Heavenly Demon Cult: Rise of Cheonma

***

Chapter 2: Demonic Mind

The Fist Demon Master had been knocked senseless!

Despite claims that the current Leader had weakened after fighting the former Leader, rumors began to spread that the Fist Demon Master, who'd challenged him, was left in a pool of blood, proving that their Leader was still strong.

"Couldn't you have shown an ounce of mercy...?" asked the gym rat, or rather, the Fist Demon Master, as he wiped the blood from his lips.

The moniker of the middle-aged man with a distinctive mustache was "Demonic Mind." Demonic Mind was second-in-command of the Heavenly Demon Cult, known as the head and brains of the faction. I looked at him and said,

"I failed to control my strength."

If this truly was inside the Possession of the Martial God, and if I really had possessed Cheonma...

'I must not be found out.'

This was the Heavenly Demon Cult, a notorious group of villains in martial arts novels. If they found out that I wasn't really the celestial demon, countless demons might end up rebelling. So, I decided to perform my main profession of acting here.

"...I see."

"Is there anything else on my schedule? I'd like to rest for a bit."

The Cheonma's manner of speaking, which came out naturally, was definitely helping with my performance. Demonic Mind did not seem to suspect me.

"Yes, understood. There's a meeting scheduled with the masters of the Five Great Demon Cults shortly. You can rest for one more hour before that."

I almost lost my poker face for a moment at the mention of a meeting.

"It seems that the Fist Demon Master won't be able to participate."

With Demonic Mind's words, I internally broke out in a cold sweat.

'The masters of the Five Great Demon Cults? Aren't they the absolute demonic martial artists who assist Cheonma?'

A meeting with such people? In order to survive, I needed to understand the body I had possessed more precisely.

"I understand. Come call for me in an hour."

"Yes, understood, Your Holiness."

I let out a sigh as I confirmed Demonic Mind was leaving the room. At the very least, I felt a bit relieved once he left.

'I need to sort through the current situation before the meeting.'

After summing everything up, it seemed like the world I'd been sucked into was that of the Possession of the Martial God.

'And I've possessed Cheonma, the character I was trying to get cast as.'

I had no idea how this situation came to be, but it certainly didn't feel like a dream. I clenched and unclenched both my fists. They were smooth and without calluses as if they'd not once fought a battle.

'Me as Cheonma...?'

All I wanted was to pass the audition and play the role of Cheonma as the drama's lead, not actually become one...

'First, if this is reality, I should think about how I'm going to get myself not killed.'

First of all, it seemed that I was incredibly strong since I'd been able to knock out the Fist Demon Master, third in the ranks of the Cult, with only one blow. I punched the wall lightly.

Thud.

Nothing happened.

'That's strange.'

Had I not used enough strength? This time, I punched the wall a bit harder.

Bang!

While it made a noise, the wall didn't crumble or break.

'How'd I do it earlier?'

I'd definitely sent the Fist Demon Master away with a single hit. That must have just been a coincidence. In other words, I was currently in a body that could not use martial arts. I also didn't know any martial arts I could test out for myself. If the Fist Demon Master challenged me again...

'I can't be sure that I'll live.'

For now, it seemed that no one knew I wasn't Cheonma, but if I continued on unable to use such abilities, it'd only be a matter of time before I was found out.

"What should I do from now on?"

The silver lining was that this was the world of the Possession of the Martial God. I had read the Possession of the Martial God almost till the end in order to prepare for the role Cheonma. Usually, in such possession stories, the future unfolded according to the novel's plot. I thought I should leverage the advantage of knowing the future content and figure out ways to survive.

"Wait."

But there was a problem. I was not the protagonist, the Martial God, of the Possession of the Martial God.

If this world truly was the world within the story, the Martial God would come to kill me in the distant future. If I left the Martial God be, my death was inevitable. I had to locate and kill him to survive.

"According to what they said, it's been seven days since I became their Leader, right?"

Then this must've been the early part of the story. If I recalled correctly, the first chapter of Possession of Martial God began with the protagonist possessing Pung Seomun, who was destined to become the Martial God. Pung Seomun was the illegitimate child of the Sword Demon Master, part of the Five Great Demon Cults, and had endured much persecution.

