Reincarnation Sword God

---

00444 암천향(暗天鄕) ————————————————————————=

After imparting the Seven Great Techniques to the Sword Demon, I headed alone to find Zhuge Sa. I had set a clear direction for my specific plan, wanting to consult Zhuge Sa on the strategy based on my intuition.

“Oh, you’ve arrived.”

Zhuge Sa was busy making something using the toad skin I had brought him from Jangryeong Valley. I glanced at his work, which, surprisingly, didn’t look as miserable or cruel as I expected. It seemed he was tearing and burning the skin to make it as thin and small as possible, surrounded by various iron tools scattered across his workshop.

“What are you doing?”

“This skin will be very useful. If I reinforce it for armor, it will become a treasure armor capable of deflecting sword qi, and I can also melt it down to use as material for high-grade demon artifacts. I was really enjoying the work.”

“I see…”

Clang!

As Zhuge Sa stomped on a lever, blades dropped down, slicing the toad skin into six pieces at once. It looked like he had created some sort of automaton for fast work.

“Things are going smoothly. Let me know when you’ve completed some useful armor or demon artifact. But what brings you here?”

“Actually, I have something in mind.”

I told Zhuge Sa that, after consulting with the Sword Demon and Cheon Woo-jin, we had decided to look into the ‘original history.’ I was nervous that Zhuge Sa might treat me as a fool, but surprisingly, he rubbed his chin, deep in thought, before speaking.

“Ah~ I see. Now I understand why the ‘Zhuge Sa’ would place hope in you. The intuition of a reborn person is surprisingly sharp…”

“Is it a good strategy?”

“Let’s just say it is. My suggestion was somewhat different, though.”

“What was that?”

Zhuge Sa shrugged and replied.

“It’s simple. Even now, we could offer all remaining treasures and hold the offering ceremony to the Heavenly Realm, receive the Four Great Spirits, and enter into the Peach Garden of Fire.”

“What? The Four Great Spirits are a one-way ticket, and it takes a day to reuse the dimensional breakthrough ability…”

“Simplest way is to just stand still in the Peach Garden, don’t touch the Fire Spirit, and wait for a whole day. Then, as soon as we obtain the Fire Spirit, we can use a now functional Four Great Spirits to bolt.”

“……”

Hmm, that method…

Zhuge Sa chuckled and continued.

“I was itching to tell you the moment I thought of it, but I held back. This method has holes in it, and I wanted to know your thoughts first.”

“Um…”

After a moment of thought, I replied.

“You’re saying that just standing in the Peach Garden without touching the Fire Spirit has a possibility of making the Guardian Gong Gong react?”

“Correct. Only those recognized by Gong Gong can enter the Peach Garden, and if an unrecognized person tries to intrude, there’s a high chance of automatic summoning. Guess your time as a reborn person wasn’t wasted.”

“If that’s the case, I’d be walking right into danger.”

“Heh heh.”

Seeing Zhuge Sa’s ominous grin, I realized something.

‘That guy had been secretly testing me.’

While Mangnyang probably genuinely believed in my insight, Zhuge Sa was different. He acknowledged me as his master but wanted to test my abilities. And by coming up with an answer that differed from what he had thought, I felt somewhat recognized.

Zhuge Sa spoke.

“Baek Woong. What difference do you think knowing the ‘original history’ will make?”

“Everything will change. The reasons I need to act, the enemies I must defeat, the things I need to achieve… I think they will all become clear at once!”

“Hmm… That’s a bit too optimistic.”

“What?”

“While it’s true you can foresee the future with Baek Woong, it certainly isn’t omnipotent. If Baek Woong could foresee variable futures, Zhuge Yulong would have conquered the world and reached the realm of the divine by now.”

Zhuge Sa’s words were definitely correct. As I stared at him blankly, he picked up a piece of leather and threw it into the grinder, saying.

“In some sense, that future-seeing ability is the most useless ability in the world. Because while the future seen with that ability is the truth, the moment anyone tries to change that future, even slightly… that future is already changed. It’s utterly useless for anyone trying to change the future.”

“I see.”

