Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

Paat!

I used sword-flight to head to the Han Clan manor. I could have used my divine authority, but the reason I didn't was pure unease. And that unease stemmed from memories of the five years I'd trained under Yeol, now resurfacing in my mind.

'I can't just casually use the apostle's powers...'

During my training with Yeol, I'd learned to harness the sun and moon energies at the Five Ogre Heaven Gate, gaining insight into the flow of time. Back then, as I sat cross-legged before the gate, gathering energy, Yeol had said this to me.

[The Five Ogre Heaven Gate is the emperor's hidden sanctuary, a gateway to the mortal world that no one can approach lightly. But the sun and moon energies here are stronger than anywhere else, so you'll quickly master the power of time.]

[Does mastering the power of time mean I can stop it?]

[No. Time isn't divided into present, past, and future like mortals imagine. It's a chaos where everything is intertwined, so the idea of 'stopping' it is wrong. You can't halt it or reverse it.]

[...I don't quite get it, but I've actually seen someone with the ability to stop time.]

[That was n't time stopping. It only looked that way. It was that individual's unique ability.]

[Did they just move incredibly fast themselves?]

[Apostle, you know nothing of time's true nature. When you know nothing, it's best to keep silent to avoid all disasters.]

[......]

It felt like I'd been elegantly schooled, Yeol continued.

[Once you grasp the power of time here, you'll be able to use it in the human world. But every use must be restrained and limited to necessities.]

[Didn't you say the regression power is limited to three uses anyway?]

[The same goes for all powers. Because the backlash of every authority you wield is borne by Jeon-uk.]

As he said that, Yeol thrust his featureless, pitch-black face close to mine, as if glaring.

[Remember this. If your use of powers exceeds bounds, Jeon-uk will abandon you. Even as an apostle, you're insignificant compared to the Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns! Restrain yourself and use them wisely.]

[Got it.]

That memory was crystal clear.

In short, every use of my apostolic powers in the mortal world became a debt of causality borne by Jeon-uk. Such immense abilities aren't permitted here, violating causality, but Jeon-uk's divinity handles the burden. However, if I squandered them recklessly, Jeon-uk might come to hate me and cast me aside.

That's why, after regaining my memories, I learned to conserve my powers as much as possible. Sure, teleportation or body recovery wasn't huge burdens, but wasting them needlessly could leave me without them when truly needed. So muscle aches and stamina drain would heal naturally, and short trips would use sword-flight whenever feasible.

Arriving at the Han Clan manor, I sensed an air of dismay. It wasn't in ruins, but the number of retainers had sharply decreased, and hardly any Incarnation Style warriors were in sight. Above all, the usual swarm of visiting guests was nowhere to be found.

I slipped past the attention of the Han Clan folk and headed to the deepest part. I went to the small garden where Han Baekyeong always was, but instead of her, Han Jinseong stood there. When I revealed my presence, he turned to look at me.

"You."

"Han Jinseong. What happened to Han Baekyeong?"

Han Jinseong's face twisted in deep anguish as he spoke.

"Thanks to you, we avoided the White Lotus Cult's purge, but she's been sealed and is now in Yong Bicheon's hands."

[......!!]

Yong Bicheon?!

Realizing things had gone awry, I said to Han Jinseong.

"Tell me more details."

"The cult leader originally planned to escort the house lord back to the main headquarters, but Yong Bicheon insisted he would handle her, so she was handed over to him. All we know from the Wind God Style is that she's confined in a secret location."

[......]

"No orders have come from headquarters at all, so we're helpless..."

Han Jinseong's face was pale with rage and impotence as he explained. For someone who always tightly controlled his emotions, his inability to hide his expression meant the situation was dire. It must have been a massive humiliation for an Incarnation Style grandmaster to be imprisoned like a slave by another style.

I looked him straight in the eye and said.

"I'll rescue Han Baekyeong. I'll negotiate directly with the Wind God Style."

"Are you serious?"

Surprise flickered across Han Jinseong's face.

"It's truly grateful, but... we've already lost all our wealth and forces to the cult leader, and our main Incarnation Style experts are all sealed. Even if you take that risk, we have nothing left to repay you with..."

"Don't worry about that. I rode the same boat as Han Baekyeong, so I'll stick with her to the end."

At that, Han Jinseong knelt on the spot, visibly moved.

"Thank you! If you save the house lord, I, Han Jinseong, will give everything I have."

"Hm, then I have a question..."

"Ask anything."

"To rescue her, I need a treasure with strong symbolic value. Can you provide something like that?"

"Follow me."

Han Jinseong led me to a secret chamber and promptly handed over the treasured sword Yongyeon. He'd moved exactly as I'd hoped.

'With the treasured sword Yongyeon, it'll be perfect for the seal-breaking ritual.'

