Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Heavenly Realm

Lee Gwang rose again from his mental shock after about a fortnight had passed. During that time, having barely touched food, Lee Gwang was gaunt and hollow-cheeked, his face etched with more wrinkles than before. But his eyes burned brightly, filled with unwavering resolve.

"I act for the Thunder God School, not for personal gain! Therefore, I have no regrets."

Lee Gwang shouted as if affirming it to himself.

"I'm sorry for worrying you all. Now, I'll do what I must."

"What do you plan to do?"

"I'll persuade Beom Gyun and Jeong Yun-bo once more."

Everyone looked at Lee Gwang with concern at his words.

"They're not the type to be persuaded at all!"

"Don't worry. I'll convince them."

In any case, it was good that Lee Gwang had his drive back. We took him once more via the flying ship to the manor where Beom Gyun lived. Beom Gyun, seeing Lee Gwang return, cried out in disgust.

"You... you leech! Get lost!"

"Beom Gyun. You're inferior."

"...?!"

How could he suddenly insult the man like that!

When flattery or coaxing would have been in order, what was this hardline approach? We all stared at Lee Gwang in shock, but he continued expressionlessly.

"From the moment we first entered the Thunder God School, you've always been beneath me. Isn't that right?"

"Eek."

"Only Jeong Yun-bo could ever match me. You've never once beaten me in a spar."

Flames ignited in Beom Gyun's eyes. But he couldn't deny Lee Gwang's words, which rang true. After grinding his teeth for a moment, Beom Gyun spoke.

"So what? I know your martial arts are stronger, but what do you want from me now? You want to beat me to death with that superior skill of yours?"

"No."

Lee Gwang chuckled softly and said,

"It's because your life is pathetic."

"...!!"

"Our master's murder and the shame we carry— control's the same for all three of us. But there's a coward named Mo-ji who flees to Anbin Nakdo out of fear of even drawing a blade against our enemy... As a fellow Thunder God School disciple, it's embarrassing. And to think a worm like you is my peer!"

"Wha..."

As Beom Gyun faltered, Lee Gwang drew his spear. Fierce intent gathered along its length.

"I won't kill you. I'll just remind you of your pathetic state."

Ta-dat!

The moment his words ended, Lee Gwang charged at Beom Gyun. Astonishingly, in that short time, he had grasped the basics of Wudang's Seven Great Ultimate Arts and the Annihilation Soul Step— standard elements were evident in his movements.

Beom Gyun was no pushover either. The instant Lee Gwang lunged, he countered with Orchid Shake, disrupting the thrust in a flash before unleashing the Six Yi spear forms in rapid offense and defense.

'They said he nearly became the North's Greatest Spear— impressive indeed.'

Beom Gyun had also reached the transcendent realm. Though pushed back now, he was holding his own against Lee Gwang— a feat few in the martial world could match. Moreover, the spear mastery in his Orchid Chain was at a master's level.

But around the fifth exchange, Lee Gwang twisted into a variation, piercing Beom Gyun's defenses in an instant. A white flash grazed Beom Gyun's temple, draining the color from his face. Then Lee Gwang's front kick slammed into his solar plexus.

Kwang!

Sent flying by the force, Beom Gyun hastily steadied himself— but by then, Lee Gwang's savage thrusts rained down relentlessly. Beom Gyun blocked desperately, but it was too late; in fewer than ten exchanges, the spear tip rested against his throat. One more inch, and his life would end.

Victory was decided in under a hundred exchanges.

Lee Gwang said,

"You'll never beat me in your lifetime. Live with that and die."

He withdrew his spear with a flick and turned away. Staring at Lee Gwang's back, Beom Gyun collapsed to his knees, trembling.

"Ku... kuuuk..."

Then Beom Gyun bellowed.

"I won't accept this!!"

Lee Gwang halted abruptly.

"What won't you accept?"

"What you just used wasn't pure Thunder God School martial arts!! You mixed in another sect's ultimate techniques, didn't you?!"

"Right. I used Zhang Sanfeng's Seven Great Ultimate Arts."

"Huh!"

Lee Gwang sneered at the stunned Beom Gyun.

"I'll keep advancing from here. Meanwhile, you'll end your days as the lord of this wretched manor. Live happily, Beom Gyun."

"Eek! Eek! Kraaaah!!"

Trembling and roaring, Beom Gyun ground his teeth and said,

"No! I won't accept it!"

"So what won't you accept?"

"If I'd learned those Seven Great Ultimate Arts too, I'd be your equal— no, superior. You coward!"

"Hoo... Is that so?"

"Yes!!"

Lee Gwang grinned.

"Then what if I taught you?"

"..."

Beom Gyun's eyes widened. Stammering, he said,

"Y-you mean it?"

"Yes."

"That supreme ultimate art... to me too..."

