Chapter 96 – Heavenly Demon’s Disciple (18)
Two old men sat across from each other with a Go board between them, engrossed in a match.
The man in a pristine white robe embroidered with pink plum blossoms was clearly the Sect Leader of Mount Hua.
Which meant…
‘The one in black must be the Heavenly Demon.’
He wasn’t unattractive, but compared to the elegant, distinguished Sect Leader, he looked far too ordinary.
He stared holes into the Go board with a frustrated expression—
His match clearly wasn’t going well—
And he didn’t spare me even a glance.
“Sect Leader! Long time no see!”
The moment I entered, little Fist King—who insisted I go ahead first—ran forward loudly.
“…Don’t tell me—that’s you, Fist King?”
“That’s right! Sect Leader, you haven’t changed at all!”
“And you’ve changed so much I almost didn’t recognize you. And what is with that light, childish way of speaking…?”
“What about it?”
“Well… never mind. If you gain one thing, you lose another. Heaven is frighteningly fair.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I have sweets here…”
“Ooh! Give them to me!”
“…Terrifyingly fair indeed.”
The Sect Leader of Mount Hua, having calmed little Fist King with candy, raised his eyes and widened them when he saw behind me.
“Lady Murong grows more beautiful every time I see her.”
“I greet the esteemed Sword King.”
Mi-bong smiled radiantly as she bowed gracefully.
Sword King (劍王).
In <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?>, that title belonged to the greatest swordsman in the martial world.
His only rival was Sword Demon—another prodigy who served the forces of evil.
This was a fixed rule of the novel’s lore, unquestionable.
‘Interesting.’
Since I was quite confident in my swordsmanship too, I wanted to test myself against the Sword King someday.
“Heavenly Demon, will you not look away from your board? Your grandson has arrived.”
“…I won’t fall for your cheap attempt to break my concentration.”
The Heavenly Demon responded without lifting his gaze.
“The tide has already turned. It’s too late to overturn this match.”
“It’s not over.”
“You stubborn old…”
“In my life, I’ve seen countless fools claiming to be my descendants. You are the third claiming to be my grandson.”
The Heavenly Demon didn’t believe even a word of my claim.
In that case—
I recited from the book My Bone Master left me:
“The good man is teacher to the wanting, The unvirtuous man is resource for the full.
Honor the nameless Dao’s later kings,
For in generosity, dew falls evenly upon all people.”
“…You. Who are you?”
For the first time, the Heavenly Demon tore his eyes away from the Go board and glared at me with a hardened expression.
“I’m your grandson.”
“Lies.”
“Then I guess my mother lied.”
“…You have that book with you?”
“Of course.”
I took out Bone Master’s keepsake.
Whoosh—
“You have quick hands.”
The Heavenly Demon instantly appeared in front of me and let out a humorless laugh.
“You’ve got awful habits, Elder.”
I withdrew the book just before he could snatch it and smiled.
“Impudent brat. Is this how you were raised?”
“It’s mine.”
“It is mine.”
“It’s mine now.”
“You came here to return it to me, did you not?”
Whoosh—
He tried to snatch it again mid-conversation, but I dodged easily, leaving him empty-handed.
“Just admit it.”
“Admit what?”
“That I’m your grandson.”
“…Even if I admit it, what changes? My techniques are taught to only one successor. And I already have a disciple.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I have zero interest in Heavenly Demon Divine Art.”
“Hah?”
The Heavenly Demon widened his eyes as if I had said the most ridiculous thing imaginable.
But it was the truth.
‘I only care about where Mao Zhai is. That’s it.’
I wasn’t really his grandson anyway.
The Heavenly Demon let out a dry laugh.
“I don’t know what nonsense my talentless daughter told you, but I won’t stand by and watch you dismiss the Heavenly Demon Divine Art so lightly.”
“So you’re finally acknowledging it.”
“…Fine. If you truly weren’t my grandson, I’d have killed you already.”
“…Excuse me?”
My body staggered.
Suddenly, as if a giant weight fell from the sky, gravity crushed down on me from above.