As one of the world's finest named swords, it held ample value as an offering. I tucked the treasured sword Yongyeon into my spatial pouch and said.

"Then I'll go rescue Han Baekyeong..."

"Ah, wait a moment please."

"Hm?"

"There's one more treasure I know of."

Han Jinseong's eyes gleamed.

"In the Yungang Grottoes' Binyang South Cave, smash the wall behind the fifteenth statue and enter. Treasures are hidden inside."

"Hm? Yungang Grottoes?"

"It's a secret chamber I stumbled upon by chance. I hope it helps..."

It seemed like his private treasure trove.

"Thanks."

I nodded and headed to the Yungang Grottoes.

Paat!

I counted the statues carved here and there in the Binyang South Cave until I reached the fifteenth. It was a statue of Avalokiteshvara forming the mudra of compassion for suffering beings, looking rather plain and small. I examined the surrounding walls, but nothing stood out.

"Hmm, where..."

Kwang!

I gathered power in my fist and struck the wall behind the statue. A thinly disguised fake wall crumbled easily, revealing a secret passage beyond. The passage, carved deep into the mountain, was quite long, and at its end, I found three chambers.

[......!!]

Platinum?!

It gleamed like pure silver, but up close, one chamber radiated golden light like a mine. This was platinum, a special metal with a gold hue nearly indistinguishable from silver. Shockingly, the one-zhang-diameter inner chamber was nearly packed with platinum ingots.

"Wh-who left this here?"

An enormous amount. Enough to forge a large statue. With these platinum ingots, I'd never worry about money again!

Next, I looked into the second chamber, where a single glaive lay alone.

'A glaive?'

Unusually, a massive glaive with a blue dragon embossed on the hilt. Far larger than a man's height, and incredibly heavy—no ordinary man could lift it with one hand. No, hardly anyone could lift it at all. At least twenty times heavier than a standard glaive! I'd never seen one this huge, so curiosity drew me to grasp it.

Kuung!

The moment I touched the glaive, a fierce aura and battle intent flooded my body. Then, a tall warrior with long whiskers and a jujube-red face appeared before me like a vision. He eyed me once, nodded, and vanished.

'Did it acknowledge me as its master?'

It seemed this glaive had belonged to an extraordinarily powerful warrior in life.

I stored the glaive in my spatial pouch and entered the final third chamber. There lay a martial arts manual in five volumes, but all forming one complete manual.

"Hundred Transformations Divine Thief."

I flipped through the pages. And I understood why Han Jinseong hadn't taken this martial arts manual himself.

'This... it's a thief's martial art.'

Indeed. The [Hundred Transformations Divine Thief] contained the founder's numerous disguise techniques, transformation arts, and thief-exclusive pickpocketing methods and lightness skills. But despite the volume and detail, I couldn't hide my disappointment as I read.

'Compared to the peerless arts I've mastered so far, it's too crude.'

It included some hand-to-hand combat and assassination techniques for direct fighting, but only second-rate at best. With exceptional talent, one could reach first-class with it, but it was meaningless to me now. Comparing it to the Seven Great Perfections was an insult, and it fell far short of the Four Great Styles, including the Incarnation Style.

Of course, if I'd found it early in my past lives, it would have been invaluable, but now? Doubts arose about diligently learning thief lightness skills, pickpocketing, or disguises.

[......]

After some thought, I stored the Hundred Transformations Divine Thief manual anyway—it might prove useful. Glanceing back at the treasure chamber, I amused.

'Han Jinseong probably found the place by chance and used it as his secret fund source.'

The glaive and manual were useless in his position, so he'd left them, valuing the platinum ingots most. Anyway, it was a huge gain for me, so I left the secret chamber and headed out.

Paat!

I went straight to the Yellow Mountain Sect. Finding Yong Bicheon would be fastest at the White Lotus Cult headquarters, but an (Old Ruler's) incarnation was there now. Lingering risked an encounter, so I decided to prod Yong Jungil first.

Appearing where the Yellow Mountain Sect's sect leader resided, the Four Great Elders were startled. They cried out in shock, like goblins startled by daylight.

"Wh-what..."

"Who are you!"

I glanced at them and said.

"Yong Jungil. Come out. I have words for you."

He wasn't visible, but I sensed him. From the innermost room beyond the door came a powerful aura—unique to the Yong Jungil I'd faced before. As the Four Great Elders slowly drew their swords to attack the intruder,

Step.

"You've come well, Incarnation of the Fire Dragon."

Yong Jungil emerged to face me directly. I stared at him steadily and said.

"I want to talk alone."

"Very well."

Yong Jungil gestured, dismissing the Yellow Mountain Sect's Four Great Elders. Alone with him, I smirked.

"I figured you'd call in Wind God Style experts to protect yourself at the Yellow Mountain Sect, but you haven't."

"Why bother? If someone can kill me, lowly warriors are meaningless."

