Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

I looked at the Sword Demon with slightly surprised eyes amid the sudden turn of events. I hadn't heard that something like this would happen to him. So, I decided to cautiously observe the Blood Wolf Troop Leader's movements while surveying the situation in the hall.

At the Sword Demon's words, the Blood Wolf Troop Leader pointed his twin swords directly at him and spoke.

"I'll grant you that a real talent came out of some backwater in Henan. But inviting me even after knowing I'm from the Incarnation Sect? You don't know your place."

"Heh heh... I know full well that even Shadowless Union can't compare to the Incarnation Sect."

"......"

The Blood Wolf Troop Leader's eyes sharpened even further. Then, he slowly lowered the tips of his blades.

"What do you want?"

"I want to speak with the master you serve. Please pass on the message that I'd like to arrange a meeting."

"What nonsense!"

"Why is it nonsense?"

"You're not on our level. You think becoming the leader of a bunch of beggars means you've conquered the world?"

The Blood Wolf Troop Leader bellowed and suddenly shot his body toward the back door. His lightness skill produced no recoil whatsoever and was incredibly fast, revealing his footwork had reached a profound realm. Moreover, it was clear he was a transcendent expert capable of using Intent Severing Technique.

That guy's an elder-level expert of the Incarnation Sect!

Even in the Han Family of Luoyang, where I had been with Han Baekyeong, there were hardly any experts on the level of the Blood Wolf Troop Leader. There were only one or two who moved about secretly, concealing their presence to guard her, and that meant the Blood Wolf Troop Leader was on par with or surpassed the sect leaders of the Nine Great Sects. In that case, he had to be an important executive—an elder—in the Incarnation Sect.

At the same time, the Sword Demon and I pursued the Blood Wolf Troop Leader, launching our bodies after him, while the Shadowless Sect's experts who had already taken positions nearby blocked him like a heavenly net on earth.

"Halt!"

"Whirrrrllk"

"Huh."

As five Shadowless Sect experts charged at him from the front, unleashing sword energies, the Blood Wolf Troop Leader spun his body and released three streaks of deep crimson sword aura. The Shadowless Sect experts panicked and dodged with all their might. They had no choice—clashing head-on with that sword aura meant death. Having broken through the encirclement of the Shadowless Sect experts, the Blood Wolf Troop Leader stomped down with a true step, sending out a shockwave that shattered the pursuit formation once more.

What an incredible master!

He was the kind of powerhouse an average martial artist might see only once in a lifetime. But I overtook him with Soul Extinguishing Step and blocked his path. The Blood Wolf Troop Leader frowned and said,

"I don't like cutting down kids!"

"Shweeeek"

Contrary to his words uttered in that moment of mental lapse, his twin swords were already flying toward me to sever my limbs. As a veteran expert who had weathered countless battles, he was the kind of cold-blooded martial artist who could completely separate moral qualms from action.

And I responded to his words.

"Worried about your own neck?"

"Boom"

"Kuhuk."

In an instant, I had merely struck down with a single blow of Direct Path Yellow Dragon, but the Blood Wolf Troop Leader's twin swords were greatly deflected, and he flew back three zhang amid an explosion. Spraying blood arrows as he tumbled through the air, the Blood Wolf Troop Leader soon regained his posture and landed on the ground. With an incredulous expression, he trembled as he stared at his arms.

"Wh-what inner art... Could you be from the Council of Elders..."

He seemed to think first of a rejuvenated elder master from the White Lotus Cult. I could understand his line of thinking, so I chuckled and said,

"I'm not saying I'm going to kill you, am I? How about properly hearing out the Sword Demon?"

"......"

The Blood Wolf Troop Leader ground his teeth. By then, the Sword Demon had caught up, and the two of us had him surrounded front and back. As a transcendent expert himself, he knew our skills far surpassed his own, and he instinctively sensed that he would die if this continued. After a moment, he let out a sigh and said,

"...Fine."

We brought the Blood Wolf Troop Leader back to the Shadowless Sect. The Sword Demon said to him,

"Think about it seriously. I know you're from the Incarnation Sect and in a position to speak directly with the Dharma Protector Han Baekyeong."

"...I don't know how you found out, but you know a lot. So you're telling me to arrange a meeting between you and the Dharma Protector?"

"It won't hurt you, will it?"

The Sword Demon said with cold eyes.

