Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

Ku-gu-gu.

The sky blazed like hellfire, relentless bursts of qi exploding in all directions. The peak was now engulfed in flashes of light, chunks of earth spraying up only to be blasted away entirely in a repeating cycle. The combined assault of the White Lotus Cult Leader and his Dharma Protectors was a natural disaster in itself, and the mountain's height had already been halved. Even the Portrait Revenant under fire hadn't touched the ground, remaining shrouded in light.

"He's still completely unscathed..."

His defenses evoked the Moon Demon's main body. I watched the barrage from afar with sharpened dynamic vision, letting out a groan. No human could survive such brutal attacks, yet the Portrait Revenant would shatter to pieces only to reform instantly. Where the Moon Demon boasted immense skin toughness, this thing nullified damage from the start.

I asked Mangryang.

"Mangryang! Is that bastard wrapped in some kind of spell barrier like the Moon Demon?"

Mangryang formed hand seals, activating his Spirit Eye spell. Observing the Portrait Revenant from a distance, he shook his head.

"No. That's his raw body, for sure."

Shuik.

At that moment, Cheon Woo-jin appeared beside us via spatial translocation. Using some spell to materialize in our midst, he cut straight in.

"You're wrong. Even if we attack for a thousand years like this, we won't kill him."

"Cheon Woo-jin!"

"That's the Portrait Ability called Time Recovery."

Time Recovery?

The unfamiliar term left everyone gathered there baffled, prompting Cheon Woo-jin to sigh.

"Hoo! This game's insane... That's no ability that should appear in the mortal realm. It's a true devil's puppet..."

"Cheon Woo-jin. No time—explain quickly."

"Damn it... Don't rush me. I've never seen this ability in person either."

Cheon Woo-jin glared at the distant Portrait Revenant under siege and continued.

"His timeline is fixed. No matter what attack we land, it's a change oriented toward the future in the flow of time. But with a fixed timeline, every attack just bounces back, reverting him to his past state."

"......"

"Simply put, his body keeps rewinding to its [pristine state] along the time axis."

"Hmm, I get it."

I nodded and asked.

"So how do we break it?"

Cheon Woo-jin stared at me blankly before replying.

"Break what?"

"I mean that Time Recovery ability or whatever..."

"No human can break it! Not with the people we have here, at least."

"What?!"

No way!

Cheon Woo-jin spat out his firm denial.

"It's a Portrait Ability said to be usable only by the highest Great Thunder Immortals in the Heavenly Realm—a tiny fraction of them. You've handled the power of time as a divine apostle in the past, so you know, right? Interfering with the [Lesser Cycle] touches the causality of fate itself. No normal physical attack or spell can break it, even in death."

"......!!"

An ability exclusive to the highest Great Thunder Immortals!

Those referred to the likes of the Queen Mother of the West or the Three Pure Ones, whose power rivaled lesser [Ancient Overlords], as far as I knew.

'Come to think of it, the Fetus of Eternal Eons got torn apart by Musashi's attacks but regenerated in a similar way...'

That meant the current white-haired Portrait Revenant's body was truly at divine rank. Piecing it together, I calmly eyed the destructive beams ahead and said.

"...Cheon Woo-jin, you're saying you have no way to break it either?"

"Not entirely. But it's not something we can crack on the spot. Even with dozens of days of prep, it might barely work."

Glancing at Mangryang, Jeon Woo-chi, Hong Gil-dong, and the others, he added.

"The spellcasters here are skilled, but not enough to break Time Recovery. Even with me joining, same story. I recommend retreating now."

"Retreat?"

"That puppet just woke up, so it can't judge the situation yet. That's why it's just taking hits. If we don't escape this window, we're in deep shit."

Listening beside him, the Zhuge elder smirked with a wry, rotten grin.

"Kekeke... You're talking about when it switches that time-control ability from defense to offense."

"Exactly."

"A paradox of a puppet holding both the invincible spear and invincible shield..."

