---

“Wait, did you just say ‘Queen Mother of the West’?”

My mind was reeling from Miho’s intense wariness and hostility. This was a response I had never seen from her before. Moreover, what she said was clearly not something I could just overlook, so I had to ask.

“Is this really the message she gave you?”

“… Yes, and now get out! I don’t want to be interrupted by a human like you right now.”

I could see through her hostility and detected her lack of composure beneath.

‘She’s really on edge…’

Miho was a genius at hiding her emotions. Sure, she’d show her feelings when she was in a good mood or needed something, but she was also a master at concealing and manipulating her own psychological state at other times. If I could read her emotions at all, then clearly, Miho was overwhelmed by some kind of obsession.

Her insistence on acquiring the Moon Sovereign was likely a way to drive me away from her, as I shared at least a slim connection to the Celestial Realm. After pondering it for a moment, I replied, “… Got it. My name is Baek Woong. If I hear any good news, I’ll let you know.”

“…….”

With Miho not bothering to respond, I left the Heavenly Emperor’s Palace. But not wanting to use my Thunderbolt technique right away, I climbed onto a rooftop in Kyoto and sat there, soaking in the sunlight, feeling a bit uneasy about having left. I couldn’t shake the feeling that provoking Miho was akin to inviting trouble.

‘Who would have thought that a strong negotiation with the immortals of the Celestial Realm would lead to this?’

In order to get closer to Miho, winning the favor of the Queen Mother of the West was absolutely essential. After all, Miho’s goodwill revolved around what the Queen Mother said to her. Naturally, after provoking the Queen Mother in my last life, it was utterly impossible for Miho to view me positively at this point.

Although I felt a bit frustrated with Mangnyang, I quickly shook off that thought.

‘Mangnyang wouldn’t provoke the Queen Mother without a good reason. Even if I can’t team up with Miho right now, I have no choice but to endure it…’

At that moment, I could have handed her the obsidian I had right there to revive Miho’s memories. I could have also dropped some high-level information that might pique her interest.

However, given that Miho was currently mentally unstable and didn’t trust me, also considering the negative perception inflicted upon me by the Queen Mother, she might even see me as an enemy and try to attack.

I licked my lips and thought about what I needed to do back in Dongyoung. Since I didn’t plan to come back often, I wanted to leave something behind for efficiency.

‘Hmm. Now that I think about it, there’s one thing I want to do.’

Find the real Miyamoto Musashi!

I wanted to locate that legendary figure who would surely be the pinnacle expert in Dongyoung. Each time I found someone, I’d have more options to choose from in my past life. I resolved to stay in Dongyoung for roughly a month to search for Miyamoto Musashi.

First, I headed toward the Hosokawa clan that supposedly housed a fake Miyamoto Musashi. According to the story I heard last time, Musashi was said to be living quietly in the Kumamoto domain under the Hosokawa’s patronage.

Kumamoto was surrounded by mountains on three sides and had a vast stratum of plains, mainly focusing on agriculture and livestock. As I wandered around, I saw the sight of cattle grazing here and there. The area where Musashi supposedly lived was quite remote, so I had no choice but to ask around for three days to find him.

When I stopped a nearby farmer to inquire about Musashi, he said, “Are you talking about that warrior? They say he occasionally roams near the fortress…”

“Is there anything special about him?”

“He’s such a quiet guy that you sometimes see him but never hear much about him.”

With that, I made my way to Musashi’s residence.

Ding–

I heard a chime, and in the sweltering climate, I could see the door of a traditional house standing open. Even though the door was open, I hesitated to enter, standing there for a while before knocking.

“Anyone there?”

When there was no response, I stepped inside. As I moved further into the room, I finally heard a voice.

“An impressive expert. Who might you be?”

In the center of the room stood Miyamoto Musashi, with his hand resting on his scabbard. While he appeared to be merely seated, it was actually a deadly posture of the sword drawing technique, ready to strike anyone who came within reach.

I stared at Musashi, trying to gauge his level.

‘Not impossible to win… In fact, I could put up a fair fight.’

Having trained under the Sword Demon for a long time and reached the peak expert level, my ability to assess opponents had improved. However, in my eyes, Miyamoto Musashi fell somewhat short of being hailed as the best in Dongyoung. I’d estimate that even the likes of Kamizumi Nobutsuna or Tsukahara Boku Ten would outperform him.

