Chapter 33: The Third Master

“Did you get an upset stomach? Why is your expression like that?”

As the silence from the heavens stretched on, Baek Mu-ho poked his head in.

His face was full of playfulness. The sentiment that he genuinely wished I had an upset stomach burst forth.

“Your expression is quite easy to read too.”

“Since I’m a person with nothing to hide!”

“Cut the crap.”

He didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding it.

Damn bastard.

“Go over there and swing your sword some more.”

“So cold.”

The guy pouted his lips.

“If you’re going to take a dump, make sure to tell me before you go!”

“I have no intention of going, but if I do, I will make sure to pluck your head off before I leave.”

Without fail.

Well, thanks to that, the strange chill I felt seemed to have subsided a bit.

[Amusing. It has been a long time since anyone spoke to me like that.]

In any case, as if the traffic control up there had finished in the meantime, voices came down again.

[Refreshing.]

However, the reception with the heavens seemed to be seriously poor.

Because that word “refreshing” momentarily sounded to my ears like “fresh sashimi.”

Hahaha.

Damn it.

Why did the misheard version suit it better?

The chill that had disappeared crept back up again.

[It will be fun putting you through the wringer.]

Put me through the wringer? Excuse me?

“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of learning demonic arts.”

Learning demonic arts was out of the question.

Although I was already a spineless body that had accepted both Taoist and Buddhist martial arts, I had not the slightest intention of adding demonic arts to them.

Even if it was the martial arts of the Heavenly Demon, an unprecedented warrior.

It was only natural.

My grandfather had held a government post and treated Martial World from the perspective of a third party, so he did not care about the distinction between Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic. It was possible because he looked only at the person, not their affiliation.

But I was different. I had already set foot in the Martial World, and my affiliation and classification were too clear.

I belonged to the Orthodox faction.

Me, learning demonic arts?

Even without this, the atmosphere of Martial World was turning bleak due to the demon worshippers’ raid on Mount Song. If I were to be falsely accused of being a spy for the demonic path, I wouldn’t be able to die a peaceful death.

[If you’re worried about it being known that you’ve learned demonic arts, there is no problem. Hiding something of that level is child’s play.]

“Uh…”

Then, was it a bit tempting?

No, it was the Heavenly Demon. That Heavenly Demon.

The legend among legends who was mentioned alongside Master Bodhidharma and the Blood Demon when counting the strongest in the history of Martial World.

Martial arts of such a Heavenly Demon. As a martial artist, wouldn’t it be natural to be curious?

As could be seen from Master Zhang Sanfeng or Master Bodhidharma, I had never seen the people up there talk nonsense about martial arts.

If the Heavenly Demon spoke like that, it would surely be a demonic art that did not look like a demonic art.

“Still, it’s a bit…”

The problem was still that it was a demonic art.

I heard that the martial arts of the Unorthodox and Demonic paths had many side effects instead of growing strong quickly. For example, one’s personality becoming evil. They said some martial arts even cause that (?) to fall off, right?

That thing. That.

I didn’t know if it had to be cut off, or if it just fell off automatically, but anyway.

Thinking up to that point, only negative thoughts came to mind.

[How is that Bodhidharma fellow’s martial arts?]

Perhaps because I kept hesitating, the Heavenly Demon asked again.

But the direction of the question was a bit…?

“Of course, it’s good.”

[The martial arts I will pass down will be in exactly that kind of category.]

“Really?”

Is that possible?

That the martial arts of the demonic path could be in a similar category as the martial arts of the Buddhist path?

[If one excludes the evilness and passes down only the essence of martial arts, there is not much difference between Bodhidharma’s martial arts and mine.]

It was hard to imagine.

That Buddhist martial arts and demonic martial arts were not much different.

[Was Bodhidharma even a person of the Central Plains to begin with?]

“No… right?”

It was said that Master Bodhidharma came from the Western Regions. In fact, he was known to be a blue-eyed foreigner.

Huh? Suddenly thinking of it that way, it seemed to make some sense?

[Naming things and drawing boundaries is a human habit. The distinction between good and evil also begins there. However, in essence, there is no such distinction. No matter how much human ethics define taking a life as evil, can even the law of the jungle in nature be called evil?]

Without realizing it, I nodded.

It felt like the words of someone at the ultimate boundary who understood the ways of the world… Ah, indeed he was.

It was a topic difficult to accept easily, yet he possessed the talent to make it convincing.

Once again, I felt like I understood why a religion worshipping this man was created.

Mhm. Thinking so, a corner of my mind felt uncomfortable again.

In the end, no matter how smooth his words were, this person was the founder and beginning of the Demonic Cult, wasn’t he?

But he was the fellow Master Zhang Sanfeng had brought. That meant it was because it would benefit me.

In fact, Master Zhang Sanfeng was like that even when Master Bodhidharma intervened. He desired my growth over his own pride.

If this was the same?

Is there something I need to learn from the Heavenly Demon?

Did Master Zhang Sanfeng think so?

In an instant, various thoughts crossed my mind, making it hard to judge easily.

This was a thought about identity. It was natural since it was a problem difficult to answer no matter how much one thought about it.

[Is there any need to agonize over it? It seems you have no other choice anyway.]

“Yes?”

[I can tell by looking at the sword your friend uses. You will need my help.]

Suddenly, an unexpected remark came out.

