Chapter 96
Two old men were locked in a fierce go match, with the board placed squarely in the center. The one in the pristine white dobok adorned with pink floral patterns had to be the leader of the Huashan Sect. That meant the guy in black was the Heavenly Demon.
His face wasn't bad-looking, but next to the flower-handsome middle-aged Huashan leader, he seemed utterly ordinary. He stared holes into the go board, his expression twisted in frustration as the game didn't go his way, completely ignoring me.
"Sect Leader! Long time no see!"
The pint-sized Fist King, who'd told me to go first, suddenly stepped forward.
"...No way, is that you, Fist King?"
"You got it! You haven't changed a bit, Sect Leader!"
"And you? You've changed so much I almost didn't recognize you. And that flippant speech of yours..."
"What's wrong with how I talk?"
"Well... Never mind, ignorance is bliss. Gain one thing, lose another—heaven truly is fair."
"What're you on about?"
"Want some snacks?"
"Ooh! Gimme!"
"...Scarily fair."
The Huashan Sect Leader, who'd tamed the little Fist King with snacks, glanced behind me and widened his eyes.
"The daughter of the Moyong family grows more beautiful every time I see her."
"Greetings, Sword King."
Mi-bong offered a radiant smile and an elegant bow.
Sword King. The honorable title given to the man who wielded the sword best in the wuxia novel Is This Heavenly Demon Real?. His only rival was the Sword Demon, another genius swordsman who'd thrown in with the forces of evil. No room for doubt—this was straight from the author's setting.
Now that's intriguing.
I had confidence in my own swordsmanship and wanted to spar with the Sword King.
"Heavenly Demon. Aren't you going to greet your grandson?"
"...I'm not falling for that shallow trick to break This Seat's focus."
The Heavenly Demon replied without taking his eyes off the board.
"It's too late to turn this lopsided game around."
"It's not over yet."
"Sheesh..."
"I've seen plenty of fools claiming to be This Seat's descendants. You're the third 'grandson'."
The Heavenly Demon, unconvinced of my identity, couldn't have cared less.
In that case... "The virtuous lack their own teacher; the wicked are the wealth of the abundant. Honor the nameless king of the Way, and like dew on the people, it gathers evenly."
"This the third time for you too?"
I recited a passage from the book left by my bone master.
"...Who the hell are you?"
The Heavenly Demon finally tore his gaze from the board, turning to me with a hardened face.
"Your grandson."
"Lies."
"Then Mom must've lied."
"...Do you have it?"
"Of course."
I pulled the book—my bone master's keepsake—from my bosom.
Whoosh~
"Not bad hand speed."
The Heavenly Demon zipped in front of me in an instant and let out a hollow chuckle.
"Bad manners snatching stuff."
I'd yanked my hand back just before he could grab it, flashing a grin.
"Insolent brat. What kind of upbringing was that?"
"It's mine."
"It's This Seat's."
"It's mine now."
"Didn't you come to return it to This Seat?"
Whoosh~
He lunged for the book mid-sentence, but my quick reflexes left him grasping air again.
"Admit it."
"Admit what?"
"That I'm your grandson."
"...And what would that change? The core manual is passed to one alone. This Seat already has a disciple."
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not interested in the Heavenly Demon Divine Art."
"Hah?"
The Heavenly Demon's eyes bulged in disbelief.
But it was true.
I just want to know what happened to Mao Zai, the Heavenly Demon's 'knowledge' of him.
I wasn't even the real grandson. But the Heavenly Demon scoffed in exasperation.
"Whatever nonsense that talentless daughter of mine fed you, I can't overlook anyone scorning the Heavenly Demon Divine Art."
"Finally admitting it, huh?"
"Fine. If you weren't my grandson, you'd be dead already."
"Pardon?"
Wobble.
Suddenly, my whole body felt crushed from above by crushing gravity.
What the—?!
My joints, fine just moments ago, screamed in agony.
Tap.
As I struggled to hold on, the Heavenly Demon effortlessly snatched the book.
"No need to freak out. Just pressed you with internal energy."
"Ngh...!"
Internal energy? Realization hit.
Oh god... This entire space is the Heavenly Demon's internal energy...?
No wonder I couldn't escape it. Like a human on Earth defying universal gravitation.
Idiot. This was the pinnacle of the world in Is This Heavenly Demon Real? Unbeatable.
"An ordinary martial artist can't build internal energy without stillness. But the Heavenly Demon Divine Art lets you cultivate it freely, anytime, anywhere."
"Damn it..."
I knew that, of course. Why else would I enter this dream without researching the protagonist's techniques?
But this was overkill!
The villains who'd nearly beaten the protagonist in the novel seemed pitiful now. The hero's wins were a given with such a cheat art. I wanted to applaud those villains' grit.
"Still, I'm impressed."
"Really?"
I glanced sideways, legs trembling as I barely held on.
"Ngh..."
"Ahh..."
Fist King and Mi-bong couldn't withstand the pressure and were flat on the ground.
Swoosh~
The Heavenly Demon carefully inspected the book and spoke.
"No worries. I'm going easy on those two."
"...Going easy on me too?"
"Obviously. You think This Seat would go all out on a novice?"
"I'm still holding on."
"Not anymore."
Tap.
