Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

Chapter 78: The Unrecorded Heavenly Demon

There were many peculiar items in Murim.

Amongst such strange items were things like heavenly weapons, which even martial artists rarely saw, or the Great Medicine, which was considered to give users an extra life.

Each and every one of them was hard to assign a value to. 

However, not all of these peculiar items could be considered incredibly precious either.

Some of these items were accessible to anyone who had the proper payment. 

The ‘human skin mask’, an item that allowed the wearer to effortlessly change their appearance, was one of them. 

With another scratch, one such ‘human skin mask’ was peeled off and thrown onto the floor like trash. 

What appeared under was a wrinkled face. 

Woon-seong narrowed his eyes when he saw the man’s true face, for it was one he recognized. 

“It’s been a while, Young Leader.” 

The old man chuckled and smiled as if he were a little embarrassed.

“So you were the leader of the Unrecorded Demonic Group, Demonic Teacher?”

The old man, who Woon-seong had now identified, nodded. “That’s correct.”

Woon-seong noticed the man was not the same as the last time they had met. Obviously, last time they had talked, Lee Shin-jung had treated him as a junior. Now, he was speaking and acting with respect. 

It was a small and subtle change, but still noticeable. 

“You seem to have changed. I don’t remember you being this polite with me.”

At these words, the Demonic Teacher smiled. “That is only obvious.”

“Obvious, you say…”

The Demonic Teacher bowed his head once more in a polite gesture. Lee Shin-jung was not the only one this time; Sang In-hyo also bowed his head. 

“Let me introduce myself again. I, Lee Shin-jung, Tenth Group Leader of the Unrecorded Demonic Group, present myself to the one who has inherited the will of the Unrecorded Heavenly Demon.”

The Unrecorded Heavenly Demon…? Woon-seong’s eyes widened for the first time today. “The Unrecorded Heavenly Demon. So does that mean the Unrecorded achieved the position of Heavenly Demon?”

The title of ‘Heavenly Demon’ was only given to the very top of the Cult, those who sat on the throne as the Cult Leader. As the Young Leader, Woon-seong learned about each and every one of his predecessors. Yet, this was the first time he’d heard of a ‘Unrecorded Heavenly Demon’. 

Lee Shin-jung lifted his head and answered, “If you mean the position as the Leader of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon, the answer is no.”

“Then, why…?”

“But it is true that he has practiced the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon and was acknowledged as the Heavenly Demon.”

He was acknowledged as the Heavenly Demon, yet did not rise to the throne as the Cult Leader… Is that even possible? It didn’t make any sense however Woon-seong looked at it. Thus, he turned to stare at Lee Shin-jung with a frown, as if trying to determine the truth of what he was saying.

As the Demonic Teacher, Lee Shin-jung had a lot of experience in dealing with people and noticed Woon-seong’s scrutinizing look. 

“Haha. I know it’s hard to understand. The Unrecorded Heavenly Demon was a unique being. One of a kind in the whole history of the Divine Cult.”

That didn’t make Woon-seong feel any better. 

“And how exactly was he unique?”

“Hmm. Before that, would you excuse this old man and allow him to ask you a few questions?”

Woon-seong nodded instead of answering. 

“How much do you know about the Unrecorded Heavenly Demon?”

Hearing this question, Woon-seong subconsciously turned to look at the White Night Spear. 

I can’t say I know everything. But I’m sure the few things I know are important. Then, how much should I say? 

The fact that the Unrecorded was a person of the Spear Master Sect, and the fact that I’m also related to the Spear Master Sect? But then I’ll also have to talk about my past life… 

Remembering his secrets, Woon-seong’s eyes deepened and he came to a conclusion. 

I can tell the truth, but I don’t have to tell him everything. 

Woon-seong chose one fact that could be used to explain things in the future: “I know that the Unrecorded Heavenly Demon was a person of the Spear Master Sect.”

This time, it was Lee Shin-jung’s eyes that deepened. How does he know that…

Woon-seong was silent and did not say any more. 

Immediately, Lee Shin-jung nodded his head, “Is that all you know about him?”

“Yes.”

“If so… Looks like we’ll need to have a long conversation.”

Lee Shin-jung sighed to himself and buried himself into a chair. 

Woon-seong sat in the chair across from him, while Sang In-hyo and Mok Dae-young stood a step behind. 

There was a moment of silence that followed. 

“Young Leader.”

It was still Lee Shin-jung who broke the silence in the end. 

“I don’t know how you know that the Unrecorded Heavenly Demon was a person of the Spear Master Sect, but do you know what kind of sect it is?”

“Of course.”

Woon-seong spoke with deep confidence this time, feeling a bit smug in his heart. You’re looking at the only inheritor of the Spear Master Sect this generation, old man… 

“That should make things easier.”

Lee Shin-jung was quiet for a moment as collected his thoughts.

“Just as you said, the Unrecorded was an apprentice of the Spear Master Sect. In that generation, the sect was unusual and had two apprentices. One of them was the Unrecorded, who later entered the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.”

This Woon-seong already knew. 

His questions were: How did the Unrecorded master the Divine Art and why did he leave it in the White Night Spear? Also, why was he called a Heavenly Demon?