The elder's murmur sent chills across everyone's faces.

Our attacks didn't land due to Time Recovery—invincible state.

And if it turned that time power offensive? I'd seen it once when the Fetus of Eternal Eons fought Musashi. The Absolute Realm Musashi had dissolved into sand without a trace.

No way the White Lotus Cult Leader could handle such a monster!

I couldn't wrap my head around it.

"What the hell does that mean? That white-haired Portrait Revenant revived before, but it wasn't this strong back then."

"Back then, it was a half-baked revival without the full ritual—just a high-grade skeleton slapped together in a rush. But now, they've scraped every drop of divine blood from Mt. Ye, maxing out its potential in an incomplete state. What we're facing is the strongest Portrait Revenant in history."

"Urk..."

So divine blood awakening determines a Portrait Revenant's performance?

I realized this was decision time. Gritting my teeth, I said.

"I'll create an opening somehow. If we don't check it now, we won't handle it later."

"Baek Woong!!"

Mangryang cried out in shock.

"That's too reckless. You don't mean you're going to use that power..."

"Right. I'm probably the only one who can stop it now."

"Is it worth pushing that far? Forgot your master's prophecy of calamity?"

"......"

I knew what Mangryang meant.

Mangryang the monk's prophecy.

[I sense calamity. Don't get cocky and take a counter...]

I'd brought the Cult Leader here partly because of that. I'd once ignored the Twelve Rites Three Sages' warning of ill omen and died pointlessly, so I knew [prophecies] carried real weight. Especially from a divine being like Mangryang the monk—impossible to ignore.

Mangryang was asking if thinking I could stop the Portrait Revenant was hubris. His concern was valid.

But I stated firmly.

"I don't think this is hubris."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm choosing the hard path, risking death myself. Fate doesn't play nice—it dooms you for taking the easy road."

"Um."

With that, I drew my sword, gripped it tight in my right hand, and glared ahead.

"And today, I feel like nothing I do will fail. Good vibes."

My instincts told me.

This wasn't a path to death.

Cheon Woo-jin sighed in disbelief at my words.

"...'Possessed' is exactly the word for that."

Mangryang pondered, then nodded.

"Fine, Baek Woong. I'll trust you. Please stop that puppet from unleashing disaster!"

"Got it!"

Pabat.

I charged into the destruction. The Cult Leader and Dharma Protectors still unleashed terrifying barrages with infinite inner power, but the Portrait Revenant showed no sign of breaking. I surged my qi massively for Aerial Stride, flying toward the Cult Leader.

"Cult Leader!!"

[Baek Woong. Is it.]

"I'll land one cut on him. Make me an opening."

[Understood.]

Soon after, the Leader transmitted to the Dharma Protectors, and their assault paused. Seizing the gap, I hurtled toward the floating Portrait Revenant, channeling all my power into a slash.

'Take this!'

Thunder Dragon Divine Sword

One Flash!

My sword tip hummed with thunder force, about to reach his neck in an instant. Up to now, he'd blankly taken every attack, but light entered the Portrait Revenant's eyes. Suddenly, he moved his arm, thrusting his hand toward my blade.

Chwaak.

My swordplay isn't easy. Attempting empty-hand deflection, his palm got deeply slashed to expose bone, sending him flying back. But he'd dodged the neck cut, so his defense succeeded.

Wiiing.

The white-haired Portrait Revenant floated in the air without falling, naturally employing Dance of the Void. He stared through the hole in his palm, then shifted his gaze to me.

"Who are you... How do you have the power to kill me?"

I'd heard that voice before. Few had faced the white-haired Portrait Revenant directly, but I'd heard it through Xiang Yu. Gender ambiguous, but feminine and high-pitched. Keeping my sword trained on him warily, I replied.

"I'm Baek Woong. What's your name?"

"......"

The reason I'd landed an effective hit, and why his palm wound wasn't regenerating: Yin God Power. Activating it in my body nullified his Time Recovery. Both were divine powers, after all.

