Drip. Drip.

A bark-like boil trickled down. It was the only sound in the eerily silent shop.

It felt like a scene straight out of a ghost story. Chilling to the bone.

“…Your Presence Detection has reached its peak.”

The Buddha statue murmured with a smile. Or rather, should I call her by her true identity now?

“How bizarre.”

“To me, you seem the more bizarre one.”

Lee Taebaek snapped back out of habit, and Hyemyeong recoiled in shock. The black primordial poison that had rimmed his eyes had mostly drained away.

Just the Staff Master’s arrival had cleanly cured his qi deviation. As expected, mad dogs need a good beating.

Anyway.

Hyemyeong was no longer on Lee Taebaek’s radar. What he needed to focus on now was…

“It’s alright, my child.”

“Gr-Grand Abbot-!”

“Even if that one is a scoundrel, can he compare to the nail you’ve driven into my heart?”

“…Th-that is…!”

“How could base greed make you forget yourself? When I first saw you, you were a pure child without a shred of desire… Have you been blinded by the immense halo of Shaolin?”

“I-I just wanted to be a disciple you could be proud of, Grand Abbot…”

“My child, you have always been my pride and joy. But seeing you lost to qi deviation, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed for the first time.”

“…”

…That this Buddha statue, who appeared endlessly serene, was one of the three strongest in the city.

The Grand Abbot of Shaolin. A being who had been the world’s greatest before the current Heavenly Demon appeared.

I expected overwhelming pressure.

Whether pretending to be the statue before or now, the Staff Master’s fighting spirit felt endlessly mild.

If he hadn’t activated [Bullet Time] during the fight with Hyemyeong and sharpened his [Agility] and [Presence Detection] to a fine edge, he never would have noticed.

What was it like? The Staff Master was like a flower bud.

An odd metaphor for a person, but her calm presence evoked a bud at dawn.

Serene.

The kind of serenity that might shed a single tear of morning dew if a scops owl alighted and pecked at it.

The Art Master dominated the area with fighting spirit.

The Heavenly Demon sliced souls with overwhelming might.

And the Staff Master? Nothing at all.

Void, or perhaps clarity of mind.

That didn’t mean her presence itself was empty. Empty, thus full… Just thinking about it gave him a headache, like some profound philosophical treatise.

Either way, she was extraordinarily unique even among the Ten Wings.

Which makes her all the more terrifying.

Because she was utterly unpredictable.

Moreover, Lee Taebaek’s hand had barely touched the Staff Master’s creation. As he’d said repeatedly, his expertise was strictly boss leveling design.

Though black company life meant he got saddled with miscellaneous tasks too.

In any case.

The point was, the Staff Master was a character not conceived as a ‘Raken’s boss’.

He’d deliberately set her position ambiguously. Neither ally nor enemy—a gray zone.

Heaven above, heaven below, I alone am supreme.

The Staff Master embodied the words supposedly uttered by that sage who laid Buddhism’s foundation as he toddled forth at birth.

An eccentric who moved solely by personal whim.

…Please kill me, Grand Abbot.

“My child. How could I harm you, who walk the path of Buddha with me?”

The Staff Master soothed Hyemyeong in a faint voice. The fragments had mostly fallen away, revealing her bare face.

Not the sort of thing to say to a nun, but…

Even compared to the beauties he’d met so far, she held her own.

The Art Master’s beauty was flashy, like an idol’s. But the Staff Master’s was different.

A subtle mystical aura amplified her allure.

“Atone through practice.”

Her slender fingers lifted Hyemyeong’s chin. Meeting her gaze, he immediately burst into tears.

Suddenly, he began to cry like a child. They said emotions of one gripped by qi deviation were like a torrent. Hard to rein in.

That aside…

The apology’s supposed to be to me. So why are they putting on a full melodrama show?’

Wasn’t that the proper order? He’d been summoned, punched in reprimand, then treated like air, and now these two were filming a tearjerker.

“Isn’t that total hypocrisy?”

“…When did you get here, Jasbi?”

“Right after the fight seemed over.”

Jasbi poked her head out from between his legs and answered. If there was a king of scoundrels, it’d be her.

Though separate from her annoying traits, she was right this time.

“The Staff Master character was always like that…”

“Yeah. Religious folks are all hypocrites. Selling hypocrisy to make a living—that’s what cults do, right?”

Our Jasbi sure knew how to spit from a lying position.

Swish.

As the two bantered, attention finally turned their way. Hyemyeong brightened eagerly. The Art Master… wore that ambiguous smile, sneer or not.

Talk about awkward.

Just being one of the Three Calamities was mentally oppressive. Add moral ambiguity, and tension spiked naturally.

“First time meeting, young lady.”

Let’s set aside her way of speaking.

But he had to address the elephant.

“…I’m a man.”

“My apologies. With all those around me being women, it became a habit. No offense. Though your features are refined enough to easily confuse.”

“…”

Ha, hahaha.

Who knew a weirder one than the Heavenly Demon would appear? He’d overlooked Raken’s vastness.

Jasbi sensed it too, shuddering with goosebumps.

She climbed Lee Taebaek’s back like a centipede and whispered in his ear.

