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Chapter 243

[Path of the Ultimate (1): The Birth of a New Heavenly Demon]

- Requirement: Master the Heavenly Demon Divine Art

- Reward: ??

- Description: Assist the Heavenly Demon Dokgo Jun in supporting the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.

The ultimate path had not yet reached its conclusion.

“This could be an opportunity to learn additional martial arts techniques.”

Otherwise, the quest wouldn’t continue to appear.

Jeong-hoon accepted the quest.

"Absolutely not! It’s dangerous. Didn’t you say you came from another dimension? Then you should return to save your world."

"No, I can’t turn a blind eye to my master’s world."

"Master?"

"Yes. Since you passed on the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to me, aren’t you my master?"

"...If you’re going to call me that, then address me as the Cult Leader. I may not look it, but I am the head of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon."

"Apologies, but I didn’t come here to join the cult."

Jeong-hoon grinned.

At his smile, Dokgo Jun burst into laughter.

"Fair enough. Do as you wish."

"Yes, Master. Then, let’s depart."

"Alright."

Dokgo Jun’s period of secluded training had come to an end.

***

The cultists were utterly exhausted.

The number of the dead was beyond counting.

Yet, what kept them standing was their unwavering faith in their leader—the belief that they had to protect the cult in the leader’s absence.

"Let’s hold strong!"

"Both the elders and the young cult leader are on the frontlines right now! We have to defend the cult ourselves!"

The situation was dire, with fiends swarming so intensely that even the young cult leader and the elders had gone to the frontlines to seal the gates.

Still, there was a glimmer of hope—the number of fiends had noticeably decreased.

"The fiends are retreating! The young cult leader must be successfully sealing the gates!"

The cultists’ eyes sparkled with hope.

And then, at that moment.

The fiends advancing toward the Cult of the Heavenly Demon began to collapse one by one.

"Argh!"

"Cursed human!"

The fiends’ howls of pain puzzled the cultists.

"What’s happening?"

"Someone is helping us!"

"Let’s move!"

As the cultists rallied with newfound confidence, a familiar figure slowly emerged.

With a simple wave of his hand, the fiends were swept away.

"It’s the Cult Leader!"

"The Cult Leader has returned!"

The Heavenly Demon Dokgo Jun had returned.

Recognizing him, the cultists erupted in cheers.

"Human!"

"Kill that human!"

The fiends shifted their focus to Dokgo Jun and charged at him.

However, they didn’t even get close before meeting their demise.

That was because Dokgo Jun wasn’t the only one who had returned to the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.

“Huh? That guy...?”

Suk Cheol-woon, one of the ordinary cultists, immediately recognized him.

It was the same man who had joined the cult a few days ago, albeit late. Not long after, he had disappeared, prompting Suk Cheol-woon to plan on scolding him harshly if he ever showed up again.

Yet, here he was, fighting alongside the cult leader to subdue the fiends.

What’s more, his movements were on a completely different level than before—so fast and precise that Suk Cheol-woon’s eyes couldn’t keep up.

“I knew I had an eye for talent.”

Dokgo Jun offered an approving remark, clearly satisfied.

“Don’t let your guard down. You’ll end up paying for it,” came the calm retort from the ordinary cultist—no, from Jeong-hoon, who responded with a faint smile.

Dokgo Jun frowned.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Do you think a Heavenly Demon like me could be defeated so easily?”

“You nearly fell to that thing, didn’t you?”

The Transcendent Fiend—Bulang.

Dokgo Jun’s face flushed red with embarrassment.

“Ahem! That one doesn’t count. Besides, you couldn’t defeat him either.”

“Not defeating him is different from being caught off guard.”

“I wasn’t caught off guard either!”

“Sure, sure. Then why don’t you focus on taking care of these fiends? I’ll head into the dungeon and seal it.”

“You think you can handle it?”

“Yes.”

Jeong-hoon possessed the ability to permanently eliminate dungeons.

[Transcendent Human Lv. 2]

- Type: Unique Evolution Title

- Grade: Celestial

- Details:

- Automatically channels the mana of nature and recovers magical power over time.

- Can permanently destroy dungeons (except for high-grade ones).

- Partially resists the influence of other transcendents.

This title was acquired when he ascended to the celestial realm.

“Alright. I’ll leave it to you, then.”

“Understood.”

Leaving the remaining fiends to Dokgo Jun, Jeong-hoon headed toward the nearest dungeon.

