Chapter 155
Punisher Asura.
It was the first time I’d heard the title, but it certainly sounded fierce.
At the same time, I could now understand the blind hostility Gakjeong had shown toward my killing intent.
If he’d earned a nickname like that, he must have lived a rather intense life in his youth.
And if he had once been chosen as the head abbot of Shaolin, that explained the flawless techniques he had demonstrated.
Still...
“I really have no idea who he is.”
I was aware that even the current abbot of Shaolin was quite old.
So how could I possibly know a former abbot who was active before I was even born?
Naturally, all eyes turned to the eldest person present. “W-what’s with those looks?”
It seemed the others were thinking the same. Both Tang Sowol and Seol Lihyang turned to look silently at Seorin.
Pressed by their sparkling eyes, Seorin let out a deep sigh.
“Hoo… Very well. This One has indeed heard of the nickname Punisher Asura. But I do not know much beyond that.”
“That’s more than enough.”
“Hmph. Why do I feel like you all expect less from me than others?”
Seorin narrowed her eyes, looking annoyed.
An unjust accusation.
“We don’t know a thing, so even a rumor from Senior Seorin is good enough.”
“Truly?”
“Of course! Though you’ve spent most of your life secluded in Jiangxi and only recently began traveling again, and even if the information you have is a bit outdated, making the occasional generation gap unavoidable… it’s nothing to worry about.”
“Kuhk!”
Seorin clutched her chest as if mortally wounded.
Tang Sowol giggled and patted her on the back.
“Oh, come on, Sister Hwarin. If anything, that just means you can experience all sorts of things with us now.”
“Things… together…?”
“Yes. Things you might have done at our age if you'd lived an ordinary life. Like saving a merchant caravan from bandits, as we did recently.”
“Hm. Indeed, This One has lived solely for vengeance for so long that I have little experience in the usual affairs of the martial world.”
“Or experiencing how it feels to be treated as a righteous martial artist instead of a demonic one. Back when you were called the White-Haired Rakshasa, you wouldn’t have been able to approach Shaolin Temple, would you?”
“That’s true. Even if not outright attacked, I would not have been welcomed, so there was no reason to come. But now… it’s different.”
Seorin gazed at the gate of Shaolin Temple with a fresh, emotional expression.
Tang Sowol leaned closer and whispered into her ear.
“There’s also… romance, you know.”
“Th-that’s not something we should be doing together, is it?! What’s wrong with kids these days…!”
With a red face, Seorin jumped in place in flustered denial.
Her reaction, sounding like an old grandma, made Tang Sowol burst out laughing.
“Ahaha! I was joking. Now, why don’t we return to what you were saying? What rumors did you hear?”
“Sigh, I will. But shouldn’t we finish what we came here for first?”
Seorin pointed behind us.
The gatekeeper monk stood there quietly, his bald head glinting in the sun, clearly flustered that we had said nothing of our business after showing him a former abbot’s relic and instead were chatting away.
Well, I guess it would be awkward to interrupt.
I nodded and got back to the matter at hand.
“We wish to tour Shaolin Temple. Monk Gakjeong said this statue would grant us access.”
“If you were alone, that would be no issue. But due to our precepts, I cannot give an immediate answer regarding the others. Would you wait a moment?”
“Of course.”
The gatekeeper offered a short bow and turned to leave the gate to another monk as he headed up the long staircase.
I watched him go, then turned back to Seorin.
“Seems it’ll take a little time. How about you tell us your ‘ancient tale’ in the meantime?”
“Don’t call it ancient! It was only—”
She began counting on her fingers, then trailed off.
She glanced at the next oldest among us—Tang Sowol, who was only twenty-three—and pouted.
“Long, long ago, back when This One still held naive fantasies about the martial world… Punisher Asura was already the abbot of Shaolin. Unlike most abbots, he was known for his ruthlessly decisive actions.”
Finally giving in, she began to speak like a storyteller recounting a legend.
Tapping her chin with her fingers, she gazed off into the distance, recalling the past.
“Despite being called decisive, he wasn’t someone who attacked all evildoers without exception. He would strike them down first, yes, but always offered them a chance to repent and start a new life.”
“And I suppose most took that offer?”
“Indeed. With their lives in his hands, what else could they do? He always tried to reform them… but only once.”
“Meaning…?”
“If they broke their promise, he wouldn’t even listen to excuses. He would destroy them. During those chaotic days when the conflict between the Orthodox and Unorthodox peaked, many lost their heads.”
This was just before my generation, when the Black Lotus Sect Leader was still a child.
At that time, there was no organization like the Black Lotus Sect to unify the demonic path, so clashes between the orthodox and unorthodox factions happened everywhere.
It was an era of deep chaos—and one where many opportunists thrived off others’ suffering.
But also a time when many famous martial artists rose to prominence.
Punisher Asura was one of them.