"After all, Han Baekyeong sent you here because she's curious about me, didn't she? Instead of sneaking around like this, I'm suggesting we just talk openly between Shadowless Union and the Incarnation Sect."

"Heh heh... She's not going to do with this. Don't speculate."

Killing intent poured from the Blood Wolf Troop Leader's eyes. For a moment, a battle of wills unfolded between the Sword Demon and him, then the Blood Wolf Troop Leader hesitated and said,

"...Fine. I'll pass on the message."

"Let me make this clear: we have no intention of clashing with the Incarnation Sect. If we did, we would've used you as bait to gain something bigger, so keep that in mind."

"Hmph, who in the martial world believes another man's words?"

"Heh heh! You're not in a position to face Han Baekyeong with much dignity anyway, so I'm giving you something to say."

"Ugh...!!"

The Blood Wolf Troop Leader gnashed his teeth furiously, but even as the Sword Demon taunted him, he couldn't properly lash out. As an experienced master, he was good at realistic judgments. If the Sword Demon held him hostage and started scheming, the Blood Wolf Troop Leader himself would suffer the most.

Shortly after, the Sword Demon finished speaking with the Blood Wolf Troop Leader and let him go. Then, dismissing his subordinates, he called me to a private room and said,

"Baek Woong, I'm sorry for suddenly weaving this plan."

"No, it's fine. I never expected you'd draw in the Blood Wolf Troop Leader."

I looked into the Sword Demon's eyes and continued.

"You saw the list I received in my past life when I went to Han Jinseong and the stone cave."

"That's right. That's what inspired today's plan."

I could understand how it had all come about. Han Jinseong's words were still fresh in my ears.

[As I mentioned before, I'll support your faction. This gold plaque lets you freely use any support from Han Baekyeong, the master of the Incarnation Sect. At that time, I remembered seeing a list of various subordinate forces active in the Incarnation Sect's outer branches, given to me by Han Jinseong, the young lord of the Han Family. I hadn't thought much of it until now, but the Sword Demon, who had absorbed my memories through the black obsidian, had decided to make use of that list.

"The list included the Blood Wolf Troop and Black Star Sect, along with over thirty major and minor forces. All of them were directly under Han Jinseong, the young lord of the Han Family, and the Blood Wolf Troop is a particularly famous unorthodox mercenary band in the martial world. I figured the Incarnation Sect expert leading a force like that had to be an important executive."

"So that's why you summoned the Blood Wolf Troop Leader."

"Exactly. Plus, the fact that he uses twin swords was perfect."

I thought back briefly to the Blood Wolf Troop Leader I had just seen and said,

"He was undoubtedly a transcendent realm expert. Probably elder level. For the Incarnation Sect to deploy someone like that to the outer branches shows how formidable their power is. Wasn't that a bit hasty?"

"Haha! I knew all that and went ahead anyway. Because it's something we have to go through eventually."

"Go through?"

"The reason the Blood Wolf Troop Leader responded to this half-baked summons was to infiltrate our rising Shadowless Union and gather intelligence. After all, we're the ones who crushed the Nangong Family, one of the Five Great Families under the Incarnation Sect—they couldn't ignore that."

"Hmm!"

That made sense. I had been wondering how the Sword Demon would handle that matter, and sure enough, he had thought through even the fine details. It was the bearing of a faction's supreme leader. The Sword Demon continued,

"Now, he'll report this to Han Jinseong first, and Han Jinseong won't be able to keep it from Han Baekyeong. I see meeting her as my winning gambit."

"That's dangerous."

"Why?"

"From what I've seen, Han Baekyeong is someone you can talk to, but she's also very accustomed to using violence. If things go wrong, everything could be at risk."

Bowing to anyone makes negotiations easier but invites disdain. Han Baekyeong, however, handled proposals and dealings adeptly while always ready to wreak havoc if needed. Knowing that side of her, I knew rushing into negotiations was extremely risky. The Sword Demon then said,

"What do you think is the reason she watched our Shadowless Union without checking us right after learning of the Nangong Family's destruction?"

"Hmm... To act cautiously?"

"No. That's part of it, but I think she wants to raise us up."

What did that mean?

As I stared blankly at the Sword Demon, he chuckled.

"You'll understand when you manage an organization later, but the more subordinate forces you have, the more of a hassle they become to manage. Even one subordinate causes endless headaches, and handling groups is even worse. How much more so for a place like the Han Family, with its influence dragging along outer organizations across the Central Plains and the Five Great Families?"

