Main Text, Chapter Ninety: The Hundred Ghosts Night Parade Scroll

Battle challenges have existed since ancient times, though in modern times they are seldom heard of. Yet today, several hundred guests witnessed one with their own eyes.

What made it even more shocking was the name of the challenger: Master Kamiya, the foremost onmyoji of the Island Nation, holder of the Deputy Hall Master rank, a supreme expert on par with the third realm of a martial grandmaster, and number seven on the Divine Rankings.

Not being on the Divine Rankings does not mean one is not a master, but anyone who can place in the top ten is certainly no ordinary expert.

Thus, the moment everyone heard that the challenge had come from Master Kamiya, the hall erupted like a kettle boiling over, voices surging in a roar.

"Who delivered the challenge? Where is he?" Song Han asked.

"It was an Island Nation man. He stated his identity, then handed over the challenge letter and left," Song Qi said honestly.

"This is clearly a scheme to remove the ladder after the roof has been climbed," Song Han said with a cold laugh, turning to Jiang An. "Come, let's speak elsewhere."

When speaking privately with Jiang An, Song Han truly did not know how to address him. Grandmaster Jiang? Mister Jiang? Son-in-law? None of them felt quite right.

At that, Jiang An handed Xi Xi to Song Wanshuang, then followed Song Han to the rear courtyard. Seeing this, Song Chengzong went along as well, while Song Chengying hesitated for a moment and did not join them.

Inside a quiet room, Jiang An and the Song father and son took their seats.

"Master Kamiya really has no shame, challenging you as a great expert and not fearing the ridicule of the world," Song Han said contemptuously.

Battle challenges were usually issued between two people of similar standing and strength, or by someone of lower status toward someone of higher status. If the reverse were true, would it not be bullying the weak with the strong? And to issue such a challenge in front of so many people, with the messenger leaving immediately afterward, plainly meant to leave no room for refusal. It was nothing short of shameless.

"It seems the man I killed, Tsukamoto, was very important to Kamiya, especially given the place he chose. Very subtle," Jiang An said with a smile, speaking slowly.

Song Han and Song Chengzong both knew about this matter. Song Chengzong laughed and said, "What was it again? The land of Qi and Lu, by the Yellow Sea, beside Goryeo. Isn't that just the place in China closest to Goryeo? I remember it being called Great Lone Reef. It looks like that Goryeo man, Cao Taihuan, also had a hand in this. I hear he dotes greatly on his disciple Han Mincan. It seems this time he also wants trouble with you. Heh, Mister Jiang, will you accept the challenge or not?"

None of those present was a fool. With just a few words, they had already laid the situation bare. Jiang An did not answer Song Chengzong directly, but instead asked, "I do not know much about Master Kamiya and Cao Taihuan. Could the eldest young master tell me more?"

To know oneself and know one's enemy is to win a hundred battles. Jiang An intended to make full use of every resource available to him.

"No problem. Let's start with Cao Taihuan. If I remember correctly, he is already past sixty, yet still has not stepped into the third realm of the martial grandmaster. In terms of strength, you surely need not fear him; in fact, you may even be half a step stronger. But this man has the typical Goryeo temperament: viciously narrow-minded and willing to use any underhanded trick without a shred of shame. Still, if you're careful, he should not be too troublesome to deal with. The real issue is Master Kamiya. The title of the Island Nation's foremost onmyoji is no empty boast, and the strength of number seven on the Divine Rankings is likewise no mere decoration. He is over ninety years old and has been famous for decades. What frightens people most is that he possesses a Hundred Demons Night Walk Chart. Rumor has it that when he unleashes his full power, a hundred demons emerge at once, giving him strength comparable to the first place on the Divine Rankings. On this point, Father would surely know better."

Song Chengzong was intimately familiar with all the renowned grandmasters of the world, and so he explained everything to Jiang An.

Song Han also nodded and said, "This man's last public fight was at the Divine Way Assembly twenty years ago. Back then, he was ranked third on the Divine Rankings, and his Hundred Demons Night Walk Chart had not yet gathered a full hundred demons, yet his strength was already terrifying. He did not attend the Divine Way Assembly ten years ago, so his ranking was pushed down by other experts to seventh place, but no one would ever dare question his strength. Twenty years have passed. Even if he did not break through into the realm of a great grandmaster, his cultivation must have advanced further, and the Hundred Demons Chart must surely have gathered its full hundred demons by now. To be honest, even though I am in the third realm myself, if I were to face that old monster, my chances of victory would be no more than one or two in ten."

"A Hundred Demons Night Walk Chart? Is it really that powerful?" Jiang An asked with some curiosity.