"Don't get the wrong idea."

Lee Gwang cut him off coldly with a sneer.

"No matter what you learn, you'll always be beneath me. I'm teaching you just to prove that."

"..."

Beom Gyun fell silent, at a loss for words, but soon bowed his head.

"I'll join you as a comrade and return to the White Lotus Cult. Teach me."

"Good."

No matter how much he pursued Anbin Nakdo, his core was that of a Thunder God School warrior. And as Lee Gwang's peer, he harbored decades of pent-up inferiority. In that moment, the desire to surpass Lee Gwang through supreme arts overrode his shame.

Watching the scene, I pitied Beom Gyun and was speechless.

'What a... fucked-up personality...'

Lee Gwang was truly a bastard. Instead of soothing or flattering, he thoroughly demeaned and belittled, stoking rivalry! He'd succeeded in provoking and drawing Beom Gyun in, but at the cost of crushing the man's lifelong pride. Such a tactic was beyond ordinary minds— and even knowing it, no one could replicate it. It was a matter of character.

Next, we sought Jeong Yun-bo. As we knocked on Eom Soong's mansion gates, no one opened— instead, guards poured out from within. From the main hall above, Eom Soong bellowed.

"Damn it! Kill those bastards!!"

"Waaaahh!!"

The guards were mostly former imperial elites, well-equipped, with some notable experts mixed in. He'd clearly invested heavily; even peak experts were among them. Over a hundred charging at once left even us taken aback.

Jin So-cheong glanced at Lee Gwang and said,

"Master, I'll handle this."

"Please do."

Kwang!

Jin So-cheong merely stamped once.

"Hiaaak!"

"Huhiik!"

"It's a monster..."

But with the destructive boom, everything within twenty zhang radius flew skyward from the shockwave. Dozens soaring three zhang into the air looked surreal. Though he'd simply applied intent severing arts, everyone in the yard instantly grasped his level and froze.

An absurd super-expert!

Jin So-cheong unleashed Six Harmonies Full Power like a threat.

[Today, any outsiders meddling in our event will not be spared!]

As we strode boldly into Eom Soong's mansion, no one dared move. The crowds averted their eyes upon meeting ours. They instinctively knew they'd be slain by Jin So-cheong in one exchange if they fought.

No one blocked our path. It was as if time had stopped.

Reaching the top floor of the main hall, Eom Soong was absent— instead, Jeong Yun-bo in black robes waited, arms crossed. In a heavy voice, he said,

"Lee Gwang. Your disciple Jin So-cheong's achievements surpass imagination. How did he reach such a realm?"

"Thanks to obtaining Zhang Sanfeng's Seven Great Ultimate Arts."

Flinch!

As Jeong Yun-bo trembled in shock, Lee Gwang said calmly,

"Don't you think this level could contend even with a Dharma Guardian Lion?"

"...I admit you might even defeat one."

Jeong Yun-bo sighed.

"But what of the White Lotus Cult Leader? There's no way to beat that monster."

"Jeong Yun-bo. Be honest."

"About what?"

Lee Gwang and Jeong Yun-bo's eyes locked.

"Your eyes are twitching with greed right now."

"...!!"

"Calm down, and your feelings are crystal clear."

Lee Gwang stepped forward coldly.

"You want to learn the Seven Great Ultimate Arts, don't you?"

"Don't speculate."

"Of course you do. Because you've always seen me as your lifelong rival."

Lee Gwang continued with a sneer.

"Kuk... To think the best you could come up with to beat me was a 'happy life'— ridiculous... That desperate to surpass me?"

"Don't talk about my family."

"Of course I have nothing to say about your family. It's you who's pathetic."

"Wha..."

As Jeong Yun-bo faltered, Lee Gwang pressed on.

"What do I have left in life? Jin So-cheong. While you sat idle, claiming you couldn't beat the Dharma Guardian Lion, my disciple sought out Zhang Sanfeng's Seven Great Ultimate Arts and grew stronger on his own. And he risked his life entering the White Lotus Cult for the Thunder God School's revival."

"..."

"Becoming a Rights Guard's guard to aid Thunder God School disciples? Laughable. It's no different from charity to beggars— just your pathetic self-pleasure."

"Kuk, you bastard..."

"Enjoying your great-grandkids, huh."

Lee Gwang jeered.

"Kuhuk..."

Jeong Yun-bo couldn't retort, grinding his teeth in fury. Seeing it, I found it odd.

'Even Golden Guard elites fear Lee Gwang on sight, but his peers get angry first.'

Was that what fellow disciples were?

Lee Gwang extended his spear forward.

"I don't yield to inferiors. I'll show you our current gap."

"Don't act superior, you bastard!"

Kwarung!

