The feeling of becoming a small demon.
The old hero known as the Great Demon has died.
The one who was the protector of the Yilyang County, the leader of the Hao Sect, the liberator of the Black Line, the master of the Black Cat, a regular at the Chunyang Restaurant, and the patient of the Moyong family has passed away.
At this point, I had truly developed at an astonishing pace.
I thought I was doing well.
It was not easy for me to refrain from killing the disciples.
After all, dragging the hair of those who had already lost their spirit in their previous lives and not beating them to death was no small feat.
If my actions had continued in this manner, I would soon regain the title of the Great Demon.
That could not happen.
I planned to delay it as much as possible.
After all, even the previous Great Demon, Kwangseung, had not yet arrived in the Central Plains.
I did not want to be dragged to Zhejiang to watch fish before I had stabilized the area around Yilyang County in my own way.
Despite having grown strong enough to kill the Great Demon, my evaluation of Kwangseung could not change.
I knew better than anyone how strong this man was.
Suddenly, I looked at Baek-in, Cheong-jin, and Baek-yu, who were waiting without fleeing.
The three seemed to be thinking that they should prepare the body of the Great Demon for burial.
However, as I continued to gaze at the Great Demon, they were stuck in a situation where they could neither move nor act.
I spoke to the three of them.
"You all take care of the body."
Only then did the three step away from the wall and approach me.
Since they had already witnessed my lightness skill, they had no intention of fleeing.
"Since it is the master's last wish, take off your masks."
The resigned Baek-in nodded and removed his mask, and Cheong-jin and Baek-yu followed suit, revealing their faces.
I remembered the faces of the three and spoke to General Byeok.
"General Byeok, if the disciples go against the Great Demon's last wish, spread the word about their appearances far and wide. Can you do that?" General Byeok looked at the three and nodded.
"It is not a difficult task."
I organized the chaotic internal situation.
"The Black Cat should tidy up the interior and remove the corpses lying in the streets. And the Twelve Divine Disciples should have a brief conversation with me. The bodies can be taken away after our discussion, and General Byeok, Hong-shin, and Geum-hae should also come in."
I sat at the head seat and looked at the disciples sitting across from me.
"Now I am the Great Master."
"……."
"If I have taught you anything, I will play the role of the master. As you can see, I am younger than you, so it is only fitting that I be the Great Master. Is there anyone who opposes this?" Perhaps because the Great Demon had died, the atmosphere was tense.
Baek-in, who looked to be around twenty-seven, spoke up alone.
"Since it was the master's last wish, I will follow."
At this moment, Hong-shin and Geum-hae, who had shared meals and conversations with me, understood me better than the others.
In other words, what I was saying resonated with Hong-shin and Geum-hae, while the other disciples likely perceived it as the ramblings of a madman.
But that was fine.
This was how things were meant to be, and it takes time for people to understand one another.
The important thing was that the Great Demon was dead, and these fellows could now take off their masks.
"I will tell you what the disciples need to do. If I have to repeat myself, I will request a life-and-death duel, so listen carefully."
Hong-shin responded boldly.
"Yes, Great Master."
Indeed, the depth of understanding was different from those who had shared pig bones with me.
Geum-hae seemed afraid of me and perhaps even of Baek-in, as he kept his mouth shut.
"Did Baek-in respect the Great Demon?"
"Rather than respect, there was a mix of love and hate."
"What part was love rather than hate?"
Baek-in replied.
"It was that other black sects could not look down on the Southern Flower. Even if there were larger forces around us, the master had a fierce side. The mask had that meaning as well. He could raise disciples and send them as assassins, so do not touch me. Thus, despite many shortcomings, the Southern Flower did not allow other black sects to expand."
"To summarize, even if his private life was a mess, he did well as the leader of the black sect. Is that what you mean?"
Baek-in nodded.
As I conversed with the disciples, I was assessing their personalities.
Baek-in remained calm throughout, while Cheong-jin seemed to be a man of few words.
Baek-yu appeared to be the clever type, but his skills were lacking compared to Baek-in and Cheong-jin.
The atmosphere was too rigid due to long-standing hierarchy struggles.
Even Hong-shin, who usually played around, preferred silence in this setting.
Feeling the stiff atmosphere, I spoke casually.
"Disciples, now that the Great Demon is dead, let’s move on cheerfully."
Naturally, the expressions of the disciples were sour at my suggestion to be cheerful after killing the master.
But I was not one to read the room, so I spoke again in a serious tone.
"Let’s move on cheerfully."
"Yes."
"Understood."
"I don’t know how strong each of you is or how many subordinates you have. After we bury the Great Demon, let’s sort out all the foolishness. The black sect cannot suddenly become the white sect. However, I will help you shed the stigma of being a black sect in public."
Geum-hae, who had been quiet, responded.
"Is there a way to do that?"
"Just join the Hao Sect. I am neither a white sect nor a black sect. I was not in the past, and I do not intend to be in the future. I am simply the Hao Sect. A sect formed by those who work together. A secretive force, a shabby force, a complicated force, a disorganized organization. All the forces managed by the Divine Disciples should come under my command. Since it is a sect for working people, what should we start with?"
No one immediately responded.
There were so many things that they probably did not know where to begin.
In truth, I did not know either.
I had no choice but to leave it to them.
"You can come and report whenever you want. You can also come to me when problems arise. For the time being, I plan to leave things as they are, so manage it yourselves. However, sort out the things the black sect was doing. When the Black Cat was occupied, I didn’t even bring my direct subordinates."
For example, my direct subordinate was Cha Seong-tae.
I pondered for a moment but felt there were no others, so I held my tongue.
"Anyway, if there is something you dislike, I plan to lead all the forces of the Hao Sect to destroy it and then hand over all the business to your local protector. If you give me a chance to live, I hope you won’t turn me into an enemy again."