"It is exactly that powerful," Song Chengzong said with a bitter smile. "The onmyoji of the Island Nation are a branch of Shinto. They are a major force on par with the ninja sect and the Buddhist sect, and are famed worldwide for their art of exorcising spirits and commanding spirits. Their methods are arcane and unfathomable, and they like to drive evil ghosts into battle. You have fought Tsukamoto before, so you should have some understanding. Through nurturing and refining, these evil ghosts can continuously grow in strength. Once they reach the realm of spirit-human unity, they are called shikigami, and can bear some of the grace of a great grandmaster's armor techniques. Their power can be imagined. As for the Hundred Demons Night Walk Chart, it is a treasured relic of the onmyoji lineage, also a kind of magical artifact. Most of the evil ghosts within it are worldly ghosts artificially created by man, each three parts fiercer than ordinary evil ghosts..."

With Song Chengzong's detailed explanation, Jiang An gained a general understanding of Master Kamiya's strength.

The first and second realms of a martial grandmaster are the refinement of essence into qi. The next step is refining qi into spirit. If successful, one enters the third realm, where the sea of the spirit opens and spiritual sense is born. When spiritual sense combines with radiant qi, it becomes indestructible and all-pervasive true qi armor.

When a great expert of the third realm pours out his true qi, a layer of protective true qi will form around his body. Depending on the nature of the cultivation art, this protective armor may appear in different colors and shapes, like a coat worn outside the body. It is commonly called true qi vestments. With this layer of armor, even if a first or second realm grandmaster attacks repeatedly, it remains completely unscathed. This is the defining manifestation of the third realm of a martial grandmaster.

The next realm after a third realm expert is that of a great grandmaster, also called an innate expert. Cultivation deepens further, spiritual sense expands further, and one can communicate with the outside world. Thus, in battle, the true qi vestments receive the infusion and reinforcement of the world's primal energy, and their might multiplies geometrically. Their volume expands dozens of times and becomes fully materialized, enveloping the person entirely, as though one had climbed inside a giant suit of armor. Every gesture then carries the force of heaven and earth, like an ancient giant who could move mountains and fill seas with ease. This phenomenon is called true qi armor, and its grandeur utterly surpasses the imagination of ordinary people.

And yet the shikigami of an onmyoji deputy hall master could, in advance of a whole realm, achieve the state of true qi armor, even if it possessed only a fraction of the real thing's power. As for the Hundred Demons Night Walk Chart, it was even more sinister and cruel. Half of the magical artifact was made up of ordinary evil ghosts, while the other half consisted of worldly evil ghosts. These were created by tattooing secret curse-ghost diagrams onto living people, such as gangsters who had spent their lives in bloody strife, lowly prostitutes used at others' whim, or miserable, filthy beggars wandering the streets in hardship. The ghost diagrams would follow these people through the darkness and filth of the mortal world, absorbing all manner of negative energy. Then, through all kinds of cruel methods, those people would be killed, releasing immense resentment and forming a different kind of evil ghost, known as a worldly evil ghost. With such a treasure in hand, and shikigami endlessly at his command, Kamiya's combat power was terrifying even to imagine.

"Very well. I have decided to accept Master Kamiya's challenge!" Jiang An told the Song father and son.

"I'll call you younger brother as well, then. Since you have not yet reached the strength of the third realm, you can absolutely refuse Kamiya's challenge. After all, no one would laugh at you," Song Chengzong urged.

"Since others have already come to challenge me at my door, I have no reason to ignore it," Jiang An said in an unshakable tone. "Besides, there are still more than two months left, aren't there?"

The second day of the second lunar month, the Dragon Raises Its Head, was indeed an auspicious date. But what could one do with more than two months? Song Han and Song Chengzong only took Jiang An's words as a small joke and did not take them seriously.

What a joke. Which of the others had not been trapped at a bottleneck for ten or even several dozen years? Even a genius like Xing Zi had been stuck at the final step for a full five years before finally advancing into the third realm. Two months? That was hardly any time at all. What use could it possibly be?

However, since Jiang An had already made up his mind, the Song father and son could not change anything. After a moment of thought, Song Han said, "Then this way: in a couple of days, I will go with you to the headquarters of the Guardian Manor."

Jiang An's expression shifted. He had already intended to make a trip to the headquarters of the Guardian Manor to report in. He said, "Is that what Patriarch Song means?"

"Nothing special. First, I'll show you the way and pay a visit to some old friends. Second, it's also for the Song family's matter. Don't forget, today's farce was thanks to the King Dynasty. I will not forget it!" Song Han's eyes held a chilling killing intent. Anyone would want to kill after such a spectacle on the day of their own grand birthday celebration. It was an utter disgrace.

Jiang An understood his meaning. The King Dynasty organization was mysterious beyond measure. Though no one knew what they were plotting for the Song family's spiritual crimson jade this time, the grudge had certainly become immense. If this hatred was not repaid, where would the Song family's face be? And when it came to dealing with the King Dynasty, the Guardian Manor had by far the most intelligence and the most experience!

So Jiang An did not refuse Song Han's suggestion. Then, suddenly remembering something, he said:

"May I be so bold as to ask one thing? The Song family surely does not have only one great expert, does it?"