Chapter 349

Chapter 349
## Chapter 349

Demon King of Ganghwange (1)

Xinjiang Province, Tian Shan Mountains, an isolated territory of Ganghwange.

“We offer our reverence to the magnificent Demon King, who has arrived upon this realm.”

““We offer our reverence to the Demon King!””

An innumerable multitude bent their knees simultaneously inside a vast, grand sanctuary, their voices blending into a booming reverberation.

Their faces were directed downward toward a personage resting upon an elaborate throne situated on an elevated dais.

“Hmm.”

Hans, the newly anointed Demon King, indifferently rested his jaw upon his fist, his elbow leaning against the support of his throne, his eyes scanning the prostrate assembly with a demeanor of haughty detachment.

A chilly grin hovered on his mature countenance, and eerie blazes burned within his unblinking eyes.

The sanctuary was immense, expansive enough to hold hundreds of individuals for an opulent gathering, its lofty rooftop vanishing into the darkness aloft.

The vision of the massive gathering humbling themselves before his presence was an extraordinary sight.

And to be positioned on an elevated dais, gazing down at the entire assembly, feeling their terror and awe wash over him…

‘This is… intoxicating.’

…It brought immense gratification.

In the end, Hans was a manifestation of dark sentiments, an emblem of shadow and ruin.

Their physical forms shuddered and recoiled instinctively as his stare, brimming with an atypical, disturbing radiance, passed across them.

Despite the rigorous entry conditions for this sanctuary, the ‘Hall of the Demon God’, nearly a hundred individuals had assembled here.

And that remained the count even after the recent purge, a sweeping elimination of their numbers. Had it not occurred, there would have been hundreds more present.

‘The thinning of the ranks is done. A few were unyielding, which caused some delay… but it posed no true obstacle. Utilizing them as a warning to others was the correct path.’

To thoroughly assimilate a domain as immense as the Heavenly Demon Cult, the compliance of its standing leadership was mandatory.

Yet it proved difficult for them to welcome an unfamiliar figure as their sovereign ruler, regardless of the immense strength he possessed.

Inevitably, what ensued was a mixture of compulsion, terror, and… executions.

He had meticulously picked out those who possessed utility, discarding those who were utterly unredeemable.

And this was the outcome.

“Direct us, your Majesty!”

He had…

…triumphantly dominated and consumed the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Hans gazed down at the bowing figures and opened his mouth deliberately.

“Where is the Heavenly Riding Demon? Have you located his whereabouts?”

Yalu Huan, the Heavenly Riding Demon, the Cult’s Tactician, the highest-ranking authority residing away from the center, and the director of all external campaigns.

The Second-in-Command of the Heavenly Communication Hall, the Cult’s espionage department, responded to his inquiry.

“…I beg your forgiveness, your Majesty. It appears the former Tactician perceived the transition in rule. Every link of communication with him has been severed, and we are losing contact with the remaining squads stationed across separate regions. We are experiencing complications isolating his position.”

He dipped his head lower, his tone dripping with humiliation.

Hans scrutinized him unblinkingly, evaluating whether he was fabricating a falsehood or withholding details.

‘…Ugh, this… crushing weight… Not even the previous Cult Leader possessed such suffocating malice… ’

The Second-in-Command, dripping with chilly perspiration, squeezed his eyes shut, utterly mastered by the Demon King’s pressure.

He harbored no desire to oppose him.

He had watched firsthand the fate that befell his prior chief, the Leader of the Heavenly Communication Hall, who had feigned compliance while privately orchestrating a plot against their fresh ruler.

‘I do not dread the end of my life. But… it is not simply that!’

Opposition would not merely terminate in mortality.

It would mean a ceaseless span of agony and hopelessness, a state after death stripped of tranquility and slumber.

The savage dictator would not release them, whether they breathed or lay dead.

Mortality offered no salvation.

“Hmm, very well. I shall display mercy, keeping in mind the recent… occurrence.”

“Oh, my gratitude, your Ma…!”

“However, this remains your solitary reprieve. Swiftly mend the chaos and tie the threads of communication back to the external sectors. Should you fail me once more— I shall have to re-evaluate your worth.”

“…According to your decree!”

The Second-in-Command shuddered at the freezing menace and pressed himself to the ground once more, his brow touching the floorboards.