“If it is the sword Mu-ho uses…”

It was not difficult to understand what he was talking about.

When I went to obtain Master Bodhidharma’s arrangement, the traces on the wall I saw then.

Master Bodhidharma.

Heavenly Demon.

And the words the Heavenly Demon had just used to make comparisons while mentioning Master Bodhidharma, along with what Master Bodhidharma had said previously, came to mind together.

[What that bad-tempered bastard left behind.]

“…No way.”

[That is my sword. It’s a mere imitation, but it captures the essence quite well.]

Was this fellow a contemporary of Master Bodhidharma?

Since martial artists who reached high realms were said to live for an incredibly long time, living in the same era seemed possible, but still.

More than that, what I had to pay attention to in the Heavenly Demon’s words now was not a story of the past.

“Is Mu-ho in great danger?”

[The foundation seems to be the Mount Hua Sect’s martial arts, which is a branch of Quanzhen, but he mixed that Sanfeng fellow’s martial arts into it. Already, that alone showed signs of overflowing his vessel, yet he tried to mix my disposition into it. His innate talent and greed have invited disaster. If there is no one to show him the right path, it is a combination that will surely go wrong. The best-case scenario is that he fails to control the gap between the martial arts, keeps regressing, and lives as a third-rate martial artist for the rest of his life. The worst-case is that he flounders in the gap, becomes a cripple due to qi deviation, or awakens to a demonic nature and becomes the type of person you despise.]

If true, it was a bit shocking.

Why didn’t Master Bodhidharma tell me?

Because it wasn’t my business?

Or because he was confident he could solve it even without the Heavenly Demon?

Or if it was not even that?

‘He intended to drag the Heavenly Demon into this from the very beginning?’

Suddenly, I became aware of Master Zhang Sanfeng watching the Heavenly Demon’s words without saying much.

What if learning the Heavenly Demon’s martial arts was truly necessary for me?

“What should I do?”

[Fight him.]

“With Mu-ho?”

[Unless I were there in person, I have to test the waters first to see how much influence of mine he has received. To decide whether to use strong medicine or mild medicine, shouldn’t I know the state of things first?]

He really goes to all kinds of lengths. To save that guy Baek Mu-ho, to pull him up to a higher realm, I had to beat him up first.

No, thinking about it, it didn’t seem like a bad idea either?

Honestly, I was curious too.

Since descending from Wudang Mountain, we had sparred a few times, but Baek Mu-ho had held back every time. Above all, Mu-ho had not held a sword in any of those spars.

What would the current Baek Mu-ho be like with a sword in hand?

A sword said to contain the disposition of Master Zhang Sanfeng and the Heavenly Demon.

The talent that pulled off such an absurd feat.

No matter how confident I had become in my skills, could I really win?

Suddenly I was curious. Since even the excuse pushing me forward was perfect, there was no more need to hesitate.

“Sigh…”

Although it was a situation with nothing to worry about, a sigh came out anyway.

“I look forward to working with you, Master Heavenly Demon.”

[Decisive.]

I gained one more master.

He was someone who, if the Orthodox faction found out, would make people overflow with the desire to tear me to pieces immediately.

What a life.

“Hey!”

What could I do? I just had to digest this well too.

In that sense.

“Let’s have a round.”

I should beat that guy up.

Hearing my words, Baek Mu-ho stopped swinging his sword and blinked.

“Do you want to taste my ultimate cuteness divine art?”

“…I’ll kill you.”

What should I do with this crazy bastard?

Is somewhere in his head already broken?

I thought it would be best to think of it that way.

I couldn’t imagine that he could become an even crazier bastard from here.

If there was an appearance I could barely imagine…

‘Damn it.’

A blood-crazed fiend.

A scene where Baek Mu-ho, who calmly killed people and stained his body with their blood, looked at me with the same smile as now.

Curses escaped my mouth just at the thought.

I absolutely did not want to see that.

“Hmm…”

Seeing me clench my fists, Baek Mu-ho let out a strange groan.

“Are you serious?”

“For starters, I want to beat you as much as you talked nonsense.”

“Haha!”

As if he felt an unavoidable determination in my attitude, a weight never heard before was felt in Baek Mu-ho’s voice as he laughed.

There was weight to his laughter.

“If you are serious, that means we’ll do it with real swords. That’s different from bare hands. You know that, right?”

“Wouldn’t it be stranger if I didn’t know? How much have I watched you swing your sword?”

“It’s not like you.”

Baek Mu-ho spoke as if trying to back out.

But I was also starting to feel it.

The moment weight was loaded onto Baek Mu-ho’s laugh, his heart had also moved.

“Indeed, I’m a bit strange too. Should I say it’s going too well, or that it’s too disobedient? I feel like the sword is playing around on its own… It’s not like me.”

Not like me.

The moment I heard those words, Master Heavenly Demon’s words came to mind, sending a shiver down my spine. The worst-case scenario I had briefly imagined overlapped with Baek Mu-ho for a second.

“So, I’m telling you in advance…”

A sharp momentum surged out.

A chill reached me.

A swordsman holding an incomplete sword. However, his talent was filling that incomplete gap. Furthermore, the lack of time was also largely filled by the legacy left behind by the Gold-furred Ape.

“Don’t resent me even if you get cut somewhere?”

The demonic nature visible in his smile. That seed quietly raised its head within Baek Mu-ho’s eyes.