Chapter 69: Who’s Holding a Blade…

Ji Seungju’s short stature was his most tightly guarded secret.

Of course, it wasn’t much of a secret, since he occasionally let it slip, and most of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult members already knew.

But no one dared to mock the Secret Pavilion right hand man about his height.

Well, until today.

“Alright then. Let’s say our little shrimp here at least has a long upper body.”

“…If you don’t have anything else to say, I’ll be leaving.”

“Nope! Stop! I’ve got more to say.”

“What is it?”

Ji Seungju’s voice was curt.

Qing smiled slyly and asked, “You said your cult believes in the law of the strong, right? The strong are justice, and the ones who survive are the strong?”

The moment Qing looked her blackened fingers, she realized she’d been played.

Oh, you sneaky bastard.

They’d fed her some crap about how her skills and promising future meant she could enjoy power at the core of the cult. All while explaining their so-called law of the strong philosophy.

To Qing, it was fascinating. The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult worshipped strength.

The strong can take whatever they want.
The weak have the right to prove themselves through challenge.

No wonder Qing found it interesting—she was strong. Well, maybe not as confident as before, but still.

Anyway, this was when Qing decided to ask about their laws. As a cult officer, Ji Seungju couldn’t just skip over explaining them.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I’ve been thinking about it… So technically, I haven’t done anything wrong to you guys, right? That Advance… Tide or whatever?”

“Are you referring to the Advance Wave Brigade?”

“Yeah! Those guys. Wiping them out and killing Bliss Palace Leader—that was all because I’m strong, wasn’t it? By your logic, since I’m stronger than them, it's not a problem, right?”

“That is correct.”

“…Oingg?”

Qing had been gearing up to rub salt in the wound by elaborating on how pathetic that brigade was and how she’d dealt with them.

But now her eyes widened. Wait—no problem? Then why?

Grinding her teeth in frustration, Qing asked, “If there’s no problem, why’d you leave me looking like this?”

“How shameless. You stole from the Supreme Leader without permission and even talked back. You should be grateful that he spared your life out of mercy.”

“Ohhh. So that’s it? Because I’m weak and mouthed off to your precious Supreme Leader?”

Qing scowled. That bastard.

“Calling him ‘precious’ is blasphemous, I wo—"

Qing cut off Ji Seungju’s reprimand. “So you don’t have any issues with me killing your people?”

“The cult law is survival of the strongest. Lady Ximen was simply stronger than them.”

Qing grinned widely—a smile so ominous it sent chills down spines.

“Good to know. Anything else? Can I go back to the carriage now?”

“No. Please go ahead.”

“Oh man… I’m exhausted from getting here. Would someone mind helping me out?”

Ji Seungju waved his hand dismissively with an expressionless but clearly annoyed gesture.

A silent assassin from the Outer Hall’s Covert Operations Division slid up next to Qing like a shadow.

Qing spread her arms wide as if asking for a hug.

The assassin bent down—and then—

CRACK!

With an explosive sound like a watermelon bursting apart, the assassin’s head shattered into bloody chunks that sprayed everywhere.

“Damn! Black Slaying Demonic Palm? This thing’s got some serious kick!”

Standing amidst the gore-covered mess, Qing laughed while casually brushing off bits of brain matter stuck to her head. She grabbed one dangling eyeball by its optic nerve and crushed it in her fist.

Even Ji Seungju—who had witnessed countless brutal acts by the Supreme Leader—felt his legs tremble at this horrifying display.

He hid his shock behind a trained blank expression but couldn’t stop himself from shouting a beat too late.

“What… What are you doing?!”

“Me? I’m strong.” Qing pointed at the headless corpse with her finger.

“This thing? Weak. That’s survival of the strongest. Yup. Yup.”

Then she shamelessly nodded as if she’d just given a lecture on morality.

A righteous heroine from the orthodox sect? This psycho sounds more like a demon drunk on slaughter.

Unwittingly, Ji Seungju had guessed correctly—but he didn’t realize it yet as he screamed furiously.

“That’s NOT survival of the strongest! The strong shouldn’t torment the weak for no reason!”

“Ohhh? That’s what it means? Damn—I didn’t know that.”

“Of course that’s what it means! If everyone acted like you, no one would survive in this world!”

“Gotcha. Alright already—don’t blow a gasket over it. You should’ve explained better earlier! How was I supposed to know being strong didn’t mean I could do whatever I wanted?”

Ji Seungju was left speechless, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air.

Now this is somehow my fault?! What kind of lunatic is this woman?!

“I used too much energy—it wore me out. Carry me somewhere.”

“You dare say that after causing this carnage?!”

“Oh come on—I didn’t know! Geez, stop being so petty about it. Fine then—I’m not leaving either. You stay here in the cult; I’ll stay here too.”

“…What kind of lunatic is this woman…”

“Oh, screw it. I’m tired. Should I just sleep here?”

Qing then jumped—or more accurately, collapsed—off the chair.

