Chapter 53. The Matchup is Wrong.

As I ate, I often glanced at Hongxin and Jinhai. I was curious if they were enjoying their meal and if the food went down their throats easily when we ate together.

Hongxin and Jinhai ate as if they were digging into the ground.

Some people work all day just for this one meal, and I was curious about the mindset with which these two, who had thrown themselves into the Jianghu, were eating.

However, I didn't ask them directly.

Because it might just end up being a meaningless daily meal.

I didn't eat as much as Jinhai, who was eating a lot, but I praised the servants' cooking and ate aggressively like a soldier on the battlefield.

"This is delicious, and that is delicious, everything is delicious."

"Indeed."

Hongxin's appetite was also formidable, as he had recovered from his diarrhea.

I didn't know what each of us was thinking, but we three finished the meal prepared by the servants very neatly.

A moment later, we three were just breathing heavily, as if a war had just ended.

'What a bunch of pigs...'

Hongxin asked curiously.

"What do you plan to do now, Senior Brother?"

"I have to fight Bai Yu, but it's a meaningless task for me."

I'm planning to kill the Great Abbot; what would I do as a Divine Executioner?

"Recite the evil deeds of the Great Abbot that you know. For some reason, I feel like my martial arts skills will improve if I hear them."

Hongxin replied.

"Your martial arts skills will improve if you hear evil deeds? Why is that?"

I glanced at Hongxin and replied.

"To fight well, you need to put emotion into it. You need to get so angry that you're almost mad."

"You might make a mistake in that state."

"In that state, you consciously splash cold water on yourself. When you get excited, you think, 'I'm going to lose. I need to calm down.' You place the emotion of anger at the bottom of your heart and cover it with a frozen blanket for a moment. Let ice and fire coexist in your heart, just as extreme yang and extreme yin harmonize."

Jinhai asked with a puzzled look.

"Have you also mastered extreme yin martial arts?"

I don't know why my stomach always drops when this rich kid asks questions. He's the son of a merchant, so he has to have more connections than anyone else.

I replied, just in case.

"No? I really want to learn, but I haven't had the chance yet. Do you know any good methods?"

Jinhai said.

"Extreme yin martial arts are rare. What I know is..."

I listened intently as I looked at Jinhai.

"A woman who was once the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Demon Sect founded the Jade Transformation Palace independently. It was composed entirely of women, all of whom had mastered Ice Arts, and the palace head was particularly outstanding, making it quite powerful. After the Heavenly Demon Sect resolved its complex power struggles, one of its first actions was to destroy the independent Jade Transformation Palace. The Jade Transformation Palace sought help from the righteous path, and the forces that responded advanced to Jade Transformation Mountain, forming the Jade Transformation Righteous Path Alliance. This alliance clashed with the Heavenly Demon Sect about twenty years ago."

Oh?

Coincidentally, this story is from around the time I was born, so I naturally don't know it. No waiter would explain such Jianghu history to me kindly.

"Then?"

"Both sides suffered heavy losses, but the Heavenly Demon Sect won. The Jade Transformation Palace was engulfed in flames, and the righteous path retreated. There were survivors, who, fearing being taken as Holy Maidens, married into various forces that had participated in the Jade Transformation Righteous Path Alliance. The lineage of Jade Transformation Ice Arts didn't break. It's not a beautiful story. Some disciples entered as concubines to lose their qualifications as Holy Maidens."

From what I know, the Bright Left Seat is a collateral figure.

I asked the most important question.

"Is there any famous person from that lineage?"

"Not yet. They must be thoroughly hiding their Ice Arts. They caused significant damage to the righteous path and would be considered traitors' children by the Heavenly Demon Sect."

So, the Bright Left Seat is a traitor's child who joined the demonic sect?

From the demonic sect's perspective, the return of the Holy Maiden's descendants and Ice Arts would be significant, so they wouldn't have turned away the applicant.

The Bright Left Seat, then, is a bastard born to a concubine, a descendant of a traitor, and a successor of the Jade Transformation Palace, which caused great harm to the righteous path.

He would receive harsh glares from the righteous path and be treated as a traitor by the demonic sect.

At home, he would be treated as a bastard, so it's no wonder he grew up in an environment that twisted his personality.

He was a very isolated and problematic figure.

However, whether he is twisted or not, I don't intend to let him do his perverted deeds again. He was in his late twenties when he started harassing women and faced public condemnation, so he hasn't started his perverted activities yet.

I have to kill the Great Abbot, stop his perverted deeds, and avoid the previous Great Demon.

I thought it would be a thrilling and busy time.

This is why Jianghu people need to be strong.

If I am weak, I can't kill the Great Abbot, the pervert will harass women, and the previous Great Demon will take me to see the fish in Zhejiang.

Damn fish, turtles, and sea fishing.

Watching a monk go sea fishing makes you ponder the origin of all things. I wanted to hear the fish in Zhejiang, smell the flowers of Huashan, or see the Great Peng, but I would rather ask him to recite Buddhist scriptures. Each time, the previous Great Demon would repeat that he was a broken monk and had forgotten the scriptures.

"Senior Sister, Junior Brother."

"Yes, Senior Brother."

"You need to get stronger. There's nothing more miserable in the Jianghu than being weak. Do you two know what kind of fish live in the front sea of Zhejiang?"

"No idea."

"What difference would there be?"

Just as I was about to tell them an unbelievable story, the hall door opened, and Xiaojunping appeared.

"Master, the Yellow Ox, White Rat, Black Ox, and Red Sheep Deputies are outside."

"Out of the blue? Did I get caught?"

