Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

I went to find Jin So-cheong and Geuk-ho. Ever since receiving the obsidian from me, they had been diligently honing their martial arts. Of course, it hadn't been long since their reincarnation, so their skills hadn't skyrocketed yet, but their faces already glowed with the joy of breaking through a wall. At this rate, the martial world would soon witness the rise of new absolute powerhouses.

Jin So-cheong said,

"Actually, for the past few days, my senior brother and I have been teaching Dang-san."

"Dang-san?"

Not long ago, at his personal request, I had brought the young child Dang-san and his mother to the Long Spirit Valley. He had been so young that I hadn't held high hopes, just implanting martial memories via the obsidian and leaving him be. Jin So-cheong nodded.

"He's incredibly passionate about martial arts and has remarkable talent. Even as a child, he's mastered all the foundational arts of the Sichuan Tang Clan and memorized the incantations of advanced techniques just by overhearing them. By aptitude, he's a true genius."

"Hmm."

"I never imagined I'd be so astonished by someone else's talent."

"Wait. You didn't teach him the Thunder God Style, did you?"

"Indeed. He can grow stronger at a rapid pace."

"Urk, that's..."

I wondered if that was okay. Even as the successor to the Thunder God Style, with its faint legacy, I felt a visceral resistance to casually teaching its arts to others. Then, from one side of the training ground, Dang-san's shout rang out.

"Hey, Uncle Baek Woong. Why so stingy? You're sneakily cheap, aren't you?"

"Dang-san!"

Dang-san grumbled curtly.

"So what if you teach me the Thunder God Style? You're gonna die again soon anyway. It's not like my training hurts you, so why act so petty?"

"......"

He had a point. I scratched my head and said,

"How's your training going?"

"Hmph! My goal is killing the Sichuan Tang Clan patriarch, so I'm still far off. But now I could take down one or two experts from the main Tang Clan house. With a sneak attack, even more."

"Impressive..."

I was genuinely amazed. Tang Clan main house experts wielded Peak-level martial arts, so for him to claim he could kill them meant his skills had advanced to an unbelievable degree for a child. He might have already entered the Peak Expert realm. It was talent beyond comparison to mine.

'This kid might reach the pinnacle of Transcendent before his twenties?'

It just reaffirmed how pathetic my own talent was, leaving a bitter taste. As I looked at Dang-san with complicated eyes, he crossed his arms and said,

"I heard Jin So-cheong's joining the White Lotus Cult Leader as a disciple? Then, while he's gone, you be my master and teach me martial arts, Baek Woong."

"The Thunder God Style?"

"Yeah."

Dang-san grinned slyly.

"The Thunder God Style arts are incredible. Excluding the pinnacle Formless Poison, the Sichuan Tang Clan arts are trash compared to it! If I learn the Thunder God Style, I'm confident I can get my revenge within ten years, so teach me quick."

"Eh... that good?"

"You've mastered the Thunder God Style arts but never realized it? At similar skill levels, a Thunder God Style expert can handle three or more Sichuan Tang Clan experts. With the ultimate technique Thunderclap, even more. I think it's worthy of being called a supreme art."

"......"

I'd been surrounded by such extraordinary masters that I hadn't fully appreciated the Thunder God Style's excellence. Whenever I fought lesser foes, I'd get caught in the crossfire of Absolute Realm experts or guardians with infinite qi. Arms crossed, I said,

"Listen. To be frank, the reason I'm raising you is to eventually get the secrets and insights of the Formless Poison. It's not pure goodwill. So if you master the Thunder God Style and abandon the Tang Clan arts, what's in it for me?"

Purely from a cost-benefit view, I was nurturing him because the Formless Poison held tremendous power, potentially lethal even to apostles or Demon Kings. At my question, Dang-san cackled.

"Hahaha! Knew you'd say that. Don't worry—after I get revenge on the Sichuan Tang Clan, I'll memorize all their arts and secrets and teach them to you."

"How long would that take? You'd have to relearn the Tang Clan arts from scratch..."

"Told you, Tang Clan arts are trash. Unlike the Thunder God Style, I could master them to the pinnacle in three or four years."

"...For real?"

I eyed him suspiciously, wondering if he was lying, but couldn't tell truth from falsehood. More astonishing was this kid discerning the superiority of Thunder God Style over Tang Clan arts and calculating the time to pinnacle in this short period.

'Is this pure genius?'

Different from Jin So-cheong, Jin So-cheong lived freely, unconcerned with grudges, but Dang-san seemed accustomed to leveraging his talent to crush inferior: Dang-san embodied the genius's signature arrogance and cruelty. Of course, I had no way to compare their talents.

After finishing with Dang-san, I said to Jin So-cheong,

"Jin So-cheong. It's been a while—shall we spar?"

"Sounds good."

Paat!

We separated by three zhang and gripped our weapons. I'd once toyed with him like a child, but that was before he absorbed my obsidian memories. Now, having internalized them through the Silver Phoenix Seal, his progress in this short time was unpredictable.

Kakang!!

Our first exchange clashed. Beyond his deepened qi from elixirs, I realized his very response to attacks had changed. After five clashes of sword and spear, I gauged his level.

He had already reached a realm where he could threaten my life!

Far removed from the green novice of our first bout.

'Heavens... how long has he been training...'

