Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

Jin So-cheong gripped his spear silently, glaring ahead. He drew in a deep breath, then took a single step forward as naturally as parting water. In that one step, twenty feet compressed, and all the energy seemed to flow into the tip of his spear.

'A feint?'

I couldn't quite grasp the profundity hidden in Jin So-cheong's move as I watched.

The moment Jin So-cheong stepped forward, the White Lotus Cult Leader unleashed Heart Heaven Infinite, unleashing a ferocious assault right in front of Dal-gi.

Kwa-gwa-gwang!

A force that could crumble mountains! It wasn't as overwhelming as when he had been hailed as a divine emissary in Luoyang, but the infinite power emanating from the Cult Leader's Primal Spirit was tremendous. Moreover, hundreds of palm strikes hammered in like wedges in an instant—no ordinary warrior could block or dodge them.

Ssss.

[Urgh...]

Dal-gi's eyes split open, crimson light flaring fiercely. A mocking voice echoed through the chamber.

[You think that paltry power can tear my barrier?]

Ziling.

Kwa-gwa-gwang!

Crimson beams shot from Dal-gi's eyes, suddenly fanning out to incinerate everything ahead. The attack spanned far beyond a hundred feet—impossible to evade with normal movement arts. But in that instant, Manggyang formed hand seals, teleporting our entire allied force downstream.

"One step to another realm."

Paat!

Manggyang had unleashed an advanced spell combining shrinking earth and spatial shift. Having poured out a massive amount of mana at once, he staggered, and the Sword Demon supported him.

"Are you all right?"

"Urgh... Ack. This isn't the time to charge that monster. We'll evade with the Seven Stars Formation until that spell barrier lifts."

"Understood."

Ta-dat.

The Anti-Heaven Alliance's experts snapped into formation the moment Manggyang spoke. As Dal-gi raised his three tails again, firing massive pillars of flame in all directions, our entire force—holding the Seven Stars positions—vanished abruptly.

Paat!

The Anti-Heaven Alliance members reappeared in unexpected spots. Watching, I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Impressive."

The Seven Stars Movement!

It was a spell where allies took positions according to the Seven Stars, allowing the central Heaven Pivot Sorcerer to activate shrinking earth and teleport them all together. An ancient high-level spell from the Three Emperors Inne: Gaet, not passed to ordinary sorcerers. Manggyang had mastered it through practice and was deploying it now.

'Using the Seven Stars Movement barely consumes any mana.'

The first time had been too sudden, forcing Manggyang to expend his full power, but from now on, he'd just activate it from the Seven Stars positions. It should evade Dal-gi's continuous massive area attacks.

That was when the Twelve Lavo Lord, clad in his Moonlight Night Armor and wielding the Milky Way Scissors Fan, chanted an incantation.

"In Haebaek's name, I command you—freeze solid!"

Kugu-gugung!

The enlarged pocket dimension seemed engulfed in an Ice Dragon. The Twelve Lavo Lord's devastating ability—which had once frozen tens of thousands of merfolk at once—made even Dal-gi hesitate, unable to ignore it.

Kki-ri-ri-ri-gik...

A fierce screech echoed as the spell barrier around Dal-gi warped. The incantation's chill was clearly piercing through. But Dal-gi soon roared dismissively.

[I, Dal-gi, command it—return, cold air!]

Word Spirit Invocation!

"What?!"

The Twelve Lavo Lord panicked at the unexpected authority, but it was too late.

Jjeojeojeok.

The Ice Dragon reversed like rewinding time, dissolving into pure cold mana before rebounding toward its caster, the Twelve Lavo Lord himself. He hurriedly swung the Milky Way Scissors Fan to absorb it, but it failed—the chill visibly froze his arm from the elbow down.

"Urgh..."

The Twelve Lavo Lord screamed, but soon the cold enveloped his entire puppet shell.

Jjeojeok.

Like buried in millennial glaciers for days, his body froze from head to foot. The chill was so intense the Three Envoys couldn't even approach to help, retreating instead. In the blink of an eye, the Twelve Lavo Lord's form became a towering ice cliff fifteen feet across.

"......?!"

What in the world had I just witnessed?

The great Twelve Lavo Lord, taken down so easily...

Yet even trapped in the glacier, he wasn't fully dead—still twitching faintly. Cheon Woo-jin, observing via Heavenly Eye, murmured intriguedly.

