Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

After Mang Liang returned, he handed the White Cloud Plaque to Je Gal Sa and said. The White Cloud Plaque was a token obtained from Je Gal Bu's corpse.

"I won't be able to practice spell arts or do other things for a while."

"I see. You'll be even busier. For now, I'll analyze the situation with this."

"Please do."

Sure enough, Mang Liang had to reorganize the Anti-Heaven Alliance, build up the strength to fight the Imperial Palace, and solidly ties with the righteous sects. On top of that, navigating the power struggles among the three major factions would bring a flood of miscellaneous tasks. Thinking of Mang Liang's hardships made my chest tighten.

'In truth, Mang Liang wants to practice spell arts more than anyone...'

Mang Liang was originally brilliant enough to become a master of formations and illusions at a young age, but his innate spiritual power was too low to use spells properly. Now that he had a chance to truly master spell arts, he was putting it off to help me. In a way, Mang Liang was sacrificing his own opportunity for my sake.

Je Gal Sa unfurled the White Cloud Plaque and said.

"Try using it?"

"I mean, test if the White Cloud Plaque helps with your Yin Spirit Power training."

"Ah!"

Come to think of it, the White Cloud Plaque had the effect of permanently replenishing a spell master's spiritual power. The idea was that its auto-recovery could speed up Yin Spirit Power training. I took the White Cloud Plaque right away and began training that very day.

But the next day, as Cheon Woo Jin contemplated my spiritual power and checked my progress, he shook his head.

"It's useless after all."

"No effect?"

"The White Cloud Plaque only recovers a fixed amount of spiritual power. It doesn't help much with training that increases your maximum spiritual power. If it did, Je Gal Bu's spell arts would already be at Dragon King level."

Cheon Woo Jin continued.

"There are a few ways to advance your Yin Spirit Power or Grand Yin Power in a short time, but for now, just focus on spell art training."

"Why?"

"You're too used to getting fortuitous encounters. Spell arts are even trickier than martial arts—if you don't have the basics, you can never use them properly. Even if there was a way to drastically boost your absolute power right now, it would be poison to you at your current level."

"Hmm... Got it."

That day, I spent the entire time relearning basic spell art theory from Cheon Woo Jin. Unlike what I'd learned from Mang Liang and the others, it was focused more on practical sense than theory. I inwardly grumbled that it was a genius's training method after all, but unexpectedly, what Cheon Woo Jin taught was quite easy to understand.

After that day's training ended, I reported the results to Je Gal Sa, who wore a thoughtful expression.

"I see."

"Je Gal Sa. What should I do now? Train in spell arts for two years?"

"...You'll have to, but."

Je Gal Sa hesitated for a moment, then lifted the White Cloud Plaque. And then he shouted.

"White Cloud Plaque, show us the result if Baek Woong diligently trains in spell arts under Cheon Woo Jin for two years!"

"Uh...?!"

It can show it to multiple people?!

Before I could be surprised, the scenery before my eyes suddenly changed.

Susuuu—

I was sitting on a cliff in Jangyeong Valley two years in the future.

'My perspective.'

I seemed to have been meditating all night on the cliff. Shortly after, I opened my eyes, stopping my lunar essence cultivation for a moment, when an irritated voice came from behind.

"Damn it! Did that bald-headed fool learn only this much in two years?"

It seemed I was pretending not to hear Cheon Woo Jin's outburst.

"Quit complaining. Today's the day you leave."

"If he'd just farmed for two years instead... Argh, my time..."

Cheon Woo Jin was raging and stomping around.

Je Gal Sa, standing nearby with an annoyed look, said.

"Still, thanks to your diligent teaching, he shed his beginner status and entered mid-level spell master territory, didn't he? That's enough to exorcise demons in the eyes of the world."

"If it were Senior Brother, he'd have challenged the Ascension Gate by now! I, a Soul Spirit, taught so hard, and he's still crawling at the bottom—I can't believe it."

Cheon Woo Jin glared at me with eyes full of irritation, grabbed my collar, and shook me as he said.

"You bald-headed idiot! You're hopeless! Hopeless, you fool!!"

With my collar grabbed, I grabbed Cheon Woo Jin's collar in return and yelled.

"What do you want me to do about it!! I have no talent—what can you add to that!"

"Hey, you bastard! I'm so pissed, let's just trade one blow before I go."

