Reincarnation Sword God

820——————==

True Martial Home

I had a dream.

I don’t know when it started, but a wheel was spinning. It continuously revolved, spewing darkness and light without rest. In the gaps of the wheel, there was another whirlwind, and inside that whirlwind, something that looked like blood vessels or nerves extended, almost like roots. The wheel was larger than the celestial stars, and everything else appeared to be nothingness. Slowly, I lifted my gaze upwards.

There was a massive seat.

Around the seat, I could see unknown phantoms swirling and dancing. They sang a serene song that made me feel both comfort and elation simultaneously.

What a lovely song. As the song’s resonance echoed in the seat, I heard someone, who had arrived before me, speaking.

Is that your choice?

* * *

“……”

I stumbled as I stood up. A sudden severe pain, as if my whole body was being pierced, jolted my senses awake. As I rose, I heard a voice from beside me.

“You’ve awakened.”

“And you are?”

“I am me.”

Tap, tap.

I was inside a cave. I could feel the warmth of the burning fire, and opposite me leaned a man clutching a sword against the wall. I looked around and confirmed there was no one within a five-mile radius before speaking.

“Pasun… Asura! Why am I with you…?”

“Just call me Pasun.”

The self-proclaimed Pasun—an Asura of the Eight Parts of the Divine—grumbled and continued.

“I was preparing to invade Moscow when suddenly chaos erupted in the celestial realm. If you guys, who would be a significant help in my plan, die, it becomes troublesome, so I hurried to rescue you. You were on the brink of destruction, under the old ruler’s divine power, but I saved you.”

“……”

“Isn’t it time you expressed your gratitude?”

“Thank… you, Pasun.”

I glanced at Pasun, and one fact became clear.

‘That guy… has no idea why there’s chaos in the celestial realm. And he probably doesn’t know that I’m a Reborn Person.’

There was no reason to pretend not to know this. My death would determine the world’s fate; even pretending to be ignorant wouldn’t change that. Those who knew my truth either became my companions or tried to manipulate me. From what Pasun’s saying, he seemed not to have accessed my past life memories leaked through the Celestial Sage.

At that moment, someone appeared outside the cave, moving through space.

“Hey. Have you woken up?”

I was startled upon seeing that figure and shouted.

“…Y-you!”

“Oh, do you know me?”

“You… you’re the New Head!”

“……”

“……”

The figure that appeared was a creature with a bird’s head, a human body, and a pair of wings on its back. Of course, I already knew who they were.

‘Garuda of the Eight Parts of the Divine!!’

A being that could spew divine flames capable of inflicting lethal damage even on divine entities! Garuda was also powerful enough to turn a master of the Absolute Realm into ash with a single blow, qualifying them as a Demon King. As I stammered, Garuda responded with displeasure.

“Why? Were you hoping I’d maintain a human form? Like this?”

Whoosh!

In an instant, Garuda transformed into a handsome celestial gentleman. The bird-like appearance had vanished without a trace. Returning to their original form, Garuda said,

“That’s funny. From the perspective of another race, the most beautiful human is just an ape. It’s a joke to align beauty standards to a mere human.”

“I’m sorry… you are indeed an Eight Parts of the Divine.”

“Correct.”

It seemed that Asura and Garuda were quite friendly among the Eight Parts of the Divine.

“More importantly, I need to know, what exactly did you do that has caused such turmoil in the celestial realm, and why were you fighting against the old ruler?”

As I hesitated to respond, Garuda’s eyes lit up with fury.

“Don’t think of us as mere trifles. Torturing just you would be like taking candy from a baby.”

“…That’s true.”

It was indeed a fact, but Garuda didn’t comprehend the current situation. If I wanted to commit suicide, I could do so at any moment—even now. What I was worried about was whether to carry on with life in this predicament or give up entirely.

Should I bring them into the fold, thinking there might be more to gain? Or, considering the threat of torture, should I start to give up?

‘Of course, the former.’

By avoiding reckless suicide in the celestial realm, I had learned additional information about Asura and Garuda’s close bond, hadn’t I? If I clung to life, I’d undoubtedly uncover more. Yet I realized one main proposition that preceded this.

“I saw the Queen Mother of the West and the Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens fighting in the celestial realm.”

“We saw that too.”

“The reason they fought was that the Queen Mother of the West was the incarnation of Nüwa of the Three Sovereigns, and it became known that she was deceiving the celestial realm with false information, disrupting reincarnation. In the process, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman awakened, recognizing herself as Pangu’s incarnation and fought against the Queen Mother. Furthermore, it was revealed that the Jade Emperor was also the incarnation of Yu Shun of the Three Sovereigns.”

“……!!”

Both Garuda and Asura appeared astonished. They seemed to be largely uninformed about the celestial realm. Asura, struggling to hide his surprise, spoke.

“That’s impossible… then why was Jeon Wook summoned?”

“The celestial immortals were preparing to attack me, so I summoned him. I was once an apostle of Jeon Wook.”

