Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Heavenly Realm

After listening to Lee Cheong-un's research findings on the Thunder God Style for about six days, I was finally able to move. He had originally expected it to take two days, but my talent was lacking, and once he started explaining, there turned out to be far more to cover than anticipated.

During that time, I stayed at the Zhongnan Sect, eating and sleeping there while studying alongside the Thunder God Style experts. I trained the forms, learned the theory, and continually observed the essences demonstrated by Lee Cheong-un himself. I couldn't master them right away, but just knowing them was educational.

On the final day, Lee Cheong-un said,

"With this, I've taught you all eight possibilities of the Seven Great Ultimate Arts that we've researched."

"Thank you."

Lee Cheong-un chuckled softly.

"Well, it's unrealistic to expect you to grasp all this in a short time. But if you hone it over your reincarnations, this knowledge and experience will be a tremendous help."

"I imagine so."

Only Lee Cheong-un and I were in the cabin. He spoke to me in a subtle tone.

"...So don't hate the Thunder God Style too much. The Thunder God Style doesn't hate you, Baek Woong."

I gave a wry smile.

"I'm trying."

"You and Lee Gwang are tied by an unfortunate connection. That grudge can only be resolved between the two of you... That's why I didn't try to childish reconcile you both. But no matter how it's settled in future reincarnations, keep in mind that humans are creatures who can change in some way as they live."

"..."

"It's true that after my sudden death, Gwang's personality became extremely narrow-minded. The unexpected misfortune in his life crushed the great hero's spirit. Repeatedly compromising with reality under the banner of revenge—how could he remain magnanimous? I think that's something you should understand."

I couldn't easily agree with his words. Shaking my head, I replied,

"That's that, and this is this. If he were a true great hero, he wouldn't have broken under such harsh trials and would have pushed forward with his convictions. I have no intention of excusing him for that reason."

"As expected."

"Yes. I don't know what this life's Lee Gwang is like, but I will settle that debt properly no matter what."

There were just too many major pressing matters, so I'd pushed it to the back burner for now. As I didn't back down, Lee Cheong-un sighed.

"Understood. So what are your plans now?"

"A lot of time has been delayed. Less than a month remains. I plan to gather sufficient offerings and immediately challenge Taihe Heavenly Lord's great fortune."

"The problem is Cheon U-jin. Has he recovered?"

I flinched. In fact, that was why, despite my urgency, I'd decided to wait as efficiently as possible by receiving Lee Cheong-un's martial teachings. After pondering, I said,

"I suppose there's no choice but to go with Mangyang."

"Just in case, I'll go too. If an unexpected strong foe appears, I'll handle them."

"Thank you."

Flash!

I rode the Four Divine Beasts statue with Lee Cheong-un and Mangyang to arrive at Mount Tai's Heavenly Altar. And we were astonished the moment we arrived.

Wooooong---

The eerie scene of destruction that had resembled a demonic lair had been perfectly restored, now emanating a temple-like sanctity. The corpses scattered everywhere had all been properly interred in a communal grave, and I could feel the death spirits purifying the pains of their past lives. In a word, the place had transformed into a spiritual ground where simply standing brought peace.

Mangyang looked around and muttered,

"Perfect. As expected of my junior brother."

"Where is Cheon U-jin?"

Cheon U-jin's irritable voice came from afar.

"Over here."

"Cheon U-jin!"

Emerging from a nearby cave was the divine immortal Cheon U-jin. He glared irritably in our direction, but upon spotting Mangyang, his face lit up.

"Oh, senior brother! You've come."

Mangyang smiled warmly.

"Long time no see, junior brother."

"Where have you been all this time?"

"Breaking through the gates of heaven and studying at Kunlun Mountain."

"It would've been great if you'd attained Earth Immortal status before descending."

"I wanted to, but the situation on earth changed urgently..."

As they caught up, Mangyang glanced at the Heavenly Altar and said,

"You've restored Mount Tai's Heavenly Altar in such record time. This is a feat for the history books. You're truly the world's greatest sorcerer."

Cheon U-jin, trying to hide his pleasure, replied gruffly on purpose.

"Well... this much is nothing..."

At that moment, Lee Cheong-un stepped forward, cupping his hands.

"Pleased to meet you, Cheon U-jin. I am Lee Cheong-un of the Thunder God Style."

"I've heard of you. Pleased to meet you."

