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Chapter : 27
My Fortuitous Encounter Is a Status Window (27)
Encounter with the Asura
— Fweeeee—
Under the cloudless sky of the vast grassland, a hawk spread its wings wide and glided.
Normally, it would be the apex predator here, with nothing to fear.
The king of the sky—soaring leisurely above, snatching up larks or sparrows and swooping down on rabbits or other small animals.
But in nature, there is no such thing as “absolute.”
— Wuuuuung!
— Twhack!
A golden force bullet shot up at terrifying speed and struck the flying hawk right in the head.
“Brother! Direct hit!”
“Kuhaha! As if I’d ever miss!”
The hawk, its head blown apart, began to fall lifelessly.
Just before the corpse hit the ground at full speed—
Hye-gong caught it in the air with Telekinetic Seizing and stopped it cold.
Preventing the meat from being smashed into pulp when it hit the ground.
“Let’s have a look. Now then…”
Hye-gong approached the headless hawk hanging frozen in the air and grabbed the torso.
Its heart was still beating—an unsettling sight.
“It’s way bigger than a chicken or duck?”
“That’s why it’s a raptor.”
It was three or four times the size of a chicken—if you counted the wings, even bigger.
“Tastes no different from chicken.”
“Heheh. You’ve walked the path of Buddhism, but there’s no meat you haven’t eaten, is there?”
“Buddha ate meat too, idiot.”
“Uh… is there evidence of that?”
“He taught us not to kill—not not to eat meat.”
“But killing is… already…”
“Kuhaha! Which is why we’ve already broken the precepts, haven’t we? Stop nitpicking, brat.”
Before I realized it, Hye-gong had come up beside me and was tapping my head, laughing.
Non-killing.
For a martial artist? Impossible.
The moment one joins Shaolin, that rule is already broken.
Even Bodhidharma violated non-killing, didn’t he?
Meaningless. Heh.
“I’ll get it cleaned and ready.”
“Good.”
Butchering duty always fell to me.
I took out my dagger, plucked the hawk clean, cut up the meat, and portioned it neatly.
Hye-gong lit a fire with Samadhi True Flame and set up iron skewers in a tripod.
We worked like clockwork.
— Sizzle sizzle—
Hawk meat roasted deliciously on the skewer.
We each grabbed a leg and started tearing into it.
“Dan-cheon.”
“Yes?”
“Blood scent’s starting to spread.”
Blood scent?
Did I butcher it wrong?
No… I drained it clean.
“Did I fail to remove the gamey smell? It’s my first time with a raptor—”
“No. Human blood scent, I mean.”
“Ah…!”
“And killing intent. And that foul aura unique to those accursed monks.”
We didn’t know our exact location.
Just guessed we were somewhere northeast of Khara Khorin in the northern plains.
We crossed the Great Wall, trekked two more months from Xilin Gol in Inner Mongolia—
So reaching the North Sea was due any time.
The journey had been peaceful so far.
Thanks to Hye-gong’s extraordinary senses, he detected Mongol tribes from afar.
Unnecessary encounters were avoided.
We skirted around every settlement.
The grasslands were vast—easy enough to avoid contact if you chose to.
But perhaps peace was ending now.
“Prepare yourself. They might have laid vile traps across the land.”
“The ground, sir?”
“Among those monks, a few use formations.”
“Formations—like battlefield strategy generals use?”
“That too. But monks have formations that summon illusions—or cast curses.”
Illusions? Curses?
Ugh. Nasty bastards…
No wonder Brother hates them.
Curses? I thought that stuff was folklore.
The only “curse” I knew was making straw dolls and stabbing them with needles.
Somehow I doubt monks use anything that cheap.
“We’ll probably encounter them tomorrow. Steel your heart.”
“Yes, Brother.”
Tomorrow.
My stomach fluttered.
I’ve fought bandits, fought martial artists—
But monks?
Illusions? Curses? Just hearing it gives me chills. Heh.
‘I’ll smash their skulls with palm force before they try any bullshit.’
Doesn’t sound complicated.
Before they curse, I close in and break their heads.
And if that fails?
Brother can handle it.
He’s a grandmaster, after all. Heh.
This mission? No sweat.
It literally says “Cooperating ally: Hye-gong.”
Even if he kills everything himself, it’ll count as a success.
Easy as cold porridge. Heh.
“Brother! Have some of this thigh rump meat—it’s fatty and delicious.”
The meat connecting thigh and torso.
The fattiest, tastiest part of any bird.
Normally my favorite?
But today, I’ll yield.
Hye-gong chuckled and took the crispy roasted piece.
He chewed with gusto.
“Kuhaha! Delicious!”
“Of course! I cooked it with care.”
“Good. On the way back from slitting Jurtagen’s throat, we’ll catch another hawk.”
“I’d love that.”
Yes.
This Jurtagen or whatever—
We’ll take him out.
Eat hawk meat again, safe and sound, Brother.
“Wh-what is… this…”
“They’ve drained them of blood.”
The day after the hawk roast—
What awaited us on our northwest route were shriveled corpses.
Not ordinary corpses.
Like burnt-out ashes.
Grey, shriveled fragments scattered everywhere.
Barely recognizable as human from their faint remaining shapes and scraps of clothing.
“Looks like they drained them this morning.”
