Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

It was ten days later that a reply came from the Incarnation Sect. The Sword Demon summoned me and told me what the sect's envoy had said.

"Let's meet at the Han family estate in Luoyang in four days."

"That's dangerous. That's Han Baek-ryeong's stronghold."

"She must want to test my nerve..."

The Sword Demon thought for a moment before speaking.

"I've decided not to bring Martial Uncle with me. I'll go alone."

"What?"

I couldn't understand. I asked again.

If Han Baek-ryeong decided to attack, there was a chance the Sword Demon could be taken hostage, killed, or tortured. As I trailed off, the Sword Demon asked.

"That's exactly why. Has your Fire Dragon Divine Sword awakened yet?"

"..."

I took the Fire Dragon Divine Sword and Fire Feather out of my throat armor and gripped them.

Wooong.

I showed him how my two arms and shoulders were stained red between the Fire Dragon Divine Sword and Fire Feather. The illusory flame energy was visible to the naked eye, so the Sword Demon said.

"It hasn't awakened yet. It's still transmitting fire energy through your body as a medium."

I let out a sigh.

"Even after leaving them out for nearly twice the seventy-seven days, it's still like this. Did Cheon Woo-jin see wrong?"

"It could be. Using a treasure like the Fire Dragon Divine Sword in a sealing barrier for hundreds of years was unprecedented to begin with. The damage to the Fire Dragon Divine Sword might be more severe than we thought."

"In any case, for these reasons, I can't draw out the full power of either the Fire Dragon Divine Sword or Fire Feather right now."

"Hmm. You'll just have to use them like twin swords."

"Yes."

"It would have been great if your divine power had awakened."

The Sword Demon said.

"As you thought, no matter how much of a Heavenly Spirit Pill expert Han Baek-ryeong is, the three of us—you, me, and Martial Uncle—could take her down if we combined our strength. But if she's set a trap and is waiting, she wouldn't attack alone. She'd definitely have dozens or hundreds of Incarnation Sect experts laying a heaven-net trap. If it's a trap, breaking through by force is out of the question."

"...But..."

"Lend me Bi-eung."

The Sword Demon continued firmly.

"It's best if I go alone with Bi-eung."

I said to the Sword Demon.

"Just let me come with you."

"No. That would have been fine otherwise, but you've already exposed your appearance and skills to the Blood Wolf Leader, haven't you? Han Baek-ryeong will suspect your identity the moment she sees you, a hundred times out of a hundred."

"Ah!"

"She's probably suspicious now, but if you don't show yourself directly, the chances of her bringing it up drop. To focus her on me and the Shadowless Alliance, going alone is best."

The Sword Demon's words were reasonable. I regretted it inwardly.

'If only I hadn't blocked the Blood Wolf Leader back then...'

Seeing my self-reproachful expression, the Sword Demon smiled faintly and patted my back.

"It's fine. If you hadn't blocked the Blood Wolf Leader then, it would have been hard to stop his escape anyway. His martial arts were better than expected, so my plan was the sloppy one."

"I'm sorry."

"In my absence, temporarily take over as acting Shadowless Alliance Leader and Shadowless Sect Master."

"What?"

"There's no one else suitable but you."

I knew the Sword Demon trusted me enough to entrust this to me, so I didn't humble myself unnecessarily and clasped my fists.

"I'll do my best."

Three days later, the Sword Demon headed to Luoyang using the Bi-eung I had given him.

"Take care of Hye-ah and the Shadowless Sect."

"Travel safely."

Paat!

'Three days should be about right.'

There was no need to walk or ride to Luoyang. He could kill time without worrying about ambushes or camping, then use Bi-eung to arrive in an instant a few days later. After seeing the Sword Demon off, I went to Seo Mun-hye.

"The Sect Master has gone to Luoyang."

"I heard from Father."

"I'll do my utmost to protect the Shadowless Sect in his absence."

"I can trust Baek Woong to do that."

Seo Mun-hye was strolling in the courtyard when she plucked a flower and replied.

"Baek Woong. There's one thing I'd like to ask of you."

"What is it?"

She looked straight at me with resolute eyes and said.

"Please... teach me the Seven Great Ultimate Arts as well."

"...!!"

I was startled and stared at her. She knew about the Seven Great Ultimate Arts?

As I gazed at her, Seo Mun-hye continued.

"I've always known Father was cultivating new divine ultimate arts with you, Baek Woong. He insisted on secrecy, but I enhanced my hearing and overheard mentions of the Seven Great Ultimate Arts from afar. I heard it's the peerless divine art developed by Master Jang Sam-bong in his later years."

"......"

"So I asked Father to teach it to me, but he said he couldn't without your permission and ordered me to keep the secret for life."

Learning that the Sword Demon hadn't leaked the ultimate art to anyone without my permission made me trust him even more anew. Knowing how much he cherished his only daughter, Seo Mun-hye, made it all the more so.

"I see."

Seo Mun-hye grasped my hand with her slender jade fingers.

"I'm begging you. I want to protect my family and loved ones too. My current strength isn't enough, so I need your guidance, Baek Woong."

"Um."

I felt troubled by the unexpected situation.

'Of course, teaching the Seven Great Ultimate Arts to Seo Mun-hye would be easy...'

It wasn't difficult. I could just cut a piece from the massive black obsidian containing the Seven Great Ultimate Arts and hand it over. But the problem was how the karmic laws would flow from that act. Predicting what massive repercussions teaching the Seven Great Ultimate Arts to Seo Mun-hye would cause in the future was impossible.

Teaching her the Seven Great Ultimate Arts wouldn't greatly bolster our forces. Considering the colossal enemies we'd face ahead, it was nearly meaningless. But before thinking of that, I considered what Seo Mun-hye meant to me.

