Reincarnated Swordmaster

Translator: Aoc

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

Why had Geon Ma’s daughter—one of my comrades—become the Nine Yin Cult Leader?!

The utterly unexpected figure appearing as the Nine Yin Cult Leader left my mind blank. She had clearly been suffering from some mysterious high fever, so I couldn’t make sense of this at all. The Nine Yin Cult Leader gazed at me with eyes full of amusement and spoke.

“Are you of my kin? Is that a human shell? No... looking closer, it’s completely different. What are you?”

“...?”

What was she talking about?

The Nine Yin Cult Leader wore a slightly puzzled expression before speaking.

“The god is interested in you too. Shall I spare you and take you along?”

In response to my question, the Nine Yin Cult Leader replied.

“That was the original owner’s name. And now, I am the master of this body... I borrow a human form, but I am the descendant of the great baleful spirit.”

“Descendant of a baleful spirit? You’re one of the Yi Clan?”

“...”

The Nine Yin Cult Leader sneered coldly but said nothing, though that alone let me piece together the situation. I could instantly sense that her sneer held not a trace of human emotion.

Before me stood a Yi Clan spirit entity!

It was definitely not Seo Mun-hye, and Seo Mun-hye’s consciousness was gone.

Moreover, this Yi Clan bastard was a subordinate of a mighty baleful spirit known as a [Descendant of the Baleful Spirit]. It had manifested as the “Nine Yin Cult Leader” by dominating Seo Mun-hye’s body through sheer mental force.

But something didn’t add up.

A [Descendant of the Baleful Spirit] was one of the Yi Clan’s elite powerhouses, yet not strong enough to annihilate the heavenly realm’s Greater Thunder Immortals or Combat Immortals. And why would such a ruler [Ruler] level being possess a human—and specifically Seo Mun-hye’s body?

Was there some reason it had to claim her body?

As I racked my brain, the Nine Yin Cult Leader muttered a moment later.

“The god just spoke. It says to spare you and bring you...”

“...?”

“Shall I kill the rest?”

The Nine Yin Cult Leader slowly raised her hand.

At that instant, Jin So-cheong shot forward like lightning and charged at the Nine Yin Cult Leader!

Boom!

An explosion rang out, and a ferocious battle erupted. It was a relentless barrage of clashes so swift and fierce there was no room even to exchange moves. It wasn’t just raw speed—Jin So-cheong’s countless intent arts and tactical techniques swept over the Nine Yin Cult Leader.

Boom

In a split second, the Nine Yin Cult Leader countered Jin So-cheong’s assault by swinging her hand at tremendous speed. But to my eyes, her movements held no martial profundity; she was simply crushing his intent arts with overwhelming physical prowess. Yet the innate physical disparity between human and Yi Clan was so vast that her bodily capabilities seemed dozens of times superior even to a dragonkin’s.

Crazy... She’s not dodging or blocking... She’s just tanking it!

I watched in horror. No matter how superior the physique, an armature’s strikes should wound or pierce, but her congenital defenses were so absolute that not a scratch appeared! No refined metal in the world could match that durability—it wasn’t a living being’s resilience at all, more akin to the moon essence’s barrier.

She looked human, but this was undoubtedly a cosmic-level monster. Rather, it was Jin So-cheong’s feat of pressuring such a beast to prevent any counterattack that was truly astonishing.

Poison King Dang San watched the clash and shouted.

“I’m joining too!”

Whoosh

His form shifted to a bluish hue as he teamed up with Jin So-cheong to assault the Nine Yin Cult Leader. In an instant, two Absolute Realm masters struck in unison, unleashing thunderous aura that shook the area for over a hundred paces.

I observed the battle, seeking an opening to join, but Mang Ryang stepped forward to support Jin So-cheong with spells, and Je Gal-sa grabbed my arm.

As I was half-dragged back by Je Gal-sa, he urgently said.

“Baek Woong. Do you have a trump card? Something that could fell even a sea god—do you have it now?”

“That’s...”

“Jin So-cheong and Dang San are just buying time against the weakened Nine Yin Cult Leader. If she were at full strength, we’d all be dead in ten breaths. If not, we run now. Decide quickly!”

“Urk.”

“Using the demonic tome for a suicidal summon won’t work in this situation, so think carefully!”

Je Gal-sa apparently lacked confidence in summoning an [Ancient Ruler] via the demonic tome. With the baleful spirit having seized casualty to conquer the mortal realm, no [Ancient Ruler] would risk antagonizing it. Plus, we’d witnessed firsthand how the baleful spirit’s “revelation” granted it supremacy over other rulers.