Hye-gong examined the bodies and estimated the time.
“How can you tell?”
“Eyes, body temperature, and more. Hard to be exact since the serum’s gone, but close enough.”
Incredible.
Two hundred years alive isn’t for decoration.
He knows everything.
“They’re leaving a thick blood trail. We just follow it.”
“Yes.”
That blood scent he’d been sniffing since yesterday—
Today even I could detect it.
Metallic, nauseating, putrid—
Far worse than fishy stink.
Hye-gong suddenly accelerated.
I followed with my Arhat Steps.
“I’ll pick up the pace.”
“Yes, Brother!”
We had always kept a relaxed pace—
But now, apparently wanting to catch them, he truly ran.
“—!!”
He shot ahead instantly.
Shrinking Earth Step.
The legendary movement technique that folds ground beneath your feet—seeing it for real.
Each stride warped the air, and he shot forward like a bullet.
‘I can’t keep up!’
No way.
A completely different realm of speed.
But I tried anyway.
I ran until my lungs burned and bile rose up.
— Vrooooom… woooong…
After chasing the blood scent for an hour—
I heard a familiar sound.
“Graaaghhh!”
Men in black-and-red clothes were being pierced through by golden force bullets and collapsing.
Dozens already dead.
‘Status Window.’
[Objective: Kill 72 Blood Sect Monks]
[(Cooperative Ally: Hye-gong)]
[Time Remaining: 291 Days 18 Hours]
[Reward: Beast-Clearing Elixir x1]
[Failure: Stage 4 spinal cancer metastasis (liver, lungs, heart)]
He’d already butchered a ton.
I sprinted forward to do something—
— Woooong—Wooooooong—
Dozens of force bullets shot into the sky like a fountain, then rained down like lightning, boring through the skulls of fleeing Blood Sect monks.
“Gyahhhh!”
Screams from everywhere.
This wasn’t a battle.
It was a massacre.
“You’re here?”
“Hahh… hahh… Yes… Brother.”
I finally stood beside him.
The green prairie was painted red with Blood Sect corpses.
But not all were dead.
“You! Do you know who we are, to dare this?!”
Directly ahead—
One man in a black mask still stood alive.
He clutched multiple red vials—the blood serum, no doubt.
“I kept him alive. Thought he’d suit you.”
“What? Oh…!”
No wonder.
He was right in front of him, untouched.
Clothes cleaner than the rest—likely the leader.
“Dan-cheon.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“Experience makes a master.”
Message received loud and clear.
He wants me to go one-on-one.
He saved the guy as my practice dummy.
“The monks fight differently from martial artists. You’ll run into more of them. Best you learn now.”
“Yes, Brother.”
I’m grateful.
To gain experience under Brother’s protection—rare chance.
“Martial artists, eh? Central Plains scum daring to cause havoc up here? You must have a death wish!”
The masked man slowly backed off, fingers twitching.
“He’s going to run. Attack now!”
Hye-gong’s voice rang in my skull.
Transmission of sound through internal energy—only top experts use it.
Hundred-Step Divine Fist, White Dragon Emerges.
I fired a palm-force blast the moment I heard him.
Target: center of the monk’s chest!
A spiral of energy was loaded and launched.
He flinched and tried to dodge—saw nothing leave my hand so tried to bolt—
— THWAP!
But the shockwave flew invisible and slammed square into his back.
“Gyaaaah!”
— Grrrrrrk—
“……!!”
Then I saw something insane.
The shredded wound on his back liquefied—turning into a pool of blood, swelling, bubbling—
And his body collapsed into a red liquid mass!
“What—what the hell!”
In seconds, his human shape vanished—nothing but fluid.
Then it split into six blobs and slithered in all directions!
What the f***!?
Am I dreaming?!
A person turned into WHAT!?
Speechless.
Couldn’t believe my eyes.
“Dan-cheon! Get a grip! Go left and catch at least one yourself!”
“Ah—yes! Brother!”
His roar snapped me awake.
Left? That one!
One blob slithered like a snake across the ground.
No clue how to “catch” it—but—
Chase first.
Arhat Steps activated.
“You blood-wad bastard!”
Thankfully, it wasn’t fast.
Six or seven steps, and I was on it.
Burst it.
If I detonated palm force inside the blob, maybe I could blast it to bits.
If it didn’t work, I’d think of something else.
And it’s slow, so plenty of time.
Hundred-Step Divine Fist—White Dragon Emerges!
This time—not piercing—detonate!
— THOOOMP!
The blast hit the slithering blood blob—
And exploded.
— Splatter—splatter—splatter
Chunks of blood sprayed everywhere.
Thankfully, they didn’t regroup.
Looked dead for real.
“Well done.”
Hye-gong was suddenly beside me.
The other blobs? Gone—he must’ve finished them.
“What… was that?”
“Those who defy the laws of heaven and earth.”
— CRACK!
He stepped on a still-twitching blood scrap.
“They call themselves ascetics—but they are Asura.”
Asura.
In Buddhism—demons who delight in war and bloodshed.
He was right.
They are demons.
Even in victory—my skin crawled.
They weren’t strong.
But—
My intuition screamed louder than ever.
These were small fry.
Just trash mobs.
At the North Sea…
The true Asura Path awaits us.
