After that day, he had grown more distant from the Cult Master.
He thought that having gone through that together, they would see each other more often and grow closer, but reality was different.
That was probably the reason.
Whenever they saw each other's faces, the events of that day would come to mind.
Perhaps both he and Geom Woojin had been subconsciously trying to avoid it.
On top of that, there was a practical reason.
Afterward, Geom Woojin became busy.
He officially became the successor of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, and it was hard to see him as he was busy learning the Nine Calamities Demon Art.
Are we really going to drift apart like this?
One day, while he was having such thoughts, Geom Woojin came to see the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
The moment he saw him, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon could feel it.
That he felt the same way.
That he had wanted to see him.
Even then, Geom Woojin’s emotions were still visible on his face.
But the way they treated each other had changed.
Geom Woojin had become the Young Cult Master, and he had ascended to the position of Demon Sovereign.
"Have you been well, Young Cult Master?"
"Thanks to your concern, Demon Sovereign, I have been well."
They could no longer call each other brother.
That incident had become a turning point in their relationship.
Geom Woojin held out a box he had brought.
"What is this, Young Cult Master?"
"It is a gift for the Demon Sovereign."
When he opened the box, inside was a single pill with a bluish hue.
Surprisingly, it was a Heavenly Divine Pill.
"It is my gift to you, Demon Sovereign."
An elixir like the Heavenly Divine Pill was essential for him, having become a Demon Sovereign at a young age.
"I am fine. You should take it, Young Cult Master."
At that moment, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon saw it.
Geom Woojin's eyes as he looked at him.
It might have been a misconception, but at that time, Geom Woojin's eyes seemed to be saying this.
Brother, take it.
He remembers that day as probably the last time they looked at each other as brothers.
In the end, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon did not take the Heavenly Divine Pill.
It just felt like if he took it, his history with Geom Woojin from that day would be over.
Although it was a day he desperately wanted to forget, perhaps it was also a day he never wanted to forget.
The day he helped the Second Young Master become the Young Cult Master.
So he kept the Heavenly Divine Pill, and eventually gave it to Geom Mugeuk.
It went to Geom Mugeuk as if it were destiny.
Later, when Geom Woojin was traveling and fighting throughout the Central Plains with the Fist Demon, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon wished he could be with them.
He was only human, how could he not have such feelings?
But he did not express those feelings to Geom Woojin.
Still, his affection for the Cult Master had never changed.
And now, at this very moment.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon felt regret.
This was a regret he came to feel and realize as he developed a deep relationship with Geom Mugeuk.
He should have talked with Geom Woojin.
Just as Geom Mugeuk came to him and talked about everything from trivial matters to all sorts of things, he should have told Geom Woojin everything as well.
They should have deliberately shared the events of that day, again and again, and not buried such a large wound in their hearts.
At the very least, the two of them should have talked.
If Geom Woojin hadn't thought of it, he, as the older brother, should have guided him to do so.
If he had, his relationship with Geom Woojin would have been different.
If he had, the wound in his heart would have faded more.
Now, standing in reality once more, the two men, Geom Woojin and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, gazed at each other.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon thought that he must tell Geom Woojin about the regret he had just recalled.
He was determined not to create unspoken regrets a second time.
"Are you alright?"
"My apologies, Cult Master. I acted on my own without informing you beforehand."
"Wasn't it an unofficial situation? I was just passing by."
That was also true.
He had turned his carriage around while on his way back to the Main Sect.
"I didn't know my Master was alive."
"We never saw a body that day."
Gyo Cheon had fallen from the Celestial Cliff with his chest pierced.
They later tried to find the body, but it had been swept away by the current and could not be found.
They had thought he was dead due to the fatal wound, but here he was, alive.
Watching the two converse, Gyo Cheon's mood soured again.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon had his back completely turned to him, looking at Geom Woojin as they spoke.
He felt ignored.
His mood had been sour ever since meeting his disciple, and now he was being provoked to the very end.
He knew the man had always been like that, but the person who angered him more was Geom Woojin.
Shouldn't he have greeted him first upon seeing him? Them talking amongst themselves like that felt more dismissive than being cursed at.
In the end, he couldn't hold back and shouted again.
"Geom Woojin!"
His voice echoed thunderously.
