## Chapter 988 – 988. The Ascent To Enlightenment
“It was a victory, but our goal is not yet achieved. To pass the trial, we need one more flag. Let’s aim for the next target.”
Hwangbo Gaehye spoke in front of Squad 55. At her words, Squad 55 moved without rest and ambushed Squad 101.
I took the lead again this time. I’m not usually the type to step forward like this… but my lady, Hwangbo Gaehye, is watching behind me. To earn points, I need to make a contribution.
“I am Seong Yujin, the adopted son-in-law of the great Namgung Clan! Drop your weapons and hand over the flag!”
I even showed some mercy. But the enemies didn’t even pretend to hear my mercy.
“Amitabha.”
Someone stepped forward from the enemy camp.
It was a man with a shaved head and wearing monk’s robes. His body was thin, but that only made his hard muscles stand out more.
‘If he entered the Manmu Tower and climbed to the 9th floor, he’s no ordinary monk. Is he a martial monk?’
When I think of martial monks, the Shaolin Temple immediately comes to mind. It’s so famous. He put his hands together in a prayer and bowed to me. But his eyes looking at me were like sharp, honed blades.
“This humble monk is Jeongbin. Your eyes are full of killing intent, so this humble monk will step forward to stop you.”
“Jeongbin!! That gourmet monk from Shaolin is here?!”
The reaction came not from me, but from Hwangbo Gaehye. He must be quite famous.
“…My roots are in Shaolin, but the current me has no connection to Shaolin. Please see me as just a monk.”
“Enough talk, try to stop me if you can.”
Yeongcheon Style (影天流) Lightning Flash (雷光).
Whether he was from Shaolin or a monk, he was my enemy. There was no reason to hold back. The tip of my sword, drawing a red trail, aimed for Jeongbin’s neck.
Immediately after, Jeongbin’s entire body turned a golden yellow.
Clang!
The Hwaryeon Flying Dagger aimed at Jeongbin’s neck was deflected. I was taken aback. My sword hadn’t cut through his neck. It had only made a scratch.
“Amitabha…. That was a terrifying sword strike. Even with the Diamond Sutra (金剛經), my skin was cut.”
“He’s not ordinary.”
I knew from that one blow. The opponent was a Five Qi (五氣) martial artist. I sighed deeply and rushed towards Jeongbin.
Crackling.
Red lightning flowed along the blade. This time, I planned to cut off his neck with power, not speed. Jeongbin didn’t just stand still. He used his palms, which were clasped together, to deflect the sword. His technique was exquisite. As expected of Shaolin’s palm techniques.
‘Judging by the level of energy I’m sensing, I seem to be slightly ahead… This is driving me crazy. It’s not easy to break through.’
No matter how I swung my sword, he deflected it all with his palms. Jeongbin’s arms and legs seemed to be made of metal, not human flesh.
Rumble!
Lightning struck Jeongbin’s shining golden crown. It was useless. The lightning didn’t stop the golden martial monk for even a second.
‘Damn it. Lightning doesn’t work either? Then how about this.’
Heavenly Demon Overlord Steps (天魔君臨步).
I stepped on the true awakening. The invisible pressure generated by it was applied to Jeongbin.
“Hmm. This evil energy…!”
Jeongbin suddenly muttered something. Soon, a pure white light came from his eyes.
“Ugh?!”
I faltered. The demonic energy (魔氣) was shaking from the energy emanating from Jeongbin. The demonic energy was repelled by that pure energy.
“It is the Subduing Demon Divine Art (降魔神功). A divine art to counter demons. The reason why all demons in the world fear Shaolin is because of this Subduing Demon Divine Art. I advise you, withdraw your demonic energy and face me with pure martial arts.”
“Subduing Demon Divine Art? Bullshit.”
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功) would be defeated by something like that? The name Heavenly Demon would be too pathetic.
I instead drew up my demonic energy. Black demonic energy blazed and gathered on the red blade.
“Hoo… Such evil demonic energy… Just what are you…”
“If you can stop it with that great Subduing Demon Divine Art, then try it.”
“It’s not Subduing Demon Divine Art, but Subduing Demon Divine Art.”
Jeongbin extended his palm forward. A palm overflowing with the energy of subduing demons. It was disgusting just to look at.