"May I explain what happened in your absence on Baek Woong's behalf?"

Cheon U-jin looked at him in surprise.

"No objection, but why?"

"It seems your nerves get unnecessarily frayed when talking with Baek Woong."

"Hmph..."

After parting from Lee Cheong-un, he explained how we'd performed the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors' consecration ritual and obtained results, as well as my training with the Thunder God Style up to now. Having heard it all, Cheon U-jin frowned as if it gave him a headache.

"That Prophet bastard must've crudely twisted the laws of causality. Since he wields magic instead of sorcery, it's probably even more messed up. In that case, performing the consecration ritual again as he said would be extremely dangerous."

"What can we do?"

"Well... I can't guarantee anything. It might even be meaningless."

"Meaningless?"

"The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are such capricious beings that you can't promise success rates with or without constraints. They clearly live as they please."

"..."

I couldn't tell if that was good or bad. After thinking it over, Cheon U-jin said,

"You mentioned using Taihe Heavenly Lord's great fortune. So what offerings have you prepared?"

"We'll need treasures equivalent to thousands of years of tributes. That's why I plan to offer the Imperial Seal of the Realm and the Summoning Fish Drum."

"What about the Fire Dragon Divine Sword?"

"That too."

After hearing everything, Cheon U-jin said,

"It might still fall short, so prepare yourselves. And we'll need more."

"Wha--"

I said in bewilderment,

"Isn't the Imperial Seal of the Realm the highest-grade treasure forged by So Ho-geum-cheon himself? Even offering that, plus the Summoning Fish Drum and Fire Dragon Divine Sword, might not be enough?"

"I'm saying we'll have to see. You're not performing the ritual once, but twice."

"Hmm."

" Sacrifices for Taihe Heavenly Lord, and separate ones for the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. And for the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors this time, we must offer the Imperial Seal of the Realm. That means preparing something else entirely for Taihe Heavenly Lord."

Cheon U-jin's words made sense. Then Mangyang, standing beside us, spoke up.

"We anticipated that and gathered spirit relics while traveling."

"What did you gather?"

Whoosh

Mangyang pulled a statue from his bosom. It was a statue of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors' Jeon Uk. Not stopping there, he also brought out the phoenix carving from the Hwa Clan of Laoyang Village, and even a lute I'd never seen before from the Five Fires and Seven Metals String.

"Plus, Baek Woong has the White Ox Immortal Chart, and the cult leader gave me the Non-Equal and Wood Armor. Offering all this should suffice."

"I can't be certain, senior brother. Taihe Heavenly Lord is so unpredictable..."

Trailing off, Cheon U-jin continued,

"Fortunately, fully restoring the Heavenly Altar has greatly amplified the earth's spiritual energy. We can somehow manage the balance the Prophet disrupted with the altar's power. Even so, the unstable laws of causality mean we'll get just one shot."

"..."

"Then let's begin now."

We started arranging the offerings under Cheon U-jin's guidance. Gathering all the treasures we'd collected so far, the amount was surprisingly large. Looking at the offerings arrayed on the altar, Cheon U-jin said in dismay,

"Ordinary mortals would adventure their whole lives for just one of these... How did you gather them all?"

Soon, Cheon U-jin carefully inspected each offering and said,

"Senior brother, you handle Taihe Heavenly Lord's offering ritual."

"Got it."

Mangyang stepped forward readily, but not understanding, I asked,

"Why Mangyang specifically?"

Cheon U-jin replied indifferently,

"The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors' consecration is far larger and more complex. I could do Taihe Heavenly Lord's ritual, but if my sorcery runs short, the consecration might fail. So I'd prefer you go first."

"Ah."

"Beginning."

Light flowed from the Heavenly Altar. Mangyang had clearly amassed enough sorcery to lead a grand ritual.

Mangyang chanted first.

"Come forth, Taegong Mang!"

Rumble

Taegong Mang's apparition appeared above the altar. He looked puzzled upon being summoned.

[Why did you call me?]

"I offer the Wind-Fire Pipa, so grant Baek Woong the right to reselect by removing Taihe Heavenly Lord's existing energy within him."

[Hmm... I see. Understood.]

Flash

Taegong Mang, quick-witted, snatched the Wind-Fire Pipa and vanished. The Wind-Fire Pipa was a treasure Mangyang had received from the Nine Heavens Maiden as reward for excellent grades—something as vital as the Five Fires and Seven Metals String—yet he offered it without hesitation.