"So you're saying..."

"Han Baekyeong wants my Shadowless Union to grow. She wants us to replace the Nangong Family's position, check the arrogance of the other Five Great Families, and ultimately become a subordinate force that can even manipulate the Nine Great Sects. If needed, she could integrate the Five Great Families under Shadowless Union for more efficient management. From her position as the Incarnation Sect's leader, that would make things very convenient."

"......!!"

I hadn't thought that far. A thought suddenly struck me, and I said,

"Does Han Baekyeong know about the Shadowless Sword Emperor?"

"Most likely, yes. I've done my utmost to hide that one's identity, but with the Incarnation Sect's intelligence network, they probably know everything."

"Then that's a big problem. Shadowless Union still can't handle the Incarnation Sect."

I couldn't help but worry. Even with transcendent experts like the Sword Demon and Shadowless Sword Emperor holding Shadowless Union together, we still fell short of Dharma Protector Han Baekyeong's power. Not to mention her—the Incarnation Sect teemed with countless stellar experts, and just their subordinate forces alone would spell trouble. For example, the Blood Wolf Troop Leader, whom we'd thought was merely an unorthodox mercenary captain, had turned out to be a hidden transcendent expert of the Incarnation Sect!

The Sword Demon said calmly,

"As I reviewed your memories through the black obsidian, I thought long and hard about what kind of existence Han Baekyeong is. My conclusion: she's a heroine who gives fitting rewards to fitting talents."

"Fitting rewards?"

"Yes. No matter how angry she gets, she has the prudence to pause and consider if the other side's words make sense. Looking at the circumstances, what she hates most is those who irk her temper—it's the incompetent. If she deems someone useful, she can set aside her personal feelings as a leader and accept them."

"Hmm..."

I'd never thought of her that way. Come to think of it, Han Baekyeong rarely ever lost control to her emotions. The Sword Demon continued,

"In the upcoming meeting with Han Baekyeong, I'll pledge to join under the Incarnation Sect. And I'll pass on the Incarnation Sect's martial arts to you."

"......!!"

My eyes widened.

"You're saying you'll join the Incarnation Sect?"

"Yes."

"B-but that's..."

I could only stammer.

The Sword Demon joining the Incarnation Sect.

From my perspective as a reincarnator, it was just a means to gain power, but for the Sword Demon without reincarnation abilities, it was different. As the inheritor of the ancient Shadowless Sect lineage, it meant abandoning his own lineage to learn another school's arts.

Unorthodox experts often joined other sects, but the Sword Demon wasn't just any unorthodox fighter—he was a lord of martial honor. It had to be an agonizing decision. Besides, he already possessed the Seven Great Ultimate Arts, so he had no need for the Incarnation Sect's techniques.

A decision that crushed a martial artist's pride!

The Sword Demon grinned and patted my back.

"Haha! There's no other way to get the Incarnation Sect's twin sword arts without exposing you to the White Lotus Cult, is there? If I, as Shadowless Union Leader, express desire for the Incarnation Sect's supreme arts, she won't suspect a thing."

"......"

"I know. You feel pity for the White Lotus Cult Leader yet avoid contact because you can't control his ideals."

He walked to the window, gazed at the moon, and continued.

"Until we gain power equal to or capable of stopping the White Lotus Cult Leader, we must endure humiliation. For your ultimate victory, my pride is nothing."

"...I'm sorry."

"Haha! Shall we have a drink?"

"Gladly."

That day, I skipped training and drank with the Sword Demon. I drank so much it felt like the most I'd ever had since starting my reincarnations. Even as I circulated my inner energy to expel the alcohol, I deliberately let some of it stay to get drunk.

Returning to my quarters, dizzy from the booze, I shed silent tears.

'I ended up harming the Sword Demon, who doesn't reincarnate.'

A martial artist's pride is something money can't buy, yet the Sword Demon had shattered his for my sake. As a fellow martial artist, I knew exactly how great that resolve was.

Once again, in this life, I'd incurred a debt of the heart. How could I ever repay it?

'...No, there's only one answer.'

As the Sword Demon said, repay it with ultimate victory.

Keep my will and intent alive, carving a path through this mad world!

To that end, I had no choice but to endure everything and keep striving.

For a while, I just let tears fall, then wiped my cheeks, headed to the training ground, and began swinging my sword. I gritted my teeth, vaporizing the remaining alcohol with my inner energy.

There was no time to sleep leisurely.

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