The Invincible Fist Demon likely hadn’t known either, but neither had I.
That I would end up saying such a thing to the Fist Demon. But the instant I heard him say he would bring down a cliff with a single blow, something blazed up inside my heart.
It was an intense desire to throw my own fist into his impossible challenge.
The Fist Demon’s gaze, which had been fixed on my eyes, dropped to my hand.
“With that baby hand?”
Ah, so the day has come when my hand is called a baby hand.
“Compared to yours, Fist Demon, it is very small and cute, but out in the world of ordinary people, it’s considered fairly well born.”
“Stop spouting nonsense and go back.”
Exuding a chill, the Fist Demon left just like that.
I looked up at the cliff again.
If a fist capable of bringing this down in one blow came flying at me, would my protective astral qi be able to withstand it?
Strength entered my clenched fist.
* * *
That afternoon, I went to see Father and played Go with him for the first time in a while.
With each move, the clear sound of stones being placed calmed my mind. Perhaps Go with Father felt this comfortable because it resembled a martial duel. Once you stepped onto the dueling stage, or once you began a game of Go, there was no need to say anything to your opponent.
“I lost.”
In our last game, I had won by two points, but today I finally lost by six. Seeing the smile Father could not hide at the corners of his mouth, I thought there was truly no helping him. Whether in Go or martial arts, Father could not stand losing.
“When you have time, learn some Go from Strategist Sima.”
“I suppose I should.”
“Why did you come today?”
Father had already noticed. He knew I had come because I had business with him.
“Can you tell just by looking at someone?”
“Your moves were especially impatient today. Amateurs always give themselves away.”
“Amateur? You only beat me for the first time today.”
Deep down, I felt pleased. It meant Father had been paying attention to my state of mind even while playing Go.
“There is something I wish to receive your permission for, Father.”
“What is it?”
“I am thinking of learning fist arts from the Fist Demon. Please permit it.”
As if he had expected it, Father showed no particular reaction.
“If you wish to learn, then learn. Why would you need my permission?”
“Of course I should tell you before learning. And I need your permission as well.”
“What if I do not permit it?”
“Then I’ll have to work harder until you do.”
I told Father my honest feelings.
“At first, my intention was largely to make a feint to the east and strike in the west. I was testing Brother’s response by poking at the Fist Demon. But today, the Fist Demon told me that his goal was to bring down a cliff with a single blow.”
Father seemed to know of that goal. He was not surprised at all by my words.
“At those words, what collapsed was not the cliff but my wariness. I thought it was magnificent, and I came to want to bring down a cliff too.”
“That is your chronic weakness. A naive sentiment perfect for getting yourself killed.”
The very first time he had said that to me, he had called it “cheap sentiment perfect for getting yourself killed.” Now the word cheap was gone, and naive had taken its place. Father and I had grown closer by exactly that much.
“That naivety sometimes works as an advantage. There are Demon Supremes I gained because of it.”
“Gained? Do you truly think the Demon Supremes are on your side?”
Father truly trusted no one. Perhaps that very set of values was necessary for the Cult Leader who led the cult.
“I believe there is no absolute feeling in this world except a parent’s heart for their child. However, I am trying not to create circumstances that would cause the Demon Supremes’ hearts to change.”
People rarely changed their minds all of a sudden while living their lives. Most of the time, people changed because their circumstances changed.
“Do you know this? If you become entangled with the Fist Demon through martial arts, there will surely come a moment when you must face him. He is the type who absolutely cannot live with losing. Then you may end up with a result different from what you intended.”
It was advice only someone who knew the Fist Demon’s personality well could give. It meant that in trying to grow closer, I might instead make our relationship worse.
“What happens if I win?”
“His goal will become you, not the cliff.”
After a brief pause, I said to Father,
“Wouldn’t a life in which one becomes someone’s goal be worth living at least once?”
Father gazed at me for a moment, then nodded.
“With the Fist Demon, you will need to set your path with orthodox moves.”
