Chapter 389: Nice to Meet You.

Boom-! Boom!

Inside the cave, heavy roars continuously echoed. The intense vibrations, strong enough to be felt even outside the cave, had been going on for quite some time.

By the clock, it wasn’t that long. But for someone directly experiencing these vibrations, it felt like an eternity in hell.

Boom-! Boom!

I was currently sparring with the Fist Lord.

How long had it been since the sparring began? It felt like a little over an hour had passed.

Despite only moving for that short time, I was already drenched in sweat.

Physically speaking, it shouldn’t be like this, but perhaps it was because I was pushing my concentration to the extreme. The stamina drain was no joke.

What’s more.

‘What kind of sparring is this…!’

It was called sparring, but it was closer to brazen bullying disguised as sparring. Well, sparring with the Fist Lord was usually like this anyway, but today was particularly worse.

Whoosh-! The Fist Lord’s shoulder moved.

There was no time to think of a plan after noticing that. I had to move instinctively.

I urgently pulled my head back. A fist grazed past where my head had been. It was a blow aimed precisely at my jaw.

Just as I thought I’d narrowly dodged one blow, a foot swept towards my legs. I could tell it was meant to break my stance. I immediately threw myself down. This sent me rolling on the ground, but it was better than tripping over the Fist Lord’s foot and being finished off.

I rolled and rolled like this for a long time. Driven by defiance, I charged forward trying to land a hit somehow, only to have my face slammed into the wall.

My strength is greater, and my speed is faster. Yet, I can’t even graze his collar.

What could be the difference? Even as I was repeatedly thrown around, I tried to find that difference.

I still can’t see it.

Not yet, anyway. So, I must keep searching.

Dodging the lunging fists and diving legs, I rolled my eyes. From head to toe, I shouldn’t spend more than a second looking at the opponent. I needed to be faster.

Found it.

I see two openings.

But.

‘This old geezer.’

As soon as I confirmed the openings, I scowled. That was a feint. There’s no way that damned old man would offer openings so easily.

The crappy part is that I can’t see any other openings at all. He lays a trap and hides the other breakthroughs.

If I step there, it’s over. Even though I knew that, my fist was already extending. I figured it was better to try something than to stop.

There wasn’t even time to choose. I just moved forward.

I reached out towards the opening. Judging by the angle and speed, I should have reached him before the Fist Lord could react.

The moment my lunging fist was about to hit the Fist Lord’s side directly.

Fwoosh-!

With an unknown sensation, my vision flipped.

Boom-!

My body, having spun once, landed flat on the ground. I gasped from the impact felt on my back.

“Ha…”

‘As expected, it ended like this again…’

“…!”

Just as I was trying to catch my breath, I moved my head to dodge a fist lunging towards my face. Immediately after. WHAM-! The fist slammed down hard where my head had been. If I hadn’t dodged, I would have been mashed into pulp.

I sprang up from the unexpected shock. As soon as I got up, I yelled at the Fist Lord.

“Aren’t we finished!? Why are you suddenly throwing punches? Who are you trying to kill!”

At my bewildered tone, my opponent, the Fist Lord, chuckled and spoke.

“Ah, oops, I forgot.”

“Forgot…? You’re laughing right now, Elder.”

“It’s natural for old people to laugh more.”

That’s a lie. He was actually trying to hit me just now. The Fist Lord’s smile clearly held a hint of regret. This old geezer. He definitely intended to smash my face.

“…Are you taking your anger out on me right now, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The Fist Lord played ignorant, but it was obvious. This guy, when I told him my father found out I was his disciple, he pretended to brush it off with a chuckle, but as soon as we started sparring, he came at me much more aggressively than usual.

“My one eye is already blurry enough to kill me. Are you trying to ruin the other one too?”

“Wouldn’t it look better if both eyes were like that, rather than just one mismatched one?”

“Better my ass…! Gkuhk!”

The Fist Lord’s fist went thwack against the back of my head! He didn’t seem to put much strength into it, yet my head was ringing.

