Chapter 91 – Heavenly Demon’s Disciple (13)
“Master~!”
“Hm?”
I had shoved the still-unconscious Fist King into a corner and was focusing on my meal when—
Fist Dragon, Blade Dragon, and Sword Phoenix arrived.
These were the three members of the Nine Dragons and Five Phoenixes who were supposed to meet us in front of the local government office after booking lodging and seats for the martial arts tournament.
As for Poison Dragon, he had split off to assist his older brother—Poison King—who would be competing in the Sichuan Martial Arts Tournament.
“You arrived early.”
What now?
Blade Dragon wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly explained.
“As soon as we heard that someone had defeated the Fist King and kidnapped Beauty Phoenix, we rushed here!”
“Ahh.”
“Fortunately… it seems everyone is unharmed.”
Fist Dragon immediately knelt beside the collapsed Fist King.
“He’s alive, but… to think Master—who subdued the entire Green Forest with his fists alone—ended up with a broken wrist…”
“He must’ve dropped his guard.”
“Even his jaw and teeth are shattered. How will he enjoy his favorite meat dishes now…?”
“Well, maybe it’s a good chance for him to try vegetarianism.”
I comforted the panicked Fist Dragon.
Tap!
“Young Master Kang. Thank you for saving the Fist King and Beauty Phoenix. I thought I’d lose a precious friend today.”
Sword Phoenix bowed deeply with a respectful fist-and-palm salute.
Huh?
I had a faint suspicion earlier, but now I was sure.
Our stories weren’t matching.
“Young Hero Kang… I’ll repay the debt for saving my master.”
“…It’s alright.”
“Young Master Kang. Did you see the face of the person who defeated the Fist King?”
“…Nope. Right?”
I turned to Beauty Phoenix with a smile that clearly meant play along.
“Eh?”
“You didn’t see the one who turned the Fist King’s face into mashed rice cake, right?”
“Uh…”
“Seems we’ll have to stay with Lady Beauty Phoenix for a while.”
I needed to keep her close so she couldn’t reveal the truth.
“T–Together?!”
“Even if you dislike it, it can’t be helped. Until the threat has—”
“…Okay.”
“Good. I was worried you’d refuse.”
If she’d said no, I would’ve had to resort to the slightly… violent method of kidnapping her.
Voluntary cooperation was much better.
Now, the last loose end…
“Fist King! Are you alright?!”
“Master! Master~!”
“Fist King! Elder!!”
“……”
I just needed to shut the mouth of this shameless old man who tried to steal money from a young man.
Negotiation is my specialty.
Compared to dealing with patients trapped in their dreams, this was nothing.
***
Later — In the Inn Room
“Fist King, who subdued the Green Forest with his bare hands—surely you don’t want rumors spreading that you were beaten for trying to pickpocket a kid?”
The opportunity came sooner than expected.
Once he opened his eyes and saw my face, the Fist King immediately dismissed the Nine Dragons and Five Phoenixes from the room.
His swollen jaw moved stiffly as he spoke.
“Don’t get cocky. This old man only wished to test the man who dared lay eyes on my precious Beauty Pho—”
“You don’t want that rumor spreading, right?”
“…This old man, thinking of his granddaughter-like Beauty Phoenix, intended to let you off… but you—cough, cough?!”
Grab!
I clamped my fingers around the Fist King’s throat, lifting him slightly as he flailed.
“I learned how high the sky is—ten years ago in elementary school.”
“G—ggh?!”
These martial artists always pretend they understand the heavens.
They’ve never even flown in their lives.
Talking to them feels like teaching kindergarten.
“So, what’ll it be?”
“Ah… I get it!”
“Excellent decision.”
Release.
The moment I loosened my grip, he collapsed to the floor.
“Cough! Cough!”
“From now on, we’re going to match our stories. The Fist King was attacked by an assassin while approaching Beauty Phoenix, whom he cherishes like a granddaughter.”
“W-wait! Are you trying to socially bury this old man?!”
“Hm. Then let’s change it— The Fist King was attacked by an assassin while trying to reach Beauty Phoenix, whom he cherishes like a granddaughter.”
…It was a compromise.
“No, no. How about this— This old man took the attack in place of my precious Beauty Phoenix.”
“Your greed is showing. That’s my role.”
“You’re not even injured…”
“Do you think Beauty Phoenix will believe that?”
She had literally watched me break his wrist, shatter his jaw, and kick his face in.
