Reincarnated Swordmaster

Author: -

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

Yeo Dongbin's first strike targeted the Giant Dragon's maw. It was firing beams of light to desolate the land below, each one powerful enough to sink the Dragon King in a single hit. Two more blasts, and the barrier protecting the earth would shatter.

"Pyung!"

But as Yeo Dongbin shot forward like a fiery arrow toward the Dragon's mouth, he acutely felt just how absurdity massive the beast truly was.

It's... huge!

He had flown meee dozens of li toward its jaws, yet that pitch-black darkness had already blanketed the entire sky, making it impossible to distinguish the body from the mouth. In truth, the mouth was so enormous—spanning dozens or hundreds of li—that such distinctions were meaningless. Yeo Dongbin even felt as if he were charging at an entire continent.

Could a sword strike even fang such a colossal foe?

Was this something that could be felled by martial prowess?

A chill raced down Yeo Dongbin's spine. Of course, he had slain foes larger than himself before, even mountain-sized ones. But the Giant Dragon before him defied the very notion of a living being. The mere act of it flopping into the sea could flood the entire continent.

Cosmic terror capable of devouring worlds—that was the apocalyptic Giant Dragon!

"Ugh!"

Yet Yeo Dongbin gritted his teeth, enduring the soul-crushing cosmic dread. Instead, he unbanded the fruits of his year-and-a-half of cultivation with all his might.

Heavenly Escape Sword Art

Six Intents Holy Heaven Diagram

Cloud Formula

Yeo Dongbin could now distinctly wield the six intents of the Six Intents Holy Heaven Diagram at will, even blending their key formulas into far more potent combinations. What would have taken a mortal at least fifty years, he had achieved in mere months with the aid of the Immortal Soul.

"Ku-kwa-kwang!"

Hundreds of thousands of sword qi bloomed from the Cloud Formula, scattering like clouds to assault the apocalyptic Giant Dragon. Each strand carried the pinnacle of Yeo Dongbin's power, enough to vaporize a mountain in an instant, briefly illuminating a corner of the sky.

"Flicker."

In a flash, the Fire Dragon True Person warned him, and Yeo Dongbin swiftly evaded a massive bolt of lightning with his sword flight technique. The strike was of a type even his exalted realm couldn't predict, vast in scope and instantaneous in effect. Having barely dodged, he wiped sweat from his chin.

"Can that thing wield the five elements?"

Against the enemy's spells and special abilities, Yeo Dongbin relied entirely on the Fire Dragon True Person's guidance. As the Dragon King and a master of sorcery, she had kept him alive thus far.

[...Something's off. That last one didn't manipulate the elements—it created them from nothing!]

"Created them..."

[...Your attack didn't inflict major damage either. Approach with caution.]

"Understood."

Sure enough, despite carving away a mountain's worth of mass, it was like a mere scratch to the Giant Dragon, which showed no reaction toward Yeo Dongbin. But it had succeeded in blocking the beam—no further blasts to slay the Dragon King followed.

'I'll probe for weaknesses and strike then.'

Yeo Dongbin felt his perceptual senses sharpening. Moments later, lightning, flames, and torrents erupted around the dragon's body, assaulting him, but he observed them with clear eyes and evaded effortlessly.

As if he knew the attacks before they even launched.

A sensation of striking first despite reacting second.

Could this be... a new transcendent technique?

Yeo Dongbin had thought the Six Intents Holy Heaven Diagram would be his ultimate weapon after reaching the Absolute Realm, but now he sensed a new potential budding within. Unlike forcibly mastering another Absolute Realm's profundities, this felt natural, like a new branch sprouting from a tree. A derivative transcendent art, born of its own accord.

Yeo Dongbin recognized it instantly.

The Infinite Spiral!

Absorbing it had let him shatter barriers that would take centuries in a flash. An immense foundation formless for an Absolute Expert—but he knew its side effects, tempering his joy.

'I must reach it... a realm where I can slay that Giant Dragon in this battle! Otherwise, I...'

"Kwa-gwang!"

Yeo Dongbin continued launching his flying sword while actively checking the dragon with the Six Intents Holy Heaven Diagram whenever it prepared to fire its beam. Though he expended vast qi each time, the Fire Dragon True Person shared her power to replenish him.

That was when it happened.

The apocalyptic Giant Dragon, annoyed by the persistent interference, writhed massively.

Yeo Dongbin tensed, expecting a devastating assault. But the dragon's next action was utterly unforeseen.

