Reincarnation Sword God

---

00426 Celestial Realm ————————————————————————=

As the alliance was formed, Lee Cheong-un smiled slyly and said,

“Then I’ll just borrow Baek Woong for a moment.”

[Why?]

Lee Cheong-un looked at the leader as if to say, “What a foolish question.”

“Well, you know, right? The key to this situation lies in Baek Woong’s hands. I just want to share our information with him, who can serve as a bridge. After all, staying cooped up in the White Lotus Sect won’t yield any clever solutions, will it?”

The leader fell silent for a moment before replying,

[Establish a basic policy beforehand. How can we oppose the Celestial Realm?]

“Heh heh. Just because we’ve formed an alliance doesn’t mean we’ll show all our cards.”

Lee Cheong-un continued with a mocking tone,

“After I talk with Baek Woong in the Thunder God Lineage, send him back. The conclusion he reaches will provide the answers we seek.”

[……]

“If you can’t accept that, we may have to drop this alliance talk right here…”

[Fine. But if anything happens to Baek Woong, I won’t let it slide.]

“Of course.”

At that moment, Lee Cheong-un’s Six Harmonies Assembly echoed in my mind.

[Let’s head to the Zhongnan Sect.]

Pa-at!

I soon found myself heading to the lake of the Zhongnan Sect with Lee Cheong-un and Jin So-cheong. Unlike when we left, Lee Kwang and Geukho were waiting at the lake, seemingly there to welcome Lee Cheong-un. Lee Kwang respectfully bowed to him.

“Master, you’ve arrived.”

“Hmm.”

Seeing this made me feel a bit strange. Lee Kwang was always in a commanding position, scolding or ordering others around, and I had rarely seen him honoring someone like this. But at that moment, he genuinely revered Lee Cheong-un like a disciple.

Lee Cheong-un looked around and announced,

“Effective today, our Thunder God Lineage has allied with the White Lotus Sect.”

It was a shocking statement, yet unexpectedly, the three Thunder God experts present didn’t seem particularly surprised. It seemed that Lee Cheong-un had been considering an alliance with the White Lotus Sect for quite some time. It was clear he had already communicated the policy to his disciples, avoiding any confusion. Lee Cheong-un continued,

“Gwang-ah, since there’s no risk of an attack from the White Lotus Sect, there’s no need to defend Zhongnan Mountain anymore.”

“What should we do then?”

“Wait a moment. I’ll talk to Baek Woong and then we’ll take action.”

“Yes.”

Leaving the three of them behind, I followed Lee Cheong-un into a nearby cabin by the lake. Once seated, Lee Cheong-un offered me a place to sit as well.

“Please, sit.”

“Yes.”

Once I was seated, Lee Cheong-un began speaking.

“Baek Woong, aren’t you curious about how I learned about the Heavenly Sovereign plan?”

“I am curious.”

It seemed plausible that I could secure intelligence through Geol-seon, an eminent figure of the Orthodox Sect. However, no matter how one might network, discovering the Heavenly Ladder plan, which unfolded in the Celestial Realm, was utterly impossible. This was because most believed the Celestial Realm was nothing more than a fictional tale, and no one could know the secret of the Heavenly Ladder from mythological times. Thus, even the Master of the White Lotus Sect only learned about it from me.

Yet, Lee Cheong-un, it appeared, already knew what the Heavenly Sovereign plan was. That was something no organization from the mortal realm could achieve. With a suspicious glance, I asked Lee Cheong-un, who smiled back at me.

“Well then, before I tell you that, let me share one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“How did the leader learn all the martial arts and secret techniques of the Four Great Families?”

“Hmm… that’s…”

I hesitated.

It was indeed something I had always wondered about, especially since I had initially heard about the White Lotus Sect’s leader’s divine position from Mangnyang. As time passed, I found out that the leader had mastered not just the Su Shin Sect but all schools of martial arts. His accomplishments were far beyond that of an ordinary person; I had merely accepted that he transcended common understanding. Even though I had asked several times during our training, the leader had only replied that he had trained diligently.

Could it be that Lee Cheong-un held the answer?

