Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Heavenly Realm

"Nephew, long time no see!"

Zhuge Sa, grinning from ear to ear, emerged from the scroll as soon as we arrived at Jinrang Valley, as if he'd been waiting.

Mangnyang pulled a sour face at the sight, then said,

"Good to see you."

"You still hate treating me like an uncle?"

"I used to, but now it's for different reasons. I can't predict where you'll bolt off to next, and it pisses me off."

That was true.

Mangnyang now knew that his father, Zhuge Yuyong—the man he once revered—was the Vermilion Bird, his worst enemy. So Zhuge Sa seemed tame by comparison, but Mangnyang still despised him as a strategist because of that unpredictable, scatterbrained nature. Sensing the nuance, Zhuge Sa gave a faint smile.

"Anyway, thanks for saving Baek Woong. Now, about the payment..."

"Ah, forget it. He already paid up."

Zhuge Sa pulled out a gold ingot and showed it. Mangnyang said,

"Fine, business done. So why'd you want to see me?"

"To confirm that guy's telling the truth about you being his ally. Good to know it's true."

"Hmph... Not thrilled to hear you're worried about me."

"You heartless punk."

Zhuge Sa grumbled. I'd noticed it before, but he really seemed to like Mangnyang for some reason. Mangnyang, on the other hand, neither liked nor respected him. After staring at Zhuge Sa for a moment, Mangnyang said,

"Zhuge Sa. Be honest."

"About what?"

"You cast the Soul Shifting Great Law on Baek Woong."

I was stunned.

"Huh?!"

The Soul Shifting Great Law?!

It was a secret art passed only to the leader of the White Lotus Sect, and I already knew Zhuge Sa was a master of it. But I'd never even considered it, so Mangnyang's sudden accusation shocked me. Zhuge Sa replied shamelessly,

"No idea what you're talking about. Isn't the Soul Shifting Great Law a White Lotus secret?"

"You're the leader of the White Lotus Sect."

"Well, yeah, but got proof I used it on him?"

Mangnyang nodded.

"With your personality, there's no way you'd let Baek Woong walk free with the Four Buddha Statues. You must've seized the chance to make contact, extracted his soul, and now you're slyly monitoring him through it. You figured you could track him anywhere by sharing his vision!"

"......"

Zhuge Sa didn't respond, but I quickly said to Mangnyang,

"I'm under the Soul Shifting Great Law? I don't feel anything..."

"That's the hallmark of the Soul Shifting Great Law. The victim senses nothing. But all your sensory info—sight, touch, smell, everything—is flowing straight to Zhuge Sa. Because he's already pulled out your soul and taken control of it."

"......!!"

Zhuge Sa, who'd been listening, grumbled curtly,

"If it were a perfect Soul Shifting Great Law, maybe. But where's the proof? Show me proof. You think you can threaten your uncle with hunches and circumstantial evidence?"

Zhuge Sa feigned anger.

"Trying to win with lies and incitement? Sad, nephew."

"No hard evidence needed here. Hunch and circumstances are plenty. But if you insist on proof..."

Mangnyang chuckled.

"Baek Woong. Attack Zhuge Sa."

You got it!

Shiiik!

The moment Mangnyang finished speaking, I swung my sword at Zhuge Sa's neck without hesitation. It was a killing blow, one even his martial arts shouldn't block. But the next instant, I was shocked.

"?!"

It stopped.

My sword halted right at Zhuge Sa's neck, as if blocked by an invisible barrier. I thought maybe he'd raised a ward or shield, but it didn't feel like that. As I broke out in cold sweat, Mangnyang said,

"I've heard that at its peak, the Soul Shifting Great Law can impose a taboo preventing the victim from ever harming the caster. Sure enough, Zhuge Sa, you didn't trust Baek Woong and slipped in an attack-inhibition taboo."

Zhuge Sa stared silently at Mangnyang, then slowly pushed my sword tip away with a finger. But no strength or will transmitted through my finger or arm—I couldn't do a thing. Zhuge Sa said,

"You know your stuff."