He was telling me not to seek lucky breaks through petty tricks, but to do my utmost through proper means. Father had given his permission.
“Thank you.”
After bowing respectfully to Father and turning around, I heard him speak from behind me.
“From now on, I take white.”
“You have to win three games in a row first, don’t you?”
“That rule changed as of today.”
Well, what could I do if the Heavenly Demon himself said he would change it?
“Then I’ll have to teach my strategist Go as soon as possible.”
* * *
The next day, I went to see the Fist Demon again.
After missing training for several days, today he was watching the Iron Fists train.
His reaction to me was exactly the same as on the first day. He glanced at me, then turned his gaze back to the Iron Fists. But we were clearly standing in a different relationship from the first day.
“May I learn together beside the Iron Fists?”
The Fist Demon looked at me. His face was still fierce. To anyone else, it would have looked as though he were glaring at me as if to kill me, but I could read the emotion contained in his eyes.
Are you truly saying you wish to learn fist arts from me?
I answered in place of words with a gaze filled with resolve.
Yes.
The Fist Demon looked at me as if I were ridiculous, then soon nodded. His attitude said he would see how I played this.
“Thank you.”
I set my sword down beside me and imitated the Iron Fists’ stances as they were.
It was the first moment in my life that I learned fist arts. Even before my regression, I had never learned fist arts. Fighting after letting go of my sword? It was not easy to imagine.
The gazes of the Iron Fists brushing past me were filled with astonishment.
Since the Heavenly Demon’s Second Young Master had stepped forward to learn fist arts alongside them, they would need no side dishes at their drinking table tonight.
The Fist Demon taught me nothing.
I followed the movements of the Iron Fists. This martial art, which dozens were learning, could not possibly be the Invincible Fist Demon’s exclusive fist art. It was likely the basic fist art learned by the martial artists of the Eastern Fist Gate.
All the better. Because I knew better than anyone that even a fist art capable of toppling Mount Tai began from these basic movements.
I took the movements precisely.
I had watched their training for several days, and above all, dozens of people before my eyes were taking the same posture.
Even if someone took an incorrect posture, there were more who took the correct one. Thanks to that, I was able to assume the proper stance.
Thus the first day’s training ended, and everyone quietly dispersed. I too left the place as though I were one of them.
The next day, I also participated in the training.
The Iron Fists of the Eastern Fist Gate were divided into four groups according to skill.
The White Fists, who wore white martial uniforms; the Blue Fists, who wore blue martial uniforms; the Red Fists, who wore red martial uniforms; and the Black Fists, who wore black martial uniforms.
Those I was with now were the White Fists, who wore white uniforms. Of course, one must not look down on them just because they were White Fists. The very fact that they had been able to enter the Eastern Fist Gate meant they were not weaklings as martial artists.
Was training with the White Fists a waste of time? How could that be? On the contrary, it was better because I could build up from the basics.
My realm in martial arts was one in which I could predict dozens of variations from a single small movement.
From one basic movement of thrusting out a fist, I imagined dozens of situations and predicted the changes. The Wind God’s Four Steps and the form I was now performing combined in my mind. Since the Wind God’s Four Steps had combined splendidly with the Flying Heaven Sword Art, naturally it also achieved a fantastic harmony with fist arts.
I was absorbed in training fist arts, but the Fist Demon still seemed not to believe me. I could read it from his expression.
So what? Do you think you will come for a month? For a year?
Because he harbored such thoughts, he merely sent me a look of contempt.
But his opponent was me. The next day, I even asked a question.
“I have a question!”
Everyone was startled by my shout. Come to think of it, I had never seen anyone ask a question during training. They merely took the postures they were told to take.
So perhaps I was the first to ask one.
The Fist Demon was equally surprised. He could not have expected that I would ask a question.
“In this form, Crouching Tiger Emerges, when rotating the right foot, how much freedom is permitted for the left foot?”
Everyone had been keeping the left foot completely fixed, but in my opinion, it seemed more effective to move it slightly.