At Je Gal-sa’s urging, I rapidly calculated my trump cards? The Tower of Infinite Armaments’ weapon was spent. All I had left was elevating my Immortal Swordsmanship to fight. Even using the Seven Deities was iffy with the Water Deity unbound, and the Fire Dragon Divine Sword hadn’t recovered, reduced to a mere flamed blade. Meeting the Imperial Seal’s spirit energy might boost me temporarily, but against the Nine Yin Cult Leader? Doubtful.

‘This level of power is insufficient against a sea god-tier being...’

Even weakened, the Nine Yin Cult Leader was a monster who’d routed the heavenly armies single-handedly—on par with a sea god. Jin So-cheong buying time was no exaggeration.

But then.

Hummm—

“...?!”

The sword in my heart was resonating. I didn’t fully understand, but the sword’s hum vibrated in my mind, igniting my battle intent. It cleared my confused thoughts, kindling a massive inner blaze.

I can do this.

I slowly nodded to Je Gal-sa and charged forward.

‘Yeah. Fleeing after coming this far? Ridiculous!’

Hadn’t I come to settle things with the Nine Yin Cult Leader, win or die? Even halved, if she recovered, this massacre would repeat. Striking now, while weakened, was right.

‘Worry about the rest later.’

What I needed now was courage!

And to ignite the will Yeo Dong-bin entrusted to me!

“Hyah!”

Roooar

The moment I entered the fray, the Fire Dragon Divine Sword in my hand spewed massive flames, coiling around my arm like a fire dragon. With the blade, another sword rose in my left hand.

The Imperial Sword had no physical form, yet it moved freely as if real. I then drew the Imperial Seal’s spirit energy from its depths and unleashed a single slash forward.

Boom!!

My strike made the Nine Yin Cult Leader try to sever the Fire Dragon Divine Sword with an empty-hand technique, but she staggered back, unable to withstand the sword qi.

“Hmm?”

“Impressive.”

With my addition to the joint assault, Jin So-cheong and Dang San seemed relieved, marveling. Until now, their duo had been pushed eight-to-two by her overwhelming physicality.

Jin So-cheong sent me a transmission.

[Baek Woong! Can you read Absolute Realm combat with Immortal Swordsmanship?]

[I can!]

I gripped my dual swords tightly and replied.

[I don’t know how, but Yeo Dong-bin is lending me strength.]

I’d thought wielding Immortal Swordsmanship would summon Yeo Dong-bin fully, but she merely became a sword. Strangely, from the moment I grasped it, I could track the Absolute Realm movements of Jin So-cheong and Dang San—and even the superior speed of the Nine Yin Cult Leader.

And I realized what this state was.

Heavenly Escape Swordsmanship

Transcending Space and Realm!

The pinnacle of Yeo Dong-bin’s centuries of transcendent combat experience—a superpower for absolute follow-up strikes that nullified enemy ambushes! The Imperial Sword imposed the Transcending Space and Realm domain on my vision, multiplying my power several-fold.

Now, I could see it.

The web of barriers woven by Absolute masters like spider silk, and the layered combinations of dozens of intent arts!

Clang clang clang

Soon, I synced with Jin So-cheong’s thrusting assault, swinging Immortal Sword and Fire Dragon Divine Sword together to strike the Nine Yin Cult Leader additionally. She took the frontal assault nonchalantly, then said with interest.

“I didn’t know humans rivaling Combat Immortals still lingered on earth.”

Thud!

“Argh.”

“One’s sub-par, though.”

But as she flicked her finger, Absolute poison master Poison King Dang San screamed in agony and flew back. Blood-soaked, he seemed instantly incapacitated. I sensed her finger strike hold force rivaling White Lotus Cult Leader’s Heart’s Heaven Infinite, chilling my spine.

The Nine Yin Cult Leader summoned chaos power in both hands and said.

“The White Lotus Cult Leader tried fusing chaos and origin, but one who truly wields chaos needs no such thing. Absorbing pure chaos grants ample power.”

“What?”

“I’ll rest a moment...”

Crackle!

Crackle!

It happened in an instant. Black lightning wrapped her in dark haze, and her power surged several times stronger. She’d drawn in chaos to instantly recover from the Tower of Infinite Armaments’ damage! It seemed a unique ability of [Baleful Spirit Descendants].

‘Damn! Striking now was definitely right!’

‘Left alone, she’d have regained full strength in days!’