I said, bewildered,

"Does that mean Zhuge Sa can control me?"

"Exactly. You're fully under the Soul Shifting Great Law now, Baek Woong."

Mangnyang kept his eyes fixed on Zhuge Sa as he continued.

"Think about it. You can't cast it with mere contact alone. If you could, the White Lotus Sect would've ruled the world two hundred years ago. There must've been some trigger that let it take hold."

A trigger?

I pondered, then made an "oh" face. Come to think of it, when Zhuge Sa helped me, I'd been wrapped in a strange scroll.

"The scroll..."

"Probably. He protected you with sorcery while using his dharma vessel's influence to swiftly impose the Soul Shifting Great Law."

"Urgh."

I glared at Zhuge Sa.

I'd never imagined he'd slap a terrifying spell like the Soul Shifting Great Law on someone he just met. I'd learned that even masters couldn't cast it in a split-second contact, so I'd let my guard down.

Zhuge Sa cackled.

"Damn... That Mangnyang Sage must be something else. Knows White Lotus secrets in such detail and taught you all about it."

"Zhuge Sa. Release the Soul Shifting Great Law now. Or else."

Zhuge Sa eyed Mangnyang impassively, then said,

"Or else what? You saying you've got the sorcery to take me down?"

"I warned you. Baek Woong is my closest friend, so harming him is the same as harming me."

"Hmm..."

As Zhuge Sa started to raise his hand slyly, Mangnyang warned again.

"If you make Baek Woong attack me, I'll make sure you're gone for good."

"What?"

Zhuge Sa seemed genuinely surprised—not annoyed, but caught off guard that Mangnyang would go that far. It also meant he sensed Mangnyang's potential. After a moment's thought, he said,

"You've more changed than I thought. I'll back off today."

Whiiiing!

That's when it happened. A pure white soul essence flowed from Zhuge Sa's palm, forming a beam connecting to the center of my forehead. As I stared in shock, something flowed into me, and the beam vanished. It seemed he'd returned the stolen soul.

Mangnyang came over, activated his Spirit Eye sorcery, stared at me, and said,

"Still suspicious. Stay on guard until it's fully dispelled, Baek Woong."

"...Got it."

Mangnyang turned to Zhuge Sa.

"Using the Soul Shifting Great Law on my ally just snapped all trust between us. If you don't want to die, get lost now."

"I cast it but did nothing after. Aren't you overreacting?"

"Hmph!"

Mangnyang snorted.

"The Soul Shifting Great Law evolves into Borrowed Knife Murder, Fire Raid, Lure to Capture, or Turning Guest to Host. From the moment it takes hold, you're just a puppet toy—not truly alive. It can even make you kill your own parents if desired, and you call that overreacting?"

"......"

"Know why I hate you? You ignore others' suffering and do whatever you want. You don't care if you drag them into your downfall. People like you are the worst."

Rebuked by Mangnyang, Zhuge Sa remained expressionless. Then he said,

"You know me well."

"Good."

"But what's wrong with that?"

Zhuge Sa chuckled and continued.

"No one truly understands others' pain anyway. It only hurts when it's you. Empathy? That's bullshit. Even the afterlife is hell thanks to the gods, so no point piling up good karma. In a world where only the strong get everything and try with soul, why help or care for anyone?"

"You bastard..."

I nearly lunged at Zhuge Sa in rage, but Mangnyang raised a hand to stop me. After a pause, Mangnyang said,

"It's not strange to think that way if you know the world's truth. But my master is working even now to change such a world. If people don't forget their inner goodness, it will change someday."

"Kekeke..."

Zhuge Sa laughed. A chilling madness seeped into it.

"Fine, whatever. Sorry about today. See you next time."

"Scram."

Whoosh!

Moments later, Zhuge Sa vanished with sorcery. Mangnyang scanned around to confirm he was gone, then said to me,

"Baek Woong. Let's go to Master. We need something suitable for sacrifice."

"To confirm the Soul Shifting Great Law is fully gone?"

"Of course. No way Zhuge Sa honors a promise that easi—"

That's when it happened.

Whirrr!