Faced with my flawless logic, the Fist King protested bitterly:
“I truly intended only to test you! This old man isn’t some beggar—why would I steal money from a young man?”
“I sensed murderous intent.”
“That—! Ahem… that was because my disciple, Fist Dragon, has an eye on Beauty Phoenix, and I was displeased that a young man tried to steal her away…”
“So it was malicious.”
“Hrrmmm!”
He looked away, pretending to be busy with anything else—clearly embarrassed by his own childish behavior.
The Fist King… huh?
He was the man who single-handedly conquered the Green Forest bandit coalition with nothing but his fists.
A far cry from the dignified elder he was in the novel, but his status remained valuable.
‘Might be useful.’
With Mao Zhai’s whereabouts uncertain, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone powerful on my side.
“Fine.”
“…What?”
“I’ll convince Beauty Phoenix. I’ll adjust the story so it works best for you.”
“Oho! Young Master Kang! This debt shall never be forgotten!”
“Sure.”
If he forgets, I’ll simply execute him.
“…Ah! Come to think of it— You seem rather fond of money, so why not enter the martial arts tournament?”
“I’m too late. I gave up.”
I wanted to participate like the protagonist, but registration for the Sichuan Martial Arts Tournament had closed two days ago—and I wasn’t from Sichuan anyway.
The Fist King continued his interrogation.
“What sect are you from?”
“None.”
“You must have a master, then. A talent like you couldn’t have just fallen from the sky.”
“……”
Actually, I did fall from the sky.
“If you cannot say your master’s name, then at least tell me the name of your martial art.”
“It’s not that big a secret.”
I had already mentioned it to the Nine Dragons and Five Phoenixes, so it would spread sooner or later.
“I am the Heavenly Demon’s grandson. That’s why I have no master.”
“……”
“I entrust myself to your care.”
I am a wicked shaman who enjoys teasing thieving old men.
***
Later…
The martial arts novel <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?> Spans 215 volumes, but the protagonist only enters three tournaments:
The Nine Dragons and Five Phoenixes Tournament
The Imperial Palace Tournament
The Tournament of the Strongest Under Heaven
To avoid a predictable plot where the protagonist wins every time, the author stuffed the preliminaries with absurdly strong fighters—sacrificing logic for entertainment.
But now?
‘So it wasn’t nonsense…?’
Thanks to the Fist King, I obtained a participation slot in the Sichuan Martial Arts Tournament—
And the moment I saw the bracket, I let out a hollow laugh.
Poison King, Wolf King, Fist Demon, Emei Divine Sword, Emei Fairy, Sword Fiend, Blue Castle One-Sword, Dotang Demonic Blade, Sichuan’s Number One Sword, Lustful Rogue, Dark Emperor…
There were many names belonging to people who either hid their true power or survived until the end of the novel—actual monsters.
“Young Master Kang! I’ll cheer for you!”
“I place my faith in the young man who saved this old master!”
I understood why Beauty Phoenix was following me.
But why was the Fist King tagging along too?
His eyes were gleaming with pure greed.
“Fist King, did you… place a bet on me?”
“Heh heh! Since no one else was betting on you, this old man helped by adding a little.”
“You said you had plenty of money.”
“I donated every last coin to charity for peasants suffering from a poor harvest—right after paying for my arm treatment.”
“…Ah. Yes.”
His hypocrisy left me speechless.
“Me too! I placed my bet on Young Master Kang’s victory.”
“Beauty Phoenix as well? Didn’t you say you had no money?”
“I borrowed some from a pawnshop.”
A pawnshop— A place that lends money using valuables as collateral.
“What did you pawn?”
“The underwear I was wearing.”
“……”
I wanted to ask the pawnshop owner if he was insane.
“What about the rest of you?”
“I bet on the Sichuan’s First Sword, last year’s champion.”
Blade Dragon chose the fighter with the lowest payout.
“This year, the Emei Fairy will win! She finished her long seclusion training!”
Sword Phoenix said it like she possessed privileged secret information.
“I bet on Fist Demon, my master’s eternal rival. I don’t like rooting for a villain, but…”
At that moment—
“Disciple.”
“Yes, Master!”
“Thank you. Truly.”
“…Huh?”
The Fist King smiled warmly at Fist Dragon, touched that his disciple had bet on him.
A true master-disciple moment.
‘Mao Zhai must have come to watch the tournament too.’
If he possessed the protagonist’s body, he wouldn’t be eligible to participate—he wasn’t from Sichuan.