“So, even though I had a chance to take the Baek Woong in the past, I just gave up and left the Imperial Palace. That ability felt like a waste as it was closely tied to Zhuge Muhu’s reckless ambition to protect Ba Shu.”

After a moment of silence, Zhuge Sa crossed his arms.

“But hey, it’ll be meaningful for you… because your ability as a reborn person will prove useful for the future.”

That’s right.

Even if Baek Woong’s future visions were deemed useless because they were variable, that didn’t apply to me. My goal wasn’t to change the future with Baek Woong but to simply uncover what the ‘original history’ was. After all, each time I was reborn, I was creating variables and continuously living different lives, so variability wasn’t crucial. It was enough to know what kind of future would appear if circumstances remained unchanged.

Lost in thought, I finally spoke.

“Zhuge Sa. What kind of person is Zhuge Bu?”

At that, Zhuge Sa replied irritably.

“Why are you asking me that?”

“I know you dislike him. I also despise him and have been killing him without conscience every time. But I’ve only had a proper conversation with him once, so I’m not quite sure what kind of person he is.”

“Hmm…”

“I know he’s very ruthless and will stop at nothing for his own goals, but does he have some unique characteristics?”

“…Why do you care about that?”

“Because I don’t understand. I need to understand better going forward.”

“I get what you mean. Though, from an ordinary human’s perspective, he is somewhat peculiar.”

Zhuge Sa nodded.

“He’s overly confident and filled with ambition to reach the top. He likely has considerable knowledge about otherworldly races but believes he can manipulate them all.”

“Is that so?”

“His father, Zhuge Yulong, is just another stepping stone for him to become the best. It’s no surprise since everyone from the Zhuge clan has some merit. It’s just that he’s far too much of a typical genius, making him both dull and tiresome… ugh.”

Zhuge Sa seemed tired of talking and showed clear annoyance. I felt I had gathered sufficient insights about Zhuge Bu to have a conversation with him, so I waved my hand.

“Alright. Then I’ll get the Baek Woong from him.”

“Don’t bother going to the Prophet; just call him here. This is my base, so it’ll be easier.”

“Okay.”

I took out the Nameless Ritual Book from my wooden armor. By doing this, Zhuge Bu, who was detecting the location of the Nameless Ritual Book, would react immediately and come here.

After waiting a moment, the space opened, and Zhuge Bu appeared abruptly, unleashing the Falling Star Array.

“Die, you bastards!!”

Bang!

In an instant, tens of thousands of white talismans crowded the space. However, just before Zhuge Bu activated the attack of the Falling Star Array, Zhuge Sa, who stood beside me, raised his finger and shouted.

“Explode!”

Boom!

“Ughhhhh…”

As the caster suffered a severe injury, the talismans of the Falling Star Array lost their power and fell, while Zhuge Bu also spat blood like a fountain and collapsed to the ground. He had sustained a fatal injury, one he couldn’t possibly recover from. Zhuge Sa spoke with a hint of annoyance.

“Baek Woong. I’m extremely irritated right now.”

“Why?”

He looked at Zhuge Bu, crawling on the ground like a bug with calm eyes, and said.

“I’ve been fantasizing about this moment of pleasure since I planted the Yin-Yang Heaven Bug in him. But thanks to the obsidian, I’ve already seen that scene multiple times in your memory. So, I’m not as happy as I imagined.”

“……”

“You really have a boring life.”

Seeing Zhuge Sa grumbling, I nodded.

“What can I do? Should I keep him alive for information, or should I kill him?”

I thought for a moment and then lunged forward.

“For now, I’ll keep him alive!”

Although it would be easier to extract information using the Heavenly Secret Technique by killing him, that didn’t feel right this time. Somehow, I sensed that there was something only the living Zhuge Bu could offer me. Whether this was the instinct of a reborn person or not, my gut was telling me I needed to save Zhuge Bu this time.

After all, I had honed my medical skills for years under the teachings of Hua Tuo, gaining certification as a qualified physician. I quickly sealed Zhuge Bu’s grievous wounds, staunching the bleeding while at the same time using the Sacred Lotus on the wound.

Whoooosh!

