Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

The information obtained from the Zhu Rong Clan was remarkably detailed. Instead of answering my questions verbally, he immediately tossed me a lump of dark metal.

“This is...”

“I’ll transmit the memories.”

Whirrr!

In the next instant, black light poured out from the metal lump, flooding my mind with knowledge in a flash. I instantly understood what this metal lump was.

‘It’s made from a mineral only found in the Outer World!’

Since that mineral didn’t exist in this world, they had been using obsidian as a substitute, but its efficiency was low. The Zhu Rong Clan apparently used a special mineral mined from their homeland to perform memory transmission far more efficiently.

Through the memory transmission, I immediately learned the properties of the Dragon Flower Tree. It condensed an immense amount of spiritual energy and was the seed of an extremely rare and noble tree species left in this world. That spiritual energy was used to dispel curses. However, there were no records specifying exactly what abilities one would gain from consuming the Dragon Flower Tree.

A black clump that looked exactly like something alive!

It wasn’t a metaphor—it truly felt like a tiny creature wriggling inside a black membrane. Its features were so distinctive that once seen, it could never be forgotten.

I asked the Zhu Rong clansman.

“You didn’t tell me the location. Is the seed next to the Hwayo?”

“We don’t know that much either.”

“Why?”

“Why? All we have in our clan’s Paakotic records is the information given to us by the Heavenly Realm that it’s buried near the Seven Essentials. The Heavenly Realm didn’t provide more details, so neither do we. Though it’s probably buried in the ground somewhere.”

I had just understood what Paakotic was through the metal lump. As I had seen while wandering the Ara Empire region before, these ‘Great Race’ bastards had built libraries around the world to store their knowledge. One of those libraries was called Paakotic—a hidden city in a secret location on the southern continent where the Hwayo was located.

‘Hmm. This doesn’t advance things much...’

I felt troubled. It was great to definitively learn the shape and abilities of the Dragon Flower Tree, but without knowing exactly where it was buried in Hwayo’s Peach Blossom Paradise, it was pointless. There was no choice but to crudely overturn the entire paradise with earth-moving techniques to find it.

The Zhu Rong clansman continued.

“Now, information on Gonggong.”

He handed me another lump, but before taking it, I stared at it intently. When the Zhu Rong clansman looked at me curiously, I asked.

“I’m curious about something. How much more efficient is this lump compared to obsidian for memory transmission?”

“I don’t know why you’re asking, but... about 15,000 times.”

“......”

An enormous difference. Even for the same memory, it meant the storage capacity differed by 15,000 times. I looked at him with slightly desperate eyes and said.

“Could you sell me a few of these lumps?”

The Zhu Rong clansman replied firmly.

“Impossible. This is top secret, so absolutely not. My hand hurts—take the lump already.”

“Hmm.”

Smacking my lips, I received the transmission of information on Gonggong into my mind this time. Gonggong’s appearance and armament matched almost exactly what I had seen myself, and a few weaknesses were recorded. It was even possible to replay footage in my mind of Gonggong’s form and battles from the Mythical Era.

While reviewing the memories, I asked the Zhu Rong clansman about Gonggong’s weaknesses.

“Most of it is incomprehensible nonsense. No plausible weaknesses?”

“What do you mean incomprehensible?”

“It’s recorded like ‘pick one of your Zhu Rong Clan’s weapon types and attack with it.’ I mean actual weaknesses inherent to Gonggong himself.”

“Hm?”

“I don’t have Zhu Rong Clan weapons, so I need to defeat him with martial arts and spells.”

That was the source of my frustration. The weapon names were listed in their complex two-legged language, but it all boiled down to “snipe Gonggong from range with this weapon and you win.” There were things like light cannons or weapons that focused sunlight to a point. These weren’t weaknesses—they were just bragging about their advanced tech. The Zhu Rong clansman looked at me with strange eyes and said.

“You’re planning to fight the Giant God Clan in hand-to-hand combat and win? How barbaric...”

“......”

Barbaric, my ass!

Why did I have to hear this? As I started to snap back in irritation, the Zhu Rong clansman slowly answered.

“That Giant God Gonggong was once a being born with divine power rivaling the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He was a Flame Giant who could wield water qi freely, but now his power and divinity are sealed, so he can’t use water’s power—only the innate fire power he’s born with. If you insist on a weakness, that would be it.”

So, find a way to suppress fire power.

It wasn’t entirely satisfying, but I nodded, thinking this was a major clue.

“Thanks.”

