“Not sure about the tentacles or the dragon. But I can answer your second question.”

He rested his chin on his hand and continued, “If it’s through something like transplants, you’d need immense physical and mental strength to withstand the Dragon Transformation. Otherwise, you’d get consumed by the tentacle’s urge to revert to its original form. So, only a warrior with significant capability would even be able to handle that.”

“So…”

“You don’t have to fear a situation where dragons are churned out by the thousands, like you worried, right?”

He added, “Though, what happens next is anyone’s guess. If there are sorcerers in the Imperial Palace who are from the Otherworldly Race,variables could pop up. They could easily bypass all sorts of sorcery constraints by making human sacrifices to the Old Ruler.”

“So raiding the Ming Dynasty is really the way to go.”

“We might have to do that later~”

He answered nonchalantly. Honestly, it was hard to read his mind, so it was unclear if he was serious or not.

“Um… Thank you. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Take care.”

I bowed to him and left the sacred altar. This was too significant a matter to expect an immediate answer, so I told him I’d come back later. The Master of the Twelve Joules didn’t pressure me and let me leave easily, but I found it hard to believe that was just his genuine kindness.

Once outside, I checked for any signs of pursuit before using the Golden Eagle’s power to return to the Shadowless Gate.

Crash!

“Ah, back already!”

As soon as I returned to the Shadowless Gate, I went to the Sword Demon and recounted my meeting with the Master of the Twelve Joules. The Sword Demon was overjoyed I was safe at first, but as I continued the story, his face stiffened into a pallid mask. Eventually, he seemed to lose himself in thought, mumbling nervously.

Finally, he said, “It’s good you didn’t give a straight answer over there.”

“I can’t read the Master’s intentions; they’re way too deep.”

When I expressed my honest feelings, the Sword Demon agreed.

“Makes sense. Even if I had gone instead of you, I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to read his mind. He is the Supreme Being of the Eastern Martial World, after all.”

“How far can we really trust him?”

“That’s the wrong question. You should ask how far you can use him.”

As we sat across from each other at the table, he continued, “The Master of the Twelve Joules seems to be quite secretive. It’s impossible to share trust with him.”

“Secretive…”

“Haven’t you noticed something odd? The Master of the Twelve Joules has already deceived you.”

“…?”

I tilted my head and then realized, “The Moon Sovereign! He didn’t mention the existence of the Moon Sovereign at all!”

“Exactly.”

That was right.

In my tenth rebirth, I found out from Miho that beneath the Star-Observing Altar of Mount Muni, there are ancient ruins where the Moon Guardian Izanagi no Mikoto is sealed.

But the Master of the Twelve Joules didn’t say a word about it while chatting with me. As I frowned in seriousness, the Sword Demon added, “He sent the Great Monk Seo San to guard those ruins. Can’t believe he didn’t know about the Moon Sovereign. But still, it’s odd that he’s so focused on gathering the power of the Seven Luminaries to take down the Sea God…”

“That does seem strange.”

“If you brought up this discomfort with the Master of the Twelve Joules, he might have released the Moon Sovereign immediately…”

The Sword Demon crossed his arms.

“Good thing you didn’t mention it.”

“…”

“We don’t know his true intentions. In this situation, casually handing over a powerful weapon like the Seven Luminaries would be foolish.”

“What should we do moving forward?”

This was all feeling chaotic and confusing. When I asked, the Sword Demon replied, “The Master of the Twelve Joules has merely muddled your thoughts; what you need to do is simple: just keep training hard as you have been.”

“Will that truly be enough?”

“Hmm… Is that the intuition of a Reborn Person?”

In response to his question, I leaned slightly forward and said, “Yes. I feel restless, like I shouldn’t just sit back and do nothing.”

“That sense of intuition shouldn’t be ignored, especially for someone like you.”

After a moment of thought, the Sword Demon then suggested, “Alright. How about we visit two places to lighten the mood?”

“Where to?”

“To Dragon King’s Valley and Jangryeong Valley.”

When I heard the names, I couldn’t quite place them at first. Then I realized where Dragon King’s Valley was and responded, “You mean that…”

“Exactly. Bai Li Jeong-woon mentioned information about it. There’s a powerful reclusive expert in Dragon King’s Valley.”

For some reason, I had completely forgotten that information until the Sword Demon mentioned it. Suddenly, I recalled the power of the obsidian. My memory isn’t the sharpest, but the Sword Demon, having the same memory, is always quick to think and utilize that information.

“So we should meet that master from Dragon King’s Valley and bring him to our side?”

“That would be great! Even if that doesn’t work, knowing the whereabouts and identity of a strong expert will help us at some point. Just like you have that Reborn Person intuition, this is my instinct as a martial artist.”

He continued, “And though you’re treated as a clan that Bai Li Se Ga has never heard of, as far as I know, Bai Li Se Ga was one of the renowned clans in Sichuan up until thirty years ago. If Bai Li Jeong-woon has secret intel on it, it’s probably reliable.”

“That makes sense.”