"Incarnation of Eternal Treasure Heavenly Lord... I, Mangyang, call you... descend!"

With the reselect right granted, Mangyang immediately chanted again, now summoning Taihe Heavenly Lord.

"Senior brother seems to have made tremendous progress too. A grand ritual like the Three Purities' offering is something no mere sorcerer would dare attempt..."

Rooooar

As Cheon U-jin marvelled, Mangyang's chants flowed, pouring out hazy five-colored apparitions. He'd successfully summoned Taihe Heavenly Lord after Taegong Mang.

Amid the altar turning to light, I sensed something off for an instant.

What is it?

A familiar chaos.

The sensation flickered briefly and vanished. Wondering what energy it was, I tilted my head, but it was fleeting. Soon, a pillar of light shot up from the Heavenly Altar, and Taihe Heavenly Lord's form appeared in the sky.

Taihe Heavenly Lord spoke to us immediately upon manifesting.

[What business do you have to summon me, Taihe Heavenly Lord...?]

Mangyang bowed toward him and said,

"We require the power of your authority, the great fortune! We offer fitting sacrifices on this Heavenly Altar, so bestow the great fortune's blessing upon Baek Woong, Taihe Heavenly Lord."

[Hmm...]

Floating in the air, Taihe Heavenly Lord extended a pure white, glowing hand to examine each sacrifice on the altar.

[Yao and Shun's treasures... phoenix carving... Zhuge Liang's treasures... Five Fires and Seven Metals String... three treasures, no less... most impressive.]

"Thank you... Then the blessing..."

[But this falls short.]

Flinch!

We all in the chamber were stunned. He'd called three treasures impressive with his own mouth, yet now said they were insufficient—what did that mean? As we stared at him in shock, Taihe Heavenly Lord continued.

[Summoning me, incarnation of the Three Purities, directly for offerings is unprecedented since the Silver Continent era... I feel the need for a greater price...]

"Taihe Heavenly Lord! Aren't these already tremendous sacrifices?!"

[Are they...? You seem to have more--why not give a bit extra?]

"..."

[Let me see... that Imperial Seal of the Realm over there... or the Moon Edge...]

Taihe Heavenly Lord's sly, insinuating tone was utterly infuriating.

'He knows everything!'

As expected of a top heavenly being! Taihe Heavenly Lord had known from the moment of descent exactly what treasures and artifacts we possessed. Sensing we were holding back, he'd gone into half-threat mode to squeeze us for everything.

But offering the Imperial Seal of the Realm and Moon Edge here would spell disaster. We'd have nothing left for the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Gritting my teeth, I said to Taihe Heavenly Lord,

"Taihe Heavenly Lord, enough already! We've prepared fitting sacrifices for the great fortune blessing--why be so greedy?"

"B-Baek Woong!"

Mangyang and Cheon U-jin looked at me in shock. And rightly so--I'd confronted head-on a supreme being called the incarnation of Eternal Treasure Heavenly Lord among the great immortal sages. Normally, it was an act deserving annihilation for insolence.

Yet strangely, facing Taihe Heavenly Lord directly didn't feel frightening. Far from it--an urge to berate him welled up.

Sure enough, Taihe Heavenly Lord seemed slightly taken aback and said,

[Uh... well... you were only focused on the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, so I got a bit sulky...]

Irritated, I crossed my arms and said,

"I'll offer you great treasure, Heavenly Lord, so don't worry."

[Really?]

"Yes, really."

Taihe Heavenly Lord looked pleased and said,

[Fine, I'll let it slide. I'll take Yao and Shun's treasures and the Five Fires and Seven Metals String.]

"Then..."

[I shall bestow the great fortune's blessing upon Baek Woong.]

That was when Mangyang hurriedly interjected,

"Might the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors find the great fortune's blessing inconvenient?"

[I wouldn't know... doesn't seem likely.]

Answering perfunctorily, Taihe Heavenly Lord swept the Summoning Fish Drum and Five Fires and Seven Metals String into his sleeve, waved at us, and said,

[Call me again!]

"..."

Once Taihe Heavenly Lord vanished, we all felt a sense of dazed blankness. We'd half-doubted, but never imagined berating him would work. Especially Cheon U-jin stared at me like I'd become some bizarre monster.

"B-Baek... Baek Woong. What kind of person are you? Threatening the Three Purities?"

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!