From the moment I got close, Musashi sensed a drop in his energy and had no choice but to take a defensive stance in the sword drawing technique. That indicated that, purely in terms of skill, I was at least one level above him.

I spoke softly.

“I am Baek Woong. I’ve come to see what kind of person the legendary swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi, really is.”

“What do you think?”

“I’m disappointed.”

Musashi let out a small laugh.

“Heh… You’re not holding back, are you? So, are you here to kill me?”

I shook my head.

“I didn’t come here for that. I just want to uncover the truth.”

“The truth, you say?”

I stared directly at Musashi and spoke calmly.

“The Book of Five Relationships you possess is an item unworthy of you. You couldn’t have written it yourself, so where did you get it?”

“……!!”

Musashi widened his eyes in surprise, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. After a moment of scrutiny, he subtly drew one foot forward, solidifying his offensive stance.

‘So he wants to fight.’

I must have struck a nerve with my comment. If I was right, what I just said was Musashi’s greatest secret. Now, he was likely feeling compelled to eliminate me at all costs.

I let out a cold chuckle.

“Two Heavens One Style, let’s see what you’ve got.”

I casually unleashed the Thunder Spirit Seal. This technique, unique to the Thunder God Lineage, was the ultimate technique of their fighting style and ideal against Musashi’s entrenched sword drawing technique. Musashi had no choice but to leap out of the way quickly, and the next moment, his residence exploded.

Ka-boom!!

As fragments of his house flew around, Musashi soared into the air, performing bizarre sword techniques to attack me. His response was agile and quick, reminiscent of a snake, while the sharp changes in his sword technique made it a bit challenging for me to defend.

‘Impressive technique indeed.’

After about twenty exchanges in the air, I touched down. When Musashi and I faced each other from a distance of three Zhang, I launched my Thunder Blade, infused with sword strength. It sliced through the air like a speeding bullet, growing to tremendous size, ready to split the city in half.

“……!!”

Musashi’s face turned to one of shock as he hurriedly dodged.

With the Thunder Blade still in my hand, I flicked my fingers to steer its direction and guided it toward Musashi, making it impossible for him to evade. Cornered, he swung his twin swords to create a curtain of blades, trying to break through my attack.

Ka-blam!

As Musashi was sent flying from the impact, I rushed in immediately. My own sword techniques, honed under the Sword Demon, seamlessly transitioned into the Mind Control Technique, piercing towards Musashi as he desperately tried to fend off my relentless attacks.

After about two hundred breaths had passed?

Clang!

Musashi’s sword shattered into two pieces and shot into the air. The broken blade embedded itself into the ground, while Musashi stood there with a startled expression, clutching the hilt of his broken sword. Despite his best efforts to withstand my onslaught, he couldn’t bear the overwhelming pressure of my internal energy and lost his weapon.

I pointed my sword at Musashi’s throat and said, “I don’t want to take your life. I just want to know the truth.”

“……”

Musashi gritted his teeth, clearly unwilling to divulge any secrets. The truth probably held significant ties to his honor as a ‘warrior,’ making him think it better to die than to share it. Sensing that threats alone wouldn’t suffice, I continued.

“You must be aware that your skills have stagnated. It’s a byproduct of trying to forcefully train in a technique that doesn’t suit you. I’m sure you’ve realized that to some extent.”

He flinched noticeably.

“And how much do you know? Did you see the Book of Five Relationships?”

“Let’s just say I made a guess into a certainty. But if you continue like this, you’ll never escape your current state. Haven’t you hit a wall in your training?”

Musashi’s expression grew anxious. I had hit the nail on the head.

“… What do you want?”

“If you reveal the truth, I will accept you as my companion. You could then pass down your world-class martial skills, allowing you to break free of your current limits.”

Musashi chuckled bitterly.

“I acknowledge that you’re stronger than me, but I can’t believe you’d have such supreme skills.”

“It’s true. At my age, surpassing you isn’t impossible, is it?”

“……”

“This is your final warning. If you refuse this offer, I won’t hold back.”

If he turned this down, I had no choice but to cripple him and use the Eight Trigram Seal to torture the truth out of him. Though it would leave a bad taste in my mouth, it was guaranteed to work.

Musashi, unable to refute me, finally spoke.

“… Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Good choice.”

“First, put away your sword. Your presence is so overwhelming that it’s intimidating.”

Swish.

