Camellia 46

When the new Demonic Sect rose to power, the foreign martial factions that had once contributed to the downfall of the old Cheonma Divine Sect quietly withdrew.

Wasn’t it thanks to the active support of Podalap Palace and the Northern Ice Palace that the righteous faction had managed to win the Great War? The leader of the Murim Alliance even sent a handwritten letter, and at the very least, a scorpion messenger, asking for cooperation, but they received no reply.

The new Demonic Sect did not repeat the mistakes of the old one.
Back then, the reason the outer lords of the frontier lands joined the fight in Jungwon was because even they had found the actions of the old Cheonma Divine Sect deeply troubling.
That sect had been born under the influence of the Ming Sect¹, and in its extreme ideology, it only maintained close ties with Pasa, the birthplace of the Ming Sect. Every other power was treated as an enemy.

That’s why the lords of the outer palaces, who typically had no desire to get involved in Jungwon’s affairs, took action, because they feared the grasp of the Cheonma Sect would reach them too.

In particular, the blasphemy of the then-Cheonma, who outright refused to acknowledge the Dalai Lama, enraged the monks of Podalap Palace. The Palace Mistress of the Northern Ice Palace also deployed her martial artists after the Cheonma mocked their sect, composed solely of women, as nothing more than a “bunch of girls.”

But the new sect leader, who declared himself a god under the name Sahyeol Amje, took a different path. He made allies of the outer powers, one by one.

‘For the Dalai Lama!’

When the Eight Pavillons Lords of the sect performed full prostrations toward Tibet, even the monks of Podalap Palace began to look with disfavor upon the Murim Alliance leaders, who had never once shown such respect.

‘For the Ruler of the Snowfields! We come under orders from our lord to pay our respects to the Ice Palace Mistress.’

The Palace Mistress of the Northern Ice Palace, who welcomed worthy men as breeding slaves to assist in birthing daughters, found herself amused when Sahyeol Amje sent an unmatched peak master as tribute. The rumors, “mixing blood with those blue-eyed women from the North will doom your family for three generations”, were spreading like wildfire among men, but she only found them laughable.

And so, after steadily forging relationships with the outer realms, the new Demonic Sect finally invaded Jungwon. The Murim Alliance, which had long looked down on the borderlands, was caught off guard and had no choice but to beg for help.
But the response was cold silence.

Even when the Alliance tried to seek aid from unorthodox groups like Noklim and Salmak, they discovered those very sects were already holding festivals to celebrate the righteous sects’ fall in advance.

Thus, the so-called upright warriors, proud and unyielding like bamboo, were ultimately destroyed by their own arrogance, believing they alone stood for the Way, they had scorned everyone else.

Taking their downfall as a lesson, the secr leader never lost focus and continued to maintain good relations with the outer regions.

This year, Bing Bihyo, the newly appointed Palace Mistress of the Northern Ice Palace, accelerated her plans for childbirth and requested a breeding slave earlier than usual, late autumn instead of mid-winter.
She also hinted she would send her twin sister to Sipman Daesan to personally select a man.

“What do you all think?”

That was why Cheonsin summoned the lords of Okhaenggak, Geukmunggak, and Jipilgak, branches known for housing many peak masters, for a meeting: to select which sect member would be sent as the breeding slave.

If the man chosen was weaker than a peak master, it would offend the Ice Palace Mistress.
So they had to pick someone powerful enough but not vital to the sect, someone replaceable.
If Bing Bihyo’s sister picked freely from any man she pleased, the sect risked losing key personnel. The plan was to pre-select and station only the acceptable candidates.

The women of the North had high standards not only for martial prowess, but also for appearance.
Cheonsin browsed portraits of the candidates, categorizing their looks into top, middle, and bottom tiers.

“Looking at nothing but men’s faces all day is making me nauseous.”

His head throbbed. He left the remaining portraits aside and returned to Gwanju Hall. There, in his chambers, he found Yuwon waiting.