The lightest touch from his fingertip shattered my balance like a collapsing dam.
"Gah?!"
Thud.
I faceplanted, propping myself with both hands.
"As thanks for returning This Seat's book, I'll give you some advice."
"......"
"Your internal energy is pathetic. Weaker than a Huashan gatekeeper."
"That so?"
"Cultivate it for a year with a decent method, and no one but This Seat could touch you."
"......."
A chill ran down my spine. My bone master had given similar counsel.
Just hole up for three years breathing right, and every powerhouse in the world kneels before you...
Three years. That included even his father, the Heavenly Demon.
The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue.
"Heaven's jealous prank for sure. For a talentless wretch's belly to birth a monster like you."
"Got a question."
"Who’s the father?"
"No idea. And I asked first."
"Insolent brat."
Swish—
He tucked the book into his sleeve and turned, the pressure vanishing like a lie.
"Phew!"
"Cough cough!"
Fist King and Mi-bong, faces drained white, gasped in joyous relief.
Good, they're fine.
"I have a question."
"...Call me Grandfather, and I'll consider it."
"Grandfather."
"What?"
The Heavenly Demon sat back at the board, smirking faintly.
"Didn't you take in an orphan boy attacked by bandits as a disciple?"
"No."
"There has to be."
"Heavenly Demon Divine Art is one-to-one transmission. Think I'd break sect rules?"
"Hm..."
No reason for the man who could kill me anytime to lie.
But why lie... Oh!
I realized my mistake.
"Grandfather."
"...What now?"
Smirk.
His annoyed face contrasted with that twitching lip. I'd found the apex predator of Is This Heavenly Demon Real?'s weakness.
Grandfather! Without my bone master's talent, I'd be ignored, but I'd met expectations.
"Ever seen a boy orphaned by bandits?"
"Yes."
"Where..."
"You think there's just one or two like that?"
He stared into my eyes, probing my intent. I met it squarely.
"One begged to be your disciple."
"...What makes you so sure?"
Because Mao Zai, diehard fan of Is This Heavenly Demon Real?, wouldn't give up the Heavenly Demon Divine Art easily. The protagonist's talent? Useless without top-tier arts to unlock it.
"I saw it."
"Saw it?"
"I'm a shaman. I can see the future."
"Shaman? Fortune teller?"
"Yes."
No lie there.
* * *
"That boy had the Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Body, one in a millennium."
Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Body. The perfect physique for martial arts in Is This Heavenly Demon Real?'s world. Think emerging from the womb already shed mortal coils ten times over.
A total cheat body.
"Hah! A Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Body...!"
Even the listening Huashan Sect Leader's eyes spun.
Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Body. The talent even stuffy academy heads coveted.
"Why discard him?"
"He already had a sect."
"Ah..."
I recalled Mao Zai's real-life traditional martial arts training.
"He denied it, but he couldn't fool This Seat's eyes."
"But still, a Yin-Yang Body?"
Too wasteful to pass up over a sect.
"It was ruined by bizarre arts."
"Bizarre..."
Real-world misconceptions had poisoned him.
"This Seat truly pitied the boy."
"I bet."
"If that was all, I'd have healed him with a millennium elixir. But his focus and endurance—vital for any warrior—were lacking."
"Oh no..."
The protagonist's focus and endurance in Is This Heavenly Demon Real? were unreal: mountain hikes naked, meditating under waterfalls, sleeping on cliffs. Extreme training galore.
For a chaebol heir like Mao Zai, used to luxury, that life was impossible.
"What use a kid who trips on his own feet and bawls?"
"......"
Worst case. We'd overhyped this Ranubel patient. Beyond imagination!
Recalling that day, the Heavenly Demon tossed out casually:
"Said he'd make me regret not taking him. Laughable, right?"
"...Thanks."
"Hm?"
"You saved my life, Grandfather."
"If it helped, good."
Smirk.
Hiding his rising smirk, the Heavenly Demon refocused on the board.
'Make you regret it?'
He'd brushed it off, blind to that Yin-Yang kid's mental age. Mao Zai's goal crystallized: beyond just powering up in the novel.
The Heavenly Demon.
But challenging the world's strongest? He wasn't merciful to challengers.
"Grandfather."
"...What now, pest?"
"Stay healthy. Your grandson's taking off."
"...Don't die young. Build your internal energy."
"Yes, sir."
I'd never felt short on internal energy before. Proved it winning the Sichuan Martial Tournament easy.
Meeting the Heavenly Demon changed that.
"It's yours from now on."
Whoosh~
The book he tossed slid across the ice-like floor straight to me.
"This...?"
A red silk bookmark was tucked inside.
Wasn't there before.
The Heavenly Demon said:
"Open it."
"...Ah!"
The bookmark read, in gold script on red: "Blood clouds loom, and the purple shrimp weeps."
"What is...?"
"A seal."
"Seal for what?"
"Book and bookmark are one. Useless without both."
"Ah!"
I got it. Clever seal.
But why?
"It's dangerous. Power costs your emotions."
"Emotions..."
Chills erupted.
"Could forgive your wife's killer, abandon your daughter. One man did."
"...Grandfather."
"What?"
"I'll come again."
"Not if you're just gonna flop like today."
"Yes, sir."
Time to find that man with nothing to lose, out for revenge on Mao Zai.