Chapter 81: The World’s Smallest (1)

People’s murmurs flowed over the snowfield.

“What in the world is going on?”

“A-am I alive... ...?”

“Is this paradise...?”

The last thing they remembered was their own death; this was true for both the Heavenly Demon Cult followers and the Righteous Faction warriors. They may remember being bitten by

jiangshi

, but they probably didn’t remember being turned into one themselves. For them, years had passed in the blink of an eye.

However, there were people who had lived through the entire three years. Teacher stared disbelievingly at the snowfield.

“Gong-Ja...”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“Are you from outside this world, not outer

murim

? This... This is absolutely not the kind of sorcery that a human can use. This kind of sorcery only shows up in the most fantastical legends. Or did I die and arrive in paradise without realizing...?”

“No, no, you didn’t.” I shook my head. “Those people can no longer use martial arts like you. They’re also much weaker than they were before their death. This isn’t paradise, but they still have their memories from life. Why don’t you go and see for yourself? Go on, Teacher.”

Teacher’s feet crunched softly through the snow. Those footsteps were the sound of a martial artist who was left only with the traces of her three-year fight against the illness, having lost her dantian and qi.

With light footsteps, the Heavenly Demon, my teacher, approached her followers, who were struggling to understand their situation.

“Stay calm! W-we need to figure out what’s happening first. I’ll send out scouts—!”

“Blood Demon Senior Captain,” Teacher softly said.

A dozen demons, startled, fell silent. Then they looked at her, their teacher and leader, as if they had met an alien.

“Lady Heavenly Demon...?”

“Blood Demon Senior Captain.” Teacher gasped, her breath billowing in front of her. “It really is you.”

The silence was contagious. At first, it was only about ten people, but it spread to those around them by the dozens. Soon enough, hundreds of them had caught onto the mood. The snowfield was quiet.

“Moonlight Demon King...”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Ghostfire Demon King.”

“Yes, Lady Heavenly Demon.”

“Sword Demon Senior Captain...”

“I am at your service.”

Teacher called out to each of her followers one by one. The followers who were called simply knelt down without question, pressing the snow flat underneath their knees.

“I lost you...” Teacher reached out her hand. “I lost every single one of you...”

She caressed one of her follower’s cheeks. “My children... ... .”

Her fingers were trembling. Seeing her tremble, the demons quickly averted their gaze. It seemed that not seeing what they shouldn’t was a sign of loyalty. All of her followers turned their gazes to the ground.

Of course, they weren’t the only ones shocked.

“... Oh, my.” The old monk stroked his beard. “I’m sure I made my grave in the cave and crossed the river to the underworld, but I feel like I’m still in the snowfield, not nirvana...”

“M-monky!”

“... And there’s also a devil among them. Oh, boy. It looks like I’m fated to see that

person

even after my death. What is the Supreme Buddha trying to show me?”

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

“It is you, monky! You're as full of shit as ever.” The Murim Alliance's leader ran over and hugged the old monk tightly.

I could guess who that old monk was—he must be the abbot of the Shaolin Temple. Aside from Teacher and the leader of the Righteous Faction, he had lasted the longest.

“You came back to life, my friend!” the Murim Alliance's leader shouted.

“I’m not your friend.”

“Ah! The Jade Emperor must have blessed us with this miracle!”

“You sound like a dog eating grass,” the monk grumbled.

In other words, the Murim Alliance's leader was speaking bullshit.

“Don’t pollute my mind with your nonsense, you. I shouldn’t have fallen for your talk and fought those evil monsters in the first place. It would have been better to quietly enter Nirvana from the temple.”

“Ahhhh! I know you’re the monky I know because the joy of meeting you again is quickly dying. I really want to punch you in the face!” the Murim Alliance's leader answered with a smile.

The followers of the Heavenly Demon Cult were quiet, while the warriors of the Righteous Faction were noisy. They were each enjoying their reunion in their own way.

Time passed. The first one to turn her dark eyes to me was Teacher. We exchanged glances. My heart was being engraved on her heart.

“... I...” she began. “I am Soh Baekhyang, the heaven of the Heavenly Demon Cult. I also go by the name of Heavenly Demon.”

The Murim Alliance's leader paused his reunion with his comrades. After letting them go from his arms, he looked across the snow at Teacher. Teacher gave him the

bao quan

salute.

“If today is just a blind man’s dream, I would still be happy.”

It was midday.

“I wouldn’t mind even if it was a hallucination,” Teacher exclaimed, her voice mixed with laughter.

The snow blanketing the field wasn’t perpetual because it didn’t melt under the sun, it was eternal because new snow constantly fell to replace what the sun melted, over and over.

“Even if the Heavenly Demon Cult’s

murim

was just a fleeting daydream. Life belongs to those who decided to suffer from the same disease, and the world is owned by those who promised to share the same dream.”

