The Magistrate knelt on the gravelly

  ground of the courtyard. Sebastian had invited him to sit on a chair as

  they spoke, but he refused, vehemently. Apparently a lowly mortal like him could never sit on an

  equal height as an esteemed practitioner, especially not one as powerful

  as Sebastian.

  It was unclear when he had actually arrived. When Safi

  opened the gate to get some lunch, he was there on his knees, silently waiting. Sebastian suspected that he arrived at dawn but didn't want to disturb them and instead waited until

  he was let in.

  “So, Magistrate Kwan, you offered the lives and homes of

  the people of Mujin as remuneration for saving the town from the Blood

  Cleaver Gang. Elaborate.”

  “It’s true, Lord Practitioner! We are a humble town,

  unable to protect ourselves from any who seek to take advantage. The

  gangs, they come and go as they please. They take anything and anyone

  they choose. Until Lord Practitioner saved us! Never before have we

  experienced such benevolence. We give ourselves to you, my lord. We will

  gladly serve and worship at your feet.”

  The magistrate’s words, though sincere, made Sebastian’s

  skin tighten. He forced himself to keep his eyes locked on the old man, not letting his discomfort show,

  even though Magistrate Kwan kept his head buried in the gravel.

  Being worshipped was a new experience, one that would

  take some taking used to. To achieve his goals, however, he refused to

  let his discomfort control him.

  “And you speak for the entire town?”

  “I do, my lord!” the magistrate answered without hesitation.

  “Very well.”

  The Magistrate became ecstatic as Sebastian accepted his

  offer. “A thousand gratitudes, my lord! The people of Mujin shall serve

  your lordship for as long as we draw breath. A palace shall be

  constructed, worthy of your grace.” Having received confirmation, he finally sat up straight, though he still wouldn't look directly at Sebastian.

  Sebastian held up his hand to put a stop to the man’s

  flattery. “Tell me more about the town and the surrounding region.

  What’s the population of Mujin? What levels are the citizens? What are

  the resources available here? Tell me about level rankings and…” Sebastian asked about a thousand questions. The poor

  magistrate desperately tried to keep up and answered everything to the

  best of his abilities.

  It wasn’t until late into the night that Sebastian

  finally felt satisfied and let the man go home. There had been a great

  deal of gaps in his knowledge of not just this particular region but of

  the eastern continent itself. He’d learned a lot from talking to his

  unit since they arrived in Mujin but this filled any remaining gap.

  The town had a population of well over a hundred

  thousand. A surprisingly large population, especially given the modest size of the town. Most of them were quite poor. The lack of resources also applied

  to building materials so families tended to huddle together in smaller

  houses. The culture is what stood out most to Sebastian, how they all just accepted whatever fate decided for them, and now they happily depended on the well-being of strangers to save them. A population of a hundred thousand yet they didn't have any sort of military presence, barely even any guards to help protect them against bandits and gangs. As far as he could tell, only a handful of people who were somewhat more well-off hired some protection, but only for themselves, and the rest of the people, including the town's leadership, had their place and status so ingrained in their minds that they didn't seem to even consider the option of training some sort of protective force for the town.

  Their mindset and general poverty made the Magistrate’s promise of constructing a palace for

  him sound either like baseless lip-service or terribly wasteful.

  Most people were around level 5, a lower average level

  than what Sebastian knew of in Lumeria, but not by much. The main difference

  was that there were only a rare few in the town over level 10, the

  highest was an old man who was a level 18 [Stockman] in charge of the

  town's biggest livestock operations. Since there was so little actual

  agriculture, animal husbandry was a big business, and it led to the man earning many [System] achievements.

  That topic led them into the colloquial ranking system

  used on the continent. Sebastian had already come across some terms

  thrown around when he traveled to the Barren Wastelands but he never

  learned exactly what they meant, until now.

  Apparently, there were two different ranking systems

  depending on if you were a practitioner—or martial artist, or if you

  were a production or worker class.

  Practitioners were members of established sects, families or other

  martial organizations and focused primarily on combat, enlightenment,

  and seeking immortality through leveling.

