Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

Rumble rumble rumble

Rumble

A moment later, the scene shifted.

"Huh?"

It had transformed into the interior of the imperial palace in the capital.

"Haaaaah!!"

Boom

Screeeeech!!

And right before Jin So-cheong's eyes lay the massive corpse of a tentacle monster sprawled out. The surroundings were obliterated as if struck by a storm, with not a trace left behind, and within a radius of about 150 feet, destruction marks spread like a meteor had fallen. Lava even bubbled up from spots here and there.

'Right after a fierce battle?'

It seemed a terrifying fight had just taken place.

As I pieced together the situation, Jin So-cheong was gasping for breath. His body was covered in wounds, his arm bone was fractured, and blood trickled from his mouth. No matter how I looked at it, Jin So-cheong had sustained severe injuries.

"Huff... huff... I... took down the bishop..."

Tears streamed from his eyes.

"Senior brother... Senior brother... I'm sorry..."

It was just as he said. Amid the massive destruction lay the meagresome corpse of Geuk-ho, who had come with Jin So-cheong. He had fallen in battle against the bishop.

Boom boom boom

And far off in Luoyang, colossal clashes kept erupting, with storms and rain clouds raging and waves of scorching heat billowing. A glimpse of the White Lotus Cult Leader in transformed form flashed by. Jin So-cheong gritted his teeth, staggering to his feet.

"While the White Lotus Cult Leader... is holding them off... I have to... kill the Grand Bishop..."

It appeared to be a strategy where the White Lotus Cult Leader drew attention separately, allowing Jin So-cheong to take out the enemy's top brass, the Grand Bishop. Jin So-cheong gathered his strength for a moment, then charged toward the imperial palace at a terrifying speed that surpassed even the Annihilation Step.

Screeech!

Keeech!!

Upon entering the palace, countless demons, tentacle monsters, and fiends of the most grotesque appearances I'd ever seen lunged at Jin So-cheong. Yet despite his injuries, he conjured a spear of intent in midair and unleashed his ultimate technique.

"You vile scum!"

Thunder God Style

Ultimate Battle Secret Art

Thunder Roar

Jin So-cheong's Thunder Roar transcended the limits I'd imagined.

The entire space seemed filled to the brim with thunder spirits, and in an instant, eight tangible clones of Jin So-cheong floated up. The moment those clones vanished, thousands of piercing strikes rained down from all directions, pulverizing hundreds of demons in one go.

Boom boom boom boom

'How many variations did he weave into that Thunder Roar?!'

With my instantaneous insight, I analyzed Jin So-cheong's technique. He had maximized his physical abilities with Thunder Roar while chaining together at least four or five martial secret arts. But the shifts and amplifications were so minute that they were nearly impossible to discern. The future Jin So-cheong had undoubtedly reached the Absolute Realm, becoming a master equal to or surpassing the White Lotus Cult Leader.

I had been mistaken.

Jin So-cheong could have reached the Absolute Realm with or without my Seven Great Ultimate Arts. In my first life, he had hidden most of his power and still became one of the Ten Great Masters of the world.

I let out a silent groan inwardly, but this made more sense. No matter how much Lee Gwang and the Azure Dragon Martial Hall had suppressed his talent, it had reached a terrifying level beyond even geniuses' comprehension.

Jin So-cheong single-handedly carved through thousands of demons, breaking through about a mile straight ahead. Then, a talisman flew toward him.

Pwoosh

Jin So-cheong easily dodged the talisman, but he frowned upon seeing the enemies that soon appeared.

"As expected... all fallen to the Nine Yin Cult..."

They were utterly bizarre. The Vermillion Bird Zhuge Yulong and Zhuge Bu had appeared, their faces vacant as tentacles sprouted from their bodies. They seemed to have lost their humanity, forcibly implanted with tentacles and mutating into something other than human.

Even from all directions, men in Golden Guard uniforms burst out, their bodies exploding as they transformed into monsters.

Groooaar!!

Jin So-cheong battled the monsters, but he was gradually wearing down. His bleeding worsened, and the impacts grew fiercer. Yet Jin So-cheong never gave up, refining his spear techniques even further to fight through the bloodbath.

