Chapter 359
Chapter 359
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 359
Chapter Title: The Authority of Gluttony (2)
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Shaolin Temple, located on Mount Song in Henan Province.
In the midst of the unsettled atmosphere caused by the sudden disturbance, a hulking figure appeared within the temple grounds, where access for outside visitors had been strictly controlled.
"Hah, seriously! Where the hell have you been, showing up only now?"
"Kahahahat! I had some urgent business come up for a bit! Sorry about that! You must've been waiting a while?"
"...Not really waiting. There wasn't much else to do now that going elsewhere wouldn't accomplish anything, so I was just killing time. Especially right after the clash with the Demonic Cult."
"Yeah, yeah. To make up for it, I brought all sorts of gifts, so lighten up, friend!"
Harley's hearty laugh rang out as clear as ever in response to Mok Ingwang—the Old Mad Demon—whose grumbling words couldn't quite hide his underlying delight.
The Shaolin warrior monks had been turning back all visitors at the base of the mountain, but this one was an exception.
No matter what anyone said, to them, he was as good as a benefactor.
Crunch crunch—
"...Just to be sure, what exactly are you doing right now?"
"Huh? Eating meat? Why, want a bite? ...This is rare stuff, so I don't share it with just anyone..."
Even witnessing such bizarre behavior, they could only watch uncomfortably without sternly scolding him.
But there were limits, and they couldn't just let him gorge on meat indefinitely in this sacred Buddhist land.
"Hmm."
Harley hesitated, glancing between the chunk of meat in his hand and Mok Ingwang's peculiar expression.
Soon, he nodded resolutely, as if having made up his mind.
"Sigh— Fine, a real man shouldn't be stingy over food. Here, I'll specially share this precious meat with you. Be grateful! This is really top-grade stuff!"
"No, that's not what I... "
And the moment he slowly extended the meat in his hand—
"Ahem. Patron? This is a Buddhist pure land enshrining the Buddha. If you could refrain from meat-eating at least within the temple grounds..."
A monk approached reluctantly, forcing a composed expression as he spoke gently.
His face awkward, as if he hadn't expected to have to address it so directly.
"...Oh, right. That's true!"
Gulp—!
Harley withdrew his outstretched hand, shoving the hefty piece of meat down his throat in one swift motion before nodding.
He smacked his lips, wiped the grease from his hands roughly on his pants, and grinned, curling the corner of his mouth upward.
"Uhahat! Sorry about that! I'm not used to your customs here! I'll be more careful from now on!"
Quick admission and apology for his mistake.
Whether it was genuine remorse or not was debatable, but the monk, having achieved his goal, pressed his palms together with a lingering unease and retreated.
"No helping it! We'll save the meat for next time!"
His reaction seemed almost like he'd been waiting for the interruption, but at least he had some minimal sense of propriety—it wasn't that he was reluctant to share the meat.
'Should I eat just a little more? Battles always cause losses anyway, right? This could count as that... Yeah, maybe just about the size of a head?'
Harley glanced down at his arm, clenching his fist tightly, and lightly licked his lips.
The unimaginable power surging through his grip, as always.
Yet within that familiar strength lurked something subtly different, faint but unmistakable.
'「Gluttony God」... It sure lives up to its name. Still just a seed for now, though.'
Honestly, he hadn't been thrilled with the skill's naming from the start.
It was a term he'd seen everywhere in TV and media, giving off a strong variety-show vibe.
But that was just prejudice born of preconceptions.
Gluttony God.
No matter what else, it was a skill with the word 'God' in it.
Such a power couldn't possibly be ordinary.
If he had to sum up its ability in one sentence:
'The pinnacle of predation, capable of devouring even divinity.'
The emergence of this skill probably wasn't solely from consuming meat infused with the 「Authority of Gluttony」.
Eating part of that Bancheon Society zealot's wing, imbued with divine power, must have played a significant role too.
Back then, it had only granted resistance to holiness, with no other changes.
But the karma lingering in his body reacted all at once this time, evolving as a result.
In such circumstances, the meat from Gluttony was bound to fall short.
Though it had ultimately fallen midway and become incomplete, that monster had been one fated for world-ending calamity, having dipped its foot into divinity.
It was only natural that its flesh contained a fragment of holiness.
But Harley suppressed his appetite and shook his head.
'No, no greed. Moderation is key with everything. The seed has taken root solidly now, so no need to overdo it.'
'Death' alone causes a massive drop in rank.
Even a perfect god must pay an enormous price to revive after dying once—how much more for the already incomplete Gluttony?
Even devouring its entire colossal body would likely yield only a pittance of divinity.
Better to stick to the original plan and use it for restoring the Return Realm—that would be far more efficient.
'There'll be plenty more opportunities ahead.'
He was confident.
Confident that he could soon seize what he desired on his own.
'Opportunities come naturally when you do what needs doing. Just like always.'
Of course, before that.
There was one crucial matter he had no choice but to postpone earlier.
"By the way, friend?"
"...What?"
"On my way here, I heard people calling us 'Old Mad Demon' this and 'New Mad Demon' that."
"......"
"Sigh— Doesn't sit right with me, you know? The folks at the scene back then must be spreading the rumors. If whoever was there at the time had just corrected it properly, that weird name might not have stuck. What do you think, friend?"
As Harley continued with narrowed eyes, Mok Ingwang, who had clamped his mouth shut, averted his gaze slightly.
Just as he said.
Back when the nickname hadn't fully taken hold, if the person in question had stepped forward to correct it, there was a good chance it could have changed.
