Prologue: The Inn, and Daily Life in the Galaxy Age
"I hear Cheonbo Paehyeok, eldest son of the Skywalker family, has taken the Young Leader's seat of the Space Heavenly Demon Sect."
"So the balance of the galaxy is about to tip again... The unorthodox factions have been restless lately—talk of clone armies and the like..."
A crowded inn. A black-haired young man and an android monk were deep in conversation.
"And what is the SouthPalace clan—foremost house of the orthodox path—doing about it, tsk tsk."
"Exactly... The eldest son, the pillar of the family, is still said to be lagging in his training..."
"What's his realm?"
"Profound Realm, apparently. And he's fifteen this year."
"Only just Profound Realm at fifteen! After devouring every precious elixir the galaxy has to offer? Something must be wrong with his Upper Dantian."
"Even the prestige of the Namgung—greatest clan in the galaxy—has fallen..."
"And in these already troubled times. I even heard a rumor that Cheonsalseong has woken from hibernation."
"The living star, you mean. I've heard the same. Reconstruction still isn't finished for the planetary systems destroyed by its Death Star Beam..."
"So the moniker 'greatest disaster in the galaxy' isn't empty talk."
"Amitabha... A single strike of that beam shattered the Ami Sect to pieces..."
"They say Cheonsalseong's Death Beam is a derivative art—modeled on the Heavenly Demon's exclusive Cheonma Death Beam."
"Speaking of stars... there's Mangryang. Head of the Cyborg Cartel. Word is he's finally reached the realm of the Star."
"He hacked an entire machine planet, didn't he?"
"Indeed. A man who has attained the pinnacle of mind arts... His signature technique, the Mangryang Hacking Art, is a terrifying skill for artificial intelligences like myself..."
"Hacking with martial arts, of all things. I can't even begin to grasp the principle."
"In an age when people launch starships with Empty Air Object Control and warp between stars with the Earth-Shrinking Step, what can't they do?"
"Fair point... By the way, how long has it been since we ordered? The table still hasn't come. Hey! Waitress!"
A waitress hurried over with a tray of dishes.
"Ah!! I was just about to bring it out!!!"
But some mischievous customer stuck out a foot and tripped her as she rushed past. The waitress went sprawling.
"Ah... no!!!"
Unable to overcome her momentum, she nearly flipped a full somersault through the air—then executed a practiced Descending Landing and Empty Air Stepping and alighted lightly on her feet. Midair, she caught the entire tray with Empty Air Object Control before anything could overturn.
"Hey!!! Customer!!! Please don't play tricks like that!!!"
"Haha! I only did it because the waitress is so cute!"
"If you weren't a regular, I'd have called the manager!!"
After a brief tussle, the waitress brought the food over to them.
"Here! Sorry for the wait!! Our specialty—Hydra Tail Carbonara and Volcano Sect Cherry Blossom Sake!! And the house special Nanorobot Bamboo Leaf Green!!!"
"Ooh! This place's Nanorobot Bamboo Leaf Green really is a specialty...!"
"The owner used to be a programmer! His skill at brewing Nano Bamboo Leaf Green is incredible!"
"By the way, young lady. Judging by the way you moved just now, you've had quite the education?"
"Yes! That's right! I graduated from a private high school! This is my grandfather's place, so I help out often!"
"A filial girl. You're better than the eldest son of the Namgung clan."
"Hohoho!!! You're joking, sir!!!"
The waitress left, and the two of them ate.
"By the way, isn't Bamboo Leaf Green liquor? You're a monk—should you be drinking that?"
"Haha... When the heart is already faithful to the Buddha's path, how could a single sip of drink diminish that light?"
"You sure talk a good game. Shaolin's artificial intelligence really is something, isn't it?"
"Indeed. Shaolin's AI technology is the finest in the galaxy. Thanks to the Great Master AI of Shaolin—the first among AIs to attain nirvana—we who were once mere lumps of metal opened the eyes of our hearts... And not for a single moment since have we neglected our progress."
"A Shaolin tourist-guide AI gaining enlightenment through centuries of deep learning and becoming a Buddha... The universe truly is full of mysteries."
"And so how one is born is not what matters. What matters is how one lives, and with what heart."
"...Says the guy drinking booze with a wicked heart......"
BANG!!!!!!!!!
Suddenly a ninja appeared.
