Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

Yeo Dongbin wasn't particularly fazed by Mangnyang Master's sudden command to capture the imugi. After all, among the demons and two-legged beasts he'd fought so far, there had been creatures of that caliber. Besides, it made sense for a divine being to entrust him with such a trial.

He headed straight to the mountain behind the village and began searching for the imugi. It wasn't long before he found what appeared to be its lair—a massive cave hidden behind a waterfall.

Rumble...

The cave opened into an enormous cavern, where a colossal imugi lay coiled, its body stretching over twenty zhang in length. Imugi rarely grew this massive, but Yeo Dongbin thought it fitting for one that had aged two thousand years.

The imugi looked as if it had nearly become a fire dragon, with crimson scales sprouting across its body here and there. Its serpentine gaze fixed on Yeo Dongbin.

The imugi spoke to him. It wasn't in human tongue, but through sorcery, its will transmitted clearly to Yeo Dongbin.

[Are you the famed Sword Immortal Yeo Dongbin of the world?]

"You know of me?"

The imugi seemed to exhale a breath of flame for a moment. Yeo Dongbin tensed, bracing for battle, but his face hardened at the imugi's next words.

[Spare me.]

"...."

[One thousand years ago, I failed to ascend as a heavenly dragon. Since then, I've honed my strength for another millennium, and soon I'll have the qualifications to become a dragon and rise to the heavens. If only the Queen Mother of the West grants permission...]

"What nonsense is this?"

Yeo Dongbin suspected a trick, an ambush in the making, and stayed on guard. But the imugi seemed to have abandoned any thought of fighting, bowing its head deeply as it spoke.

[Please... just let me try once more. I've cultivated for two thousand years dreaming of becoming a dragon...]

"Whatever scheme this is, I must kill you."

Crackle!

Sword aura flared along Yeo Dongbin's blade, yet the imugi made no move to fight. It didn't even stir its primal instincts in defense. Instead, it lifted its eyes and stared piercingly at Yeo Dongbin.

[I've lived long enough to know better. Even if I exerted every ounce of my power, you'd win in the end. That's why I beg you for my life, for the sake of my dream.]

"You're a two-thousand-year-old great yokai. Converting the demonic power accumulated in your body into divine power is no easy task. Do you truly believe you can ascend to the heavens?"

[I don't know... but it's the only thing I've lived for.]

The imugi cried out.

[Sword Immortal! Don't rob me of my chance to fulfill my dream!]

"...."

Yeo Dongbin had no choice but to hesitate.

Ordinary humans spend a hundred years challenging the gates of ascension, yet only a tiny fraction succeed—the rest live out mundane lives. Those who forgo the joys of mortal existence, enduring bone-grinding asceticism only to die fruitlessly without reward—the depth of their resentment was something Yeo Dongbin understood all too well. How much greater, then, must be the imugi's obsession after dozens of times that span?

Even the Fire Dragon True Person showed no firm resolve toward the imugi, perhaps because she herself was a fire dragon and held the status of Dragon King. If anything, she seemed more merciful. Yeo Dongbin sensed her emotions as the flames of the Fire Dragon Divine Sword gradually dulled.

What should he do?

But Yeo Dongbin soon steeled his resolve and raised his sword tip. Sensing his determination, the imugi closed its eyes as if accepting its fate.

Yeo Dongbin let out a shout.

"Haat!"

Splat!

His sword moved at blinding speed, severing the imugi's head clean off. The head, as massive as the body suggested—rock-like in weight—crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom. Yeo Dongbin summoned his inner energy and will to seize the head and return to Mangnyang Master.

As Yeo Dongbin returned, Mangnyang Master's voice echoed in his mind.

[Yeo Dongbin. You're back?]

"Yes. I've slain the imugi."

Whoosh.

The moment he replied, the scenery warped around him. The village vanished, and Yeo Dongbin's body floated in an empty void. Nothing existed in this pure white expanse.

Then, from the opposite side, a bubble of darkness emerged, slowly taking the form of a human figure. It resembled a gaunt man, his face chillingly cold and emotionless.

Mangnyang Master manifested in the void and addressed Yeo Dongbin.

[You slew the imugi at my command. Do you have any regrets?]

"...Some."

Yeo Dongbin answered honestly. Mangnyang Master continued.

[You sought me out for power, didn't you? And to gain that power, you must obey my commands. So ultimately, why do you seek this power?]

"To defeat the apocalyptic great dragon soon to descend and save the human world."

[That is your greater cause, then. Let me ask again.]

Mangnyang Master's impassive gaze turned to Yeo Dongbin.

[Did the imugi sacrifice itself for your greater cause? Or for your personal desires?]

"...."

Yeo Dongbin bit his lip. The sudden, direct question struck his guilt.

He thought for a moment before replying.

"Had you not commanded it, I wouldn't have slain it."

[Yet you did. You trampled its wishes without a second thought to gain power.]

"Isn't that forcing the issue?"

[Forcing it? Then why didn't you consider defying my words?]

"...."

How could he defy them?

The fate of the world's people and his greater cause weighed on his shoulders!

As Yeo Dongbin seethed inwardly, Mangnyang Master spoke.