***

Left alone, Dokgo Jun continued eliminating the fiends and eventually regrouped with the ordinary cultists.

“Cult Leader!”

“We greet the Cult Leader!”

The cultists, overcome with emotion, welcomed Dokgo Jun with expressions of pure joy.

With a face full of guilt, Dokgo Jun apologized to them.

“Sorry for being late.”

“No, not at all! We never doubted that you would return, Cult Leader!”

Tears streaming down his face, Suk Cheol-woon shouted with conviction. The other cultists nodded furiously in agreement, as if echoing his sentiments.

"Very well. While my disciple seals the gate, I'll handle the fiends. All of you, stand back."

"Y-Your disciple? What about the Young Cult Leader?"

"The one to succeed me as the next Cult Leader will be him. That has nothing to do with being my disciple."

"I see... Is that so...?"

Suk Cheol-woon was utterly confused. This was not the kind of information someone as lowly as a regular cultist should be hearing.

"Where are the others? Why are only you lot here?"

A look of curiosity flashed across Dokgo Jun’s face.

"The Young Cult Leader and the elders have gone to seal the gates. That's why we’ve been left to defend the cult!"

"No, that’s not what I meant. Where is the Demon Sword Unit?"

Before Dokgo Jun entered his seclusion for training, it was the Demon Sword Unit that safeguarded the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Comprised of exceptionally talented individuals among the cultists, they were distinguished by their uniforms and swords—symbols of their elite status.

But these people wore no such attire or carried no such weapons, marking them as ordinary cultists.

"The Demon Sword Unit… was annihilated years ago."

"Annihilated?"

"Yes. They attempted to forcibly seal a gate, and... they perished in the process."

"And what happened to that gate?"

"They somehow managed to seal it. However, the Demon Sword Unit—including its captain—and even Elder Mok Jin-woon lost their lives in the attempt."

"This is insane..."

That such a tragedy had occurred was beyond belief.

Holding his head, which began to ache at the revelation, Dokgo Jun gestured with his hand.

In an instant, the head of a fiend creeping toward him burst apart.

"Gasp!"

The ordinary cultists, who had failed to notice the fiend's presence, flinched in shock, their bodies trembling.

"I'll ask for the full details later," Dokgo Jun said, dismissing the matter for now. Dealing with the fiends took precedence.

***

[Quest in Progress]

[The dungeon is changing.]

Upon entering the dungeon, a message appeared before Jeong-hoon.

Dungeon changing?

Tilting his head in confusion, his vision suddenly blacked out, and a different landscape unfolded.

"Human!"

"There's a human here!"

Before Jeong-hoon could survey his surroundings, he found himself surrounded by monsters.

[Lv.370 Blue Giants Corrupted by Dark Energy]

These were massive humanoid monsters, their bodies marred with black splotches from the corruption of dark energy.

"Level 370? These aren’t even worth mentioning."

Jeong-hoon smirked at the giants.

Though he hadn’t completed his fifth class advancement yet, his level had long surpassed 400.

Even though the number of level 370 giants seemed endless, Jeong-hoon was confident he could handle them.

True Heavenly Demon Lord's Steps

Jeong-hoon emanated the ultimate movement technique of the Heavenly Demon—the Heavenly Demon Lord's Steps.

Jeong-hoon advanced a step and swung his fist toward the giant in front of him.

Until his punch struck the giant's weak spot—the groin—the other giants' eyes remained locked on the place where Jeong-hoon had been standing.

Thud!

[True Heavenly Demon Fist Technique – First Form]

"Urgh!"

The giant, struck in its vital point, widened its eyes in agony and collapsed to its knees. The pain was so intense that it couldn’t even muster a proper scream, its body trembling violently instead.

"Hup!"

Jeong-hoon followed up with a swift punch, smashing into the giant’s throat with brutal force.

Crunch—

The giant’s neck snapped as blood spurted from its nose and mouth. It collapsed lifelessly.

"Human! Dangerous!"

"A dangerous one!"

Only then did the other giants realize the threat Jeong-hoon posed.

"A bit slow on the uptake for a bunch of level 370s, don’t you think?"

Jeong-hoon smirked as he unsheathed Leviathan, his weapon of choice. The previous attack had revealed their weakness—striking critical points like the groin was devastatingly effective.

Instead of prolonging the battle with hand-to-hand combat, switching to swordsmanship would expedite their defeat.

