Reincarnation Sword God

804——————==

True Martial Home

Zhuge Bu, who could be seen as being in his forties due to his external appearance, looked like a young man in his twenties because he was stopping aging with his internal power. The moment I saw him, I fumbled with the suspicious fishhook in my pocket, trying to contact Zhuge Sa.

……

‘No answer…’

I sent out my will towards the suspicious fishhook held by Zhuge Sa, but received no reply. Considering he was a master of the Soul Exchange Technique and had the suspicious fishhook to keep in touch with me, that was a serious issue. I hadn’t thought to contact Zhuge Sa lately because I’d been so engrossed in my training.

While I was silent, Zhuge Bu spoke.

“Do you not trust me?”

“It’s stranger to ask me to trust someone I’ve just met.”

I gave a slight shake, but Zhuge Bu remained unshaken.

“I’ve already heard that you’re a reborn person. There’s no need to pretend otherwise.”

“Heard it from whom, and what did they say?”

“I met Zhuge Sa and the leader of the Bancheon Alliance. I heard about your previous life from them and concluded that their story was credible.”

“I still can’t trust you.”

No matter how much I promised to share the obsidian with Zhuge Bu from my previous life, that was only under certain circumstances, and Zhuge Bu was basically an officer of the Imperial Palace, my enemy. I couldn’t shake off the suspicion that this might be just a move to deceive and subdue me.

Then Zhuge Bu said.

“Well, if you think that way, what can I do? In fact, I wanted to test you at least once.”

“What?”

Swish.

Zhuge Bu slowly raised his hand. Then I sensed something being summoned from all around, and soon realized that there were less than a hundred unidentified presences surrounding us. Looking around the forest that surrounded the manor, I noticed hooded figures stealthily approaching me.

Bang!!

Suddenly, the nearest man in black came charging at me with the momentum of Unity of Body and Sword, attempting to pierce my solar plexus with his sword technique. His breathing was controlled, and it was an exceptionally clean ambush with a formidable sword qi, indicative of skills that could rank among the elite in Jianghu. Skill-wise, he’d likely be comparable to the leader of a Middle or Small Sect.

Swoosh.

However, I gently placed my finger against the blade’s tip with Tai Chi and redirected the sword qi, flipping the actual space and knocking him out in one blow. Striking the acupoint was a very instantaneous action, and perhaps because he sustained the attack in mid-air, he lost consciousness almost immediately. My action felt like one fluid motion to me, but the assailants seemed entirely unaware of the peculiar situation of their leading attacker.

Three Treasure Technique.

Like clouds flowing on the ground, my body glided over five zhang, and soon after, clones were created that leaped out at each enemy. The clones also used Tai Chi to easily subdue the enemies, while I continued moving forward with one eye half-open, taking down three opponents with each step.

Tai Chi.

Wuwei Stripping Strength.

Those caught within the domain of my technique couldn’t use any internal power or skills to resist the flow of Tai Chi and ended up having their strength stripped away. This was the effect of practicing the Peerless Technique, and when inferior enemies tried to muster their feeble strength, they would get caught in the flow and find it hard to even stabilize their own bodies.

Having been struck by Wuwei Stripping Strength, their bodies naturally floated in the air, and I could hear the sounds of those whose acupoints had been suppressed hitting the ground.

Boom.

Boom.

“Ugh… ugh…”

“Monster…”

Before they could take three breaths, the seventy or so hooded figures that had charged at me were all subdued, writhing on the ground. Among them, few had reached the Peak Expert level, while the rest were all above-average fighters, but to me, they were no more than trivialities. None of the fallen ones were dead, nor was there a single serious injury.

Zhuge Bu’s complexion turned stiff as he observed the dozens of figures sprawled out in a Tai Chi formation.

“Peerless Master…”

I held on to one of the assailants’ wrists and, in irritation, threw him onto the ground as I spoke.

“What the hell are you trying to achieve? If, as you say, I’m a reborn person, what could you gain by doing this?”

“… I was considering the possibility that Zhuge Sa might have led me into a trap with lies. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Zhuge Bu bowed his head to me. Though it was surprising to see him bow, I knew his true nature well enough to feel little impact from it. After all, he was the type to do anything for his own purposes, so a simple bow didn’t mean much.

