Chapter 35: The front of the Yangtze's waves goes blah blah blah
In any normal culture, cannibalism was taboo. Even in ancient China, it was the same. It was so taboo that one of the most severe punishments was to kill a criminal and feed their flesh to their family.
However, there was no culture that didn't practice cannibalism.When people were starving, and when the moment came to choose between survival and dignity.
But this was shameful. So shameful that no one could bear to speak of it.
Among them, there was a man who knew no shame.
The Demonic Cannibal was such a man.
Among humans, there were always those who did things no one else dared to do—just to prove their superiority.
While there were plenty of nutritious, delicious foods available, he chose to eat tough, foul-smelling human flesh.
"I did what you cannot."
"That makes me superior."
The Demonic Cannibal was in the Transcendent Realm with a twisted desire for recognition, solely wanting to be superior to others.
And to become even more superior, he learned a forbiden Demonic Art.
Soon, the world would face the Flame Fiend, an even more vicious villain than the Demonic Cannibal.
But someone directly challenged the authority built on blood and resentment.
A voice—young, sharp, and utterly fearless.
It was a move that had properly scratched his pride.
The scratched Demonic Cannibal lost his mind.
"WHICH BITCH IS IT? WHO DARES?"
“My lord, no! It’s an ambu—”
The underlings didn't even have time to stop him.
His blood-red beard bristled with rage as he kicked off the ground.
With a deafening boom, the wooden floor where he had stood caved in.
One of his men feebly reached out a hand.
"Ambush... I prepared an ambush..."
The underling's head flashed back to all the hardships they had gone through.
Digging the ground, hiding Jiangshi among family members, practicing retreat and counterattack by district, and rolling around with the slogan of annihilation in one battle.
The underling shook his head and gave the order.
"What are you doing?! Our Lord Cannibal is leading the charge!"
Bok Haeun, who had been driving the bandits toward the main house after a rough landing, also heard the outrageous provocation.
It was hard to even think about, the miserable insults that he wouldn't even say to his enemies, but the target was the problem.
Demonic Cannibal? Why is the Demonic Cannibal here?
But then, the tightly closed gates of the main house were smashed with a roar.
Truly an overwhelming presence.
The advance of the bandits stopped awkwardly.
A very large figure appeared, both vertically and horizontally.
Red aura surged around him.
It was the realm where killing intent materialized and became visible.
The stage where the heart moved and the energy moved by itself.
It was clear who it was.
"Demonic Cannibal!"
Bok Haeun scream bordered on a shriek.
It's not something you can just say, "Why are you here?" and move on.
Not when the evil Demonic Cannibal was Transcendent Realm.
“WHICH BITCH WAS IT?! HOW DARE YOU?! I WON’T JUST KILL YOU—I’LL SLAUGHTER YOUR ENTIRE LINEAGE! I’LL TURN YOUR BONES INTO PICKLED FLESH AND FEED IT TO YOUR CORPSES UNTIL THEY BURST!”
"Damn, you REALLY love to eat! Maybe you should stop eating for once! Your stomach is about to burst! Really!"
With giggling laughter, Qing's figure fell between the bandits and the Demonic Cannibal.
“Greetings, senior! This student of Murim, Ximen Qing pays you the utmost respects!”
“Y-you… you little…!”
"You're going to collapse from high blood pressure before we even fight! What are you doing! Come on! One-on-one!"
"GRAAHH!" [1]
GAL??
DID HE REALLY JUST YELL ‘GAL’?!
It wasn't just something that came out of humor posts!
Qing almost laughed in disbelief.
But there was no time–
The Demonic Cannibal's log-like feet rose.
Qing shouted.
"HOLD UP!"
It was such an perfect moment that the Demonic Cannibal faltered for a moment.
It was then.
Tak tak tak tak tak. Five light landing sounds.
Five children appeared behind Qing.
“Alright, let’s go! WITH MY MOONLIGHT SWORD!”
With newfound confidence, Qing charged.
The Demonic Cannibal, with a mixture of anger and bewilderment, rapidly approached.
The presence felt behind her back was reassuring.