The two transcendent experts clashed abruptly, thunder resounding. Both could infuse thunder spirit into their qi, causing the phenomenon. Jeong Yun-bo matched Lee Gwang's talent; his skill was formidable. Unlike with Beom Gyun, Lee Gwang couldn't easily penetrate, forced to wariness.

Kwa-kwang!

Jeong Yun-bo wielded fist arts primarily, his body like a qi-shrouded bomb, defying notions of unarmed weakness. Anything his fists touched exploded in lightning— terrifying might.

After just over twenty exchanges, the top floor teetered on collapse. As people fled downward, another floor crumbled, intensifying the duel into a heavenly thunder storm.

'That's a clash of Thunder God School's top elites!'

I marveled inwardly. Jeong Yun-bo was another hidden powerhouse. Lee Gwang twice thrust at Jeong Yun-bo mid-air fist flash; Jeong Yun-bo used Phantom Shift to deflect barehanded. As a kick flew, Lee Gwang spun off a falling beam into a rotational slash.

Skak!

"Huh."

The strike was fierce; Jeong Yun-bo panicked. It pierced his guard through a momentary flaw. I instantly recognized it as an Empty Cave thrust application. Lee Gwang pounced like a beast, unleashing a barrage.

Kwang!

Another floor collapsed. Amid flying debris, their forms intertwined, Jeong Yun-bo's face full of dismay. As Lee Gwang unleashed Thunderclap Flash, Jeong Yun-bo could endure no more.

Kugu-gung...

Jeong Yun-bo crashed to the ground with a boom, trembling and immobile from the impact. Lee Gwang landed beside him coldly.

"I win, Jeong Yun-bo."

"L-Lee Gwang...!!"

"Now I'm two wins ahead. How will you catch up?"

"..."

Glare piercing Lee Gwang, Jeong Yun-bo staggered up.

"Fine. I'll play your game. Give me all the Thunder God School intel I have, and teach me those Seven Great Ultimate Arts."

Lee Gwang shook his head.

"That's not it."

"What?"

"Beg on your knees. Otherwise, I'll hunt down your family and slaughter them all."

"...!!"

Horror flashed across Jeong Yun-bo's face; a cold smile crossed Lee Gwang's.

"Do it quick. Before I change my mind."

"You murderous bastard!!"

"Three."

That was when Jeong Yun-bo hesitated to kneel— Jin So-cheong intervened, grabbing his shoulder. Lee Gwang eyed him; Jin So-cheong said,

"Master. Don't go too far."

"Jeong Yun-bo started it. He denied my life!"

Lee Gwang shouted fiercely; Jin So-cheong sighed.

"Like it or not, he's your fellow disciple? Returning every slight in kind will breed deep grudges."

"..."

Pondering, Lee Gwang relented.

"Jeong Yun-bo, no need to kneel. Apologize properly instead."

Jeong Yun-bo awkwardly straightened and bowed his head.

"I'm sorry for what I said before, Lee Gwang."

"Hmph."

Lee Gwang snorted and turned away.

Wang Ryang, watching, laughed.

"Haha! The Thunder God School's return is nearly upon us."

Indeed. With Lee Gwang's two peers joined and Jeong Yun-bo knowing the rest's locations, the Thunder God School would soon revive in the Central Plains. But witnessing it all left my heart conflicted.

'How can a person be so vicious?'

Though insulted by Beom Gyun and Jeong Yun-bo, he'd repaid it tenfold. It was refreshing yet absurd. Lee Gwang seemed to rage against the world itself. I'd watched through reincarnations, yet never grew numb.

But maybe that's how one survives in the martial world?

I recalled Wang Ryang once saying to learn from Lee Gwang's traits— couldn't dismiss it as mere cruelty.

And two months later.

Using Jeong Yun-bo's intel, fifteen Thunder God School inheritors gathered, including the Thunderclap Three Venerables— Wang Ryang's subtle find. Over a dozen elites filled the hall with intense fighting spirit.

Surveying them, Dokgo Seong said,

"Now, the Thunder God School returns to the White Lotus Cult."

No one replied. Dokgo Seong's voice trembled with rage.

"The Leader baited us with the previous Dharma Guardian Lion's final ultimate art. He utterly underestimates our potential. Let him try."

Still, no reply.

Dokgo Seong clenched his fist.

"We will avenge ourselves!"

Ku-ga-gung!

Thunder spirit qi erupted from the inheritors in unison. Though circumstances varied, all bore grudges against the White Lotus Cult as Thunder God School members. Their combined aura rivaled the world's best.

Soon after, they returned to quarters. They'd pack and head to Luoyang together via flying ship and wooden armor. With the return mission nearly complete, Wang Ryang sighed in relief.

"Now it's almost done."

"Wang Ryang. So now..."

Wang Ryang nodded.

"It's time to kill the Vermilion Bird with the Reversal Authority."

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