Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Heavenly Realm

I soon arrived at the Shangguan Clan residence.

The current capital Luoyang had not yet spread the shock of the imperial palace being subdued, but an inexplicable unease enveloped the city streets, and the light in the sky felt somewhat ominous.

Under the sky covered with dark clouds, I gazed at the main gate of the Shangguan Clan residence.

The plaque definitely read “Shangguan Clan.”

“Not a very large family…”

There was a long wall, and inside, a three-story hall, but considering the fame of Miracle Physician Shangguan Hyeok, this could hardly be called grand.

Even the Twin Gate Temple alone exuded several times the prestige of the Shangguan Clan.

The visible scale of the Shangguan Clan now could only be seen as that of a comfortably well-off family scraping by.

I briefly checked for presences, then opened the gate and entered.

The gate wasn’t locked, and it creaked open easily.

Walking about ten paces inside revealed the main hall immediately.

I heightened my qi sense to feel the presences inside the main hall—around a dozen energies.

Probably the Shangguan Clan family members and servants.

As I walked further inside, a burly, bearded middle-aged man blocked my path and roughly said,

“Hey! Kid. This isn’t a place for just anyone to barge in.”

I stared at him steadily, then said,

“Is this the Shangguan Clan?”

“Indeed. You don’t look like you’re here for treatment.”

“I came from the imperial palace.”

The middle-aged man’s face twisted.

“What?”

“The one I serve ordered me to respectfully escort Miracle Physician Shangguan Hyeok. It’s urgent, so please contact him right away.”

With the palace chaos not yet fully settled, directly mentioning the Cult Leader wouldn’t do.

“You mad bastard!!”

The middle-aged man bellowed, then suddenly thrust his hand out to attack me.

“Paat!!”

“He practices martial arts. And at quite a high realm…”

I dodged his first technique and felt surprise.

I had suspected he possessed internal energy, but his opening move concealed profound variations of exquisite martial arts.

Feinting left and right before wriggling outward, it was no easy read even for a typical first-class expert in the martial world.

I could have easily scattered it with my internal energy, but his martial arts origin piqued my interest, so I chose to counter with the subtlety of my forms.

“Pababat!”

I swiftly converted Thunder God Style sword arts into hand techniques, deflecting his thrust.

Once brushing it left, next feigning a fall for the variation while shifting my body’s balance to block.

After about five rapid clashes, the middle-aged man panicked and leaped back.

He had aimed to seize my collar and thrash me in one go, but with my forms a match for his, he now risked being the one thrashed.

“Wha… What martial art is this?”

“I’m not on your level for a tussle.”

For a medical clan member, he boasted impressive martial arts, but at best first-class.

Far short of challenging me.

I shook out my wrist and said,

“You’re deliberately manifesting the Anti-Return Ghost Formation—do I look like a joke to you? I have no desire to threaten, but if you remain this uncooperative, I’ll have no choice but to use force.”

“Kugugugu…”

I gradually released the Anti-Return Ghost Formation, drawing my internal energy fully to the fore. Not even complete release—just fragments emanated—yet the middle-aged man’s face drained of color, soon twisting in terror.

“Uuugh…”

With sharp eyes, I said in that state,

“This is but a fraction of my internal energy. Shall I truly unleash my power and turn this place upside down?”

“St… stop…”

Even mustering all his internal energy in resistance, he looked on the verge of collapse.

It was then.

“Cease, young hero.”

“Whoosh!”

Suddenly, like a spring breeze blowing in, the momentum I emanated was neutralized.

I realized a dignified, clear-featured elder slowly descending the stairs had done it, and turned to him.

Naturally, I knew exactly what he had just accomplished.

“Formless Qi!”

An ultimate realm usable only by transcendent experts adept at wielding intent!

The elder could execute Formless Qi, effortlessly suppressing my internal energy’s pressure.

That meant his attainment had reached the rare transcendent realm in the martial world.

The elder glanced at the middle-aged man and shook his head.

“Mo Kyung. How dare you rashly charge a transcendent expert? Even as the finest guard warrior of the main house, you’ve chosen poorly.”

“U… Clan Lord…”

“Withdraw.”

