I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 839

It was a time when the world was thrown into turmoil by the emergence of GalWiki.

Even the Heavenly Demon Cult, currently conquering the Central Plains step by step, could not escape its impact.

In fact, being in the midst of a civil war, an editing war was raging on GalWiki more fiercely than anywhere else.

Every faction had its rise and fall, and mixed within that history were both glorious deeds and terrible mistakes.

The Heavenly Demon Cult was no different; there had even been a time when their notoriety rivaled that of the Blood Cult.

Fortunately, that era had not lasted long, and the succeeding Heavenly Demon had cleaned up the mess, keeping it from becoming widely known.

Still, it was undeniably history that belonged under the ’Controversies and Incidents’ section, prompting serious debate.

"It is our history, so shouldn’t it naturally be recorded?"

"Yet that history contradicts the very founding principles of our Heavenly Demon Cult."

"Why else does the phrase ’rise and fall’ exist? If we judge by that standard, the Imperial Court is hardly any better."

The ones kept busy by GalWiki’s existence were the Demonic Brain, Wi Seol-ak, and the elders.

Should they just stand by and watch uncomfortable history be written down as it was?

Or should they block it by any means necessary and conceal as much as possible?

"To be frank, hiding it will be impossible. In fact, the more we try to cover it up, the more suspicious our people will become."

Amid the heated back-and-forth, Wi Seol-ak gave a clear answer.

The elders reacted in various ways to his assessment.

While some accepted it, others made no effort to hide their displeasure.

"Do you truly believe Heaven will sit by and watch?"

Coincidentally, they had a convenient pretext for their opposition.

Framed along the lines of: if the Heavenly Demon is displeased, we have no choice but to obey.

It was an argument that if they followed her will and still failed, there was no telling what terrifying wrath might descend upon them.

With Yoo So-wol’s martial might and prestige soaring day by day, the trust of their followers was naturally deepening as well.

On top of that, rumors were circulating that she would soon be united with the Heavenly God—meaning Grylls.

"Not only the will of Heaven, but the Heavenly God’s intentions will be of paramount importance."

"The Heavenly God... Is His Divinity not currently focused on His own sacred mission?"

Indeed, during the Heavenly God Martial Festival, the unusual relationship between Grylls and Yoo So-wol had been on full display.

Grylls staying at the Heavenly Demon Palace was proof enough in itself, and even the Hero had half-acknowledged it.

Though it amounted to nothing more than ’circumstantial evidence,’ for the Demonic Cult, it was an achievement more precious than anything.

As Yoo So-wol became ’Heaven’ in the truest sense of the word with each passing day, even the elders had to tread on eggshells around her.

’Well, I doubt that man gives a damn either way.’

Of course, Wi Seol-ak thought differently.

Knowing all too well what kind of ’person’ Yoo So-wol was, he could hardly keep from laughing.

If Grylls were to visit the Heavenly Demon Cult again, she would uphold just the bare minimum of dignity before trying to welcome him all by herself.

Yet because she had by no means abandoned her duties and responsibilities as the Heavenly Demon, he simply cheered her on in silence.

’Part of me wants to just blurt out that she’s head over heels for the Heavenly God, but...’

There was a vast difference between how people viewed a political marriage and a marriage of love.

Especially since even the slightest crack in the name of the ’Heavenly Demon’ was at stake, he had to rack his brains to the limit.

"The will of the people is the will of Heaven. If the will of Heaven wavers, Heaven itself will waver."

"If Heaven were to issue a divine decree directly..."

"Then it will only linger in their minds even more. A wavering will of Heaven is difficult to stem."

Say someone told you, "Don’t think of an elephant!"

The more they said that, the more impossible it became to get the elephant out of your head.

The elders seemed to agree that Wi Seol-ak had a point, as they stopped arguing.

Yet that did not mean all their problems were solved.

So what did they do?

"Instead, how about we dig up the history of the Imperial Court and record every last detail?"

"The Imperial Court’s history?"

"Yes. In particular, we can write an exhaustive critique concerning the current Emperor."

The current Emperor’s reputation was already plummeting into the abyss.

Even as the Heavenly Demon Cult rapidly expanded its power, he had holed up in the Imperial Palace, doing absolutely nothing.

Moreover, intelligence reports indicated that this behavior had stirred deep discontent within the military.

Discontent within the military was a precursor to a coup, meaning the situation was fraught with trouble on multiple fronts.

"From our standpoint, even if we record only the plain truth, we have nothing to lose."

"That’s not a bad idea."

"If we include what we’ve gathered from intelligence, it will cause even greater turmoil."

Once Wi Seol-ak pointed the way, the elders naturally fell in line.

In a sense, it was a fierce information war fought through GalWiki.

Of course, unexpected factions or trolls might jump into the fray, but they paid that no mind.

"Then someone has to edit the articles..."

"Ahem..."

Aside from that, however, they were troubled by the risk of exposing their Fixed Nicks.

Besides, the Heavenly Demon Cult was a small world; most people were only a mutual acquaintance away from knowing one another.