Since her legs couldn’t hold her, “jumped” was a generous description.

She rolled onto the blood-soaked floor and rested her head on the torso of a headless corpse.

“Wake me up when we’re ready to leave.”

Ji Seungju’s forehead creased deeply.

This was an unprecedented disaster that would shock any cult member.

Even the Secret Pavilion Leader's expression twisted into a grimace. What the hell is this woman?!

“Get this damned lunatic out of here! Someone take her away!”

But the assassins from the Outer Hall’s Covert Operations Division just exchanged uneasy glances, none daring to move.

It wasn’t surprising—one of their comrades, who had been eating with them just moments ago, was now a pile of meat sprawled across the floor.

“What are you waiting for?!”

“Relax, relax. I already said it was just a mistake. I didn’t fully understand what your law of the strong meant. No need to freak out, okay?”

Qing chimed in cheerfully.

Ji Seungju opened his mouth as if to argue but instead took a deep breath in and exhaled sharply.

“Fine. Escort Lady Qing immediately.”

His voice carried barely contained rage.

Finally, one unfortunate junior assassin couldn’t withstand the pressure from his seniors’ glares and reluctantly approached Qing with visible displeasure.

The junior assassin reached out with trembling hands to lift Qing.

Then she spoke again.

“Oh. You’re scoring about 150 points. Decent enough, but… vanish now! Bye-bye head! YAP!”

That was the last sound he heard in this world.

Without a head, hearing becomes impossible.

CRACK!

Qing rolled onto the floor again.

The person carrying her was no longer alive, so she fell flat on her back.

The headless junior assassin collapsed on top of her.

“Ugh!” Qing gasped as she struggled under the sudden weight crushing her lungs.

“What… What is this?!”

Qing shoved the corpse off and answered casually.

“Oopsie. What? What’s wrong?”

“You said it was a mistake—”

“No, no, listen to me. Some random guy I’ve never seen before dared to touch a woman’s body without permission. That’s crossing the line.”

Ji Seungju froze mid-sentence. What kind of nonsense is this?

“A weakling dared to toy with a strong person, so he dies. That’s law of the strong, right? Agree? Yes? Good—case closed. Bang bang bang.”

Qing declared shamelessly before rolling back onto the corpse like it was her personal mattress.

Her entire body was drenched in blood, speckled with white and yellow fragments that were once brain matter.

“That’s NOT law of the strong! What kind of bullshit are you spewing to defile our sacred laws?!”

Qing replied indifferently.

“Why? The Supreme Leader takes an eye and two legs for one word of defiance. When he does it, it’s law of the strong. But when I do it, it’s bullying weaklings?”

“How dare you insult the Supreme Leader…!”

Qing shook her head side to side dramatically, causing blood to spurt from the corpse’s neck with every movement.

“See? If it works for him but not for others, maybe someone should explain it better to me! What are the rules? Can anyone above Transcendent Realm kill whoever they want? Or does it start at Unrestrained Realm? Definitely not Profound Realm though.”[^Peak realm → Transcendent realm → Unrestrained Realm → Profound Realm →Life and Death Realm → Celestial Realm → Natural Realm.]

“The Supreme Leader fulfills—”

“Oh my god! Who asked about him?! So what IS law of the strong then? It’s supposed to be your cult law or whatever—is it just something everyone except him has to follow?”

“I’ve told you multiple times—it’s not like that!”

Qing cut off Ji Seungju’s shouting with louder yelling of her own.

“SCREECCH!! Then what IS IT?! Is yelling at me supposed to explain anything?!”

“The law of the strong is… The law of the strong is…”

Ji Seungju faltered as he tried to respond.

The cult law dictated that strength defined survival. The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult worshipped strength as justice, which had allowed them to amass power capable of challenging Murim itself.

Four invasions into Central Plains proved their might—even though they ultimately failed each time—their legacy was undeniable: one cult against an entire martial world.

The strong ruled over the weak.
Complete domination over life and death itself.

But even the weak had one right: resistance.
Through rebellion against their oppressors, they could grow stronger and become rulers themselves someday.

So what about this woman?

By their own laws…

Ji Seungju felt his heart sink like lead into his chest.

Had the Supreme Leader gone too far?

No one would say so—not when an entire combat unit had been annihilated; Bokshinjeok missing; Bliss Palace Leader killed; and an entire sect burned into oblivion.

In fact, by those standards, sparing Qing could even be considered merciful on his part.

But did all his actions align with their laws?

What about other cult leaders and demonic warriors?

The late Bliss Palace Leader had raped and killed men she fancied for their essence cultivation before discarding their corpses.
One demonic warrior had recently taken an interest in creating zombies for fun.
Another—the infamous Surama Sword—refused to sleep unless he slaughtered a virgin daily.

Yet no one condemned them. They were all part of the cult’s elite forces—the vanguard for conquering Murim under law of the strong principles.

Ji Seungju couldn’t answer in the end.

Qing watched him silently before letting out a mocking laugh under her breath.