Only then did Geom Woojin's gaze turn to Gyo Cheon.
The moment their eyes met, Gyo Cheon was engulfed in an even greater passion than when he had seen the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
In the end, his death was because of that Cult Master.
Because he had chosen the First Young Master instead of him.
But soon, his anger turned to joy.
"We finally meet!"
He had been waiting for this day.
Seeing him in person like this, Gyo Cheon's heart pounded with excitement.
He laughed alone, making strange noises.
He looked like a madman, but Geom Woojin merely wore a stoic expression, showing no reaction.
Seeing such a reaction, Gyo Cheon laughed even louder.
A thought suddenly occurred to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
'Because we couldn't properly mourn that day, the three people who couldn't move on from that day have met again.'
Yes, that's right.
Himself, the Cult Master, and his master laughing like a madman over there.
None of us properly mourned.
Not the First Young Master's death, nor our intertwined fates.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon spoke to his master.
"The Cult Master is here, so please come down now."
He was telling him not to dare look down on them.
Naturally, Gyo Cheon's eyes twitched.
The Cult Master over your master? He couldn't say those words.
He had proudly declared that he had disowned him.
Then, Geom Woojin spoke.
"It's fine."
He was going to kill him anyway.
That wasn't the reason.
Geom Woojin had another reason why it was fine.
"This journey is one of stepping down from the Grand Advisor's seat. There is no need to cling to positions."
In the past, he would have wondered, what does that mean? But now he understood at once.
That Geom Mugeuk must have said that to the Cult Master.
It was a very Geom Mugeuk-like thing to say.
Geom Woojin looked at Gyo Cheon once more and said.
"So this is what it feels like to look up."
At Geom Woojin's words, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon smiled.
Such a joke, he thought he would never hear something like that from the Cult Master in his lifetime.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon asked Gyo Cheon.
"Wasn't your plan to drag the Cult Master into this as well? Now, show us what you have prepared."
Gyo Cheon sneered mockingly.
"Just a moment ago, you were hiding like a coward behind that pathetic blade, not even daring to show your face. Now you're acting all high and mighty."
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon smiled and accepted the taunt.
"It's because the one person the Demon Sovereigns can solely rely on has arrived."
A faint smile also appeared on Geom Woojin's lips.
The Cult Master's arrival had eased the atmosphere, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon did not let his guard down.
His master surely had a hidden card up his sleeve.
But he did not send a telepathic message to the Cult Master to be careful.
The Cult Master was not a perfect person, so he could make mistakes and misjudgments.
That was why the Grand Strategist and the Demon Sovereigns were there to assist him.
But there were exceptional moments when the Cult Master became perfect.
At these times, there was no need to listen to anyone's words.
The Cult Master knew best.
It is the moment of killing and being killed.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon believed that in the midst of a battlefield, the Cult Master becomes perfect.
And the place where they stood was a battlefield.
Gyo Cheon couldn't discern Geom Woojin's skill.
Normally, he should have felt an overwhelming presence like the previous Cult Master, but Geom Woojin's aura was not easily read.
That meant only one thing.
'He's stronger than I expected.'
He had investigated the Demon Cult Master and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon extensively.
He had spent a great deal of time and money, especially to determine their level of martial arts.
But seeing them in person, they were beyond his investigation.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was stronger than he thought, and so was Geom Woojin.
"Why has everyone gotten so strong?"
He knew that the Young Cult Master had brought a new wind to the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, but he couldn't believe that was what made them strong.
Finally, Geom Woojin spoke his first words to Gyo Cheon.
"Will you step forward yourself?"
He didn't ask how he had been, nor did he make any other conversation.
Gyo Cheon's expression hardened instantly.
His first words to him were merely, are you going to fight me yourself?
"You're disrespecting me."
Gyo Cheon showed his displeasure, but Geom Woojin said no more.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon could understand the Cult Master's heart.
In the past, he had helped the First Young Master and tried to kill Geom Woojin.
And now, he had caused the annihilation of a sect, tarnishing the Main Sect's reputation.
The Cult Master must be very angry.
The only reason he hadn't killed him on the spot, given his personality, was probably because of him.
Because he was his master.
To let him resolve their unfinished grudges.