I pretended to swing my sword and moved my demonic energy.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功) Heavenly Demon Palm (天魔神掌).
The Heavenly Demon Palm fell from the sky, aiming for Jeongbin’s smooth head. Bang! The impact spread and dust rose.
“Cough!”
Jeongbin endured it. His back was slightly bent, but he shook off the Heavenly Demon Palm as if nothing had happened and put his hands together in prayer.
“…Amitabha.”
“I’ll cut you with my sword this time.”
“Young Master Seong!! The battle is over!! We got the enemy’s flag!!”
Hwangbo Gaehye shouted. I froze in place with my sword raised. Should I ignore Hwangbo Gaehye and move? After hesitating for three seconds, I lowered my sword. No matter what, I couldn’t fall out with Hwangbo Gaehye over something like this.
The cleanup began. Three of our people died, and three of the enemy were filled in. Of course, Jeongbin was among them.
“Yujin, you look upset, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Seong Jiggon came over and asked. I must have been frowning since earlier, so he was worried. I relaxed my expression.
‘I didn’t like Jeongbin from the moment he used the Subduing Demon Divine Art. …Is this the influence of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?’
It was just a bad mood because of the hot weather, but I felt even worse because it was determined to be influenced by the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
“That monk named Jeongbin, should we secretly kill him later? I think we could do it together.”
“No. That would only make Hwangbo Gaehye more wary. We need to win over Hwangbo Gaehye.”
“What’s the plan?”
“First, we gain her favor. Then, we do her a favor… If we’re together, we’ll build up affection… Hwangbo Gaehye will naturally become my woman.”
“So, there’s nothing for me to help with?”
“No.”
“I guess I’ll just have to train my martial arts.”
Seong Jiggon looked around and grumbled as if he was bored. There was only one woman here, Hwangbo Gaehye. There wasn’t even an ugly woman.
Thump, thump.
Speak of the devil, Hwangbo Gaehye was approaching me.
Seong Jiggon quickly moved away from me.
“Young Master Seong… No, I was wrong. Great Hero Seong. Thank you. Thanks to you, Great Hero, we were able to take two flags in less than half a day.”
I was recognized as a Great Hero. Even if it was lip service, I felt instantly better. In this world, the title of Great Hero was not easily given.
“Haha. I was just doing what I had to do. Miss. What are you going to do next? Now that you’ve collected the flags, you just need to hold out for ten days… Will you go into a siege?”
“We need to collect more flags.”
“Huh?”
“To safely protect the flags for the remaining ten days, we need more people. Flags are the perfect gift to gather allies.”
“Ah, allies. Now that I think about it, there was no rule against forming alliances. You’re amazing. You immediately grasped the essence of this trial.”
“So, about that… Great Hero Seong. Could you do some scouting?”
“Haha. If that’s what you want, Miss, I will.”
That day, Squad 55 obtained a total of 6 flags, and persuaded 4 other squads to greatly increase their size and go into a siege. With a total of 150 people gathered, Squad 55’s passage through the trial was certain.
***
It was when I was looking at the night sky and drinking cola. Jeongbin came to find me from the right. His gaze was fixed on what I was holding in my hand.
“Amitabha…. Young Master Seong, may I ask what that black water is?”
“This? It’s cola.”
“Cola… It’s a name I’ve never heard before. Just one sip… May I taste just one sip?”
Jeongbin’s face was full of curiosity.
Gourmet Monk Jeongbin. True to his nickname, Jeongbin was a monk who traveled the world in search of gourmet food.
“I don’t mind giving you some. But you have to answer my question.”
“It seems you have something you’re curious about, humble monk. I understand. I will answer truthfully.”
“You’re from Shaolin Temple, right?”
“That’s right. However… the current humble monk has been excommunicated from Shaolin and has become a defrocked monk.”
“Why?”
Jeongbin hesitated for a moment. When I shook the cola in my hand, he seemed to make up his mind and opened his mouth.
“…It’s because this humble monk ate human flesh.”
“Human flesh? A monk from Shaolin Temple?”
My mouth dropped open at the unexpected words. Shaolin Temple was one of the best Buddhist forces in this world. I never dreamed that something like this would happen there.
