Chapter 801 – Side Story – You’ve Become a Buddha

The ruins of the young Literary Star’s thatched hut.

At the moment the Hundred Step Divine Fist’s force sent heavy vibrations through the air, Jeong Yeon-shin vanished on the spot using extreme Ten Li Gentle Light.

‘Literary Star will survive anyway.’

An axe slammed into the ground where he had been. The Hundred Step Divine Fist’s golden light collided with the fading afterimage.

Craaack!

It was Northern Blade’s axe. Colorless waves of force were embedded in the throw. Even after tearing through those waves, the fist force still had power left and sent young Literary Star flying.

Two hundred steps.

Middle-aged Great Master Beom-heo lowered his uninjured arms and quietly chanted a Buddhist invocation.

“Namu Amitabha, a demon imitating Buddha has appeared…”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s manifestation had been abrupt. Even those in constant Return to Origin state such as Jin Myeong-jo could not fully perceive his dharma power. Jeong Yeon-shin closed his mouth again, unable to speak from within the distant cirrus clouds.

Great Master Beom-heo was not alone.

There were three in total: Great Master Beom-heo, Divine Beggar Zhu Gwang, and a Taoist wrapped in transparent sword wind.

The middle-aged Divine Beggar Zhu Gwang looked first. He opened his mouth with an uneven expression.

“That so-called Southern-Facing Emperor builds towers out of corpses, right? Even ghosts would appear. I should reinforce my upper dantian.”

His toes lightly tapped the ground, already prepared to retreat repeatedly at any moment. He was perhaps the most leisurely fast escape expert in the world.

A distant figure rode a massive war horse, Northern Blade Fan Yi. At his sides stood two giants with bare fists.

‘All Northern Kings.’

People Jeong Yeon-shin had never seen before.

Northern Blade gestured toward Great Master Beom-heo.

“Striking a child with your fists. Truly an iron-blooded heartless act that defies heaven.”

“Amitabha. Jianghu has no heart. Only grudges drift.”

“You truly are a Punishing Heaven Asura.”

“Those are words from ones who dig up the corpses of commoners who have lost their families. I came here intending to destroy your limbs and meridians.”

At Great Master Beom-heo’s calm reply, Divine Beggar Zhu Gwang’s expression tightened. He whispered cautiously.

“Weren’t we infiltrating under imperial request? As scouts.”

“Namu Amitabha, the swift Faction Lord completed the entire northern map. Truly remarkable. On the other hand, this poor monk’s merit is like dust. I dare not ask the Faction Lord to act.”

Great Master Beom-heo’s tone remained serene. Naturally, Northern Blade’s eyes glinted toward Divine Beggar Zhu Gwang.

“Kill that one first. Since he has no pride, you will need ultra-long-range strikes to even attempt it.”

Divine Beggar Zhu Gwang swallowed his words, but his patience was deep. He was the best at pleading for mercy in the world. Careful, always.

“If we clash here, both sides will be ruined. Fortunately, Great Master Beom-heo’s martial arts can restrain Northern Blade. So do not rashly draw swords…”

Suddenly, the Taoist beside them released sword energy without drawing his blade. Mount Heng Sect’s sharp blade wind roared like sheer cliffs descending.

“……!”

The gray typhoon overtook Divine Beggar Zhu Gwang’s outstretched hand and engulfed Northern Blade’s group.

Whiiiiish! Rumble!

Ear-splitting winds roared. Dust swirled up like thick clouds.

Despite being a wide-area strike, it lacked no power. A faint scent of blood drifted from the dust. It was the strike of the Mount Heng Sect Leader, Blade Palm Immortal Gwak Mi.

Whoosh.

His hair fluttered back like a spring breeze. Hard to distinguish whether male or female, but his physique was burly.

“The beggar king should know by now.”

Blade Palm Immortal smiled pleasantly.

“You do not negotiate verbally with filth like that. How harsh is the world? Naturally, one can only persuade through blade work. The Jurchen jianghu failed because they could not do so.”

‘So that is the logic…?’

Jeong Yeon-shin unconsciously nodded while listening from the clouds.

Suddenly energy burst. The two Northern Kings beside Northern Blade stood, pounding their bloody chests.

“It is effective!”

“It did not even cut bone!”

Their voices were calculated. They wore protective energy resembling the early form of Heavenly Steel Light Armor.

Jeong Yeon-shin understood. The armor shifted its energy structure to match the opponent’s technique.

A method that defied his common sense.

‘Using protective energy purely for defense…?’

Was this the martial research of the young Fighting God?

On the ground, the white-haired Demon Realm man shouted:

“Send another blade wind! This Snow King finds it a pleasant breeze for sleeping!”

Fluent in the Han tongue. Intentionally practiced.

Divine Beggar Zhu Gwang muttered with widened eyes.

“Such protective energy…”

“Living this long, first time seeing bastards beg for more sword wind? Faction Lord should learn.”

Blade Palm Immortal halted mid-strike. His gaze reached the Demon Realm boy blown aside.

It was Literary Star.

He clutched a grave mound. His unusually broad child’s back bled profusely. He had shielded the tomb from the aftershock.

He had already awakened combat sense.

He spoke as if sensing the gaze.

“It is my parents’ tomb. I am still in mourning. Would the seniors of jianghu please withdraw?”

“……?”

“I have passed three winters. The mourning ends when dawn comes.”

Jeong Yeon-shin understood at once. Literary Star was the only Demon Realm child observing proper three-year mourning.

The assembly’s expressions twisted.

Northern Blade’s face especially looked like a demon.

He had likely heard a report, but hearing it spoken aloud was absurd to him.

He growled.

