Reincarnation Sword God

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Heavenly Realm

After about an hour, I finally managed to suppress the pain and regain my senses. If I hadn’t used Huatuo’s Five Animals Play breathing technique to reduce the pain to below half, I might have died from the agony. Yeodong-bin had literally pushed my body to its limits, rolling me up without a care for the aftermath. A normal human would definitely have gone mad from the pain.

Cheongwol and Dokgo Seong seemed to have finished their conversation. As I regained consciousness, Dokgo Seong opened his mouth.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes…”

“If it’s external injuries, it can’t be helped, but it seems the pure pain was over-stimulated.”

Muttering like that, Dokgo Seong continued.

“Have you made any progress in your swordsmanship?”

“……”

I looked within myself. After organizing my memories once more, I honestly admitted,

“I feel like something has been clarified.”

“Indeed. That’s to be expected.”

Dokgo Seong spoke while looking at me.

“There’s nothing more to do here. Let’s use the teleportation to return to Yongwang Valley.”

“Yes.”

Whoosh!

We said goodbye to the Great Sword Bears of Dongyung and returned to Yongwang Valley. Cheongwol was looking around curiously at the treacherous cliffs and mist of Yongwang Valley, whereas Dokgo Seong silently led us deeper into the valley.

After a while, as we passed through a valley where the mist reached its peak, a temple appeared. It was not small in size and had been constructed with considerable architectural skill. Finding it fascinating, I asked Dokgo Seong,

“Did you build this, Master?”

“No. It was here originally.”

Dokgo Seong brushed his hand over a pillar of the temple and continued,

“According to the legends left in the temple, this place was built by Master Ha Taek—one of the Seven Founding Ancestors of the Southern School of Zen—during his later years of retirement. There are several ancient texts of Zen Buddhism left here.”

The Southern School of Zen refers to the Zen school of Buddhism, and Ha Taek, being one of the Seven Ancestors, would roughly be a disciple of Hui Neng, the sixth patriarch of Zen. This was also a relic from the Tang Dynasty, so it could be said to be a site from hundreds or thousands of years ago.

“A site from a High Monk.”

“It’s quite useful.”

Once we entered, a space filled with a sense of life appeared. There were even skins of wild animals that Dokgo Seong had caught, and utensils and necessities were scattered about. Dokgo Seong sat in the center of the large space and initiated a conversation.

“First, you should formally greet Cheongwol.”

“Yes.”

I bowed respectfully, adhering to the traditions of the Thunder God Lineage,

“I am Baek Woong, the inheritor of the Thunder God Lineage. It is an honor to meet you, Senior Cheongwol.”

Cheongwol then said with a bittersweet expression,

“No, if it weren’t for you, I would have died miserably over there.”

“I knew you went to find the Lunar Kill Technique, but couldn’t you progress further than the Underworld?”

“It took me several decades to break through the Underworld. However, about three years ago, after entering the Underworld, I realized my own limits. The Demon Beasts that occasionally appeared in that hellish void were incredibly powerful. It was impossible for me to break through the Underworld with my abilities.”

He sighed.

“In the end, to stay alive, I ended up surviving day by day in a cave I discovered along the way.”

“……”

Cheongwol was also an extraordinarily powerful master. Just by looking, he clearly wasn’t weaker than the other Underworld Protectors, and it was quite possible he was significantly stronger than me. This was because the martial arts of the Thunder God Lineage were generally stronger than the likes of Ikwang at this point.

Yet even Cheongwol couldn’t enter or exit the Underworld and was stuck! The Aokigahara Swamp was indeed a demonic realm on earth!

Dokgo Seong, who had been listening, said,

“Cheongwol, did that person really pass on information?”

Cheongwol’s expression twisted horrifically. Soon, his eyes blazed with fury as he said,

“Yes, that’s correct. I intend to confront him.”

“Hmm… Even so, that’s unexpected. Why did he…?”

“I don’t know well, but it was reliable information at the time.”

“Given his reputation, I suppose.”

Listening to their conversation left me bewildered.

“Who is ‘that person’?”

“He’s the one who passed on the information about the power and location of the Lunar Kill Technique to Cheongwol.”

I felt my eyes widen.

“Who is it?”

“Taesan Noong.”

“……!!”

“As you know, one of the Three Great Masters of the Orthodox Sect.”

Taesan Noong!

I was shocked to hear Taesan Noong mentioned here. He was known as one of the Three Great Masters of the Orthodox Sect, possessing the highest age in the martial world and peerless martial arts skills.

Unlike the predecessors, like the Great Master Aokigahara or the Shaolin Master of High Mystic, Taesan Noong was known not to hail from a specific sect and was wrapped in mystery. As far as I knew from my past life, Taesan Noong was simply Cheongwol’s master.