With that, the elder regarded me with clear eyes and sent a transmission.

[The Cult Leader has summoned me?]

As expected.

Sensing I had found my man, I replied,

“Indeed, Shangguan Clan Lord.”

One of the Five Great Physicians of the Realm, Miracle Physician Shangguan Hyeok!

There he stood before me. Shangguan Hyeok let out a deep sigh and said,

“Haa… So this day has finally come. Has that one truly seized the imperial palace?”

“Yes. My orders were to bring you.”

“……”

Shangguan Hyeok hesitated, then sent another transmission.

[Is the Emperor… deceased?]

Irritated, I snapped back curtly.

“I’m in no position to dance to your whims. If you’re curious, ask the man himself, no?”

Shangguan Hyeok’s eyes gleamed as he said,

“You’re no ordinary fellow. Yet I’ve heard nothing of someone like you…”

“I cannot answer that.”

“I see. I’ve prattled on with useless words.”

With deep-set eyes, Shangguan Hyeok gazed toward the gate.

“Very well. I’ll follow.”

“A wise choice.”

I summoned the Four Divine Beasts mount.

Since the order was to escort respectfully, rushing back wouldn’t align with the Cult Leader’s intent.

I had run here to gauge Luoyang’s mood on arrival, but departure demanded the poise of hosting a guest.

“Th-this…”

“Mount quickly.”

Shangguan Hyeok recoiled in shock at the spirit beast Four Divine Beasts. Regaining himself moments later, he said,

“Today, fate has granted me an audience with nobility…”

“Paat!!”

Moments later, I arrived at the throne room astride the Four Divine Beasts.

Miracle Physician Shangguan Hyeok dismounted to find Guardian Warriors Han Baekryeong and Dokgo Jun arrayed at either side, his expression confirming the inevitable had arrived.

Approaching the White Lotus Cult Leader upon the throne, he prostrated.

“Cult Leader. I offer my heartfelt congratulations on becoming master of the realm.”

The Cult Leader replied with evident pleasure.

[My thanks. Your aid was invaluable.]

“No need for such words…”

[Without you, unraveling the palace’s secrets, internal layouts, and the power webs of its ministers would have been far harder. Your great contributions to our cult fill me with gratitude.]

“Overpraise, truly.”

Witnessing this, I pieced it together.

“The Shangguan Clan are White Lotus Cult spies!”

But how?

To me, the Shangguan Clan seemed no grand house—just a modest medical family lacking wealth or influence. Moreover, with the past incident branding the Five Great Physicians as martial world traitors, their survival unscathed in Luoyang was bizarre enough.

In such straits, how could they procure intelligence valuable enough for the Cult Leader? Tilting my head in confusion, the Zhuge scholar transmitted,

[The Shangguan Clan shares deep ties with alien races. Thus, the Cult Leader joined hands with them.]

[What? How does that link?]

[My slave market explanation of the Shangguan Clan wasn’t fabrication. They boast history rivaling the Han Clan, intertwined with alien races and the demonic path. A secret tied to Shangguan Wan’er.]

[Shangguan Wan’er…]

[The era’s peerless prodigy serving Empress Wu Zetian. Inner attendant and prime minister, her stratagems and genius unmatched across the Central Plains.]

The Zhuge scholar continued,

[Empress Wu’s ascension ritual undoubtedly involved Shangguan Wan’er intimately. Proof: the Shangguan Clan she founded endured unbroken for nigh a millennium since the Tang Dynasty.]

[Ascension ritual…]

[Even amid White Lotus Cult suppression scattering the Five Great Physicians, none dared touch the Shangguan Clan. For they answer directly to the Cult Leader, shielded in shadows by Guardian Han Baekryeong manipulating the Twin Gate Temple.]

[So that’s it?]

The Zhuge scholar’s tone carried self-mocking mirth. Likely pitying his former ignorance of the Shangguan Clan’s peculiarities before ascending as Demonic Cult Leader.

[Kukuku… Only as Demonic Cult Leader did I grasp their uniqueness. That Miracle Physician Shangguan Hyeok is almost certainly trading with alien races or a demonic sorcerer versed in the infernal.]

