Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

I went with Yi Cheongun to Dragon King's Valley, where Dokgo Seong resided. Of course, I didn't clumsily climb to the top of the valley's sheer cliffs to try drawing him out. Instead, I headed straight to the temple where he lived. The temple was a Tang Dynasty ruin, the place where Master Hataek, the Seventh Patriarch of the Southern Zen School, had secluded himself in his later years. Dokgo Seong was making his home there, handing his own food and shelter.

"He's not here."

Dokgo Seong was absent. Yi Cheongun lightly sat on the floor covered with spread-out furs, and I sat facing him. We waited just over an hour like that when footsteps approached from outside the temple. The sound grew closer and stopped right at the door.

Spotting Yi Cheongun sitting there, the footsteps' owner spoke in a trembling voice.

"Im... impossible... this can't be..."

Yi Cheongun glanced over with a smirk.

"What's so impossible about it? It's me, Yi Cheongun, your junior brother."

"......!!"

The temple's master, Dokgo Seong, dropped the rabbit he'd apparently caught for dinner. He stood there dazed for a long while before speaking.

"Do you remember what our late master said when we went on that outing to Black Cat Plain together?"

Yi Cheongun replied naturally.

"He handed his sword to you, senior brother, and said the sword arts of the Thunder God Style were now yours. I remember it clear as day."

"Ooh...!!"

Dokgo Seong's eyes welled up with tears as he rushed over and grabbed Yi Cheongun's hand. It was a far cry from the curt, aloof demeanor of the sword master he'd always shown. Confirming the vitality in Yi Cheongun's hand, he muttered in a daze.

"This isn't a dream, is it...? You're alive, the grandmaster of the Thunder God Style is alive!"

"I'm alive, senior brother."

"Uheheh...!! It's done, truly done!! The Thunder God Style lives!"

Dokgo Seong broke down sobbing without a care for appearances. Watching him, I felt a pang of sympathy.

He never showed it, but Dokgo Seong had despaired deeply over the Thunder God Style's fate too.

When he heard Yi Cheongun had died, he must have felt like everything was lost. To the Four Great Martial Styles, the grandmaster held that absolute a position. After a brief reunion, Yi Cheongun sat facing Dokgo Seong and introduced me.

"This is Baek Woong, my new disciple."

Dokgo Seong wiped his tears and looked at me.

"Indeed, the grandmaster's disciple. I can sense you've reached an extraordinary sword realm."

He saw it at a glance?

Impressed inwardly by Dokgo Seong's sharp eyes, I listened as he continued.

"But what of Lee Gwang? That child must be alive too..."

Yi Cheongun replied bitterly.

"There are circumstances."

"I see... if the grandmaster says so, then it must be."

Dokgo Seong didn't press further. Considering his notoriously strict personality, it was unusual, but it showed just how immense Yi Cheongun was. Though their master-disciple hierarchy was set, Dokgo Seong fundamentally acknowledged the grandmaster Yi Cheongun as above him.

"I'll explain the details later. First, the matter at hand."

"Right."

Yi Cheongun said,

"I want to pass on the Sword Thunder Realm to this child."

Flinch!

Dokgo Seong looked slightly startled.

"Sword Thunder?"

"Yes."

"But grandmaster, haven't you already reached the pinnacle of the Heavenly Thunder Realm? You could teach him directly without my help..."

Yi Cheongun replied,

"I intended to teach him the grandmaster's secrets, but he's not ready yet. So first, we solidify the foundation by mastering what he's already attained. As for the sword, you've honed it longer than I have, senior brother, so I trust you'll teach it well."

"Hmm... the grandmaster's specialty was the spear."

"Exactly. I can wield Sword Thunder, but in proficiency, you're superior."

"......"

Dokgo Seong crossed his arms and pondered deeply. Then he said,

"Grandmaster, you're not planning to make this Baek Woong a grandmaster himself."

"What makes you say that?"

"...Talent that struggles with Sword Thunder could never succeed you. You're full of mysteries."

Muttering to himself, Dokgo Seong leaned forward slightly.

"Be honest with me, junior brother. What's really going on?"

Yi Cheongun said,

"It's a necessary step for reviving the Thunder God Style."

"Nothing more?"

"No."

What an arbitrary answer! But Dokgo Seong sighed as if he had no choice.

"Very well. I, Dokgo Seong of the Thunder God Style, will obey the grandmaster's command, whatever it is."

"Thank you."

"Then I'll teach this child and pass on Sword Thunder."

"I leave it to you. Baek Woong will return alone soon."

Yi Cheongun stood. I escorted him out of the temple briefly and prepared to take him back to Zhangling Valley.

Flash.

As soon as we arrived, Yi Cheongun said to me,

"Your senior brother is the Thunder God Style's greatest sword master. It won't take long to attain Sword Thunder. Focus and acquire it, then return once you have."

I asked suspiciously,

"How can you be so certain? Sword Thunder is a transcendent ultimate art."

Sword Thunder was part of the Heavenly Thunder Realm. Compressing one's energy into thought-lightning, Heart Thunder? Thus, the Heavenly Thunder Realm's power, including Sword Thunder, possessed terrifying might that could slice through ordinary qi. It was the superior form of Sword Gang and the undisputed pinnacle of Thunder God Style swordmanship.

That's why, in my past life training under Dokgo Seong, I'd struggled desperately to attain it. Though my training time was short, even a long period wouldn't have guaranteed success. Yi Cheongun knew the difficulty, yet he spoke so lightly.

Yi Cheongun said,

"Didn't you know? You've already reached a sword realm where Sword Thunder is well within grasp."