Woon-seong looked at Lee Shin-jung, not intending to rush the old man. He was sure the story would come naturally. 

“After he joined the Cult, he became a demonic practitioner and eventually rose to become one of the Ten Demonic Masters.” 

It was very rare for someone who originated from outside the Cult to reach that level. Aside from the necessary level of power, it was a burden for the Cult to entrust such a high position to an outsider. 

Surprisingly, the Unrecorded was able to claim a spot relying solely on his accomplishments. 

“At the time, he successfully restored a number of demonic arts of the Divine Cult. Many demonic practitioners did not hesitate to praise those achievements. And those were all achieved thanks to his knowledge in the Spear Master Sect’s martial arts.”

It’s just as I predicted. It looks like the Unrecorded was more talented in Demonic arts than Orthodox Arts. Woon-seong nodded to himself as he listened. Those of the Spear Master Sect were focused on reaching the top with the spear and delighted in collecting knowledge from many places. But he didn’t forget his roots from the Spear Master Sect even after he joined the Divine Cult. 

As Woon-seong had been thinking, Lee Shin-jung continued his story. 

“But it looked like the Unrecorded’s ambition didn’t end there. Although he wasn’t interested in the position of Heavenly Demon, he was interested in the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon.”

For the first time since Lee Shin-jung started his story, the Divine Art was mentioned. Immediately, Woon-seong listened more attentively. 

“Of course, it was no easy matter. He may have been one of the Ten Demonic Masters, but gaining access to the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon was impossible for those besides the Leader and the Young Leader. He only had partial information. Traits shown outside and the manifestation of the Divine Shaped Flame. There were also some records shown from time to time in the old texts. But the Unrecorded persistently dug into even the most trivial record. In the end, he was able to manifest the Divine Flame without learning the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon. To quote the Leader at the time: ‘there were differences, but it was without a doubt the Divine Flame.’”

Woon-seong hummed in amazement. Not only did he manifest the Divine Shaped Flame, but even the Heavenly Demon gave approval… 

“On top of that, because the Unrecorded’s new art was surely similar to the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon, the Leader acknowledged it as a different form of the Divine Art. However… at the time, no, even for today’s standards, it was an incredible matter. To no one’s surprise, those who weren’t friends with the Unrecorded responded with an uproar.” 

That was to be expected, since two Heavenly Demons could not exist under the same sky. On top of that, if the Unrecorded’s art became acknowledged as another Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon, it was bound to become a problem for legitimacy in the future. 

“The Unrecorded’s art was only acknowledged as a Divine Art because he was very close with the Leader,” explained Lee Shin-jung. 

Woon-seong closed his eyes instead of answering. Lee Shin-jung’s words are correct. Normally, a person would have been executed the moment they revealed such a controversial thing. 

“Fortunately, the Leader highly favored the Unrecorded. Not only were they sparring friends and frequently practiced together, they were close enough to drink together in private.”

However, a Cult Leader had to distinguish between private and public life, between work and friendship — he could not simply ignore the uproar from the Cult unless he wanted rebellion on his hands. 

“According to the records at the time, the Leader said: ‘Enough! Unrecorded, your art rightfully deserves to be acknowledged as another Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon. However! I forbid for your existence and art to be recorded and inherited down within our Cult. Also, your followers shall not be left in any official records of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon.’”

Just like that, the man was erased from the records of the Cult so thoroughly that not even his true name was known. That was why he was known as the Unrecorded — he was literally unrecorded. That was the origin of the Unrecorded Heavenly Demon and the Unrecorded Demonic Group that followed him.

“Then why is his Divine Art left in the White Night Spear?”

Lee Shin-jung showed a sly smile. “As far as I know, a will left in a spear is not considered as a ‘record’.”

I guess… Woon-seong let out a small chuckle. Passing it down by cleverly circumventing the prohibition…

“The Unrecorded Heavenly Demon was a martial artist,” added Lee Shin-jung. “No martial artist would ever want his arts to end in his generation. So after pondering for some time, he finally entered the Divine Realm and found a way for his successor to inherit his arts. And it looks like his method was proven correct, considering I’m speaking to the inheritor right now…”

Woon-seong nodded slowly at these words. 

Hmm… If I wasn’t an apprentice of the Spear Master Sect… If I didn’t practice the cultivation of the Spear Master Sect… Then the Unrecorded’s art wouldn’t have been passed on to me. Nor would I have recreated his Divine Flame. 

In his heart, Woon-seong bowed his head towards the figure of the Unrecorded for the existence of the White Night Spear resting on his back. 

Thank you, Senior.

There were many ways in which the Unrecorded had helped Woon-seong, whether it was by making him stronger or by confirming his beliefs. 

The White Night Spear trembled, as if it understood that it had been appreciated. 

Lee Shin-jung spoke up once more, “Do you remember my words from earlier, Young Leader?”

“You mean how nobody can truly command you without the right conditions?”

Lee Shin-jung smiled brightly and nodded, then bowed his head. 

“I, Lee Shin-jung, the Tenth Group Master of the Unrecorded Demonic Group, shall do everything necessary to serve the heir of the Unrecorded.”

From that moment on, the Unrecorded Demonic Group — including the ‘Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon’ —  was brought under the rule of Hyuk Woon-seong.