"Haaaaah!!"

Splat

Finally, Jin So-cheong broke through the blockade and severed the neck of the bipedal Zhuge Yulong. Even as tentacles burst from the stump at tremendous speed, a barrage of thousands of spear strikes turned it into a mist of blood. Zhuge Bu could not escape the same fate of being slain by Jin So-cheong.

It was astonishing. Even if they had lost their reason and were controlled in their bipedal forms, their combat power remained unchanged from before!

Jin So-cheong repelled the enemies and leaped into the throne room of the palace.

And in the center of the throne room stood a white-haired boy with arms crossed, chuckling as he addressed Jin So-cheong.

"Impressive. Combat prowess utterly beyond human limits."

"You bastard! Cease the human sacrifices at once and withdraw from human lands!!"

Jin So-cheong roared like a lion with terrifying killing intent, but the white-haired boy showed no concern. Instead, he appraised Jin So-cheong.

"This is the pinnacle of the unique human powers of qi and intent... A human, eh."

Seeing the white-haired boy, I recognized the familiar face and was shocked.

'That... that's the Transcendent Prodigy!'

Sensing the white-haired Transcendent Prodigy wouldn't heed his words, Jin So-cheong gritted his teeth, assumed a combat stance, and shouted.

"Grand Bishop!! I won't forgive you!"

That guy was the Nine Yin Cult's Grand Bishop?

How had the future unfolded like this?

As I watched the standoff with keen interest, the white-haired boy said leisurely.

"Don't get heated, Jin So-cheong. I have one proposal for you."

Jin So-cheong couldn't charge recklessly at the white-haired boy. The boy, called the Grand Bishop, was clearly far too powerful for Jin So-cheong to take lightly. The Grand Bishop boy smirked and continued.

"My master takes a liking to you. If you swear now to offer body and soul to the Malignant God and join the Nine Yin Cult, you'll transcend the Dharma-Ending Age and enjoy eternal immortality. I promise powers beyond comparison to what you wield now."

"Bullshit."

Jin So-cheong's eyes blazed fiercely.

"You're nothing but monsters! I, Jin So-cheong, will never give up."

"Puhahaha. Excellent. That sounds fun too."

The Grand Bishop mocked Jin So-cheong.

"But even the Twelve Laws with the Seven Luminaries and divine artifacts fell to us. No matter how skilled your martial arts, what can you do alone with a single spear?"

"Everything!"

At that moment—

Jin So-cheong raised his spear and unleashed "something." The Grand Bishop seemed to counter with his own ability.

'This is...!!'

I realized what was happening.

'So that's how it was.'

The Grand Bishop's power stopped time! It was an overwhelming authority unimaginable for a mortal. Only now did the incomprehensible scenes from when I'd faced the Transcendent Prodigy in the past make sense.

That white-haired Grand Bishop had used that ability against me in my past life under Xiang Yu's protection when facing Xiang Yu. And against the Cult Leader, he had used time stop for a surprise attack! That's why Xiang Yu and the Cult Leader found it an intriguing yet threatening power.

But strangely, Jin So-cheong's Absolute Realm super-senses had synced into that split-second time stop. Even as the world seemed frozen, he could react to the Grand Bishop's attack. When the attack came, Jin So-cheong instantly countered, and the Grand Bishop's arm was severed almost simultaneously with a clang.

Thud thud thud

The Grand Bishop's body tore into tens of thousands of shreds and burst apart. Jin So-cheong had succeeded in erasing him with his final killing blow.

"Huff... huff..."

This time, Jin So-cheong truly couldn't even twitch a finger, reduced to bloody gasps. And as if mocking him, fragments of the shredded Grand Bishop began wriggling from all around, gathering with bits of flesh and blood.

Ssssh...

"......"

A shadow of resignation crossed Jin So-cheong's face.

It was meaningless, regenerating swiftly.

It took less than half a breath for the tens of thousands of pieces to reform the Grand Bishop's original form.

