Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

"Then I'll go first!"

Flash!

The Sword Demon recalled the words of the strategist Je Gal-sa as he watched Hong Gil-dong's five clones charging toward him like arrows.

[ Sword Demon Seo Moon Dae-ryong. You'll have to take on the most difficult mission in this plan. ]

[ What is it? ]

[ According to calculations, after the World Tree's core collapses, the Twelve Rulers and their subordinates will retreat without fighting aggressively. For some reason, he won't step forward boldly and will focus on preserving their forces. Your mission is to hold back the retreating Ruler. ]

[ Got it. ]

[ Listen. The reason your mission is difficult is because you can't die. ]

[ Dying is easy. How simple is it to charge in heroically and get yourself killed? But your real mission is to draw out the Ruler's Absolute Realm, Heavenly Garment Seamless, and probe his potential. ]

[ Hmm. Indeed... that's tough. ]

[ I can monitor everything in real-time with the eavesdropping spell on you all, but martial arts are different. You must scrape the bottom of the Ruler's Absolute Realm and survive to personally relay that insight to our allies. Only then can we pass it on to Baek Woong. ]

[ Understood. ]

Je Gal-sa had spoken up again.

[ Let me say it once more. The others can all die, but you must return alive. And having dragged out the Ruler's depths as much as possible! ]

Wishing comrades safety was common, but Je Gal-sa's words focused purely on efficiency. No, his view of comrades was no more than expendable tools. Of course, the Sword Demon knew Je Gal-sa's nature and had grown accustomed to it over decades in the Black Path, so he felt no particular disturbance.

Still, a bitter feeling was unavoidable.

Because Je Gal-sa was essentially telling him to survive against the Twelve Rulers—who had unleashed two of the Seven Desires—and probably an Absolute Realm expert on par with Hong Gil-dong. It might be better to fight the entire Righteous Martial World.

But thoughts were thoughts.

Now, he focused.

In the next instant, the Sword Demon shook his sword, unleashing a single flying sword.

Soul-Seizing Sword Technique

True Shadow Sword

The flying sword seemed to advance slowly at the Sword Demon's will. Against Hong Gil-dong's clones swarming from all directions, with just one sword, it looked like he had no intention of fighting back. But the moment Hong Gil-dong tried to materialize each clone using Empty Spirit Hundred Eight Illusions and attack—

Boom!

"Urk."

In that instant, Hong Gil-dong retreated with a slight cut on his shoulder blade. Incredibly, all his clones had burst apart in a single moment, damaging even his main body! As Hong Gil-dong fell back, the Twelve Rulers spoke.

"Similar techniques, but different. You've met your match."

Hong Gil-dong snapped irritably at the Twelve Rulers' assessment.

"I'm better at hiding my true form."

"You know it's pointless? In the end, a fight between you and the Sword Demon could drag on for a thousand days."

"......"

"It's been a while since I've met a worthy expert."

Hummm

The Twelve Rulers slowly walked toward the cloud bridge. Having used Hong Gil-dong to probe the Sword Demon's power, the Twelve Rulers were now stepping in properly. Seeing this, the Sword Demon thought:

'As expected, cautious.'

The absolute ruler of the Eastern Martial World, having unleashed two of the Seven Desires, surely possessed overwhelming power compared to him. Even so, he methodically probed first instead of just overpowering. Considering their base was destroyed and they were being pursued by the Eight Supremes, this showed tremendous self-control and composure.

Groooan

With a sound like air being pushed aside, the Sword Demon realized a massive chain filled his vision. The Twelve Rulers' preemptive strike had flown in at a speed that momentarily escaped his detection range. But the Sword Demon was already prepared for such speed.

Blood Moon Blade

Blood-red blades seemed to envelop the Sword Demon's body. And the moment the Twelve Rulers' Milky Way Chain Slash pierced that boundary—like a sword veil—the Sword Demon's blade flew toward the Twelve Rulers' neck. As if by magic, their positions had swapped in an instant, and the Twelve Rulers barely dodged the Blood Moon Blade's absolute strike.

