Reincarnation Sword God

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Chapter 15: The Start of My 27th Life

“Ugh! Cough… cough….”

I twisted my body in pain. Having literally just exploded, the agony was overwhelming—far worse than any conventional death I’d experienced. I rolled around on the floor several times before finally catching my breath, recognizing that I was in a state of confusion.

“…….”

Leaning against the wooden wall of the barn made it slightly better. Sure, there was a bit of cow dung smell, but even that helped soothe my frazzled mind. It took me a while to gather my thoughts and reflect.

‘What should I do now?’

Normally, I’d sprint out to grab the Heavenly Secret without a second thought, but this time wasn’t exactly ideal for such antics. Not only had I experienced what was genuinely the end of the world in my previous life, but I had also crossed the multiverse. I even knew the situation that would unfold if my memories were shared in this realm! This life was evidently different, even to the point where I found myself contemplating my future.

The experience of reaching the throne felt like it had indirectly shown me the destination of my life. I couldn’t grasp why the Primordial Void Ruler was on that throne, nor who the people around him were, but I had a feeling that eventually, fate would converge in that high-dimensional world.

On the bright side, although I died there, I was reborn in this original world. It had been established that even crossing the multiverse wouldn’t erase my past life abilities, but it didn’t provide much comfort. After all, it wasn’t like I could jump through universes easily, and I didn’t really feel the need to do so right now.

I sighed and muttered.

“…Should I move for now?”

*Pow!*

This time, I skipped the hassle of running and directly summoned my familiars with magic.

‘Do I really not need to contract with them in this life? Sweet!’

Could it be due to the effects of the Law of Cause and Effect linking through my past life?

Originally, making a contract and teaching each other spells was necessary for summoning demons, but it seemed I could summon them straight away. After all, the Law of Cause and Effect was also inherited from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, so it would be strange for a mere familiar to lack such ties.

In other words, moving forward, once I made a contract, I could summon my demons as soon as this life began.

Until now, I’d been worried about summoning familiars using magic and attracting unwanted attention from other beings, causing me to run around on foot deliberately. However, after witnessing the world’s destruction, I felt oddly nihilistic and decided to travel a bit more leisurely this time.

Just like with the magical artifacts, I felt that using a magical summon wouldn’t draw too much ire from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

*Geeek!*

Using my summoner powers, I headed straight towards the cave where the Heavenly Secret was located and picked it up.

*Boom!*

“Gahh!”

Ouch, that hurt!

Even with my Protection Energy Technique shielding me, every part of my body ached. Normally, I’d need to drink a special demonic potion to eliminate the shock during my transfer, but I chose to get by with just the Protection Energy Technique. Even so, it couldn’t completely negate the impact, and it felt like my whole body had been thrashed.

‘Well, at least I could probably manage a few more summonings without the potion…’

Beyond that, I’d definitely feel some real damage. Still, saving the time it took to run to Biting Tide was a big gain. Even with advanced Light Body Techniques, going from here to Shandong wasn’t an easy trek.

I directed my summon to quickly head to Biting Tide and collected the desired target. After sending the familiar back, I swapped out for Biting Tide and went to get the Wooden Armor. Along with the armor, I targeted all the treasures I could acquire there and rescued prisoners, including General Hwang Yeon. Then, I dashed to Mount Huang to swiftly gather the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, Black and White Lotus, and Water Element treasures. Once the basic tasks were done, I made my way to the Zhuge Clan.

*Boom!*

As soon as I arrived at the Zhuge Clan, I attempted to persuade him. However, the situation felt a little different compared to before.

“Hmm…?”

Zhuge Sa wasn’t visible inside, but someone was kneeling in the Great Hall of Jangryeong Valley. He appeared to be trembling with his eyes covered, exuding an aura of fear. Upon closer inspection, he looked like a fairly competent martial artist based on his muscular development and vitality. As I stared at him in confusion, he seemed to sense my presence and spoke up.

“…Are you the servant of Guangsheng?”

Guangsheng is Zhuge Sa’s alias.

What’s going on here?

I tilted my head and responded to him.

“Yes, but may I ask what you’re doing here…?”

“Well… if it’s okay, could you tell me how the formation behind you is arranged? Please… I’ll reward you with gold if you teach me.”

He looked quite desperate.

This had never happened before—suddenly, something strange was going on.

Just then, I heard Zhuge Sa’s voice.

“Who are you?”

Zhuge Sa walked out from inside. I quickly glanced at him and said.

“I am Baek Woong. What is your connection with this martial artist?”

“We’re gambling partners.”

“Gambling?”

“Yup. If he can decipher my formation while blindfolded, I’ll forgive one instance of betrayal. It’s a trivial gamble.”

“…….”

Could it be…?

I recalled the events from the beginning of my 22nd life.

‘Back then, Zhuge Sa was cutting off someone’s head with a sword, and I saw the head hitting the ground….’

At the time, I thought Zhuge Sa was just being cruel—hadn’t really thought much about it. And later, I avoided that moment out of concern for witnessing more brutal massacres.

But now that I thought about it, wasn’t the individual Zhuge Sa had beheaded this martial artist?

I couldn’t clearly remember the features of the severed head, but it was highly likely!

Finally, the situation made sense.

‘I sped through to find Zhuge Sa in record time this time, so he’s acting before the gamble begins. Therefore, I could witness that martial artist alive before Zhuge Sa executed him.’

So, this martial artist must have typically died shortly after the gamble started. Pondering this, I asked the blindfolded martial artist.

“What is your name?”

“…I’m Jo Hee-tae from the Hengshan Sect.”

I didn’t recall him clearly. If he was from the Hengshan Sect, he likely ranked among the experts, but still, he wasn’t someone I remembered distinctly. I contemplated briefly.

