Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

I decided to lay low until the Fire Dragon Divine Sword recovered and prepare to challenge Dark Heaven Village. While steadily training my martial arts and sorcery, I also learned the basics about otherworldly demons from Zhuge Sa. Truth be told, achieving remarkable growth in martial arts or sorcery in just one or two months was impossible, so I was content with building a foundation and resolved to further enhance my summoning talent.

Zhuge Sa said,

"In this world, sorcerers and demon sorcerers are clearly distinguished, but there's no specific category for 'summoners.' Do you know why?"

"Uh... no idea."

"It's because you can't systematically train sorcerers to specialize in summoning to the point of giving it a separate name. Summoning talent is exceedingly rare, and subjugating and handling the hordes of demons always carries the risk of death. It might be fine at the lower levels, but the higher the entities you summon, the more high-ranking otherworldly beings or powerful demons from alien realms swarm around. That's why high-level summons are typically classified as sorcery for mutual destruction, where you brace for death. If anything, demon sorcerers study summoning more than sorcerers, but even they avoid in-depth research due to the dangers."

He gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"To advance sorcery, you need to churn through researchers, but every summoning test carries over a 70% chance of death. How do you even conduct research like that? Especially for advanced sorcery."

"......"

"But summoning the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors or the heavenly tribute rites are usually smooth, right? Hardly any threat to life..."

Zhuge Sa countered my objection.

"That's a special privilege."

"A privilege?"

"Not just for you—it's a natural benefit for humans born in the Central Plains. There are almost no divine spirits on the level of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors who show mercy to humans and reliably answer summons. They're benevolent, even."

I frowned, unconvinced.

"The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are on par with the [Old Rulers], aren't they?"

"You're the odd one. No human in history has ever earned such favor from an [Old Ruler] like you have. Plus, heavenly beings being interested in human survival and continuance is incredibly rare. For a near-divine group with that much power to not ignore or casually attack humans is..."

"Hmm."

"That's another reason sorcerers don't dive into the risks of summoning. Why contract with suspicious alien monsters when you can stably call on heavenly immortals, gods, or dragon kings if needed? Sorcery is a far more convenient system than demon arts in many ways."

Grumbling like that, Zhuge Sa pointed at me.

"Anyway, you're blessed with a heaven-sent talent for summoning. To efficiently refine it, you need to steadily summon otherworldly beings."

"Got it."

"Start by learning the incantation patterns and rites that protect the summoner from otherworldly entities. I doubt you'll be attacked, but this is the foundation."

I learned the basics of summoning from Zhuge Sa. My previous demon arts knowledge had focused on the [Old Rulers] and general lore, but this time it was summoning-specific. Over a month, I mastered basic otherworldly being summons.

About a month in, Zhuge Sa said,

"You've got the basics down roughly, but to do it stably, you'd need another year. Learn more summoning from me or Cheon Woo-jin in your next life."

"...Already talking about my next life?"

"Problem?"

"Tch..."

I was steeling myself for death in Dark Heaven Village, but it left a bitter taste. Still, it was true, so I pulled out the Ruyi Jingu Bang and called the spirit Heuyu.

"Shhh"

Heuyu was a beautiful young girl with blue hair and golden eyes. The moment she saw me, she scowled.

[ Ugh, ugly... ]

"......"

[ Why'd you call? ]

Scratching my head, I said,

"Call the Great Sage Equal to Heaven for me. I want to retrieve the Fire Dragon Divine Sword."

[ Fine. Calling the monkey. ]

Heuyu's hand glowed as she worked some sorcery. Watching her, I asked,

"Heuyu. What crime did you commit to end up sealed in the Ruyi Jingu Bang?"

[...... ]

Heuyu fell silent.

The silence dragged on too long.

"Hey. Didn't you hear me?"

Her mouth opened.

[ Don't wanna answer! ]

"What?! You can't just say no out of nowhere..."

Flustered, I retorted, and Heuyu glared at me with genuine disgust.

[ I like pretty and handsome things. If you were some fairy-like hunk, I'd tell you anything, but seeing that face—like you stuffed fermented soybean paste in a mortar, ground it for a hundred days, sprinkled it from the sky, and mixed it with volcanic ash—kills my urge to talk. ]

"......"

[ And you ugly jerk. How close do you think we are that you'd ask me to spill my shameful past? ]

She roasted my looks so fluently that I was speechless. I'd been criticized for my appearance before, but never this brutally. I couldn't believe an ancient spirit was discriminating based on looks.