“Your way of speaking is becoming increasingly eccentric. You certainly weren’t like this at first.”

I was just being polite at first. After being beaten up for months, who could possibly speak nicely? Well, I couldn’t.

“I see your eyes are full of dissatisfaction. If anyone should be angry, it looks like it should be me.”

The Fist Lord sighed deeply at my reaction. He was referring to my father finding out I was learning the Fist Lord’s martial arts. Looking at me, the Fist Lord spoke as if finding me pathetic.

“You couldn’t even keep that one thing hidden and escalated the situation?”

I didn’t really have anything to say about that part.

“…It just sort of happened… that way, I guess.”

“What do you mean ‘it just happened’? What does ‘happened’ even mean? I distinctly told you not to use it recklessly until I gave permission.”

“…Groan”

“To think the disciple I took on after all that effort would be such a troublemaker…”

“I guess I just felt like I had to try using it, and it happened before I knew it.”

“Ha, well then, kid. Couldn’t you just use that energy you wield?”

“…”

I swallowed hard at the Fist Lord’s words. The energy he was referring to was demonic energy (Ma-gi). Back when I confronted the Demon Lord, the Fist Lord himself witnessed me becoming a demon. The Fist Lord knew I possessed another power. As the Fist Lord said, perhaps it would have been better if I had used my demonic energy, but…

“That… I’d rather not use it if possible.”

Using demonic energy was not something I wanted to show others if I could help it.

As I spoke hesitantly, the Fist Lord clicked his tongue.

“I won’t pry too much into your personal affairs, but… Make sure nothing unnecessary happens.”

“…Yes.”

The Fist Lord didn’t ask any particular questions about my power. What was important to him was probably just whether I could learn the Twin Phoenix Heavenly Dance or not. I also didn’t particularly want to recall the memories from that time.

Around the time the Fist Lord was being consumed by demonic energy. It was I who extracted the demonic energy from his body. If left like that, even with the Fist Lord’s internal energy manipulation, he wouldn’t have lasted long. Do you know what was on my mind even then? Thinking that since I’d been found out, maybe I should just eliminate the Fist Lord.

Truly disgusting.

If I could wish, I’d want to believe it was the influence of my demonic transformation, but…

‘That’s also me.’

That sordid and repulsive person was also me.

“You’re lost in thought again. Looks like your body isn’t warmed up enough.”

“…No.”

It felt like the Fist Lord had vaguely sensed my faint demonic thoughts. Of course, even if he sensed it, the Fist Lord couldn’t fix it for me. The Fist Lord isn’t exactly the type for that, either.

“Let’s stop the idle chatter here.”

I listened intently to the Fist Lord’s tone as he cut off the conversation.

“At the final moment. Why did you make that choice?”

What the Fist Lord was starting to talk about now was a review of the sparring match. It was a question of why I charged forward knowing it was a feint.

If you ask why…

“I couldn’t see any openings elsewhere.”

That was the only reason.

“So you chose the place you knew was a trap instead?”

“Yes.”

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it have been better to choose somewhere else, even if it looked like there were no openings?”

“I thought you might think that way, so I tried to curve it slightly. It didn’t work, though.”

“…Hmm.”

The Fist Lord wore a rather subtle expression, perhaps displeased with my answer.

“It wasn’t the wrong choice… but, kid.”

“Yes.”

“The biggest problem with your method is that you don’t consider the damage you might sustain.”

The damage I might sustain. Just as I was wondering what exactly he meant by that.

“Whether your arm gets crushed, your leg gets crushed, or even if you risk losing your life, you just charge forward first.”

“Ah.”

“It’s undeniably a good thing for me that you don’t fear pain or dread, but… You need to approach real combat a little differently.”

There was a part of me that agreed with the Fist Lord’s words. As he said, I had a habit of charging in without thinking about the consequences. Even in my previous life, Jamryong said it was divine intervention that my body was intact after fighting like that.

“…Regarding this part, yes. Since I’ve found a good teacher just in time, it should be fine.”