"Not yet."

"Troops?"

"Only the Deputies came."

I asked Jinhai for his opinion on what was happening.

"Why did they come?"

Jinhai replied.

"Perhaps Deputy Bai Yu is coming. The others might be here to watch the Divine Executioner competition."

"Let's go out."

I said to Jinhai and Hongxin, who were getting up.

"You two don't have masks, so wait a bit and mix in with my subordinates to watch."

"Understood."

* * *

The yellow ox, black ox, white rat, and red sheep gathered and chatted, making it look like a masked play.

As I appeared wearing a black cat mask, the four of them simultaneously saluted.

"Senior Brother Miao."

"Long time no see."

There was no tension in their voices. I thought Bai Yu must be coming. Then, one of them sneered.

"Will one of the Divine Executioner seats change today? I'm looking forward to it."

I ignored his taunt and said to Xiaojunping.

"Don't rush in. Stand like a mountain."

"Isn't Master stronger than Deputy Bai Yu?"

He was implying that there was no need for me to step in.

I looked at the relaxed Deputies and replied.

"It doesn't seem like that. Just remember that."

"Understood."

Everyone was wearing masks, so I couldn't read their expressions. A moment later, a Deputy with a white mask and a rooster comb pattern landed on the wall.

The four who were greeting me casually bowed formally to Bai Yu.

"Senior Brother Bai Yu."

Bai Yu waved his hand and ordered the four.

"Clear the center."

As people scattered, the competition area was naturally secured.

Bai Yu sat on the wall and said to me.

"Junior Brother Miao, how have you been?"

I replied briefly.

"Fine. How about you, Senior Brother Rooster?"

"Nothing much."

Seeing Bai Yu sit on the wall, I was sure that more visitors were coming.

My subordinates from the Black Cat Sect took their positions behind me, and the Deputies gathered around the inner courtyard wall.

Then, someone must have taken the position on the opposite wall.

Xiaojunping seemed to notice.

"Are all the Divine Executioners here?"

"Seems so."

A moment later, Bai Ren, Qing Jin, and Chisha, who had a greater presence than Bai Yu, arrived almost simultaneously and took their positions on the wall.

It looked like they were securing a good viewing spot or monitoring to prevent anyone from escaping.

In any case, all twelve Deputies who were still alive had gathered.

The Deputies were busy greeting each other as the Divine Executioners appeared, but the Divine Executioners either ignored them or nodded slightly.

I didn't greet the Divine Executioners and focused on the front.

The main gate of the Black Cat Sect creaked open, followed by the outer courtyard gate. As the inner courtyard gate opened, my view extended straight down the central road. It seemed the attendants had come earlier to open the gates.

A gaunt man with black hair suddenly appeared at the main gate.

His hair was long and messy, and his right sleeve flapped in the wind, indicating his right arm was missing.

His face had many small wrinkles.

He had thick lips, prominent cheekbones, and carp-like eyes, with a bulging forehead.

Overall, he looked oily, but his eyes were sharp.

It was hard to tell if he was wise or foolish at first glance, but his stubbornness was evident.

He looked to be at least fifty.

He walked in like a large, black beetle.

As the Great Abbot entered the inner courtyard, all twelve Deputies bowed.

"Master."

I, being polite, saluted and then relaxed.

The attendant who followed offered a chair, but the Great Abbot sat down without looking at it.

The Great Abbot, focusing on me, said.

"I'm bored. Fight."

"Understood."

I answered and descended the dais. Bai Yu, who was scheduled to fight, stood up from the wall.

The Great Abbot said to Bai Yu.

"Fourth."

"Yes, Master."

The Great Abbot shook his head and said.

"You can't handle this opponent. Sit down."

Bai Yu cleared his throat and sat back on the wall.

Meanwhile, I stood in the center of the inner courtyard, staring at the Great Abbot. The Great Abbot pointed at me and said.

"The matchup is wrong. Bai Ren."

"Yes."

"Qing Jin."

"Yes, Master."

"Chisha... all three, fight him at the same time. This should be more interesting."

The three, receiving the Great Abbot's order, descended to the center of the inner courtyard without any hesitation.

The Great Abbot, in a hoarse voice, said.

"Today, the fifth, whose martial arts skills have greatly improved, will fight the three Divine Executioners simultaneously. The competition is a life-or-death match, so either kill or be killed. Other disciples are not to interfere."

I couldn't help but be impressed by the Great Abbot's words.

This cunning old Jianghu figure.

I don't know how he detected the situation and arrived, but he took the form of coming to resolve internal issues. He quickly surrounded the area and even moved personally, which was appropriate. Coincidentally, both of us used the phrase "greatly improved," which was quite impressive.

I raised my hand to object.

"Master?"

The Great Abbot didn't ignore me.

"Yes. Our fifth. What do you have to say, shameless one?"

I politely clasped my hands and replied.

"The matchup is a bit wrong."

"Is that so? Should I reduce one? Or add Bai Yu? Choose what you like."

I raised my voice.

"Damn. Tsk."

"..."

This time, I spoke in a lecturing tone.

"That's not it. If it's a life-or-death match, Master should come out personally. Old man, you're not making sense. It's annoying."

Silence filled the air.

The atmosphere was so quiet that I looked around in my black cat mask.

No one made a sound.

I shrugged and laughed alone. It was a bit awkward without anyone laughing with me, but I thought it was important to laugh when it was funny, so I laughed as long as I could. Eventually, I laughed half-heartedly and said to the Great Abbot.

"You got me. It was fun."

I gave the Great Abbot a wink.