[You chase raw power blindly, ignorant of what the apocalyptic great dragon even is or what its descent will bring. I see no difference between you and it.]

"What do you mean? Preparing for the coming calamity is only natural..."

[Is it truly? The fact remains: the imugi died for your so-called greater cause. You're just another weak soul seeking my power to overcome crisis.]

"Urk."

Rustle.

At that moment, the massive imugi head Yeo Dongbin held vanished. Startled, he glanced beside him to see it dissolving into motes of light. Mangnyang Master spoke.

[In the future... someone with iron will seeks to avert the apocalyptic fate. To prevent the massacre of ten billion souls, he performs a ritual requiring the sacrifice of thirty thousand innocents. In such a case, would you stop him?]

Yeo Dongbin answered firmly.

"I would."

[Why? Ten billion far outnumber thirty thousand.]

"Human lives aren't measured by numbers."

Mangnyang Master retorted lightly.

[Indeed. There's no particular reason the survival of the Great Tang Empire's masses outweighs a two-thousand-year dream. Crystal clear.]

"...."

Yeo Dongbin fell silent, cornered. Mangnyang Master seemed to chuckle faintly.

[What I just described was a glimpse of an actual parallel world I observed. Strangely... though infinite parallel worlds lead to apocalypse, their reality wavers—always possible, yet not. Prophesying post-apocalypse fates is impossible; time itself is sealed. As if someone deliberately blocked it.]

"...?"

[Yeo Dongbin. What did you hope to gain by coming to me? I understand you seek my power to stop the great dragon's catastrophe, but is that your true goal?]

Yeo Dongbin was bewildered.

He sensed Mangnyang Master's displeasure with him—and guessed it stemmed from slaying the imugi. But deciphering what the master truly wanted from their exchange was impossible. His thoughts operated on a plane too lofty for Yeo Dongbin to grasp.

In the end, half-resigned, Yeo Dongbin decided to speak plainly.

"I want peace for this world. I can't bear to see more innocents die horribly and unjustly. For that, I'm prepared to become a fiend and walk a path of thorns. That's my sole aim."

As he cried out in anguish, Mangnyang Master replied coldly.

[Just the same. You claim to save the world, justifying minor sacrifices for your greater cause. Exactly the same. There've been plenty like you before.]

"...I won't ask anymore."

Yeo Dongbin glared at Mangnyang Master.

"You've toyed with me enough. I apologize for presumptuously seeking your power. I'll take my leave!"

The moment he bellowed—

Flash!

Yeo Dongbin's body returned from the void to reality. He rose from lying in a small shrine.

Where...?

The shrine brimmed with divine aura, an offering placed before it. Peering at it, Yeo Dongbin realized it was a lizard's tail. As he examined the tiny tail closely, a voice sounded in his mind.

[Yeo Dongbin. The heavenly realm is not absolute justice. They're mere administrators for managing the human world, incapable of escaping apocalyptic fate. Even if you thwart the great dragon, it'd be futile thrashing in the end.]

"...!!"

[This world perishes in a few centuries. No method can avert it. On the day the starsigns descend, all is destroyed, ravaged by chaos. The echoes of myriad demons devour flesh and blood, the world crumbling in despair.]

Yeo Dongbin's heart sank.

Though irked by Mangnyang Master's mockery, words from such a deity on heaven and apocalypse couldn't be ignored. If true, no effort could change a future of despair. As he froze, Mangnyang Master continued.

[And you've just shown me the limits of a human hero. Greater cause and sacrifice... irreconcilable contradictions when facing reality. Bearing such limits, humans can never defeat gods—only be toyed with and subjugated endlessly. For gods, good and evil hold no meaning.]

"Mangnyang Master. What do you want from me?"

[Your willpower.]

Roar!

A pale, ghostly white face materialized before Yeo Dongbin. Overwhelmed by cosmic terror from its eerie form, he staggered back. Mangnyang Master conveyed will through his avatar.

[A being from the farthest reaches seeks to impose its will on this world. If you truly wish to overcome all contradictions and irrationalities to save it, I'll connect you to 'that one.' But choosing this path means endless despair and torment, awaiting apocalypse.]

"...."

[I'll say it again: it's an irrational, agonizing path. Far harder than shattering the great dragon and living comfortably as heaven's Sword Immortal. Will you accept?]

Yeo Dongbin understood Mangnyang Master's intent.

And shuddered.

'...A cosmic entity. On par with a [Ruler]—he means to link me to it!'

The moment of connection would bind his soul to a fateful, agonizing task dwarfing the subjugation of Central Plains demons. A warning from Mangnyang Master himself confirmed it.

Yeo Dongbin hesitated briefly.

Did he need such power?

Must he beg salvation for the world's people to that extent?

In that instant, the image of a girl's grass ornament flashed in his mind.

"I'll do it."

[Good. From now on, I'll relay you to 'that existence'...]

Yeo Dongbin couldn't hide his tension. He steeled himself more resolutely than against any foe.

[Truth be told, I don't know what that existence is. I'll just connect you—handle it yourself.]

Flash!!

Blinding light filled Yeo Dongbin's vision.

And—Yeo Dongbin met the Martial God for the first time.

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