He possessed no luxury for self-commiseration.

If he proved unable to demonstrate his value, he would be converted into a asset, a raw component for his ruler’s dark artistry.

He could voice no grievances regarding the shattered state of the Heavenly Communication Hall following the structural shift. The dictator would remain indifferent.

He was required to endure, through whatever path available.

“………”

“………”

A dense quietness pervaded the sanctuary throughout their dialogue.

Close to a hundred individuals were grouped within the space, yet not a solitary murmur could be detected, not a single inhalation.

“Now then…”

Hans proceeded with his evaluation of their circumstances, issuing decrees and distributing duties, the oppressive weight in the atmosphere turning thick enough to feel tangible.

The climate was strained, though it was by design.

He had gathered every official to reinforce his dominion and signify the penalties of insubordination.

‘Now, for the final group.’

His eyes traveled toward the remaining cluster.

The ones he had anticipated encountering the most.

The experimental branch, the scholars of the Palace of Enlightenment, tasked with exploring, breaking down, and perfecting all varieties of incantations and sorcery, separate from martial forms.

—

The Palace of Enlightenment.

The experimental and progression branch of the Heavenly Demon Cult, tasked with exploring, breaking down, and perfecting all varieties of incantations and sorcery, separate from martial forms.

Even though physical martial arts reigned as the premier manifestation of strength in this realm, they could not disregard alternative pathways.

Unlike martial arts, which remained relatively direct, sorcery possessed the capacity to be immensely perilous and volatile if left unmastered.

And the Heavenly Demon Cult was renowned for its command over dark and forbidden sorcery, methods that violated human righteousness and principles.

If the Zhuge Clan and the Maoshan Sect represented the twin pillars of orthodox sorcery within the righteous Murim, then the Heavenly Demon Cult and the Blood Cult stood as their dark mirrors in the shadows.

‘And now, even the Blood Cult has been integrated. Their sovereign, the Blood Demon, was bested and put to death by the Heavenly Demon… ’

It served as evidence of the Demonic Cult’s preparations during their era of seclusion following the clash at the grand palace.

They had been forcefully spreading their dominion and grasp, despite the obstructions of the Golden Island Sect. Had Hans not stepped in and dispatched the Heavenly Demon, the entirety of the Murim domain would have fallen beneath their tyranny.

“Greetings, your Majesty! We are deeply graced by your presence at the Palace of Enlightenment, the wellspring of intellect!”

The elderly individual who welcomed him with fervor was the former Chief Elder of the Blood Cult and the current director of the Palace of Enlightenment.

He was the secondary authority of the Blood Cult, who had guided his followers to swear fealty to the Demonic Cult after the demise of the Blood Demon. He was likewise a madman who had personally reshaped his former master’s remains into a jiangshi to proffer as an offering to the Heavenly Demon.

That specific jiangshi was presently deployed on an assignment, meaning it was absent from the room.

“Follow me, your Majesty. We are ecstatic at your focus on the Palace of Enlightenment! The prior Cult Leader regarded us merely as a… jiangshi manufacturing plant…”

He had additionally been the foremost to capitulate and pledge his devotion to Hans following the transition, rendering the task of integrating the Demonic Cult significantly less complicated.

“As a fellow master of the occult arts, you truly comprehend our purpose! Ah— the memory remains vivid. The day you called forth the tempestuous clouds, obscuring the sky itself… It appeared as though the Monarch of the Underworld had emerged upon this earth…”

Naturally, it wasn’t born solely from deceitful survival instincts. He held genuine reverence for Hans’s power, who had single-handedly broken the Demonic Cult’s citadel without deploying a lick of martial arts, depending entirely on his foreign sorcery.

He stood, after all, as one of the preeminent occultists of the current age.

“This section is dedicated to the analysis of maledictions. They offer minimal utility in standard warfare, and they are difficult to plant against entities harboring intense demonic defiance… but such a view is flawed. As you comprehend, your Majesty, once a malediction takes root, even a master of the Mysterious Realm cannot easily shatter its grip…”

Yet the Director harbored one critical flaw.

He was excessively verbose.

He appeared to be chattering from a place of agitation, yet it remained… irritating.