"What nonsense!!"

Eventually, Cheon Woo Jin and I went from collar-grabbing argument to a full fight using martial arts and spells. I countered his spells with the Three Treasures Absolute Arts and martial arts, but since Cheon Woo Jin had grown stronger with divine flames, he soon blasted me off the cliff with a single incantation.

"Urgent Subdue Evil Command!"

Kwaaang!

"Uwaaak!"

I tried to escape the fall with air-stepping, but Cheon Woo Jin intensified the gravity again, accelerating my descent.

Kugung!

After I crashed into the ground, Je Gal Sa approached from afar with an annoyed look and muttered.

"Hmm... Cheon Woo Jin's gone. Even after two years of teaching, he didn't kill you—must be the Great Immortal's blessing effect."

"M-My arm's broken. My leg too..."

As I groaned, Je Gal Sa sighed.

"Hopeless..."

Paaat!

The future shown by the White Cloud Plaque ended. Cheon Woo Jin and I fell silent.

"......"

"......"

Unlike the previous visions, this was a near-future prophecy with almost no variables, making it incredibly realistic. No, if things continued like this, it would definitely happen. Je Gal Sa pressed his temples with his fingers as if his head hurt and said.

"With that hopeless talent, two years really isn't enough. I wish Mang Liang Senior could lend Cheon Woo Jin longer."

"Damn... If even diligent training leads to that result, what's the point?"

I lamented in despair. The problem with this prophecy was that it assumed 'I trained diligently.' Even if I ignored it and trained sincerely, the outcome wouldn't change much. Je Gal Sa gave a wry smile.

"You fell into the White Cloud Plaque's trap too."

"What? Trap? Was the future we just saw fake?"

"No. What the White Cloud Plaque shows has a very high chance of becoming true. But the reason this plaque's prophecy is ultimately useless is its property: 'It changes the moment you observe it.'"

Je Gal Sa continued leisurely.

"Now that you've seen this prophecy, you'll act differently. The moment you decide that, the prophecy changes. Even if you act the same, the result will differ."

"What? Really?"

"Yes. That's why the original owner, Zhuque, or Je Gal Bu couldn't predict our actions with it. Even if you factor in variables, the moment you observe, that future changes... It's nothing more than an amusing toy."

"......"

"The reason this token is so useless is that it lacks the power to alter causality. Reading future branches without the power to change causality is meaningless."

Puzzled, I asked.

"Why did Zhuge Wu Hou make a token with such a pointless function?"

"Everyone desires to predict and read the future. Moreover, Zhuge Wu Hou knew that Shu Han would fall soon after his death, so he hoped his successor strategist would refine plans using the White Cloud Plaque. In truth, its real function is closer to warnings and reading the opponent's moves."

"Hmm..."

"Anyway, it helped this time. Now you can change your course of action."

With that, Je Gal Sa said.

"Come on. We'll go differently from the prophecy. Since it's come to this, let's first grab a fortuitous encounter to boost your Grand Yin Power."

"Yeah? Cheon Woo Jin said that would hinder my growth..."

"That's what the White Cloud Plaque just showed as the wrong answer, right? Don't you get it? We avoid wrong answers."

"Ah..."

Je Gal Sa's eyes gleamed.

"We don't know how long Jeong Ri Hwon's blessing will last. You felt it this time, didn't you? Even that blessing couldn't stop the three major factions' meeting. Once we're swept into the world's massive currents, the blessing becomes meaningless—so let's grab as many fortuitous encounters as we can now."

"Got it."

I relayed Je Gal Sa's words to Cheon Woo Jin, who nodded as if convinced.

"Phew, what a relief. I can avoid teaching that bald-headed fool for two years..."

A torrent of curses rose in my mind, but I barely held back and said.

"Don't fan the flames—teach me how to improve my Yin Spirit Power."

"Alright."

Cheon Woo Jin pointed toward the horizon with his finger and said.

"First: Catch a yokai with Yin Spirit Power somewhere. Then absorb its yokai power to grow stronger."

"Ooh!"

"You know where such yokai are, right?"

"Yeah? Where?"

"There are all sorts of yokai in the world, but Yin Spirit Power is the authority of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors' Jeon Uk. Only his direct subordinates or bloodline possess it."

"......"

My face turned pale.

"The... Myriad Ghosts Hall."