"The Milky Way Scissors Fan and Moonlight Night Armor's resistances must be keeping him alive."

"What the hell just happened?!"

"With Dal-gi's level of yokai power, he can reflectively invoke Word Spirit to reflect even divine spells without training. Ordinary spells won't work, and even if they pierce the barrier, it'll bounce back like that."

"Crazy...!!"

My jaw dropped. Even a divine-artifact Milky Way Scissors Fan technique, rivaling Seven Wondrous, failed—reflected so effortlessly?

'Oh, right—Dal-gi once countered Yeo Dong-bin's Five Dragon Summon too.'

It had only halved the mighty summons, but Dal-gi had nullified it with a roar akin to Word Spirit. The monster who could deflect a Nine Heavens Lord's max output—that was Dal-gi.

So how the hell do we take him down? Martial physical attacks require breaking the spell barrier first, but nothing gets through easily—and even if it does, Dal-gi actively reflects spells!

As I reeled, Cheon Woo-jin said,

"The silver lining is that barrier doesn't recover infinitely—it has a limit to absorbed damage. Once we accumulate enough, we can attack with normal martial arts."

"How much do we need?"

Staring at the Heavenly Eye screen, Cheon Woo-jin murmured to my question,

"That guy's about to show us."

Pabat.

Jin So-cheong had closed to point-blank range with Dal-gi unnoticed. To the mountain-sized Dal-gi, he was an ant, so Dal-gi paid him no mind—confident no bug could pierce his barrier even if it attacked.

Woo-o.

Lightning crackled from Jin So-cheong's body, flashing brilliantly for an instant. His form, engulfed in radiance like a being of light, startled me—I clenched my fist tight.

'Is... Thunder God Possession?'

Shiiik...

But the change was fleeting; he reverted to human shape.

'Was it my imagination...'

Jin So-cheong leaped spear-first at Dal-gi. Amid the vortex of radiant beams Dal-gi auto-emitted, he burrowed deep with Triple Pace Flash, unleashing a single thrust.

Thung.

[What...]

As Dal-gi prepared to spew jade flames from his nose in all directions, he glanced at his feet. There stood Jin So-cheong, thrust maintained. Dal-gi was unscratched—not even a scratch—but the barrier enveloping him had visibly thinned.

What had happened?

[You bastard!!]

Kwa-gwang!

Dal-gi swung a tail in startled attack; Jin So-cheong swiftly dodged and withdrew. But as Dal-gi lashed multiple tails in fury, Jin So-cheong fell into peril.

[Sage Tribulation.]

The watching White Lotus Cult Leader intervened, slowing Dal-gi's assault instantly with Absolute Realm's Sage Tribulation—giving Jin So-cheong space to retreat via movement art. As Jin So-cheong fell back, the Cult Leader glanced at him and sent a transmission.

[Young Thunder Spirit Style expert. What is that spear art?]

Jin So-cheong met his gaze evenly.

"It has no name."

[I see... So you can't yet...]

Murmuring cryptically, the White Lotus Cult Leader continued.

[Set aside our sects' old grudges for now. My Dharma Protectors and I will support you—pierce his barrier before our eyes.]

"Agreed."

[Here we go!]

With that, the Cult Leader stopped holding back, unleashing his Primal Spirit's power to the utmost, pouring infinite qi at Dal-gi. Thousands of palm struck continuously, while Sage Tribulation's space slowed Dal-gi's movements.

[Hap!]

"Take this."

The Dharma Protectors, grasping the intent, unleashed massive elemental blasts with their Heaven Spirit Pills' inner power, no longer conserving. As Cult Leader and Protectors focused all firepower heedless of consequences, even Dal-gi faltered and retreated.

Kwa-gwa-gwang.

Watching, I grew excited.

"Infinite inner power! That might eventually break the barrier..."

Cheon Woo-jin snapped curtly,

"Fool. Haven't you assessed the situation?"

"What?"

"The White Lotus Cult alone can't defeat Dal-gi. They can only pin him."

He pointed at the screen.

"Look. As the barrier thins, he's preparing something—likely casting another spell mid-flight."

"Preparing...?"

"Five Elements Power is gathering. Dal-gi will counterattack big soon."

Pajjjjjk.