“Huh? A good teacher? Who’s going to teach me…?”

“And let me be clear, do not use the Twin Phoenix Heavenly Dance in actual combat until I give you permission.”

The Fist Lord issued another warning with a serious expression.

“Is it because I tried to use something I haven’t fully mastered?”

“That’s part of the reason, but the important thing is…”

Tap, tap. The Fist Lord got up and said, looking at me.

“If you use it recklessly, your body could be ruined.”

“Yes…?”

My eyes widened at the Fist Lord’s words. I had never heard that before. Ruined body?

Seeing the confusion fill my face, the Fist Lord began to explain with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

“The pain you feel every time you use martial arts is because your body is changing to adapt to the techniques.”

This was something I had felt since starting to learn the Twin Phoenix Heavenly Dance. This was one of the reasons I thought the Fist Lord was an unbelievable figure. Having your body change to match martial arts is, in a way, like forcibly undergoing a transformation of body and soul. It was like artificially creating a body called the ‘Heavenly Dance Body’. The unbearable pain that came with the process would be difficult for ordinary people to endure, but if one could withstand it, it would hold greater value than any other martial art. It was all the more astonishing that the Fist Lord had created such a martial art on his own.

“During that process… if there’s an unexpected shock or excessive use, it can cause minor… subtle problems…”

“…What kind of problems?”

“Nothing major.”

“Judging by your expression, Elder, it definitely doesn’t seem like nothing.”

“Just mildly… like your heart might stop for a moment, or your meridians could get a little twisted.”

“…”

What does ‘mildly’ even mean? Hearing the Fist Lord’s words, I felt a momentary sense of dizziness. What he’s saying is that if things go wrong, I could die or suffer qi deviation!

As soon as I heard that, I asked him accusingly.

“Why am I only hearing about something so crucial now…?”

“That’s why I told you not to use it in combat until I gave permission, didn’t I?”

“If I had heard this, I would have used it even less!”

“Good grief. How could I have known? That you’d suddenly try to use it to brawl?!”

The Fist Lord’s exasperated words left me speechless too. Why didn’t he mention that crucial thing? Those words meant I could have died if things went wrong.

‘So… did Father see that far ahead?’

The reason my father knocked my senses out with a single blow. At the time, I thought it was because using both energies seemed dangerous, but I realized that might not have been the only reason.

“Anyway… I was lucky this time, so it passed, but…”

“Anyway?”

“You really need to be careful next time.”

It was absurd how the Fist Lord was trying to gloss over it, but since I had caused trouble too, I didn’t have much to say. Feeling slightly wronged, I secretly glared at the Fist Lord, when he asked me something else.

“When do you plan to depart for Sichuan?”

For a moment, I thought he’d caught me glaring.

“Probably… within seven days at the latest, I plan to depart.”

To be precise, I need to discuss it with those leaving with me, but I’m thinking of leaving around seven days from now. During that time, I had a few things to take care of in Henan. Additionally…

“Will it be alright?”

I intended to finish dealing with what the Fist Lord was currently worried about. It was about this cave where I was chatting with the Fist Lord. This was a cave prepared for training the Twin Phoenix Heavenly Dance. The condition the Fist Lord set was to carve through the cave using only the core techniques of the Twin Phoenix Heavenly Dance, so I had to finish it before leaving.

“Seven days is quite tight, isn’t it?”

He said it with apparent concern, but seeing the smile on his lips, he was clearly enjoying it. As expected, that old geezer wasn’t exactly the pleasant type.

“If need be, I can just cut back on sleep.”

“You say that so nonchalantly. It’s funny how I find myself trusting you.”

“Is that a compliment or an insult…?”

“How does it sound to you?”

“It sounds like an insult.”

“Correct. You’re good at guessing.”

That damned old man.

Listening to the Fist Lord’s pointless teasing, I got up. It was because I needed to stop resting soon. My schedule is going to be incredibly busy from now on.

