Reincarnation Sword God

---

Heavenly Realm

After joining forces with Jin So-cheong, we headed straight down to the Shadowless Gate‘s underground using levitation. This place was close to our base and had the best-equipped torture facility. As we unexpectedly moved to a dimly lit area, Namgung Hwan, whose Bloodline had been suppressed, seemed quite taken aback.

“Where is this…?”

The torture chamber of the Shadowless Gate was quite eerie, illuminated only by the flickering of a single candle. Ignoring Namgung Hwan, I spoke to Mangnyang.

“What should we do now?”

Mangnyang glanced over at Mo Yong-yeon and replied,

“Mo Yong-yeon, we have everything prepared as discussed.”

“What do you mean?”

“No need to play coy. We’ll hear Namgung Hwan’s true intentions, after which you must determine your own course of action.”

“……”

As Mo Yong-yeon hesitated, Mangnyang shot me a glance. I stepped forward and placed my finger on Namgung Hwan‘s philtrum. Then, following the positions of Gyeon (乾) and Dae (兌), I completely placed his body under the influence of the Eight Trigram Seal.

Crackle!

“Ughhh!!”

Namgung Hwan flailed around like a fish out of water, in shock. I said to him,

“This is the Eight Trigram Seal. I’ve already suppressed Gyeon and Dae. While Li (離), Jin (震), Son (巽), Gam (坎), Gan (艮), and Gon (坤) continue, one by one, the Eight Parts will be bound. Sensitivity will increasingly heighten, and your sense of time will keep slowing down.”

As I said this, I playfully flicked his forehead. Namgung Hwan began sweating bullets and screamed,

“Ughhh!!”

“What’s going on? It’s just a flick. Anyone would think I’m torturing you!”

When I muttered this, Namgung Hwan gasped,

“P-please spare me! I’ll tell you whatever you want!!”

“That’s not it. You need to speak the truth.”

As I formed my fingers to make the flicking gesture again, tears streamed down Namgung Hwan‘s face.

“Understood! I’ll tell the truth! Please…”

“……”

“What do you want to know? I’ll tell you anything.”

I glanced over at Jin So-cheong. He had obtained the most concrete information about Namgung Hwan’s ‘secret’ at this meeting. Realizing this, Jin So-cheong stepped forward and asked,

“Baek Sang-mun, Jin Yang Sect, So Gyeom Sect. I’ve heard that these three are already condemned by your intentions; is that true?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

Namgung Hwan pleaded.

“Such a thing has never happened! As the heir of the Namgung Clan, how could I do such a thing? Jin So-cheong, please save me…”

“Doesn’t seem like you’re grasping the situation.”

Jin So-cheong replied curtly and raised a finger above his heart. Only then did Namgung Hwan realize how foolish he sounded, but it was too late. Jin So-cheong unflinchingly touched the Li (離) of the Eight Trigram Seal.

Crackle!

“……!!”

“Let’s see you get flicked again.”

Jin So-cheong flicked Namgung Hwan’s now hypersensitive forehead with fierce speed. This simple action led Namgung Hwan to forget all happiness in his life, his expression filled with despair. Then he let out a scream,

“Ughhhhhh…!! Aaaaah!!”

And a pungent odor began wafting from his lower body. The shock was so overwhelming that he wet himself. The sight of him rolling his eyes in pain like he was having a fit was disturbing. Mo Yong-yeon turned pale as she watched and grabbed Jin So-cheong’s sleeve.

“Isn’t this a bit too much?”

“Step aside.”

“But…”

“Don’t you see we’ve crossed the line already?”

Jin So-cheong replied indifferently. Namgung Hwan was so shocked that he briefly fainted, but Jin So-cheong held his pulse and channeled energy to revive him. Namgung Hwan, now drooling, spoke in a feeble voice,

“Y-yeah. Those three places… I destroyed them… I moved the forces of Namgung Clan to obliterate them…”

“……!!”

Everyone gathered here wore grim expressions. No matter how much of a torture I put him through, Namgung Hwan had just confirmed the worst incident that could deny all his reputation. Jin So-cheong followed up with more questions.

“Why did you obliterate them?”

“W-will you really spare me if I tell you…?”

“Of course, we’ll spare you. All we want is the truth.”

“Ugh…”

Namgung Hwan chewed his lips and continued.

“The females were beautiful.”

“What?”

“The spear master of Baek Sang-mun and the musketeer of Jin Yang Sect were both pretty, and I had my eyes set on the wife of the So Gyeom Sect leader as well.”

“What…?”

For a moment, Jin So-cheong was dumbstruck, unable to find words. This was the same reaction for me, Mangnyang, and even Mo Yong-yeon who was listening. Mangnyang, clearly flabbergasted, stepped forward and said to Namgung Hwan,

“So you’re saying you destroyed those martial sects just to conquer their women?”