‘What the—?!’
My bones, perfectly fine a moment ago, now screamed in agony.
Tap.
The Heavenly Demon plucked the book from my grasp with ease while I struggled to stay upright.
“No need to be surprised. I’m simply pressing you down with my internal energy.”
“Ghh…!”
Internal energy?
At his words, the truth clicked.
‘Oh… hell.’
The entire room—no, the entire space—was filled with the Heavenly Demon’s internal energy.
There was no “dodging” something like this.
Just as no human on Earth could escape gravity.
I felt like an idiot.
This was the strongest being in the <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?> World.
I could never win against this.
“A normal martial artist cannot move while accumulating qi. But the Heavenly Demon Divine Art allows free circulation—anytime, always.”
“Damn it…”
Of course I already knew that.
Did he think I hadn’t thoroughly researched the protagonist’s martial arts before entering this dream?
However—
‘This is still cheating…!’
I suddenly sympathized with all the villains in the original novel who came so close to defeating the protagonist.
His victory was inevitable. With this level of broken martial arts, I wanted to applaud the villains for even daring to try.
“But… I’ll admit I’m surprised.”
“Oh?”
With trembling legs, I barely managed to turn my head.
“Ghh…”
“Ugh…”
Fist King and Mi-bong lay flat on the floor, completely unable to withstand the crushing internal energy.
Shff—
The Heavenly Demon flipped through the book, checking its condition, and spoke casually.
“You need not worry. I’m being gentle with those two.”
“…Are you being gentle with me too?”
“Of course. You think I would use my full strength on a brat?”
“I’m still holding out, you know?”
“Not anymore.”
Tap.
His fingertip brushed my body—
And I collapsed instantly, like a dam bursting.
“Argh?!”
Thud.
I dropped to my hands and knees, pinned to the ground like the others.
“As thanks for returning my book, I shall give you some guidance.”
“…”
“Your internal energy is far too lacking. You are weaker than the Mount Hua gatekeeper.”
“Was I?”
“If you use a proper cultivation method for just one year, only I will remain as your match.”
“……”
A shiver ran down my spine.
Bone Master had told me something eerily similar.
‘Just hide and breathe for three years, and every master under heaven will kneel before you.’
Three years…
Which included the Heavenly Demon himself.
The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue.
“Heaven must be mocking me. That such a monster was born from a daughter with no talent.”
“I have a question.”
“Who your father is?”
“I don’t know. And I asked my question first.”
“Impudent brat.”
Shing—
When the Heavenly Demon tucked the book into his sleeve and turned around, the crushing pressure of his internal energy vanished as if it had never existed.
“Pwah!”
“Cough—! Cough!”
Fist King and Mi-bong, whose faces had gone ghostly pale, gasped for breath with expressions overflowing with relief.
‘Good. They seem fine.’
Neither of them appeared injured.
“I have a question.”
“…If you call me Grandfather, I might consider answering.”
“Grandfather.”
“What is it?”
The Heavenly Demon, already seated again in front of the Go board, twitched the corner of his mouth as he asked.
“Did you not take in a child who became an orphan due to a bandit attack?”
“No.”
“I’m certain you did.”
“Heavenly Demon Divine Art is passed down to only one disciple. Do you think I would break the rules of my sect?”
“Hm…”
There was no reason for him to lie—he could kill me whenever he wanted.
‘Then why…? Ah!’
I realized my mistake.
“Grandfather.”
“…What now?”
Twitch.
His expression said bothered, but the subtle curl of his lips said pleased.
I had found the weakness of the strongest being in the <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?>World.
“Grandfather.”
Had I been talentless just like Bone Master, he would’ve ignored me, but clearly I met his expectations.
“You must have seen a boy—a child who begged you to take him as a disciple.”
“…And what makes you so certain of that?”
Because Mao Zhai, an avid reader of <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?>, would never give up on the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
The protagonist’” natural talent? It means nothing without the right martial arts to bring it out.
“I saw it.”
“You saw it?”
“I am a shaman. I can see the future.”
“A shaman? A fortune-teller?”