I'd subtly hinted at the Yellow Mountain Sect-Wind God Style ties, yet Yong Jungil admitted it nonchalantly, as if no need to hide from me. He said.

"You have something to say?"

"Yong Jungil. I heard Han Baekyeong is imprisoned by the Wind God Style. Release her, and I'll leave peacefully."

Cutting straight to it, Yong Jungil replied.

"What will you do for me if I release Han Baekyeong?"

"That's..."

"A jest."

Huh?

His sudden shift left me baffled, and Yong Jungil gave a wry smile.

"In this situation, negotiating with someone like you over Han Baekyeong's fate gains me nothing. She's detained in the Shandong Yue Clan under secret-go fetch her."

"The Shandong Yue Clan? Are they Wind God Style subordinates?"

The Shandong Yue Clan was Shandong's premier noble house, famed for its spear arts and a major martial force rivaling the Five Great Clans in prestige.

"Yes."

I glared at Yong Jungil.

"What's your game? Even if true, what are you thinking right now?"

As I rebuked, he quietly said.

"I'm thinking the White Lotus Cult is finished."

[......!!]

"And that worldly affairs have slipped from my grasp. I'll soon disband the Yellow Mountain Sect and retire."

"Why think that?"

"Heh..."

Yong Jungil laughed hollowly and said.

"Word from White Lotus Cult headquarters: the cult leader and executives are in total silence. And with Blood Shadow Valley rampaging, the Righteous Heaven Alliance will shatter too."

[......]

"Take this. Show it, and the Shandong Yue Clan will release Han Baekyeong without fuss. Don't stir up trouble with us."

With a ting, Yong Jungil flicked a jade ring. Inside the jade ring was engraved the character 戮.

"I don't know who you are, but see you in the next life."

With that, Yong Jungil turned and entered his room. I wanted to subdue him for more info, but from our past clash, he was at the entry to the Absolute Realm—a foe I couldn't provoke lightly. And since he'd freely revealed her location, no need to.

'Hm, no clue what that guy's thinking.'

Sighing inwardly, I headed to Shandong. Quickly finding the Shandong Yue Clan, I told their house lord.

"By the authority of this jade ring, I command: release Han Baekyeong."

The Shandong Yue Clan house lord paled in shock.

"N-no way... an order from the Young Sect Lord..."

"No time to hesitate."

"Understood."

Convinced I was Yong Jungil's envoy, he led me to a hidden inner building. We entered the underground prison, and torchlight revealed Han Baekyeong bound inside.

She spoke as I arrived.

"You've come."

No signs of beating or abuse. The cult leader had kept our deal. And there was another reason she couldn't be harmed.

"...The Heavenly Spirit Pill seems intact."

Puk!

As I spoke, the chains binding her hands and feet shattered. The Shandong Yue Clan house lord watching from behind went deathly pale.

"Th-that was made of special hardened iron..."

Few metals in the world could bind the infinite internal energy of the Heavenly Spirit Pill. Muttering to myself, I said to Han Baekyeong.

"You could have massacred the Shandong Yue Clan and left anytime. Why stay put?"

Rubbing her wrists, she replied.

"The cult leader held the Incarnation Style's lives hostage. Defy, and they'd be slaughtered, so I had no choice."

"I see. Let's go together."

"Something's changed, it seems. Did the cult leader say it's okay to release me?"

"The cult leader is dead."

At that, Han Baekyeong looked incredulous, clearly rattled.

"What... did you say?"

"So..."

Pyung!

Before I could explain, a finger beam shot from Han Baekyeong's hand, instantly killing the Shandong Yue Clan house lord behind me. A peak expert himself, slain like a fly. Her expression didn't even change as it pierced his brow—he likely died unaware.

"What was that for?"

"Too many ears for such top-secret info."

"Hm..."

Ruthless, yet pragmatic. Even imprisoned, her personality remained unchanged. I told her about the cult leader's death, the transcendent being who killed him, and the Young Cult Lord. Listening, she said with a grimace.

"I never imagined such a being..."

"Was the cult leader's 'weakness' you mentioned before referring to the Young Cult Lord?"

"Yes."

She said calmly.

"I can't go into details, but I once learned that if the Young Cult Lord dies, the cult leader dies too. But I didn't know he became such a monster."

"I just found out myself."

Pondering, I said.

"Han Baekyeong. The White Lotus Cult is doomed anyway. Join hands with me from now on—help with my affairs?"

"You want me as your subordinate?"

"See it that way. Join my command, and I'll guarantee the Incarnation Style's safety."

She thought briefly, then said.

"Very well."

Paat!

I sword-flew out of the Shandong Yue Clan and offered her the Fire Feather.

"What's this..."

"I have a request."

Staring intently, I said.

"Summon your Fire God Incarnation Soul and burn this Fire Feather."

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