Shaolin Temple, located on Mount Song in Henan Province.
Amid the unsettled air brought on by the sudden upheaval, a giant of a man appeared within the temple, where outside visitors were being restricted.
“Hah, honestly! Where in the world did you go, only to show up now?”
“Kahahahat! Something urgent came up for a bit! Sorry about that! You must’ve waited a long time, huh?”
“...I wasn’t exactly waiting. Even if I went elsewhere now, there wouldn’t be much for me to do, so I was merely killing time. It is right after the friction with the Demon Cult, after all.”
“Right, right. To make up for it, I brought all sorts of gifts, so don’t be mad, my friend!”
At the reply of Mok In-gwang, the Nine-Light Demon, whose complaint could not hide his delight, Harley burst into his usual hearty laugh.
The warrior monks of Shaolin were turning away everyone who visited from the foot of the mountain, but he alone was an exception.
After all, no matter what anyone said, he was as good as a benefactor to them.
Crunch, crunch.
—“...I’m asking just in case, but what are you doing right now?”
“Huh? Eating meat? Why, want a bite? ...This is precious stuff, so I don’t give it to just anyone...”
Perhaps that was why, even after witnessing such eccentric behavior, they could only show discomfort and hint at it, unable to bring themselves to scold him harshly.
But even that had its limits. They could not simply stand by forever while he gorged himself on meat in Buddhist grounds.
“Hmm.”
Harley looked back and forth between the chunk of meat in his hand and Mok In-gwang’s strange expression, conflicted.
Then, as if he had made some grave decision, he nodded solemnly.
“Phew— Fine. A man shouldn’t be petty when it comes to food. Here, I’ll specially share this precious meat with you. Be grateful, all right? This is really valuable!”
“No, that’s not what I meant...”
And just as he slowly held out the meat in his hand—
“Ahem, hem. Benefactor? This is a sacred realm where the Buddha is enshrined. At the very least, within this temple, we would appreciate it if you refrained from eating meat...”
A monk who had reluctantly approached managed his expression with effort and spoke gently.
His face was awkward, as though he himself had not expected he would have to say it so directly.
“...Ah, right. That’s true!”
Gulp—!
At that, Harley drew back the hand he had been extending, quickly stuffed the large piece of meat down his throat, swallowed it, and nodded.
Then, smacking his lips, he roughly wiped the grease from his hand on his pants and lifted the corners of his mouth in a grin.
“Wahahah! Sorry about that! I’m not used to the culture around here, you see! I’ll be careful from now on!”
A swift acknowledgment of his mistake and an apology.
In truth, it was hard to tell whether that was really an attitude of remorse, but in any case, the monk had achieved his purpose. With a troubled look, he pressed his palms together and withdrew again.
“Well, can’t be helped! We’ll eat the meat next time there’s a chance!”
For some reason, his reaction seemed as though he had been waiting for someone to interrupt, but it was only because he still had a minimum sense of shame left, not because he was reluctant to share the meat.
‘Just a little, maybe I should eat just a little more? Losses are bound to happen in a fight anyway, aren’t they? If I just consider this as one of those... Right, wouldn’t about the amount of one head be fine?’
Harley glanced down at his arm and clenched his fist tightly, lightly licking his lips.
As always, an unprecedented, colossal strength could be felt in his grip.
Yet within that familiar power, though extremely faint, there was clearly something different from before.
‘“Food God,” huh... It certainly lives up to its name, doesn’t it? Though it’s still only a seed for now.’
To be honest, he had not liked the naming of the skill from the start.
Since it was a term commonly encountered on TV and all sorts of media, it somehow carried a strong variety-show feel.
But all of that was nothing more than prejudice born of preconceived notions.
Food God (食神).
Whatever else might be said, it was a skill that contained the word “god” (神).
There was no way such an ability could be ordinary.
If he were to describe that ability in one sentence, it would be this.
‘The pinnacle of the predation system, capable of devouring even divinity.’
The reason such a skill had appeared was probably not simply because he had consumed Tam’s flesh while possessing the “Authority of Gluttony.”
The fact that he had previously eaten a part of the wing containing the power of the leader of the Beoncheon Society must also have had a considerable influence.
At the time, there had been no notable change apart from gaining resistance to divinity, but the karma remaining within his body had reacted all at once through this incident and even led to evolution.
In such a situation, it was only natural that he would regret Tam’s flesh.
Though the creature had fallen partway and become incomplete, it was still, in name and fact, a monster that had borne the fate of world destruction and had even set foot in divinity.
It was only natural that a portion of divinity resided in that flesh.
However, Harley forced down his appetite and shook his head.
