Chapter 30: The Memories of the Fighting God
Boom! Kaboom! Kaba-boom!!
"Ugh!"
A moving skeleton? What kind of ridiculous, dog-like situation is this?
It would be a pain in the ass just to have it move, but it was also disgustingly strong.
At this level, it was definitely a cut above the elders of the Mount Qingcheng Sect.
I figured one would have to be a top-tier expert of the Nine Great Sects to even stand a chance against it.
"Damn it!"
For now, my best bet was to deflect its attacks.
Even that was slowly reaching its limit.
Just then.
"……."
The carvings etched into the communal wall began to move.
Thwack! Boom! Thud-thud-thud! Clang!
I focused on the phenomenon blurring my vision while deflecting the skeleton's strikes.
Countless people were moving, wielding swords and spears.
Even though I couldn't hear a sound, it felt as if war cries that could shake the heavens were ringing inside my head. Severed heads leaped into the sky, and dismembered limbs rolled across the ground.
War.
It was a war so desperate it was truly harrowing.
'Huh?'
But then.
One man in particular caught my eye.
His upper body, with muscles rippling, was covered in blood and wounds, and he roamed the battlefield, utilizing all sorts of weapons in turn.
No enemy could be his match. No one could hold him back.
The corpses piled up beneath his feet like small hills, and at his roar, the enemies lost their minds and dropped their swords.
'The Fighting God!'
The god of the battlefield.
He was a man truly worthy of being called a god.
'……!'
Our eyes met.
The man in the vision stared straight at me, as if he could actually see me.
The man charged.
With a sword in one hand and a spear in the other, he swung them, and the enemy troops blocking his path were mowed down like fallen leaves in an autumn wind.
He stood at one spot and looked back at me.
'What…?'
Then, he vanished into the wall as if walking through a door.
"You bastard! Give up already!"
Yang Jin’s shout brought me back to my senses. Like a lie, the vision vanished.
However, the wall where the Fighting God had disappeared was glowing, like light leaking through a crack in a door.
"Damn it!"
I don't know. To my eyes, it was undoubtedly a wall.
Yet, my senses were screaming that I had to go there.
"Eat this!"
I whipped the Black Panther hide forward.
For a split second, the skeleton, covered by the hide, lost its sight, and I sprinted with all my might toward the glowing wall.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
"Stop! Where do you think you're going!"
I heard Yang Jin chasing me from behind.
A thunderous roar echoed as the skeleton, having shed the hide, kicked off the ground.
As luck would have it, Dang Cheon-u was lying on my path.
"Dang Cheon-u!"
I snatched Dang Cheon-u’s arm while running at full speed.
Rumble!
Had he caught up already?
I heard the sound of the atmosphere tearing behind me.
'Just a little more!!'
This wasn't an action born of thought.
If this judgment was wrong, my heart would be crushed just like the Guard Leader's.
Thwack!
"Ugh!"
The skeleton’s fingers grazed my back.
A dull stone wall stood right in front of me.
"Daaaaamn iiiiiit!!"
I let out a roar and threw my body forward.
The world turned pitch black.
* * *
"Huff… huff… huff… huff… huff…."
My breath was hitching in my throat. My back was damp from the blood flowing out.
"Did I make it?"
Although I couldn't see anything, I had succeeded in escaping the skeleton and hiding inside the stone wall.
"Dang Cheon-u!"
I heard faint, ragged breathing from the floor.
It was Dang Cheon-u, whose Dantian had been pierced.
Unable to see, I groped around with my hands and helped him up.
"Get up."
"Ugh… Brother…."
A voice like a mosquito’s hum leaked from Dang Cheon-u’s lips.
I draped Dang Cheon-u’s arm over my neck and hoisted him up.
"Don't die. We’re getting out of here alive."
"…Yes…."
Dang Cheon-u, perhaps having lost consciousness completely, let his head drop and said nothing more.
I turned my head in every direction.
Strangely enough, I couldn't see a thing.
"Where on earth is this place?"
My vision was useless.
So, I closed my eyes entirely and awakened the senses of my Heavenly Perceptive Saint Body.
Perhaps it was because I had experienced such an extreme battle.
It felt as if my Heavenly Perceptive Saint Body had shed a layer.
"Huh?"
I had definitely closed my eyes.
But once I did, something I hadn't seen before appeared in the distance.
A twinkling light.
No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say I felt it.
Regardless, that light was beckoning me to come, like a star that had fallen to the earth.
"Cheon-u. Let's go."
Supporting the unresponsive Dang Cheon-u, I walked toward the light.
Step. Step. Step.