Twing!

With a sound like a thread snapping, dozens of Hong Gil-dong's clones flew in. The tiny space was packed with figures, each hand brimming with qi. Feeling a strange exhilaration at the enemy's shameless two-on-one assault, the Sword Demon swung his sword again.

Flying Sword

True

Shadowless Soul-Seizing

As Hong Gil-dong's clones unleashed dozens of qi blasts at once, the Sword Demon's sword vanished, turning into a mass of photons, and his fully formless sword strike reversed direction to slice through the qi. Rays of light swarmed like pandemonium, eventually billowing like clouds, forcing Hong Gil-dong to retreat under the counterattack and deploy an Absolute Realm defensive absolute technique.

Empty Spirit Hundred Eight Illusions

Esoteric Secret

Niankong Wings

Boom!

"Grk."

Hong Gil-dong spread illusory wings to deflect the light clouds, but the rebound sent his body hurtling toward the cliff base at sonic speed. Even his strongest defensive martial art, Niankong Wings, was only this effective; a direct hit would have shattered him into hundreds of thousands of pieces.

'I got hasty trying to help the Ruler and slipped up!'

He also realized his illusions surpassed the Sword Demon's, but he couldn't match the majestic destructive power in the Shadowless Soul-Seizing Sword absolute technique. There was no superiority in Absolute Realms per se, but Hong Gil-dong had pitted his weakness against the Sword Demon's strength, so he was pushed back. He should have just calmly checked; greedily attacking led to this counter.

'Damn. When I first saw the Sword Demon, he was just knocking on the Absolute Realm's door... Musashi! What the hell were you thinking raising a monster like that?'

Whoooosh

The time Hong Gil-dong plummeted off the cliff was merely enough for three or four breaths, but to the two remaining Absolute Experts, it felt like an eternity. The moment the Twelve Rulers faced the Sword Demon's Shadowless Soul-Seizing, they began their footwork.

[ How about this? ]

In that telepathic instant, the Twelve Rulers' will reached the Sword Demon, conveying a strange sense of enjoyment.

Seven Stars Greedy Wolf

The cunning footwork warped space itself. The Sword Demon saw illusions of a Taiji wriggling beneath the Twelve Rulers' feet as their body freely slipped through gaps in the photons. Though details were unclear, recognizing the Seven Stars Greedy Wolf footwork as an Absolute Realm martial art infused with Daoist Seven Stars mysteries, the Sword Demon withdrew his attack and fell back.

'Perfect footwork...'

It resembled Void Space Strike. Void Space Strike manipulated space at will for advantage, and the Ruler's Seven Stars Greedy Wolf seemed like its footwork conversion. Either way, attacking such footwork wasn't easy, so he retreated.

A standoff held briefly, then the Twelve Rulers extended a hand clad in Moonlit Night Armor, exhaling cold qi.

Flaaaash!

"......!!"

The Sword Demon instantly realized not only his position but nearly all visible space was engulfed in arctic chill, feeling an immense cold wave and sleet. Abruptly altering the terrain, the Twelve Rulers Ha Eun-cheon swung the Milky Way Chain Slash.

Craaaack!

An Ice Dragon formed massively in the air, and Ha Eun-cheon leaped atop it, suddenly flying off. The Sword Demon was baffled at this sudden sorcery escape, but soon realized he had no choice.

'Can't catch him...!!'

Chasing with Air Step or flight arts was possible, but he still didn't fully grasp the Twelve Rulers' Absolute Realm, Heavenly Garment Seamless. If it countered badly, he'd be counterattacked and die pointlessly. Against a foe at sorcery's pinnacle with two Seven Desires, his options were too narrow.

The Twelve Rulers said:

"Don't chase."

The Sword Demon hesitated for another reason. With the Ruler's power, he could crush him directly, yet chose flight! He couldn't shake the thought it was another trap.

'What to do?'

Clashing properly with the Twelve Rulers meant near-certain death for him. Unsure of their moves, and likely outmatched in martial arts too, charging blindly was suicide.