It spun its body to feather out from the dimensional gate, shoving forward.

No attack or defense—just raw mass plummeting like a mountain. Yeo Dongbin had to flee with his sword flight technique.

"Kwa-ga-ga-gwa!"

His flying sword cleaved through clouds, plummeting earthward at terrifying speed, but the dragon closed in just as fast. Only after diving much lower did he realize it had halted and finally stopped.

He stared at the void in bewilderment.

"What the hell..."

By merely body-slamming the earth, the Giant Dragon could end the world! Even slowly rubbing its bulk against the Central Plains Continent would suffice. Given its maw's size, millions of casualties would follow in a blink.

No answer.

Disrupting its beams meant nothing without subjugating that continent-sized behemoth!

'Could my strongest move cleave it...?'

Impossible.

He'd need to bisect its body in one slash, yet its length exceeded thousands of li. Its surface yielded to blades, but the interior grew tougher, resisting penetration—his attacks barely faced it.

Despair gripped Yeo Dongbin.

A mere difference in natural size—yet it nullified his every Absolute Realm martial art and mental boundary!

This wasn't a fight.

He wasn't even an enemy; he was an ant.

As realization dawned and Yeo Dongbin stood dazed—

"Pa-at!"

"Yeo Dongbin!"

Four bizarre figures appeared from nowhere, floating toward him. Their familiar faces allowed instant recognition.

"White Lotus Cult Leader! And the Dharma Protectors—how are you here...?"

"The Eight Immortals sent us swiftly."

White Lotus Cult Leader Yi Gunak and the Four Dharma Protectors of the sect's martial lineages hovered in the air, evidently transported by Nam Chae-hye's art. Yi Gunak eyed the apocalyptic Giant Dragon overhead with incredulity before speaking.

"When you spoke of the Giant Dragon... we all thought you mad. Only our shrine maiden, the top divinity, insisted we come. We all rest dismissed it as delirium. But seeing it now, indescribable dread overwhelms me."

Yeo Dongbin glanced at the trembling Dharma Protectors. Even these supreme experts couldn't hide their trepidation.

No—not fools would grasp it?

That no human could oppose such a being!

It was akin to battling nature itself.

Yeo Dongbin met his gaze calmly.

"Yet you came to aid me."

Yi Gunak grinned.

"Because of the shrine maiden's promise."

"Shrine maiden?"

"She prophesied: if we aid you, we might defeat the Giant Dragon, altering the laws of karma. In the new causality, our White Lotus Cult's goal of True Void Homestead shall manifest, and existence will blossom."

His eyes blazed with resolve, banishing fear.

"For that, we offer our lives. For the White Lotus Cult's millennial kingdom!"

True Void Homestead.

Maitreya.

Yeo Dongbin pondered inwardly. He knew the cult's doctrines and aspirations vaguely, but had viewed them as intangible faith. Their fervor surprised him.

'...Perhaps their faith is better than my utter lack of belief.'

Yeo Dongbin decided not to question further. The situation allowed no such luxury.

"I appreciate it."

They exchanged trusting glances, fully battle-ready. Yi Gunak asked,

"What's the issue now?"

Yeo Dongbin explained the dire circumstances. Yi Gunak nodded, arms crossed.

"So, if that monster just pushes down, we're done."

"Exactly. We need power to halt it. Only then can we aim for a fatal blow—but I can't do it alone."

"Power? Simple enough."

Yi Gunak turned to the Dharma Protectors.

"Draw your divine artifacts."

"Yes, sir!"

"Pa-ba-bat!"

They produced ritual implements. Yi Gunak wielded his Vajra Scepter as before. Yeo Dongbin asked,

"What are those?"

Yi Gunak paused before replying, "Yeo Dongbin, from what you've said, that monster fires its beam at anything exceeding a certain power threshold. We lack your keen senses and transcendent arts—we can't dodge it. A Dragon King-slaying beam would end us. So, keep it suppressed."

"Understood."

"Got it."

"Haaaash!"

"Ooooo...!"

"God of the White Lotus! Grant us strength!"

"Ooooo...!"

Yi Gunak and the protectors raised their divine artifacts skyward.

"Pa-ji-jik!"

Lightning surged through Yi Gunak's body; the Water Sage Protector became liquid; the Fire Sage Blazed aflame; the Wind Sage turned to wind itself.

Human flesh transmuting into the five elements?