Returning to his identity as Tang Yujae rather than sect leader, Cheonsin greeted her casually.

“Did you take some elixir or something? You’re looking better than usual.”

The glowing lanterns in the room flickered out one by one. In the darkness, Tang Yujae stripped off his outer robe and collapsed onto the bedding with a dull thud.

“If you’ve something to say, come back tomorrow.”

He added offhandedly, “Your brother’s tired,” but when Yuwon didn’t move to leave, he threw in a low joke.

“You’re not thinking of warming the bed for your dear brother, are you? I wouldn’t say no, but our mother might be a bit upset.”

“His danjeon is recovering.”

Trying to choose the right words, Yuwon eventually spoke slowly and clearly.
She wasn’t sure why she bothered being careful with someone who never took her seriously.

“Your bride, the one you tried to kill, there’s no doubt his Qi was gathering in his lower abdomen. It wasn’t just a fleeting surge either. The flow was distinctly different. According to the records from the Great Righteous-Demonic War…”

“The Great Demonic War.”

Tang Yujai corrected her as he slowly sat up.

“Watch your words. If you weren’t my sister, I’d have killed you on the spot.”

A low voice followed quickly, as if he were being gracious.

“You should be thankful, Yuwon.”

Her brother, now a full-blooded demonic cultivator, still didn’t feel real to her.
He used to be stoic but warm. Now he was like a ghost from her memories.

Yuwon continued,

“I knew blood fiends had remarkable regeneration from the records of the Great Demonic War, but I didn’t expect one could heal a destroyed danjeon without outside intervention.
If I stay by his side and help with the treatment, I think I can rebuild a functional danjeon in five years.”

Five years might sound long, but in reality, it was nothing short of a miracle. Once destroyed, a danjeon could only be restored through absurd means, meeting a Divine Healer, drinking Refined Azure Elixir, slaying dozens of spiritual beasts, or inheriting the entire Qi of an aged master.

If her methods could succeed through medicine alone, it would shock the entire martial world.

It was thanks to the blood fiend’s regenerative power, something that surpassed human limits.

And so, Yuwon saw hope in Seolyeong.
If someone’s danjeon could recover, then maybe she could save her brother too.

Could she strip away the snakeskin clinging to his back, and make Tang Yujae human again?

“I’ll find a way to save both of you. But promise me, don’t torment your bride anymore.”

Since a long treatment lay ahead, Yuwon wanted to ensure Seolyeong’s safety first. Tang Yujae teased her.

“No consummation either?”

“That’s…”

To momentarily suppress the yin energy, they had to sleep together.
A silence passed. Then Yuwon continued,

“Treat him with respect. Don’t rape him. Don’t intimidate him into submission. Don’t do anything to him you wouldn’t want done to your sister.”

“Alright.”

“Did I just hear you correctly?”

“Yeah.”

His agreeable response left Yuwon bewildered.

The same man who had once threatened Seolyeong with rape, who told him to faint so he wouldn’t have to hear him moan, was now lying through his teeth.

“I’ll be gentle. If he doesn’t allow it, I’ll wait. I’m the one desperate here, so I’ll have to lower my head.”

Had it been a woman, he would have treated her kindly.
Even if the summoning had been brutal, he would have pampered her once she arrived.

But the mad bride was a man, and Tang Yujae saw no reason to be gentle.

He had always been indulgent toward women. It was only men whose dignity he crushed beyond repair.

Back when he fled from the assassins who destroyed their clan, only women had helped him. So now, he only helped women.

When Yuwon asked, half in disbelief, if she could trust him, he brushed her off.

“Who knows.”

“Give me a straight answer.”

Annoyed by her persistence, Tang Yujae ended the conversation with a crude joke.

“Come lie down here, and I’ll say whatever you want to hear.”

Yuwon hurled her jade hairpin at his face and stormed out of Gwanju Hall.

1. I assume it refer to a specific sect associated with Manichaeism in East Asian contexts ↩︎