In the process of doing ’noble work’ (?), one’s shameful secrets could be laid bare for all to see.Get faster updates on novelping dot com.

"I shall handle that. It turns out the Ha-o Sect has people who do this sort of work."

"The Ha-o Sect? Well, if it’s them, it should be possible."

"We place our trust in you, Demonic Brain."

And so the matter was settled, and naturally, a report was delivered to Yoo So-wol.

Yoo So-wol gave her approval at once, saying it made no difference to her as long as it did not interfere with her duties.

"Demonic Brain. Do you know where this one’s friend is?"

Just as he was about to withdraw, Yoo So-wol asked in her characteristically majestic voice.

Hearing the question, Wi Seol-ak flinched involuntarily before regaining his composure.

At present, there were only two people whom Yoo So-wol would personally call a ’friend.’

One of them was someone whose relationship with her went beyond mere friendship, and who was currently active in the Forest of the Four Seasons.

"It is estimated that the Sword Saint will arrive at our holy cult within three days."

"Three days, is it."

Yoo So-wol nodded and dismissed him.

At her command, Wi Seol-ak bowed deeply and withdrew.

Thus, Yoo So-wol was left alone in the audience chamber.

A heavy silence settled over the room, perfect for deep contemplation.

’Once she arrives, I will not be bored for a while.’

Ever since the Heavenly God Martial Festival, Yoo So-wol had been saddled with nothing but tedious tasks.

Traveling in person to regions thrown into chaos by the Evil Faction to govern the populace, meeting with sect leaders of various territories, and the like.

To her, it was an utterly dreadfully boring period, which only made her anticipate the arrival even more.

’I wish to speak with my lord, yet he has been so busy that we have had no time to converse.’

Grylls had been running himself ragged to liberate Large Field.

Now, he had taken in the liberated citizens of Large Field as his own subjects and was educating them on all fronts.

In a way, it was no different from founding his own sacred cult, which fostered an odd sense of shared understanding in her.

’Hm. No. My lord is already the Heavenly God praised by all mankind.’

Rather, the proper interpretation was that the Heavenly Demon Cult was following in Grylls’s footsteps.

In that sense, reuniting with Ash brought Yoo So-wol no small amount of anticipation.

A woman who, blessed with heaven-sent talent, had never had anyone who could understand or listen to her worries.

And at the same time, a romantic rival harboring feelings for the very same man.

To Yoo So-wol, Ash possessed every single quality needed to be a great friend.

Furthermore, she was someone who displayed a certain ’maturity’ rarely seen among the people around her.

’There is so much I wish to discuss.’

During the Heavenly God Martial Festival, the circumstances had left no time for the two of them to converse in private.

Now, however, she had invited her with plenty of time to spare, meaning they could engage in far deeper discussions than before.

’She may know what it is that this one lacks.’

The question Yoo So-wol wished to ask most of all concerned nothing less than revising the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

Months had passed since she had boldly proclaimed that she would unify the Heavenly Demon Divine Art with the state of Unity of Self and Object devised by Grylls to create a new scripture.

Though full of confidence at first, progress had been bafflingly sluggish.

’It is not that I have hit a wall.’

Had she hit a wall, she would have attempted to shatter it countless times.

Yet the situation Yoo So-wol faced was similar, and yet fundamentally different.

It felt as though she were standing face to face with the edge of the world.

The Unity of Self and Object conceived by Grylls gave off precisely that sensation.

’My lord merely fails to realize it himself, but he already possesses the power to govern heaven and earth.’

The prime example was the archery he had displayed during the Heavenly God Martial Festival.

He clearly had no grasp of the concept of space, yet he had deflected Yoo So-wol’s strike as naturally as breathing.

It was difficult to judge whether Grylls’s talent transcended heaven itself, or whether it was truly the result of delving solely into the Unity of Self and Object.

Because of this, revising the Heavenly Demon Divine Art had inevitably stalled, and she needed another person’s assistance.

’My pride suffers, yet for my lord’s sake, I would do so gladly.’

What wouldn’t she do for Grylls?

At this point, she might soon find herself in a position where she had to learn from him instead.

Of course, Grylls operated on a level where his explanation was essentially "It just worked when I breathed," so even if she tried to learn from him, it likely wouldn’t change anything.

’Thinking of my lord makes me yearn to speak with him.’

Ding!

[Wild Grylls: Heavenly Demon-nim, do you happen to have some time?]

Speak of the tiger, and it appears, as they say.

When the text message from Grylls arrived, Yoo So-wol could not conceal her joy.

It was a relief she was alone in the audience chamber; otherwise, others would have witnessed her utterly relaxed smile.

"Ahem."

Realizing this a moment too late, Yoo So-wol cleared her throat.

She quickly adopted a solemn expression, yet she could not hide the twitching corners of her mouth.

[Heavenly Demon: What is the matter? You seemed busy as of late.]

[Wild Grylls: It looks like I won’t have anything urgent for a while, and something came up that Heavenly Demon-nim might find interesting. You know the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, right?]

Of course she did.