The calm Baek-in responded alone.
"I will sort it out."
Not pleased with the answer, I nodded casually and added a threat.
"It is pointless to tell grown men what to do. Now that you have taken off your masks, you should change on your own. I am not a good person. I am not someone with great patience. To spare someone, I must endure dozens of times more than I did when I spared you three."
Cheong-jin replied.
"If we discard what we did while wearing the masks, it should be easy."
"Exactly. Is that such a difficult thing?"
This time, Baek-yu responded.
"It is not without difficulties."
"Speak. What part is difficult?"
"There are enemies and allies for the master. The Old Dragon Lord is especially a close friend. He often received money from the master and sometimes received women as well. The Old Dragon Lord will likely be the most upset."
"Anything else?"
"There is the Cloud and Rain Society. They were the ones who had the worst relationship with the master. Their overall power was similar to ours, but the master's right arm was cut off by the leader of the Cloud and Rain Society. Now that the master has fallen, the leader will surely be pleased. There are many others who hold grudges against the master. I cannot predict how they will react."
I let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew, that’s a relief."
Hong-shin immediately asked, "Great Master, what is the relief?"
I replied in a flat tone.
"It means there are more people to kill. And surely, the leader of the Cloud and Rain Society is the same one I know, the one associated with the pleasures of men and women?"
"Yes."
I tilted my head slightly.
The pleasures of men and women refer to the joys of sexual union.
I had never heard of such an explicit and perverse sect name even in my past life.
But suddenly, something came to mind, and I asked the disciples.
"What is the leader's name?"
"Seomun Su-gyeong."
I immediately thought of his nickname.
"Is his nickname perhaps Teacher Su?"
"Yes, do you know him?"
"I’ve just heard of him."
'So that sect was the Cloud and Rain Society.' There was an incident where members of the Martial Alliance, including Teacher Su, had their heads cut off in the marketplace, leading to severe criticism of the Martial Alliance.
Later, it was revealed that there was no order from the Martial Alliance, and a member who held a personal grudge had acted alone in revenge.
I called General Byeok, who was quietly drawing the appearances of the disciples.
"General Byeok, first, track down the Old Dragon Lord."
"Understood."
"And send a letter to the Cloud and Rain Society under the name of the Black Cat."
"What should I convey?"
I had no particular thoughts, so I passed it on to General Byeok.
"Just tell them not to act foolishly and to behave themselves. Your skills in grinding ink are better than mine, so handle it as you see fit."
General Byeok nodded while holding the brush.
"So, it should contain the content of a declaration of war disguised as a letter?"
"Correct."
General Byeok shyly smiled and then began to seriously draw the appearances of the disciples again.
Baek-yu opened his mouth again.
"The Cloud and Rain Society is not to be underestimated. There is no need to provoke them first…"
"Shut up, disciple."
"Yes."
"Just because the name of the sect displeases me, I will not let it go."
Baek-yu closed his mouth with a sour expression.
I looked around at the people and said, "And if the master's arm was cut off, it would be only natural to seek revenge."
Baek-in narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at me, nodding.
"That is correct."
Perhaps because he was the oldest disciple of the Great Demon, he seemed to have some grievances against the leader of the Cloud and Rain Society.
Considering the disciples' concerns, General Byeok cleverly replied, "Can we send the letter after things have stabilized a bit? For now, I will focus on tracking down the Old Dragon Lord."
"Do that, and Baek-in, Cheong-jin, Baek-yu, you three take care of the burial. You three should correct the bad actions the master committed. If during that process, your anger does not subside and I am not satisfied, you are free to leave towards the Old Dragon Lord or the Cloud and Rain Society."
I conveyed my true feelings to the disciples, including Hong-shin and Geum-hae.
"At that time, you won’t need to treat me as your master. You three go ahead and take care of things."
The three stood up and looked at the masks placed on the table.
I also looked at the masks and said, "Leave them here. We can use them later if we end up doing something bad."
"Great Master, we will take our leave first."
"We will also take our leave."
As the three departed, Geum-hae asked, "Can we trust the Divine Disciples?"
"What does it matter whether we trust them or not? The only thing I trust is martial arts. Whether they betray me or not, if I grow stronger every day, all schemes, plots, betrayals, and rebellions will become meaningless. If the Hao Sect is to become a better force, it would be better for a single traitor to gather the dissatisfied and oppose me. Let’s go with the flow. Cheerfully…"
Hong-shin nodded.
"Let’s go cheerfully."
Only then did I remember something for Hong-shin to do.
"Hong-sister, go to the One Day Inn and settle the tab. General Byeok will take care of the money. And there is a house with an old lady weaving in front of it; politely ask her and bring back the Black Cat mask from the room used by women. It should be under the drawer or beneath the bed. Also, give her some pocket money."
"Understood."
I looked at Geum-hae.
"Geum disciple, you no longer need to pay the tribute to the Great Demon."
"That is correct."
Geum-hae swallowed once and then said something he didn’t mean.
"Can I now pay it to the Great Master?"
"There is no need for that."
"Then?"
"The money you used to pay the Great Demon should all be used for your own growth. If you were strong enough, you wouldn’t have had to hand over the money your family worked hard to earn. Baek-in is much stronger than you. Train a bit."
Geum-hae replied, "Thank you."
"Don’t mention it. Your inner strength…"
As soon as I started to speak, I regretted it.
"Ah, I’m a bit sorry."
"Yes."
"I feel sorry, but there’s no way to return it. The martial arts I learned strangely allow me to take but not to give. That’s just how it is. It’s not like I didn’t die like the Great Demon. Accept it cheerfully."
After saying that, I felt like I had become a small demon.