Reincarnation Sword God

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Dark Heaven Village

“Fifty years later?!”

Just as I was reeling from the absurdity of it all, Zhuge Sa suddenly gestured to Jin So-cheong. She leapt forward like a bolt of lightning and attacked me.

I faced her first thrust, but then she followed up with two quick jabs, aiming straight for my weaknesses.

*Thud!*

Quickly, I applied the Seven Great Techniques to deflect her strikes, using a powerful gust of Qi to push her back. When she landed on the ground, I shouted, “What the hell is going on?!”

Jin So-cheong quietly replied, “So the martial arts I saw from Baek Woong last time were indeed genuine. He doesn’t seem like a fake.”

“What…”

“Is that so?”

Zhuge Sa clicked his tongue incredulously, while Mangnyang beside him sighed heavily.

“Sigh! How could this happen…”

“Mangnyang.”

“I know in my head that you’re the real Baek Woong, but it’s hard to accept given the decades that have passed. However, I’m not entirely convinced, so please understand.”

“……”

Seeing Mangnyang’s aged voice and appearance, along with his somewhat colder attitude, left me in shock. What on earth had happened during that time? After a moment, I detailed to them my experiences following the Eight Parts of the Divine. After finishing the story, I transmitted my memories to them via the obsidian.

Zhuge Sa, having read my memories through the obsidian, chuckled slyly.

“Unless you’re from the Zhuyong Tribe, you’re the only one in the world who can use the obsidian’s techniques freely. Your doubts should be cleared up now.”

I stayed silent and asked, “So, was I captured by Changqie for fifty years?”

“That seems to be the case.”

“What happened during that time?”

“……”

After a brief silence, Zhuge Sa spoke. “You suddenly disappeared fifty years ago, making yourself vanish while following the Eight Parts of the Divine… We were all thrown into confusion. Especially since you were our lord, we had no idea what to do next. Fortunately, you had allied with the White Lotus Sect before disappearing, so we were able to return to the Kingdom of Duke Du with their help.”

“Hmm.”

“Just so you know, neither Mangnyang nor I thought you were dead. Because…”

Zhuge Sa, ready to continue, suddenly fell silent again. Then he resumed, “Since then, our task has been to survive until your return. That was our goal. So we continuously monitored the situation in the Central Plains from the Kingdom of Duke Du…”

“Monitored?”

“Hm, this is going to take a while to explain. Before diving into decades of events, let me quickly brief you on the current situation.”

“Understood.”

I nodded. It would be beneficial to hear everything in order, but I was likely to lose focus. Plus, it was crucial to understand the current circumstances. Zhuge Sa wore a cynical smile as he spoke.

“Currently, the Nine Lotus Sect and the Celestial Realm are locked in an intense battle. Among the surviving humans, the sane ones have taken refuge in Guangdong Province, enduring with the support of our Bancheon Alliance and the White Lotus Sect, but… they are all doomed. The conflict in the Central Plains is about to reach a verdict.”

“……?!”

I nearly dropped my jaw in disbelief. The Nine Lotus Sect and the Celestial Realm are fighting?! What kind of nonsense is this?

As I stood in shock, Mangnyang interjected, supplementing Zhuge Sa’s statement. “Fifty years ago, the Evil Spirit obtained the Law of Cause and Effect but didn’t act directly. Instead, he enhanced his influence, letting his followers and sect among humans run rampant. The population in the Central Plains plummeted to less than a third in just three years due to the chaos, leading to the Great Ming Empire practically collapsing and creating an environment ripe for the heretical sects to flourish.”

He sighed deeply before continuing. “The Nine Lotus Sect became the largest heretical sect. Led by mysterious figures called Bishops, these beings orchestrated human sacrifices and wicked ceremonies, dragging people into fanaticism further. Consequently, a large number of survivors began to believe in the Nine Lotus Sect, and the world erupted into barbarism. The Celestial Realm’s immortals even faced attacks from the Nine Lotus Sect.”

“The Nine Lotus Sect attacked the Celestial Realm first?”

“Indeed.”

“……”

Initially, Zhuge Sa expected that human extinction was inevitable. The catastrophe caused by the Evil Spirit was immense and powerful beyond belief. Yet, the Celestial Realm, intent on protecting the human realm, deployed the Heavenly Altar, leading many humans to survive more than anticipated, as powerful Great Immortals and Spirits from the Celestial Realm directly protected them.

In that scenario, how could humans themselves turn against the Celestial Realm by succumbing to the Nine Lotus Sect?!

Overwhelmed by the paradox, I lost my words as Zhuge Sa chuckled.

“The funny part was what happened next. The Bishops of the Nine Lotus Sect were so strong that even the Great Immortal was killed by them. Tusen managed to kill a few Bishops, but afterwards, the Nine Lotus Sect continuously waged war against the Celestial Realm using fanatics and demon beasts without launching their higher-ups.”

“How is that even possible?!”

I couldn’t help but ask back.

What are the Great Immortals even?! Ordinary Earth Immortals wielded techniques few humans could rival, while Great Immortals were true heavenly beings, closer to high-level spirits. If the Bishops of the Nine Lotus Sect were this powerful, I had no choice but to be dumbfounded, and Mangnyang continued speaking.

“While supporting the Celestial Realm, we’ve been rescuing survivors across the Central Plains to sustain the lineage of humanity, actively working near Guangdong and the Kingdom of Duke Du. The White Lotus Sect has also currently relocated to the Kingdom of Duke Du. Thus, the war has dragged on sluggishly for fifty years, culminating in the current situation.”

“Until now…?”

“The situation has drastically changed recently, and not for the better.”