Picking up an apple nearby, Lee Cheong-un took a bite and said,

“You likely already know this, but there’s a ‘limit’ to what a human can contain. No matter how much effort and talent one pours into it, when experience from different fields accumulates, confusion is bound to arise. Therefore, it is customary for martial artists to deeply train in the martial arts of a single sect to reach their peak.”

“Hmm… true.”

I nodded. That was not mere theory; it was an experience I had lived through. As I accumulated fortuitous encounters in my previous life and learned numerous top-tier sword techniques, I eventually found myself mired in confusion due to lacking talent. This confusion caused my progress to come to a near halt, but thanks to Yeodong-bin’s Heavenly Escape Sword Technique, I managed to regain my focus.

“In fact, mastering all basics, application techniques, and secrets of the Four Great Families like the Master of the White Lotus Sect is impossible for any human. Even if I tried to learn the martial arts of other schools aside from Thunder God Lineage, I would doubt the efficacy of such effort. It would require an absurdly inefficient training process. Yet, even so, the Master of the White Lotus Sect succeeded in becoming a Master in the Su Shin Lineage while mastering the martial arts of the Four Great Families…”

“……”

“I speculate that the reason for this does not lie in the Master’s talent, but rather his physical body.”

“Physical body?”

“Primordial Spirit, to be precise.”

“……?”

“Hmm. Since you might not grasp it easily, let me cut to the chase.”

Lee Cheong-un, having set the stage, continued,

“I believe the Master possesses a Primordial Spirit that can connect to the Heavenly Spirit Pill.”

“Connect? What do you mean?”

“Literally. The owner of the Primordial Spirit can share the knowledge and experiences of someone who possesses the Heavenly Spirit Pill.”

“……!!”

I widened my eyes. It was a conclusion I had never fathomed, springing forth from Lee Cheong-un’s lips. Fortunately, I immediately understood what he meant because he explained it intuitively, but I could hardly grasp the reality of it, stammering as I spoke.

“W-What nonsense is this?”

“No. There’s no other way to explain the Master’s martial arts. The Master secretly learned the martial arts of the Heavenly Spirit Pill’s wielder using his Primordial Spirit.”

Lee Cheong-un stated firmly, linking his fingers.

“Even so, would the insights around the martial arts merely scratch the surface? It seems he can’t read surface consciousness or the memories the Heavenly Spirit Pill’s owner wants to hide.”

“That’s impossible. How could…”

I began to retort but stopped myself.

‘Now that I think about it…’

I had seen the Master struggling when trying to cultivate the Seven Great Techniques. I had confirmed that while the Master might be better than an ordinary person, he wasn’t exactly a genius. If the Master’s abilities were at that level, it would make no sense for him to cultivate the martial arts of the Four Great Families to the level of mastery.

But what if he absorbed the knowledge and experiences of the Heavenly Spirit Pill’s possessor through the Primordial Spirit?

Suddenly, everything I had observed about the Master in his contradictory moments clicked into place. While I stood still in awe, Lee Cheong-un continued,

“When I lost to the Master and faced death with a broken Dantian, I wasn’t able to think rationally.”

Lee Cheong-un sighed.

“The one who absorbed the secrets of the Thunder Spirit Technique most deeply was Gwang-ah; I had no choice but to suspect him until my last moments. But after you resurrected me, I had time to think clearly and realized how absurd it was. Gwang-ah only knew the principles of the Thunder Spirit Technique and had no real knowledge. Even if he had leaked the technique to the Master, mastering it to the extent of breaking it down completely in such a short time is utterly impossible for a mere human. That’s why I pondered who could possibly relay this information accurately to the Master and reached a conclusion.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Indeed, it’s me. As a practitioner of the Thunder God Lineage, I, Lee Cheong-un, am the only one who mastered the Thunder Spirit Technique through his training experience. When I thought that far, I reached the conclusion that the Master had been peeking at my martial memory and experience.”

“Umm… but… that sounds too outlandish.”

“Heh heh. Isn’t it precisely why the Master has been able to keep the secret of the Primordial Spirit for hundreds of years?”

Lee Cheong-un let out a cold smile before taking another bite of the apple.

