The Heavenly Demon Goes Sightseeing in Murim (2)

After choosing my faction, a window popped up asking me to select weapons and martial arts, but I skipped past all of them. In this entire world, there are far fewer martial techniques I don't know than ones I do. Why on earth would I use something these people decided for me?

The system tried to dissuade me, but I ignored it anyway. It was persistent.

“I said I would.”

Stop wasting my time and disappear already.

After dismissing even the final window, the scenery around me finally changed. I stood in the middle of a modest bamboo forest. The surrounding energy felt unnaturally strong, so this place clearly wasn’t formed naturally. Someone must have set up a formation here.

Judging by the qi flowing through the array, it seemed a shinseon was nearby. I didn’t exactly have fond memories of those immortal bastards. They’d always been too busy labeling me a calamity upon this world and trying to kill me. After I crushed about a dozen of them, they stopped coming after me, but a bad relationship was still a bad relationship. I was considering avoiding the immortal when an arrow suddenly appeared in front of me.

It pointed directly toward the source of the shinseon’s energy.

“Am I supposed to follow this arrow?”

I wasn’t thrilled, but since that was apparently what I had to do, I reluctantly followed the arrow. The deeper I went into the forest, the thicker the energy became. So this was the beginning. Anyone who knew nothing about martial arts would have felt crushed by this pressure.

Then, without warning, the arrow started going completely haywire. It pointed forward, then up, then somewhere else entirely. It looked like it had zero intention of guiding me to the right place.

“Is this part of the tutorial too?”

Suddenly, presences flared up around me. The ones that burst onto the scene, scattering bamboo leaves everywhere, were wooden puppets. They were the kind Taoist practitioners often used as shields, though these looked crude compared to the real thing. Their movements were stiff and they lacked any real sense of self. Maybe this shinseon was just imitating a Taoist. Still, they weren’t bad as practice dummies for beginners. Defeating them should at least give people some confidence before moving on.

Deciding they weren’t even worth my time, I kicked two of them flying with my feet. Only then did the arrow finally stabilize. Strangely, it was now pointing somewhere other than where the shinseon’s energy was coming from. This made it feel like I was the one being tested. How unpleasant.

I didn’t know who was waiting for me in the distance, but I didn’t like the idea of someone thinking they stood above me. I turned toward the direction where the immortal’s energy was strongest and stamped my foot down in a heavy stance. If I were willing to take the long way, dismantling the formation step by step wouldn’t be difficult. But why should I put up with something annoying when I could just destroy it?

My current body was in far better condition than when I played Sky’s End before. Back then I hadn’t even possessed proper internal energy, but now I had the body of someone at the second-class level. With internal energy and a trained physique, everything else could be handled with the realm I already possessed.

They kept going on about tutorials this and tutorials that, but if they didn’t want it broken, they should have made the formation sturdier. When they left such an obvious gap like this, it was basically begging to be destroyed. Their circumstances, the circumstances of whoever made this formation—none of that was my problem. I simply moved as I pleased.

I blasted the entire forest—formation and all—clearing a path. A clearing appeared in the middle of the bamboo grove.

In the center of the clearing stood a pavilion, and atop it sat an old man. With his long white beard trailing down and a long sword hanging at his waist, he was one of the faces I remembered from the past. I didn’t know his name, but I was certain the other shinseon had called him…

“Geomseon.”

That was it, right? Geomseon. The moment I spoke his name, the Sword Immortal’s eyes—half-hidden beneath his straw hat—widened.

“You know me?”

“I do.”

Among the shinseon, most of whom had flashy titles but lacking skill, he had been one of the decent ones, so I remembered him. Most of the principles I used whenever I had to wield a sword had been taken from what this guy employed.

There was no need to doubt this old man’s ability. Just as I had examined him, Geomseon studied me in return. He looked me up and down with clear interest, then stroked his long beard and smiled.

“Your realm is remarkably high compared to your physical body. To think you would destroy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the formation I created by sheer force.”

“What were you doing here?”

“I was guiding those who came from outside. Without me, some would lose their way and wander.”

His voice brimmed with pride, as if he took genuine satisfaction in his role. Was this his original personality? He seemed surprisingly normal. The last time I met him as an enemy, he had drawn his sword the instant our eyes met and charged at me like a madman.

“It appears you have no need of guidance.”

“Indeed.”

Who could possibly guide me through the murim after I had wandered it for so many tedious years? Hearing my answer, Geomseon descended lightly from the pavilion and gripped the hilt of his sword.