"Hey, still..."

"Poof"

Then the Great Sage Equal to Heaven appeared. He held the Fire Dragon Divine Sword in one hand and tossed it to me casually.

"Here, catch."

"Yes!"

Catching it, I sensed the Fire Dragon Divine Sword brimming with more power than ever. The divine energy and spirit aura were at their peak, surging with force that could devour its wielder. I could confidently say the Fire Dragon Divine Sword was fully restored.

"Fire Dragon True Person!"

I called to the Fire Dragon True Person sealed within, but she didn't emerge. Looking at the sword puzzled, the Great Sage said,

"Her wounds are healed, but she wants to max out her power. She's gathering herself to fully reclaim her dragon king strength. No telling when she'll open her eyes."

"Dragon king strength?"

"You know the Fire Dragon True Person is a dragon king, right? Unlike the Four Dragon Kings, she's the incarnation of the Responsive Dragon, so she hasn't directly wielded dragon king powers until now. The heavenly immortals dread her unleashing her true might, so she's been sealed away."

"Why dread it?"

"The Fire Dragon True Person is like an inspector sent from the Emperor's Pantheon of Myriad Gods to monitor the heavens. She's lived quietly in seclusion there, but her status hasn't changed. The Pantheon is a higher dimension than the heavens, so she's a big deal."

"Hmm."

The dragon king powers of the Fire Dragon True Person.

'Huh? Monitor...?'

Something clicked in my mind. But I couldn't act on it now, so I pushed it to the back of my thoughts.

I asked the Great Sage,

"Do you know anything about the Emperor's Pantheon of Myriad Gods?"

"Just what others know. It's too enigmatic to learn more. Even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors probably don't know."

I decided to ask the question Mangyang had tipped me off about.

"Then have you ever seen the Jade Emperor or Guangchengzhi?"

"Huh? Why ask?"

"As I mentioned before, I'm concerned something might have happened to the Four Sovereigns. I need to know if the Jade Emperor, their leader, is safe, and if Guangchengzhi—deeply tied to the Emperor—is still in the heavens."

"......"

The Great Sage thought it over, then said,

"I've fought the Jade Emperor."

"What?!"

"Remember when I flipped the heavens? Went to the deepest part and threw down with him. Even landed one on his face. Haha."

"You beat the Jade Emperor?"

"It's a weird story..."

Rubbing his temple, the Great Sage continued.

"Back then, I thought he was the heavens' big boss. As the8 king ruling Central Plains demons, my intent said toppling the Jade Emperor would make the heavens mine. Absorbing his divinity would grant me heavenly dominion and authority. But after I silenced him with a punch to the face, nothing happened."

"What do you mean?"

"He had no divinity as one of the Four Sovereigns. No matter how fatal the wound, it didn't emerge..."

"......!!"

"Hmm, and even more surprising, that Jade Emperor bastard revived shortly after I tore him apart. Still doesn't make sense."

"So the Jade Emperor is just True Immortal-level—weak."

The Great Sage shot me a what-the-hell look.

"What nonsense? I barely scraped a win by exploiting a gap. No way I'd beat him otherwise. Hands down, he's top three strongest I've fought. A real monster. If luck was against me, I'd have died fighting him."

"Ah..."

"Damn. You're great and all, but sometimes you have no sense of your place."

I felt the info he'd shared held great significance. I didn't fully grasp it yet, but I'd remember every word for the strategists to analyze later.

"And I don't know about Guangchengzhi. Never seen him."

"Even though he's one of the Twelve Kunlun Immortals?"

"They call them that, but his seat was empty."

"No close immortal friends?"

"If any, it'd be the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman. Meaning only someone like her qualifies to face Guangchengzhi. She rarely talks about him, though."

"......?"

"Guangchengzhi is treated as a whole other league from the other immortals. Even the rest of the Twelve don't see themselves as his equals."

"Hmm..."

Pondering, I said,

"The Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman probably knows him well, being from the same era."

"Most likely."

The Great Sage, sounding annoyed, added,

"Anyway, enough. Hey, Yeo Dongbin, come out a sec!"

"Shhh"

At his words, spirit energy rose from my body, forming Yeo Dongbin's figure. Manifesting through a spirit talisman, he bowed politely to the Great Sage.