After steadying my breathing, exhausted from the sparring, I patted the cave wall. Immediately after, I channeled the core technique of the Twin Phoenix Heavenly Dance, the Twin Phoenix Heavenly Art, into my body. Then, pain surged through my entire body instantly.

Grrr-! The sensation of my body tightening intensely and the violent pain raging within felt like someone was having a sword fight inside me. It was still pain that was hard to adapt to.

The Fist Lord chuckled wryly as he observed me.

“You keep saying it’s hard, yet your expression doesn’t change at all.”

“Even if I show that it hurts, what difference would it make?”

“You truly are a persistent, stubborn brat. Ah, this is a compliment.”

“…It’s a compliment, but I feel worse than before.”

I let out a deep sigh, then immediately began throwing punches at the cave wall.

Boom-! As vibrations began to echo continuously through the cave, the Fist Lord turned his back.

“Well then, continue suffering.”

I asked the Fist Lord, who was walking away as if to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to go, obviously.”

The Fist Lord replied curtly and started walking towards the cave entrance. Then, seeing me engrossed in training, he whispered a parting word.

“The father of my disciple wants to see me. I suppose I should go meet him.”

Wearing a thoroughly annoyed expression, the Fist Lord slipped out of the cave and leaped into the air. His destination was where the chivalrous hero was.

---

On an unnamed mountain in Sichuan, a strange rumor had recently been circulating. The rumor was that a monster that spoke human language lived on the mountain. Since it was a ridiculous rumor, few believed it, but those who had encountered it directly were convinced it wasn’t just a rumor. The monster, active only at night, would often roar while showing off its rough muscles. After its rampages, only messy traces were left behind.

When the Sword Guards, who went to the mountain to investigate the rumor, returned after finishing their search. They confirmed there was no monster, wearing vacant expressions as if their souls had left them, and people seeing them thought.

-“They must have been terrified after seeing the fearsome monster!”-“Right, there’s no other reason they’d have that look!”-

And so, they trembled in even greater fear. In the mountains where such strange rumors began to spread, an unidentified man was spending his time perched on a rock. For reasons unknown, the man was showing off his magnificent muscles, having thrown off his upper garment. His age was impossible to determine, as his face was hidden by a shaggy beard and messy hair.

In one of the man’s hands was a fish that looked freshly grilled. Perhaps hungry, he quickly took a bite. In his other hand, he held a letter; while his mouth was busy chewing the food, his gaze was fixed on the letter. As the man slowly read the letter, he suddenly frowned.

“Hey, how long are you going to keep nagging me about the fish.”

The man seemed displeased and got angry, but there was no one around him.

“If you’re a hermit, do you have to live only on greens? If that’s the case, why? Why didn’t you say anything when I ate beef last time? Sigh…”

Perhaps it was the man’s words that caused it. Something at his waist vibrated slightly. Sensing it, the man began shouting at the empty air.

“Ah! Stop yelling! Do you think I don’t yell because I can’t? Seriously, what a damn irritable personality. Really, have some moderation. Didn’t I say I’d stay quiet for a while after saving that village last time? It’s ridiculous that you go back on your word.”

Tsk, tsk. As the man clicked his tongue repeatedly, the object at his waist vibrated more intensely. Soon, the man feeling the vibration, annoyed, pulled out the object from his waist and threw it away.

“Go cool your head over there. I’ll pick it up later.”

The rod that fell to the ground began to vibrate wildly as if in anger, but… Seeing that, the man scoffed, ignored it, and started reading the letter again. The usual man would have gotten angry and argued all day, but I didn’t feel like doing that right now. Because it was a rare pleasant day.

Having finished reading the letter, the man neatly folded it and roughly stuffed it into his waist. It wasn’t a long message to begin with. Of course, even though it was short, the content was quite good. He was in a very good mood right now. Perhaps the best mood he’d been in recently. It couldn’t be helped.

The man muttered with a hearty laugh.

“I’ll get to see a familiar face after a long time.”

The content written in the letter was none other than this: News that his damned disciple was deliberately coming here.