He attempted to escape the Heavenly Demon Cult right before being killed by his siblings. That was when the ownership of the Demonic Cult had just changed hands. In that life-or-death situation, Pung Seomun survived by jumping off a cliff. As soon as he entered the martial world, he mastered the Martial God's skill, the Nine Heavens Sword Act, and gained fame by defeating the masters in the Five Great Demon Cults.

The absolute master, the martial god, would come to kill the Cheonma as the first of the World's Ten Greatest masters. If that guy lived on, I, who'd possessed Cheonma, would end up dead.

'I need to find him as soon as possible.'

The timing of our possessions should've been similar. When the new Leader came to power and everyone was distracted by him, Pung Seomun had escaped the Demonic Cult. That meant he could still be within the area.

'But first, I need to check what I look like.'

I found a mirror to finally see my new face. It turned out that the Cheonma was more handsome than I thought. Although he looked lean, he had solid muscles underneath it all.

'It's better than the Fist Demon Master's bulky muscles.'

Even though I'd worked out to maintain my appearance before this possession, I'd been unable to gain muscles that were this finely sculpted. Having checked my outward look, it was time to examine my inner system.

I sat in the lotus position. To immerse myself in the role, I'd also studied the martial arts mentioned in these types of novels. Of course, since such martial arts didn't exist in my world, the only things I could learn about were breathing techniques and blood meridian points.

'Who knew these would be so helpful.'

While learning the breathing techniques, I also learned how to sit in the lotus position. According to martial arts common sense, to utilize the energy called "Qi", you needed to sit in the lotus position and feel the energy within you.

'Breathe in, breathe out.'

I couldn't feel any inner energy when practicing breathing techniques in the modern world.

'In martial arts, there is a concept called internal energy. And if I've possessed Cheonma, surely, there must be internal energy within my body as well.'

I closed my eyes and began to search for internal energy. I felt a tingling sensation. As I closed my eyes and sensed myself, something inside my body started to make itself known.

'I can feel it!'

It was fascinating. I decided to focus harder on the tingly sensation below my navel. Wriggle, wriggle. Something began to squirm.

'This is…'

Whoosh!

All of a sudden, my body started trembling from the wildly surging energy. As something cold and boundless writhed around, I shivered. This was an energy that felt terrifying and chilling.

'Is this my internal energy?'

It was much too frightening to be just internal energy.

'But if I can control this… I might be able to do some martial arts. Move, move!'

Thinking back, the internal energy seemed to have moved when I knocked out the Fist Demon Master.

Remembering that sensation, I fervently hoped for my internal energy to move. Then, Whizz...

The force I believed to be my internal energy began to move slightly.

'It's moving!'

It stirred a bit before coming to a stop again.

"It is not moving…"

But there was still a possibility.

Thinking back, it seemed like my fist had used this energy when I was panicking while facing the Fist Demon Master. I didn't know the first thing about martial arts, so it was natural that I couldn't use it yet.

'But still, Cheonma knows some martial arts…'

If I could just figure out how to use them, I might be able to wield his martial arts abilities myself. But of course, for now...

"This is a dead end…"

If it were discovered that I couldn't use my abilities properly, many demons like the Fist Demon Master would challenge me to a fight. According to the laws of the Heavenly Demon Cult, where the strong preyed on the weak, anyone who won a ranking battle fairly could become the Leader, even against the current Leader.

The silver lining was that no one had yet discovered that Cheonma was occupied by someone else, me. Cheonma was the supreme Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, meaning no one could dare treat me recklessly. So, the one course of action I needed to take to survive here was clear:

'Act more like Cheonma than himself.'

Having studied the guy from the Possession of the Martial God, it wouldn't be too difficult.

After all, acting was my strong suit.

'First of all, I should find Pung Seomun through Demonic Mind.'

As long as the followers of the Demonic Cult still believed I was their Leader, one word from me could bring Pung Seomun to his knees right before my eyes.

***

Before meeting Demonic Mind, I checked my manner of speech. This was because my words constantly came out in Cheonma's style without me even intending it.

""This Holiness is Cheonma, the Heavenly Demon and the Leader of the Demonic Cult."