Luck might allow mutual destruction, but that would fail Je Gal-sa's orders. Forced to choose without fully drawing out the Ruler's capabilities, the Sword Demon felt flustered.

But his hesitation didn't last. He soon steeled himself and acted.

'Still, fight first!'

Flash!

The Sword Demon's form shot through the blizzard like a bowstring in body-sword unification. Knowing wide-area techniques wouldn't catch him, he'd force an opening in close quarters. Atop the Ice Dragon's head, the Twelve Rulers slowly raised the Milky Way Chain Slash as the Sword Demon flew in.

Boom!

The Twelve Rulers conjured a sorcery barrier, but the Sword Demon concentrated Soul-Seizing Sword Qi to pierce it easily, aiming for the neck. In that instant, intense spatial flux like swirling time-space forcibly pulled him into telepathic communion.

[...I didn't expect such persistence. I acknowledge you, Sword Demon, for the conviction—not arrogance—in your charge. ]

And in the black-and-white silent space, he heard the Twelve Rulers' words.

[ I'll fight properly. ]

The Twelve Rulers' eyes flashed fiercely.

[ And engrave this quasi-divine's techniques upon your eyes before dying! ]

Absolute Realm

Heavenly Garment Seamless

'Take this!'

The Sword Demon unleashed True Shadow Sword as a flying sword—one of his strongest attacks. The absolute technique that obliterated Hong Gil-dong's real clones in one blow reached Shadowless Soul-Seizing's pinnacle, where true form and sword shadow became indistinguishable, multiplying power dozens-fold upon fusion. Similar to Hong Gil-dong's clones but focused on sword qi rather than full-body manifestation, it was far more offensive.

Moreover, True Shadow Sword infused Void Space Strike and Seven Great Absolute Arts' mysteries, unbeatable. Combined with Ninety-Nine Rational Ghosts to cover flaws, even Musashi could only block or counter all-out.

However—

As True Shadow Sword's sword gang tried to pierce the Twelve Rulers, an unexpected martial art unfolded from their hand.

Heavenly Garment Seamless

Three Poles Endless Origin

Boom boom boom

Three palm prints bounced from the Twelve Rulers' left hand, neutralizing True Shadow Sword's momentum. Astonishingly, each palm held a different skilled qi attribute: swift, heavy, illusory—distinct absolute techniques.

That alone wouldn't decide victory. The issue was, simultaneously, the right hand swung the Milky Way Chain Slash, precisely striking the Sword Demon's weakness.

Boom!

"......!!"

Cough

The Sword Demon, struck squarely on the flank by the Milky Way Chain Slash, raised protective qi yet felt ribs crack and organs damaged. Not combat-incapacitating, but he panicked and retreated.

One thought filled the Sword Demon's mind.

'How?!'

Simply calling it offense and defense together might explain it, but no. Absolute Realm martial arts consumed immense mental and qi energy even singly; manifesting different attributes simultaneously was near-impossible. Moreover, the Three Poles Endless Origin and Milky Way Chain Slash counter seemed to predict events, reading trajectories in advance!

Impossible. His swordplay blurred true form and shadow, capable of millions of paths on whim—impossible to dodge or block by sense alone. Plus, as Absolute Realm, it materialized only on impact—how to counter precisely?!

Seeing the flustered Sword Demon, the Twelve Rulers atop the Ice Dragon said:

"What's wrong? Having reached Absolute Realm with your talent, didn't you think you could finally fight me?"

"......"

He said coldly:

"You're exceptional in your way, so I won't call it delusion. But breaking my absolute techniques at your level is impossible."

Thud

The Twelve Rulers descended. Dropping the Milky Way Chain Slash, he crooked a finger.

"Come."

The Sword Demon gritted his teeth.

He realized this was his fate's crossroads.

Should he retreat here?

Or probe Heavenly Garment Seamless further?

"......"

Fate's single step.

The Sword Demon took one forward.

"I'm coming."

This wasn't enough.

He had to uncover Heavenly Garment Seamless no matter what.

For Baek Woong, he resolved to cross the brink of death once more.

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