Chapter 2 - A Fortuitous Encounter (1)

Who would you name as the strongest person on the continent?

It was one of those fan wars that could crop up just as easily in everyday conversation as on the Continent-Wide Forum.

Some would name the empire’s swordmaster; others, the kingdom’s archmage. Still others would say the princess of the demons, or the Hero who had vanished.

Everyone had a different pick depending on their origins, birth, background, and connections. But no one disputed that those contenders were strong.

Who Is the Strongest Person on the Continent?

1. Ashe of the Messiah Empire

2. Kadir of the Iris Kingdom

3. Kayrin of Mephisto

4. The Missing Hero

└Heavenly Demon: How strange. Why am I absent from this poll?

└Who are you?

└Heavenly Demon: I am the Heavenly Demon, rightful successor and master of the Divine Cult.

└Yeah, I’m asking who the hell that is lmao

Little known to the rest of the world, a monster lived in Zhong, a nation shrouded in mystery. Its isolationist tendencies meant that scarcely any information about it reached other countries, but even that could not keep the forum out.

└If that’s the real Heavenly Demon, they have a point. Strong as fuck

└How strong?

└Could probably wreck anyone one-on-one lol. Even the masters of the Central Plains all got stomped

└Then why isn’t it more widely known? Pretty sure I’ve seen similar stories on the forum

└Bro, try buying stocks based on rumors alone. Go on

└Oh

└Lmaooo

But rumors from the forum were never trustworthy. They were unofficial, in other words.

Above all, the very idea of the Heavenly Demon hanging around a forum was ridiculous. Why would someone who had brought every master in the Central Plains to their knees and unified the martial world spend time there? And so much time, at that. Barely a day passed without Heavenly Demon posting some nonsense.

└Hey, Heavenly Demon. Who do you think is the strongest person on the continent?

└Heavenly Demon: Myself, of course.

└Lmaooo why even ask? Obviously the answer was gonna be me

└Heavenly Demon: Then let me ask you in turn. What realm have those people reached? Have they attained the Transformation Realm?

└Sword Masta: I’m a swordmaster

└Allfather: I’m a tenth-circle mage

└Slutty Princess: I’m a ninth-circle mageee

└Heavenly Demon: What might those be? I am unfamiliar with the language of the western nations

└Lmaoooo

└Fucking boomer lmao

Thus, the users treated Heavenly Demon as either an obsessive roleplayer or a boomer.

In fact, forum users from the Central Plains generally knew little of other countries’ languages or slang. Everything on the forum was automatically translated, but nouns and slang could not be rendered in their native language.

This was a consequence of isolationism, yet ironically, that same isolationism accounted for their high proportion of forum users.

└If you really are the Heavenly Demon, do something about the emperor. Apparently anyone who uses the forum gets executed.

└Heavenly Demon: He dares interfere with my pastime? He knows no fear of heaven.

After that post, rumors circulated that Zhong’s emperor had been assassinated or something of the sort, and people became free to use the forum. That was enough to make everyone start wondering whether Heavenly Demon might actually be the real thing.

Heavenly Demon, Read This.

If you really are the Heavenly Demon, post a face pic for proof. Then I’ll believe you. Yep

└Heavenly Demon: You would have me reveal my august countenance? Such insolence.

└Wait, are you ugly? An ugly chick? Lmaooo

└Heavenly Demon: When I first ventured into the martial world, I earned the title of Greatest Beauty Under Heaven as well.

└Cut the bullshit

As time passed, Heavenly Demon grew more famous—as a boomer who had lost themselves in the role. Someone even remarked that if the real Heavenly Demon saw this, they would tear out the impostor’s organs and personally slice them to death.

It was understandable, given that nearly everything Heavenly Demon posted was a shitpost. The general consensus was that no one could write that much unless they had an insane amount of time on their hands.

“How strange. Why does no one believe me?”

And the real Heavenly Demon gazed at the forum in puzzlement.

Skin as white as milk, full lips, a lovely face, and curves that even her black martial robes could not conceal.

Yu Sowol, the being who reigned as the sole Demon beneath the heavens. She was “Heavenly Demon,” hard at work browsing the forum yet again.

“When I have provided proof of everything, no less. Tsk, tsk.”

She clicked her tongue, but there was not a trace of irritation on her face. If anything, she looked intrigued. After all, the forum was the Heavenly Demon’s only hobby.

One might ask what someone as exalted as the Heavenly Demon was doing on a forum, but ultimately, she was human too. Defeating every master in the Central Plains and earning the title of Greatest Under Heaven did nothing to relieve her boredom.

She was so overwhelmingly strong that no one even challenged her. So she had holed up in the mountains, ostensibly to train in seclusion.