"Huh?!"

Before I knew it, my body was using Soul Extinguishing Step on its own, dashing off somewhere against my will. I had no idea why and was baffled. Mangnyang was already out of sight, and my body soared freely over hills and trees.

Zhuge Sa's cackling voice echoed in my head. He was transmitting his will through the Soul Shifting Great Law control.

[Time to play with me, kid.]

Zhuge Sa!!

I tried to activate the Four Buddha Statue in a panic, but even that wouldn't obey. I screamed desperately.

"Release me!!"

[Can't hear you.]

"Uwaaaah!! Release the Soul Shifting Great Law!!"

[......]

Tsdadadot!

I kept running. After running for about half a shichen without a word—like he was training a stray dog—Zhuge Sa finally spoke.

[What the hell are you?]

"Huh?!"

[You were so noisy I shut down your reason and tried shifting my soul, but it didn't work. I control your body, but my soul won't transfer.]

A chill ran through me. If what he said was true, the caster could suppress the victim's soul and take over the body completely. But Zhuge Sa couldn't shift his soul into mine.

[First time I've seen this. No matter how I manipulate the soul essence, the primary soul won't follow. Even yokai or immortals should move the same way... What the hell?]

"Damn you! Quit screwing around and release the Soul Shifting Great Law!!"

[How is this possible...? Can't even steal your reason.]

Zhuge Sa sounded confused. This situation must've been beyond even his expectations.

He stopped my body and said,

[I need to study you slowly. Hurry here.]

Fwoooong!

Soon after, my body forcibly activated the Wings of Flight, taking me to Zhuge Sa. I bit my lip and glared, but I couldn't attack no matter how hard I tried. It didn't feel like my body anymore.

Standing three paces away, Zhuge Sa tilted his head.

"Strange. You look totally human..."

"Release... me."

Zhuge Sa smirked.

"Release it yourself. Of course, no one's ever done it in White Lotus history..."

At that moment, fury boiled over.

Why should I let this asshole control me? Live like a slave, neither dead nor alive? At this rate, he'd steal all my treasures in the armor room soon enough!

I tried summoning Sword Immortal Yeo Dongbin, but it ignored me since the target was human.

Racking my brain, a crazy idea hit me.

"That's it!"

The command etched into me by the Soul Shifting Great Law was [No Attacks]. That's why it stopped me from striking. And even if I used Wings of Flight to flee, I'd just return instantly—driving me mad.

But there was a way.

"I'm done with this life!"

"What?"

Whoosh!

I activated Wings of Flight straight to the White Lotus Leader. The leader, behind me, stared impassively, but I didn't care and yelled,

"Uwaaaaah!!!"

In the split second before Zhuge Sa could control me again, I poured everything into attacking the White Lotus Leader. No need to worry about aftermath.

Whiing!

Mandara blooms bloomed near the White Lotus Leader's body. In an instant, they erased my intent and formless energy, draining my strength. The leader blocked my full-power strike with one finger, then seized my throat and hoisted me up effortlessly.

"Urk..."

Having subdued me in one exchange, the White Lotus Leader held me dangling by the neck and stared, then said,

[Using Thunder God Sword Dance? Remnant of the Thunder God School...? How did you appear from empty space...]

Paat!

That's when it happened. Zhuge Sa issued a return command via Soul Shifting Great Law, and my body automatically activated Wings of Flight.

Zhuge Sa said irritably,

"Flee all you want, you're still in my palm... Huh?"

The next moment, Zhuge Sa and the White Lotus Leader locked eyes.

Wings of Flight teleports anyone in contact, so naturally, the White Lotus Leader gripping my neck came along. He flung me far away, then strode forward step by step.

[Where is this? And who the hell are you?]

"......"

Zhuge Sa's face twisted in an instant. He'd realized the being before him was an absurdly absolute powerhouse beyond mortal limits.

[Answer me.]

That's right.

If the White Lotus Leader killed me, fine. Otherwise, I'd dragged him here using Wings of Flight just met. I'd learned the leader's habit of grabbing throats when subduing foes, making this gamble possible.

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