Qing refreshingly raised her sword.
The stolen, ill-gotten energy of corrupt martial techniques flowed into it.[2]
The sword energy, tinged with the color of sunset by the power of the Nourishing True Soul Sutra, fell, leaving a long, vertical afterimage.
Her sword descended. Like Mount Tai itself crushing down,
It was the only move that her Master had praised for having some semblance of an image. Which… basically meant it was the only one she didn’t suck at.
The Demonic Cannibal's hands turned red.
A mere girl in the Peak Realm, dares?!
Sword energy and demonic flesh collided.
Clang! A huge sound, the clash of qi and sword energy shook the battlefield.
Unable to overcome the difference in level, Qing flew through the air.
The Demonic Cannibal's heavy body leaped up and chased after her trajectory.
Qing hurriedly turned her body around.
The giant fatty was right in front of her nose. Blood-Red hands rose.
Qing reached far behind her waist.
But the difference in realm was clear.
The Demonic Cannibal's arms started to fall first.
At that moment, Tang!
Three children jumped up and blocked the Demonic Cannibal's attack.
Qing grinned, she hadn't relied on her own abilities from the start.
"I knew you had my back! I'm counting on you!"
Qing pushed her sword.
Without any technique, it was a thrust with all her might.
A flawless strike with the sword, straight at the Demonic Cannibal's heart-
For a split second—
It seemed like she had won.
At that moment, the Demonic Cannibal's hand grabbed the blade.
"Too bad, girl. If it weren't for my Divine Art, it would have worked."
Originally, there was a rule in Murim that those who possessed Demonic Arts wouldn't call them Demonic Arts even if they died.
When the Demonic Cannibal said Divine Art, he was naturally referring to the Flame Demonic Art.
Qing didn't know anything anyway, but the Flame Demonic Art was originally a martial art derived from the White Hand Demonic Art.
Originally, it was a complex concept, but to simplify it, it was an edition made by reversing yin and yang, so its effects were similar.
For example, like the refinement below the elbow.
With the Flame Demonic Art at 80% completion and the Transcendent Realm added, a even a sword wreathed in sword energy was no better than a wooden club.
This was the fear of a renowned Demonic Art.
It was the reason why people learned it despite the risk of becoming a public enemy of Murim.
“Ah. So this doesn’t work, huh.”
The Demonic Cannibal yanked Qing's sword.
The other arm had already finished charging a Flaming Palm.
A swordsman never lets go of their sword, even in death!
Qing unhesitatingly let go of her sword.
Well, guess I’m not a swordsman then.
The Demonic Cannibal's eyes flashed.
With the nuisance girl momentarily retreating, he decided to deal with the brats first.
His flame-infused hand, dripping with poisonous demonic energy, swung down at one of the small ones.
He expected the body to explode and scatter, but...
Clang! With the sound of hitting iron, the child bounced five times on the ground and fell far away.
The Demonic Cannibal was surprised. It's a Jiangshi! Why?!
His gaze flickered as he frantically scanned the battlefield.
He found Eon Yeonyeong's face among the bandits. Using a secret transmission technique, he sent a whisper into her ears—a skill only advanced masters could perform.
["What is the meaning of this?! Why is the Jiangshi attacking me?!"]
A technique to protect a small whisper with qi and strike it into the opponent's ear.
It was a method used when a conversation was needed in secret.
This method was called sound transmission.
Eon Yeonyeong's reply flew in.
["Strictly speaking, they’re not attacking you. They’re simply protecting Lady Ximen."]
["Does that sound like a goddamn excuse?! Why the hell are they protecting this miserable wench?!"]
["Ah. That’s a personal matter, you see? And we’re not exactly close enough to be sharing personal affairs, are we?"]
["Tch. So what if the cult leader favors you for your talent in making Jiangshi? Do you really think you can break the rules and get away with it?"]
["Hmm. Who knows?"]
Eon Yeonyeong just gave a troubled smile.
The Cult Leader was someone who could be replaced without much effort. He was stupid and greedy, so he was easy to handle, that's why she kept him around.