As I sheathed my sword, Musashi seemed to deflate, slumping down as if all his strength had left him. He stared at the broken blade and sighed.

“So this day has finally come!”

Musashi sat amidst the ruins as if he wanted to sort out his thoughts and fell silent. Then he said, “It seems we might be here for a while, so let’s change locations. The guards will be here soon.”

“Right.”

With a swift motion, we exited the city and entered a nearby forest. Once we reached a small pond, Musashi spoke out.

“To start, I’m not Miyamoto Musashi.”

“What do you mean?”

He wore a somber expression as he continued.

“I am Sasaki Kojiro.”

“……!!”

I was taken aback.

Sasaki Kojiro!

He was known as Miyamoto Musashi’s greatest rival, and their duel on Ganryūjima became legendary in the martial arts world of Dongyoung. Musashi’s victory in that duel allowed him to rise to the top tier of swordsmen in Dongyoung. And now, in front of me stood not Miyamoto Musashi but Sasaki Kojiro?

“What are you talking about? If you’re Sasaki Kojiro, then where’s Miyamoto Musashi?”

Sasaki Kojiro pulled out the Book of Five Relationships from his robes and began recounting the past.

“Though it was said that I faced Musashi in a duel on Ganryūjima, in reality, I didn’t even graze him. I had resigned myself to death at that moment, but… he deemed my talent too precious and handed me this Book of Five Relationships.”

“No way…”

“Yes… Miyamoto Musashi must have been disappointed by the martial arts world after our duel and, wishing to pursue his own style, commanded me to live forward as Miyamoto Musashi.”

Stunned, I asked, “Is that even possible? Given that appearance and stature are different?”

“Musashi made it possible. At that moment, he performed a technique to alter my appearance completely.”

“……”

“He seemed highly knowledgeable about both Qi and the human body…”

Taking a moment to process, I asked, “Then where is the real Miyamoto Musashi?”

“He said he was heading to the continent in search of worthy opponents. That’s all I know.”

“The continent, huh…?”

My mind raced. If it was the continent, then it had to be the Central Plains, but I had never heard of anyone resembling Miyamoto Musashi. His whereabouts were now completely shrouded in mystery.

‘I suppose I’ll take this as half a win.’

I realized I needed to search for the real Miyamoto Musashi in the Central Plains. After gathering my thoughts, I said to Sasaki Kojiro, “Kojiro. Follow me.”

“Are you really going to teach me martial arts?”

“If you can be a good companion?”

“Understood.”

With Kojiro’s consent, I stored him in my wooden armor and used the Thunder Spirit Seal again to return to the Central Plains. After all, since Kojiro was a peak expert, his power would undoubtedly come in handy in the future.

My next stop was the Shadowless Gate. The Sword Demon greeted me upon my return.

“Baek Ho-Bok! How are things going?”

“Fine.”

I proceeded to share everything that happened since my meeting with Mangnyang. The Sword Demon listened calmly and then said, “It seems like Mangnyang has a well-laid plan. I don’t know the details, but let’s see this Kojiro guy.”

I took Kojiro out of my wooden armor, and as he looked utterly bewildered, the Sword Demon instructed, “Show me the Book of Five Relationships.”

When I translated this to Kojiro, he hesitated for a moment but eventually brought forth the Book of Five Relationships. The Sword Demon scrutinized the book for quite a while before nodding.

“Now I can see it clearly. I can believe that the real Musashi exists.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“Hand Kojiro over to me. I’ve been running low on manpower to catch Tuma, and this works out perfectly.”

“In that case…”

I readily handed over Kojiro’s custody to the Sword Demon. With his abilities, he could easily manage Kojiro. From Kojiro’s standpoint, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to learn the martial arts of the Shadowless Gate either.

“What will you do about translation?”

“I recently raided the slave market in Kyongju and gathered some information. I even rescued a skilled translator from there. So you don’t need to worry about that.”

“A slave market?”

“It was a secret gathering that happened regularly. The lord of Henan seemed to be ignoring it.”

The Sword Demon muttered bitterly.

“Baek Ho-Bok, please come back soon. I feel like I need to learn that Wudang Sect technique from you again.”

“Understood.”

As I heard the Sword Demon’s words, I sensed that the darkness he was uncovering at the Kyongju slave market was deeper than I had imagined. The Sword Demon, even now, was on par with Lee Kwang or even stronger, which indicated that he felt a serious lack of power.

 

---