"Arrogant when you were young, and still arrogant now."
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon could see that his master's memory was distorted again.
The way the Cult Master looked at him when he was young and his gaze now were so different.
Time had devoured his master.
"Fine, I'll do as you wish."
Gyo Cheon clapped his hands.
A door opened and an old man entered.
He certainly looked old, but his body was firm and his back was straight.
A well-built, muscular body.
If one were to look only at his body, covering his face, he could easily pass for someone in his twenties or thirties.
Geom Woojin and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon did not recognize him, and for good reason.
The Black Emperor.
He wasn't a master of the previous generation.
He was a master from two generations ago in the Unorthodox Faction, a figure who had spread infamy in the martial world with his cruel nature and outstanding martial arts.
In his prime, his skills were so great that he was called the Greatest Master of the Unorthodox Faction.
He committed countless massacres and was listed among the Public Enemies of the Martial World, but they were never able to kill him.
Being well over a hundred years old, he was naturally thought to be dead, but today he appeared like this.
From the same door he had emerged from, someone else walked out.
It was a young woman with heavy makeup.
Her red lips were so captivating they could seduce anyone.
The Spirit Fox Demon Enchantress.
Despite her youthful appearance, she, like the Black Emperor, was a master from two generations ago who had lived in the same era.
If one were to describe her in a single phrase, it would be the queen of enchantresses.
For well over a hundred years, she had absorbed the inner energy of countless men, and now she had reached a point where she could be called a demon, not just an enchantress.
What set her apart from other enchantresses was the purpose of that vital energy and inner energy.
She absorbed inner energy not just to maintain her youth, but to become stronger, and the result was her standing shoulder to shoulder with the Black Emperor.
Her martial skill was so great that even the Black Emperor couldn't carelessly call her an enchantress.
Gyo Cheon said proudly.
"They are my seniors."
The two old masters showed no fear, despite knowing their opponent was the Demon Cult Master.
Of course, that didn't mean they were careless.
They stared at Geom Woojin with deep and cautious eyes.
They knew well the weight the name Heavenly Demon carried in the martial world.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon glanced at Geom Woojin.
Geom Woojin looked at the two as if observing them with an expressionless face, and he couldn't tell what the Cult Master was thinking from his expression.
'He'll probably tell them both to come at him, won't he?'
Given the Cult Master's personality, he surely would.
But while the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's thought was close to the correct answer, he didn't guess it exactly right.
Geom Woojin raised a hand toward one side.
It seemed as if no palm strike was being released.
Suddenly, a sound he had never heard before came from the wall.
Fwoooong!
Shortly after, the wall where the door the two had appeared from was located crumbled into dust and collapsed entirely.
It wasn't that it broke and shattered into fragments.
Surprisingly, the wall turned to dust right where it stood and collapsed.
A cloud of dust rose, revealing the space behind the wall.
There were people waiting there.
They were sitting in different places, like people waiting for their turn.
The sight was truly bizarre yet refreshing.
A terrifying glint emanated from within the dust cloud.
From their gazes alone, he could tell.
He could feel a presence from them that was no less than that of the Black Emperor and the Spirit Fox Demon Enchantress who had come out earlier.
He could tell just by looking at the first one to reveal himself.
Mad Heavenslayer.
It was the Mad Heavenslayer, the mad master known for killing a thousand masters, the god of slaughter, the crazy butcher of the previous generation.
The Mad Heavenslayer looked this way, revealing a cold killing intent.
And that wasn't all.
The glints of light shining from behind the Mad Heavenslayer belonged to people who were not outmatched by this madman in the slightest.
Their numbers reached over a dozen.
There were familiar faces and unfamiliar ones.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon could tell.
They were the fruits of his master's labor, gathered over several decades with a single-minded desire for revenge.
The pressure they emitted filled the hall.
Masters of the previous and the generation before that.
Gyo Cheon was looking at Geom Woojin with an expression that said, what kind of crazy stunt is this? It would have been understandable to ask at least one of the two who came out to go back inside.
Geom Woojin had summoned all of them to the battlefield.
He must have read the auras felt from behind the door.
The reason he broke down the wall was obvious.
Demonic energy began to rise from Geom Woojin's body, flickering around him like flames.
"All of you, come at me at once."