He decided to employ the evolved version of the Heavenly Demon Sword Technique, the Heavenly Demon Annihilation Sword.

[Heavenly Demon Annihilation Sword]

-Type: Active

-Level: 1

-Grade: Celestial

-Description: Wields sword strikes capable of annihilating everything.

- First Form: Heavenly Demon’s Initial Strike

- Second Form: Heavenly Demon’s Devouring Strike

- Third Form: Heavenly Demon’s Annihilation Strike

- Unique Passive: Destruction

[First Form: Heavenly Demon’s Initial Strike]

- Type: Active

- Description: Delivers 11 strikes per second, dealing 200% damage per strike, and marks the target with the Brand of the Heavenly Demon.

- The brand lasts for 60 seconds. Once it disappears, it cannot be reapplied for 180 seconds.

The Brand of the Heavenly Demon was similar to its predecessor but added extra damage upon marking a target.

[Second Form: Heavenly Demon’s Devouring Strike]

- Type: Active

- Description: Unleashes four sword strikes, each dealing 180% damage, and applies the Second Form Brand.

- Targets marked with the First Form Brand receive 420% damage.

- The brand lasts for 60 seconds. Once it disappears, it cannot be reapplied for 180 seconds.

Look at that damage.

The Second Form delivers a staggering 420% damage to marked targets.

Combining the First Form and the Second Form, most monsters would be annihilated in an instant. The sheer destructive force was unparalleled.

"Let’s see how you handle this," Jeong-hoon muttered with a confident grin as he prepared to unleash the technique.

[First Form: Heavenly Demon’s Initial Strike activated.]

As Jeong-hoon unleashed the First Form, his blade danced through the air, cutting down the towering giants with ruthless efficiency.

"Argh!"

"Graahk!"

With each swing, severed limbs scattered across the ground. Giants screamed in pain, unable to withstand the precise and devastating strikes.

[Second Form: Heavenly Demon’s Devouring Strike activated.]

Jeong-hoon seamlessly transitioned into the Second Form, carving through the branded giants and finishing them with a single, final blow.

The combination of the True Heavenly Demon Step and the Heavenly Demon Annihilation Sword rendered the giants utterly helpless.

***

It took only 30 minutes.

That was all Jeong-hoon needed to slaughter every giant on the field.

“Now, only the boss remains,” he muttered, scanning his surroundings.

The once-thrumming energy of monsters had completely dissipated. The dungeon had gone silent, leaving only the faint echo of his footsteps as he began his search.

If he could defeat the boss, the dungeon would collapse permanently.

“Where could the boss be?”

Jeong-hoon wandered through the battlefield, looking for signs of a portal that would lead to the boss’s lair.

Yet, no portal appeared.

‘Strange. I don’t sense anything.’

Portals typically radiated magic, an unmistakable presence that Jeong-hoon’s senses could easily detect. But here, there was nothing.

‘So, this isn’t the type of dungeon where you defeat a boss.’

Such dungeons weren’t unheard of. Jeong-hoon had encountered them before in his previous life. In these, defeating all the monsters wasn’t enough to clear the dungeon.

Instead, the key to clearing it lay elsewhere.

“Items. I need to find an item,” Jeong-hoon declared, shifting his focus.

[Item? Why an item all of a sudden?]

Mukho, his spectral companion, chimed in, his voice laced with curiosity.

“That item is the key to clearing this dungeon.”

[A key?]

“Exactly. Think of it as a trap.”

Jeong-hoon explained. Activating the item would trigger a hidden mechanism, revealing another layer to the dungeon—a dual-layer dungeon.

Until the key was activated, the dungeon wouldn’t be considered cleared, no matter how many monsters were defeated.

[What kind of item are we looking for?]

“We’ll have to touch everything to find it.”

The item was undetectable by normal means. Camouflaged to blend seamlessly with its environment, its discovery relied solely on painstaking manual search.

[You’re seriously going to search like that?]

“Yeah. If I keep moving, I’ll find it eventually.”

With determination, Jeong-hoon began his search, inspecting rocks, trees, and grass with his hands.

Time passed slowly.

Thud.

Finally, Jeong-hoon felt a faint vibration beneath a pile of stones he had touched.

“Got it.”

A subtle smile formed on Jeong-hoon’s face as he watched the ground beneath him begin to tremble.

The key to the dungeon had been found.