“Also, it greatly helped that you knew the essence of the Heavenly Spirit Pill and the Primordial Spirit from your own memories. If the Heavenly Spirit Pill summons infinite power through a pact with a deity, then why did the Master specifically seek to obtain the Primordial Spirit rather than merely the Heavenly Spirit Pill? While the Primordial Spirit has some additional effects, it isn’t inherently different when it comes to infinite internal power. So, why would he distribute the owners of the Heavenly Spirit Pill all over the White Lotus Sect? Just having one person with the Heavenly Spirit Pill would be more than sufficient to protect the sect! Given the risk of rebellion, it would be a blunder to spread Heavenly Spirit Pill users all over the sect!”

Lee Cheong-un unleashed a torrent of questions before swiftly concluding,

“It’s because the possessor of the Heavenly Spirit Pill can obtain the martial arts learned by someone else. Everything falls into place! Thus, the Master of the White Lotus Sect became a direct disciple of those protecting the Four Great Families and could master them all!”

“……!!”

“Does that sound ludicrous? It’s absolutely credible. If the existence of the [Ancient Sovereign] is true, it wouldn’t be strange for the Primordial Spirit to have such capabilities.”

“Th-That makes sense.”

I swallowed nervously at Lee Cheong-un’s logical reasoning.

‘So that’s how it is.’

The Heavenly Spirit Pill belonged to the Primordial Spirit!

Since the framework had already been established, the Master was able to freely gift great martial power to those protecting the Four Great Families without worry. And considering that the Dharma Protectors were expert-level figures within their respective fields, they would naturally know the absolute techniques of their own schools. Therefore, it wasn’t strange that mastering all four great martial arts could happen.

I was momentarily overwhelmed and turned to Lee Cheong-un.

“Th-Then once someone possesses the Heavenly Spirit Pill, they’ll be controlled by the Master’s will?”

“No. That seems impossible. The fact that I can act independently is proof of that. If the Heavenly Spirit Pill could read thoughts, the Master would have killed me long ago to suppress me, right? Yet, up until we formed this alliance today, he doubted my existence but never came to confront me. He couldn’t come, after all.”

“That’s true.”

Lee Cheong-un chuckled softly.

“I think the relationship of the Primordial Spirit might not be one that the Master forcibly contracts, so it’s highly likely he couldn’t track me. There must be some kind of restrictions. For instance, they may only gain knowledge related to martial arts…”

“Hmmm…”

I had a thought and spoke up.

“However, the Master has the ability to summon Dharma Protectors to his side. Why hasn’t he used that? If he had, you might have met him, Lee Cheong-un…”

“I’ve been curious about that too…”

With a thoughtful expression, Lee Cheong-un continued,

“It may be a skill that can only manifest under certain conditions.”

“Conditions?”

“I’m not entirely sure. The Master must have grandly tried to track me down using that ability. Yet, since he couldn’t summon me, he has quietly absorbed my experience in training…”

Lee Cheong-un’s speech trailed off as he then continued,

“Regardless, I felt it was important for you to know this information. You must clearly understand the implications of obtaining the Heavenly Spirit Pill.”

Indeed.

Was it because of this that the Master’s achievements during closed room training had surged so rapidly? During the closed-door training, it was clear he must have shared in the training experiences of Lee Cheong-un in the process, without a doubt.

“I understand fully.”

I shivered.

If what he said was true, then at the moment of making the contract for the Heavenly Spirit Pill, not only would my soul be mortgaged to a demon, but every martial technique I had learned up until now would be fully divulged to the Master of the White Lotus Sect. While it might not have made a significant difference this time around, it would indeed be something horrifying from the perspective of being deceived. The moment all the martial arts I was practicing were transmitted, rebellion against the Master would be impossible.

“Now then, would you like me to tell you how I discovered the secrets of the Celestial Realm?”

“Yes!”

Clink!

As Lee Cheong-un struck a nearby landscape, a clear sound echoed through the area.

“You might want to brace yourself, then.”

“……?”

Moments later, a man walked into the cabin. He wore a broad smile and said,

“It’s been a while.”

“Gah!”