The Zhu Rong clansman turned away and said.

“When the time comes, our king said he would formally request assistance from you, the apostle. Farewell.”

Whoosh!

In the next moment, I realized my body had suddenly returned to the Dragon Spirit Valley. I had been forcibly teleported by someone else. Looking around in surprise, I realized they had used a spell to send me back to “the place I was just before.”

‘As expected, we can’t make enemies of them...’

They were undoubtedly a powerful race possessing knowledge, wisdom, and abilities transcending human understanding. They were called the Great Race and revered precisely because they wielded such immense power. Though they appeared as grotesque monsters to human eyes, their mental faculties were more than sufficient to treat humans like beasts.

Having obtained the necessary information, I soon went to Zhuge Sa and shared it. After reviewing the info and pondering deeply, Zhuge Sa said.

“We should raid the imperial palace first after all. That’s the proper order.”

“The Revision Stone Tablet and Portrait Ghosts are already in the armor case...”

“One thing remains.”

He meant the Imperial Seal of the Realm.

But to obtain it, we needed the power to break the barrier protecting it. For now, that meant relying on Cheon Woo-jin’s help. Zhuge Sa was an excellent sorcerer, but his barrier-dispelling skills were lacking.

As I stared at Zhuge Sa, he said.

“Borrowing Cheon Woo-jin’s power will be the quickest.”

“Hmm. Aren’t we giving Cheon Woo-jin too many treasures?”

I felt troubled. So far, I had given him gold bars from the Water Dragon Ruins, plus Black and White Lotus, and Sacred Lotus. Having already handed over treasures that would suffice a lifetime for any martial artist, it was natural to hesitate on this third request.

“Isn’t forging a connection with a Illusion God-level sorcerer and being able to commission him one of your fortuitous encounters? Compared to the gains from the Dragon Flower Tree and Hwayo, it’s nothing much. But we need to save the Black and White Lotus as our last bargaining chip with the cult leader, and the silver phoenix fragment is out too.”

“Then what do we give Cheon Woo-jin? Everything left is stuff like the Thunder Dragon Divine Sword, White Cloud Thread, armor case, or cauldron—too precious to hand over now.”

As I grumbled, Zhuge Sa chuckled.

“Just beat up some easy marks and take their stuff.”

Soon after, I began moving according to Zhuge Sa’s scheme.

Flash!

I headed straight to Kojiro’s house in Dongyeong.

“Too empty... has it been abandoned... this cicada shell.”

“......”

“Who are you?”

Sasaki Kojiro had apparently been sitting in the corner of the room reciting haiku, traditional Dongyeong poetry. He stared at me as I appeared out of nowhere, and I said to him.

“You’re Sasaki Kojiro, pretending to be that guy because of Miyamoto Musashi, right?”

“You bastard... who are you!”

“A friend of Musashi’s.”

“......”

I lied calmly, but Sasaki Kojiro seemed intrigued. As a peak expert himself, he could gauge my power, and pretending to know the full story in detail was the most plausible identity. I continued.

“Miyamoto Musashi said it’s obvious you’ve hit the limit of the Five Rings Book, so go to the continent and hone your swordsmanship.”

“D-Did Musashi really say that?”

“Am I wrong? I can clearly feel the limit of your talent.”

Even saying it left a bitter taste. After all, I wasn’t in a position to tell Kojiro that.

“Ugh.”

Sasaki Kojiro looked deeply shocked. It was just Zhuge Sa’s calculated guess, but it had hit the mark. I took a bold step forward and extended my hand.

“Musashi advised to retrieve the Five Rings Book that’s beyond your station and show you a higher path of the sword.”

Kojiro hesitated and changed his tone.

“...Tell me who you are first. It’s not some cheap item to hand over to a nameless stranger!”

“I am Baek Woong of the Thunder God Style. I know Musashi is now a special agent of the Twelve Laws and has restored the Full Moon Thousand Kills Technique.”

“......!!”

Rumble rumble rumble

To amplify the pressure, I fully unleashed my internal energy. The sheer impact and intimidation overwhelmed Sasaki Kojiro. He resisted with his will, but in that instant, the skill gap was etched into him. I smiled and said.

“I could just take it by force, but I’ll follow the request for now. Hand over the Five Rings Book and follow me—I’ll arrange a place for you to refine yourself in the Central Plains martial world.”

“Central Plains martial world? You mean spar with the Ming Empire’s experts?”