“She’s a total psychopath. Worse than you, Creator. In a different way, even more extreme.”

Agreed.

After treating her guest like trash, she pins her own slip-up on him. Truly top-tier personality.

“Her speech is weird too.”

Freely mixing casual and formal. What a quirky character. Who worked on her?

Team Leader Seo!

Sigh…

An eccentric had made it, so a legendary weirdo was born. Lee Taebaek swallowed his rising sigh and spoke.

“I don’t indulge in chit-chat.”

“Nor do I.”

“Get to the point.”

Hyemyeong’s pupils quivered.

Fine to brush him aside, but standing tall before the Three Calamities?

Idiot or resolute? Either way, extraordinary.

“I came wondering why you handed an outsider like me the Divine Pill. From your speech, it doesn’t seem pure goodwill.”

“Does it make sense to give away a Divine Pill like that out of charity? Even if it’s crap-tier.”

Word choice was killer.

“…”

“What’s that look?”

“Continue.”

The Staff Master twitched her lips.

Everyone knew. She was crazy.

“The Divine Pill is practically Shaolin’s foundation. Even I only barely tasted it.”

Vulgar.

Zero gravitas as one of the Three Calamities.

“No need for me to explain what handing it to you means.”

“And if I refuse?”

“That’s solely your judgment. I merely presented the option.”

The Staff Master approached step by step. Each footfall echoed with a crystalline chime, like ripples spreading.

What? Auditory hallucination?

But blink, and illusion swapped with reality.

Grass scent, sunlight glinting off leaves, brook splitting into streams.

Immersive realism. Lee Taebaek had been forcibly relocated to some mountain valley.

Essentially kidnapped. But admiration came before displeasure.

“Didn’t know Shaolin’s Grand Abbot was versed in Cyber Space too.”

No less than the illusion arts of the Illusion Master, the Right Luminary of Kergel Magic Tower who was crushed by the Heavenly Demon.

“Just a hobby.”

“At this level, it’s beyond hobby.”

“Is it?”

That was all she said. Then she stepped forward onto the grass, heading somewhere. Lee Taebaek followed silently.

After a long walk that soaked his back with sweat…

“Do you know where this is, young friend?”

The Staff Master asked without turning. Lee Taebaek wiped his sweat with the back of his hand and replied.

“Central Plains.”

“Sharp eye. Been there?”

“No. But lived right next door.”

“Ah. So that’s your homeland.”

“Yeah.”

“Just so you know, no need to worry about that little one.”

Right. He’d left Jasbi behind.

“Even with that defrocked monk?”

“Hyemyeong likes children. Having a rough childhood himself, he’s especially kind to them.”

Before the fight, he’d given Jasbi a chance to flee. Fragmentary, but enough to see Hyemyeong wasn’t pure evil.

That was in his inner demon state. Everyday conduct needed no proof. In Lake City, such character was rare. The Staff Master hadn’t harshly rebuked him due to his nature.

“Figured as much.”

Only then did the Staff Master turn to him as he nodded.

“Surprising. Thought you’d hold a grudge right after fighting.”

“I do. But I don’t like judging people through colored glasses for it.”

“Even though Hyemyeong harbored killing intent toward you.”

Lee Taebaek parried smoothly.

“Intent that never became action. Plus, Shaolin martial arts strictly avoid killing.”

“Hmm.”

With that odd hum, the Staff Master quickened her pace.

Where’s she taking me?’

He feigned calm, but his mind raced.

Three Calamities warranted compliance, but tripping in Cyber Space could mean death. Seven Masters were one thing; Three Calamities another level. He’d experienced it firsthand via the Art Master.

If I absolutely had to rank the Three Calamities, the Staff Master edged out the Art Master. She rivaled the Heavenly Demon. No offense to the Art Master, but she was small fry in the city.

Rustle, rustle.

As weeds tickled his ankles, Lee Taebaek wrinkled his nose. It was because of the metallic tang.

“Blood smell…”

As if entranced, he overtook the Staff Master. As he tried to brush past her…

Grab.

His shoulder was seized. He whipped around before glimpsing ahead.

Shake, shake.

She shook her head, eyes pointing to his feet. A cliff gaped right there.

“Look over there.”

She released his hand. Swallowing, Lee Taebaek nodded.

Easy to spot: a basin cradled by mountains, thick with blood mist like boiling in hell’s cauldron.

He perked his ears. Faint groans swelled. They were desperate pleas for mercy.

“─────!”

Astoundingly, the ones pleading were Jianghu folk. Orthodox factions at that. People who wouldn’t kneel even in death, now groveling.

A silhouette pierced the blood mist. It was a presence learned through the skin.

“Heavenly Demon.”

She slowly raised her hand, then slammed it down like crushing a can. Instantly, the trapped Jianghu folk shredded. Down to molecular level, roughly.

Not massacre—torture. He’d seen something like it online. Searching would’ve flagged it 19+…

“Lingchi using Formless Sword.”

The Staff Master drew level with him. She stared blankly at the slaughter, then shifted gaze.

“Now you understand why I gave you the Divine Pill?”

Oh, he did.

Consume the Divine Pill and grow strong.

Or else the one boiled in that pot will be none other than you, Lee Taebaek.