Ssssh

But as payment for recovery, she stiffened black and immobile. Jin So-cheong and I saw the opening and charged without a word, striking her.

Boom!

“Urk.”

Jin So-cheong rebounded with a groan. He’d flown with spear-and-body unity, but failed to pierce her barrier—his left arm bloodied. I too met the barrier, feeling chaos try to devour me.

Mang Ryang cried out in panic.

“Emergency Protection Command!”

His barrier saved me from instant death. Chaos corrosion would kill any human body. I breathed heavily, pondering my next move.

‘I have to breach that barrier...’

The problem: no unknown magic spell nature left to clear way. Overwhelm with force or dispel the spell itself. Seeing the eggshell-like chaos shell cracking slowly made me anxious.

Then.

Jin So-cheong calmly steadied himself, aiming his spear and assuming stance. He half-closed his eyes, gathering all power at the tip.

I felt it.

That attack was the ultimate profound realm realized by “Jin So-cheong fifty years from now.” He hadn’t used it from the start because the realm was incomplete, requiring setup time.

In the frozen silence—like time halted—I felt as if Jin So-cheong spoke to me in that serene black-and-white world. Masters often communicated hearts in such psychic clarity moments, but he controlled even fleeing coincidences.

[Baek Woong. Watch.]

To my eyes, only his spear tip loomed like Mount Tai. As my mind focused wholly, his will reached me.

{The ultimate realm makes time into distance. Grasping the ultimate distance by sensing flow amid trillions of combinations is near impossible. So I realized flows have axes above and below, chains of interlocking circles. Knowing circles flow high to low simplifies it. Just move with the downward flow. I grasped this principle pursuing ultimate martial arts for forty years.}

Jin So-cheong’s spear began rotating slowly.

[Watch closely. Void births qi.]

Thread-like wips coalesced in empty air, merging naturally.

It wasn’t spear application like Forwarding View—it was a majestic motion decoding martial arts. Jin So-cheong hadn’t stopped space, yet his presence swelled in the space.

[Baek Woong, as you near martial limits, infinite time awakens the abstruse-consciousness, revealing great void. Ultimately, martial arts is the essence of great void opposing chaos. Pursuing martial arts leads to ultimate void, grasping ultimate thread to break casualty... The ultimate realm depict this domain cleanly.]

Acupoints unified, meridians linked. Like bubbles on rising waters, space transcended flesh limits, refining external qi into the body.

Was it illusion?

Jin So-cheong seemed divine.

Expounding martial principles, he suddenly revealed bitter sorrow—a vast lament.

{...This absolute cycle, ultimate flow defying taboo, is hard for humans to discover naturally. Yet it’s power granted only to humans... Solely the War God’s domain across three thousand worlds.}

A contradiction?

Ultimate flow unreachable by human means, yet permitted only to humans?

{A profound paradox, hence martial soul. I believe the War God left bonds only to those resolving it...}

Sensing my doubt, Jin So-cheong murmured.

{And I am mere fertilizer for that soul... Even so, I...}

Sorrow choked his voice.

The fleeting time fractured further, my vision whitening. Billions of combinations danced like mad flames, unifying metaphysically into one change.

As consciousness returned through time’s fissures, I saw Jin So-cheong’s single annihilation pierce the Nine Yin Cult Leader’s chest.

[I stake this soul to show you the War God’s path, Baek Woong!]

Divine Realm Ultimate Technique

For God One Realm

Galactic Annihilation

Light scattered brightly; with cracking, the chaos barrier split wide.

Rumble rumble boom

Barrier gone, Jin So-cheong’s spear impaled her chest. She unleashed super-regeneration to bind the blade, leisurely swinging to slay him—but froze in shock.

[No... This... Constellation-level sacred... No god’s voice... Impossible...]

Pfft!

Super-regeneration halted; utter horror twisted her face. She tried another superpower, failed, and screamed.

[How can human power invade the divine realm...?!]

Boom

Jin So-cheong drove her spear-first into the ground like a charging thrust, quaking Luoyang. Instantly, his body and spear became a light mass, his massive roar echoing.

[Haaaaah!!]

Jin So-cheong’s spread vastly, like a pod’s spore cloud. As if receiving direct enlightened speech, I felt his exact resolve and pain. Though clouds shed away in agony, he never halted Galactic Annihilation. The world’s light converged on his spear tip.

Thud thud thud

“...?!”

In the sight of light sucked in, I realized Jin So-cheong’s body had become flash itself. Not thunder god unity—his power had reached unknown heights. Becoming a spear incarnate, it grew mightier, piercing her relentlessly.