Impossible even for sorcery—Yeo Dongbin gasped as Yi Gunak, now pure thunder, thrust his arm toward the dragon.

[Take this! Thunder God Fist!]

"Ku-kwa-kwa-kwang!"

It was like firing a colossal thunder cannon. Yeo Dongbin sensed its destructive might rivaled his Six Intents Holy Heaven Diagram. As the dragon retaliated with elemental power, Yi Gunak dodged while fighting.

"Pa-ji-jik!"

Even gates and darkness vortices were absorbed by his thunderous form. Physical force simply didn't affect him now.

'Heavenly Transmuting with natural qi!'

Not just Yi Gunak—the protectors became elemental men, wielding their affinities against the foe.

[Die!]

[Bodhidharma?!]

"Glory to the Wind Sage Lineage!"

"Kwa-ga-gwang!"

Fourfold Yeo Dongbin's firepower battered the dragon, forcing it back—it was injured, despite its continent-spanning bulk! As it gathered power for a beam, Yeo Dongbin swiftly checked it.

"Kwa-ga-ga..."

The dragon's claw slouched halted.

Now it was a true battle.

'We can do this!'

With such allies, Yeo Dongbin believed they could create an opening for a lethal strike. As he built his warrior, Yi Gunak sent a pained transmission:

[Ugh... Yeo Dongbin... End it within one incense stick...]

[What?]

[As practitioners of the Four Sage Lineages, we channel divine power through these artifacts... but we're unfit vessels to sustain it long. Really taking it risks dire backlash—or death!]

[......?!]

[Please... one fatal blow within one incense stick...]

Borrowing such power was suicidal even for the cult leader. Knowing the time limit, Yeo Dongbin narrowed his eyes in utmost focus, desperately seeking the giant dragon's weakness.

Then, intuition flashed.

'Reverse scale...?'

When the Four Sages struck together, the sky parted, revealing swirling flesh in the gap—a mere instant, but Yeo Dongbin sensed it was the dragon's vulnerability.

Yet targeting it amid the colossal scales, which moved like living things, would be arduous. No guarantee within one incense stick.

'...No choice!'

Without complaint, Yeo Dongbin soared with sword flight. Dragon assaults converged on him, but the White Lotus protectors blocked them. He rocketed upward, his sword with full power.

"Kwang!"

Piercing blood and flesh, his charge halted against thick mat-like diamond. Teeth gritted, he gathered more force, boring through.

"Puk!"

Bursting from the opposite side into the sky, Yeo Dongbin felt hollow.

A horizon vast as a continent!!

"Argh!!"

Roaring, he invoked the Fire Dragon Divine Sword's power. With the Fire Dragon True Person's whole force focused at the tip, he hurtled toward the beast's rear. Scanning the broad back for even specks of dust, he sought the reverse scale. As anxiety mounted—

'There!!'

It emerged—Yeo Dongbin struck with maximum force.

"Kwa-gwang!" A ferocious explosion rocked the dragon, shaking heaven and earth, proof of his strike's immense power.

"Please... please!!"

Sword embedded, Yeo Dongbin prayed desperately. He'd poured everything in—if not fatal, they'd all perish!

But soon—he sensed the dragon's body sinking slowly.

The dragon was unscathed.

He'd pierced the reverse scale, yet its vast vitality shrugged it off. Even this left it fine; thousands more strikes would be futile.

"No..."

As despair colored his face—

A voice whispered in his ear.

[Yeo Dongbin, I am the White Lotus Cult's priestess...]

The shrine maiden's voice from before. Exhausted, Yeo Dongbin listened.

[Do not give up yet...]

[Look around...]

This monster would tear all Heavenly Realm greater immortals to halt—yet heaven and earth had forsaken the world.

What now?

Without continent-clearing power, opposition was futile.

[Yeo Dongbin, Our White Lotus Cult sacrifices the present for the future.]

She paused, then continued.

[Thus... for Maitreya's future era on this land... where we shine... we offer our divine artifacts.]

Suddenly, Yeo Dongbin was enveloped in light, entering the Infinite Spiral's world of the Martial God.

He couldn't fathom why he'd come here. On the verge of absorbing the unshakeable fight against the apocalyptic Giant Dragon—why now? Dazed in the void, staring blankly—

Gazing dimly at the Martial God like script urging digestion, Yeo Dongbin let out a hollow laugh:

"...To enter here... coming into space repeatedly... I've learned something... Each spiral is human potential, a life... This space is infinite because..."