  Martial artists were the same but usually came from some

  martial arts school or martial lineage, or were vagabonds who didn’t

  belong to any Group but still pursued the same path.

  Each 10 levels meant a new rank.

  Under level 10 didn’t have a rank as you were just considered a mortal, regardless of talent, ambition, or interest.

  At levels 10 - 19 you were considered a Novice, then at

  level 20 you became a Third-rate. At level 30, a Second-rate, and the

  First-rates that Sebastian had heard about were between levels 40 to 49.

  After Major accomplishment—which was called the same thing here because it came from the [System]—you became an Expert.

  Then Peak, followed by Master. At level 80, after Grand Accomplishment, came Grandmaster. And Saint at level 90.

  Once you reached level 100—the max level any being

  touched by the [System] could reach—you were called an Immortal. In the

  history of the eastern continent, or the entire world in general, there

  had only ever been a handful of Immortals. The eastern continent, or Mugongji as Sebastian was

  trying to get into the habit of using, currently had three Saints and

  over a dozen known Grandmasters.

  When it came to people without Combat

  Skills, who instead focused on production or construction or any other

  general field, they had similar rankings for each 10 levels.

  Mortals under level 10 were called Novices, the bar was generally lower for non-combat fields. Then came Journeyman, Adept, Expert at level 30,

  Virtuoso, Master at 50 after Major Accomplishment, Grandmaster at level

  60, Legend, Sage, Saint and finally at level 100, God.

  Historically there had been far fewer Gods than

  Immortals. Legends and myths still remained of an Alchemy God from

  dozens of millennia ago.

  ***

  Ferran left for Calindor the next day.

  Safi and Víctor tried to convince him to stay, or at least wait a while

  longer, but he refused. His time as a mercenary was over, and he wanted

  nothing more than return home to his family.

  No one blamed him.

  Over the next two weeks, Sebastian learned that the people of Mujin had a different definition of a palace than he did.

  Hundreds of workers had constructed a house at the top of

  a hill overlooking the town. They called it a palace, and Sebastian

  didn’t deflate their excitement, but it was just a large courtyard manor similar to so many others in Mugongji. It was larger than any home in

  town, though, with three floors—although the top floor was just a small

  single room. It could certainly be called a mansion, but to call it a

  palace was pushing it.

  It was built mostly out of some sort of processed red

  sandstone, which was the main building material of the area, with dark

  tiled roofs in a classic pagoda style. There were two other single floor

  buildings around the courtyard and a gated wall, grander than any other

  in town.

  Although the palace was bigger than the house he shared with the others for several months, it was meant for him alone.

  The others in the group were also given new houses by the same hill, only not quite as grand.

  They had built 6 houses in the span of two weeks. Even

  with the lower level average, the construction workers of Mujin were

  impressive, although it helped that there were so many volunteers

  helping the construction.

  Sebastian let Magistrate Kwan continue running the town

  without interfering much at all. He had Marion coordinate with the

  magistrate to learn more about the town with the intention that she

  would eventually take over. There was a reason why she was assigned as

  his second-in-command back in the Wanderings Wolves Corps—she was

  incredibly skilled in administration and organization, and Sebastian

  trusted her to deal with town business.

  The group gathered together now and then in Sebastian’s mansion to discuss how to organize a new sect.

  They were leaning toward a similar structure to other

  sects. A sect leader at the top, a few core elders, some inner elders

  under them in charge of various halls of the sect with outer elders to

  manage the outer disciples and the mortal affairs.

  They also discussed names. Gawen suggested the Wolf

  Bastion, to honor the mercenary company that brought the group together

  and a play on Sebastian’s name at the same time. Other suggestions

  included: the Canine Sect, the Southern Palace, Rising Dawn Pavilion,

  and many more.

  None of them felt quite right.

  Sebastian himself was focused on more important matters.