‘No… that can’t be right. There was definitely information about him.’

Suddenly, a memory from before flashed through my mind. It was when the Sword Demon destroyed the Black Night Gate and obtained information from the Black Demon. At that time, the Black Demon had spilled various information to avoid dying comfortably, and among them, I recalled hearing him refer to critical information. The Black Demon had indeed mentioned Taesan Noong.

[Taesan Noong, one of the Three Great Masters of the Orthodox Sect, is closely associated with the Imperial Palace and regularly contacts them. There have been indications that Taesan Noong and Zhuge Liang are conspiring together. This is likely information that no one in the martial world knows.]

At that time, the Black Demon was desperately trying to survive. The Sword Demon had questioned that critical information.

[Is that really so?]

[Yes.]

[Taesan Noong…?]

[That’s the best critical information I knew of. Please take it as such.]

Of course, the Sword Demon was not one to leave behind potential backlashes. He paid the price for the information he obtained by killing the Black Demon cleanly. Even back then, I hadn’t paid much attention to the mention of Taesan Noong, so I put it in the back of my mind. All I needed was to know that he was some sort of backdoor for the Imperial Palace.

However, hearing Taesan Noong mentioned again now made my mind whirl.

‘Taesan Noong is in touch with the Imperial Palace… also with Zhuge Liang… Moreover, he sent Cheongwol to the Swamp decades ago by spilling information about the Lunar Kill Technique…’

He was indeed a far more important figure than I had anticipated!

Unraveling the secrets of Taesan Noong might just provide a way to target the weaknesses of the Imperial Palace!

I felt a rush of excitement from having unexpectedly gained a new lead. I thought about telling Cheongwol this fact, but decided to hold off for now.

‘I can’t trust Cheongwol.’

It wasn’t just about good or bad people in the Thunder God Lineage. There would likely be friction in the process of reaching my ultimate goals of overthrowing the Imperial Palace and Heavenly Realm. After all, the goals of reviving the Thunder God Lineage might not align perfectly with mine. That’s why I needed to get some advice from the unreliable Mangnyang to measure various variables.

Noticing my silence, Dokgo Seong spoke up.

“You said you became friends with that old hag of the Huashin lineage. If you borrow the strength of the Huashin lineage, it would be quite easy to find Taesan Noong.”

“Wouldn’t he be in Taesan?”

Cheongwol answered my question.

“Not necessarily. I met him in Anhui Province. Taesan Noong is only occasionally in Taesan and is famous for wandering the world freely.”

“……”

The two of them seemed to be subtly hinting that they hoped I would help. I couldn’t reject it, and besides, wouldn’t this be an opportunity to receive help from the Thunder God Lineage in finding Taesan Noong? Without hesitation, I nodded.

“I will definitely help find him.”

“Reliable indeed.”

Then, I began to relearn the basics of the Thunder Dragon Sword with Dokgo Seong. Progressing from the Thunder Dragon Sword to the Ten Thousand Success Sword Technique, and once reaching the tenth stage, I would then be able to step into the Thunder Dragon Sword realm. After about an hour, Dokgo Seong, who had been teaching me the basics, said,

“Now, give it a try.”

I had previously learned the basics of the Thunder Dragon Sword and had also loaded it with Thunder Qi, so I cast it without any hesitation. Dokgo Seong looked quite surprised, and so did Cheongwol, who was watching from the side. Dokgo Seong exclaimed in admiration,

“Indeed… With this level of talent, you must have reached a transcendental state at your age.”

“……”

Should I correct him? It didn’t feel like the right moment, so I decided to let it slide and just go with the flow that I was a genius. After about another hour, Dokgo Seong taught me how to draw out Thunder Qi, and as soon as I was able to do that easily, we moved on to the next stage.

Loading Thunder Qi into the Ten Thousand Success Sword Technique!

This was essential for truly integrating Thunder Qi naturally throughout my entire sword technique. Previously, because of the numerous sword styles and habits ingrained in me, this had been impossible. I raised my sword with trepidation,

‘It must go well.’

Swish!

The Ten Thousand Success Sword Technique flowed majestically, looking down upon the world, swirling like clouds, and eventually crashing down like a storm. It was the most dazzling and versatile sword technique renowned for its beauty among the Thunder God Lineage. The more I practiced it, the more I savored its appeal as I executed the sword forms of the Ten Thousand Success Sword Technique while simultaneously beginning to imbue it with Thunder Qi.

Zwoom!

“Wow!!”