‘What should I do…’

Saving Jo Hee-tae would be simple. I could just stop this gamble, give Zhuge Sa the Obsidian, and persuade him not to kill Jo Hee-tae. However, that would require putting in effort in every reincarnation to save Jo Hee-tae, which seemed like a hassle.

Was it really worth the effort for a complete stranger, unrelated to righteousness? Could I do that just to respect life?

It felt like a different sort of loyalty than what I learned from Mangnyang.

More importantly, I had no idea whether Jo Hee-tae was a good or bad guy.

After pondering deeply, I finally spoke up to Zhuge Sa.

“Zhuge Sa, may I take your place in this gamble?”

“Who do you think you are?”

“I am Baek Woong. If I lose, you can have the Water Element and the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.”

*Whoosh*

I tossed the Water Element and the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng to Zhuge Sa. He caught them with martial arts and carefully examined them. When he realized they were the genuine articles, his expression changed, and he spoke.

“You possess the Seven Luminaries and seem to understand their value, yet you’re willing to gamble with them… Who exactly are you? A half-transition master or something?”

“No, let’s just focus on the gamble.”

“Fair enough. What are your terms?”

“If I win, you must accept all my memories with your technique using the Obsidian.”

Zhuge Sa glanced at the Obsidian in my hand and replied.

“Sounds interesting. What’s your relationship with the traitor Jo Hee-tae that you’re willing to go this far to save him?”

“Actually, it doesn’t really matter. Today is the first time I’ve met him.”

“…….”

“So, I just find it interesting to save him….”

Zhuge Sa chuckled.

“First time meeting, and you’re offering the Water Element and the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng? Hahaha… It seems I’ve found another madman like myself.”

“What can I say?”

“Fine. You’re offering the Seven Luminaries, so what could I possibly say against that? But I’ll redefine the gamble’s rules.”

“Go ahead.”

Zhuge Sa thought for a moment before saying.

“Carry Jo Hee-tae on your back blindfolded. If you can decipher my formation like that, I’ll consider it a win.”

“Hmm….”

I thought for a moment. Carrying Jo Hee-tae on my back while blindfolded to navigate Zhuge Sa’s formation? It wasn’t impossible, but it was no small feat for a typical martial artist. However, I nodded.

“Sounds good.”

Then, I carried Jo Hee-tae on my back and entered the formation behind me. I poured all my internal power into my next step and unleashed my Yin Spirit Power as I surged forward.

*Boom!!*

I broke through!

“…….”

Zhuge Sa didn’t seem particularly shocked that I shattered his formation with sheer force. It was almost as if he had anticipated I could do it. Scratching his head, he spoke.

“Hm, I didn’t think I’d actually let a heretical traitor go… This is something I never foresaw.”

“Did I win then?”

“Yup, that’s right. Now hand me that Obsidian.”

His tone was casual.

‘It seems he wasn’t really concerned about the gamble at all.’

It appeared Zhuge Sa was more curious about receiving my memories than anything else. I nodded and walked over to Zhuge Sa, handing him the Obsidian, and soon enough, my memories were transmitted into his mind.

*Shhhuuuu!*

Zhuge Sa momentarily paused before making a realization. His expression darkened as he spoke.

“Things have gone south, but it seems we’ve progressed anyway.”

“Zhuge Sa, do you recognize me now?”

“Haha. Why would I bother to show off my strengths? If you hadn’t given me the Obsidian, I would’ve thought of you as a mystical figure of the martial world.”

“I was simply curious about what Jo Hee-tae was all about…”

At this, Zhuge Sa shrugged.

“Nothing special. Just a traitor to the heretical sect.”

“A traitor? What do you mean?”

“There were around twenty spies infiltrating various factions of the Nine Great Sects back in the heretical sect’s main body. I can use them whenever I want. But this guy didn’t want to heed the heretical orders and went around killing the others instead.”

“…….”

“So, I was planning to capture him myself and execute him.”

He was definitely set on executing Jo Hee-tae, and my memories of watching Zhuge Sa’s brutal acts of murder in my 22nd life made sense now. I glanced at Jo Hee-tae and said to Zhuge Sa.

“Could you let him go…?”

“What? Shouldn’t it be fine since we made an agreement? I’ll let him go.”

With a snap of his fingers, the formation behind me was dispelled, and Jo Hee-tae bolted off, cursing as he fled.

“Zhuge Sa, the Master of the Heretical Sect!! Just you wait! I’ll rally the Nine Great Sects and come to attack your wicked Jangryeong Valley!!”

Even as Jo Hee-tae ran for his life, Zhuge Sa looked completely unfazed.

“Do as you please.”

I felt sorry for Zhuge Sa as I spoke up.

“My apologies. I may have led you to let a traitor escape…”

“Don’t sweat it. That guy’s as good as dead anyway.”

“What?”

“He’s been consumed by a cursed spell. He’ll lose his sight after just a thousand five hundred steps, and shortly after another five hundred, he’ll lose his hearing. The further he gets from the center of Jangryeong Valley, the closer he will get to death.”

“…….”

“If he comes back as a fool later, I’ll be more than happy to grant him a swift death.”

So Jo Hee-tae was already a dead man walking, huh?

‘Hmm… Saving him seems a bit tricky. Can I even use him later? But whatever happens, we’ll meet in the next life…’

As I nodded inwardly, Zhuge Sa spoke again.

“But that brat isn’t the real problem. The real issue lies ahead…”

“Huh?”

“Baek Woong. Hoo…”

Zhuge Sa let out a deep sigh before continuing.

“From now on, don’t hand out the Obsidian to the other comrades.”

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