Indeed, I referred to myself as "This Holiness". This seemed fixed in his manner of speech, regardless of my will. Though I didn't know why, it was an advantage for me. I could act as the Cheonma without having to think about it.

I began to practice what to say to Demonic Mind while looking into the mirror.

"Demonic Mind, find and capture Pung Seomun of the Sword Demon Cult immediately."

'...But what should I say if he asked why we need to bring him?'

Even after finding Pung Seomun, there was still a problem. I couldn't tell him,

'You'll kill me in the future, so I'll kill you first.' I couldn't justify killing Pung Seomun with such reasoning. 'Besides, there's no way I could actually kill someone.'

However, I knew all too well that if I didn't kill him, I would die.

'I can't let that happen.'

I was going to survive by any means possible and return home. I'd lived my entire life playing minor roles. Living as a background actor, I painfully learned that if I didn't act first, I would be acted upon. Only those who were prepared gained opportunities to become the main character. I couldn't repeat that kind of life here.

'But if I kill Pung Seomun, the story won't follow the original plot.'

My current advantage was that I'd read the Possession of the Martial God and knew the future developments of this world. I couldn't give up this advantage.

'If I can't kill him, the only remaining method is...'

Persuading him.

Pung Seomun was inherently kind and honest in the Possession of the Martial God. He neither forgot a favor nor tolerated an insult. He was a typical chivalrous hero.

'If I utilize this well, I might be able to make Pung Seomun my ally.'

I worried that Pung Seomun might have already escaped the Demonic Cult as I headed to find Demonic Mind.

And just as I opened the door and stepped outside,

"Demonic Mind?"

I ran into him standing right outside the door.

"...It hasn't been an hour yet."

"Oh, you're here, Your Holiness."

"Hm, right. What were you doing here?"

"Since this meeting is our most important task today, I was reviewing related documents while I waited."

I suddenly flinched at the thought that Demonic Mind had been waiting for me at the door all this time.

'I heard that martial artists are good at hearing...'

If that was true, then he might've heard all of the muttering from inside my room.

"Did you hear?"

"What are you referring to?"

Fortunately, Demonic Mind didn't seem to have heard my muttering. Just as I thought it was a relief...

"Ah, if you're referring to your orders, I've already informed my subordinates. They will bring Pung Seomun as soon as they find him."

Orders?

'When did I give you orders?'

"Ah."

Come to think of it, I'd practiced ordering Demonic Mind during my rehearsal inside the room. If he'd heard that, then...

'I'm screwed.'

He had heard everything. Dang it.

***

Demonic Mind thought to himself while watching the Leader emerging from the room.

'Who would've thought that doing nothing was the right action?'

As the leader's brainy advisor, he had to meticulously prepare for their meeting with the masters of the Five Great Demon Cults. Demonic Mind, who intended to prepare the meeting materials while staying near the Temple of the Leader, flinched at the voice of the leader from inside.

"It is not moving..."

It was clearly addressed to him standing outside. Demonic Mind, who was waiting near the room as usual to attend to the leader's requests, tilted his head in confusion.

"This is a dead end...

'His Holiness must've been quite uncomfortable.'

Words spoken without putting up an auditory energy shield were clearly meant for Demonic Mind to hear. Just as he was contemplating whether to step away from the door...

"Demonic Mind, find and capture Pung Seomun of the Sword Demon Cult immediately."

This time, it was a direct order. Pung Seomun was the illegitimate child of the Sword Demon Master. He was curious why their leader was looking for a child who'd failed even the trials of the Demon Dragon Academy, but the Leader's word was law.

"Capture Pung Seomun immediately."

At his command, Demonic Mind's subordinates, who had been hiding within the shadows of demonic aura, began to move. And a little while later, the leader, who always adhered strictly to break times, opened the door and stepped out first.

"Did you hear?"

"What are you referring to?"

If this was about Pung Seomun, he'd followed his instructions faithfully.

"Ah, if you're referring to your orders, I've already informed my subordinates. They will bring Pung Seomun as soon as they find him."

"Good. Well done."

"Yes, Your Holiness. I believe it's time to head to the meeting room now."

At Demonic Mind's words, the Leader's expression hardened.

"Your Holiness, is something wrong?"

"Wait a moment."

"Yes, understood."

The Leader went back into his room and did not come out for quite some time.