As expected of a spirit pill packed with energy, the wound began to heal rapidly. I had learned from the Master of the White Lotus Sect that the Sacred Lotus could also be used for emergency care, just like this. With the Sacred Lotus on hand, there was no need for a blood transfusion. Normally, my medical skills wouldn’t have been enough to save him from such severe injuries, but I felt significantly aided by the Sacred Lotus.

After providing first aid, I quickly moved inside to perform my utmost medical techniques to revive him.

Pang!

I quickly inserted needles to stabilize his meridians and minimize blood loss. Once he entered a stable state, I carefully checked the wounds and his insides, stitching up the torn places. The whole process, following my learned medical knowledge, wasn’t too complicated.

It felt like I hadn’t practiced medicine in quite a while, yet once I began, everything I had learned flooded back to me. I used acupuncture and surgical tools steadily to bring Zhuge Bu back to life. After two moments of time and mobilizing spirit pills, it seemed I had somehow kept him alive.

Once I succeeded in keeping Zhuge Bu alive, Zhuge Sa burst into a fit of laughter.

“Ha ha ha… You seem even more wicked than me.”

“What?”

“You’ll kill him, then revive him, and kill him again… You’re really playing with him, aren’t you? I like it.”

“……”

I had no words, scratching my head. Ultimately, that was how things turned out. However, considering the situation, I was determined not to hold back this time, and I needed to quickly deal with the future-seeing matter and move on to the next steps.

Normally, a common human would require at least a month of absolute tranquility in this state, but I had no time. I infused energy into his body to hasten his recovery, and by the next day, Zhuge Bu regained consciousness.

When Zhuge Bu, bewildered, looked at me, I said.

“You are completely subdued. If you try to fight, you will get hurt.”

Zhuge Bu remained silent. As I mentioned, I had fully suppressed his internal energy with the Blood Binding technique, restraining all his limbs, and Zhuge Sa had even sealed his powers with magic. Zhuge Bu was currently in a state no different from an ordinary person.

Zhuge Bu spoke calmly.

“What do you want from me?”

“You need to give me a detailed explanation about this artifact: its usage, principles, everything.”

I shook the Baek Woong in front of him. Zhuge Bu fell silent before responding.

“If I tell you, will you let me go?”

I smirked.

“No. While you’re at it, you’ll tell me how you joined the Imperial Palace, the current power and goals of the Imperial Palace, who the main officials are, and what secrets they want to hide… consider it a gift of everything you know. Then I’ll let you go.”

“Ha ha…”

Zhuge Bu chuckled lowly, glaring at Zhuge Sa beside me.

“Uncle. This is your doing, isn’t it? You lured this Half-Transition Master to capture me.”

“Ha ha. Does it look that way?”

Zhuge Sa smiled slyly and said.

“Do you really think I would go to such trouble? Really?”

“……”

“If you think that even after witnessing the Yin-Yang Heaven Bug planted in you, then you should return the empty title of Treasure of the Central Plains.”

With that, Zhuge Sa’s remark left Zhuge Bu alarmed, as if he’d realized something.

He turned to me, saying.

“Who are you? Who are you to collaborate with Zhuge Sa and do this to me?”

“That’s not something I can disclose yet. What’s certain is, if you don’t cooperate with me, you’ll die right here.”

“……!!”

“Choose. Will you cooperate or simply die? This is quite a lenient offer.”

I could have simply killed Zhuge Bu and extracted information using the Heavenly Secret Technique, but that would have been too brutal. Thus, I’m giving him the opportunity to choose to share information willingly. If he refuses again, I would likely have no choice but to resort to torture or employing the Heavenly Secret Technique.

Zhuge Sa scoffed at the meaning of this, but even while aware of my own contradictions, I felt I had no choice.

Zhuge Bu appeared to sense my earnestness, showing a hint of fear on his face. He seemed to be thinking coldly again before speaking.

“If I really tell you everything, will you let me live?”

“Yes.”

“…Understood.”

Zhuge Bu appeared to decide that surviving took precedence over any betrayal.

Finally, I began to ask Zhuge Bu about the usage and principles of the Baek Woong first. After all, I wanted to know that even if I was somewhat aware of the other things.

While listening to his explanation, I was shocked to learn.

“What? Is it about possessing the predicted future?”