When a human wanted to stay white under the blazing sunlight, wishing to be born white wasn’t enough. They had to be prepared to be broken into pieces, shattered, and scattered, dispersing their color across the world.

“I haven’t forgotten the name of the disease I decided to suffer from, and the heat of the dream I promised to dream yet remains the same. I haven’t given up on anyone or anywhere yet.

Whish!

The name of my disease, not that of my martial arts, is a testament to my existence. The heat of my dream is my proof, not my qi.”

Flurries of snow fell upon the field.

“I’m right here, and I’ll be myself only while I’m here.”

They melted, but more snow fell.

“I am where I belong. I challenge you for the 990th time.”

The field went quiet. Even the boisterous warriors of the Righteous Faction were silent.

These warriors were the last masters and grandmasters of

murim

. They had been fighting the great war until they met their end, so there was no way they would dare act rashly in this moment. If the words chosen at the last moment of life were a will, it was time for the Righteous Path to write their will. The path followers looked at the one who would carry their path’s will.

“I am Namgung Woon, the leader of the Martial Alliance and the Grand Patriarch of the Namgung Clan.” He gave Teacher the

bao quan

salute. “I also go by the name of Buwolseon/”

A thousand demons and a thousand warriors of the Righteous Path faced each other.

“Your Heavenly Demon Cult made the screams of the common people your doctrine. The screams have become revenge, and that revenge became massacres that stained the world red. The entire world bleeds, but you bloodthirsty, vengeful ghosts still act like the weak.”

The voice of the Murim Alliance's leader drew a sharp line between the demons and the white warriors.

“You all just cry and cry, clinging to the Heavenly Demon’s sleeves. You beg her to take your revenge in your place. It’s like you are trying to stay weak, tragic people by holding onto her sleeves!

“No!” the Righteous Faction’s old leader roared. “You all have hands and feet too. How much longer are you going to dwell on the ghosts of your past? Hwaeom[1] said that even a tree has to let go of its flowers in order to bear fruit. How about you? You are all just pawning off your flower gardens!”

The demons started growling. Their hands tightened around their swords. Their spirits became venomous and murderous. In response, the warriors of the Righteous faction bristled. Neither side had any qi, but the tension was thick.

“Good.” Teacher smirked. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Indeed.”

“Shall we fight until one of us is incapacitated or dead?”

“We shall fight until one of us is dead.”

“I accept.”

The Murim Alliance's leader nodded.

The two martial artists ended their salute.

At the same time, a thousand demons and another thousand white warriors drew their swords. With the sun high overhead, the two thousand blades shone brightly.

“Children of the demonic heaven!” Teacher clenched her fists. “You can believe that today is just a dream or an illusion!”

“Whish!”

all of the demons shouted together.

“You can call today an empty dream!”

“Whish!”

“So live like a dream!” Teacher yelled.

“Iwish!”

“Our hearts are candles!”

“We will burn this place!” her followers chanted.

“This is the Heavenly Demon Cult’s

murim

!”

“The world is owned by the grassroots!”

Teacher burst into laughter. “Kill them!”

The battle began. The demons ran, howling like beasts. No magical foot art or Lightness Art was used. They charged the enemy and bit them like animals, fighting their holy war according to their doctrine.

“You hypocrites! I am the Moonlight Demon King, the strongest of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s Four Demon Kings! Face my sword!”

“You seem to be my worthy opponent! I am the grandmaster of the Wudang Sect!”

The Moonlight Demon King, the senior captain of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s Deceased Shadow Unit, and the Profound Void Grandmaster of the Wudang Sect crossed blades. Despite their formal introduction, the fight was extremely savage. The demon king struck the grandmaster in the face with the hilt of his sword, scattering fragments of his teeth through the air.

The Profound Void Grandmaster bared his bloody, broken teeth and roared as he jammed his fingers into the Moonlight Demon King’ eyes. The demon king’s laughter drowned out the sound of his eyes bursting.

The grandmaster’s howls and the laughter of the demon blended together.

Another demon in black and a warrior in white confronted each other.

“I am the Ghostfire Demon King, the strongest of the Four Demon Kings. I’m here to take your head.”

“Namo Amitabha. My name is Jomyeong.”

The Ghostfire Demon King, the senior captain of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s Requiem Unit, and Zen Master Jomyeong, the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple.

“As the strongest of the Four Demon Kings, I’ll be merciful and let you make three attacks.”

“That is very polite of you to Buddhists! Don’t lose that respect!”

The zen master immediately pounced at the demon king, swinging his fist wrapped in his

japamala

[2].

Despite his words, the demon king instantly ducked and then sprang up, headbutting the zen master in the stomach.

Zen Master Jomyeong let out a groan and laughed dryly. “Didn’t you say that you would let me make three attacks before you make a move?”

“You believed that?”

“Did it look like I believed it?”

