Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

Yeo Dongbin discovered an infinite spiral filling his entire field of vision within the mysterious space. The number of these spirals was so vast that no numeral he knew could describe their quantity or scale.

Yet, not a single one of those spirals was identical. They merely hummed in place, rotating with subtly different vibrations.

Countless weapons also floated between the infinite spirals.

What in the world was this sight?

Dumbfounded, Yeo Dongbin searched for the space's master, but no plausible entity appeared no matter how long he waited. With no other choice, he decided to explore the space by moving closer to the nearest spiral and reaching out toward it.

Whirrr!

The spiral suddenly unraveled at tremendous speed, swallowing him whole.

Clamped tight by the spiral, Yeo Dongbin felt his mind expanding at an insane rate, gripped by overwhelming terror as he let out a scream.

How many cycles of abyss and heavens had passed?

At the end of that despair, Yeo Dongbin heard someone calling him.

[ Can you... hear... ]

The sound,

The pulse,

Grew louder and louder.

The resonance, spreading from the center of the universe, tangled him in confusion for a long while.

He saw an illusion of a massive, pristine giant god reaching out toward him.

[ We meet... again... ]

Then Yeo Dongbin lost consciousness.

[... Truthfully, I barely remember our first encounter. I swear on my name, it ended in a haze because I genuinely couldn't recall it clearly. ]

Yeo Dongbin continued.

[ But I do remember our later meetings clearly. ]

[ Then why... ]

[ It's because I can't fully trust Lianzi yet. As I said, this memory is the key to a grave secret, so I can't reveal it lightly. ]

[......]

It seemed the secret of the Martial God that Yeo Dongbin guarded was far weightier than imagined. If the Martial God's stature reached the level of an [Ancient Ruler], it wasn't incomprehensible. In the end, Yeo Dongbin wouldn't share her secret unless I revealed mine.

Ssssh.

While I pondered, the scene shifted dramatically.

"... Ugh."

Yeo Dongbin knelt in one corner of the shrine. Having just faced the Martial God and endured a massive enlightenment, he felt the martial barrier blocking his path shatter once. Yet the immense mental fatigue that followed made even him, with his iron will, want to collapse and pass out right then.

As Yeo Dongbin returned to reality, the blackened incarnation of Monk Mangyang appeared before him. The incarnation's face was as cold as before, but this time it emitted no ghostly energy or chaos. Looking down at Yeo Dongbin, it spoke.

[ What are your impressions of meeting 'Him'? ]

"... I cannot say."

[ As expected. The law of causality has taken hold. ]

Monk Mangyang replied as if he had anticipated it, then picked up the lizard tail lying in the shrine. It was no bigger than a finger joint. As he toyed with it, he suddenly asked Yeo Dongbin.

[ Yeo Dongbin. If you could choose again, would you kill this imugi? ]

"No."

Yeo Dongbin wiped his bloodshot eyes and stood. It was fatigue enough to fell an ordinary man dozens of times over, but as a transcendent master, he endured.

"I would save the imugi and leave Monk Mangyang's side."

[ I see. Now that you're connected to the Martial God, you no longer need my power, correct? ]

When Monk Mangyang asked teasingly, Yeo Dongbin shook his head.

"You know that's not the case."

[ Truly? ]

As Monk Mangyang pressed, Yeo Dongbin fell silent for a moment before replying.

"You told me gods know no good or evil. By the same token, a human who topples a god must possess something that transcends good and evil. But... the further that standard strays from humanity, the more it becomes evil in the broadest sense. After all, it's an existence beyond human comprehension. ]

[ Hmmm. ]

" There must have been those in history who chose the reversal of reversal. But I've just realized that's not a path I can take. "

Monk Mangyang seemed to mull over Yeo Dongbin's words deeply. After a long pause, he spoke.

[ Excellent. You've attained enlightenment, truly worthy of being called a Sword Immortal. ]

"Monk Mangyang."

[ One born with a demon mask, walking the path of the Sword Ghost, has overcome his fate. ]

If an ordinary man had said it—even the world's greatest master—Yeo Dongbin would have scoffed inwardly. Who dared judge Yeo Dongbin or appraise his fame? Not even the emperor of the Great Tang Empire could. Yet the recognition from the monk before him filled him with profound satisfaction.

Shooo.

At that moment, the lizard tail on the incarnation's hand glowed and vanished. Shortly after, a heavy rumble echoed from outside the shrine.

Boom...

Yeo Dongbin turned. With no reaction from Monk Mangyang, he rushed out—and his eyes widened at the unbelievable sight.

"...!!"

The imugi!

The massive two-thousand-year-old imugi he had just beheaded stood before the shrine. No trace of the severed neck remained; it was no illusion. Seeing the vividly alive creature, Yeo Dongbin nearly lost his composure.

How could the imugi he slew be alive?

His shock was brief; the imugi looked to the sky.

Ooooo.

The imugi's body began floating into the air, ascending heavenward. The rough, savage scales peeled away one by one, replaced by sleek new ones—scales of a golden dragon. It was as if a new true dragon was being born.

At the same time, the heavens cracked open. Clouds parted, revealing the grand gates of the celestial realm. Countless divine threads, celestial generals, and immortals gathered as if to bless the new dragon's birth, awaiting its ascension!

Yeo Dongbin stared in awe as the imugi turned to him.

[ Thank you, Sword Immortal. Thanks to your enlightenment, Monk Mangyang has granted my ascension. ]

The tone was utterly deferential.

"... I..."

Hearing that, Yeo Dongbin felt his face flush, acutely aware of his recent actions. Had the imugi raged, he might not have felt this way.