“Yes.”
I wasn’t lying.
***
“That child possessed the Heaven–Earth Yin–Yang Body.”
The Heaven–Earth Yin–Yang Body (天地陰陽持體):
In this world, it is the body most suited for learning martial arts.
Think of it as being born after undergoing ten rounds of rebirth and reconstruction before even leaving the womb.
It is an absurdly overpowered constitution.
“Hoh! The Heaven–Earth Yin–Yang Body…!”
Even the sect leader of Mount Hua, who had been silently listening, widened his eyes.
This meant the protagonist had a talent so great that even a prestigious sect leader would covet it.
“Then… why did you abandon him?”
“He already had a sect.”
“…Ah.”
I recalled that Mao Zhai trained in traditional martial arts in the real world.
“He denied it, but he could never fool my eyes.”
“He’s still the Heaven–Earth Yin–Yang Body, though.”
It seemed wasteful to discard such a child simply because he belonged to another sect.
“He had been ruined by learning strange martial arts.”
“Strange…”
So the flawed knowledge he gained in reality became poison to him here.
“I truly found him regrettable.”
“I can imagine.”
“If that were all, I could have fixed him with peerless medicine. But he also lacked the most important qualities for a martial artist—focus and endurance.”
“…Oh no.”
In the original novel, the protagonist’s focus and endurance were superhuman—utterly unrealistic.
Training naked in the mountains.
Meditating atop a waterfall.
Sleeping on a cliffside.
There were countless bizarre, borderline abusive training methods…
For Mao Zhai, born into the comfortable life of a chaebol heir, living like the protagonist was impossible.
“A brat who trips over his own feet and bawls his eyes out—what would I ever use him for?”
“……”
This was the worst-case scenario.
I thought I had prepared perfectly this time, but it seems we overestimated the Ranuvel patient.
Far beyond what we imagined.
Recalling the past, the Heavenly Demon spoke casually:
“He said he’d make me regret not accepting him as my disciple. Isn’t that laughable?”
“…Thank you.”
“Hm?”
“You saved my life, Grandfather.”
“If it helped you, then fine.”
Twitch.
As if trying to hide the corner of his mouth constantly rising, the Heavenly Demon refocused on the Go board.
“Make him regret it,” huh?
The Heavenly Demon brushed it off because he didn’t understand the mental age of that Heaven–Earth Yin–Yang Body brat.
Mao Zhai’s goal.
There really isn’t much to do in a wuxia world besides becoming strong, but now he had a clear purpose.
The Heavenly Demon.
But what happens if he challenges the strongest being in the world—and loses?
The Heavenly Demon is not merciful enough to spare someone who dares challenge him.
“Grandfather.”
“…What now? Stop bothering me.”
“Stay healthy. Your grandson will be leaving now.”
“…If you don’t want to die young, build your internal energy.”
“Yes.”
Until now, I had never felt lacking in internal energy. I proved that at the Sichuan Martial Tournament when I won with ease.
But after meeting the Heavenly Demon, my thoughts changed.
“From now on, it’s yours.”
Whoosh—
A book slid across the floor like it was gliding on ice and landed in my arms.
“This is…?”
A red-thread bookmark was tucked inside the book.
‘This wasn’t here before.’
The Heavenly Demon said:
“Open it.”
“…Ah!”
On the bookmark, golden letters were written over a red background:
“When the Blood Cloud descends, the Purple Shrimp weeps.”
“What is this…?”
“A seal.”
“A seal for what?”
“The book and the bookmark are originally one. Without either one, it is useless.”
“Ah!”
I understood how the seal worked.
But… why go this far?
“Because it is dangerous. The price of power is the loss of emotion.”
“Emotion…”
A chill ran down my spine.
“You may forgive the enemy who killed your wife, or abandon your daughter. There was once a man who did exactly that.”
“…Grandfather.”
“What?”
“I will return again.”
“If you plan on crawling on the floor like today, don’t bother.”
“Yes.”
Now to find Mao Zhai—the man with nothing left to lose, who seeks revenge.
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