"Right. Catch a ghost from Myriad Ghosts Hall. Or one of its affiliated divinities..."

"Crazy talk! How am I supposed to catch that!!!"

I shrieked.

Of course, I knew where Myriad Ghosts Hall was and how to get there. But the ghosts of Myriad Ghosts Hall were on a different level from ordinary spirits—each one was Great Immortal-class. Moreover, the ones managing the ghosts, like the Ten Thousand Ghosts or whatever, were on par with Peng Jiao. Catching them was impossible, and even if I did, Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors' Jeon Uk would fly into a rage and kill me afterward.

Cheon Woo Jin shrugged.

"You think I suggested training for nothing? It was obviously unrealistic, so I didn't mention it. Anyway, I'm just telling you the options, feasibility aside."

"Ugh... Second method?"

"Second: Get your hands on a token or artifact containing Yin Spirit Power."

Hearing Cheon Woo Jin, I pondered deeply and said.

"That'll be related to Jeon Uk too, right?"

"Well, it has to be. At minimum, it's a relic from the mythic era or something someone summoned Jeon Uk for and received directly as a treasure."

"Hmm... That sounds like a hassle."

Cheon Woo Jin shook his head.

"It's unsealed. When you showed me the Ten Directions last time, I already checked if it could extract Yin Spirit Power. Being unsealed is like having a lock on the door—even if it's Jeon Uk's creation, you can't draw out just that energy."

"I see... Huh..."

Wait?

The Ten Directions won't work... but I feel like I'm missing something?

I tilted my head, but Cheon Woo Jin continued.

"Third method: Change your training ground for gathering Grand Yin essence."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Where is this place?"

"Jangyeong Valley."

"And where does Jangyeong Valley belong in the realms?"

"The human realm."

Cheon Woo Jin nodded.

"The human realm has extremely low spiritual power density. In contrast, the heavenly realm has incredibly high spirituality, with spiritual power thick in the air."

"Train in the heavenly realm?"

"Of course. Senior Brother once ascended to the earthly immortal realm, training on a heavenly mountain under the Nine Heavens Maiden's protection. The effect is at least dozens or hundreds of times greater than earthly training."

I frowned.

"......You mean pass the Ascension Gate."

"That's right."

Cheon Woo Jin answered and chuckled as if it were funny.

"Keke... But to pass the Ascension Gate, you need to be among the top spell masters on this Central Plains continent. Even then it's ify, and a guy still fumbling at beginner level passing it..."

"......"

He was right. The Ascension Gate was the greatest trial in the spell world, where flying eagles of the Central Plains—sorcerers and spell masters—staked their honor to ascend. I hadn't realized it because I met Great Immortals so often, but even becoming an earthly immortal via the Ascension Gate made one a spiritual being hard for humans to even gaze upon.

With my current skill, it was absolutely impossible. I racked my brains and said.

"I don't need to pass the Ascension Gate—just enter the heavenly realm, right?"

Cheon Woo Jin said pityingly.

"I know what clever trick you're thinking of. Do it if you want to die. If heavenly eyes spot you, even the White Lotus Cult Leader won't survive intruding."

"Damn."

"So what'll you do? After hearing the White Cloud Plaque's future, I have zero desire to teach you."

"Wait."

There has to be a way.

Some method...

I desperately turned my mind. Every shortcut suggested was ridiculously difficult, and at this rate, I'd really have to fill 250 years with pure training. No matter how near-infinite my reincarnations, I couldn't live like that.

Then, something flashed in my head.

"Ah! Hold on!"

I rummaged through my neck pouch. And pulled out an item, holding it out to Cheon Woo Jin.

"How about this!!"

"......!!"

Cheon Woo Jin took it, examined it closely, and said in astonishment.

"This... I didn't think of this."

"We can get Yin Spirit Power from this, right?"

Cheon Woo Jin opened his spirit eyes to sense the spiritual power and replied.

"Yeah. Should be enough. Not sure how much power's left, but..."

I grinned.

"Hahat!"

The item in Cheon Woo Jin's hand.

It was Jeon Uk's statue.

'It had enough value to trade with Great Immortals from the start!'

Jeon Uk's statue from the deepest part of the Ten Directions ruins! My prediction that an ancient statue of Jeon Uk would contain Yin Spirit Power proved correct.

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