"What?"

"You've honed the world's greatest transcendent arts—the Seven Ultimate Arts and Eight Immortal Divine Skills—for decades, fought dozens of battles against descending Earth Immortals, received earnest guidance from all manner of geniuses and sages, and clashed often with peak experts. Plus, with Yeo Dongbin's aid, you overcame the chaos of sword styles, infusing your swordmanship with ineffable profundity. If your martial talent were just a bit sharper, you'd have created your own era-defining sword style, becoming a great hero rivaling Zhang Sanfeng. Frankly, no one in martial history has amassed such fortunes as you."

"......"

Yi Cheongun grinned.

"That's why you haven't attained Sword Thunder yet—not due to difficulty, but lack of time to refine what you've gained. Now with this opportunity, you'll attain it easily."

"Opportunity?"

"The Seven Senses are beginning to resonate within you."

He explained calmly.

"The Six Senses capture realms beyond the five senses, a super-sensation. Mastering the Six Senses' domain is required to reach the Thought Realm. So what do you think the Seven Senses domain is?"

"Hmm... no idea. The White Lotus Cult Leader once emphasized it..."

As I trailed off, Yi Cheongun said,

"You can't predict the future with Six Senses alone. But Seven Senses transcend space-time, possibly enabling foresight. Borrowing the Leader's words, it's sensing faint cracks amid ecstatic states?"

"Hmm..."

"It's not quite the divine sensory realm you felt in your past life, but it breaks human limits, reaching shared super-translucent perception. In other words, essential for becoming an absolute master."

"......!!"

Excited at the possibility, I exclaimed,

"Then I've entered the absolute realm's gateway...!!"

"No, not that."

Yi Cheongun waved it off firmly.

"Outstanding peak experts usually harbor Seven Senses as potential. Few recognize or utilize it. The Sword Demon sensed Wall Beyond Heaven's danger via Seven Senses, as you recall."

"Ah."

That was true. So Seven Senses were necessary for the absolute realm but not proof of attainment. Nodding in understanding, I heard Yi Cheongun continue.

"Honing that transcendent Seven Senses after reaching the absolute realm leads straight to Yeo Dongbin's Moonlight Void Projection Realm."

"Moonlight Void Projection!"

A transcendent sense immune to any preemptive strike, responding to all speeds!

Theoretically invincible, only Yeo Dongbin, among those I knew, had fully mastered it. As I let out a gasp, Yi Cheongun said bitterly,

"...That Moonlight Void Projection's [Eye] is beyond human achievement. Truly the Life-Death Entering Extinction Eye. Even I or the Leader would need fifty years of cultivation to glimpse it. A true Earth Immortal indeed."

"I see."

"What you've lacked is emotion and sensation transcending mortal bounds. But after long cultivation and experience, your Seven Senses have awakened, so mastering Sword Thunder should be easy."

Flash.

After escorting Yi Cheongun back, I returned to Dragon King's Valley. Dokgo Seong was reading an old book he'd pulled from the temple. As I strode in, he raised a hand.

"Hold. We'll start training later."

"Yes."

He read quietly for a while. I went outside and meditated until he finished. After some time, Dokgo Seong emerged and asked,

"How far have you mastered the Thunder God Style's swordmanship?"

I recalled Yi Cheongun's advice.

"Be honest, but don't mention past lives or the black obsidian."

I detailed my achievements to Dokgo Seong. Impressed, he said,

"Impressive... Show me."

Flash flash.

I demonstrated flawlessly from Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship to Ten Thousand Victory Sword Formula, Thunder Dragon Divine Sword, and Thunder God Sword Dance. Refined over years in real combat, mistakes were impossible even after multiple forms. After watching, Dokgo Seong said,

"Excellent. Seems you've mastered them all. But during the Thunder Dragon Divine Sword's sword dance, you're lacking in absorbing Heavenly Thunder Qi, and the Thunder God Sword Dance is still rough. We'll focus on those."

"Please guide me well."

Knowing the process already, it felt neither daunting nor dangerous. Steady effort would yield Sword Thunder—I felt a surge of excitement and confidence.

Suddenly curious, I asked Dokgo Seong,

"What was that book you were reading in the temple?"

He replied,

"I didn't mention it because this temple's original master was Master Hataek, Seventh Patriarch of the Southern Zen School."

"Yes."

"Master Hataek was Hui Neng's disciple. Do you know what kind of man he was?"

"Not really."

Answering honestly, I listened as Dokgo Seong explained.

"Master Hataek elevated Hui Neng's Southern Zen by denigrating Shenxiu and inflating his master as Sixth Patriarch to undermine the Northern School. Originally Shenxiu's disciple, he was little more than a filthy traitor."

"Ah!"

This was my first such conversation with Dokgo Seong. Naturally, I learned the details of Master Hataek for the first time. Intrigued, I asked,

"Was Master Hataek truly so vile?"

"That man sold forged documents to peasants dodging corvée during the Yellow Ox Uprising, amassing illicit wealth to evade service, then sold it to the imperial court."

"...Impossible to call him a Buddhist monk. Hui Neng is a renowned enlightened master among the people."

I voiced my honest thoughts. Dokgo Seong smiled oddly.

"If not a Buddhist monk, then what?"

"A villain."

"Heh heh heh. I thought like you before coming here."

"Yes?"

Dokgo Seong stopped smiling after a moment and said,

"Anyway, time for training now. If you reach the Sword Thunder Realm, I'll share an interesting fact with you, the grandmaster's disciple."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!