Upvote if the Heavenly Demon’s a F*cking Scrub lmao

Upvotes for now lmaooo

└Upvoted lmaooo

└Upvote lol

“Hehe. You bastards deserve worse than to be chewed alive. How dare you mock me.”

This was what she loved. Bastards hiding behind anonymity and spewing whatever bullshit they pleased.

Back at the Divine Cult, most of the faithful could not even meet her eyes. Yu Sowol was, after all, the one supreme being beneath the heavens. They were too busy revering her.

But not on the forum. Shielded by anonymity, people spouted unspeakable insults. Some even sexually harassed her, but she magnanimously let it slide. They did not even know what she looked like, anyway.

‘If I had my way, I would fight the masters of the western nations...’

Still, it was not without its disappointments. Whenever people discussed the continent’s strongest, she was always left out.

Other nations maintained active relations with one another, so the names of their masters were widely known. Not so the Central Plains. Their isolationist policies had left them like frogs in a well.

She had therefore considered making the journey herself, but strangely enough, the faithful had vehemently dissuaded her.

[“You must not. If you, our Heaven, were to go in person, it would cause countless problems.”]

[“Why is that?”]

[“If you were absent for too long, the faithful would be thrown into confusion, and those wicked martial artists would seize the opportunity to attack. Above all...”]

[“Above all?”]

[“Those insolent barbarians should come to you. Surely it is unthinkable for the Supreme One to go to them?”]

[“Hmm. You have a point.”]

The Heavenly Demon had been persuaded by her trusted “Demonic Strategist.” But the strategist’s actual thinking had been different.

The Central Plains were one thing, but the moment she fought a master from another country, everything would become a tangled mess. They had yet to bring even the Central Plains fully under control. What would happen if they dragged barbarians into it too?

The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, established through such painstaking effort, could collapse. It was a pragmatic assessment.

Fuck, the Asshole I Serve Is Driving Me Insane

Smart Demonic Cultist

That bitch with nothing but martial arts in her head is trying to cause trouble again. Thank fuck I barely managed to talk her out of it. Otherwise I would’ve run away on the spot.

└Hang in there, bro. What’s your job, though?

└Smart Demonic Cultist: In western terms, a secretary? Butler? Something like that

└Must be rough with a boss like that

└Smart Demonic Cultist: Sigh... Fuck, I wanna bail so bad

└Why don’t you?

└Smart Demonic Cultist: Job for life lol. Started under the boss’s parents

└Lmaoooo

└But if you’re a secretary, do you really get under the desk?

└Are you fucking insane lmao

└Smart Demonic Cultist: My head would explode if I tried that

An ominous post had appeared on the forum immediately afterward, but the Heavenly Demon ignored it. That sort of thing happened all the time.

Afterward, she stayed within the Divine Cult, made a brief appearance because of the emperor, then returned to her uneventful days.

Being Yu Sowol the “human,” trading vicious insults with others, was immensely fun—unlike being Yu Sowol the “Heavenly Demon,” whom everyone revered.

Then she happened upon an insight and entered secluded training, only to run into a completely unexpected obstacle.

“Cough!”

SPLAT!

A mouthful of pitch-black blood poured out as Yu Sowol coughed. It was a considerable amount. She wiped the blood from her mouth, her expression troubled.

‘To think I would suffer qi deviation...’

Indeed, she had developed qi deviation while devoting herself to training.

How could the sole supreme being beneath the heavens suffer qi deviation? One might well ask, but this was a kind of trial. It was like an insect molting, its survival hinging on whether the process succeeded.

Anyone could suffer qi deviation to begin with. Being the Heavenly Demon made her no exception.

‘My internal energy... is growing far too powerful.’

The Heavenly Demon was strong. The problem was that she was far too strong.

Yu Sowol looked down at her hand. A web of cracks ran across it, and it looked ready to shatter at any moment. Her outer shell was collapsing, unable to withstand the energy within.

The only way out was to bring that energy under control or neutralize it with a spiritual elixir. Yet despite her constant attempts at the former, her internal energy only grew stronger, never diminishing in the slightest.

‘Heaven is heaven, and earth is earth...’

Even so, she kept using the forum to the bitter end. In truth, she had half given up. With her internal energy continuing to grow, all that remained was for this wretched shell to reach its limit and burst.

With her days effectively numbered, she emptied her mind and wrote a post.

Is There No One Who Will Have a Serious Conversation With Me? This Is a Grave Matter.

Heavenly Demon

As the title says.

└Heavenly Demon Death Beam!!

└Waaah!

“Hehe.”