I felt agitation around me. Is this all right? No, he dares ask a question? How will the Fist Demon react? Will we be struck by lightning for no reason too? I sensed all sorts of emotions like that.
Unexpectedly, however, the Fist Demon answered without any particular resistance.
“When you have completed the final rotation, if your body does not waver, there is no need to place restrictions on the left foot.”
At the Fist Demon’s clear answer, I performed the form as he had instructed.
My left foot moved enough to lift slightly, but that was in order to link into the next form as quickly as possible. Right now, we were training each movement separately, one by one, but in actual combat, continuous movement was important.
For the first time, the Iron Fists’ gazes turned toward me. They did not yet know. What they were seeing now was not a change in a form. It was a change in the Eastern Fist Gate’s training, which had long grown rigid.
I came to the training ground the next day as well, and the day after that too.
I did not deliberately ask questions for the sake of asking. I simply asked about what I was truly curious about, and when I asked, the Iron Fists listened closely. In a way, I was asking the questions they too had wondered about but had not dared to voice. After training ended, some Iron Fists began greeting me.
When five days had passed like that, I performed the forms with the most proper posture among the Iron Fists learning martial arts there. There were even those who asked me about movements after training was over.
It was the seventh day.
Formal training had ended, but I remained alone and continued training. I was being drawn into a new world led by fist arts. Apart from the situation I was in, learning fist arts itself was enjoyable.
I felt the Fist Demon watching me, but I paid it no mind and immersed myself in the forms. I focused only on the fist I extended.
What must be placed into this fist to bring down a cliff?
At last, the Fist Demon, who had been watching, opened his mouth.
“What are you trying to do?”
“Did I not tell you that I wished to learn fist arts from you, Fist Demon?”
“Are you truly saying you will become my disciple?”
“If you will accept me.”
The Fist Demon flinched in surprise. There had never been a case of the Heavenly Demon’s son becoming the disciple of a Demon Supreme.
“Are you sincere?”
“Yes, I am sincere. I have already received Father’s permission.”
“The Cult Leader permitted it?”
“He did.”
It was the moment the Fist Demon learned that my resolve was no joke.
“Do you know what kind of person I am, and still do this?”
“I do not know well. But the moment you said your goal was to bring down a cliff, I think I fell for you, Fist Demon.”
Half sincerity, half flattery was being brought to bear.
“You think such a pathetic little ploy will work? Do you think I will support you as successor if you do this?”
“It is fine if you do not. No, please do not. I do not know if you have heard the rumors about me, but my goal is to end this successor selection without bloodshed between brothers. That is why I feel reassured that you are with my brother. Because you will stop him from crossing the line.”
“Why do you think I would stop him?”
“Because you are someone who tries to bring down a cliff with your bare fist. Because you know well that the moment filthy schemes or plots are held in that fist, you will never be able to bring down the cliff.”
“!”
“I believe you are the only one who can beat sense into either my brother or me if we go mad and run wild over the successor struggle. If I, or my brother, try to cross the line, please stop us. Strike us mercilessly with that fist.”
I did not avoid that displeased and fearsome gaze directed at me. You are a man mad for martial arts? When it comes to going mad over something and digging down one path, I will not lose to you.
The next instant!
The Fist Demon’s great fist was before my face.
He had thrust his fist this quickly, yet there had not been a single sound of wind. As though the fist had been here from the very beginning, it was simply in front of my face.
The sound erupted afterward.
Whoooooooosh!
Just as an enormous rush of wind seemed to sound from behind me—
Kwaaaaang!
A huge hole had been punched through the wall far behind me.
Astonishingly, while leaving my face intact where his fist had stopped, he had completely blown away what was behind me. It was truly an astounding and lofty technique.
The Fist Demon coldly stared at me, who had not so much as blinked at the fist that flew in, then turned away without a word and left.
Standing there, I watched his back as he walked far away.
The more you act like this, the fiercer the flame in my heart will burn.
At the end of the road, the Fist Demon stopped.
“From tomorrow on, come to the Blue Fist training ground.”