‘Still, so long as he refrains from overstepping, it is acceptable. Finding a capable occultist of his caliber is no simple task, particularly in this… specialized domain… This facility is remarkable.’

Hans, giving only partial attention to the ongoing chatter, surveyed the workshop, a feeling of approval rising within him.

He had stepped into this place once before while erasing the jiangshi, but observing the analytical workflow arranged so transparently and orderly offered an entirely different impression.

“Oh? What is the nature of this?”

“Ah, I expected nothing less from your sharp perception! This is the sector where we forge and refine our supreme demon jiangshi. Our active endeavor involves a Kirin, a mythical creature matching the grandeur of a dragon. Distant from typical demons, mythical creatures are remarkably problematic to alter, yet we are utilizing a tainted Dragon Orb…”

A quadrupted creature, standing over three meters in height.

Its once brilliant, radiant coat was now muted and barren of life, yet the energy rolling off its frame, the residual essence of a supreme entity, remained undeniable.

‘So that is the methodology they employ.’

And as he tracked the workflow, Hans managed to perceive the hidden mechanisms of the corpse-refining art, a blending of the hidden techniques belonging to both the Demonic Cult and the Blood Cult.

The Director’s unceasing commentary and—.

…his personal attributes, 「Unholy Sage」, 「Forbidden Knowledge」, and 「Path of Magic」, which were perpetually breaking down and inspecting the sorcery shifting before his vision, supplied him with an absolute cascade of data.

It was an intense revelation, a torrent of understanding that stirred even his core, though he rarely exhibited any form of sentiment.

“…Extremely impressive.”

“I was certain you would value it! Naturally, the Black Jiangshi you summoned surpassed these efforts entirely. Ultimately, the pinnacle objective of jiangshi creation involves magnifying the target’s primitive strength far beyond its natural boundaries, does it not?”

He gave a slight nod, keeping one ear turned toward the Director’s animated chatter.

Fresh paradigms, intertwining with his existing mastery over corpse-refining, were being reshaped and ordered inside his intellect, generating a fresh and distinct mastery of the discipline.

It marked a transformative junction.

He had been perpetually widening his database of intellect, consuming concepts gathered from an array of realities.

And the bulk of that data had been extracted by force from the Heaven’s Turn Society.

And in this moment,

His hoarded understanding had finally attained a tipping point.

《The entity’s comprehension breaks past its boundaries. The unique attribute “Forbidden Knowledge” has transitioned into “Forbidden Truths”.》

It was the precise point where Hans, whose sorcerous roots were anchored in Auterica’s forbidden incantations,

…unlocked access to a grander spectrum of understanding, embracing Ganghwange’s corpse-refining systems, their diverse lineages, and their avenues of refinement.

—

‘I must devote my attention to this area for a duration.’

Hans, having secured an attribute transition, resolved to remain within the Palace of Enlightenment for the foreseeable future.

「Forbidden Knowledge」, a vault containing dark incantations and other blasphemous arts,

…had transitioned into 「Forbidden Truths」, yielding him entry into a grander spectrum of understanding, embracing Ganghwange’s corpse techniques, their mutations, and their avenues of refinement.

‘And this represents the ideal setting for deep study.’

Naturally, he could not restrict his focus solely to study. He had recently seized control of a monumental collective.

He had already fortified the Tian Shan peaks, erecting barriers and anchoring sorcerous arrays… yet he still required to broadcast his dominance, consistently surveying the territory and reinforcing the reality of his strength.

‘Regardless, it is a minor disruption.’

Managing multiple objectives simultaneously presented no obstacle for someone of his standing.

Of course, the project he currently faced was far from elementary.

Hans’s restricted sanctuary inside the Palace of Enlightenment.

Two lifeless forms rested side by side upon a platform in the middle of the chamber.

The Heavenly Demon, the previous master of the Heavenly Demon Cult…

“Heh heh— Ah, marvelous. With a comparative specimen, the patterns display themselves far more vividly.”

…and Scribe, the fresh acquisition brought from Earth.

‘Now the true work begins.’

They had once existed as heralds for the Deity of the Heaven’s Turn Society, yet now that they rested within his grasp, that loyalty belonged to a bygone era.

They would be forged anew as ‘God Slayers’, instruments fashioned specifically to obliterate their previous master.