But me?
Since I have no sect and belong nowhere, I can join the Sichuan Martial Arts Tournament.
The downside: I won’t be able to enter other regional tournaments afterward—
Except for the Nine Dragons Five Phoenixes Tournament (under 30 only), and the Tournament of the Strongest Under Heaven (no age limit).
Anyway—
“I should give it my all.”
I needed to stand out.
I wanted Mao Zhai—watching through someone else’s eyes—to notice me.
***
Tournament brackets aren’t decided randomly.
Last year’s champion, major contenders, powerful sponsors, famous masters, the imperial family…
These people are carefully placed so they don’t meet early and get injured before the finals.
That’s why—
“Name?”
“Kang Moon-soo.”
“I am Sichuan’s First Sword.”
Facing last year’s champion in my third preliminary match wasn’t odd at all.
‘Strange…’
The organizers must know I was recommended by the Fist King.
Yet instead of placing me safely, they threw me straight into the path of Sichuan’s First Sword—like sacrificing a lamb before the finals.
“One would think you’d withdraw. Do you not know who I am?”
“I know.”
The long diagonal scar on his face—earned in his very first tournament ten years ago—was iconic.
“Then despite knowing, you still challenge me instead of forfeiting?”
“Yes.”
Srrrng—
I borrowed a weapon temporarily: The crescent blade the Fist King had taken as a trophy when he conquered the Green Forest.
Green Forest Eighteen Blades
(녹림십팔도, Green Forest’s Eighteen Saber Forms)
The crescent-shaped blade had its name engraved along the curve.
“That sword is…?”
“I borrowed it.”
“Hmph. Having a good weapon doesn’t mean you can fight well.”
He glanced up and down my clean, unscarred skin with mocking disdain.
“I can guarantee I’ve been through far worse than you.”
Painful memories flashed through my mind—
Arms and legs ripped off without anesthesia.
An experience money can’t buy.
“You talk nonsense.”
“You’ll see soon enough.”
Whoooom—
I slowly raised the internal energy taught by my Skeleton Master.
“…Fine. I’ll show you a lesson.”
Shwk—
He spoke arrogantly, yet couldn’t completely hide how conscious he was of Beauty Phoenix and the Fist King cheering for me nearby.
They’d make it difficult to bait him into lowering his guard.
‘Let’s see what last year’s champion can do.’
Pah!
I sliced through the air with Green Forest Eighteen Blades, closing the distance in a flash.
“—!”
The Sichuan’s First Sword’s blade erupted in a brilliant white flame formed from internal energy.
“Using sword wind in the preliminaries?!”
“The champion is unleashing sword wind?!”
“What a magnificent sword wind!”
Spectators with even a little martial arts knowledge erupted with cheers and admiration.
Sword Wind (검풍).
In most wuxia novels the names differ,
But in Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?, it’s all grouped as “wind”:
Fist Wind
Finger Wind
Sound Wind
Staff Wind
Palm Wind…
And Heavenly Demon is the strongest in the world because he can unleash palm winds at the scale of natural disasters, one after another.
I watched the First Sword’s sword wind and thought—
‘This is bad.’
A crude sword technique powered purely by internal energy.
I hardened my expression.
Fwip—
Before his sword wind could even reach me, I slipped inside its range—faster than the wind itself.
“Wha—?!”
The Sichuan’s First Sword’s eyes widened.
He had burned too much internal energy on his sword wind.
To me, his movements were slower than a turtle.
Slice—!
Blood sprayed.
‘This feels like fighting a child with a machine gun.’
Every martial art in this wuxia world—rooted in Buddhism and Daoism—begins and ends with internal energy.
They live and die by it.
In other words—
“This is easy.”
This world’s martial arts, obsessed with inner power, are flashy but flawed.
Completely impractical.
“H-How can this be…?”
Thud.
Clutching his split side, Sichuan’s First Sword fell to his knees.
Is the match over?
Not yet.
“Don’t take it too hard. I’m the Heavenly Demon’s grandson. Losing to me is as natural as breathing.”
“…Huh?”
“Was that explanation too difficult?”
“N-No, but…!”
“If you understand, then spread the word diligently. That you failed to pass the preliminaries because you met the wrong opponent.”
“……”
“Understood?”
“…To meet the Heavenly Demon’s grandson in the preliminaries… My luck was rotten. No… I should be grateful I survived…”
“Exactly.”
Excellent job, Sichuan’s First Sword–sir!
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