“What do you mean? Can an apostle just quit at will?”

Asura’s eyes narrowed at me. I sighed and replied,

“Out of coincidence, I connected with Jeon Wook and ascended to the rank of apostle, but since I was born a human with little power, I was quickly abandoned. After losing all my power and sustaining severe injuries, I barely survived thanks to my human comrades. Jeon Wook is my enemy.”

“It makes no sense to summon your enemy.”

I casually lied. The two in front of me didn’t seem too knowledgeable about magic or demon arts.

“Even though I lost the status of an apostle, traces of the Law of Cause and Effect remain. Therefore, there exists a technique that lets me borrow Jeon Wook’s powers by following the threads of that cause and effect.”

“If that’s true, you’re an incredible great sorcerer that I’ve never encountered in my life.”

Asura looked at me with suspicion in his eyes. However, since I had skillfully mixed truth with lies and provided a persuasive explanation, he seemed unable to immediately respond. I pressed forward as if to seal the deal.

“If you want to torture me, go ahead. But my goal is not to mess with you or the Eight Parts of the Divine, but to take revenge on Jeon Wook and the Three Sovereigns who exploited and discarded me. If we have a common goal, we can cooperate, can’t we?”

“Hmm….”

Asura seemed to be conversing with Garuda in a foreign tongue. Then he spoke.

“For now, I’ll believe you. But how do you plan to assist us in capturing Yacha?”

“That…”

“Tell us your method. If you can’t help, we’ll have no choice but to kill you.”

I found myself in a dilemma. It felt like Asura and Garuda were entirely reluctant to drop their suspicions about me and were trying to use me, likely gauging whether I could be of any use or not. But how could I help capture Yacha, who was also one of the Eight Parts of the Divine? In my current state, I couldn’t possibly defeat such a monster in a one-on-one fight; my martial arts, techniques, and Yin Spirit Power alone would be utterly meaningless in this situation.

‘Damn it… dying is easy, but surviving means I need to keep thinking!’

As I internally complained, I racked my brains. Then suddenly, something sparked in my mind.

“I have human allies. Their help could prove invaluable…”

“Not needed!”

“What?”

“I’ve seen your comrades’ abilities during the fight at Nahae Port. They’re decent for humans and compete at the top of the human world, but compared to our true forms, they are weak. And we don’t have time to waste.”

“There isn’t time?!”

“Yacha seems to be drawing in Gin Nara and others as well. If we delay, it will become impossible for just the two of us to handle them. We’ll set off as soon as our conversation ends.”

“……!!”

“Speak quickly. Surely you have some insight into Yacha’s weaknesses that led you to make that suggestion?”

Now that I thought about it, it seemed the rush was merely an excuse to draw out information from me. But if I didn’t respond, I would undoubtedly face torture. I bit my lip, deeply pondering before finally saying,

“I’ll summon Zhuyong.”

“What?!”

“I’ve summoned Jeon Wook before. If I summon Zhuyong, who stands in direct opposition to your Eight Parts of the Divine, those guys will be no match for him…”

“……”

“Zhuyong knows the First Character, so he will undoubtedly be helpful.”

Asura and Garuda’s expressions shifted slightly. It made sense; they also understood why Zhuyong was a feared entity.

The First Character!

Originally, only the founding figures and the Three Sovereigns shared this secret, but Zhuyong knew that secret as well. Therefore, while Zhuyong might not outclass the Eight Parts of the Divine in pure combat power, if they had a weakness to exploit, Zhuyong alone could obliterate the Eight Parts of the Divine. With a dubious gaze, Asura looked at me before replying.

“…Good. Then let’s go.”

“Wait a moment, but I’d like to bring my comrades along….”

“Not needed!”

“……”

Why the hell won’t they listen to a word!

No matter how much I griped inside, moments later, I found myself arriving at the capital of the Arasa Empire, the main gate of Moscow, alongside the two. As Garuda opened his mouth as if to signal the beginning of war, he unleashed a massive flame.

Kaboom!!

Garuda’s flame seemed to singe half the area of Moscow in an instant. However, as the blaze rushed toward us, a translucent barrier sprang up to block it, and soon, someone appeared before us via spatial movement.

“What is the meaning of this? Are you all insane?”

“Gin Nara. Just as expected, you have allied with Yacha like a celestial being.”

“What do you mean… allied?”

The individual who appeared was none other than Gin Nara, an Asura.

With a stocky, middle-aged frame, Gin Nara shook his head, looking utterly bewildered.

“Enough. I want to know why you’re here.”

“Why are we here? Well, we want to gain a pathway to the Martial God.”

“What…?”

“I heard that Yacha was looking for the Four Great Artifacts in the past. If Yacha tells me the truth about that information, we might be able to pass without a fight.”

“The Four Great Artifacts… the Martial God… hmm, who did you hear that from?”

