Heavenly Demon Cultivation Simulation-Chapter 539: Demon Lord (4)

Demon Lord (4)

His hands did not move.

The Demon Lord instinctively tried to raise his arm, but not a muscle budged.

The same went for his legs.

Even his eyelids would not.

‘Time….’

It had stopped.

Yeo-rin’s mouth, caught in his sight, hung open and frozen as if she had halted mid-incantation.

The red powder that had scattered from Wei-seom’s hand hung suspended in the air.

Even the Cult Leader, with his overwhelming presence, was frozen like a statue.

There was only one thing unfrozen.

Only his consciousness and his eyes remained free.

‘Is it because of this?’

Characters floated dead center in his vision; they followed him even when he turned his eyes.

As if etched directly onto his soul.

<Would you like to play the cultivation simulation?>

When he focused, the options reacted.

“Do” and “Don’t” alternated in emphasis.

‘Play… simulation…’

Strange words, but he had a vague idea what they meant.

A game? A mock exercise?

Or something else.

‘A test?’

Someone who manages something, and asking whether to carry it out.

Thud.

His heart leapt once—no, in frozen time the heart couldn’t beat; it was only a sensation.

‘Do it.’

He chose with a thought. He hadn’t considered any other option.

Flash—

<You have selected ‘Yes’.>

The characters scattered and then reassembled.

<You are an administrator and the Demon Lord_Sect Leader’s second disciple. Administrators can customize their own abilities.>

“Custom… what?”

Again an unfamiliar term, but he grasped the rough meaning.

<What would you like to configure first?>

▷ Martial Arts

▷ Training

▷ Tools

▷ Faction

▷ Characters

▷ Other

Dizziness hit him.

Faction? Could he change the Demon Cult’s succession?

What are characters?

Worldview—does that mean overhauling the world itself?

‘If this is real….’

Along with confusion, instinct whispered: this is an opportunity. To gain absolute power.

‘What I need most right now is…’

His deliberation was brief.

Martial art that could stand against anyone. Without it, nothing could begin.

His gaze fixed on the first option.

<You have selected Martial arts.>

New options unfolded.

▷ Cultivation

▷ Divine technique

▷ Combat forms

▷ Realm

“Combat forms…”

If he guessed right, these were fist, sword, and spear techniques—things like that.

But the Demon Lord’s gaze was nailed to the last item.

Mind techniques and divine techniques were important, but he couldn’t pass up this.

‘A realm?’

Is it meant to show his level?

Not knowing, he chose it.

<Your current realm is 'Peak Demon'.>

<See below and choose.>

▷ Super level

▷ Peak Super level

▷ Peak Demon

▷ Supreme Demon

▷ Profound Demon

▷ Demon God

‘No way, can I really select among these realms?’

The Demon Lord stared at the realms before him in astonishment.

Boundaries that decades of hardship might barely reach.

And he could change them with a single choice now?

▶ Demon God

‘What kind of realm is this?’

The final choice was an unfamiliar term to the Demon Lord.

The listed items were realm stages, so this seemed higher than Transcendence—could that even be possible?

But the Demon Lord did not hesitate.

As he’d come this far, he reached for the highest.

<You have selected ‘Demon God’.>

<Administrator’s realm will be changed from ‘Peak Demon’ to ‘Demon God’.>

Woooooom.

First came a vibration. A subtle tremor starting at the dantian spread through his whole body at once.

Thud. Thud-thud.

The sound of meridians tearing—no, not tearing but expanding. Threadlike channels widened like rivers.

Ssss—

And the flow of time began again.

“What is this? What happened?”

The Cult Leader’s voice cut sharply through the space.

The afterglow of the recent explosion still shimmered on the cave walls.

But at the center, the Demon Lord did not move.

He stood staring into the void, dazed, barely seeming to breathe.

“Has it failed?”

Kugugung—

As the Cult Leader stepped forward, the floor patterns trembled faintly—residue of the spell remained.

“…It did not fail.”

Pafss.

The moment Yeo-rin answered, part of her hair turned white and crumbled.

Most of it had already gone white—the price of pouring her life force into the spell.

Still, her eyes shone with a mad joy beyond mere elation.

“On the contrary, it was a perfect success. The sacrifices vanished without a trace… proof that a god has descended.”

“Then why is this happening? Why is there no reaction…”

It was at that moment.

The Demon Lord, who’d been standing dazed, suddenly began to chuckle.

“Kheuk heuk…”

A low laugh seeped from his mouth, at first barely audible.

“Kk-k-k… kk-kuk.”

The laughter grew louder; it was odd—an eerie sound that was hard to tell if it was laughter or sobbing.

Swoosh.

The Demon Lord slowly straightened. He raised both hands and began to study his palms intently.

As if seeing them for the first time.

“You—what are you doing! Are you truly mad?!”

Thwack.

The air trembled at the Cult Leader’s shout.

“….”

Only then did the Demon Lord lower his hands.

He turned his head very slowly, as if time had been stretched.

And then.

“Ah, the Cult Leader is here, isn’t he.”

The tone was casual, as if recalling some trivial forgotten thing.

“What?!”

The Cult Leader’s brows rose; a killing intent began to seep out.

“I forgot for a moment. I was busy choosing this and that…”

“Choosing?”