“Though he only gave one chance to each person, his willingness to offer that chance to anyone made him a role model among Buddhist disciples. But the fact that he shed so much blood, even that of villains, made people say he was no mere monk, but an Asura. He was one of the most controversial top masters of his time.”
“He sounds impressive… but wasn’t he too violent to be made abbot?”
“Normally, you'd be right, Hyang. But it was an age of chaos—sects and clans were constantly being wiped out and rebuilt. More than a flawless man worthy of reverence, they needed someone powerful who upheld Buddhist duty.”
Even Shaolin couldn’t ignore the importance of strength at the time.
A single misstep could’ve led to annihilation—or at the very least, a long closure in disgrace.
In such a time, Punisher Asura was the perfect person to lead Shaolin.
“Shaolin, being the center of orthodox martial arts, was targeted multiple times…But each time, Punisher Asura resolved the threat personally.”
“…Then how did someone like that lose his inner energy?”
If he had been one of the top Flowering Stage martial artists of his time, why did he end up risking his life against mere Green Forest bandits?
Just as a sigh was about to escape me—
“I’ll explain that as we walk to the main temple.”
The voice didn’t come from Seorin, but from the top of the stairs.
I turned to see a middle-aged monk, wearing a yellow Shaolin robe like the others but with an orange outer robe slanted over one shoulder.
He radiated the calm, upright presence unique to Buddhist masters—and a level of cultivation I could not yet approach.
He was undoubtedly a Flowering Stage martial artist.
He let out a deep sigh on our behalf and lifted the jade Buddha we had brought.
“I am Jeonghyeon. Are you the ones who brought this?”
“Master Jeonghyeon… You’re the abbot of Shaolin?”
Tang Sowol’s eyes widened as she clasped her hands and bowed.
“I, Tang Sowol of the Sichuan Tang Clan, greet the abbot of Shaolin. Yes, we received that statue from Monk Gakjeong… or rather, the former abbot.”
“Hm. So it was indeed from Master Gakjeong.”
So that’s why everyone was so surprised—he was the current abbot.
If I recalled correctly, his nickname was Divine Monk—the opposite of the fearsome Punisher Asura.
Seol Lihyang and I belatedly offered respectful bows, while Seorin, whose cultivation was on par with the abbot’s, simply nodded politely.
To my surprise, Abbot Jeonghyeon returned the greeting with equal respect, bowing with joined palms to each of us.
“Welcome. Thank you for bringing word of my master.”
He looked a bit younger than expected, but everything else about him fit the image of a perfect monk.
Given his level, he was probably much older than he looked.
“Shaolin is traditionally closed to women, but this situation is an exception. As Master said, it is our disciples who lack discipline, not the guests.”
“Thank you.”
I hadn’t expected the gatekeeper to bring back the abbot himself.
Judging by the slightly stunned look on his face, I don’t think he had expected it either.
I gave the monk a small nod of thanks and followed the abbot up the temple steps.
“Sir benefactor, is my master well?”
“Too energetic, if anything.”
“Pardon?”
As I explained the events with Gakjeong, Abbot Jeonghyeon burst out laughing.
“Haha! I truly can’t tell if my master is lucky or unlucky.
He snuck out against our advice, got into trouble with Green Forest Bandits, got saved by you, then mistook you for an enemy and fainted over and over for four days—but still returned safely to Songshan.”
“Just to clarify—I didn’t repeatedly knock him out out of malice.”
“I understand. Though he lost his inner energy and aged, he once possessed martial arts so advanced that they’re still among the greatest in Shaolin history. If you had held back carelessly, you might’ve been the one in danger.”
“That’s exactly right.”
“If you’re at a stage where your senses are just beginning to open, that’s how anyone would respond—don’t worry. Even my master said he was the one who felt sorry. How could I possibly punish you for that? There’s no reason, no justification, and no need. You can rest easy.”
“…However, there is one thing that troubles me.”
“What is it?”
“Why was my master so fixated on you? In his prime, as Punisher Asura, he was resolute and ruthless. Now, he’s not nearly so extreme…”
“I can’t say for sure, but… I think he mistook my killing intent for something else.”
“Killing intent…?”
Abbot Jeonghyeon’s brow furrowed.
He paused and let out a long sigh.
“I see. That’s what it was. He said it wasn’t anyone’s fault… and yet he still held onto it in his heart…”
His voice was quiet, his expression heavy.
After another sigh, he resumed climbing the stairs.
“Earlier, you asked why my master—once strong enough to be called Punisher Asura—lost his inner energy. I’ll tell you now.”
Whether he was gazing up the steep steps ahead or the sky above, I couldn’t tell.
“My master killed the Heaven-Slaughter Star… and then shattered his own dantian.”
“…What?”
“And that Heaven-Slaughter Star… was my junior brother.
Another disciple of my master.”
That explained why Gakjeong reacted almost violently to my killing intent.