Chapter 443
Had no players chosen Produce Heavenly Demon 101, Murim would have been left to face countless Heavenly Demons alone—only to vanish.
Without player support, Murim alone would never have been able to withstand the invasion.
That’s why, in Jinhyuk’s past attempts at the 30th-floor themes, Murim’s survival was a rare exception.
99% of the time, the only ending was complete annihilation.
“…That’s the situation.”
“Hah, this is turning out to be even more entertaining than I expected.”
By the time midnight arrived, the Heavenly Demon had reached their campsite and listened to the details of the theme.
Initially, when Jinhyuk had asked for his help, he had accepted without even hearing the full story.
But now that he understood everything—
This was no mere amusement.
This was a battle that would decide Murim’s very survival.
However, to the Heavenly Demon, such things were trivial.
Only one thing mattered.
The chance to defeat all the other Heavenly Demons from alternate dimensions and reclaim the title of the one true Heavenly Demon.
As the strongest being in this world, he had no choice but to feel his blood boil.
“Dark Emperor.”
“Yes, Supreme One.”
“There are impostors daring to stain my name. Under the heavens, there can be no two Heavenly Demons.”
“You are correct. I shall tear them to pieces without leaving a single scrap.”
The Dark Emperor cracked his joints.
With two overflowing wells of confidence standing together, there was a sense of reassurance.
But things would not be as easy as they expected.
The other Heavenly Demons arriving from alternate dimensions had all already reached completion in their martial paths.
The greatest issue was that each of these Heavenly Demons had not only lived as the Heavenly Demon once, but had also reincarnated, regressed, or possessed a second life.
They had corrected their past mistakes, refined their techniques, and surpassed their former selves.
And because Jinhyuk had brought along not just the Heavenly Demon, the Dark Emperor, and Phantom Shadow Death, but also Alice, Wolyoung, and Goguma, the difficulty level had skyrocketed.
‘We have to take them out one by one.’
If the enemy chose to form alliances among themselves, this would become a nightmare.
‘Ding!’
[Heavenly Demons from other dimensions are arriving.]
[Eliminate all other Heavenly Demons and ensure that the Modern Heavenly Demon remains the sole successor on this floor.]
[Time limit: 30 days.]
The system windows appeared in succession.
At the same time—
‘Wooooong!’
From the sky, multiple beams of light rained down like a meteor shower.
It had begun.
‘Pat. Pat.’
Jinhyuk dusted off his clothes and stood up.
“What’s the plan?”
“Target the weakest ones first.”
Generally, Heavenly Demons who came from war-torn worlds were the strongest.
Meanwhile, those who had become corporate moguls or celebrities tended to have lower combat experience and inferior specs.
If they were going to strike first, those should be the targets.
Jinhyuk drew Crimson Lotus and slashed it across the sand.
‘Kagagak!’
A giant map of Murim appeared where the blade had passed.
‘Puk! Puk! Puk!’
Several deep marks formed on the map.
These marked the exact locations where the alternate Heavenly Demons had fallen.
“Hooh. Impressive. You memorized all that?”
“Kuhaha! Didn’t I tell you before? My disciple is no ordinary man!”
“Why do you keep calling him ‘your’ disciple? I am standing right here.”
“Come now, Supreme One. Do you really need to be so greedy at your age? You’re already young again, but you still want to take my student?”
It was impossible to visually pinpoint the exact locations across all of Murim.
If Jinhyuk hadn’t memorized everything beforehand, this wouldn’t have been possible.
“From here on, we’ll split into two groups. Heavenly Demon, please take your forces and hunt with the Dark Emperor. I will lead my companions and take a different route.”
With so many Heavenly Demons appearing, they couldn’t afford to stick together.
Even if they didn’t go fully separate, they at least needed to divide their forces efficiently.
“It’s better to fight alongside familiar allies. Fine, we’ll do it your way.”
“The Nangong Clan in Anhui and the Tang Clan & Emei Sect in Sichuan should be our first targets. Where will you go?”
A Heavenly Demon had possessed the heir of a declining conglomerate in Sichuan and turned it into a massive corporation.
Meanwhile, the one in the Nangong Clan had been reborn as a medieval blacksmith, forging weapons that would go down in history.
“A blacksmith is no match for a conqueror. I’ll go after the one who dominated a world first.”
“Understood. Then we’ll head for Anhui.”
With that, their objectives were set.
—
A streak of light left a long arc in the sky.
Shooting stars weren’t rare, but one this bright was something else entirely.
“Is this an omen of good fortune… or disaster?”
Nangong Jin-ho, the leader of the Nangong Clan and wielder of the Swift Wind Sword, muttered as he gazed at the sky.
Perhaps it was just the weight of his responsibilities keeping him from sleeping.
Or maybe—
He simply wanted to savor the stillness of the night.
With a small cup of Yeo-ah-hong in hand, he pondered the future of the Nangong Clan.
Then—
“…Hmm!?”
His pupils dilated.
‘Kukukukuku!’
The shooting star was coming straight at them.
“EVERYONE, TAKE COVER!”
Nangong Jin-ho drew his sword and shouted.
But the meteor was already at point-blank range.
‘Pa-tsut!’
The blinding blue light gathered around his blade.
His sword aura, spanning over two feet, surged as he slashed at the falling object.
“HAH!”
Only then did he realize.
This was no meteor.
If it were, it wouldn’t have slowed down right before impact.
‘BOOOOM!’
The heavens trembled.
The entire pavilion collapsed from the force of impact.
A massive cloud of dust rose, distorting the surrounding air.
The sheer clash of energies made his internal Qi churn violently.
“Khh….”