Cheongwol, who was watching from the side, exclaimed in awe. Just as expected, Thunder Qi naturally flowed out from my sword technique and sword flame, as it should. This was clear evidence that I could now manipulate Thunder Qi freely.

Once I finished demonstrating the Ten Thousand Success Sword Technique, Dokgo Seong nodded appreciatively.

“What I can teach you now is only the Thunder God Sword Dance!”

“That’s too much praise.”

“I’m genuinely envious of you.”

Dokgo Seong’s gaze reflected true envy.

“Perhaps Sword Master Yeodong-bin infused his swordsmanship experiences and knowledge with you during that ferocious battle. Thanks to that, it seems the numerous sword styles and martial arts that were wandering inside you have been integrated due to pressure. You’ve hit the jackpot with this fortuitous encounter.”

It seemed that with Yeodong-bin’s descent, I had finally broken through the doubts that were holding me back. But I didn’t quite understand, so I said to Dokgo Seong,

“But I have no idea what the Thunder Dance Sword Technique is.”

“It is the sword technique of the Immortals, isn’t it? If you know it, you surely lack enlightenment.”

“Umm…”

At that moment, Cheongwol, who had been listening, suddenly spoke to me.

“Baek Woong, you seem capable of executing the Soul Erasing Technique. Did your previous master teach you the Soul Erasing Technique?”

“Yes, indeed.”

“If you don’t mind, could you demonstrate the Soul Erasing Technique in front of me?”

After nodding, I focused all my energy and performed the Soul Erasing Technique. Having mastered it for more than a decade now, it had become second nature to me. As the illusions of the technique faded and the Thunder Qi subsided, Cheongwol remarked,

“Do you know the secret techniques of the Soul Erasing Technique?”

“I don’t.”

After looking at Dokgo Seong for a moment, Cheongwol said,

“If you help in dealing with Taesan Noong, I can teach you that secret technique.”

“You needn’t say that; as a fellow disciple, I will surely do it.”

“I am not such an ungrateful person. Having received a life-saving grace, I must repay it. Since I am indebted to you, I’ll end up teaching you my most precious secret technique as part of paying that debt.”

Cheongwol appeared to be more decent than the other Underworld Protectors. Regardless, he intended to repay the kindness shown to him and seemed to care about maintaining his dignity. Hearing Cheongwol’s response, Dokgo Seong chuckled softly.

“This guy. You’d rather kill yourself than share your secret techniques with the likes of the other Underworld Protectors, right?”

“I’d rather die than give those two anything! But I think it would be good to teach Baek Woong!”

At that moment, something suddenly clicked in my mind.

‘Could it be?’

As expected, the name Cheongwol confidently mentioned was one I had heard before.

“The secret technique of the Soul Erasing Technique, Heaven’s Light! I shall impart it to you.”

It was indeed the secret technique used by Geuk Ho, the disciple of the Thunder God Lineage. It seemed the Soul Erasing Techniques that Cheongwol and Geuk Ho had received had overlapping elements. Although it felt like I had been shortchanged after saving Cheongwol, I didn’t think so.

‘Cheongwol is undeniably a master far beyond Geuk Ho. Plus, Geuk Ho wouldn’t even know how to pass on the secret techniques to others. This is a rare opportunity to learn the secret technique of the Soul Erasing Technique!’

I bowed to Cheongwol.

“Thank you very much.”

Thus, I received the profound teachings of the Thunder God Sword techniques from Dokgo Seong, along with the secret technique of the Soul Erasing Technique, Heaven’s Light, from Cheongwol. Alongside that, I promised Dokgo Seong to teach him various Wudang School skills including the Sword of Euphoria and the Heavenly Orbs.

Once the training schedule was set, Dokgo Seong said to Cheongwol,

“As I mentioned earlier, stepping into the world recklessly is unwise. You too must have suffered a lot while being trapped in the Swamp, so let’s rest and calmly build up your strength in Yongwang Valley.”

“Understood.”

“If Taesan Noong has deceived you, it’s clear that there must be something sinister behind him. If there’s a dark force behind the Three Great Masters of the Orthodox Sect, it likely isn’t a common force. We might have to be wary of the White Lotus Sect.”

“Yes.”

Even though Dokgo Seong had devoted himself solely to personal training all this while, he displayed leadership, judgment, and a noteworthy capacity for management. He had to be quite adept at organization as well. Considering his qualities, the past Thunder God Lineage Protector, Lee Cheong-un, must have been an outstanding individual.

As I prepared for training, I thought,

‘After I learn the Thunder God Sword Dance, I’ll need to find Sagong Rin.’

She held the most reliable lead regarding Taesan Noong.

Sagong Rin, who learned martial arts from Taesan Noong before descending, was bound to have the biggest clue.