Flame orbs, thunder orbs, and storm orbs floated around Dal-gi—each about ten feet across. They didn't attack yet, just hovered. But I grasped Cheon Woo-jin's meaning.

"He's converting the elemental shock from the Protectors into those orbs."

Cheon Woo-jin nodded.

"Dal-gi isn't a wooden puppet taking hits mindlessly. He's a cunning demon king versed in sorcery. He knew the White Lotus executives have infinite inner power from the start—why wouldn't he switch tactics?"

"Once those orbs fill..."

"The maximized Five Elements Power will detonate with his jade flames. Everyone inside dies."

"......"

At a loss, I watched as Cheon Woo-jin stared ahead tensely.

"The Cult Leader's gambling. If Jin So-cheong pierces the barrier with his ultimate art before the orbs fill, the rest can swarm and wound Dal-gi. Otherwise..."

"Wiped out."

"Yeah."

I ground my teeth. Then shouted,

"It's not working! Let's go now..."

"Wait. No signal from Zhuge yet."

"......"

"Besides, the Twelve Lavo Lord won't go down like this."

Kwa-gwang.

Kwang.

Explosions resonated, majestic destruction sweeping the chamber. The Protectors poured infinite inner power, but hitting Dal-gi endlessly without damage wore on their morale. The Cult Leader weakened too—Sage Tribulation's range shrinking.

Then Jin So-cheong dived in again. Despite his colossal bulk, Dal-gi keenly sensed him, whipping five tails instantly.

"Hup!"

Pabat.

A shout and blinding flash erupted; Jin So-cheong shifted from danger to safety. His rescuer appeared and greeted him.

"Whew. With our boss down, you're our only hope."

"You're..."

"Hong Gil-dong of Dan's Clan. I'll help you reach that monster alongside the Twelve Lavo Lord's comrades."

Ssss.

Hong Gil-dong's body suddenly spawned countless identical phantom clones—over two hundred. Even Yong Hwa-cheon, mid-battle, gaped in shock.

"No way? That many..."

To astonish a Wind God-style grandmaster, the clones were extraordinary.

"There, that should do."

Peong.

He swept his hand; instantly, all clones morphed into Jin So-cheong's likeness.

Jin So-cheong glanced around, the clones mimicked perfectly. Grasping the ploy, he charged Dal-gi again. Dal-gi thrashed tails at blinding speed, destroying clones—but failed confusedly, unable to pinpoint the real one.

"Hap."

Jin So-cheong's fearsome thrust struck Dal-gi's flank again.

Kwang!

The barrier thinned unmistakably now—like thin membrane, its end near. Dal-gi shrieked, rage boiling.

[Filthy humans like you...]

That was when.

"Full of openings."

The instant Jin So-cheong struck, Musashi's form materialized undetected behind Dal-gi's neck. He'd hidden his presence from the start, stalking gaps.

Musashi leaped, slashing vertically in one stroke.

God-Slaying Slash!

Peok.

[Guaaak!]

The strike landed perfectly; Dal-gi bowed from the impact. But meant to behead, it merely clubbed the occiput due to the barrier.

"My apologies."

Paat!

God-Slaying Slash drained his stamina and qi, preventing follow-ups. Dal-gi glared back through his occiput-chubber, eyes bloodshot, before shrieking shrilly.

[Enough! Die, all of you!!]

Killing.

Dal-gi's Five Elements Orbs glowed; he breathed flames upon them. They'd detonate, killing everyone—but the Three Envoys appeared before the jade flames, deploying spells.

Hwaruk.

A green barrier formed, blocking Dal-gi's flames! But the Envoys blocking sizzled yellow, smoke rising from arms—soon glowing red-hot, danger mounting.

[Muuu.]

The White Lotus Cult Leader intervened, aiding the block; the Envoys escaped death narrowly. Crisis of annihilation averted once.

[Guaaaaaak.]

Undeterred, Dal-gi spewed massive flame pillars hundreds of feet wide in all directions—his fiercest onslaught yet. Anti-Heaven Alliance and Twelve Lavo experts dodged frantically, starting to panic.

"Hap."

Undaunted by the onslaught, Jin So-cheong dove in again. Only he could counter the current situation. Thrusting, he flew with all his might.

Piercing through.

His Single-Thrust Flash targeted Dal-gi's throat; as the Light Spear tip reached, anomaly struck.