I admired the Sword Demon’s insight. Indeed, heading to Dragon King’s Valley would be nothing but profitable; very unlikely to result in any losses. In hindsight, this was something I should have done earlier, but now I’m finally making the connections with the Sword Demon’s help.

“But why Jangryeong Valley?”

“Lord of Jangryeong Valley Zhuge Sa should be dead by now.”

“That’s what you remembered, right?”

“Yes. No matter how many times I visited, he seemed destined to die or had already died.”

This was why I regarded Lord of Jangryeong Valley Zhuge Sa as a useless connection. While I did meet the living Zhuge Sa, he had an air of arrogance that was miles away from Mangnyang. Plus, he had an attitude that mocked not just himself but the world around him. I felt an aversion to teaming up with him.

Then the Sword Demon said, “I found something odd about your memory.”

“Odd?”

He nodded and said, “You might not think so, but the number one strategist, Mangnyang, considered Zhuge Sa as his successor multiple times. Even though Mangnyang personally disliked him.”

“…”

“That implies Zhuge Sa’s abilities reached quite a high level, separate from his character.”

“…”

“Of course, following the established ‘history,’ Zhuge Sa should be dead by now. But I can’t shake the feeling that’s not the whole story.”

“What meaning could a dead person have?”

“Normally, there’d be none. But you can create meaning.”

I was baffled by what the Sword Demon meant. If he’s dead, then he’s dead, right? What meaning is there in that?

But soon, I started rummaging through my memories and finally figured out what he meant, shocked at the realization.

“N-No way…”

“That’s exactly the way it is.”

“Do we really have to go that far?”

“Of course.”

The Sword Demon replied decisively, his expression tinged with a childlike curiosity. That told me he was intrigued by Zhuge Sa’s abilities.

“At this point, aren’t you curious? We need to test if he’s just all talk or something else.”

I muttered with a bitter expression, “I’m not thrilled about this.”

“Haha. I can’t help but see value in it.”

The Sword Demon laughed heartily.

“So, let’s not waste time and check it out now. I want to see what kind of master is hiding out in Dragon King’s Valley.”

“If we’re going to utilize the information network in Sichuan, we’d need to go to the Open. Isn’t that a bit risky?”

“The information network isn’t just the Open. The Divine Maiden Sect also has a comparable information network. And I can easily acquire that information.”

“The Divine Maiden Sect!”

“Lee Kwang from the Thunder God Lineage seems to be using the information from the Divine Maiden Sect as well. That guy has quite the reach.”

Now that I thought about it, Lee Kwang used the Divine Maiden Sect’s intel openly. I found it surprising that the two of them shared common ground, but since the Sword Demon was the strongest of the Eight Demons of the Demon Path, it actually made sense. Lee Kwang’s connection as a former member of the Imperial Palace’s Four Great Experts must be unique in itself.

Crash!

I traveled to Sichuan with the Sword Demon using the Golden Eagle’s power. As we arrived there, the Sword Demon led me to some unknown building of a martial arts sect, seemingly abandoned, and wrote down something to put into a box there.

After sitting quietly for about half a meal’s time, a woman dressed in white walked out from the building.

“It’s an honor to meet the renowned Master of Shadowless Gate.”

“And you are…?”

About five other women trailed behind her, each appearing to have mastered some martial arts, moving lightly. The leading woman in white introduced herself with a bow, “I am Gu Hwa, the Lord of the Divine Maiden Sect.”

“The Lord… my condolences for the misfortune that has recently befallen the Divine Maiden Sect’s Leader.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

The Sword Demon was expressing his condolences over the death of the Divine Maiden Sect’s Leader, Yeon-ma. Gu Hwa graciously accepted his words.

Without delay, the Sword Demon got to the point. “We wish to know the current situation of the martial world. Ideally, we’d like information on Dragon King’s Valley as well.”

“I can provide the information right away without needing an investigation.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but we would like some payment for the information.”

“That’s only fair.”

After the Sword Demon paid Gu Hwa, she shared information on the current state of the martial world and about Dragon King’s Valley. One particularly unique fact was that Dragon King’s Valley is located in a gorge steeped in treacherous cliffs, including the Manjangan Cliff, known for being hard to reach even for experts in climbing.

Once the information exchange was done, the Sword Demon left the building without delay. Once we were far enough away, the Sword Demon said, “The place we just visited is a branch that trades information with the Divine Maiden Sect.”

“That’s handy.”

“It should take about two days to reach Dragon King’s Valley. Let’s go.”

Tap! Tap!

Alongside the Sword Demon, I made my way toward Dragon King’s Valley. As he said, it roughly took two days, and upon arrival, I was immediately in awe of the gigantic cliffs that looked even more dangerous than the rest of Sichuan.

Looking over the vast gorge from the misty mountaintop, I exclaimed, “Is it really possible for humans to live in a place like that?”

The Sword Demon, munching on some wild fruits, replied, “What’s stopping them? Humans are the most fearful beings in the world, so even nature like this is pretty cute.”

“True enough.”

“So, shall we go?”

The Sword Demon finished his break and stood up.

“Cultivate your intent. Surely there are Absolute Formations set up there, so you should stay sharp.”