  During his long travel down across Mugongji he had a lot of time to

  think. Most powerhouses, both here in Mugongji and in the rest of the

  world, were built on the foundation of someone discovering or creating a

  method for earning some Skill or Title. In Calindor for example, sword

  schools were built on their own unique Sword Style Skills.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  In terms of foundations and their potentials, Sebastian’s

  was the greatest in the world. His greatest asset wasn’t his [Earthen

  Cultivation Art] but rather cultivation itself.

  The concept of growing stronger without having to hunt

  monsters, kill people, earn difficult [System] achievements, or pay

  exuberant amounts of money for experience elixirs was unique throughout

  the world.

  His own [Earthen Cultivation Art] wasn’t a good fit, however. Not in the long term. It was too pure, to slow to cultivate.

  Sebastian had Titles and knowledge from the modern world

  that allowed him cultivate at speeds that made the cultivation method

  viable, but the young mortals of the Red Sea didn’t. It would take them

  centuries to reach Sebastian’s current level, if they ever even could.

  That meant he had to create an entirely new cultivation method for his sect.

  The Red Sea was barren in most regards, but natural essence was everywhere, regardless of how barren a place might be. The main issue with the natural essence of the Red Sea

  wasn’t so much the density, it was its monochrome nature. Natural

  essence was usually a well balanced mix of many basic affinities. Even

  in places where one affinity was vastly more abundant, there was still

  an underlying foundation of well balanced essence.

  In the Red Sea, however, there was mostly only the one

  affinity. It was likely the reason there were so few monsters and other

  resources.

  Sebastian sat in a surprisingly

  comfortable chair up in the small room on the third floor of his new

  mansion. On the desk in front of him was the manual for the [Earthen

  Cultivation Art] and a pile of his own notes and theories.

  The room had windows on all sides which gave him a

  beautiful view of the town and the surrounding area. Sunlight lit up the

  room as he leaned back in his chair to think. He crumpled up a piece of

  paper—filled with another stream of consciousness which had led him

  nowhere—and tossed it into the trash can in the corner.

  Creating a new cultivation method was easier said than

  done, but he had spent months thinking about it, not to mention toying

  with the idea now and then during his years in Celder.

  The idea fascinated him.

  His own method drew in all the natural essence around him

  and then filtered away any and all traces of its origins. Notes in the

  manual talked about other methods and how they only absorbed natural

  essence of their specific affinity. That meant that they too would have

  to filter out any traces of other affinities. However, since there were

  less impurities to filter out, they could cultivate much faster. Also,

  because they had a natural affinity to their own internal essence,

  Techniques would be enhanced by that affinity.

  Sebastian thought.

  It would make future disciples able to progress pretty quick. But is that enough? It would limit their Techniques somewhat, mainly focusing on this specific affinity. Based on how it resonates with the ground, I feel like it’s some form of earth affinity. Limiting my sect to Earth Techniques wouldn’t be the end of the world, earth bending should be strong after all.

  But no… It’s not enough. The method needs to be effective even in environments without earth essence.

  It’s the same problem that the

  cultivators of ancient times tried to solve with the [Earthen

  Cultivation Art], and I suppose I’m the result of their efforts. My

  method converts natural essence of any affinity into pure essence. That

  pure essence is what ensures that you have limitless potential.

  But do my disciples really need limitless potential?

  My goal here isn’t to raise a single

  direct disciple into the strongest person in the world, that position

  will belong to me. All I need is a large force of soldiers equivalent to

  level 30, or level 50, or eventually level 80 if they’re really strong.

  To the people of this world, even reaching level 30 is considered

  impressive, it’s exceedingly rare for anyone to even have the potential

  to reach level 70, much less actually do it.

  So maybe I don’t purify the natural

  essence at all! So long as it can be used, it’s fine to just convert it

  into... some sort of impure essence. I’ll need to strip away the affinity without

  loosing too much essence in the process. And also alter the meridian

  diagrams to handle the impure essence. The meridian pathways of the

  Earth Cultivation Art are too delicate for impure essence, and they need

  to help facilitate the conversion.