Nicknames might come from the populace, but they wouldn't easily ignore the words of someone who already had an established title and had shone brilliantly in that crisis, right to their face.
Yet he had chosen silence over speaking out.
From his position, it was only natural.
Better to be called 'Old Mad Demon' than to admit with his own mouth that his nickname had been stolen and become 'Mad Dog'—a million times better.
"There was nothing I could do. Even after you suddenly vanished, the chaos lasted quite a while, and by the time things settled, everyone was rushing back to their bases... Plus, nicknames aren't something the person themselves can decide..."
"Whoa, why's your tongue suddenly so slick? I'm not blaming you! Are we the type to bicker over something so trivial? I'm hurt!"
"...Ahem, is that so?"
Mok Ingwang's expression brightened at Harley's magnanimous words.
He'd braced for another round of quarreling with his subtly petty, big-framed friend, but it seemed that had been his own misreading.
'Good thing. With his looks and all, he's not the type to fuss over that anyway...'
But Harley's words weren't over yet.
"Kahahat! Let's just have one of our usual chats! That's how we got close in the first place, right?"
"...Our usual? Got close?"
"Yeah, yeah! Like when we first met!"
Thud thud!
Harley slammed his rock-like fists together, flashing a beaming grin.
His wild, muscular frame twitched fiercely with the impact.
Along with it, a hazy yet not-so-distant memory flitted through Mok Ingwang's mind, feeling somehow even foggier than before.
Gulp—
His face stiffened at the trauma-like memory resurfacing, but Harley naturally paid no mind to such minor reactions.
A conversation of bodies clashing.
Nothing beat this for a frank, unpretentious exchange!
'Perfect chance. Time to test how much things have changed.'
The best way to gauge bodily changes was to put the body to use.
And Mok Ingwang, renowned for his toughness, was the ideal opponent.
"Come on! Let's go, friend! Kahahat!"
"......"
Unlike Harley striding confidently toward the training grounds, Mok Ingwang dragged his feet like livestock being led to slaughter, unable to refuse outright.
A while later.
Only one person walked out of the trashed training grounds on his own two feet unscathed.
'Whew, refreshing. Needed to suppress that guy's madness again anyway—one stone, two birds.'
No matter how much he'd become a perfectly normal, sensible person since meeting Harley, before that, he had been one of the Return Realm's top lunatics, known as the 'Mad Demon'.
With his recent quiet spell, no one knew what backlash might erupt in a pinch, so periodic maintenance was essential.
In other words—this wasn't pointless venting but a vital part of his treatment, a pure act of kindness that couldn't be thanked enough.
'No yokai on Golden Turtle Island knew much about the Mad Emperor Heart Technique, oddly enough, but with my own 「Mad Emperor Heart Technique (Rev.)」, I shouldn't fall short.'
If he kept guiding him steadily, Mok Ingwang reaching the Transcendent Realm wouldn't be far off.
Though the process might be a bit painful and arduous— wasn't that how attaining enlightenment always was?
'Now, time to get to the real work?'
Having pleasantly handled the long-postponed matter, Harley promptly requested an audience with the Shaolin abbot.
To more seriously rehearse turning the inner quarters into his personal theater.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ It wasn't strange that Jeon Gal Hye-mi's attempted communication from Beijing connected to Hugo instead.
No matter how genius she was, this was her first time using formal sorcery.
Thus, a slight margin of error in targeting was entirely plausible.
🔮 TELEPATHIC LINK 🔮 ...It seems the calculations got thrown off while borrowing Crown Prince Joo Kang-in's help. I wasn't confident doing it alone, and everyone else was in poor condition, so I had no choice but to ask the prince... That meant a karmic thread had connected to him, who had approached nearby to rescue them both—people with whom he shared deep ties.
'Impressive enough as is.'
At any rate, it had shortened the required time, which was all good for him.
The sooner, the better for this operation.
Hugo encouraged the tense Jeon Gal Hye-mi, unsure when she might be discovered, and instructed her to try communicating again to relay information to the Zhuge family headquarters.
🔮 TELEPATHIC LINK 🔮 Is it really okay? The commotion outside stopped a good while ago. Even if I was careful with the covert activation, a master nearby might notice something off. It really was fine.
He had deliberately cleared out anything that could interfere with her from the surroundings.
But he couldn't say that outright, so all he could do was reassure her with firm, confident words.
🔮 TELEPATHIC LINK 🔮 ...Hoo, got it. I'll try again. Actually, doing it once gave me a bit of confidence. To think I spent all those years bedridden over something like this. Buoyed by that, determination returned to her previously anxious voice.
Just as the connection seemed about to end...
🔮 TELEPATHIC LINK 🔮 ...Actually, this is all thanks to you, Young Master Ha. If I were still as frail as the others, I couldn't even attempt this. Unlike before, her voice hesitated, laced with lingering uncertainty that had seemed gone.
🔮 TELEPATHIC LINK 🔮 ...We'll meet again, right? Of course, Hugo's response was already set.
🔮 TELEPATHIC LINK 🔮 Of course. Didn't we promise? To tell you about the Martial Alliance gathering. 🔮 TELEPATHIC LINK 🔮 ...You remembered? 🔮 TELEPATHIC LINK 🔮 Naturally. I've even got souvenirs ready. Have you been diligent with your exercises, Miss Zhuge? 🔮 TELEPATHIC LINK 🔮 Up until yesterday, without fail. Haven't done today's yet because of this.