His eyes, dark and hollow, stared into emptiness.

"But... I'm human... Limited... Browsing others' potentials boosts my own... but digesting has limits... Continuing won't surplus these already divine."

Silent for a moment, Yeo Dongbin spoke.

"Martial God... what do you want? Why show me this space? I'm no hero fit to save the world..."

He expected no reply.

As always.

No separate Martial God persona appeared—only enigmatic script, repeating digestion commands. Yeo Dongbin saw this as his final respite.

But new words emerged.

Right:

There are many besides you

In that instant—

"Huu-ung!"

Yeo Dongbin realized he'd gained infinite vision in this boundless space. Like an absolute observer of the world. Amid irreconcilable non-sparing voids, distant from his space-time, he saw others' touching sparks, researching endlessly.

Truly, many.

He wasn't alone. More had accessed the Martial God!

Who are they?!

As Yeo Dongbin reeled, the Martial God's words continued.

Soon the door opens

100 open it together

'100...?'

He pondered the riddle, understanding nothing.

In his confusion, the final inscription burned into his eyes.

Welcome

Welcome to the Martial Soul

Yeo Dongbin opened his eyes. Rising slowly on the dragon's back, he saw four divine artifacts piercing and sealing its movements. The dragon thrashed like a chained beast.

"Ku-zu-rsuing"

Unmistakable—the Four Sage Protectors had sacrificed themselves, embedding the artifacts to bind it. Thanks to them, Yeo Dongbin had'd died while unconscious. The chance to slay it remained.

'Let's go.'

Despite the hopeless odds, his heart was serene. Toothpick against giant, yet no fear or despair remained. The Martial Soul's world possessed overhead the dragon's terror.

Yeo Dongbin's sword was no longer a physical blade.

It need not be.

The moment he willed it, that sword had already conquered all realms.

Reaching the universe's end.

Martial Soul

"Name or no name, no art name—Yeo Dongbin knew he had become part of a vast world. No good or evil, high or low—only aspiration and passion. Like-minded souls, pursued by apocalypse in a fallen god's realm, still pursued the martial.

Beyond the door, the Martial God awaited.

Awaiting what—

Yes, a companion to end its loneliness.

For endings held no meaning, more echoes.

At that moment—even as the goal to save the world—all vanished from Yeo Dongbin's heart. Calmly beholding the 'world', he realized what he'd deemed Absolute Realm was but the beginning.

Yes.

Techniques he thought supreme,

Transcendent arts deemed ultimate,

Instinctive pursuits—all infantile steps.

Not the martial that was weak.

Humans alone were frail!

To render the boundless world free still.

Gathering resolve from birth to now—he slashed.

"Kwang!"

Yeo Dongbin's mere slash met no resistance, no sound—yet the void split roundly. As if by magic—defying all physical impossibilities—the dragon's back exposed its spine.

Silence.

Next instant, light faded from the dragon's eyes as faint illusory flames escaped its maw.

The signal of its life's end.

[Uoooooh! Creator!!]

For the first time, the apocalyptic Giant Dragon bellowed.

Until now, it had ignored Yeo Dongbin and his allies. But this strike sought its utter annihilation, forcing out a pained transmission.

[Impossible... I devour kings... Blessed by all realms, I could devour worlds... Grow stronger, consume Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors... yet felled by a mere human!]

Yeo Dongbin offered no reply.

[How can a human heavy on chaos essence?! I've never seen your like!]

Whatever it said, this single strike had decided all.

His role now: bear the loser's final words.

The Giant Dragon's chaotic bulk crumbled. The slash denying its soul eroded its existence entirely.

"Hufu-duk..."

Darkness halted, the gloom over the continent receded.

Buoyancy repulsed the earth unfit for this land.

With its power waning, casualty resumed.

Soon, the dragon, meckily by the cosmic sun, flickered like a candle.

Moments later, sensing its end, it laughed hollowly.

[Hahaha... You who felled me, born of chaos... Delaying this world's apocalypse—what meaning?]

Chaos Dragon, meaning is naught.

Merely my path of the Martial Soul.

[...Splendid...]

Answering with soul, Yeo Dongbin watched it close its eyes slowly.

In its final moment, Sword Immortal Yeo Dongbin was acknowledged as its destined rival.

[That which felled me... is the martial... oh...]

"Hwaruruk"

The chaotic corpse melted into starlight, merging into the ground. The steps became blood...

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