‘No, let’s not get greedy. Moderation is important in everything. The seed has firmly taken root for now, so there’s no need to be more avaricious.’
“Death,” in and of itself, brought about an enormous drop in one’s level of existence.
Even a complete god, once dead, had to pay an immense price to revive. How much more would that be true for Tam, who had already been incomplete?
Even if he ate that entire enormous body, the divinity he could obtain would likely amount to no more than a pittance.
In that case, it was far more efficient to use it as originally planned to restore the Ganghwan Realm.
‘There will be plenty of other opportunities from now on.’
He was confident.
Confident that, before too long, he would be able to seize what he wanted with his own hands.
‘If I do what needs to be done, the time will come on its own. Just as it has until now.’
Of course, before that.
There was something he had to address first.
Hadn’t one very important matter, which he had had no choice but to put off, still remained?
“By the way, my friend?”
“...What is it?”
“On my way here, I heard people were calling us things like the Nine-Light Demon and the Divine-Light Demon.”
“......”
“Phew— I really don’t like that, you see? The source of the rumors must surely be the people who were at the scene back then. If someone who had been there at the time had properly corrected them, wouldn’t such strange names never have stuck? What do you think, my friend?”
As Harley continued with narrowed eyes, Mok In-gwang clamped his mouth shut and subtly averted his gaze.
Just as he said.
Back when the epithets had not yet settled properly, if he, the person concerned, had corrected them himself, there was a very real chance that the names could have changed.
No matter how much an epithet was something bestowed by the public, he already had a perfectly legitimate epithet, and after his outstanding performance in a crisis, people would not have been able to easily ignore his words to his face.
However, instead of stepping forward, he had chosen silence.
In truth, from his standpoint, it had been only natural.
Rather than reveal with his own mouth the humiliation that his epithet had been stolen and become the “Mad Dog,” becoming the “Nine-Light Demon” was a million times better.
“That was something I couldn’t help either. Even after you suddenly disappeared, the confusion continued for quite a long time, and by the time it had settled down somewhat, everyone was busy returning to their own bases... Besides, an epithet is not something the person in question can decide as they please in the first place...”
“Whoa there, why has my friend’s tongue suddenly gotten so long? I’m not blaming you! Are we such a shallow pair that we’d argue over something so trivial? How disappointing!”
“...Ahem, is that so?”
At Harley’s magnanimous words, Mok In-gwang’s complexion brightened.
He had thought he would have to exchange another round of barbs with that large friend of his, who was subtly petty inside, but it seemed that had merely been his own misunderstanding.
‘What a relief. Well, considering how he looks, he isn’t the sort to complain over something as minor as—’
But Harley had not finished speaking yet.
“Kahahah! Let’s just have a conversation our way! That’s how we became friends in the first place, wasn’t it?”
“...Our way? Became friends?”
“Right, right! Just like when we first met!”
Thud, thud!
Harley brought his two rocklike fists together and beamed with a pure, broad smile.
From the impact, his wild muscles writhed roughly again and again.
At the same time, a memory that somehow felt hazy, though not all that old, flashed through Mok In-gwang’s mind.
Gulp—
His expression stiffened at the near-traumatic memory that had come back to life, but naturally, Harley paid no attention to such trivial reactions.
A conversation of the body, where flesh collided with flesh.
Wasn’t this, after all, the best way to have an honest conversation without pretense?
‘This is a perfect opportunity. I can also check just how much has changed while I’m at it.’
To understand changes in the body, the best method was to use the body directly.
And Mok In-gwang, whose toughness was widely acknowledged, was the optimal opponent for that purpose.
“Come on, come on! Let’s go, my friend! Kahahahat!”
“......”
Unlike Harley, who strode ahead with majestic confidence toward the training ground, Mok In-gwang could not bring himself to refuse and was forced to move his feet like livestock being dragged to the slaughterhouse.
Some time passed after that.
Only one person was able to walk out of the training ground, which had turned into a complete mess, on his own two feet.
‘Whew, that was refreshing. As it happened, I also needed to suppress that friend’s madness once more, so it worked out nicely.’
Though he had become an exceedingly normal man of common sense after meeting Harley, before that he had been one of the greatest madmen in the Ganghwan Realm, called by the name “Mad Demon.”
No one knew what sort of backlash might appear in an emergency, especially since he had been quiet recently, so periodic management was essential.
In other words—
This was not pointless venting, but entirely a part of treatment for his sake, and was, in fact, a pure act of goodwill for which no amount of thanks would be excessive.
‘There were strangely no monsters on Geumodo who knew about the Mad Emperor Heart Art, but since I have the “Mad Emperor Heart Art (Revised),” I shouldn’t be too lacking either.’