Mangnyang wore a somber expression as he continued. “Even though the Bishops of the Nine Lotus Sect are powerful, they are just a heretical sect, so the Celestial Realm should have had overwhelming superiority. However, suddenly, a figure known as the Nine Lotus Bishop emerged. Once the Bishop took to the frontline, the Great Immortals were repeatedly beaten, leading to a near-equal footing.”

“The Nine Lotus Bishop…”

That’s a name I’ve never heard before.

I was aware that the Divine Portrait Yi Sin would become a High Bishop upon awakening as the Apostle of the Evil Spirit, but he refused to awaken and vanished instead. So, the Nine Lotus Sect had been operating without a High Bishop, depending only on its Bishops. But now another role, that of a Bishop, existed?

‘It’s possible, but…’

Could it be that the Evil Spirit created a new Apostle to serve him?

Just as I was lost in thought, Jin So-cheong, who had been listening to our exchange, turned to me.

“Baek Woong, I’ve got something to say, so could you come with me for a moment?”

“What is it?”

Without responding, Jin So-cheong walked outside. Confused about the situation, I followed him, and soon we arrived at an empty space with a few small gravestones erected.

No way…

A foreboding sensation washed over me, and I averted my gaze from the stones. But then, Jin So-cheong’s words pierced my ear.

“Don’t avert your eyes. Look at the names engraved on those stones.”

“……”

I grit my teeth and finally approached the gravestones. After a brief moment, I felt my strength drain from my body in shock.

“A… ah…”

The names of the people I knew were carved on the tombstones.

They were all dead.

They were truly all dead. Except for three, they were all gone…

“Elder Sword Demon killed a Bishop ten years ago and died in a mutual demise. Because of him taking down the Bishop, 50,000 innocent commoners were rescued from human sacrifice. Moreover, Extreme Tiger fell in battle three years ago while fighting thousands of demon beasts from the Nine Lotus Sect.”

“……”

“Before he died, Extreme Tiger defeated Cheon Woo-jin in a duel, so he might have no regrets.”

Jin So-cheong’s words continued with an air of calmness.

“The Thunder God Lineage’s Thunderbolt Three Saints died in the battle with Lee Cheong-un a few days ago.”

“A few days ago?”

“When four Bishops from the Nine Lotus Sect attacked us at once, our strongest— the Master of the White Lotus Sect, Lee Cheong-un, Dharma Guardians, and others all stepped up to face them, but… they were all killed by the Nine Lotus Bishop.”

“…….!!”

“I also participated in the fight, but I was no match for the Nine Lotus Bishop.”

I shot straight up, momentarily forgetting my sorrow from shock.

“What the hell…?”

The Master of the White Lotus Sect and the Dharma Guardians were all taken out? Even with the likes of Lee Cheong-un and Jin So-cheong joining forces?

It didn’t make sense, the overwhelming might was so illogical that I turned back to Jin So-cheong, who gazed at me calmly.

At that moment, I felt as though I was finally seeing Jin So-cheong’s expression properly for the first time.

It was flat.

Yet that calmness— it was a feeling born from carrying such immense sorrow burdened over the years, leading to self-recrimination. The emotions that Jin So-cheong had been shouldering for decades began to resonate within me, and I realized that now was not the time for me to offer him words of comfort.

Jin So-cheong then spoke.

“The Nine Lotus Bishop has seized complete control over Guangdong Province, causing us to suffer devastating losses. He boldly declared his intention to challenge the Celestial Realm soon, proclaiming that he would annihilate every major being among them.”

“… This can’t be true.”

“We have been reflecting on what to do when we can no longer fight. Then you showed up, Baek Woong.”

“……”

When Zhuge Sa and Mangnyang had given their explanations earlier, I hadn’t fully grasped the situation.

But now it was all clear— the alliance between the Bancheon Alliance and the White Lotus Sect had been trampled by the suddenly emerging Nine Lotus Bishop, and humanity was plunged into a situation akin to annihilation. In such a desperate state, my comrades might not have been so welcoming when I finally returned.

An overwhelming sense of powerlessness washed over me.

‘Damn it…!!’

At the same time, a surge of rage towards Changqie bubbled within me.

Why on earth had he kept me trapped in that otherworldly realm for fifty years?!

With the power and resources I possessed, I could have improved the situation drastically, so why?

The guilt that my comrades might have perished because of me twisted its way through my heart.

Just then, Zhuge Sa approached me.

“If the Nine Lotus Bishop exists, he can indeed annihilate the Celestial Realm. The power we witnessed days ago was not at all inferior to that of the Celestial Sage; if anything, it exceeded it.”

“How could a human gain such power?”

“Pfft…”

Zhuge Sa chuckled lightly as he sat on a rock.

“The Evil Spirit has just been toying with both the human and celestial realms for the past fifty years. He was merely bored of his pet, the Nine Lotus Sect, and wanted to bring things to a conclusion by creating a new Apostle to rival Yi Sin—the Nine Lotus Bishop.”

“……”

I gazed at the sky in silence.

In that moment, Mangnyang spoke to me.

“Baek Woong, I’m grateful you’ve returned, even now.”

“… You don’t resent me?”

“You were simply caught up in Changqie’s plot; why would I hold any grudges?”

“Thank you…”

I clenched my jaw.

‘It’s not over yet.’

Even if everyone was gone, I couldn’t just give in to despair and sit down here.

Because— there might still be a ‘next’ chance for me.

If I surrendered now, it would be a mockery and insult to those who lacked any chance. I had no choice but to keep moving forward without giving up.

Zhuge Sa grinned slyly.

“Alright, then shall we all struggle together?”