  During the [Essence Gathering]

  stage, the affinities of natural essence don’t really matter. It’s not

  until the meridian system is firmly in place and [Essence Consolidation]

  begins that it comes into effect.

  It will need a clear intent to be

  condensed into impure essence, but that’s still not gonna be enough. To

  strip away the affinities but retain the essence means that they can’t

  be filtered out, they need to be broken down.

  He sat up straight in his chair.

  This could work… no, this will work!

  Sebastian continued working on his new

  cultivation method. Even with an idea of the path to follow, it still

  wasn’t a simple matter to actually make it work.

  He had gained some level of expertise in cultivation

  after over a decade of hard work, but he was still technically

  inexperienced.

  After the first month of theorizing, he decided to test it out.

  Since he didn’t have any test subjects, he used himself.

  He drew in the natural earth essence of the Red Sea and used a carefully

  constructed intent to break the affinities down and condense a single

  drop of impure essence in his Sea of Essence.

  It nearly killed him.

  The moment the drop formed, his entire cultivation base

  turned against the drop. It was an automatic response, like an immune

  system attacking an invading virus. The full force of his Core turning

  in on himself nearly shattered the Core itself, and the Sea of Essence

  with it. It took him a few weeks to recover.

  That didn't stop him. Sebastian continued his

  experiments.

  Not long after his second rounds of testing, a

  commotion grabbed his attention. The town welcomed a large caravan of refugees. Apparently, some of them had traveled all the way from the Profound Sky Sect. The large crowd was visible all the way from his office.

  He initially decided to let Marion and Kwan deal with it, but then he

  recognized a face in the crowd on main street.

  The next day, he asked the magistrate to invite the man

  over to Sebastian’s mansion. It didn’t take long for them to find him

  and bring him over.

  They met in the reception room in one of the side houses

  by Sebastian’s courtyard. It was a simple room with two rows of chairs

  facing each other with a single, slightly fancier, chair by the back

  wall facing down the aisle of chairs. Like a large meeting room, only

  without a table. Sebastian sat at the head seat, placed on a dais. On

  the closest chair to his right sat Marion, and Safi to his left. Gawen

  took the seat next to her and Eduard and Víctor sat at the ends.

  Magistrate Kwan had prepared a floor cushion for the

  guest to sit on in the middle of the room, where the old village leader

  was surrounded by intimidating practitioners. It was not Sebastian’s

  intention to intimidate him, but he decided to follow the local customs.

  The magistrate himself also still refused to sit on an

  equal height to his lord, so he replaced the chair placed next to Víctor

  with a floor cushion for himself.

  “Village Leader Paek Chuwon, it’s good to see you again,”

  Sebastian said. “I admit, I didn’t expect us cross paths again,

  certainly not this far east.”

  Paek Chuwon sat on his knees on the center floor cushion

  and bowed toward Sebastian. “I greet the lord of Mujin! It’s a great

  honor to be in your presence once again.” The customs and culture of

  this place still felt foreign, though he tried to get used to it. To

  hear a man he had spoken to so casually before now treat him like a king

  was a strange feeling, one that he had actually grown to quite like, if

  Sebastian was being honest with himself. “We didn’t expect to be sent

  this far east either,” Paek Chuwon continued. “The Great Martial

  Alliance made its member Groups accept refugees, but it didn’t specify

  that they had to let them stay. Each Group that took us in simply set up

  a temporary camp before sending us away to the next Group, who in turn

  did the same. Eventually we were sent into the Barren Wastelands to fend

  for ourselves.”

  Sebastian shook his head. “Why am I not surprised. Well,

  you’re all welcome here so there’s no need to worry about that any

  longer. Magistrate Kwan, construct houses and make arrangements for the

  refugees. Marion, help organize and make sure everything is above

  board.”

  “As you command, my lord!”

  “Sure, boss.”

  With that matter dealt with, Sebastian changed the topic.

  “Village leader Paek Chuwon, we are somewhat isolated out here. What’s

  the latest news from the Great Martial Alliance and the Lumerian

  invasion?”