[ Great Sage Equal to Heaven. What do you need? ]

"Nothing big. The Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman calls for you."

[...Any idea why? ]

"Nope."

[ Understood. ]

"Poof"

Yeo Dongbin's form vanished. With his spirit talisman, he wasn't bound by heavenly travel issues.

'Probably about the Golden-Feathered Fifty Heavenly Lords assassinating her disciples...'

In my previous life, I knew someone secretly killed the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman's disciples—it was Yao Tianjun of the Golden-Feathered Fifty Heavenly Lords. She was surely summoning Yeo Dongbin to entrust him with stopping Yao Tianjun.

But something felt off.

Why not ask the Great Sage instead?

They were allies, and he had far better odds against the Golden-Feathered Fifty Heavenly Lords than Yeo Dongbin. I couldn't think of a reason to call Yeo Dongbin for such a tough mission.

'Troubling...'

If I revealed here that the Golden-Feathered Fifty Heavenly Lords were the culprits and shared my reincarnator intel, it'd ease things for the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman. But that foreshadowed a much bigger threat than any adventure I'd faced. No way to handle the Queen Mother of the West once she revealed her true colors—our allies would just get massacred by her overwhelming power.

'Even Gonggong, with four Luminaries, struggled against her. No one in the heavens or earth can match her.'

'Without the power or means to defeat her, I couldn't recklessly touch such a massive karmic thread! Even without full power, the Queen Mother was an ultra-powerhouse who could shred an [Old Ruler] incarnation with her Heavenly Thunder Five Slashes. It'd be like me plucking a tiger's whisker.'

I recalled Mangyang's anguished shout from before.

[ Baek Woong. Unless you gather at least four of the Seven Luminaries, don't dream of facing gods head-on. Remember that. ]

Mangyang's prediction had been spot on. The non-human colossal god Gonggong with four Luminaries still struggled immensely against Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors Niwa. His power casually tore apart True Immortal Peng Jiao, yet the gap between the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and regular divinities was vast.

'Then... as a human, I need at least five Luminaries.'

To do that, I had to reach them somehow. Heading to Dark Heaven Village for the Earth Luminary couldn't be delayed. If I pioneered a path to claim it, I might even snag the Metal Luminary too, depending.

The Great Sage said,

"I don't know what you're up to, but wielding the Ruyi Jingu Bang and Fire Dragon Divine Sword together should repel most foes. Good luck."

"Yes, thank you."

"Let's grab a drink later."

After he left, I conferred with the strategists.

Mangyang suggested,

"The Fire Dragon True Person will awaken soon. Let's wait until then."

"Yeo Dongbin's spot is vacant?"

"Yes. If the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman summoned him, he might not be available for a while. Plus, it's questionable if he can be properly summoned in the unknown realm of Dark Heaven Village."

"I hear there are three ways to reach Dark Heaven Village. Which will you choose?"

Mangyang said,

"Naturally, follow Bi Deung's guidance."

"Hmm, knowingly walking into a trap."

"Yes. It's the best option."

"Couldn't we test the dream world path for Baek Woong?"

"We could try, but without conveying the experience to him, it's pointless."

"True."

The Sword Demon said mockingly,

"Sigh, training our martial arts feels more meaningless by the day."

"Not quite. We've established martial arts can fell an [Old Ruler]."

"I do wonder sometimes. If a War God exists, what does he seek... and what pinnacle did his supreme martial art reach?"

He continued,

"Baek Woong, achieve your goal no matter what."

"Yes."

A month later.

The Fire Dragon True Person awoke. She said immediately,

[ My prime power has returned. The strength from when I first opened my eyes in the heavens... ]

"Can you use your full power now?"

[ What do you desire? Freeing me from the dimensional gate seal and recharging me in the heavens means you want something from me. ]

I explained the situation to the Fire Dragon True Person.

"...So please lend your strength for the Dark Heaven Village challenge."

[ Reckless. Why venture into that cursed dream kingdom that drove even True Immortals mad? ]

"To find the Earth Luminary."

[ Earth Luminary... You're gathering the Seven Luminaries. ]

After thinking, the Fire Dragon True Person said,

[ Very well. I'll help. But on one condition. ]

"What is it?"

Her following words were unexpected.

[ I must commune with my true body, the Responsive Dragon. Take me to one of the Five Peaks. He's been calling me since I regained my power. ]

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