Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

50 years later?!

While I was dumbfounded, Zhuge suddenly gave Jin So-cheong a look. At that signal, Jin So-cheong shot forward like lightning and attacked me.

I blocked his palm strike, but he followed up with two spear thrusts aimed straight at my weakness.

Boom!

I swiftly adapted the Seven Ultimate Strikes to deflect his lethal blow, then repelled him far away with rebounding true qi. As Jin So-cheong landed on the ground, I bellowed.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Jin So-cheong replied softly.

"The martial arts of Baek Woong I saw at the end are authentic. He doesn't seem like a fake."

"So that's how it is?"

Zhuge grumbled in disbelief, and Mang-ryang, standing beside him, let out a sigh.

"Hah! How could such a thing..."

"Mang-ryang."

"My mind knows you're the real Baek Woong, but the decades-wide gap makes it hard to accept. However, I haven't fully believed it yet, so please forgive me."

"......"

I was a bit shocked by Mang-ryang's aged voice and appearance, and his somewhat colder demeanor. What on earth had happened during that time? After a moment, I detailed to them everything that had happened while following Changhil's Eight Legions. Once I finished, I transferred my memories to them through the black obsidian.

Zhuge, who had read the memories via the black obsidian, smirked.

"No one but you can freely wield the black obsidian's tricks unless they're from the Zhu Rong Clan. Now I can drop my suspicions."

I stayed silent for a moment before asking.

"Was I held captive by Changhil for 50 years?"

"That's what it seems."

"What happened during that time?"

"......"

Zhuge fell silent briefly before speaking.

"Over fifty years ago, you suddenly vanished following the Eight Legions... We were all thrown into chaos. Especially since you were our lord, we had no idea what to do next. But before you disappeared, we'd formed a brotherly alliance with the White Lotus Church, so we returned to the Da-du Kingdom with their help."

"Hmm."

"For the record, neither I nor Mang-ryang thought you were dead. Because..."

Zhuge started to say something but suddenly shut his mouth. Then he continued.

"From that point, our task was to survive as long as possible until your return. That was the goal all along. So we used the Da-du Kingdom as a base and kept monitoring the Central Plains' situation..."

"Monitoring it?"

"Hmm, this'll be a long story. Before diving into the decades of events, let me give you a quick rundown of the current situation."

"Got it."

I nodded. It made sense to hear it all in order, but I might lose focus. And I needed to know the current state above all. Zhuge gave a cynical smile.

"The Central Plains right now is locked in a stalemate between the Luo Yin Church and the Heavenly Realm. Among the humans, the few sane survivors had holed up in Guangdong Province, holding out with support from our Anti-Heaven Alliance and the White Lotus Church... but it's all fallen apart. The Central Plains will be settled soon."

"......?"

The absurdity made me gape.

The Luo Yin Church fighting the Heavenly Realm?!

What nonsense was this?

As I panicked, Mang-ryang, standing nearby, supplemented Zhuge's explanation.

"Fifty years ago, the baleful spirit obtained the Law of Causality but didn't step forward himself. Instead, he amplified his influence, letting his human followers and cult rampage. In the midst of heaven and earth's calamities, the Central Plains' population dropped to less than thirty percent in just three years, and the chaos caused the Great Ming Empire to effectively collapse, creating an environment where cults could thrive."

He sighed deeply before continuing.

"The Luo Yin Church was the largest cult to emerge. Leading them were mysterious freaks called Archbishops, who drove human depravity through human sacrifices and wicked rituals, turning people into fanatics. In the end, most survivors turned to the Luo Yin Church, the world burned in barbarism, and even the Heavenly Realm's immortals came under attack from the Luo Yin Church."

"The Luo Yin Church preemptively attacked the Heavenly Realm?"

"Indeed."

"......"

Zhuge's initial prediction had been that over eighty percent of humans would perish. The great calamity summoned by the baleful spirit was that immense and powerful.

But thanks to the Heavenly Realm's resolve to protect the human world, the Heavenly Emperor's altar had descended, allowing more humans in the Central Plains to survive than expected. Powerful great immortals and divine spirits from the Heavenly Realm had directly protected them.

Yet in that situation, humans themselves had fallen to the Luo Yin Church and turned against the Heavenly Realm!

The sheer irony left me speechless, and Zhuge cackled.

"The funny part came after. The Luo Yin Church's Archbishops were so powerful that even great immortals were slain by them. Fighting immortals stepped in and killed a few Archbishops, but afterward, the Luo Yin Church avoided sending high executives directly, instead using fanatics and demonic beasts for a protracted war against the Heavenly Realm."

"That makes no sense?!"

I couldn't help blurted out.

What kind of beings were great immortals in this world!

Even ordinary earthly immortals wielded arts nearly impossible for humans to match, and great immortals were full-fledged heavenly immortals, close to higher spiritual bodies. Seeing my shock at the Luo Yin Archbishops' immense power, Mang-ryang said.

"We've been supporting the Heavenly Realm while rescuing survivors across the Central Plains and preserving the human lineage, operating near Guangdong and the Da-du Kingdom. The White Lotus Church has also relocated its base to the Da-du Kingdom. That's how the war has dragged on indecisively for over fifty years—until now."

"Until now... you say."

"The situation shifted dramatically recently. For the worse."