Namgung Hwan hesitated to agree but nearly jumped when Jin So-cheong prepared to flick him again.

“Y-yes! That was the reason.”

“And what happened to those women you had your eyes on?”

“I secretly stole them and locked them away in my basement.”

“Locked them away?”

“I-I went to see them whenever I wanted.”

“……”

What he had done was evident without needing to ask what that entailed.

Mo Yong-yeon turned a shade of green. She had unconsciously shouted,

“Scum!! How could a descendant of the Five Great Families do such things…”

With that, she raised her hand, ready to unleash her ultimate techniques, the Heavenly Strong Hand. It seemed like she wanted to sever Namgung Hwan’s life right there and then. But I grasped her wrist.

“Wait. We should hold on until we hear everything.”

“It’s shameful to even consider marrying such a villain.”

“I said wait.”

As I calmed Mo Yong-yeon, Jin So-cheong coldly continued his interrogation.

“I’ll ask again just to be sure. Everything you’ve said so far is the truth, right?”

“Yes…”

“Were you involved in the destruction of other smaller sects too?”

Upon hearing the list of Eight Sects obtained from the Divine Maiden Sect, Namgung Hwan nodded.

“Yes.”

“Were the other sects destroyed because of beautiful women too?”

“… Yes.”

Jin So-cheong thought for a moment and then asked,

“The Namgung Clan is supposedly a righteous faction and a member of the Five Great Families. What justification did you have to eradicate those smaller sects?”

Namgung Hwan hesitated before answering.

“It’s easy. I applied pressure by cutting off their funding and spread rumors that they were affiliated with the White Lotus Sect. Then, once the heads of the Five Great Families caught wind of this, they quietly negotiated to do the dirty work for me.”

“… So the higher-ups condoned this?”

“Yes…”

“So people who were not the followers of the White Lotus Sect were still destroyed?”

“… Yes.”

At that moment, Mangnyang, who had been listening intently, questioned,

“But there’s more than just the Five Great Families in the righteous factions. What about the Nine Great Sects? How could you act so freely?”

“The families closest to the Bloodline are the Five Great Families themselves. The Nine Great Sects hardly pay attention to things outside their domain…”

“So it’s a matter of convenience. At any rate, those sects that were destroyed were mostly near Anhui Province.”

With Mangnyang’s remarks, a clearer picture formed.

In essence, Namgung Hwan exterminated innocent smaller sects to satisfy his own lust, locking the women in his basement! And during this process, the Five Great Families stayed silent, misled by false information while the Nine Great Sects ignored it because it was outside their jurisdiction.

The chilling part is that no one had suspected it until Namgung Hwan was caught. The truth could only be estimated after Jin So-cheong obtained information from the dark forces through the Divine Maiden Sect.

Jin So-cheong gazed at Namgung Hwan with blank eyes and asked,

“Those women you collected, are they still in your basement?”

“Yes.”

“Are they unharmed?”

“……”

Namgung Hwan avoided Jin So-cheong’s gaze. So, Jin So-cheong, gritting his teeth, responded,

“You vile creature.”

“W-wait, Jin So-cheong! Why are you doing this?”

Namgung Hwan began pleading.

“Your master, Three Great Absolutes, Lee Guang, and my dad were close friends! You and I have been on friendly terms for years—how can you suddenly treat me like this? Please let me go.”

Jin So-cheong fell silent before speaking again,

“I’ll ask once more. Are those women alright?”

“T-that’s… there were troubles with those who were too noisy. But there are still some living…”

Crack!

“Ughhhhhh!!”

Jin So-cheong squeezed the tip of Namgung Hwan‘s finger and crushed it. The fingertip, along with the fingernail, squished like meat, turned to mush. Under normal circumstances, this injury would be enough to faint from pain. With the Eight Trigram Seal activated, I could only imagine he was experiencing agony as if hundreds of razors were piercing his body.

As Namgung Hwan trembled, releasing bodily fluids, I blurted out in shock,

“Oh no! He can’t die on us…”

“Don’t worry. He won’t die from this.”

After hitting Namgung Hwan‘s heart once more, Jin So-cheong jolted him back to consciousness. Namgung Hwan, shaking from extreme shock and fear, started babbling nonsensically,

“Ughh… l-let me… live…”

“He won’t die, but he might lose his mind.”

Worriedly looking at him, I saw Jin So-cheong smiling gently.

“That’s the beauty of the Eight Trigram Seal. By suppressing various body parts with the Eight Trigrams, he’ll be forced to regain awareness each time we relieve the pressure on him. That’s how it works, so it wouldn’t be easy to drive someone crazy with ordinary mental fortitude.”

“I see.”

“I’ll do my best to find out.”

