Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

The 20th life had begun.

"Huff... huff..."

Sweat and tears streamed down my face.

'I wish it hadn't started at all...'

In that moment, the desire for the [Ancient Ruler] to simply erase my soul entirely had dominated my mind. Rage against the inexplicable despair had consumed me, and at the same time, a crushing sense of helplessness had accelerated that fury, rendering my life utterly worthless.

But I opened my eyes anyway. The agony of burning in the jade flames of chaos had ended far more quickly than expected, and I had lost consciousness as if passing out. Slowly rising in the stable, I muttered bitterly.

"...It's confirmed."

What was confirmed?

Normally, I would have despaired and given up here. The 19th reincarnation had made me realize the gap between gods and humans more profoundly than ever before. Though the White Lotus Cult Leader's power had grown stronger than in any previous life, it was still far from enough to surpass a god. All it had done was reaffirm that no matter how hard a human tried, they would always be subjugated by divine authority.

But I could not contain the bubbling rage surging from within.

'I absolutely... will not give up!'

It was true that my motivation to oppose the [Ancient Ruler] had been weak until now. In my past lives, I had lived for the thrill of clearing threats from my path and uncovering new divine treasures and secrets. If I died along the way, I would just think it was bad luck and reincarnate again, harboring no real hatred toward the [Ancient Ruler] itself.

However, this reincarnation had changed my mind completely. Following the Cult Leader's path, I had learned that the leaders of various factions were striving for humanity's salvation. Through the Zhuge scholar, I had realized just how soft I had been living all this time. Moreover, I had felt in my bones how utterly insane this world was and how the [Ancient Ruler] truly treated humans like livestock or toys.

Intense hatred made me rise.

There seemed to be no way forward, but I did not despair. Because I possessed the reincarnation ability that even the [Ancient Ruler] could not block. Staring at the stable wall, I thought.

What was the most efficient way to proceed from here?

"......"

After pondering for a long while, I came up with a plan, thinking, "Whatever, it'll do".

"Four Buddha Statue."

I called the Four Buddha Statue with intent as before, but it did not appear.

"I see. Without performing the Aquatic Offering Ritual, the ability to ride the Four Buddha Statue is gone."

I calmly confirmed the fact. If I wanted to ride the Four Buddha Statue, I had no choice but to perform the Aquatic Offering Ritual separately to gain the Fishing Old Man's blessing. Next, I moved to retrieve the Heavenly Dark Secret Book, and once I had it, I dashed straight to Shandong.

Entering the warehouse in Shandong where Bi Deung was hidden, I obtained Bi Deung and immediately activated it.

Flash!

Rustle...

"Urgh."

Standing in a dark, blood-red valley devoid of anything, I let out a groan. This place was not the real world but a border realm adjacent to illusions. No signs of life could be felt.

"This must be the Blood Realm."

When learning the Soul Separation Great Law and shamanic arts from the Zhuge scholar, I had heard explanations about realms like the Illusion Realm or Blood Realm. Based on that, this location was very likely the Blood Realm. A border realm perpetually shrouded in blood-like mist, haunted by unidentified blood shadows.

"In that case, striking the Wind God Clan's slave market directly to rescue the slaves would be impossible."

The place I had just tried to teleport to with Bi Deung was the site of the Wind God Clan's slave market. I had visited it once before under the Cult Leader's orders in the previous life, so I wanted to check if I could rescue the slaves directly this time.

But this location seemed meaningless until connected to the real world through special sorcery. It appeared the demonic sorcerer [Ancient Being] overseeing the slave market had used some trick to link it to the Blood Realm only when opening the market.

With nothing to gain from the Blood Realm, I immediately returned to the real world and headed to the Great Thunder Prison where General Hwang Yeon and his group were imprisoned. Facing the massive tentacled toad there, I thought.

"This thing is called a [Moon Beast]."

That was its official name from the Zhuge scholar. A race residing on the unseen side of the moon from Earth, holding a position in Dark Heaven Village while enslaving others. In any case, as a high-ranking otherworldly being, it possessed mental abilities and instant-kill powers that humans could hardly oppose. It wasn't strange that even peak experts like Lee Gwang and Jin So-cheong had been rendered combat-ineffective by a single instant-kill attack.

According to the Zhuge scholar, the proper way to defeat a Moon Beast wasn't brute force head-on but to have a demonic sorcerer prepare a counter-spell or magic to reflect the instant-kill ability before eliminating it. The reason brute force had worked so far was that martial artists' techniques were also powerful abilities in their own right.