“…It was three years ago. This humble monk was traveling the world, subduing monsters and demons. Then I entered a black spot… and a demon was eating human flesh so deliciously. This humble monk was starving for ten days at the time… and I couldn’t resist the rising appetite and put the human flesh in my mouth.”
Surprisingly, he spoke calmly.
“A moment of mistake… or something?”
“No. This humble monk could have resisted if I wanted to. This humble monk was curious about the taste of human flesh, so I didn’t resist.”
“This guy’s crazy. You were excommunicated, but why are you using Shaolin martial arts so confidently? Usually, when you’re excommunicated, you lose your martial arts, right?”
They would cut off their limbs or destroy their dantian. There were many sects that would even execute them.
“Various circumstances overlapped.”
“You must have had great connections. Your talent for reaching the Five Qi at that age must have also played a part.”
“……”
I threw a can of cola at Jeongbin. Jeongbin was startled when he caught the cold can.
“T-This is?”
“You said you wanted cola. I gave it to you.”
“This is cola? How do you drink it?”
I taught him how to open the can. Pop! Jeongbin was startled by the sound, but soon took a sip of the cola.
“Oh, oh?! This, this kind of water exists in this world!”
Jeongbin didn’t gulp it down, but took sips of the cola. It didn’t take long for him to finish it all.
“Young Master Seong! Thank you for giving me such a precious thing! Cola! I will not forget that name… Burp!”
“Ah, damn it. You have a disgusting burp.”
“I-I’m sorry. I, I couldn’t help it…”
“It’s okay. You seemed to enjoy it, should I give you another one?”
“If you give me another one! I will gladly eat it!”
“Try cider this time.”
He and I each took a can of cider and drank it.
“Kyahhhhh, Fuck yeah!”
“F-Fuck yeah? What does that mean?”
“It’s something you say when you’re feeling good.”
“Is that so? Fuck yeah!”
Jeongbin quickly followed along. Every time he took a sip of cider, he said, “Fuck yeah, fuck yeah.” Even though he was excommunicated, he was still a monk on the outside, so it was fun.
Then, I discovered something terrifying. Jeongbin, this crazy monk, was erect the entire time he was drinking the cider.
Jeongbin’s face turned red when he realized I was looking at him.
“Damn it, are you gay? Gay Slayer!”
I took out the Gay Slayer and swung it around. Jeongbin, who was off guard, was startled.
“Young Master Seong! Suddenly… Huh?”
And Jeongbin didn’t die. That meant he wasn’t gay. Jeongbin was puzzled and tilted his head.
“Hey, you bald monk. Why are you erect?”
“……This is a secret, but this humble monk gets erect when I eat something delicious.”
“…Do you also ejaculate?”
“W-When it’s too delicious, I do.”
“You don’t get erect when you see a woman?”
“What do you take this humble monk for? This humble monk has transcended all desires except for appetite. Even if a legendary seductress were to tempt this humble monk, I would not be swayed.”
Jeongbin said seriously.
“I can’t believe there’s another crazy guy like Seong Jiggon. This world is too vast…”
Now, I was even impressed. At the same time, I was curious. Would he really ejaculate if he ate something delicious?
I took out a piece of chicken drumstick and threw it to him. It wasn’t ordinary chicken. It was the highest quality chicken, fried by the maids of the [Baekhwan] world, who raised the chicks with all their heart for me.
“What is this? The delicious smell… gulp… I can’t resist… Can I… can I eat this chicken?”
“If I told you not to eat it, would you not eat it?”
“……”
Jeongbin opened his mouth wide and bit into the chicken.
“Oh, oooooh! Fuck yeah!!”
Jeongbin’s eyes widened… and the rest is omitted. Anyway, I confirmed that there was another crazy person in this world.
After that, Jeongbin followed me around. To taste the delicious food I had.
“I can’t give it to you for free.”
“…What do you want? This humble monk doesn’t have much. Ah, I can give you the reward from the 9th floor trial. Please, give this humble monk new and delicious food!”
“Can you kill someone if I tell you to?”
“I will kill them. This humble monk has already been excommunicated… If you think about it, I’m not even a monk. For the sake of true beauty (眞美), I am ready to abandon morality!”
He answered without a second of hesitation. He was definitely crazy.
