.
The sky cracked with lightning as the heavens themselves reacted to the battle.
Wei Zhenhua, despite his wisdom, could barely keep up. His Tai Chi Sword spun defensively, trying to counter Lucian's raw destructive power, but it was clear—
Lucian was on an entirely different level.
CRACK!
The earth split apart, and a massive canyon formed beneath them, swallowing the remnants of the inn whole.
"This… This isn't human!" Wei Zhenhua gasped.
Lucian vanished from sight, reappearing behind one of the weaker Grandmasters.
"Too slow."
His sword swung.
SLASH!
The Grandmaster's body was cleaved in half.
Blood sprayed into the air, and the remaining Orthodox warriors hesitated.
"Do not falter! We must stop him at all costs!"
They unleashed their strongest techniques—a hurricane of divine energy, thousands of sword beams, Buddhist incantations strong enough to crush mountains.
But Lucian cut through them all.
His Abyssal Sovereign Sword burned with an unnatural black light, absorbing their attacks.
Then—he unleashed it all at once.
BOOOOOM!
A pillar of abyssal energy erupted skyward, piercing the clouds.
Lightning rained down, igniting the forest. Mountains crumbled, entire peaks shattered into dust.
And then, silence.
Only Lucian remained standing.
The Grandmasters were dead.
But he had no time to waste.
The battle in the deep forest was still raging.
He leapt forward, vanishing into the shadows—toward the Heavenly Demon.
The Betrayal in the Deep Forest
The scent of blood thickened as Lucian arrived at the battlefield.
And then—he froze.
He was too late.
The scene before him was nothing short of apocalyptic.
The once-mighty forest had been reduced to ruins, massive craters dotting the land, burning trees collapsing in waves of destruction.
And at the center of it all, Jin Seol-Hwan stood—barely.
His once-majestic form, feared by all of Murim, was now covered in wounds.
His left arm was missing, his breath ragged, his qi flickering like a dying flame.
Surrounding him were five Grandmasters, led by Baek Jin-Hwan—the Iron Tyrant of Wolseong.
"Your reign ends tonight, Heavenly Demon."
Lucian's rage boiled over.
The air around him distorted, and an unnatural pressure weighed down upon the battlefield.
Even the Grandmasters hesitated, sensing the monstrous power radiating from him.
Lucian descended like a demon from the abyss, landing beside Jin Seol-Hwan.
"I told you, old man. You should have waited for me."
Jin Seol-Hwan chuckled weakly.
"Took you long enough, brat."
Lucian lifted his sword, his gaze locking onto the Orthodox Grandmasters.
"Who dies first?"
The Abyssal Sovereign Awakens
The heavens roared as Lucian moved.
His first strike split the ground apart, sending shockwaves hundreds of meters outward, obliterating everything in its path.
Baek Jin-Hwan barely blocked in time, his iron-clad arms shattering from the sheer force.
But the others did not survive.
The Grandmaster of Mount Hua was erased in an instant.
Lucian's Abyssal Sovereign Sword Art reached its full potential, his attacks now strong enough to carve mountains in half with a single swing.
The very fabric of reality trembled as his swordsmanship surpassed human limits.
"This… This is not martial arts!"
Lightning struck the battlefield, summoned by Lucian's raw power. His presence devoured the light, turning the world into a battlefield of pure chaos.
Baek Jin-Hwan and the remaining Grandmasters threw everything they had at him.
Divine arts. Supreme techniques. The combined might of centuries of martial mastery.
Lucian crushed them all.
The last thing Baek Jin-Hwan saw was Lucian's blade, black as the abyss, descending upon him like judgment itself.
SLASH!
The Iron Tyrant of Wolseong was no more.
The New Heavenly Demon
Lucian turned to Jin Seol-Hwan, who was barely clinging to life.
"I will take you back."
With his last breath, the Heavenly Demon smiled.
"You've grown strong, Nam Gong-Wook."
"Too strong."
Lucian lifted him onto his back and vanished into the shadows.
Heavenly Demon Cult – The Final Order
Jin Seol-Hwan lay in the grand hall of the Heavenly Demon Cult, surrounded by his most loyal warriors.
Even in his weakened state, his presence was undeniable.
With his final breath, he looked at Lucian.
"You… were always meant to inherit my will."
The Abyssal Sovereign Spear glowed faintly beside him.
"Take it."
Lucian grasped the spear.
"From this day forth… the cult is yours."
"Rule it as the new Heavenly Demon."
And with that—Jin Seol-Hwan, the mightiest warrior of his era, closed his eyes for the last time.
Silence fell over the cult.
Then—
"ALL HAIL THE NEW HEAVENLY DEMON!"
The war was not over.
It had just begun.
Lucian stood atop the grand steps of the temple, looking toward the horizon.
The world would now know the wrath of the Abyssal Demon