Yu Sowol laughed, wearing the pitying expression of someone looking at a complete fucking idiot. To think that the forum was the only place she could turn. Self-mockery gave way to self-loathing.

The more she felt that way, the worse her qi deviation became, but by then she had already resigned herself.

‘Is this how I go...?’

She might as well browse the forum one last time. She did not fancy dying alone in silence. At the very least, she wanted to leave something behind until the very end. It was a natural human instinct.

Before writing her final post, she opened the one at the very top. It had been written by a new registered user—the one a dwarf had insulted by asking whether their head was an anvil.

Anyone Know What This Herb Is?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of a crescent-shaped plant)

No idea what kind of herb this is. Anyone know?

“!!!”

Yu Sowol’s eyes flew wide at the post. It was the photograph. It showed an herb with a crescent-shaped flower in bloom.

‘C-could this be...!’

Obsessed with martial arts though she was, the Heavenly Demon knew her herbs. Born and raised in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, she had consumed every spiritual elixir imaginable.

In doing so, she had also learned to control their energy. Her knowledge of herbs rivaled an expert’s.

‘Could it be New Moon Spirit Grass? There is no doubt.’

New Moon Spirit Grass. An herb superb at calming surging internal energy. To Yu Sowol, who was dying because she could not control her qi, it was more vital than even the herb of immortality.

She posted a comment without hesitation. Her mind worked several times faster than other people’s, allowing her to secure the first spot.

└Heavenly Demon: Insolence!! I claimed it first, yet you remain so greedy!!

└Yeah, nooo~

└What claim lmao. Whoever the seller likes gets first dibs

└Move along, boomer~

“Y-you godforsaken bastards...!”

But being first meant nothing. In those few moments, a pack of jackals had caught the scent and descended.

Her fury soon gave way to anxiety. The competition had grown too fierce. She had already sent a trade request some time ago, but Wild Grylls had not accepted.

‘How unseemly.’

Yu Sowol gave a self-deprecating laugh. She had disgraced herself to the very end.

But it was so bitterly unfair. She had wanted to die fighting, not meet such a wretched end.

The energy within her kept growing beyond her control, and her remaining lifespan began dwindling away. Lamenting her plight, she was just about to close her eyes when—

Wild Grylls has sent you a trade request. Would you like to accept?

A saving hand reached down from heaven. Her eyes grew wider and wider.

Why? Why choose her, out of all those people?

Her thoughts were lengthy, but her actions were swift. She hurriedly accepted the request. A rectangular box appeared before her—an empty window.

Hey hey, you’re Heavenly Demon, right?

A short greeting filled the empty space. Flippant, yet quite polite. Without realizing it, Yu Sowol cleared her throat and sent a reply.

Heavenly Demon

Indeed. I am the Heavenly Demon, the one and only Heaven of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Do you wish to trade with me?

Yes. You commented first, Heavenly Demon.

First come, first served

Heavenly Demon

Thank you. One who knows courtesy is a rare find.

Fortunately, Wild Grylls was not ill-mannered either. The Heavenly Demon inwardly sighed with relief.

The forum was a cesspit. Many hid behind anonymity and laid their desires bare. Such courtesy in a place like that felt like a rose that had somehow managed to bloom.

Heavenly Demon

Is there anything you desire?

I shall obtain anything within my power.

Her options were limited for now, as she had to attend to her training. But once she returned to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, she intended to give anything asked of her.

Even the Heavenly Demon did not forget kindnesses or grudges. She would gladly pass on a secret manual if that was what Wild Grylls wanted.

For now, something to start a fire with and a compass.

A weapon to protect myself and some basic food.

That should about do it.

The Heavenly Demon was bewildered. That was all? This was New Moon Spirit Grass—a supreme herb anyone would want to buy even if it cost a fortune.

Heavenly Demon

Will that truly suffice?

As you surely know, New Moon Spirit Grass is an exceedingly rare herb.

Even so, could it be worth more than my life?

I only need what I need.

Heavenly Demon

Hmm... Very well.

Given my circumstances, some of those things will be difficult to obtain immediately, but I can secure them with time.

My circumstances make this pretty urgent too.

So can you do it?

She could. The Heavenly Demon turned to look at a corner of the cave. There lay a secret manual recording her insights, a large pile of fasting pills, and her trusty sword.

That met two of the conditions. She had no fire-starting tools, but there was a way.

Heavenly Demon

May I ask what realm you have reached?

Have you entered the Transformation Realm?

I’m just a regular ol’ person...

“Oh dear.”

In that case, she could not teach Wild Grylls the Samadhi True Fire. Yu Sowol hurried on.

Heavenly Demon

My apologies, but I can only provide two of the things you requested.

A weapon and food.

Hmm...