“That’s right.”

Zhuge Bu nodded, still bound by chains on the wall.

“The future seen by Baek Woong doesn’t show itself as a feeling that grazes your mind, like other future-seeing abilities. Instead, it reads the grand flow of the future, creates a virtual reality, and allows its owner to experience being one of the characters in that reality.”

I thought for a moment before asking.

“Can you choose the character you’re possessed by?”

“The Baek Woong selects the most suitable character to display that future and constructs the virtual reality. You undergo the experience directly as that character.”

“Hmm…”

“Of course, that character will very likely exist in actual history.”

Zhuge Bu seemed desperate to explain in detail, wanting to survive.

“What you experience and feel while being that character will all relate to the future you want to know. Naturally, Baek Woong arranges it to flow that way. So, if you just watch without resisting the flow, it will be fine.”

“And how much time does it take?”

“From this side, it’s instantaneous. However, the feeling of time in there varies from person to person.”

What a peculiar artifact. I had thought it would merely flash by like a foresight ability, but to actually experience it personally! Of course, since it takes place in a virtual space, reality wouldn’t be affected.

“Have you tried it yourself, Zhuge Bu?”

“Of course, I have. But the moment I tried to change what I observed, everything changed, rendering it meaningless.”

“That makes sense.”

Next, I questioned him about the current power and goals of the Imperial Palace, who the main officials were, and other confidential information.

“… Our goal is to assist the Emperor in achieving his immortality and eternal domination. The main officials are me, the Alchemist, the Xuanwu General, the White Tiger Guard Commander, and so on… Additionally, we keep the Great Thunder Valley, including General Hwang Yeon and other key figures imprisoned…”

“Sounds about right.”

However, since this didn’t differ much from what I already knew, I sighed. Throughout my twenty reincarnations, I had gleaned everything worth knowing about the Imperial Palace.

‘It’s clear they view the Emperor as a puppet and don’t mention anything about the divine priests or the old ruler’s subordinates.’

Seeing that Zhuge Bu was tight-lipped about offering insights into the offering ceremony or Zhuge Yulong, I couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly, yet I refrained from digging deeper. If I appeared to know everything, he wouldn’t be compelled to expose himself, so I intentionally acted as though I was oblivious, wanting to lure out any mistakes he might make.

Once I had gleaned the essential information, I cast a sidelong glance at Zhuge Sa. I silently asked him with my eyes if he noticed anything unusual. Zhuge Sa grinned and made a gesture across his throat, prompting Zhuge Bu to grit his teeth.

“Damn it!”

Yet, I shook my head.

“Zhuge Sa. Let Zhuge Bu live.”

“What do you plan on doing with him alive?”

“I promised.”

“Fine.”

Unlike when I killed the head of the Blood Blade Group, this felt different regarding Zhuge Bu. For some reason, I sensed I shouldn’t kill him right away. Perhaps due to that, Zhuge Sa did not protest further and simply pressed on Zhuge Bu’s blood vessels to knock him out. Once the operation was complete, I took the Baek Woong and headed toward a nearby open location. I lifted the Baek Woong high.

“Baek Woong! I, Baek Woong, request you as your master.”

I gathered energy in my dantian and recited the designated incantation for a while. After swinging it hugely, I shouted.

“I want to see the future fifty years from now if I take no action against the [original ruler] or help anyone!”

Boom…

In the next moment, I found my consciousness in a completely new place.

There were no traces of Zhuge Sa or Zhuge Bu, nor was I in Jangryeong Valley.

This must be the world shown in the virtual reality by the future-seeing ability.

‘Where is this…’

As I looked around at the familiar space, I was astonished.

“The Azure Dragon Martial Arts School!”

That’s right.

This was the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School located in Guanzhong, where I had first entered the world when my reincarnation began.

And as I examined my voice and reflected on my body, I gasped as I looked into the mirror in the room.

“Uh…”

I groaned at the absurdity of the host I had inhabited.

“Th-this can’t be happening…”

The image reflected in the mirror was undoubtedly familiar.

Jin So-cheong!

Though I had aged somewhat from my previously handsome young appearance, it was unmistakably Jin So-cheong!