I clicked my tongue in awe. My skill still vastly me, but his growth rate was incomprehensible. Deciding to go all out, I unleashed every technique I knew against Jin So-cheong.

Kwang!

After five hundred exchanges ending in a final clash of auras, the spar concluded. Jin So-cheong was drenched in sweat, while my breathing remained steady—a gap in qi and skill. He grinned brightly and said,

"Haha! That was satisfying after so long."

"I'm terrified. Your talent has no end in sight..."

"...Hm? Baek Woong. You have something to say, don't you?"

Reading my intent, Jin So-cheong prompted, so I nodded and offered him the Silver Phoenix Seal.

Paat!!

Ye Dong-bin's past recollections flowed into Jin So-cheong as well. He savored the memories for a long while, then wore a grave expression.

"Indeed... You came to me after pondering the Martial God."

"Yes."

Stroking my chin, I continued,

"Before, I had no clue what the Martial God even was, but now I feel like I've got a lead. Ye Dong-bin elevated his power by spiraling through infinite space, and something clearly communicated with him via words."

"......"

"Jin So-cheong. You said you've met the Martial God. He told you, 'Even seeing a thousand springs, do not give up.'"

"Correct."

"Doesn't it feel off? The entity Ye Dong-bin encountered in that infinite space was akin to an omnipotent divinity beyond good, evil, or will. But the Martial God you met as a child seemed almost human, didn't he?"

"Hmm..."

Jin So-cheong pondered deeply, then said,

"It's belated, but I can't recall that Martial God's face."

"Even with your memory?"

"It's foggy, like mist—I can't grasp it clearly."

"That entity must have imposed a restriction on you."

Standing firmly, I declared,

"Now it's certain. Jin So-cheong, you must meet the White Lotus Cult Leader and ask about the Martial God he encountered. How it differs from the one in your memories!"

"I suppose I must. It's piqued my curiosity too."

What would he find?

Jin So-cheong, Ye Dong-bin, White Lotus Cult Leader, Jang Sam-bong—

Were the Martial Gods they met truly the same entity?

I have to know.'

I'd countless times felt human martial arts paled against cosmic beings and mighty gods as foes, yet martial arts kept showing potential. Future Jin So-cheong, Grasping Divine Transcendent Realm, subjugated the Nine Heavens Cult Leader; past Ye Dong-bin, with Martial God's aid, slew the apocalyptic dragon. Perhaps, as pure humans, the only way to defy the [Ancient Ruler] was reaching martial arts' utmost limits!

To that end, I needed to uncover the Martial God's nature—seemingly already attained—and how to gain power from him.

'And... the White Lotus Cult Leader's fusion of Chaos and Void!'

If I could seize the source of his immense power, I'd grow swiftly. In every way, infiltrating the White Lotus Cult via Jin So-cheong was essential.

Then Geuk-ho spoke up.

"Oh right. Did you figure out what the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's blessing is?"

"Huh?"

"You got it already—surely you know what it is?"

"......"

Come to think of it, in this life, I'd received a blessing from the Great Sage Equal to Heaven in exchange for handwritten tribute, but I still didn't know what it was. At my dumbfounded silence, Geuk-ho scratched his head and said,

"Not my business or anything- but don't you need to know to use it later?"

"Hmm... but summoning the Great Sage on purpose feels awkward..."

"And you promised that Great Sage you'd write a novel about his tales."

"Oh yeah."

I'd roughly heard the stories back then, but Geuk-ho remembered clearly from the memories. He continued,

"You know how to write novels?"

"......"

Silent, I admitted honestly,

"Well... I read some during my escort days when they were trendy, saving pennies... but never written one."

In my first life, as I aged, wuxia tale novels—reworking popular martial world gossip—boomed. Even clan heads sought novelists to star them as protagonists. I'd enjoyed them following the fad.

"As expected. What if the Great Sage returns and asks if you wrote it?"

"I was gonna stall, say it's not done yet."

"That monkey doesn't seem the type to buy flimsy excuses... You never even tried writing essays or commentaries, right? Just absorbed knowledge without producing any."

"Urk."

Geuk-ho was spot on. At my guilty look, he smirked and said,

"Anyway, it'll take the Sword Demon or Dragon Sage months to devise plans for Jin So-cheong... No point in extra training with spare time, so how about training to be a novelist?"

"A novelist?"

"Yeah. Guarding pleasure houses, I overheard plenty. Central Plains Luoyang has a few top novelists now. Go learn novel-writing from them—they're natural storytellers."

"Hmm..."

Not a bad idea.

If I wrote well and made the Great Sage's tales famous, he might grant stronger blessings or treasures in delight. Not a half-baked scheme—worth trying.

"Let's do it! Know any novelists?"

"I heard a Feng Menglong in the Five Great Cities writes great ones. Saw some drunk scholar in a Guangzhou brothel raving about his Three Words novels."

"Oh!"

"Of course, that's all I know—ask someone who does."

"Naturally."

Someone who knew? Only one among my comrades!

Paat!

I headed to Mount Huang. Bursting into the hut where Mang-ryang leisurely practiced sorcery, I shouted,

"Mang-ryang! I need to find novelists."

"Was wondering when you'd show. From now on, let's hunt famous novelists together."

"You know some?"

"Know? Hah."

He grinned.

"I'm a former Luoyang literary star. Connected to nearly all famed talents and beauties there. In the Ming Empire, none knows more novelists or raconteurs than I!"

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