Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

It was the moment when the radiance of Infinite Void Heaven flashed once around the White Lotus Leader.

"Urk."

"Ugh."

Seung the Divine blocked the Fist Pressure but was sent flying through the air. Myeongyeongja barely managed to parry the sword strike with his blade before his rib cracked, forcing him to collapse. And Lee Gwang, sensing the utterly vicious aura as he tried to unleash his technique, devoted everything to evasion and slipped out of the attack range.

Clang!

Jin So-cheong and the Sword Demon each took a single blow and somehow managed to block it, but the Leader exploited that moment of stiffness to unleash a Wall-Shaking Palm. They had no choice but to let their stances crumble dramatically. Though they had deflected it using the applications of ultimate techniques, there was a limit to redirecting pure overwhelming force.

Boom!

Excluding the White Lotus Leader, no one was left standing properly.

"Huh?"

Strangely, the White Lotus Leader hadn't attacked me. Puzzled, I looked at him, and our eyes met. The White Lotus Leader spoke.

[ This is no place for a boy like you. Step back. I have no desire to harm a child. ]

"......"

Come to think of it, I had been deliberately suppressing my internal energy this whole time. Realizing he didn't even see me as an enemy, I let out a hollow chuckle but addressed him.

"Leader. I have a question."

[ Hm. ]

Whoosh.

As if deeming me unworthy of conversation, he casually waved his hand to send me flying. Even that casual motion carried an immense force impossible to resist, whipping up a vortex gale strong enough to demolish a palace in one go. But I unleashed my internal energy to its maximum.

Boom!

[......!! ]

The Leader's energy clashed with my outburst in midair and canceled out. The White Lotus experts watching from behind stirred in shock, and even the Dharma Guardian Lions flinched. And rightly so—nullifying the White Lotus Leader's technique with pure internal energy was logically impossible.

'My internal energy far surpasses Seung the Divine's.'

As the White Lotus Leader stared at me intently, I posed my question.

[ Have you achieved reversal of age and youth? ]

"I'll leave that to your imagination."

[ Very well, you qualify to join this fray... ]

I tensed, realizing he would attack again soon. His previous move had been a mere demonstration of Infinite Void Heaven, but the next would be ferociously deadly. Thus, I voiced my question first.

"If sacrificing 30,000 lives saves this world and spares 10 billion others... is that sacrifice truly necessary?"

I wanted to ask this again.

It stemmed from Mangyang the Monk's tale in Yeo Dongbin's flashback—it bore an uncanny resemblance to the White Lotus Leader's actions in my 19th regression.

Silence fell.

The others were baffled expressions at the out-of-context question, but the White Lotus Leader was unfazed. Unfazed by the six peak experts around him regrouping for a joint assault, he stroked his faceless mask. Then he spoke.

[ No context. Why ask me this? ]

"Just curious."

[ A strange one, eh. ]

Chuckling softly, the White Lotus Leader answered.

[ Saving 10 billion by sacrificing 30,000... that sacrifice is inevitable. ]

"How can you so definitively call it inevitable? Aren't those 30,000 lives lives too?"

As I countered, the White Lotus Leader replied.

[ You seem like an unusual existence. Your martial prowess is no trifle. ]

"......"

[ You all sought me out with some special purpose, I sense... Very well, I'll answer. ]

The White Lotus Leader's impassive gaze fixed on me.

[ Then, if you let the calamity killing 10 billion be, is there any guarantee the 30,000 will live? ]

"That's... not guaranteed, but surely there's a way to save them all?"

[ Wasn't the idea of sacrificing 30,000 born precisely because there's no way to stop the 10 billion from dying? You've inverted cause and effect. ]

"The odds may be low, but is it right to abandon it just because they're low?"

[ I think I grasp what you're driving at... ]

He fell silent for a moment, then spoke.

[ If such a situation arose for me, I would sacrifice the 30,000 without hesitation. Not everyone can be saved. ]

"Even if those 30,000 are members of your own cult?"

