ILDBL 23

Chapter: 23

I’m Not the Demon Cult Leader, I’m the Baby Clan Head

“You must become strong, Yeon-ah. In the Demon Cult, where the law of the jungle rules, the only way to survive is to become strong.”

“If I become strong, will no one be able to bully me?”

“Yes. If you become strong, then even if you are an illegitimate child who did not inherit the Cheon family’s bloodline, no one will dare look down on you.”

“Not even Mother?”

At the pure question of the child, Danmokryeon, Biyeon’s mother, pressed her cracked, pallid lips together.

“Yes. Even those you hold dear will not be able to touch you recklessly. But Yeon-ah, you must understand this—
to the strong, what is precious can sometimes become a burden… or a weakness.”

“Mother is never a burden!”

At the child’s firm rebuttal, Danmokryeon bit her lip bitterly. Dry tears flowed down her gaunt cheeks.

“Yes… then all you need to do is become strong enough to protect what you treasure.
So become strong… You must become strong.
My poor child……”

Two weeks after saying those words, Biyeon’s mother passed away. Biyeon was only six years old.

When children of the Demon Cult turn seven, they are allowed to enter the Heukdogwan. After entering, eight years of training and examinations determine their fate.

Whether they become expendable foot soldiers of the Demon Cult,
or warriors who command those soldiers.

With her mother’s last words etched into her heart, Biyeon entered the Heukdogwan.

Unlike most girls—who entered the Uiyakdang to handle poisons and medicine, or the Amyeongdang to learn assassination and seduction arts—she entered the Muhakdang, crowded with sons of prominent families.

Naturally, Biyeon stood out like a nail sticking out. Worse still, once one of the current Cult Leader’s direct heirs learned of her background, the harassment only intensified with each passing day.

Whenever that happened, Biyeon would hide in a storage shed, calm her heart, and not shed a single tear.

That day was no different. After being beaten by the Cheon family’s ninth successor and his group, she hid in the warehouse once again.

“Hey, did you hear? The Orthodox factions are holding a martial tournament to decide the greatest rising star under heaven.”

“Those righteous idiots waving skewers around—how different can they really be?”

“You’ll regret thinking that lightly. They say the winner rivals the current Martial Alliance Leader.”

“Didn’t you say it was a tournament for rising juniors?”

“That’s exactly why it’s terrifying. A junior who’s still growing, yet already comparable to the Martial Alliance Leader.
Sure, the Alliance Leader isn’t chosen purely by strength, but still—that makes no sense.”

“If that guy later becomes the leader of the Orthodox sects, that’ll be a real headache.”

“That’s why the elders of our Heavenly Demon Divine Cult are on high alert because of him.”

“So what’s that monster’s name?”

“What was it again? Ah! Cheonhasingeom, Namgung Hwi.”

“Cheonhasingeom? He already has a title?”

The name engraved itself into Biyeon’s mind.

Cheonhasingeom.
Cheonhasingeom Namgung Hwi.

“But still, if our Cult Leader steps in, that punk would be crushed with one fist.”

“Sure, for now. But what about ten years later? Thirty years later, when he’s firmly seated among the Orthodox leaders?”

“You crazy bastard, talking nonsense like that! If an instructor hears you, you’ll get punished!”

“Shh—! Keep it down, the instructor might hear!”

Until now, Biyeon had believed the Cult Leader was the strongest person in the world.

That was only natural—she had never even dreamed of the world outside the Demon Cult.

But someone said to rival the current Martial Alliance Leader.

Cheonhasingeom.

If someone not even past the age of coming of age already rivaled the Alliance Leader……

The more internal energy a martial artist accumulates, the slower they age.

Upon reaching the realm of Hwagyung, one undergoes a rebirth of flesh and bone; unless they die in battle, living past a hundred is said to be easy.

Namgung Hwi would easily surpass Hwagyung. He had reached the pinnacle while still not even of age.

Then what about him ten years from now?
Thirty years?
Fifty?

The world would lie beneath his feet.

Suddenly, Biyeon’s heart began to race. An unknown excitement pulsed rapidly through her veins.

No—
The world would lie beneath my feet.

Because I will defeat Namgung Hwi and become the strongest.

From that day on, Biyeon became ruthless.

Once her vague determination born from her mother’s last words gained a clear target—Namgung Hwi—

she clung to her training as if she had found a reason to live.
It was madness, pushing past pain and physical limits alike.