Eon Yeonyeong suppressed her sneer and sent a telepathic message.
["Lady Ximen is rather... difficult to manage. Would you mind keeping her occupied until she tires out? You should be capable of at least that, right?"]
["What a load of bullsh—Kh!"]
The Demonic Cannibal, who was about to answer, hurriedly waved his hand.
It was because Qing had charged again.
By now, she had realized something— If she played by the rules, she was going to lose.
Moreover, the Jiangshi only defended.
She had to land the fatal blow herself, but due to the difference in realm, that wasn't easy either.
Master, what should your disciple do?
Qing recalled her conversation with her Master.
'Master, what if the enemy is like, a super-duper expert?'
'Then you run away, of course. What else can you do?'
'What if I can't run away?'
'If it's an opponent you must fight...'
Wear them down.
Once their dantian is empty, Transcendent Realm or whatever is meaningless, so you have to somehow endure and deplete their internal qi.
Of course, this was impossible in a one-on-one fight.
Because the expert has more internal energy, and even its efficiency is better, so if you fight normally, the expert's dantian will never be empty first.
'Then what?'
'You should do something you're good at.'
'Something I'm good at?'
'Driving people insane'
Make him lose his temper.
Her movement technique was practically a cheat code, almost a divine skill in its own right.
If she enraged her opponent, made him reckless, and focused purely on dodging—
She might just have a chance.
That was Qing's specialty.
But it was strangely embarrassing to do it on purpose.
It's a bit awkward to shout with a clear mind.
Originally, songs are better when you've had a bit of alcohol.
Qing's bullshitting was the same principle.
It comes out well when you're pissed off or your mind is a bit fuzzy.
Or when you're excited.
She needed to be covered in blood, pull out intestines and hang them around her neck, and feel the bones snapping in her hands.
That's how she gets excited and the true sound comes out from the depths of her dantian.
But doing it on purpose felt... strangely embarrassing.
Shouting things like this with a straight face? Seriously?
So Qing spoke just loud enough for the Demonic Cannibal to hear.
To everyone else, it simply looked like fearless determination.
But... the sound that actually came out every time she clashed and dodged was like this.
"Hey, pig bastard. You're called the Demonic Cannibal, but how much do you have to eat to become like that? Honestly, tell me. I think your boobs are bigger than mine."
"..."
The Demonic Cannibal counted to ten.
That Jiangshi-making bitch was a key member of the conference.
In the first place, the entire cause was impossible without Jiangshi.
Since it was her request...
"Wait, wait, wait. Since you’re a cannibal, does that mean you boil, roast, and steam your food too?"
"..."
"Hey, so do you drink your own bathwater? Bet you make some rich, hearty broth."
"……"
"Wow. Respect. If someone said this shit to me, I’d have killed them already. You got a thing for verbal abuse or what? Where’s the rage? C’mon, give me a real insult!"
"..."
"Ever heard of like cures like? If your eyes are bad, eat some eyeballs. If your liver’s weak, eat some liver.
Since you lack humanity, is that why you eat people?"
"……"
"Oh, wait—then you should eat more old folks! Since you never had parents, you should start making up for it, right?"
"AAAAAAARRRGGGHH!!! I’LL KILL YOU!!! I’LL RIP YOU APART!!!"
Finally—
He snapped.
- [1] This references a common meme in Korean internet culture.
In Korean martial arts or fantasy novels, some characters—especially villains—let out dramatic, exaggerated exclamations when enraged or attacking. "갈!" (pronounced Gal!) is a nonsense battle cry that sometimes appears in these genres. It’s often used as a parody or joke to mock characters who shout random syllables while fighting.
The humor here comes from Qing’s reaction:
- Surprise – "Did he really just say that?"
- Recognition – "Wait... this actually happens outside of joke posts?"
In other words, Qing is having a meta moment, realizing that a cliché battle cry from comedic internet posts has just actually happened in real life.
This nuance got a little lost in translation because English doesn’t have an equivalent random syllable that carries the same meme-like connotation. ^
- [2] She 'cheated' though the sytem, thats why its corrupt. ^