It made me rediscover that Jin So-cheong is a warrior of the Lightning Method. I suspected his torture skills might surpass mine. Moreover, given his speaking manner, he might seem experienced in inflicting torment beyond Namgung Hwan.

The interrogation of Namgung Hwan ended about half an hour later. His screaming hysterically and soiling himself painted a tragic picture. As we stared blankly at the scene, Mangnyang turned to Mo Yong-yeon and said,

“Mo Yong-yeon, now that you know the truth about Namgung Hwan and the Namgung Clan, how do you intend to proceed?”

“……”

Mo Yong-yeon hesitated before answering,

“Using all our power, we will expose the scandal of the Namgung Clan and bury them. For that, we must rescue the women locked in the basement.”

“I suppose so. That task will also be ours. However, we’ll want some form of compensation for our efforts.”

“Are you looking for money? I can provide you with as much as you want…”

“No, it’s not that.”

Mangnyang waved his hand and chuckled.

“We might require your collaboration with the Mo Yong Clan in the future, so we’d appreciate your help then.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out once we go above ground together.”

We exited the underground torture chamber. A single adept from the Shadowless Gate, who had been guarding the facility, greeted us.

“Lord Protector, was your task successful?”

I recognized him. While I had been transmitting knowledge to the Sword Demon during my time at the Shadowless Gate, my identity was that of the Protector, meaning my power within was almost second to none. He had likely inferred we were torturing someone when he saw my face, but remained silent.

“Yes. He’s soiled himself, so please tidy up a bit.”

He chuckled.

“Lord Protector, you seem to handle this kind of work quite well. Would you like to learn my torture methods next time?”

“Maybe if the chance arises…”

After giving a vague answer, I went outside and met the Sword Demon. He looked shocked to see Jin So-cheong and Mo Yong-yeon with me but seemed to understand once I explained the situation. And after relaying the information extracted from Namgung Hwan, he stroked his beard.

“Hmmm. I thought it was merely a rumor, but was it indeed true?”

“Did you know about this, Master?”

“It’s been circulating subtly within the Black Dao Sect, so it’s impossible for me not to know. But since it seemed like a gossip, I didn’t intervene.”

The Sword Demon gazed at Mo Yong-yeon and said,

“Mo Yong-yeon, it appears that our main sect and the Mo Yong Clan may need to join forces more often.”

“Yes, yes…”

“You’ve gone through a lot today, mentally exhausting. Please rest at the lodging.”

Given everything that had happened, Mo Yong-yeon appeared somewhat intimidated and was acting reserved. It was understandable since she unexpectedly faced the top figure of the Shadowless Gate. She’d feel cornered even if the leader of the Mo Yong Clan had come.

After sending Mo Yong-yeon back to rest, the Sword Demon turned to Jin So-cheong and said,

“Nice to see you.”

“You don’t seem too thrilled by my joining.”

“I apologize, but my opinion hasn’t changed.”

The Sword Demon spoke coolly while Jin So-cheong nodded in agreement,

“Of course. In the martial world, one must prove their value.”

“Exactly. I look forward to it.”

Once their greeting was finished, I brought up a practical matter.

“Now we must rescue the women trapped in the Namgung Clan’s basement. What’s the best approach?”

“Annihilating the Namgung Clan would be ideal, but their background complicates things.”

“Background?”

The Sword Demon sighed and replied,

“Originally, we would have formed an alliance with the Mo Yong Clan to topple the Five Great Families and establish a new order in this region. We had both the justification and strength to do so. But because of one piece of information you learned while Baek Woong was reincarnated, we can’t proceed with that.”

“……?”

I was perplexed, and Mangnyang explained,

“The one backing the Five Great Families is none other than Han Baek-ryeong of the Hwan Clan. It wouldn’t be exaggerated to say that the Five Great Families are almost subordinates of the Hwan Clan.”

“Ah…!!”

It clicked for me.

I had not realized it before, but Han Baek-ryeong was leveraging the immense financial power of the Han Clan to support the Five Great Families! The Heavenly Strong Hand from the Hwangbo Clan, who was one of the strongest in the world, had even served as a mere physician for Han Baek-ryeong. So, in a sense, Mangnyang was right about them being close to subordinates.

‘If we provoke the Five Great Families, the Hwan Clan will step in.’

That would be a daunting challenge. The Hwan Clan‘s power was not something to scoff at, and on top of that, the existence of Han Baek-ryeong, the Protector, would definitely be a burden. If I manage to liberate Mogya, maybe I could deal with him, but that was not something I could do right now.

Mangnyang chuckled.

“Honestly, this is a good thing.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Of course.”

Mangnyang unfolded the Five Elements Strategy and said,

“After all, Baek Woong was supposed to join the White Lotus Sect to uncover the secrets of the Heavenly Spirit Society. So why not use this opportunity to approach the Hwan Clan?”

I wasn’t feeling well, so I took a day off. I apologize for that.