Master of Kaidan
Chapter 99: The Path to Kaidan

Chapter 99: Chapter 99: The Path to Kaidan

Hearing Feng Xue bring up Kaidan, Old Li’s voice grew a bit weathered—

"Whether it’s Anomalies or rumors, in the end, they amount to nothing. Given some time, the influence they’ve manufactured will gradually fade away. But Kaidan is different—it has become a cultural symbol. If you can embed your existence into a region or even a country’s culture, becoming common knowledge that is universally recognized within a certain area and does not fade with the passage of time, then you have become a Kaidan. At that point, your label will integrate further and be sublimated into a more powerful form, known as a ’Kaidan entry.’ Of course, I’ve only heard about this; I don’t know the specifics."

"Hmm, like the ’Hanako of the toilet’ kind of thing?" Feng Xue, finding Old Li’s somewhat evasive explanation, couldn’t help but recall the nearly household Kaidan legend of the Eastern Country.

"Exactly, or like the school’s ’Seven Mysteries,’ the mummy that chases tomb raiders, the old lady in purple who tails cars, and so on. Essentially, it’s when there’s a question ’What is xx?’ and someone says, ’How can you not know about that?’—that’s when it qualifies as a Kaidan."

"However, I’ve never heard of the old lady in purple who tails cars." Feng Xue muttered inwardly, thinking it might be a Kaidan unique to this world or perhaps one specific to Old Li’s hometown.

But he didn’t dwell too much on that matter, instead, he began to ponder in secrecy.

With his own situation, he definitely couldn’t escape rumors with Jeston and Chen Xiyao as two anchors. As for Anomalies, he might still be lacking in strength. If he had a bit more time and there weren’t those law enforcement baiters, relying on the legend of the Ambulance Demon, he might have reached the standard of an Anomaly.

As for Kaidan...

Merely listening to it, it seemed like it would take a considerable amount of time. However, if the Golden Bell Shield could be popularized in Yan Country, he himself might become a legend akin to "Martial Arts Ancestor" or "Preacher," embedding into the Kaidan that "everyone in Yan Country knows martial arts."

"Chen Xiyao, you’ve got to give it your all! Whether I’ll become a Kaidan depends on you! Don’t hold back on the Golden Bell Shield! No, should I be worried about Columbia’s unreliable delivery service instead? I remember before my crossing, even masks were being stolen from the mail..."

While Feng Xue suddenly began to fret, Old Li on the other hand didn’t think too much about it, or maybe he did but didn’t show it, simply continuing:

"Actually, to become a Kaidan, the Eastern Country is the most fitting. That place is a paradise for Kaidan, and residential areas started thriving with just a door leading to the Eastern Country. Compared to other countries, it’s much easier to become a Kaidan there."

"The prosperous land of Kaidan, huh?" Feng Xue grinned, taking note of the Eastern Country, known for its "Kaidan culture," and then posed a question he had always been curious about:

"You said that both Anomalies and rumors are essentially nothing when approaching the realm of Kaidan, so what brings about this realm of Kaidan? Or rather, after becoming a Kaidan, are there any specific changes?"

"I actually do know a bit about that." Old Li’s voice took on a hint of pride:

"If you became a Kaidan, you would form a particular set of rules. As long as those rules are fulfilled, you’d be able to travel to the real world without relying on a door. I have a friend who, by a stroke of luck, condensed a Kaidan entry called ’The Dog Thief Gāzi.’ As long as there are people watching TV, and the TV shows a character named ’Gāzi,’ nicknamed ’Gāzi,’ or portrays an individual called ’Gāzi,’ and that family happens to have a dog, he can appear in their home and steal the dog..."

"..." Feng Xue curled his lips, initially wanting to say that the current timeline of the real world probably didn’t have this meme, but considering that the memes of this world might share only similar names with those of his world, the content not necessarily the same, so he changed his angle of sarcasm and said:

"You’re talking about this friend, it’s you isn’t it?"

"Cough cough cough..." Old Lee suddenly started to cough, but he still managed to avoid a direct answer, instead changing the subject:

"Anyway, Kaidan, those things aren’t necessarily reliable. Some anomalies may become Kaidan in a short time, but once the heat dies down, they could still be forgotten. Take, for example, the dog-stealing kid. As the frequency of people calling him ’kid’ on TV decreases, the chances that he would appear under those rules will also reduce."

"So the one stealing dogs was really you, huh?" Feng Xue’s mouth curved slightly in amusement, understanding somewhat why Old Lee knew so much.

She had previously felt that the "Street Urchin" label didn’t seem like something Infinite City would distribute. Now it looked as if it may have come from his years posing as a Kaidan to make money selling dogs?

Shaking her head, she no longer dwelled on this nonsensical Kaidan, but she couldn’t help but think about the relationship between memes and Kaidan. Considering the timeline in the real world, many famous memes hadn’t appeared yet. Could she become a Kaidan by creating new memes quickly?

Although such a Kaidan might be weaker than a true Kaidan, and its power unstable, becoming a Kaidan first would grant her the ability to travel freely to the real world. She could then think about how to solidify a more durable and tenacious legend.

However...

"Can a single ’Infinite’ have multiple ’Kaidan entries’?"

Yes, that was the central issue. If not, then this whole plan was nothing but a death wish.

Old Lee, hearing Feng Xue’s question, showed no surprise. Instead, he took a few quick breaths, struggling to keep his composure, but soon regained control and spoke with his usually flippant tone:

"That’s definitely not a problem. There are Kaidan who play both the role of a toilet Hanako and a slit-mouthed woman at the same time. However, you should be careful not to touch those long-established Kaidan until you have enough power."

"What do you mean?" Feng Xue didn’t quite understand what Old Lee meant, but he quickly explained:

"Some Kaidan have been around for a long time, so just by imitating them, you can quickly become a Kaidan. For example, if you’re a woman, you could cut your own mouth and walk around with a mask at midnight asking people, ’Am I pretty?’ Before long, you could earn the ’Slit-mouthed Woman’ Kaidan entry. But this approach itself has significant risks."

Here, Old Lee intentionally paused, but seeing that Feng Xue did not ask further, he seemed somewhat worried and continued to caution her:

"Don’t underestimate these risks. Theoretically, every famous Kaidan has an ’Ancestor’ position. Even if there wasn’t an inherent Kaidan at that moment, those playing the role are siphoning off that Kaidan’s ’Identity.’ As the Kaidan gets more defined, the position of the Ancestor Kaidan comes to life. Then, either the Ancestor Kaidan resurrects, killing all the impostors sharing its ’Identity’ and becoming the one and only Kaidan, or the impostors will fight among themselves for the sole throne. Like in the Eastern Country, where every so often, a bunch of toilet Hanakos will fight each other for the one true throne, and then a few years later, a new group of toilet Hanakos will pop up..."

"No, wait, why does your plot remind me of a certain kind of adult manga?"