Celestial music resounded over the village. The imugi had fully transformed its body into that of a heavenly dragon, seemingly converting all its baleful energy into divine power. Seeing a true heavenly dragon with his own eyes, Yeo Dongbin realized he had no guarantee of victory even in combat against it. True dragons and imugis were worlds apart.

[ Sword Immortal! Achieve your purpose. I shall cheer for you from the heavens. ]

Flash!

Moments later, the ascension rite ended, and the celestial gates closed. Overwhelmed by emptiness and exaltation, Yeo Dongbin gazed blankly at the sky. Monk Mangyang slowly approached and spoke.

[ I foresaw your visit by reading the law of causality. ]

"Then..."

[ I bet with that imugi. No matter its cultivation, ascension was hopeless in its state, so it accepted. The bet hinged on your answer after visiting it—deciding its ascension. ]

[......]

[ It got lucky. Though it could never become a dragon by the Queen Mother of the West's standards, I pressured her into it since it won. ]

Yeo Dongbin desperately wanted to ask Monk Mangyang.

Was beheading the right choice? Sparing it?

Why was his choice correct?

"... No need to ask."

Yeo Dongbin realized the choice itself held little meaning; it was about whether he could provide his own answer on the greater good and sacrifice. Had he faced the Martial God and insisted minor sacrifices were inevitable for the greater good, that would have been failure. It was plain from Monk Mangyang's words.

And that implied another possibility. Forgetting his mental exhaustion, Yeo Dongbin stared straight at Monk Mangyang.

"You didn't expect me to change my mind."

Indeed.

A bet wagers on opposing outcomes. Here, the ascension benefiting the imugi was naturally its side. Thus, Monk Mangyang, on the opposite side, had bet on Yeo Dongbin's failure.

Monk Mangyang merely smiled faintly at Yeo Dongbin's words, but Yeo Dongbin shivered. He saw the being before him truly cared nothing for good or evil, merely observing the world with infinite detachment. Monk Mangyang held no expectations of humanity.

Suddenly sensing something odd, Yeo Dongbin spoke.

"But I killed that imugi—how did it revive?"

[......]

"Did you forcibly retrieve its soul from the underworld to resurrect its body?"

To Yeo Dongbin's question, Monk Mangyang replied.

[ I don't bother with such tedium. I simply manifested the possibility that it lived. No matter how slim, what matters is whether it can be observed. ]

".........?"

[ With the law of causality established by our bet, I can do anything. The universe's causality aligns to the possibility I bring. In this cosmos, souls and bodies aren't so special... ]

Monk Mangyang replied in a hollow tone.

[ You're tired—be on your way. I'll send you to those who can help. ]

"My thanks for your aid."

[ For enabling that imugi's ascension, a shrine to you will be built in this village. ]

Flash!

Yeo Dongbin realized he had been transported to an unfamiliar place. He scanned his surroundings warily until someone addressed him.

"Are you Sword Immortal Yeo Dongbin?"

Five strange figures stood where Yeo Dongbin had appeared. No—they stood in their own space, intruded upon by him. The moment their auras clashed, Yeo Dongbin realized four were peerless masters even he couldn't face lightly.

One showed no martial prowess or mighty aura but was a beautiful woman carrying ritual tools, evidently a sorceress. Staring at them, Yeo Dongbin spotted a familiar face and said.

"You're the Dharma Protector Lion of the Thunder God Style."

The man meeting Yeo Dongbin's gaze smiled.

"Now I'm the White Lotus Leader. I won the leadership tournament recently."

"Is this the White Lotus Cult's headquarters?"

"Indeed. Appearing out of nowhere for the leadership battle—fitting for the Sword Immortal. I am Yi Gunak. I'm impressed."

The place was the White Lotus Cult's leadership arena. Yi Gunak, once met at Mount Ye, had become leader over the years, flanked by the four Dharma Protector Lions of the Thunder God Style's branches.

' Why did Monk Mangyang send me here? '

Normally, he feared no White Lotus Cult, but the aftermath of meeting the Martial God had drained his mental and physical strength severely. He might even die fighting their masters. Yet Monk Mangyang sent him to helpful allies—his profound intent was beyond guessing.

As Yeo Dongbin pondered, Leader Yi Gunak glanced at the woman beside him.

"High Priestess. Can your divine what sorcery brought him here?"

The woman called High Priestess replied hesitantly.

"I just divined it. It seems we must fully heed the Sword Immortal's request."

"What?"

Trembling in fear, she said.

"An unimaginable colossal being keeps overturning the divination. It keeps urging us to aid the one before us. Yeo Dongbin is under that being's protection. To think something could so easily defy the will of heaven..."

"Hmm... I see!"

White Lotus Leader Yi Gunak groaned, then spoke resignedly.

"Sword Immortal. Whether you knew or not, I apologize for rejecting your Eight Immortals' prior request for aid. But I never expected you'd come back by such a tremendous force to pressure us. We meant no malice—please forgive us."

"......"

Something was off.

Yeo Dongbin understood the situation and nodded.

"No. I hold no grudge. Please join us in saving the world by subjugating the apocalyptic great dragon."

"Whew... no choice then."

Yi Gunak smiled bitterly.

"The High Priestess's divinations are absolute. If she says so, we must help..."

"You're weary from a long journey—shall we provide rest?"

"We'll escort the honored guest at once."

It was Monk Mangyang's gift to Yeo Dongbin before the great battle.

To fight the great dragon, the Eight Immortals' power alone was insufficient. Thus, he directly pressured the White Lotus Cult—the world's strongest faction—to lend their leader and Dharma Protectors' strength.

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