  “The war rages on, your lordship. Though, it has entered

  into a new state now that the Great Martial Alliance has consolidated

  its joint defenses. The invaders’ gains into the continent have slowed

  to a crawl, nearly a standstill, if rumors are to be believed. But…

  those rumors also speak of another new aspect of the war.”

  “Oh?” Sebastian said, surprised. “What aspect is that?”

  “Though there appears to be no signs that the war will

  come to an end anytime soon, according to rumors, the Great Martial

  Alliance and the invaders are engaging in diplomacy to negotiate

  conditions on the battles.” The old village leader paused, seemingly

  worried whether or not to continue. Now invested in hearing the rest,

  Sebastian gestured at him to carry on. With a soft sigh, the old man

  reluctantly continued. “Details are sparse, but it seems the invaders

  are looking for someone.” He glanced up at Sebastian with a pointed

  look. It was clear he knew who they were referring to. The wanted

  posters that were spread throughout the Great Martial Alliance after

  Sebastian killed the disciples of Shattered Earth Sect had been updated

  since the heroes’ arrangement, after all. “Their heroes are apparently

  desperate enough to catch this… someone,

  that they pushed for some arrangement to be made with the Great Martial

  Alliance.” He tried his best to ensure that his voice and actions were

  respectful as he recognized that everyone in the room realized that

  Sebastian was the one they were after.

  He took a moment to ensure that Sebastian hadn’t lost his

  temper from hearing the news. He had personally witnessed what

  Sebastian was capable of, after all, and he clearly had no interest in

  reliving it, especially not when he was the one delivering the news.

  Sebastian didn’t react much at all, he sat there and took it all in stoically.

  The old man continued. “Wanted posters of your lordship

  continue to be spread throughout the Great Martial Alliance. They

  provide some information about you, but most of what I know come from

  the different versions of the same story spread amongst the people. Some

  say that your lordship is a fallen angel who abandoned heaven and

  became the truest demon. That you came to this world from beyond the

  stars for the purpose of seeing it destroyed. Others call your lordship

  the morning star, who chose the night over the coming light of day. Most

  commoners, as a result, have come to call you the Heavenly Demon.”

  The room went silent as they all waited for Sebastian to

  react to the news. Everyone was tense. They knew some of the story, but

  still lacked the details about Sebastian’s true history with the

  kingdom, and its heroes. None of them believed the any of the stories at

  face value, of course, but they were still unnerved by the extent to

  which they would go just to capture him.

  Sebastian just sat there for a moment, unsure of how to process the information.

  Then he broke out into laughter.

  It was a deep laughter, the kind that forces its way out

  when you don’t know how else to react. He was the only one in the room

  to understand what it meant that the words “morning star” was even a

  part of the conversation, what stories the heroes were spreading. He

  also felt like this absurdity was something of a hint as to what the [Akashic System] had

  in store for him. The puzzle it had laid out finally coming close to revealing a legible image.

  So, they’ve finally reached the

  point where they straight up make me out to be the literal devil,

  Lucifer Morningstar himself. I called them out on it last time, it must

  have stuck with them. Whatever, I’ll gladly accept it.

  ‘Divine light’, hah!

  They think they’re divine, well then so am I. If they want to play god, then I’ll play the part of the devil.

  No one in the room knew quite how to react. When Sebastian stopped

  laughing, their expressions turned serious. They knew that his grudge

  ran deep.

  His face turned dark and cold as he looked out at his comrades in arms.

  “You know, over there—in Lumeria—they call anyone and

  everyone from Mugongji ‘Demons’,” Sebastian said, his tone filled with

  derision. “We’ll play along. There’s no need to get into some

  philosophical fight with them over right and wrong. We’d never convince

  them anyway.” He shook his head before steeling his gaze. “From now on,

  we are demons. And I know exactly what to call our sect— No, demons don’t belong in sects. I know what to call our cult.”

  He paused and allowed himself to experience his emotions,

  his resolve, and his destiny. Then Sebastian spoke with absolute

  authority, such that world itself took heed.

  “I hereby declare the creation of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”

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