Regaining his human shape, the Grand Bishop taunted Jin So-cheong.

"Hahaha... splendid. That scared me."

"...You..."

"As you see, I'm an immortal divine being receiving power directly from the constellation via the Malignant God's energy. If you wanted to erase me, you'd have needed a top-tier human realm sorcerer at least. And you'd need the Seven Luminaries to even have a chance."

The Grand Bishop cackled.

"Heh heh. With even the Illusion God Cheon Woo-jin cowering in the heavenly realm out of fear of us, what can you do?"

Jin So-cheong ground his teeth.

"... Monster."

"What an honor. The highest praise for an artificial lifeform like me, the Transcendent Prodigy."

"Why betray the master who raised you?"

At Jin So-cheong's question, the white-haired boy, the Grand Bishop, burst into laughter.

"Haha! The power of the constellation within me is that of the Malignant God, who is truly my parent. Zhuge Yulong overlooked that. He had no idea my comrades and I could become the Malignant God's apostles."

The Grand Bishop laughed coldly.

"Humans are pathetically insignificant compared to the [Ancient Overlords]. We merely punished our creator for overstepping his place."

"What now... then..."

He shrugged.

"Nothing much. The Nine Yin Cult will rule the world as is, raising and managing you humans like livestock."

"........."

"No need to worry about extinction. We need you for human sacrifices, so we'll keep your numbers ample. Obey well, and you can live like fat, contented pigs, haha. Though we'll ban bipedal walking or mandate newborn tributes, maybe."

Of course, that was no good fate.

The Grand Bishop's eyes narrowed like crescent moons as he smiled.

"You humans brought this on yourselves, so even the Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns can't protect you. Blindly trusting it leads to disaster. We'll serve humans through the Dharma-Ending Age and build a fine future, so watch closely, Jin So-cheong."

No reply came.

The Grand Bishop shrugged.

"Already dead?"

Beyond Jin So-cheong's blackened vision, a jolting sound echoed. The Grand Bishop soon walked out with a bored tone.

"Time to finish off the White Lotus Cult Leader for good this time."

Crunch crunch

Soon, the sound of Jin So-cheong's corpse being tossed amid demons to feed the tentacles filled his ears.

Flash!

Vision returned. I heard Zhuge Sa's voice beside me.

"Hey. What'd you see?"

I couldn't speak.

I opened and closed my mouth for a moment before saying,

"I came back with conviction that what I'm doing is right."

Such a hopeless future.

And I realized anew that martial arts alone wouldn't suffice.

Zhuge Sa seemed to catch my meaning and giggled.

"In the end, everyone bit the dust and became monster chow, huh? Humans can only do so much."

"........."

After a moment's thought, I said.

"Zhuge Yulong and Zhuge Bu said using this for future vision is meaningless. But the future vision I just saw gave useful new info for reality. Something's off."

"Nothing off about it. Because the moment you decide to change the future with it, the future changes again."

Zhuge Sa replied matter-of-factly.

"And what you think is new info could be distorted by the Law of Causality."

"By the Law of Causality?"

"Think about it. What you saw was virtual reality. The scenes you took as new info were probably just deductions from what you already knew. Was every bit truly brand new?"

I recalled the future vision I'd just seen. After pondering deeply, I answered.

"No, it wasn't."

Everything fell within the scope of info I'd already obtained. The 'bishop' was a slight surprise, but still within imaginable bounds for the Nine Yin Cult.

"Right. Baekwoon's future vision just reconstructs the highest-probability future based on your memories into virtual reality. Blindly trusting it leads to disaster. That's why Zhuge Yulong and Zhuge Bu never relied on it."

"Hmm..."

Maybe so. I sorted my thoughts and said.

"Zhuge Sa. From now on, I'll use this method."

Future visions aside, there was work to do.

Only by acting could I change that hopeless future—and realizing that alone made the vision worthwhile!

I explained my strategy to Zhuge Sa. He listened calmly, then said.

"Good. A few tweaks needed, but it's solid."

"It's good?"

"I'll help."

Zhuge Sa grinned.

"Let's do it."

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