'...I owe her.'

At least in this life, the debt of heart I owed the Sword Demon was immense. Unlike me, a reincarnator, he—who lived only one life—had bent his warrior's pride, which was no small thing. Moreover, Seo Mun-hye had consistently shown me affection and respect across my reincarnations, so I strongly felt the desire to repay her.

After pondering for a while, I nodded.

"Very well. But first, you need to know a bit about my situation."

"I want to know more about you too, Baek Woong."

"It'll be a long story, and you might not believe it... but you have to believe it's all true."

Soon after, I entered the Sword Demon's private quarters in the Sect Master's residence with her. No maids or servants could enter this space freely—it was the Sword Demon's absolute personal domain. Even his daughter, Seo Mun-hye, couldn't approach without permission, but as acting Sect Master, I could. So I was certain there were no listening ears.

For just under half a shichen, I told her about obtaining the Heavenly Dark Secret Book so far, my reincarnated lives, the events that had occurred, and the world's secrets. It was abbreviated since it couldn't all fit in half a shichen, but it was enough to explain the framework.

"......"

Seo Mun-hye sat there with her mouth slightly agape, looking dazed.

"I could just hand over the memories via black obsidian, but Master Zhuge said ordinary people might suffer confusion from the overload of information. So I explained it first to make it easier to accept."

For my comrades—key allies closely tied to karmic laws—their own affairs were heavily involved, making it easy to understand. They were all mentally resilient too. But Seo Mun-hye hadn't been directly involved in my affairs much, so I needed to prepare her mental flexibility in advance. Dumping it all via black obsidian at once could cause mental illness unless one had exceptional fortitude.

Sure enough, Seo Mun-hye couldn't hide her bewilderment. Then she said.

"Even if the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors or the [Ancient Rulers] exist, that's one thing... but Baek Woong, you're truly going to fight such divine beings?"

"Yes."

"It's such a vast story... The mist... I knew feels so narrow now..."

Muttering in a trance, Seo Mun-hye fell silent for a while, seemingly organizing her thoughts. Then, with a resolute face, she said.

"I'm prepared."

"Good."

I then took out the massive black obsidian from my throat armor, cut off a piece containing my memories and the Seven Great Ultimate Arts, and handed it to her. As Seo Mun-hye read the black obsidian's memories, her body trembled violently for a while, then she let out heavy, ragged breaths.

"Haa, haa, haat..."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes..."

She said to me.

"Baek Woong, I want to be your comrade from now on too. I want to repay the grace of your help dozens of times over."

"That won't do."

"Why?"

I sighed.

"Because the path ahead is too perilous to accept someone just because I like them. As you've seen, my enemies are powerful enough to rip even the White Lotus Cult Leader apart, and defeat at their hands is my daily life. I can barely protect myself, let alone have the spare capacity to protect you."

"......"

"That's why I've kept Miho at a distance lately. I like her so much that it pains me to see her dragged into my affairs and die."

"But aren't you still going with Father, Mang-ryang, and that Zhuge fellow?"

"That's because they're prepared for it. I owe them a debt of heart."

"Baek Woong."

Then Seo Mun-hye hugged me tightly. As I stood still, she said in a tearful voice.

"Miho must feel the same as me. That resolve isn't just for men."

"But..."

"You know how perilous your path is, so you can't understand why we want to go with you?"

"......"

"Because you like us, we like you as a person too."

From those words, I understood Seo Mun-hye's sincerity. Until now, I'd strongly felt I had to protect her and Miho because they were women, naturally avoiding drawing them into my affairs. But this wasn't naive romance; she truly wanted to be my comrade. I might have been arbitrarily judging her.

With great realization, I hugged her back and said.

"I understand. From now on, I'll go with you."

"Thank you."

"Now, let's diligently cultivate the Seven Great Ultimate Arts."

I soon entered the training hall with Seo Mun-hye and began practicing the Seven Great Ultimate Arts. No matter how vividly the memories and knowledge were transmitted via black obsidian, having me—who'd experienced it directly—teach her would ensure much faster mastery.

And the results were astonishing.

In just two days!

In two days, Seo Mun-hye had memorized all the forms of the Seven Great Ultimate Arts and could roughly perform the Eight Gates Possibilities. Of course, memorizing the forms didn't mean mastery, but there were dozens of techniques, and perfectly memorizing them was no ordinary talent.

'As expected, she's a prodigy too!'

Amazed, I said to Seo Mun-hye.

"Truly one of the top prodigies in the current murim."

"No. With the memories from the black obsidian you gave me, it was just reviewing what I already knew... The real start is now."

After replying like that, Seo Mun-hye said worriedly.

"Two days have passed, but is Father safe...?"

"......"

It was worrying. Two days might seem short to return from Luoyang to Henan, but the Sword Demon had taken Bi-eung. Even if the meeting with the Incarnation Sect dragged on, two days was enough to me unsettled. Considering he could return instantly anytime with Bi-eung, two days was far too long.

But leaving rashly now could complicate things if the Sword Demon returned unexpectedly. As I agonized, Seo Mun-hye said.

"Baek Woong, I'll handle the sect, so why don't you go to the Nangong family and meet the Shadowless Sword Emperor?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you're worried, it might be good to go join him and go check the situation in Luoyang."

"Hm..."

"If Father returns early, I'll let him know where you are, so don't worry."

It was indeed better than sitting here restlessly to join the Shadowless Sword Emperor and confirm if the Sword Demon in Luoyang was safe. Grateful for Seo Mun-hye's wisdom, I said.

"I'll go to Luoyang."

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