Sss—

The Cult Leader’s mouth curled up—not a smile, more like a beast baring its teeth.

“Seems you’ve received something. Divine qi or whatnot…”

Gooooh—

Heat rose from the Cult Leader’s dantian; the air began to warm.

“If you dare to be this insolent in front of me…”

“Qi?”

The Demon Lord cut him off and snorted with a laugh.

“No. Not at that level…”

In an instant—

Crack!

The Demon Lord’s expression froze; the smile vanished. The Cult Leader instinctively realized.

“Danger!”

Whoooosh—

Flame skill surged explosively; hellish flames bloomed in both hands.

Sizzle.

At that moment the Demon Lord vanished and reappeared right beside the Cult Leader.

A movement too swift to register.

“He became a god.”

A soft, whispering voice—but its weight was immense.

Kraaaaang!

The Cult Leader’s flame erupted.

Hellish Annihilation Art.

An absolute fire technique that incinerates any being within close range.

Kurreuruk! Uddrdruk!

The ceiling melted. The floor crystallized like glass. The bamboo slips turned to ash and scattered.

“Ugh…”

The Cult Leader groaned—the backlash of releasing flame in an enclosed space burned his lungs as the heat surged back.

Pafsss.

The scattered bamboo slips turned to black ash and fluttered.

Thousands of years of records were erased in an instant.

“How…”

The Cult Leader understood at once.

Yet the Demon Lord bore not a single wound.

No—more than that.

“He didn’t even dodge.”

He walked out leisurely.

As if on a stroll.

Around the Demon Lord, rock fragments hung frozen in the air as if an invisible barrier held them at a distance.

“I thought you might be slow…”

He tilted his head, continuing with a puzzled look.

“You’re truly slow?”

Crack.

The Cult Leader’s facial muscles twitched—the disciple was openly mocking him.

“You dare…”

Gwooooo—

Rage converted into internal qi.

The Transcendence realm—five cycles of internal qi—exploded outward.

Kukukukung!

The cave screamed; cracks spiderwebbed across the ceiling. The floor split and shook like an earthquake.

And yet.

“But, Cult Leader.”

The Demon Lord was calm, speaking in a tone as if discussing the weather.

“I’ve thought about it—seems like it’s me after all.”

“…?”

“The ‘god’ you spoke of.”

Sss.

The Cult Leader’s eyes narrowed; his killing intent sharpened like a blade.

“You say it’s you?”

“Yes. It is. I’m not kidding… huh?”

Stagger—

Suddenly the Demon Lord tilted; his knee buckled.

Thud.

“Gak!”

Cough cough!

Dark red blood poured like a waterfall—from his mouth, nose, ears. Blood flowed from every orifice.

Drip. Drip-drip.

The Demon Lord raised a trembling hand and stared at his blood.

At that moment.

Crack! Crack!

Bones in his face began to shift.

Something writhed beneath his skin; cheekbones rose and the jawbone lengthened.

‘This phenomenon… complete metamorphosis!’

The Cult Leader realized immediately.

A change beyond human limits—the body reorganizing itself to accept a new realm.

Skin splitting to reveal red muscle beneath was part of it.

“Grrrgh!”

For the first time, the Demon Lord uttered a torturous groan.

The Demon God realm—his body was too weak to accept it.

‘Now!’

The Cult Leader’s eyes flashed.

His opponent was changing—the most defenseless moment.

Sss.

He approached without a sound, condensing flame at his fingertips. Not an explosion but a piercing strike to puncture the heart—that alone could win.

Crack.

Just as his hand reached out.

“Hua.”

A deep breath was heard.

“I think I’ll live now.”

‘What?’

The Cult Leader’s movement froze.

Patter—

The snapping of bones finding their places; torn skin smoothed and healed.

Even the trickling blood seemed to flow back into his body.

‘Impossible…’

Complete metamorphosis—bones grinding and teeth splitting, a pain that should have lasted days.

But the Demon Lord completed it in just a few breaths.

Thud.

The Demon Lord rose lightly, shaking himself as if dusting off.

“So this is truly Demon God.”

He murmured—and his voice shook the space itself.

As if his existence was being imprinted on the world.

‘A being of a different dimension.’

The Cult Leader knew.

He had prided himself on reaching Transcendence, believing he’d grasped the world’s truths.

His arrogance that wanted to challenge a god.

All of it turned to emptiness.

“What are you doing?”

The Demon Lord tilted his head.

“Still planning to fight?”

It wasn’t a question but a taunt, as if for amusement.

Thud.

The Cult Leader’s knees buckled without his awareness.

“How could I… I am completely defeated.”

“Of course.”

The Demon Lord gestured.

“Lead the way.”

“…?”

“I want to see that fellow.”

Sss.

The Demon Lord’s gaze changed—his playfulness gone, a cold killing intent flashed.

“You said someone was waiting for me.”

“Ah!”

The Cult Leader realized—the Absolute One, the being he’d warned of, the one he prophesied would herald a god’s descent—this was that moment.

“You remember now?”

The Demon Lord grinned—yet the smile was as cold as ice.

“Now, let’s go kill him.”

Kugugugung.

Just a single step from the Demon Lord and the entire cave trembled.

It was the descent of a divine being.