Rumble...

Soon, sounds faded, vibrations ceased. A massive pit over a hundred paces wide cratered the area; at the epicenter, Jin So-cheong stood spear-pierced in her chest.

The Nine Yin Cult Leader seemed unconscious, barely moving.

Instead, black energy blazed from her crown—likely the baleful spirit descendant fleeing Seo Mun-hye’s body. Meaning Jin So-cheong had inflicted fatal damage on a half-divine monster.

Jin So-cheong had nearly single-handedly subdued the Nine Yin Cult Leader!

“Jin So-cheong!!”

As I called rushing to him, he knelt, voice weaker than ever.

“I sensed Galactic Annihilation was usable once only... After I’d be done. My realization hadn’t reached divine realm yet. That’s why I didn’t use it when the Nine Yin Cult Leader invaded before.”

His face twisted in poignant grief.

“What...?!”

“Baek Woong... I thought I’d return someday...”

Stunned rigid, I heard him say as he rose.

“Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Come.”

Flash—

The spell seal on Jin So-cheong glowed; waves of light rippled. Moments later, Great Sage Equal to Heaven Son Oh-gong appeared on his cloud, frowning immediately.

“Jin So-cheong! You’re so stubborn... Calling me at death’s door—what now?”

“I told you to call via seal when invaded by your leader. Without casualty, Heavenly Emperor Altar limits meant no confidence against that monster—even now, I prepared for her heavenly assault reluctantly.”

Jin So-cheong spat blood.

“... Had to save it... For Baek Woong...”

Even the Great Sage appeared momentarily lacking full confidence against full-strength Nine Yin Cult Leader. Her Luoyang defense impotence suggested she surpassed him. Jin So-cheong smiled faintly.

“Great Sage, my final request on your kindness. Aid Baek Woong with all you have...”

“... Will that suffice?”

The Great Sage eyed him frustatedly.

“You’ve history’s sole human transcending Combat Immortals via pure martial insight. Was sacrificing for him worth it?”

Transcended Combat Immortals!!

His final secret art felled the Nine Yin Cult Leader—fitting, in a way.

To the Great Sage, Jin So-cheong replied.

“... For fifty years... I always... believed... he’d return...”

Drop

Jin So-cheong’s wrist fell. Pale-faced, he’d clearly passed.

“......”

I stared dazed at his corpse, then knelt.

The iron-blooded genius who seemed invincible—dead so vainly?

He’d achieved subduing the Nine Yin Cult Leader, yet unworthily threatened madness. The Great Sage strode forward, reaching for the spirit entity with a spell.

“Seal!”

Crackle

“Ghh... Incredibly potent, as expected. Can I confine this in heavenly prison? Doubt it...”

After sealing the spirit, the Great Sage grumbled. Predictably, mere sealing charred his right arm black. [Baleful Spirit Descendant] near-[Ruler] prowess was no bluff.

The Great Sage glanced at me.

“Baek Woong, right? If you’re Jin So-cheong’s successor, I have words.”

“......”

“Not now—come to Mount Tai in three days.”

Flash—

He vanished on his cloud. But I barely noticed, shocked by Jin So-cheong’s death—staring blankly at his body.

‘Jin So-cheong.’

Had he endured the Nine Yin Cult Leader and Yi Clan for fifty years, awaiting me?

Endured centuries dying, saving ultimate killer move and Great Sage summon for my return?

Thinking of his immense pain and patience filled me with guilt.

‘If I hadn’t wasted fifty years on Spear Hill...’

Hands trembling in powerlessness, Mang Ryang and Je Gal-sa approached. Je Gal-sa coldly eyed the corpse.

“Regrettably, his soul’s pawned to some cosmic entity. Can’t retrieve with soul separation grand art. No recycling via portrait person.”

“Je Gal-sa!!”

Outraged at his casual treatment of Jin So-cheong’s death, I yelled. He replied coldly.

“Baek Woong. Shed tears over touching sacrifice—does it change anything? Is your job now mourning sentimentally, or securing your victory?”

“...”

“You already owe us fifty years. Willed or not.”

I gritted my teeth.

“I know!”

His sharp words snapped me awake.

“I won’t give up.”

Yes, no time to stop.

Make Jin So-cheong’s death meaningful—press on.

All I could do was give my all.

Steel resolve, I roared into empty air desperately.

“Until I witness the gods’ ruin... I absolutely won’t give up!!”

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