“I would like to test your skill. Would that be acceptable?”

Hmm. With this body, could I really guarantee victory against that old monster? It would be more accurate to say it was nearly impossible. Even when I faced Harkia before, the gap in our physical vessels had been enormous, but I could brute-force my way through because he knew nothing of martial arts. Geomseon was different. That old monster was a madman who had reached the pinnacle of the sword. Even I had to show respect when it came to swordsmanship—he was practically a lunatic. To face Geomseon, who looked no different from when he fought me in the murim, with nothing but a second-class body? Even I had to admit it was ridiculous.

But it did look fun. The word “disadvantageous” was currently one of my favorites, after all. In a game where you didn’t truly die even if you died, I could attempt as many reckless challenges as I wanted.

Fine. Let’s burn our life away for a bit.

Just as I was about to answer Geomseon, a donation alert sounded.

“Betting, you say?”

These guys again. Doubting me once more. I was different from back then. I was the one who learned how to open point betting from Enri that day. Did they really think I would make a mistake?

Spurred by a surge of competitive spirit, I moved to tweak the stream settings and open the point betting myself—when a message appeared above the chat window saying that betting had already been opened.

“I was going to open it myself.”

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping right now?”

It didn’t matter to me since I didn’t need sleep, but that wasn’t the case for her. Well, she wasn’t a child. If she got tired, she would go to sleep on her own. I wasn’t happy that she had taken the task I was going to handle myself, but it wasn’t like this was my only chance to open betting. Fine. Let’s proceed as you said.

Seeing that I didn’t answer, Geomseon must have thought I was scared. He lifted his straw hat slightly and smiled.

“Do not worry. I am not so ill-tempered that I would bully a newcomer to the murim. I will adjust my strength accordingly.”

“Who is going easy on whom? Use your full power.”

“Oh dear. What an arrogant one. A newcomer should have that kind of spirit. I like it.”

Because he was confident in his own skill, and because the realm of the body I possessed was low, Geomseon was underestimating me. To his eyes, I must look like nothing more than a fly buzzing around on the street. I understood. If I saw someone acting tough with only a second-class body, I would have thought the same.

Hahaha. To think the day would come when I stood in the position of a bug again. It had been decades since anyone in the murim could look down on me. Now that I had become a bug, I suppose I should flap my wings with all my might. At the very least, I ought to bite the human in front of me once, shouldn’t I?

When I stepped forward, Geomseon’s eyes followed my movement. It had been so long since someone matched my steps that a laugh escaped me on its own. Yes. This was how it was supposed to be. After coming to the modern world, everyone had been unable to even keep up with my footsteps, so something like this actually moved me.

For now, let’s test the waters a little.

I threw a light punch. Geomseon caught my fist with his hand. Hmm. So he wasn’t going to draw his sword yet. Well, at his level, it made sense that he would have some proficiency in fist techniques as well. Since I, who appeared to be a newcomer, hadn’t taken up a weapon, he would face me with fists too. Normally I would have been angry at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠being looked down on, but my opponent had the qualifications to do so. If I wanted him to fight seriously, I would have to show him enough worth on my end.

I continued probing while holding back my strength. The level of Geomseon’s fist techniques wasn’t particularly high. Thanks to his high realm, he could understand many things, but the fists he used to respond were terribly crude. This ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠old man was a sword-crazed geezer. Of course he had spent his entire life swinging only a sword and had looked down on everything else. That was why his fist techniques had to be lacking. He was still pressing me down with his power, but his method was nothing but crude.

I roughly understood what I needed to do. First, I would take advantage of the fact that he saw me as a newcomer. People whose martial realm wasn’t very high tended to value their own rhythm more than observing their opponent. Their timing for attacks was regular, so simply following that rhythm allowed one to deal with their offensive. Geomseon’s realm was high enough that he surely knew this. Think about it. If the newcomer he thought I was maintained a consistent rhythm, wouldn’t he assume I was extraordinary yet still had many shortcomings?

He didn’t know that I was the one inside.

Our exchange of offense and defense continued. Fist met fist again and again, creating a single beat. Gradually, Geomseon’s rhythm and mine began to synchronize. A smile curved across his lips, and he looked down at me with satisfaction. I didn’t particularly like that look, but since I was currently in the inferior position, I would let it slide.

Good. I had successfully drawn my opponent into my rhythm. Now it was time to add some unpredictability.