[Hm…]

[Their access to elite intelligence stems from no simple source. Should Shangguan Hyeok wield demonic path secret arts, top secrets in Luoyang fall easily within reach. Covert contact with the Cult Leader? Trivial.]

Now it clicked.

As I nodded along, the Cult Leader addressed Shangguan Hyeok.

[Shangguan Hyeok. The shadow puppeteer of the palace called himself Vermilion Bird of the Four Divine Countables.]

“Indeed? That I did not know, though I suspected such a figure…”

[We tore him apart at Mokmun Church, yet suspicion lingers.]

“……”

[Likely versed in the demonic path himself—is revival possible?]

I grasped why the Cult Leader summoned Shangguan Hyeok here.

Not mere praise or merit awards, but counsel from one potentially as steeped in demonic lore as himself!

The Cult Leader’s caution ran deep.

Shangguan Hyeok pondered deeply, then said,

“It is possible. Nay, highly probable.”

[Hmm.]

“I wish to inspect the palace interior…”

[Granted.]

Soon after, we roamed the palace ruins, poking through chambers. After poring over the crystal stele and the doppelganger research labs at length, Shangguan Hyeok stood before the stele and declared,

“No mistake. Vermilion Bird lives, poised to revive soon and obstruct you, Cult Leader.”

[So it seems. How does he revive?]

Shangguan Hyeok laid a hand on the crystal stele and said,

“Harnessing this stele’s power, he crafts reserve bodies like doppelgangers endlessly. Likely infused with nameless sacrificial scripture rites. At the sorcery I envision, he prepared dozens against mishap.”

[Thus, all reserve bodies must be destroyed to slay him?]

“Precisely.”

[A headache. Means to locate them?]

Shangguan Hyeok replied firmly,

“Offer me sacrifices for a pact, or hunt his lairs one by one and strike.”

[……]

The Cult Leader fell silent. Arms crossed, he then said,

[Vermilion Bird must be erased, by any means. After the Twelve Laws, he’s the prime obstacle.]

“Then…”

[I’ll devise a method soon. It shan’t take long.]

Shangguan Hyeok ventured cautiously,

“…Cult Leader. Your plans for negotiating with the palace’s [former ruler]?”

[……]

“That being merely observes for now. A handful of followers slain means little to it. Yet soon, you must parley with it in some fashion.”

Shangguan Hyeok struck at the heart.

“Indeed, left unchecked, the Cult Leader will clash with the god anew—and perish.”

I knew the apocalypse unleashing should the Baleful Demon Palace ruler descend earthward.

Once, the White Lotus Cult Leader gave his all, yet a single arm of that ruler slew him.

Stronger now, yet prevailing over a god? Uncertain.

As regressor, I knew well: this choice marked the crossroads.

At last, the Cult Leader spoke.

[Simplicity itself. First, sacrifices to placate the god.]

He stated his resolve unyieldingly.

[Then strike the Twelve Laws for the Seven Essentials. With their full might, I’ll match the ruler’s power!]

“……!!”

A shiver gripped me then.

The same!

The very conclusion from my near twenty cycles of torment—the White Lotus Cult Leader had attained it too.

Our paths converged here! Final ends might diverge, but conflict with him loomed ever nearer.

Shangguan Hyeok smiled, cupping his fists.

“Utterly sagacious. I shall follow unto the end.”

[Shangguan Hyeok. Recalling now, I pledged one wish granted post-palace conquest.]

“Aye, so you did.”

[Speak it. If within my power, I’ll fulfill it utmost.]

“……”

Shangguan Hyeok pondered, then smiled faintly in reply.

“I cannot yet.”

The Cult Leader rejoined, bemused.

[Cannot…? Wherefore?]

“The hour is unripe.”

[And that hour?]

With ambiguous mien, Shangguan Hyeok said,

“After you claim the Twelve Laws.”

[A distant prospect still.]

“You shall seize it swiftly.”

In that instant, I intuited.

To claim the Seven Essentials, the White Lotus Cult Leader would wage war upon the Twelve Laws.

A clash colossal beyond any I had witnessed.

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