People began calling her the Mad Dog of the Heukdogwan.

That day too, after enduring bone-grinding training—

Something caught at her feet as she descended from the back mountain behind the Heukdogwan after private practice.

“Yelp—!”

It was a tiny puppy, probably only about a month old. Whether it had been abandoned for being weak or not, it was impossible to tell.

Its belly was sunken, as though it hadn’t eaten for days, never even tasting its mother’s milk.

It could barely make a sound, lacking the strength to move, lying flat against the ground.

Biyeon stared silently at the little creature.

‘It’d be better to swing my wooden sword a few more times instead of wasting time like this.’

Thinking that, she was about to pass by the puppy—more corpse than living being—

Whiiine……

Her steps stopped abruptly.

“……”

After hesitating for a long while, she turned back and picked the small creature up.

Perhaps its will to live was strong—
In just seven days, the puppy recovered, and now, a year later, it wagged its tail and followed her everywhere.

“Ryeong-ah, you can’t follow me. Got it?”

Woof—!

She even gave it a name. Ryeong-ah clung even closer to her legs, tail wagging furiously, as if it understood nothing.

At that sight, Biyeon let out a small, fond smile.

“If you come into the Heukdogwan, the instructors might catch you and turn you into dog soup.”

Only then did Ryeong-ah tilt its head and plop its bottom onto the ground.

“That’s right. Wait here, okay?”

Tilt—

Ryeong-ah tilted its head the other way.

Biyeon chuckled softly and turned away.

She planned to finish afternoon training and bring back the dinner rations from the Heukdogwan.

‘I’m small, so I can eat a little less.’

With that thought, she headed down the mountain.

Unaware that someone was watching her from behind the bushes.

After grueling afternoon training, Biyeon headed to the back mountain without even properly washing. In both hands, she held two dumplings she’d received for dinner.

One for Ryeong-ah, one for me.

She had deliberately endured hunger to eat together—food tasted better when shared.

Humming softly, she climbed the mountain.

By now, Ryeong-ah should have come running down excitedly.

But it was strangely quiet.

Ryeong-ah was nowhere to be seen, not even in the small wooden shelter she’d built to protect it from wind and rain.

A sudden sense of dread crawled up her spine.

Biyeon ran, frantically pushing aside branches, desperately searching.

As dusk fell and the forest grew darker, it became even harder to see.

After wandering for a long time, relying only on moonlight—

She saw something small on the forest path leading to her quarters.

“Ryeong-ah!”

On the soft fallen leaves lay a small body, limp and unmoving.

Ryeong-ah, who should have run toward her wagging its tail, lay completely still.

Dried blood crusted around its nose and mouth.

Biyeon ran madly and clutched Ryeong-ah to her chest.

“Ryeong-ah!”

Her trembling hands brushed over the limp bundle.

“Why… why is this… who, who did this…!”

She shook her head, calling Ryeong-ah pitifully.

“Open your eyes, Ryeong-ah. I even brought dumplings for you, see? Huh?”

The small body swayed weakly as she shook it.

Her chest went cold.

Her mind went blank.

Only then did her fingertips feel it—
the broken bones, the shattered ribs of the powerless body.

Anger.
Sorrow.
Emptiness.

All surged at once.

‘Yeon-ah, to the strong, what is precious can sometimes become a burden… or a weakness.’

A burden.
A weakness.

No. She had never once thought of Ryeong-ah as a burden.

But……

Had someone else seen Ryeong-ah as my weakness?

Tears streamed down beneath her vacant gaze.

They were tears she had not shed even once since her mother’s death.

Less than a year.

Such a brief time together.

She had never imagined that such a small existence could embed itself so deeply in her heart.

Unable to even cry out loud, she stared blankly at the place where Ryeong-ah lay.

The path leading to her quarters.

The direction she always went after playing with Ryeong-ah.

Did you think I’d be waiting at the end of this road?

With your limbs broken, ribs crushed—
did you crawl all this way just to see my face one more time?

You foolish thing.

Tears fell heavily from her tightly clenched jaw.

Her nails dug painfully into her trembling palms.

‘If you become strong enough to protect what you treasure, that will be enough.
So become strong… You must become strong.’

Blood dripped between her clenched fingers.

I will become strong.

So that no one can ever treat me lightly again.

So that no one dares touch what is mine.

 Until the day I can protect what I cherish with my own hands.