Once the pride and very foundation of the Mount Hua Sect, lost during the Orthodox-Demonic War.New chapters come out on novelping(.)com first.

A martial art known to be virtually impossible to restore, all because of an unfortunate generational gap.

Word was spreading that even the Mount Hua Sect was debating whether or not to march into the Forest of the Four Seasons just to recover it.

[Heavenly Demon: I know of it. While inferior to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, it is a technique with deep roots. Though lost at present.]

[Wild Grylls: The thing is, I happen to have the original manual in my hands?]

[Heavenly Demon: What are you saying? Could the World Tree pierced by the Wedge have been the Gallery mainframe itself?]

Yoo So-wol’s eyes widened slightly.

The very reason Grylls was voluntarily suffering through all this misery right now was to find the Gallery server.

Only then could he uncover the true purpose of the Demon God Aragon and his subordinates.

Crucially, it would also allow him to recover his lost memories, making it an essential objective.

[Wild Grylls: Not quite that, but more like a subordinate facility? Something along those lines.]

[Heavenly Demon: A subordinate facility. Then the likelihood of it being linked to the Gallery server is high.]

[Wild Grylls: Yeah. From what I can tell, it seems to have records on figures who achieved ascension to immortality. That’s why I’m reaching out to check.]

Records of figures who had achieved ascension to immortality.

At those words, even Yoo So-wol could not help but feel immense intrigue.

Historically, very few had ascended to immortality, meaning their records were often detailed.

The Central Plains in particular held records in deep reverence, so with a little searching, it wouldn’t take long to figure it out.

[Heavenly Demon: The Mount Hua Sect is a sect with deep roots. Thus, it boasts quite a few masters who achieved ascension to immortality. Whose information did you say it was?]

[Wild Grylls: I was told it’s the founder of the Mount Hua Sect.]

[Heavenly Demon: That would be the Plum Blossom Sword Immortal, Seomun Hyeon.]

[Wild Grylls: You know him?]

[Heavenly Demon: There is no martial art nor martial artist in the realm unknown to this one.]

Even before meeting Grylls, Yoo So-wol had sought out all kinds of martial arts.

It wasn’t for nothing that Wi Seol-ak had once called her a woman obsessed with martial arts in a backhanded compliment.

[Heavenly Demon: If the secret manual in your possession is truly the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, the Mount Hua Sect will charge with fire in their eyes.]

[Wild Grylls: They wouldn’t come all the way into the Forest of the Four Seasons, right?]

[Heavenly Demon: They will. That is the nature of a secret manual.]

The Mount Hua Sect was already in decline, and now a lost secret manual had materialized out of thin air.

The chances that they would rush in without a care for their own lives were overwhelmingly high.

They would even convince themselves that reaching Grylls would be their salvation.

[Wild Grylls: That sounds like a pain in the ass. I’ll pass the manual to Heavenly Demon-nim first. We need to check if it really is the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.]

[Heavenly Demon: Could you not verify it yourself?]

[Wild Grylls: Because I’m a dumbass...]

[Heavenly Demon: If your head is dull, how foolish must the rest of the world be?]

It wasn’t mere comfort, but a fact.

Grylls’s specialty was his talent for improvisation, which was simply another way of saying his mind worked at blistering speed.

He was merely relatively lacking when it came to analyzing things.

’It is like having such a formidable body that one need not use one’s head.’

In any case, the fact remained that Yoo So-wol was far more of an expert when it came to martial arts.

Moreover, the internal cultivation arts of the Central Plains were filled with poetic verses, making their interpretation notoriously cryptic.

[Wild Grylls: Then I’ll let you know if I find any other manuals.]

[Heavenly Demon: Is there nothing related to the martial art you employed?]

[Wild Grylls: I tried looking for it, but the login failed and it got locked out.]

[Heavenly Demon: What is a login?]

[Wild Grylls: You can basically think of it as past me tripping up present me. Tried to crack open a vault and failed, basically.]

[Heavenly Demon: So you have forgotten the password.]

[Wild Grylls: Pretty much.]

[Heavenly Demon: Knowing you, you would have attempted it further; if you gave up, the lockout period must be quite long.]

[Wild Grylls: How’d you know?]

[Heavenly Demon: I have my ways.]

Yoo So-wol wore a faint smile.

Given Grylls’s nature, anything that could be forced through with raw strength, he would have broken through.

The fact that he had given up meant he was in a situation where brute force was useless.

With that thought, something crossed her mind, and she made a request to Grylls.

[Heavenly Demon: Sir. By chance, if there is any information on the first Heavenly Demon, could you share it?]

[Wild Grylls: The first Heavenly Demon? What’s his name?]

[Heavenly Demon: He called himself Cheon Mu-geuk.]

[Wild Grylls: Hold on a second.]

A short moment later, the message that came from Grylls was...

[Wild Grylls: Are you sure it’s Cheon Mu-geuk?]

[Heavenly Demon: That is what is written in the records.]

[Wild Grylls: When I asked, they said his real name was Kim Deok-gu...?]

[Heavenly Demon: ?]

It was truly nothing short of one of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s darkest shames.