I coldly replied to Zhuge Bu.

“Sorry, but there’s no way to confirm anything right now, so I’ll have to refuse. If you want the obsidian, you’ll need to explain the situation more.”

“Hmm, fair enough.”

Zhuge Bu opened his mouth.

“For the past decade, the Bancheon Alliance has consistently blocked our Imperial Palace’s plans, leading us to repeatedly fail. Recently, they secretly requested to meet with me. I accepted, and during that meeting, I heard the ‘truth’ from Zhuge Sa. I deemed that information to be credible, which is why I came to find you.”

“Those guys are from the Golden Eagle Guard, right? What basis do you have to claim credibility?”

“They’re not from the Golden Eagle Guard. They’re forces I’ve secretly cultivated, known as the Arang Corps. With these guys, we could devise a strategy to wipe out at least one of the Nine Great Sects.”

Zhuge Bu, while glaring at the sprawled warriors, continued to speak.

“If what you said about being a reborn person is true, it wouldn’t be strange for me to abandon the Imperial Palace and ally with you. Right?”

“You came here prepared to betray your father, Zhuge Yulong?”

“Betrayal or not, if a reborn person is an enemy, that becomes meaningless. Besides, if your power has already surpassed mine, I have no choice.”

“……”

That’s true. I had avoided entanglements with events until now, only training and keeping to myself. However, if I wanted, I could easily wipe out Zhuge Bu in a single day after starting my rebirth. The issue was that the scale of the events was now so vast that I saw no need to deal with just him.

I replied to Zhuge Bu.

“Can you promise me this? That you won’t betray me?”

“If there was a situation where I could betray you, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.”

“I know that too. But I want you to promise me in your own words.”

“… I won’t betray you.”

“Good.”

I nodded and handed Zhuge Bu the obsidian. As I transmitted my memories, he trembled slightly.

“Ugh…!! No way… this can’t be happening.”

It seemed Zhuge Bu had already known that I was a reborn person but was still shocked by the content and depth of my previous life. He staggered for a moment, clutching his temple, and then spoke in a low voice.

“… Follow me. We need to save Zhuge Sa.”

“What?! What do you mean?”

“Hu… I should start explaining. From now on, you’re my lord.”

He gave me a rather displeased look before speaking.

“The incident started seven nights ago when I responded to Zhuge Sa’s request for a meeting. He claimed that I was supposed to be his fellow reborn companion and revealed that you’re a reborn person right there. Naturally, I thought it was nonsense and ignored it, but Zhuge Sa presented various irrefutable pieces of evidence…”

“……”

“But just at that moment, a third party intervened, leading to catastrophic damage for both the Imperial Palace and the Bancheon Alliance. I barely managed to escape, but the Golden Eagle Guard was annihilated, the leader of the Bancheon Alliance is missing, and it seems Zhuge Sa has been kidnapped.”

“A third party…? Kidnapped?!”

Zhuge Bu nodded.

“The enemy is extremely powerful. What’s happening now has entirely surpassed my capability… I began to hesitate and ultimately came to find you.”

I felt rather absurd about how rapidly the situation was unfolding.

‘I’m definitely supposed to be under the blessing of Zhongli Quan?!’

That blessing was meant to stop fate from rushing and help concentrate on my training. Yet the Imperial Palace and the Bancheon Alliance were being devastated, and Zhuge Sa was being kidnapped—these dramatic events did not align with the desire from the blessing.

Could it be that the effectiveness of the blessing has worn off already?

While I pondered, I asked Zhuge Bu.

“Who is this third party? Is it the White Lotus Sect or the Twelve Joules?”

“No. If they were, I wouldn’t have used the term ‘third party.’ They’re a genuine third party.”

“Who are they?”

My eyes widened at Zhuge Bu’s following words.

“The Westerners!”

“……?!”

“The Western demon sorcerers came in hordes and attacked us, and we couldn’t withstand them. Their appearance was truly unexpected…”

Western demon sorcerers?!

If they are from the West, those are the people I’m all too well acquainted with. The West has already succumbed completely to demon magic, with their mastery of the dark arts far beyond our Northern lands, both in quantity and quality. If they came to attack, then it makes sense that the Imperial Palace and the Bancheon Alliance fell simultaneously, but that wasn’t the issue.