Mang-ryang continued with a grim expression.

"No matter how strong the Luo Yin Archbishops were, it was just a cult, so the Heavenly Realm held overwhelming superiority. But suddenly, a Church Lord was born in the Luo Yin Church. Once the Luo Yin Church Lord took the front lines, the Heavenly Realm's great immortals suffered total defeat, and now it's an even match."

"Luo Yin Church Lord..."

I'd never heard of such a thing.

I knew that if the portrait ghost Yushin awakened as the baleful spirit's apostle, he'd become the Grand Archbishop, but Yushin had rejected awakening and dissipated. So the Luo Yin Church must have operated without a Grand Archbishop, led only by Archbishops. But could there be a separate position like Church Lord?

"It's possible, but..."

Had the baleful spirit created a new apostle rivaling Yushin?

As I pondered deeply, Jin So-cheong, who had been listening nearby, spoke to me.

"Baek Woong. I need a word with you. Will you come with me?"

"What's this about?"

Jin So-cheong didn't answer and walked outside. Puzzled, I followed him, and soon we reached an empty lot with no people, where a few small gravestones stood.

No way...

Dread rising, I averted my eyes from the stones. Then Jin So-cheong's words pierced my ears.

"Don't look away. Read the names engraved on those stones with your own eyes."

"......"

I gritted my teeth and finally checked the gravestones.

A moment later, shock drained the strength from my body.

"Ah... Ahh..."

The names of people I knew were carved on the epitaphs.

All dead.

They were really all dead.

Everyone except three...

"Sword Demon Elder fell ten years ago, perishing together after slaying one Archbishop. Thanks to him taking out that Archbishop, fifty thousand innocent civilians were saved from human sacrifice. And Grand Preceptor Geuk-ho died three years ago fighting thousands of the Luo Yin Church's demonic beasts."

"......"

"Before dying, Grand Preceptor Geuk-ho dueled and sent Yongbi-cheon to the afterlife, so he had no regrets."

Jin So-cheong's calm voice continued.

"Thunder God Ryu, Wallak Samjon, and Master Yi Cheong-un died together in battle just a few days ago."

"A few days ago?"

"Four Luo Yin Archbishops attacked us all at once. Our side's top experts—the White Lotus Church Lord, Master Yi Cheong-un, the Dharma Protectors, and others—all went out to face them... but they were all slain by the Luo Yin Church Lord."

"......!"

"I joined the fight too, but I couldn't even come close to matching the Luo Yin Church Lord."

The shock made me forget my grief for a moment as I sprang to my feet.

"What in the world..."

The White Lotus Church Lord and Dharma Protectors—all fallen?

Even with Yi Cheong-un and Jin So-cheong joining in?

The sheer overwhelming power defied common sense, and as I turned back to Jin So-cheong, he met my gaze calmly.

In that moment, I felt like I was seeing Jin So-cheong's expression clearly for the first time.

Impassive.

But that calm was the emotion born from bearing immense sorrow, the result of endless self-reproach. The feelings Jin So-cheong had carried for decades spread to me too, and I realized there was nothing I could say to him.

Jin So-cheong spoke.

"The Luo Yin Church Lord has seized all of Guangdong Province, the last bastion of human survivors, inflicting absolute devastation on our side. And he declared to us that he'll soon challenge the Heavenly Realm and exterminate all its great beings."

"...How could that..."

"We were at our wits' end, with no strength left to fight, wondering what to do next. That's when you, Baek Woong, appeared."

"......"

Hearing the rough outline from Zhuge and Mang-ryang earlier had been one thing, but now the situation sank in fully.

Yes. The alliance of the Anti-Heaven Alliance and White Lotus Church had been crushed by the suddenly emerged Luo Yin Church Lord, and humanity was as good as extinct. In such a hopelessly desperate state, my comrades couldn't simply welcome me with open arms.

Powerlessness made my body tremble.

'Damn it...!'

At the same time, towering rage toward Changhil surged within me.

Why had he kept me trapped in that other realm for fifty years?!

With the power and means I possessed, I could have created a better outcome—so why?!

Self-reproach stormed in my heart, whispering that my comrades had been slaughtered because of me.

Then Zhuge, approaching, said.

"The Luo Yin Church Lord can annihilate the Heavenly Realm. The power we saw from him a few days ago was in no way inferior to the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. It was greater."

"How could a human gain that much power?"

"Heh heh..."

Zhuge chuckled and sat on a rock.

"The baleful spirit has merely been toying with humans and the Heavenly Realm for fifty years. He got bored fiddling with the toy he made called the Luo Yin Church. So he created a new apostle rivaling Yushin—the Luo Yin Church Lord—to settle things."

"......"

I looked up at the sky in silence.

Then Mang-ryang said to me.

"Baek Woong. Thank you for returning to us, even if it's now."

"...You're not resentful of me?"

"You were caught in Changhil's scheme too, so how could I hold a grudge?"

"Thank you..."

I ground my teeth.

'It ain't over yet.'

Even if they said everyone was dead, I couldn't afford to despair and collapse here.

Because—I might still have a 'next time.' If I, who has a chance, give up, it's an insult and a deception to those without one. I had no choice but to keep pushing forward without surrender.

Zhuge smirked.

"Kekeke... Then shall we all thrash about together?"

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