But I planned to stick with the brute force method going forward. Glaring at the Moon Beast in the Great Thunder Prison, I charged straight at it.

Boom!

"Three Treasures Ultimate Arts... Three Treasures Ultimate Arts...!"

Just like in the previous life, I immersed myself in practicing the Three Treasures Ultimate Arts while battling the Moon Beast. The hellish training with Yi Cheong-un had indeed been effective; I now considered the Three Treasures Ultimate Arts usable at a normal level. But it still felt immature, inefficient in real combat, so I sought to grow it through fights with strong foes.

Thud.

I defeated the Moon Beast relatively easily. Unlike last time, there was less wasted motion, and every attack I launched felt like a hit. Thinking back to the past when I had been prepared to die alongside Thunder God Style experts just to take down this one made for a stark contrast.

Then, obtaining the neck gourd, Nine Star, and twin swords, I went to the Great Thunder Prison and unceremoniously stuffed all the prisoners into the neck gourd.

"What?!"

Normally, I would have given at least a brief explanation, but I was in a hurry. After shoving everyone into the neck gourd, I headed straight to the Blood Wave Pirates' base. I unleashed sword auras, massacring the pirates like mad, rescued the pirate prisoners, and seized their treasures.

I examined the treasures on Pirate Island one by one.

"Muramasa katana, precious metals and jewels hidden by the pirate leader, gunpowder and explosives."

Paltry compared to divine-grade treasures like the Seven Essentials, but to an ordinary martial artist, they were immensely valuable. Pondering how to use them, I swept all the pirate prisoners into the neck gourd.

Afterward, I went to Dongyeong to mine obsidian. Once mined, I used Bi Deung to teleport to Sasaki Kojiro's residence, where he was posing as Musashi.

Kojiro eyed me sharply as I appeared out of nowhere.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Sasaki Kojiro. Did you know that Miyamoto Musashi has become a special member of the Twelve Laws?"

"...!!"

He looked flustered, realizing I had pierced his identity and revealed unexpected information. He twitched his lips as if to deny it for a moment but soon relented, softening his killing intent.

"I don't know who you are, but thanks for the info. How did you find out?"

Subtly probing while gathering internal energy for a surprise attack, I could tell. Staring at Kojiro, I sneered coldly.

"Put down the sword. Killing someone like you is child's play."

"What..."

"When someone's talking, why don't you listen?"

Rumble.

The next instant, my full-powered internal energy pressed down on Kojiro's entire body. Faced with my even more amplified energy than before, he froze and staggered. Realizing he couldn't win, he chattered his teeth and said:

"Wh... who are you..."

"You don't need to know that. Tell me everything you know about the Full Moon Thousand Kills Technique. Do that, and your life won't be in danger."

"Full Moon Thousand Kills Technique!"

Kojiro flinched. He eyed me with heightened wariness.

"How do you know that name..."

"I'm not after your Five Wheels Book, so relax. I'm just hunting Miyamoto Musashi."

I lied, claiming to be an elder of the Thunder God Style who had returned to youth and was pursuing Musashi. Kojiro accepted it without a shred of doubt. With my fist right in front of him, he had no choice but to comply, but in any case, he decided to cooperate.

Kojiro said cautiously.

"It's the swordsmanship Musashi desired most. He said it was his, yet not his..."

"He desired it most?"

Something was off. Hadn't Musashi boasted in front of the White Lotus Cult Leader that he was of the Two Thousand Style and had mastered the Full Moon Thousand Kills Technique? But as Kojiro continued, I realized there was a complicated backstory.

"One of his goals in coming to the continent was to test the power of the Full Moon Thousand Kills Technique he had reconstructed through the Five Wheels Book."

"What do you mean, reconstructed?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but it seems Musashi's style had a separate origin. When I asked, he called it the Full Moon Thousand Kills Technique."

"......"

An unexpected fact.

"So... does that mean Musashi's so-called Two Thousand Style is actually a derivative style based on the Five Wheels Book and the Full Moon Thousand Kills Technique?"

That would be absurd. I immediately sensed the depths of Musashi's genius. It wasn't that the Two Thousand Style existed separately; it was derived from the Full Moon Thousand Kills Technique itself!

"Right... Musashi must have seen the true Full Moon Thousand Kills Technique somewhere. Which means he might not be the orthodox successor."

Feeling like I had solved another puzzle, I sighed and said.

"Got it. Now hand over the Five Wheels Book."

Kojiro's expression changed abruptly.