‘Why?’

Why would the West involve themselves in this situation?

‘There’s a lack of variables!’

Throughout my previous lifetimes, there were many situations where the Imperial Palace and the Bancheon Alliance were in conflict, but most of the time it only dragged on without resolution. The most similar situation to my current predicament was during my tenth life, when I traveled with Miho through Goryeo and ultimately formed a bond with the Dharma Guardian, Wind Spirit Sect’s You Bong-gan. In terms of timing, it was the most similar, and I remembered that during that period, there wasn’t any invasion from the Western forces at all.

Furthermore, for the duration of my time in Sichuan, aside from gathering some treasures early on, I had been completely focused on martial arts training and hadn’t affected the outside world. I had provided no variables that could impact the world.

So, why?

As I showed a confused expression, Zhuge Bu spoke.

“I know why. The situation changed from your previous life, even when you did nothing.”

“……”

I fell silent and glared at him, then said.

“Zhuge Bu, you said it’s been seven nights since that incident. So why didn’t you consult with your father, Zhuge Yulong, to defeat the West and instead sought out a reborn person like me?”

“That’s a foolish question. Do I seem like someone who blindly obeys my father’s orders?”

Zhuge Bu retorted incredulously before continuing.

“I’m no fool. I’ve known for a while about my father’s plans to use me for some grand scheme. However, since it didn’t directly affect me, I went along with it… But now that I know you’re a reborn person, it’d be foolish to rely blindly on the Imperial Palace forces, wouldn’t it?”

“In that case, you haven’t even discussed this with Zhuge Yulong?”

“Of course not. There’s nothing to gain from it.”

“You mentioned Zhuge Sa’s been kidnapped—do you know where he was taken?”

In response to my question, Zhuge Bu said.

“Peng Zuo took him away. I can roughly guess the location.”

“Peng Zuo?! How do you know his identity?”

“I had no clue until I received the obsidian just now. However, it became clear upon receiving the memory from the obsidian: the only Great Immortal level entity using sorcery along with a plethora of treasures is Peng Zuo.”

“Hmm, Peng Zuo… stormed the meeting room.”

Peng Zuo was a Great Immortal who colluded with Changhil in ancient times, betraying the Eastern realm and fleeing to the West with numerous treasures. He was the leader of the Western demon sorcerers and wielded tremendous power, currently threatening the Golden Crow’s sealed treasure, Pallas, in pursuit of acclaim.

However, as Peng Zuo focused solely on the Golden Crow, it seemed he had little interest in Eastern affairs, which is why I was only made aware of his existence long after my previous cycles.

I spoke with a twinge of hope.

“Could it be that Peng Zuo had the Golden Crow?”

Closing my eyes tightly at those words.

“That’s correct. Now that I think about it, that shining pearl… it was surely the Golden Crow.”

“Damn it!”

He actually obtained the Golden Crow!

‘The seal of Pallas has been broken!’

If the already powerful Peng Zuo garnered the Golden Crow while leading dozens of demon sorcerers into an attack, it would be hopeless!

I felt absurd about the sudden appearance of Peng Zuo as an enemy, but regained my composure and said to Zhuge Bu.

“You just said you knew where Zhuge Sa was taken. Where is it?”

“Heinan City has been occupied by the Westerners for about a year now. The millions of humans living there are currently under Western control.”

“… I didn’t know.”

I looked at Zhuge Bu, who was saying something out of the blue, and he continued.

“In the Southern Sea, there’s a massive, pitch-black fleet that has never been seen in the human realm. According to my informant, it seems Zhuge Sa is trapped within that fleet.”

“……”

The fleet.

It was undoubtedly created using the latest demonic technologies of the West. Inside, there would be demon soldiers and sorcerers everywhere, and it was certainly a temporary base for Peng Zuo. A location equipped with powerful demonic and scientific technology—much more dangerous than a fortress of a hundred thousand soldiers.

But I clenched my teeth and commanded Zhuge Bu.

“Contact the Bancheon Alliance immediately. We’ll join forces with my companions to kill Peng Zuo and rescue Zhuge Sa.”

Zhuge Bu readily nodded.

“Understood. I look forward to working with you.”