[ Yes. ]

He answered without pause.

But in that instant—I sensed the auras of the Dharma Guardian Lions standing behind him, observing, shift dramatically. It was a fleeting change, but I caught it. Intense emotional turmoil rippled from Han Baekryeong and Yong Bicheon.

'Worth the probe, then?'

What this tremor might mean later remained to be seen. For now, confirming the Leader's true intent and cracking the Guardians' resolve was what mattered. The Leader continued.

[ You must hail from the hidden world. Thus, I'll capture you all here and uncover the truth bit by bit. ]

Rumble rumble rumble.

Rumble—

A mandala arose around the White Lotus Leader's body, distorting space like ripples on water. At its center, it swirled like a vortex, revealing what seemed a pitch-black void. I knew this was the phenomenon when he channeled Infinite Void Heaven into offense. Simultaneously, it signaled his intent to overwhelm us all in one full-power burst.

'Have to try.'

Escaping with allies via teleportation here would be even more unrealistic.

With things at this point, it was right to test if we could bare our fangs against the White Lotus Leader's might.

In that brief moment, the Sword Demon, Jin So-cheong, and I exchanged glances. No signals passed, but the intuition shared among experts made it happen. Our common ground was mastering arts like the Seven Great Absolutes and Eight Immortal Divine Skills—we were kindred in that sense, almost fellow disciples.

Infinite Void Heaven's hallmark was its invincible unity of offense and defense, but every art had flaws. Not true weaknesses, but all martial arts were relative; tactics could drastically alter their potency.

The Sword Demon moved first. He summoned his flying swords with his intent—hundreds of them, each taking different weapon forms, becoming controlled flying blades at his gesture.

Thud.

But upon reaching Infinite Void Heaven's front, the flying swords shattered like glass. They lacked the power to pierce the mandala's infinite might. Without surpassing the Leader's Origin Spirit infinite internal energy, that mandala boasted near-infinite defense.

Yet this was merely the opening step in the strategy we tacitly shared. In the subtle instant the Leader gathered power into Infinite Void Heaven to bolster defense, Jin So-cheong moved per the Three Steps ultimate principles, charging at phantom speed in the wake of the fading swords.

Fwoosh.

Just before the swords dissolved, a mystical light shot from Jin So-cheong's spear tip like an arrow. I recognized it as a new ultimate fusing Five Elements Qi and Reverse Heaven Aurora. Freely shifting Qi properties among the five elements, augmented by tracking tech, the energy stretched like molten sugar, seeking Infinite Void Heaven's flaw and enveloping a three-zhang radius.

Crackle!!

"My turn!"

Truth be told, I'd moved almost simultaneously with Jin So-cheong. Unsure of his exact technique, I trusted he'd create an opening in the mandala with the Sword Demon. As thunderous energy enveloped the mandala, halting the Leader, I unleashed my maximum power.

Thunder God Sword Dance

Sword Thunder

The National Jade Seal's power merged with my internal energy, swiftly converting to sword thunder essence. That tremendous force gathered at my blade tip, resounding my sword with azure light. It was a tiny gap, but I seized it fully, thrusting sword thunder with all my might.

Soohh.

My blade slipped between the mandala layers. The Leader sensed it, his gaze snapping to me in that split second. Sword thunder's slashing power ignored protective qi—even absolute realm arts weren't immune. But his response lagged, and next instant, my sword thunder rent his domain, piercing toward his chest.

Boom!!

His right palm whipped out as he evaded, firing dozens of qi blasts at me. Dodging his counter with swift Three Steps, I inwardlly clicked my tongue.

'A complete surprise strike, yet he switched to counter in that scenario... Infinite Void Heaven truly is monstrous.'

Infinite Void Heaven's quasi-weakness was the momentary gap when committing to pure offense or defense. But with the Leader's Origin Spirit granting infinite energy, his baseline defense was impenetrable—that flaw meant nothing.