My steps were heavy.
Fatigue washed over me as if I were trudging through a swamp.
Instead, the light grew larger and larger.
And then.
Whoosh!
The light pushed away all the darkness and illuminated the entire world.
* * *
“Ugh!”
My eyes felt as if they were burning. My vision slowly returned.
I gradually lowered the hands that had been shielding my face.
The surroundings came into view, albeit hazily.
*Chirp! Chirp! Chirp-chirp-chirp! Chirp! Chirp!*
“…….”
It was a peaceful scene.
The sky was clear without a single cloud, and small birds were hopping about on the trees, chirping away. The ground was in full bloom with vibrant flowers, and beautiful butterflies fluttered their wings, teasing the blossoms.
“What in the world is this….”
Is this a dream? Or am I already dead and in hell?
It’s far too cozy to be hell.
Why, there’s even a small thatched cottage right in front of me.
“Let’s head over there first.”
I adjusted the unconscious Dang Cheon-u on my back and headed toward the cottage.
It was a modest little hut.
The roof was roughly thatched with straw, and a wooden deck sat in one corner of the small yard. On the other side, there was a hearth with a fire burning, and a large pot atop it was bubbling away.
*Thud. Thud. Thud.*
“……!”
Just then.
I sensed a presence behind the cottage.
I carefully set Dang Cheon-u down and reached for my waist.
My Iron Sword was gone.
“You’ve arrived.”
“…….”
A man appeared from behind the cottage, carrying a basket.
We only locked eyes for a brief moment, yet my entire body froze.
I didn’t know his appearance.
He was a figure from the past, without a single proper record left behind.
Yet, strangely, I knew.
That man was,
‘The Fighting God!’
Approaching the hearth, the Fighting God opened the lid of the pot and dumped in what he had brought in the basket.
Looking closer, it was cleaned fish.
“Today’s lunch is fish soup.”
His hair and beard were streaked with gray.
He looked to be in his late forties or early fifties.
He was dressed like a humble villager and emitted no particular aura.
And yet, the Fighting God’s presence was truly overwhelming.
*Swish. Swish. Swish.*
“Hmm. A little longer should do it.”
After pouring in some seasoning and stirring the broth, the Fighting God stood up and turned to look at me.
“You look like a mess.”
“Are you… the Fighting God?”
“The Fighting God?”
Unlike Zhang Sanfeng, surprisingly, conversation with the Fighting God was possible.
What on earth was this situation?
“The Fighting God, eh… yes. I was called that.”
Perhaps reminiscing about the past, the Fighting God looked up at the sky and chuckled.
“First, come over here and sit. We don’t have much time.”
The Fighting God walked heavily and sat on the wooden deck.
Since he showed no hostility, I hoisted Dang Cheon-u up again and approached the deck.
“His bleeding is severe. I must treat him quickly.”
I laid Dang Cheon-u on the deck and, in my haste, struck his acupoints to stop the flow.
“Do you happen to have any medicinal herbs?”
“Medicinal herbs? Hahaha! Where do you think you are?”
“I’m… not sure.”
The Fighting God gestured to his surroundings.
“All of this is an illusion. It is not real.”
“An illusion? Then what about you?”
“Of course, I am an illusion too. Or more precisely, my memory.”
My brow furrowed involuntarily.
The savory aroma wafting from the pot, the gentle breeze tickling my cheeks.
The warmth of the sun on my skin, the white clouds drifting slowly by.
Everything was so vivid; how could he call it a lie?
“Is this… a formation?”
Although I had never experienced it in reality, I had heard that in Murim, there were formations capable of deceiving human senses.
The Fighting God grinned and nodded.
“That is correct. The Heavenly Calamity Illusion Formation. It is the work of that bastard, the Illusion Demon. He was a pervert, but his skill in formations was the best in history.”
“If you say Illusion Demon… the Demonic Cult?”
“Yes, the Demonic Cult. I suppose it would have failed without the help of the Demonic Cult.”
Perhaps because it was an illusion created by memory, the conversation felt subtly out of sync.
I kept my mouth shut for a moment to organize the limited information.
‘The Demonic Cult helped? Is that related to the conspiracy?’
Perhaps because I remained silent, the Fighting God stood up and walked toward the hearth.
He then filled a bowl with red fish soup and returned to the deck.
*Clack.*
The Fighting God placed a small table on the deck.
Two bowls of fish soup and a side of vegetables.
“Eat.”
I didn’t think I could swallow fish soup in my anxious state, but I picked up a spoon and took a bite.
“……!”
The Fighting God, who had been watching me quietly, chuckled.