“Exactly. In this cramped Dongyeong land, there are only two so-called peak experts: Sword Saint Kamizumi Nobutsuna and Tsukahara Bokuden. But in the Central Plains, over twenty peak experts are known publicly, and adding hidden masters and White Lotus Cult elites makes it even more. It’s perfect for honing the Five Rings Book’s sword qi that you can’t fully digest due to lack of real combat experience.”

“Hmm...”

After much deliberation, Sasaki Kojiro nodded, pulled the Five Rings Book from his bosom, and handed it to me.

“Here, take it.”

“Good. Follow me.”

Flash!

I took Kojiro to the Sword Demon. After briefly explaining the situation, the Sword Demon immediately understood and chuckled.

“Perfect timing. There’s an empty protector position in the main text.”

Kojiro said uneasily.

“Are there really that many experts in the Ming Empire?”

Translating Kojiro’s words for him, the Sword Demon burst into hearty laughter.

“Puhaha... Calling that level experts—truly arrogant. The top names from your island nation would end up as flyspecks if they rampaged here carelessly.”

“Gasp.”

Hearing the Sword Demon’s words translated, Kojiro looked genuinely shocked. I bowed politely to the Sword Demon.

“Then I’ll leave him in your care. And I’ll take the Black Night Sect’s manual for myself.”

“Heh heh... do as you like. I have no need for something like Black Demonic arts.”

“Yes.”

“A scheme for two gains with one move—excellent.”

The Sword Demon had instantly seen through Zhuge Sa’s plan to acquire the Five Rings Book while adding Kojiro to the Shadowless Sect.

Swoosh!

My next destination was the secret lair of the Black Night Sect, one of the Eight Demonic Sects, my original target. Near a small cave in a dark mountain valley, there wasn’t even a gatekeeper. Because it was so secretive, it was naturally concealed by grass and bushes, known only to the Black Night Sect Demonic arts practitioners.

I entered the lair and stored the manual containing the Black Night Sect’s secret ultimate technique in my armor case. As a bonus, I took the boxes of jewels and gold bars that the Black Demonic had secretly hoarded. Their value alone could outfit two or three full escort agencies.

‘I never thought to take junk like this before, but it’s useful now...’

With Thunder God Style martial arts and the Seven Great Ultimate Arts, I had no reason to learn a assassin sect’s techniques. Satisfied with the jewels and gold bars, I left the place.

Then I visited Cheon Woo-jin again and said to him.

“Cheon Woo-jin! There’s a barrier only you can dispel. Of course, I won’t ask for free—I’ll pay handsomely.”

“You know this is the third time you’re using me like this, right?”

Cheon Woo-jin looked at me in disbelief. But I brazenly replied with a straight face.

“Once you hear my offer, you might be quite tempted.”

I pulled out the Five Rings Book and the Black Night Sect manual, along with the jewel boxes and gold bars, and even dumped the last stock of Sacred Lotus like it was clearance. As I explained each treasure one by one, Cheon Woo-jin tilted his forehead and sighed.

“Look here... are you a walking treasure vault? Where do you even find all this?”

“Will you do it or not?”

“Damn... no real reason to, but fine, for the sincerity. Never again.”

Grumbling, Cheon Woo-jin accepted the commission. In that moment, watching his reaction, I knew.

‘Three times is the limit.’

He was overwhelmed by the sheer volume I brought, but Cheon Woo-jin seemed the type to ignore everything once a certain annoyance threshold was crossed. No matter what treasure I offered in the future, he probably wouldn’t budge. Preparing thoroughly for this commission had been the right call.

Flash!

Soon, I stood before the underground barrier in the imperial palace with Cheon Woo-jin. Frowning, he peered into the barrier and said.

“Damn it. Why is the barrier so strong this time?”

He hadn’t said it before, but that was probably his true feeling. It looked effortless, but even for the Illusion God Cheon Woo-jin, this required full effort.

“Can’t break it?”

“Who said I can’t? Jeez...”

Boom

“Urgent Harmony Command!”

Boom

After struggling for a while, Cheon Woo-jin chanted spells and destroyed the underground barrier. He seemed weaker than during his feverish episode, but the title of the world’s strongest sorcerer was no fluke. Soon after, I reached the Imperial Seal of the Realm’s seal and made it mine.

Going through the process of becoming its owner, I finally realized preparations were complete.

‘It’s time...’

If overturning with earth-moving techniques couldn’t pinpoint the Dragon Flower Tree, only one method remained.

Use the Imperial Seal of the Realm’s precursor vision to find the Dragon Flower Tree!

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