Gin Nara’s gaze became serious. He seemed to have caught onto the fact that Asura fell for some convenient words. I felt it was dangerous if the conversation continued with Gin Nara, so I suddenly raised my voice.

“Asura! It’s possible that Chan Hil’s disappearance is due to Yacha and Gin Nara!”

“What?!”

“Is that true?”

Asura and Garuda stared at me, while Gin Nara glared at me with anger.

“Nonsense! You’re the one who has stirred this confusion!”

Ugh!

As Gin Nara glared at me, unleashing his power, I felt a chill run down my spine. However, if I back down here, I would truly walk away with nothing and die, so I decided to throw caution to the wind.

“In that case, what’s the reason behind transforming Emperor Ivan IV of the Arasa Empire to grant him divine abilities? Wasn’t it a complete imitation of Chan Hil’s powers? Wasn’t it a plot to imprison Chan Hil and use the rest of the Eight Parts of the Divine to reign like a king with Yacha?!”

“……!!”

“You’re far too suspicious! We must confront Yacha and Gin Nara! They could be traitors.”

Asura stared intensely at Gin Nara while Gin Nara, bewildered, forced out a laugh.

“Heh heh… Asura, you’re not seriously falling for such nonsense, are you? Do you even know what we’re planning?”

“What are you planning?”

“Well, to seek the causal laws involved in Chan Hil’s disappearance, we intended to use the whole Arasa Empire, originally set to create divine soldiers, as an offering. If we offer it to an Outer God, we will undoubtedly find Chan Hil! So don’t get in our way!”

But Garuda, standing next to Asura, interjected with irritation.

“Where did Yacha go? I need to hear his side of things directly.”

“She’s busy. The human sacrifice is in its final stages, and she has personally gone to ‘manage’ it, just like in the days of Empress Wu Zetian….”

“I don’t believe it.”

Something felt very, very wrong.

If this conversation continued, it was clear my deception would be exposed. While I was fidgeting with anxiety,

Boom!!

“Ah!”

Suddenly, a section of the Moscow wall collapsed, and an unidentified black wave surged in. Upon seeing the wave, Gin Nara gasped and flew toward it, while Asura, seeing this, said to Garuda.

“Garuda. Follow and assess the situation. I will confront Yacha.”

“Will do.”

Whoosh!!

Asura shot a glance back at me before saying.

“Come with us.”

“Do you trust Gin Nara?”

“I don’t. You neither.”

“……”

“I’ll hear Yacha’s side and then decide.”

Things had turned south. Yet I decided to quietly follow them, thinking,

‘With this opportunity, I’ll find out what Yacha is plotting….’

As we entered the imperial palace, the celestial being, the Tripitaka, appeared before us. He cast a cold glance at Asura and spoke.

“What is the meaning of this? Asura.”

“You’re too suspicious. You wouldn’t be attempting to revolt while the lord is missing, would you?”

“Hah… a strong but single-minded fool. Have you come to cause trouble when you’re utterly useless?”

“……”

“Get lost. I have no intention of talking to an idiot like you. Just kill this human being, whatever he is.”

“A single-minded fool… and an idiot. You always look down on me.”

When Asura shot a furious look at the celestial being, the celestial being only laughed mockingly.

“Hehehe, do you know what it means to be a celebrated war hero amongst celestial beings? Though we’re in the same Eight Parts of the Divine, I don’t view you as my comrade. You, who know nothing of what Chan Hil wishes, are merely searching for mirages like the Martial God….”

Swoosh.

In that moment, Asura transformed into his true form. As soon as he did, the celestial being seemed quite startled.

“…You’re serious? I thought this was the usual talk, but you really intend to fight amongst the Eight Parts of the Divine….”

[You did say you didn’t view us as comrades, didn’t you? You shouldn’t have uttered that phrase.]

“……”

[You’re not the only one who thinks that way. Just so you know.]

Asura’s eyes gleamed with deep gray.

[Now, truth doesn’t matter. I’ll bury you right here!!]

Nirvana of the Absolute!!

Six absolute realm techniques coalesced into a point and erupted from the end of Asura’s sword. The celestial being immediately attempted to cast a time stop technique to block it, but at that moment, Nirvana of the Absolute shattered the temporal distortion and surged forward toward the celestial being. The celestial being transformed into his true form, conjuring a mandala-like barrier, yet Asura slashed right through the barrier without hesitation.

Kaboom!!

Even as the celestial being teleported rapidly to escape, Asura pursued and unleashed the Absolute Realm techniques unrelentingly. In a flash, the Thousand Slashes carved up the celestial being entirely, and the celestial being screamed.

[Graaaaah!!]

The celestial being seemed gravely injured; stumbling, he soared high into the sky, furious and shouted.

[You insolent fool! I am the strongest of the Eight Parts of the Divine!! You will regret this!]

[Did you know? This is the first time I’m truly fighting you.]

Asura looked down at him from the ground with a grin.

[Let me show you that you’re just a frog in a well.]