Nangong Jin-ho staggered as he assessed the situation.
Fortunately, Nangong Jin-ho wasn’t too badly injured internally.
But that wasn’t much of a comfort—because the situation was ‘far worse’ than anything he could have imagined.
…This was impossible to believe.
That ‘such’ a monstrous being existed.
‘Tremble.’
Nangong Jin-ho’s hands shook uncontrollably.
“A… monster.”
Just from exchanging a single blow, the result was already clear.
No matter how desperately he struggled, he would ‘never’ be a match for this opponent.
“Hmm. That swordsmanship just now… so this is the Nangong Clan.”
The giant man finally spoke.
He was clad in full-body iron armor, something rarely seen in Murim.
If not for his black hair and eyes, he could have easily been mistaken for a foreigner from the West.
“Who are you?”
“Beauregard… No, since this is Murim, I should introduce myself with the name I used back then.”
The man scratched his head.
“Heavenly Demon, Ma Suho. Yes, I believe that was what they called me.”
“H-Heavenly Demon?”
“But now, I go by Beauregard. Yes… ‘Ma Suho’ sounds too awkward to even say out loud.”
“Impossible… The current Heavenly Demon resides in Ten Thousand Great Mountains. And I’ve ‘never’ heard of anyone named Ma Suho.”
“Of course, you haven’t. I have my own circumstances, but… would it even matter to explain them to you?”
“After all, you’re about to die anyway.”
Beauregard stretched his hand toward the empty air.
“Blade No. 39—Rayvent. Blade No. 72—Akasha.”
A short command.
‘Wuuuuuung!’
The air rippled and cracked, and two swords materialized.
They were excessively ornate.
And stunningly beautiful.
Nangong Jin-ho had never seen such weapons before—
And as he watched them, the thought struck him.
Would he ‘ever’ see such magnificent blades again?
Then—
‘Slice!’
As his arms and legs were severed—
He continued thinking the same thought.
“Ah…”
Nangong Jin-ho’s body collapsed.
And that was just the beginning.
Across Murim—
At the Five Great Clans, the Nine Sects, the Demonic Cult, the Ming Cult, and even the Palace of Bodalap—
Different Heavenly Demons descended upon them all.
—
“Nggh… Knggh!”
“Huff. Huff. Huff.”
“I-I feel like I’m going to die!”
“Help me, help me, help me, help me, help—”
“Shut up, all of you. You’re giving me a headache.”
“MoOoOooGiiiiiii—!”
Goguma and the spirit beasts pulled the carriage down the dirt road at full speed.
They had been marching non-stop for over 12 hours.
But there was no time to rest.
“Hoh? You want a break?”
“Then let me grant you an eternal one.”
Jinhyuk, eyes blazing, wasn’t about to let that happen.
‘Slaaap!’ ‘Smaaack!’
The whip coiled around his hands snapped through the air.
“Aaaagh!”
“Uuuaaaah!”
Each crack of the whip was met with a fresh chorus of screams.
“Don’t whine. I avoided your bones when I hit you.”
“Oh! But Undine, you don’t ‘have’ bones, so I can hit you as much as I want, right?”
From Paradise Island, they had started acting up.
And now, they had even created some ‘Victims of the Demon’ resistance group?!
People who thought they were ‘fighting for justice’—
Had to be crushed from the roots.
So thoroughly that they’d ‘never’ dare rebel again.
Thanks to this, Jinhyuk’s group was able to reach the outskirts of Anhui.
“I am… the great divine beast of the East… The ruler of the heavens… Malang… No, the Azure Dragon. Azure Dragon. What a cool name… Fufu…”
Overhead, Malang the Black Crane was struggling to stay airborne, using its weather manipulation powers.
It had been blocking the torrential rain and reducing air resistance—
And in doing so, almost completely drained its magical reserves.
Still, it had fulfilled its role.
As they neared their destination, Chun Yoosung finally asked the question that had been bugging him.
“What kind of guy is this Blacksmith Heavenly Demon? Any abilities, traits, or weaknesses we should know?”
“Hmm… Indeed, this one is also curious.”
Alice mumbled through a mouthful of meat, stuffing her cheeks like a squirrel.
That… supposed noblewoman.
Look at the grease smeared all over her lips.
It was clear she had been deeply scarred by missing out on food earlier.
‘Chun Yoosung thinks Alice is here because I used coins to remove the two-player limit. That should be enough to fool him.’
Jinhyuk had used so many exploits by now that no one even questioned them anymore.
“His name is Beauregard. His specialty is weapon crafting. He’s infamous for numbering his creations.”
“He numbers his weapons? So he must have made a lot of them.”
“He uses over 500 weapons in actual combat. The total number of weapons he’s created is in the thousands.”
Each one was an artifact-class weapon, with the top 10 ranking at the legendary tier in the Tower of Trials.
Even though his main focus was crafting, he still retained his past life as a Heavenly Demon—
Meaning he was insanely powerful.
By now, the Nangong Clan was probably wiped out.
“We’re almost there.”
From the skies, Malang the Black Crane called out.
Thick plumes of smoke were visible in the distance.
But—
“…!”
“…This is…!”
“We’ve been detected.”
All three of them looked up at once.
‘Flash!’
Several lights flickered in the sky.
Spears.
“Damn!”
Alice instantly created a blood barrier.
‘KABOOM!’
Seven spears crashed into the Blood Shield.
They had lost the first move.
But before they could react—
“Hah. Even after taking a direct hit from Spear No. 400—Harisabo, you’re barely scratched? You guys… are pretty strong.”
A voice came from beside the carriage.
Standing on the right wheel—
Clad in heavy armor.
Was the Heavenly Demon Beauregard.