Heavenly Demon

But once I descend to the Divine Cult, I can give you the other two as well.

Yu Sowol was growing desperate. As her internal energy strengthened, cold sweat began pouring off her.

What was more, trades were limited to three minutes. Once those three minutes were up, the two of them would be unable to trade for a day.

OK, got it.

Heavenly Demon

Truly?

You said you’d give them to me, so I’ll trust you.

If you don’t, I can stop trusting you then.

“Ah...”

What an extraordinarily courteous young man(?) this was. Yu Sowol was moved. A fortuitous encounter in her hour of desperation, with someone who would be her salvation.

She had never experienced anything like this, neither when she first entered the martial world nor when she unified the Central Plains.

It felt as though everything in the world had brightened. The cave was pitch-dark, but her conversation with Wild Grylls shone like the sun.

‘Ah. This is no time for that.’

She hastily gathered her sword and fasting pills. She would no longer need them once she reached the next realm.

As a regular forum user, she knew how trading worked. All she had to do was hold or touch the items she wished to send.

Wild Grylls has added trade items.

Heavenly Demon has added trade items.

Would you like to trade?

She accepted immediately. The other party must have accepted soon afterward, for the message changed.

Trade complete.

I got mine. Did yours arrive?

Yu Sowol never saw that message. She was too busy stuffing the New Moon Spirit Grass now in her hand into her mouth.

She was truly sorry to Wild Grylls, but her life was in danger. The moment she swallowed the herb, she began circulating her qi and regulating her breathing.

Just as she had expected, as soon as she absorbed the herb’s energy, her internal energy—once as hot as an active volcano—began to settle.

Even she was astonished by the effect. At this rate, she would be able to break out of her shell and rise to the next realm.

Relieved though she was, she did not lose focus. She had no desire to squander the opportunity she had finally seized.

‘Just a little... A little more...’

HUMMM

As she continued circulating her qi and regulating her breathing, Yu Sowol’s body slowly rose into the air. Her beautiful ebony hair floated up as though drifting through water, and a faint light seeped from her.

CRACK!

Like a bird breaking out of its egg, Yu Sowol was undergoing a similar process. Her body had already undergone a complete transformation once, but now it was happening again.

Her cracked skin fell away as new skin grew beneath it, while her bones and body shifted into a suitable form.

The realm of Demon Transcendence, free of all the demons of the world. In the Central Plains, it was called the Profound Realm.

Yu Sowol slowly opened her closed eyes. Nothing in her gaze suggested someone who had looked death in the face.

Her black eyes were tranquil as a still lake, gentle as a breeze. Yu Sowol, the Heavenly Demon, had broken out of her egg once more and taken the world into her gaze.

“Whew...”

She let out a long breath, a sigh mingled with a tangle of emotions. Then she looked at her hand. Fresh, snow-white skin covered it, leaving it the very picture of delicate, jade-like beauty.

She was satisfied. A smile came unbidden. She did not know how she could ever repay this kindness.

‘Ah. Oh dear. I have not offered my thanks.’

She hurriedly opened the forum. Time had passed, and her conversation with Wild Grylls had ended.

All she could do now was write a post. Even after attaining Demon Transcendence, Yu Sowol the human had not disappeared. Quite the opposite. Meeting a benefactor in her hour of crisis had only strengthened her humanity.

She wanted to repay this kindness by any means possible. But how?

Never in her life had she been indebted to anyone’s kindness. She had earned countless grudges, but this was her first time receiving such a favor.

Her heart pounded, and a smile stole over her lips. She was not even aware of her own reaction.

Wild Grylls, Read This.

Heavenly Demon

My honored friend, you have bestowed upon me a kindness I must spend my lifetime repaying. If there is anything you desire, name it, and I shall obtain it without fail. Should you wish, I can personally grant you a secret manual.

Ah. To put your mind at ease, I shall certainly deliver the items you requested.

The Heavenly Demon herself had gone so far as to say “my honored friend.” It was a form of address verging on the utmost respect.

Several comments appeared afterward, but none from the person she wanted. Yu Sowol waited and waited, with no end in sight, for her benefactor to leave a comment.

Yet several minutes passed without a single comment from Wild Grylls.

“... Why will you not answer me?”

Yu Sowol voiced her disappointment. It had only been a few minutes, but to her, it felt like an eternity.

‘Could it be because I did not offer my thanks at once?’

Her worry deepened.

* * *

Meanwhile, Wild Grylls.

WOOF!! WOOF!! GRRR! WOOF!!

“Aaagh! Fuck!”

Currently being chased by a beast.

Contrary to the Heavenly Demon’s assumptions, this was no time whatsoever to open the forum.