"You uncouth bastard... I've given you all the info worth sharing, and now you want my manual..."

I had no intention of playing nice here, so I clenched my fist and growled.

"Want to get beaten first, or hand it over nicely?"

"Uwaaaah!!"

In the end, Kojiro fought me and lost, got beaten, and passed out. I snatched the Five Wheels Book from the unconscious Musashi's bosom and stuffed it into the neck gourd. Then, using Bi Deung, I headed to the Nangong family's secret chamber housing the Pure Fish Orb. After putting the Pure Fish Orb into the neck gourd, I muttered.

"Not yet."

With the Pure Fish Orb in hand, I decided against immediately dealing with the Nangong family and opted for more preliminary work. Without rest, I used Bi Deung to teleport to the underground of the imperial palace, pulled out the crystal stele right away, and crammed it into the neck gourd.

After obtaining the crystal stele, I tested if Bi Deung could break through the seal on the Imperial Seal, but it couldn't. A barrier blocked Bi Deung's entry. I clicked my tongue in disappointment.

"For this, I'd need Cheon Woo-jin or Mang-ryang..."

Regrettable, but I couldn't obtain the Imperial Seal right after reincarnating. I teleported straight to the Inner Hall's library, swiftly stole the Nameless Sacrificial Scripture and stored it, then headed immediately to the Seer.

[What is it...]

Waving at the Seer who appeared in Astana's grand temple and stared at me impassively, I said.

"Hey!"

[......? ]

"Some weird guy might show up soon. Think about how to handle him."

From past experience, this trick would be the most convenient.

[I don't understand...]

"I'll be at the entrance."

I walked out of the building. If I stayed inside, Zhuge Bu might sense something suspicious and not come. Then, I deliberately took out the Nameless Sacrificial Scripture from the neck gourd to lure Zhuge Bu with his tracking spell.

Flash!

Sure enough, Zhuge Bu, furious at having the Nameless Sacrificial Scripture stolen, used a tracking spell and appeared before me. Glaring at me, he said. He had already gathered his shamanic power to the limit, white spiritual energy emanating from him.

"I don't know who you are, but I'll kill you right now! How dare you touch the Nameless Sacrificial Scripture..."

"Sorry, but if you're brave enough, come on in~"

I taunted Zhuge Bu and used the Soul Annihilation Step to enter the temple. Zhuge Bu followed immediately, attacking with talismans. Even with Soul Annihilation Step, I realized I couldn't dodge some of the attacks. His sorcery was too profound to counter with footwork alone. With no choice, I adapted the Three Treasures Ultimate Arts to evade the onslaught of talismans.

Pop pop pop.

"Plenty of room to spare!"

"You bastard!"

Dodging talismans that could scatter one's soul with a mere graze seemed perilously dangerous at first glance, but it wasn't. My Soul Annihilation Step had been honed through dozens of real battles, and having faced the ferocious assaults of absolute experts, Zhuge Bu's talisman trajectories were child's play to evade.

How long did the exchange last? The Seer, who had been stupidly watching our standoff, finally spoke in anger.

[How dare a mere human cause a ruckus in my domain...!!]

Whirr.

As the Seer cast a spell, a bizarre formation appeared around Zhuge Bu's body.

"Huh. High-ranking otherworlder..."

Trapped in the unmistakably otherworldy formation, Zhuge Bu looked shocked and quickly activated his Soul Scattering Separation Formation. Soon, a terrifying formation that scattered souls unfolded, but the Seer extended its tentacles mockingly. Terrifying magic gathered at the tentacle tips.

[Worm! You dare oppose the great king of the race with that level of power?]

Zhuge Bu seemed to realize the Seer's identity in that instant and screamed.

"Ugh! Could it be... the Demonic Sorcerer King Chukyoung..."

Boom rumble crash.

That was Zhuge Bu's end. Overconfident in his power, which could slay most otherworlders, he foolishly chose a direct confrontation with the Seer. His remains exploded, scattering without a trace. As the Seer turned its gaze toward me slyly, as if to kill me next, I grinned and said.

"Instead of killing me, how about a deal?"

[A deal... You think I'd deal with the one who deliberately lured that worm here...]

"You will. I'll tell you the locations of two demonic tomes, and as a bonus, give you the Nameless Sacrificial Scripture."

As I held out the Nameless Sacrificial Scripture, the atmosphere shifted.

[Ho...]

The Seer's killing intent subsided. Then it said.

[What do you want...]

I stated firmly.

"The exact location of the Fire Yao Seal! And the time when the total solar eclipse occurs."

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