No. Not a ninja. A samurai. But the distinction between the two had grown vague more than a thousand years ago. With improved education, these fellows had mastered both arts—swift as ninjas, sharp as samurai.
A cyborg samurai, mechanical implants plastered all over his body, kicked in the shop door. Like a scene from a Western.
In a voice laced with an eerie mechanical rattle, the cyborg samurai bellowed.
"Krrrkk...!! Last successor of the PointBlue sect, 'Christopher Dokgo'!!! Where are you!!! I know you're here!!!!!"
The shop fell silent. Everyone just rolled their eyes and watched for cues. They already knew full well how vicious the Galactic Cartel types were.
"These cyborg bastards... So they've tracked me even here..."
Then a young man in a corner seat picked up his sword and spoke.
"Mangryang. He must be dying to see me."
"Krrrkk...!! Christopher Dokgo. You cannot escape him. Now that he has reached the realm of the Star... he has claimed the title of 'Mangryang Star' and joined the ranks of the galaxy's hundred greatest masters!! Soon everything will unfold as he desires!"
"Interesting. Men who replaced their entire bodies with machines, debating the realms of martial arts. You frail things who can't even trust your own flesh, speaking of the stature of a Star?"
"Krrk... The frail one is you. Trust that soft protein body of yours and try to survive!!!!!"
Srrrng.
Christopher Dokgo drew his blade. The cyborg samurai drew as well—two hands, plus four additional mechanical arms hidden in his cloak. Six arms in all, each gripping a blade. Six light katanas flashed in his hands.
At once the people in the shop filed out. A life-or-death duel at an inn was a common event, and dying while standing next to masters of that caliber was simply common sense. With practiced ease, like the tide going out, the shop emptied of everyone but the two of them.
Of course, the etiquette of waiting a moment for people to leave before fighting was also common sense. Even the most vicious black-path villains had a minimum social Maginot Line—like holding it in until you get to the bathroom even when you desperately need to go.
The Shaolin android and his friend, who had been about to eat, also slipped out.
"Damn it. Just my luck. I barely got to eat."
"The Cyborg Cartel I've only heard about... Truly frightening... Especially those ominously gleaming light katanas—chilling."
"They say the 'sa' in samurai is the 'sa' in psycho... With the orthodox path in chaos, the cartels are running wild."
KWOONG!!!!!!
Soon a tremendous noise erupted from the inn; every window shattered and the pillars began to lean.
"Argh!!! What's the point of driving ten-thousand-year cold iron cores into the building!!! One fight between masters and the whole place comes down!!!!!"
The waitress, who had evacuated with them, came up beside them and complained.
"Repair costs are going to be steep. Is the shop going under?"
"Hmph. We're insured, so it's fine. Still, I thought we'd get through this month without an incident—and we couldn't even make it a full month before a fight breaks out? Without National Life-or-Death Building Damage Insurance for specialists, every small-business owner would've gone under already. Good thing the Galactic Emperor prioritizes commoner policy."
"Hmm... So that's why the common folk vote for the ruling party. No wonder the Galactic Emperor has come from the ruling party for two hundred years."
"Still, isn't it about time for a change of government? The Demonic Sect is rising again, and the unorthodox factions are completely beyond the government's control. I wish a fiery talent would emerge from the opposition, like in the last Righteous-Demonic War... Amitabha..."
"Bah, you worldly fake monk... Anyway, waitress. I'm still hungry—any other good inns nearby? That carbonara I didn't finish is haunting me."
"Hmm... We're the best around for carbonara... Ah, but two blocks down there's a Korean place that does a killer carbonara buldak rose tteokbokki. I go there myself sometimes."
"Just hearing that makes my mouth water. But don't they have life-or-death duels there too?"
"The owner-unni is tough, so no."
"A hidden martial arts master?"
"Sort of. She's a nine-tailed galaxy succubus. If she starts clinging to you, make sure you dodge. You could wake up a mummy the next day. Got it?"
"..."
"You understood that, right?"
"..."
"..."
"...Let's go right now, fake monk."
"Let us go at once."
"Argh...!! Seriously...!!! Live or die, suit yourselves..."
The two men strode off boldly. New challenges were a martial artist's destiny and not to be avoided. They would face them without fear.
And so another day of the murim drew to a close.
The days of boiling blood, living in the age of swords and romance, would continue...
It was summer.