As soon as I saw his face, I gasped and leaped to my feet, rushing to grab his hand.

“Mangnyang!! You were here?!”

Indeed.

My best friend, former comrade from my previous life, and strategist, Mangnyang had arrived! He looked far more radiant and his eyes were sharper than before, suggesting he had undergone extensive training. Mangnyang chuckled with a wry smile.

“A lot has happened.”

“What happened…”

“After parting from you, I sensed something was amiss and hurriedly left the Jangryeong Valley area. I then entered the Ling Mountain to train daily, in search of the fortuitous encounter related to the techniques I obtained.”

Mangnyang glanced at Lee Cheong-un, who was seated nearby, and continued,

“Then, unexpectedly, Lee Cheong-un came to find me, asking me to become the strategist for the Thunder God Lineage.”

“……?!”

I looked at Lee Cheong-un in surprise. He casually responded,

“Thanks to obtaining the memory of obsidian, I was able to ascertain who Mangnyang was. I merely deduced probable locations based on his past activity.”

“……”

I felt utterly flabbergasted. From what Mangnyang said, it sounded like he had been secretly training in the Ling Mountain, a place I had never even visited; for someone to get there was mind-blowing! Lee Cheong-un’s intellect was not ordinary. Mangnyang continued,

“Ha… right. After that, I learned the martial arts of the Thunder God Lineage while training in my techniques, and eventually gained enough strength to break through the Dragon Gate. Thus, I spent about sixty years training on Mount Kunlun before finally taking a break and returning to the human world.”

“Si-sixty years?!”

I gasped in disbelief. I couldn’t believe Mangnyang had trained for that long, a whole era! I checked for any signs of Half-Transition Master in him, but there were none. Mangnyang broke out in hearty laughter.

“Hahaha! You know the flow of time on Mount Kunlun differs from the human realm, right? Sixty years there is even less than a single year in the human world. Besides, with the knowledge of Qi Master, I smoothly made progress and even requested a break from the Heavenly Mysterious Woman.”

“Wow… amazing.”

I stared at Mangnyang, stunned, only to realize something and said,

“So, you learned about the Heavenly Sovereign plan when you went to the Celestial Realm?”

“Indeed. To be precise, I intended to stay for a two-hundred-year training period like the Qi Master, but I learned that the Heavenly Sovereign was descending soon, so I quickly requested a break. Afterward, I informed Lee Cheong-un of the discovery.”

“Isn’t that a breach of heavenly secrets? Is that alright?”

Mangnyang shrugged it off casually.

“Is it important to breach heavenly secrets now that the Celestial Realm intends to wipe out the human realm? What matters is that you gain as much knowledge as you can during your previous life.”

“……”

Lee Cheong-un chimed in,

“Well, we’ve stated our circumstances clearly. Baek Woong.”

Suddenly, Lee Cheong-un gazed at me with sharp eyes.

“After learning about the Heavenly Sovereign plan, I mustered the Thunder God Lineage’s disciples to discuss with Mangnyang non-stop. But no matter how we thought about it, we couldn’t find an answer. I wished to perform an Offering Ceremony, but according to Mangnyang, it seems you attempted to do so recently, only to fail.”

I sighed.

“That’s correct. Sohwa Geumcheon rejected it.”

“Just as I suspected.”

Lee Cheong-un scratched his head.

“Given the situation, I feel we have no choice but to rely on you as a reincarnated person, Baek Woong.”

“Hmm…”

“Baek Woong, thanks to your actions, a giant alliance has formed consisting of the White Lotus Sect, Thunder God Lineage, and Miyamoto Musashi. And the enemy is the Celestial Realm itself. What do you think we should do next?”

I understood Lee Cheong-un’s intent.

As Zhuge Sa and Mangnyang had pointed out, there were numerous times I behaved according to my seemingly outrageous intuition, leading to unexpected gains. Now that a situation arose which couldn’t be solved through mere wisdom, it seemed Lee Cheong-un aimed to gain insights through me.

Both Lee Cheong-un and Mangnyang’s gazes were fixed on me.

I fell silent for a moment before finally speaking.

“I…”