“Delicious, isn’t it?”
“It is. Why is it so delicious?”
“Why, you ask? Naturally, it’s thanks to my cooking skills.”
“But isn’t this taste also an illusion?”
“In my memories, it is real.”
The Fighting God, who kept saying things I couldn’t understand, eventually stopped talking and focused solely on eating his soup.
I also picked up my spoon and stirred the broth.
Appetizing chunks of fish floated to the surface.
‘An illusion that feels real, a reality that feels like an illusion.’
The Fighting God before me seemed vividly alive, but he was, after all, only the Fighting God’s memory.
In the end, what I could extract from his memories depended on me.
*Clack.*
I set down my spoon.
The Fighting God, who had been busy eating, looked up and stared at me.
“This formation can only be entered by someone with the Heavenly Perceptive Saint Body, can’t it?”
Only I could see the sword dance on Sambong Island.
Even though the skeleton and Yang Jin had followed right behind me into the cave, here in this formation, there were only Dang Cheon-u and me.
I had vaguely thought about it back on Sambong Island, too.
Having experienced this illusion formation as well, I could be certain.
I don’t know the reason, but both were arrangements made for the Heavenly Perceptive Saint Body.
“That is so.”
“Do you want something from me?”
*Clack.*
The Fighting God also set down his spoon.
*Whoosh!*
In an instant, the environment changed completely.
The fragrant flower field and warm sunlight were gone, and we were sitting in the middle of a burning battlefield.
The scent of blood stung my nose; thousands upon thousands of corpses lay scattered.
Maggots and blood flowed on the ground, and the blood-red sky looked as if it would rain gore at any moment.
“He was called by many names across the ages. Maitreya, Asura, Destroyer of Emperors, Heaven-Extinguisher, Great Demon. We called him the Blood Demon.”
“……?”
“Only after Zhang Sanfeng, myself, and the Heavenly Demon joined forces were we barely able to seal him.”
“Pardon?”
So, the opponent that Zhang Sanfeng, the Heavenly Demon, and the Fighting God had fought together was the Blood Demon?
Was the Blood Demon that powerful?
“I suppose you couldn’t kill him.”
“Correct. He is not a being that can be killed. He manifests in different eras and forms to destroy the world. In our time, he simply took the form of the Blood Demon.”
“…….”
The Fighting God turned his head to stare blankly at the horrific battlefield.
It was as if he were showing me what the world would become if the Blood Demon appeared.
I looked at his strong profile and asked.
“Will he awaken?”
“Someday.”
“Is the reason I am in this world related to him?”
The Fighting God turned to look at me.
Even if it were an illusion, his gaze was deep and profound.
“I do not know what you are talking about.”
“I came from another world. Is that perhaps related to the sealing of the Blood Demon? And is that why these fortuitous encounters have been linked to me?”
“I do not know what you are talking about.”
Damn it.
That’s how you’re going to play it?
“Fine.”
“Is that so?”
Let’s think simply.
I won’t find all the answers in fragments of ancient memories.
Sambong, the Heavenly Demon, the Fighting God.
The Blood Demon, sealed by the combined power of the greatest masters of the Righteous, Evil, and Demonic factions.
He is about to awaken again.
Well, isn’t that the obvious story?
‘Damn it. Then why am I here?’
If not the Fighting God, who only knows how to fight, would Zhang Sanfeng know the answer?
For now, let’s focus on what I can get right in front of me.
“So, you want me to expose this conspiracy to the world and prevent the Blood Demon’s resurrection. And for that, you will pass on your martial arts. Something like that, right?”
“That is so.”
The Fighting God nodded.
Perhaps because I cut straight to the core without beating around the bush, the Fighting God became more tight-lipped.
Usually, he would have rambled on as if bestowing a great fortuitous encounter.
But what he has to offer is obvious.
Just as Zhang Sanfeng tossed me the Supreme Ultimate Wisdom Sword, the Fighting God was likely destined to pass on a martial art of that caliber.
‘He said this is an illusion formation created from the Fighting God’s memories.’
If so, wouldn’t he remember not just the designated martial arts, but the Fighting God’s true personal techniques as well?
His personality, his philosophy, his tastes, his palate.
If everything was implemented in the formation exactly as it was, then the Fighting God before me was effectively the real Fighting God.
“Senior. Among Sambong, the Heavenly Demon, and you, I have respected you the most.”
I clasped my hands together and bowed respectfully.
The Fighting God blinked.
‘Do you think I’ll just take what you give and leave?’
I don’t know what the Fighting God possesses, but I intend to strip him of everything I can while I have this chance.
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