But the uncertainty? It drained fast. Two or three more uses at most before depletion and recharge. If his ability outlasted that, this spot would be my grave.

Suddenly, the white-haired Portrait Revenant looked sharply skyward. His hand pointed to a star in the night sky. A voice full of longing echoed.

"When that star in the sky finds its place... the one who will cross the Wall of Eternal Eons and name me will descend."

"Who's that?"

He tilted his head.

"Uh... not sure. Who was it? Who again?"

"You don't know, but you know they'll name you?"

His eyes blackened, exuding cold madness.

"Because that one is watching me right now."

"......!!"

The white-haired Portrait Revenant shuddered, exhaling.

"Don't you hear it? That one's call..."

From his words, I inferred his mental state.

'He's already hearing the [Ancient Overlord]'s call. But not fully.'

Baek Woo-seon predicted the white-haired Portrait Revenant would awaken as the Nine Yin Church's high priest serving the baleful god. First real talk with him, but the baleful god's influence was heavy.

The call.

I'd felt it in my 13th death. I'd awakened the Portrait Revenant fully by slaying Zhuge Bu, powered by an [Ancient Overlord]'s constellation force. To shield my soul from that call, I'd stabbed my own throat. By my experience, this Portrait Revenant had been hearing it nonstop since birth.

'Destined from birth to serve the baleful god...'

He lacked knowledge of baleful gods or [Ancient Overlords] yet, like a newborn baby, so no recognition. But if we hadn't raided Mt. Hang, Zhuge Hyang, Zhuge Yuryong would've fed him twisted knowledge, awakening him as a puppet apostle.

Maybe this was an opportunity?

Like a hatchling, still room to shape him!

As I pondered.

"Weird."

The white-haired Portrait Revenant tilted his head. His face was like a cat spotting something curious, fixed on me. He took a bold step forward.

"You feel different from humans. And so familiar... like a great being stands there..."

"What are you talking about?"

Muttering, he suddenly clapped excitedly, as if seeking agreement.

"Yeah, brother! Are you my brother? You hear the [call] too, right?"

"I'm human."

I replied curtly, continuing.

"And so are you."

"......?"

The Portrait Revenant looked utterly confused.

"N-No way?"

His expression screamed incomprehension. Then the White Lotus Cult Leader and Dharma Protectors closed in from all sides. I kept my eye on him and said.

"Land first."

Ta-dat.

Tension thickened as we touched down. Attacks were futile, so the Cult's experts silently wary-eyed him. It was like the Portrait Revenant and I faced off in talk amid them. He showed no great hostility toward me now, but could snap anytime, so I stayed alert.

The white-haired Portrait Revenant scanned around and said.

"Stop hitting me. It hurts."

"Let me ask one thing. Do you hate humans?"

He beamed.

"Yeah! Gotta wipe 'em all out."

"Why?"

"Because that one wants it."

The Cult Leader spoke gravely at that.

[He's no different from the Overlord's kin already.]

True to his demonic sorcerer nature, the Leader instantly grasped the state. Turning to me, he said.

[Baek Woong. Use that strange power to sever his head in one go. That monster must be rooted out.]

"......"

[We'll ensure he can't dodge.]

It was feasible. Even if he used [Lesser Cycle] for Time Recovery, pain lingered, needing recovery time. Exploit that rigidity for a fatal blow.

But was that the answer?

'His hatred for humans isn't his own will. It's imposed, brainwashed.'

Like parents molding a child, the [Ancient Overlord]'s call had naturally seeped in from birth under a higher being's gaze. The Portrait Revenant himself was a blank slate personality.

Justifiable to kill him for being born?

He didn't choose birth.

For some reason, I couldn't ignore this. No idea why, but resolving this contradiction felt essential.

Then I made a choice even I couldn't believe.

"Hey, you."

"Yeah."

A possessed choice, beyond instinct into seventh-sense territory—impossible otherwise.

"I'll name you."

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