The Archangel of Death - Chapter 326

326: Power struggle 326: Power struggle Chapter 326 [What would you have done if the Murim alliance hadn’t asked for an extension?] ‘Then I would have had the Yin Empress present some evidence that would have forced the other side to do it.’ [What if that didn’t work either?] ‘Are you seriously questioning me whether I had contingencies prepared or not?’ […] [Yes] ‘I thought you were smarter than that.’ Never move unless you have every scenario accounted for.

Even then, nature would find a way to screw you, but at least you would be well prepared.

Wise words of my old man.

Granted he wasn’t the most patient of all, but he wasn’t an idiot either.

With lessons learned, the hard way, I was prepared for anything.

No matter how the scenario had gone down.

Whether the Namgoong family was proven guilty or innocent or whatever the case might have been, I was sure I would get the Murim people to stay the night.

If the abbot was leading them, there was no way they would be staying overnight so when I considered that, I naturally made plans for instances where the Murim alliance would have to stay the night.

Took a bit of work but I managed to have them stay in the end.

Now all that was left was for an icy cold girl to lure the son of the Murim alliance away.

The rest would be easy to handle.

Of course, I couldn’t let the Choenma sect be the sole survivor of this incident.

Otherwise, all the blame might fall on them.

If I didn’t want that to happen, then the best thing to do was to… [Offer another sacrifice] Bingo!

[You’re quite cruel you know] ‘Small price to pay.’ And I had the perfect candidate in mind.

All that was left was to deal with this issue on my own.

Unlike the Yin palace, I didn’t have an ally in the Cheonma after all.

[Technically she isn’t an ally] Right.

I misspelled.

She was a slave.

[I was going for ‘forced ally’] [But yours works too] [Even if it’s incredibly insulting to women] ‘Oh please.’ Gender had nothing to do with it.

I’d treat men the same too.

Maybe worse.

In this case, I might be a feminist.

Anyway, just one piece of business to tend to before I moved on.

“So, are you ready to become young once again?” I asked Liu Kuang who had invited me to the sky blue pagoda to discuss business.

To my question, he nodded and said, “I would appreciate it if you could make me handsome too.” “No can do,” I replied.

There was no saving that.

A hundred-and-fifty-year-old turned hundred would still be a hundred years old.

Handsomeness should be the last thing on his mind.

He should be more worried about his hip.

But damn these cultivators.

They have really strong bodies.

Anyway, the circle of life was drawn but this time, I used just my own lifetime.

I had a plethora of life thanks to the element of life so there was nothing to worry about getting sacrifices.

Besides, unlike others, my life regenerated so there were no worries there as well.

So, I stood the old man in the middle of the circle and activated it.

Then I simply dipped more of my blood with even more life element fused into it on the edge of the circle and it began to light up.

The thing about the circle of life was that it could only be used once in the lifetime of one individual.

So I could never use it on the Yin Empress or Liu Kuang ever again.

Besides, the circle of life was inefficient anyway.

[Not to mention it’s cruel] ‘Yeah, sure,’ Anyway, there were many, many other ways of extending your life force to the point where you technically had eternal life.

Of course, death always comes so no matter what, everyone dies.

Liu Kuang would in the end die too.

But as far as naturally aging went, he just gained fifty years for himself.

I could have given him more, but I wasn’t an idiot.

I show much of this power, and he would turn against me.

I mean, ‘HUH!!!

This guy can make one younger again.

Capture him and keep him a prisoner for eternity,’ was what everyone ever thought.

That was why I always laid out the restriction first.

No more than fifty years, which was intentional, and couldn’t be used twice, which was the rule.

That was why the rule was in place.

Given the correct resources and everything else, one could even turn the clock back to their infant years.

The reason why it couldn’t be used twice.

Eventually, the process ended and the man who emerged was somewhat fifty-ish.

He looked quite younger than before but still on the older side.

He looked at his hands, astonished and in awe, and as much as I would have liked to give him his moment, I asked, “What is the name of the Choenma’s disciple who came to see you the other day?” The disciples of Cheonma were branded by numbers.

First, second, third, and so on.

Their names weren’t generally used by the elders and the officials.

And the heavenly demon only ever called them by their numbers because, in the end, they were just numbers.

In case any of them were to die, they would be replaced very, very quickly.

It was only when one made it to the elemental demons that one stood a chance to be important.

The structure of the Cheonma sect was like so.

The seven disciples would compete to be selected as one of the five elemental demons.

Water, fire, air, lightning, and finally, earth, which I suspected Tae Yong was because the Green Pagoda was empty and without a demon.

Anyway, two disciples had to be culled out during that time.

But until the end of the competition, the disciples were the responsibility of the Cheonma, and he, or she, was to nurture them in their growth.

But their death wasn’t considered important.

Keeping up the tradition did so if one were to die, then, ‘Oh, my, such a tragedy.

So, who’s the next in line?’ Until they didn’t make it to the five demons, they were never respected by the elders, officials, or even the demons who themselves were the disciples at one point in life.

Now, the demons were allowed to raise disciples if they were to see it fit but they weren’t allowed to choose the Choenma’s disciples.

That solely depended on Choenma.

Now, one would think?

Where’s the human greed in all of that?

There was none.

Greed ended once one of the five demons was chosen to be the Choenma.

The rest of the four were to then take care of their respective duties, which, I must say, were just as important as the heavenly demon and their authority wasn’t less in any way.

And then, when the time for the next batch to prove themselves came, the demons were to vacate their positions and take positions up as elders or retire quietly.

And no one minded in the least.

Because those who take the seats were grilled enough to forget about petty revenge or anything like that.

In the first place, those who clung to the past weren’t even chosen as disciples.

In simpler terms, it was a jungle.

“You mean Geum Ha?” Liu Kuang asked, without a care in the world.

His eyes were still focused on his own body, measuring up the changes in himself.

“Yes,” I replied, “Why was he here?” If I straight-up asked about him, he would be suspicious.

Though I could even call him a buffoon at the moment and he would hardly care, but it might show up later on.

“He wanted me to support him.” Liu Kuang replied, still focused on his body.

“Isn’t that against the rules?” I asked.

The demons were to be selected by the previous demons themselves.

The leftover was to take the one that was empty but that was the one most desired.

Why?

Well, the four demons would choose one to take them under their tutelage and teach them the demonic arts of major elements.

But what of the fifth one, the one who would take the empty pavilion left by the now heavenly demon?

That one was the luckiest one because he or she would be taught by the heavenly demon himself, or herself.

That didn’t mean they were the next heavenly demon, but being taught by the heavenly demon takes the chances pretty up high.

Really, really high.

“But why would he want to be under your tutelage?” I asked.

Wouldn’t it make more sense for him to work for the heavenly demon’s position?

The rest would be after that as well.

“Haha,” Liu Kuang chuckled and replied, “Having the sister of the heavenly demon was great leverage after all.” “Sister?” I asked though the gears in my head turned and kind of explained the situation to me as my gaze automatically went towards the girl who was standing a little away, practicing her water techniques.

“You guessed it right,” Liu Kunag said, “He wasn’t after me.

He was after her.

The heavenly demon’s, Yan Tae Yong, sole blood relative, Xin Tae Yong.” My, oh my.

Things just got spicier.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Bad_Wolf_7811 Creation is hard, cheer me up!

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