“Yes.”

A trickle of blood interrupted the Ghostfire Demon King.

“That’s how it looked.”

The demon king fell to his knees. His nose was broken after the fierce headbutt. Just before the demon king’s head hit, the zen master had thrown his knee up, intercepting the demon king’s attack.

Zen Master Jomyeong admired the Ghostfire Demon King’s bloodied face, happily stroking his beard. “I see that my acting skills haven't gone rusty.”

“You damn monk...”

“Take two more of my attacks!” The zen master grabbed the demon king by the ears and kneed him again.

The demon king took advantage of the situation to headbutt the zen master’s knee instead, smashing the cartilage with a meaty

crunch

. The zen master yelped and jumped up and down, holding onto his knee.

“Hahahahaha! These guys are basically thugs without their qi! This must be their true level after all! Good! Today is a good day to expose the Righteous Path bastards to the world!"

"... Vulgar. How vulgar..."

Two swordsmen—the Sword Demon King, the senior captain of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s Execution Unit and the Ten Thousand Chaotic Blossom Sword, elder of the Mount Hua Sect—were the next to clash.

As soon as their swords met, both of them screamed and clutched their hands. Neither of them could handle the impact of their strikes—however, neither of them let go of their swords.

The Sword Demon King laughed, baring his teeth. "Tsk... Stop acting tough and drop it already."

“I could say the same...” the Ten Thousand Chaotic Blossom Sword answered through gritted teeth.

When their eyes met, the two attacked again. This time, they held back their screams. The next time, they let a gasp slip out. On their third, their hands and shoulders began to tremble. Both of their hands were torn and bleeding. They bit down on their lips to endure the pain, but their lips bled like their palms—and still, neither let go of their swords.

The white uniform sleeves fluttered, and the hem of the black robes flew. Between the sun and the shadows it cast across the snow, the Righteous Faction and the Heavenly Demon Cult did battle, blood gushing all across the snowfield.

“This is the Heavenly Demon Cult’s

murim

! The world is owned by the grassroots!”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Die! Die!”

“You Moyong bastards. Come out here, now!”

The colorless world wasn’t being brought to life by brilliant martial arts—it was red human blood.

“Hah, haha... Hahaha.”

A particularly red laugh erupted from within.

“Hahahaha! Ha! Ha, ahahahahaha!”

It was the laughter of true madness.

“There are many of Righteous Path’s minions, aren’t there!” Teacher shouted. “Good. Come at me. Let us cross blades.”

A shadow ran wild between the Righteous Faction warriors. It seemed as if the sun rose and set dozens of times. She was a woman with no qi and had battled illness for three years, yet her movements stood out most among the martial artists who were also unable to use martial arts.

“Absurd!” Teacher laughed. “You, abbot of the Shaolin Temple, do you really think you could stop me with such cheap tricks? The same goes for you, sage of the Wudang Sect. Do you believe you can handle the karma of my cult?”

I was familiar with those words, but Teacher was speaking them for the first time.

“Mount Song is swamped with the world’s overflowing resentment. The burning rage razed Mount Wudang. The Heavenly Demon Cult is the heaven of the martial arts world, and I am the heaven of my cult. Are you truly qualified to discuss the sky above the sky!? You minions of the righteous path aren’t going to cut it!” Teacher roared.

“Namgung Woon!”

Even amid the sounds of clashing swords and crushing flesh, Teacher’s voice was clear.

“Call of the Grand Patriarch of the Namgung Clan! Bring me the Murim Alliance's leader! No matter how dense the forests are or how vast the sky is in

murim

, only one person in this world can take on my sword! My Four Demon Kings! Get Namgung Woon in front of me, immediately!”

The red laughter was ecstatic.

The Murim Alliance's leader took a step into the increasingly red world.

“This reminds me of the first day of the great war,” he remarked.

His top was off. It was a cold winter, and he had no qi, so the cold would be biting down to his very bones. However, he used it to stiffen his wire-thin muscles like armor.

“Because we couldn’t finish it on that day, the great war went on to the next day. Even on the next day, we weren’t able to see the end, so it extended another day. Now that I think of it, I got off on the wrong foot on the first day! I should have put all my power into it from the beginning.” The Murim Alliance's leader took a deep breath. Then he got into a stance and gestured at Teacher. “Attack, demon. The heavens are with me today.”

Buwolseon, the leader of the Murim Alliance.

“The heavens... Nice.” Teacher stepped through the snow. “That’s because the heavens decided to take you today.”

The Heavenly Demon, the heaven of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

On their first breath, the two glared at each other. After half a breath, they walked toward each other. When their breaths fell out of sync, the two made their moves.

The flurries of white snow whirled around flying black hair as red blood was scattered.

1. He’s a monk from Shilla, an ancient Korean kingdom. ☜

2. Buddhist prayer beads ☜