“Our tribe has no such tradition, and your parents were Northern King material. The earth energy in their corpses will strengthen the Southern Emperor’s formation. It will increase the tribe’s cultivation. Hand over their bodies.”

It was grave robbing. Demanding their corpses as fuel.

Jeong Yeon-shin realized something new.

‘The Ma Family were third-rate. This one is the truly deranged one.’

The others thought the same.

A great battle followed until dawn.

Northern Blade’s faction attempted to seize the corpses. Nine Sects and One Faction sect leaders who arrived early, likely informed by the Ming Dynasty’s Wind King, resisted.

The latter side gained a slight advantage.

“Practice the Nine Marsh Force properly.”

Northern Blade left only those words. He could not break through Beom-heo’s Tendon Changing Classic and Indra’s Dharma Robes. Likewise, Beom-heo’s Thousand-Handed Tathagata Palm could only crack Northern Blade’s skull like a wooden temple fish.

“I grew stronger today!”

Hahaha!

Snow King laughed while following him, his neck half hanging after Blade Palm Immortal nearly severed it.

The other Northern King was a giant woman who nearly tore off Divine Beggar Zhu Gwang’s leg with her teeth.

“The flesh looks good for refining.”

She muttered while retreating.

She was called Beggar King.

She ate human limbs. Her accumulated energy surpassed Northern Blade’s. Even now she eyed Northern Blade’s cracked skull like a delicacy.

‘Snow King with dangling neck. Beggar King licking her lips.’

This faction was close to the Ming Dynasty’s Thirteen Heavens. Their coordination was terrifying. Even Nine Sect leaders would struggle.

Blade Palm Immortal stopped pursuit, shaking his head. Divine Beggar Zhu Gwang looked miserable.

“That Beggar King woman licked my armpit.”

“So you were sweating a lot.”

Blade Palm Immortal replied bluntly.

Divine Beggar Zhu Gwang’s left arm dangled, almost severed, but he still gripped his striking staff. They did not care. For peerless masters, this was a minor cost.

“The medicine might not work.”

“Oh! Oh…! Are you trying to kill me?!”

Blade Palm Immortal pushed his finger into the wound to apply medicine, without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Literary Star still knelt at the grave.

Great Master Beom-heo stood behind him, chanting softly.

“May they attain paradise.”

“My family belonged to one of the greatest slash-and-burn warrior lineages. Do you know how my parents died?”

Jeong Yeon-shin wondered what slash-and-burn warriors meant. Great Master Beom-heo waited silently.

“They stopped raiding and starved to death. They left only fasting pills for me. They said they attained enlightenment together. That to live greatly, one must end life humanely.”

They had been bandits. When Jeong Yeon-shin realized it, Great Master Beom-heo instead admired.

“Such physique after eating only fasting pills…?”

“Pardon?”

“Namu Amitabha. Your parents became Buddha.”

Literary Star shook his head.

“They could not master the Nine Marsh Force. So they took this path. Confucius’s benevolence and propriety… pathetic.”

“Amitabha. Martial arts sometimes twists people. Study can make people into gods.”

“Who does not know this?”

“But is it only martial arts? Many live chaotically. It is enough to someday return to the path. Your parents lived noble lives.”

“……!”

Punishing Heaven Asura. Kill today, chant tomorrow. Jeong Yeon-shin engraved it in his heart. Even if countless jianghu fell into hell, the Desolate Fortress Lord must attain Buddhahood.

Then Literary Star made his decision.

“…The place where Confucian and Mencian principles are upheld is the Forbidden City. I will take the imperial examinations.”

“……?”

Blade Palm Immortal and Divine Beggar Zhu Gwang both turned, startled. Even Great Master Beom-heo momentarily stopped chanting.

Literary Star dug up his parents’ coffins and burned them with Samadhi True Fire.

Whoosh!

“In a world this chaotic, I do not know whether to resent or understand my parents. If I master Nine Marsh Force and pass the examinations, I will know.”

He bowed and departed. His shadow stretched across the barren grassland.

Mastering Nine Marsh Force meant achieving what his parents could not. Passing examinations meant fulfilling what his parents had sought.

He would judge them only after completing both paths.

‘Because he is cautious. Like me…’

Jeong Yeon-shin watched his back. Then opened and closed his eyes once. The scene changed.

Whoosh.

Below, clouds parted.

The Ming Dynasty’s metropolitan examination hall.

He had moved the timeline forward. His skill had grown.

‘There.’

A corner seat.

Literary Star wore a human-skin mask, appearing like a scholar who trained the Tendon Changing Classic. Awkward, but better than other Demon Realm members wearing mismatched faces.

Swish. Swoosh.

He ground ink with steady hands. He had already completed two essays smoothly. His determination was clear. He had chosen his path.

But Literary Star never judged his parents. He had passed the provincial exam miraculously, yet he was discovered.

“I am the examination supervisor. State your name.”

“Chun-gap. I am Lee Chun-gap from Shanxi.”

“So Shanxi men are all built like you now? With innate earth energy flowing so vigorously?”

“Pardon?”

“The Eastern Depot has been watching. Since a certain bastard crossed the Great Wall and entered the south gate. What exactly is that bastard attempting here…?”

“Pardon?”

“But we did not learn anything. So speak yourself. Did the Southern Emperor send you?”

The supervisor tore his exam papers in front of him.

Focus died in Literary Star’s eyes. From his slightly open mouth came a cavernous cry.

“Yaaaaaaah!”

A roar that made officials collapse. The walls cracked.

At the same time, Jeong Yeon-shin turned toward Preserving Harmony Palace. A tremendous presence fluttered like imperial robes.

Even now, it was not fading.

It was Emperor Qian-ling.