Yet I, who knew him long-term, and we others possessed the skill to exploit it, so we'd probed. And the next moment proved this strategy viable against him.

Swish swish swish.

We three encircled him tightly in a narrow Three Tents Formation. Shin Seung, Myeongyeongja, and Lee Gwang, regaining their wits belatedly, took positions at greater distance for the outer Three Talents. As peak experts, they grasped the situation and formed the optimal joint formation.

Even under ambush, the Leader spoke with evident delight.

[ Overcoming absolute skill disparity with mere technique... You've pierced my mandala's flaw? ]

"Dodge!!"

I barked a short warning. Mid his Six Harmonies Battle Prowess, he was subtly resummoning the mandala unseen, priming dozens of barrages. My gut, honed from years sparring him as a disciple, told me so.

Boom.

"Cough."

Shin Seung and Myeongyeongja blocked two intangible qi blasts from the mandala but were caught in the third, sent flying backward and knocked out. Lee Gwang roughly endured while swiftly retreating—less a martial disparity, more a mindset one. The former pair had stepped into danger hoping to counter us with three if chance arose; Lee Gwang, lacking such notions, survived unscathed.

I ground my teeth inwardly.

'As expected of a monster...'

How could the White Lotus Leader, who could slay even current murim's apex in two or three blows with Infinite Void Heaven, not be? As Shin Seung showed, internal depth meant nothing before infinite Origin Spirit. Even with my foreknowledge of his habits and specialties from regressions, plus the Three Talents with allies, no clear path to victory emerged.

Only we three could fell him here. Friend and foe alike tacitly acknowledged it. As cold killing intent flashed, the Leader's summoned mandala hummed.

Rooooar—

Just before it unleashed, we three unleashed our signature techniques without order.

Shadowless Soul Stealer

Ninety-Nine Harmonies Return

Sword Thunder

Wielding our specialties, we deflected the mandala's assault and read the Leader's terrifying attack paths. Amid thousands of radiant beams embroidering the sky in an instant, we flowed through under utmost tension, calmly preparing counters.

In the heart-mind realm's spirit second, I heard the Leader murmur from the void space.

[ I'm thoroughly enjoying this now. ]

Behind the faceless mask, he seemed to smile.

[ Don't disappoint me. ]

Hearing that, I knew.

He welcomed an adversary who could match his arts with glee, fully immersed in the battle's thrill.

Boom!!

"My hands are numb."

Two hundred fifty exchanges into our joint assault. We'd never drilled together, but grasping formation and joint essences, we synced breaths via distant clear-viewing in basic Three Talents. Thus, even Infinite Void Heaven couldn't land easily, dragging into stalemate.

"Oooh...!!"

"Such a clash in this world...!!"

But to spectators, it dazzled—likely just gales, flashes, incomprehensible to eyes. We participants felt the slog.

This way, we'd lose.

Not just me—Jin So-cheong and Sword Demon sensed it too. Our regression-honed techniques let us endure Infinite Void Heaven, nothing more. True victory exploiting his gaps demanded greater power; we fell short. The Leader's absolute realm plus Origin Spirit meant that.

Moreover, his infinite energy and stamina favored attrition.

Sure, my vast internal energy and National Jade Seal let me endure a head-on slugfest, but past 1,000 exchanges? Doubtful.

As I pondered my move—

Swooo...

Suddenly, the White Lotus Leader lowered his aura and descended to ground. Switching to pure defense, immovable as an iron fortress, we could only encircle warily, unable to press.

The White Lotus Leader spoke.

[ Victory and defeat are clear. You know it. ]

"......"

As expected, no fool—he knew long-term odds favored him utterly.

[ Yet your martial arts defy simple dismissal. ]

"Leader! What are you saying?"

His next words froze us.

[ Submit to me here, and I'll forgive all. I desire those arts too. ]

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