Kwa-ching.

[Ah... No...!!]

Like shattering glass, Dal-gi's barrier crumbled; the heat rave around his vanished completely. Unbelieving, Dal-gi's pupils quaked—and in that instant, Jin So-cheong's spear flash rent further, becoming a streak of light.

"Die, Demon King Dal-gi!"

Jin So-cheong poured all desperation into Heart Strike Pure Sky, howling.

Kwang!

[Greeeeeaaak.]

The light beam pierced Dal-gi like an arrow, hurling his body wall-ward. Moments later, a massive boom—Dal-gi crashed into stone, trembling like a fox skewered by an arrow.

But Jin So-cheong, exhausting the feat, exhausted from mid-air—risking fatal fall unconscious.

"Jin So-cheong!"

At that instant, Manggyang—evading via Seven Stars—snatched him mid-drop. Landing with Jin So-cheong, he bellowed thunderously.

"Barrier's down! All-out assault!!"

Pababat.

Hitherto evading experts from Twelve Lavo and Anti-Heaven Alliance swarmed like bees, unleashing qi and spells at Dal-gi. Having survived dozens of near-deaths, they attacked in fury, slashing his flesh.

Kwa-gwang.

Puk!

[Kyaaak.]

Blades now entered Dal-gi's flesh, spells embedding—but his vast body let him thrash unscathed. Critically, Sword Demon, Gok Ho, etc., struck their best, yet like ants biting an elephant—minimal impact.

Next, Cult Leader and Protectors joined eyes, assaulting with infinite inner power.

[Finish it.]

Kwa-gwang.

Dozen-feet destructions chained, bleeding Dal-gi. Other experts dodged Protectors' range, swarming vitals—like ants tearing a bear.

How long?

Suddenly, bloodied Dal-gi rallied, roaring.

[Greeeaak.]

Kwa-ching.

A thin barrier reformed around Dal-gi. Bloodied but battle-ready, he raised nine tails; humans, intimidated, retreated.

Seeing the barrier, Cult Leader frowned.

[Truly a monster... How much stamina does it have? Ever an incense stick without barrier...]

Manggyang restored Jin So-cheong's consciousness via Three Emperors Inner Gate healing—Jin So-cheong, breathing heavily.

"Not as strong as before! One more break! Break it once more, and we end it!"

[Good. Dispose quickly. Can't endure this land's demon qi long.]

The tedious barrier-breaking resumed. Mainstayers Jin So-cheong and Musashi sidelined combat-ineffective, but Dal-gi equally drained—easier now. He no longer spewed flames freely or cast spells nimbly.

Another incense stick passed?

[Kyaak.]

Kwa-ching.

"All-out assault!!!"

"Uwaaaaa!"

Bent on finishing, all charged desperately at the half-unconscious Dal-gi.

Peokuk.

Kwa-jik.

[Greeaak...]

Mauled by dozens of experts, Dal-gi bled profusely—then suddenly began glowing.

Paaaaa...

[Kuh... infuriating...]

With a resentful cry, Dal-gi's colossal form turned to a light streak, fleeing skyward. Unable to endure the present world longer, he'd retreated to his sealed Golden Crow Isle seal. Facing destruction, he forfeited.

Teol-seok...

"We... won..."

Everyone collapsed, utterly spent. No deaths fortunately, but injuries abounded—even Protectors scarred variously. Only the White Lotus Cult Leader unscaled; Manggyang had fainted twice from shockwaves.

A pyrrhic victory, yet all awake:

They'd felled a divine emissary!

Now the path to toppling the imperial palace's black qi opened.

The Cult Leader, weary and staggering, glanced at the iced Twelve Lavo Lord.

[He's dead, it seems.]

Could the Twelve Lavo Lord, struck full by reflected divine spell and glacier-trapped, survive?

Any would say impossible.

"......"

The Three Envoys silent. Amid quiet, an Envoy suddenly spoke.

"The Lord's breath just stopped."

Twelve Lavo Lord Rin-cheon's death notice.

Sudden, yet no shock—battle too frantic earlier for thought. Instead, Hong Gil-dong stepped from the ground, shouting loudly.

"Even without the Lord, we press on. The Ming palace falls today."

[Agreed. Let's go.]

The Cult Leader's eyes blazed.

[At last, time to tear the Vermilion Bird's limbs.]

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