If he continued to guide him along the right path, it would not be all that far-fetched for Mok In-gwang to reach the Profound Realm.
Of course, the process would be a little painful and difficult, but wasn’t the process of gaining enlightenment always like that?
‘Then shall I start the real work now?’
Having pleasantly dealt with the matter he had left to linger, Harley immediately requested an audience with the abbot of Shaolin Temple.
In order to set the stage more properly for the home-theater rehearsal.
***
It was not all that strange that the communication attempted by Jegal Hyemi in Beijing connected to Hugo.
No matter how much of a genius she was, this was her first time formally using the spell.
As such, it was entirely possible that a very slight error had occurred in setting the target.
[...It seems the calculations got disturbed while I was borrowing Prince Ju Gangin’s help. I was anxious about doing it alone, and everyone else was in poor physical condition, so I had no choice but to ask His Highness for assistance...]
In other words, since he not only had deep ties with both of them, but had also approached nearby to save them, the thread of causality had connected to him.
‘In truth, that alone is impressive enough.’
In any case, thanks to that, they had been able to reduce the time required, so it was not a bad thing for his side.
The sooner this matter was handled, the better.
Hugo encouraged her, as she was tense from not knowing when she might be discovered, and hinted that she should attempt communication again and relay the information to the main house of the Jegal Clan.
[Will it really be all right? It’s been quite a while since the commotion outside stopped. No matter how much attention I paid to activating it covertly, if an expert comes close, they might notice something strange.]
It really was all right.
Right now, he had deliberately cleared away everything in the area around her that might interfere.
But since he could not say that openly, all he could do was soothe her with reliable, confident words.
[...Whew, all right. I’ll try again. To be honest, now that I’ve done it once, I feel a little more confident. Really, to think I spent all those long years confined to bed because of something like this.]
Perhaps thanks to that, resolute will returned to her voice, which had been trembling with anxiety.
Just when it seemed the communication would end like that...
[...Actually, this is all thanks to Young Master Ha. If my body were still as weak as everyone else’s, I wouldn’t even have been able to attempt something like this.]
Unlike before, her voice continued hesitantly, as if she were wavering over something.
Within it, the faint trace of the small unease that had seemed to have vanished showed through.[···We’ll be able to meet again, won’t we?]
Of course, Hugo’s answer to that had already been decided.[Of course. Did we not promise? That I would tell you what happened at the Murim Alliance meeting.][···You remembered?][Of course. I’ve already prepared a souvenir as well. More importantly, have you been keeping up with your exercises, miss?][At least until yesterday, I didn’t miss a single day. I haven’t done today’s portion yet because I was trying this.][Fortunately, there is still quite some time before midnight. If you quickly contact the Jegal Clan, exercise, and then go to sleep, it will be perfect.][···Tch, fine.]
As they exchanged such idle words, Hugo could feel Jegal Hyemi’s tension ease considerably.
It seemed this conversation had not been entirely meaningless after all.[I have also arrived near Beijing now. I will find a way somehow, so you must not give up until the end either, miss. No matter what happens, I will definitely save you.][······.]
A single sentence filled with certainty, grounded in unshakable truth.
At that, Jegal Hyemi’s reply cut off for a moment.[···Yes. Then I’ll wait.]
And with that faint answer, the communication with her was completely severed.
Now, after taking a certain amount of rest, she would contact the Jegal Clan and convey her current location and the surrounding situation in as much detail as possible.
Of course, if that happened, his coming all the way here might have been for nothing, but he paid no mind to such a trivial matter.
After all, going to Beijing under the pretext of gathering information was not the only thing he had to do there.
“Now then, next···.”
Having concluded his train of thought, Hugo nodded with a serious expression.
The communication from Jegal Hyemi had interrupted him for a moment, but had he not been in the middle of something extremely important right now?‘Let’s see, next is··· a hundred-year fleeceflower root? I’ll pass on this. If I build up resistance because of some low-grade elixir like this, it’ll only reduce efficiency. Oh! A thousand-year ginseng king. Yes, it should be at least this much. Still, it feels lacking··· I’ll have to call Harris over and have him dig up some proper elixirs.’Hugo did not even perform the beopje (法製) process of controlling and refining the medicinal effects.
He simply swallowed the elixir on the spot.
Ordinarily, it was something one should absolutely never do, but for him, who possessed the “Authority of Gluttony,” it no longer mattered.
Wooooong—
As his qi flowed, ripples spread through the surroundings, and the internal energy settled within his body began to boil.
Hugo, a transcendent master in his early twenties—
Ha Seung-hun.
If judged by quantity alone, his internal energy was already more than enough to be spoken of as the greatest under heaven.