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True Martial Home

‘The real answer…’

Muttering the words of Zhuge Bu, I headed towards the Divine City of Mount Changbai. Zhuge Bu still couldn’t explain everything to me, but he mentioned that a series of processes were all necessary. He also indicated that defeating Peng Zuo was not the sole purpose.

Whether it’s Zhuge Sa or Zhuge Bu, I’ve come to the conclusion that I must find the ‘answer’ in this lifetime.

So then… what is the ‘problem’?

It seemed that the advisors couldn’t honestly share that problem with me. After all, in a highly orchestrated sequence, a single mistake can lead to catastrophic failure, so the plan must be to use me as a pawn for now. That made sense to me, so I didn’t dwell on it too much.

The real issue is why they think they have to be cautious despite the strength of my rebirth ability. Naturally, I couldn’t help but imagine the worst-case scenario and bit my lip.

“Damn it.”

Since the 24th rebirth, I suddenly felt like I was hitting a wall. I’ve clearly gained a lot of knowledge, yet I feel stuck! Up until now, I believed there were limits to the power I could accumulate as a mortal, so I focused on uncovering the secrets of myths, but perhaps that too has its limits?

As I pondered this, Jin So-cheong, who rode the Golden Lamp beside me, spoke up.

“Baek Woong. We have arrived.”

“Hmm.”

The Divine City remains unseen due to the barrier. However, I easily recognized the vicinity of the Divine City thanks to the surrounding terrain. I gathered my Spirit Power and tried moving as Miho taught me in the past.

Woo-woong

It seems to move like demon power, swirling silver energy around my right arm as if it’s part of my own body. Perhaps because my Spirit Power has increased several times since training with Miho, I could feel a clearer and more majestic energy coursing through me. I slowly began to direct that energy to my eyes.

Swoo!

As half of my Spirit Power flowed into my eyes, I used both Spirit Power and Fire Eye Golden Spirit. While Fire Eye Golden Spirit alone wouldn’t allow me to see the barrier, I calculated that combining it with Spirit Power would make it feasible. Sure enough, the moment the Spirit Power settled in my eyes, I felt a burning sensation, as if I could penetrate everything and see beyond a thousand miles.

‘There it is.’

Now it’s clear. It was undoubtedly the barrier hiding the Divine City, utilizing the full strength of the Twelve Joules. Combining Spirit Power with Fire Eye Golden Spirit made it perfectly visible. After confirming the location of the Divine City, I informed Jin So-cheong of the direction and distance. Jin So-cheong nodded.

“We could break through with force, or we could wait for the Three Masters. Which do you prefer?”

From experience, I knew that if we stayed still, the Three Masters would surely come to find us using their foresight or sensing abilities. However, choosing the former would give us a chance to assess whether we could break through the Divine City’s defense barrier with our current capabilities.

But this wasn’t a time for reckless attempts; I was in the middle of a carefully calibrated process, so I gently closed my eyes.

“I don’t want to provoke the Twelve Joules. Let’s choose the latter.”

“Understood.”

Not long after, one of the Three Masters, Wind Master, approached us and spoke.

“Why have you come here?”

“I am Baek Woong, Leader of the Bancheon Alliance. I’ve come seeking the assistance of the Twelve Joules to quell the Western powers threatening the Southern Seas.”

“Follow me.”

We followed Wind Master into the inner chambers of the Divine City and entered the space of the Master of the Twelve Joules. As usual, he was wearing a unique disguise and spoke:

“The famed Leader of the Bancheon Alliance has changed. Quite a fresh face, isn’t it?”

Since I wasn’t here as an unnamed ruler but rather as the Leader of the Bancheon Alliance, I adjusted my speech accordingly, not needing to resort to unnecessary formalities.

“You’ll soon become familiar with me.”

“Hmm, let’s get to the point. Then I’ll share my thoughts as well.”

The Master of the Twelve Joules seemed to prefer a straightforward conversation. I took a deep breath and spoke.

“The situation in the Southern Seas is dire. There are over thirty thousand gunmen and hundreds of demon sorcerers, with powerful sorcerers and alchemists from the West also present. They seem to be engaging in human sacrifices and demon rituals to maintain their power, led by the Great Immortal Peng Zuo who freed the Golden Crow.”

“……”

“Currently, tens of millions of commoners in the Southern Seas are nothing but hostages of the demon forces. If we leave them as they are, they will seize control of the Central Plains and proceed to invade and colonize the entire East. Therefore, I seek the assistance of the Master of the Twelve Joules, the supreme being of the Eastern Martial World.”

The Master of the Twelve Joules tapped his fingers on the chair thoughtfully.

“Hmm, you’re saying some unusual things.”

“What do you find unusual?”

“How did you know that Peng Zuo is the Great Immortal who freed the Golden Crow?”

Despite his sharp question, I didn’t falter and responded leisurely.

“There are knowledgeable individuals in the Bancheon Alliance regarding demon paths and ancient secrets. Moreover, I had been keeping an eye on Peng Zuo from the beginning, so it wasn’t hard to uncover his identity.”

“……”

“I am well aware that you are not only a surface leader of the Martial World but also involved in the undercurrents. We’ve already made a pact to receive support from the White Lotus Sect, so I seek your wise decision.”

“Quite impressive…”

With a hint of admiration, the Master of the Twelve Joules leaned his chin on his hand.

“You’re not an ordinary fellow, are you? It seems you’re no stranger to negotiations like this. What kind of background do you hail from?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“You can just think of it as the Bancheon Alliance having many capable people. The Central Plains is a wide land; there are naturally many talented individuals.”

“Haha! You’ve got a good tongue. I like it.”

Laughter erupted from the Master of the Twelve Joules.

“I’ve always found the number of people in the Central Plains quite bothersome… for a long time now.”

“……?”

Showing an emotion was rare for the Master of the Twelve Joules. Thus, when I sensed a striking emotion emanating from his recent murmuring, I couldn’t help but feel a bit puzzled.

‘…Hatred?’

Somehow, it felt like an uncontainable hatred had just surfaced. It didn’t seem like a ploy to pressure me during negotiations, as sincerity was evident, leaving me bewildered. I couldn’t understand why the Master harbored such hostility towards the Central Plains.

The Master of the Twelve Joules looked over at Yun Sa beside him and said,

“Yun Sa. Find out if what he said about Peng Zuo is true. The three of you can go together.”

“Understood.”

Swoosh

Moments later, with the sound of flapping, the three members of the Three Masters—Wind Master, Yun Sa, and Yu Sa—vanished simultaneously. It seemed they were uniting their strengths to ascertain the credibility of my information. Given that they possessed skills comparable to Cheon Woo-jin, they could certainly manage it.

Then Jin So-cheong, who stood next to me, spoke to the Master of the Twelve Joules.

“Master, you seem quite confident in your martial skills. Aren’t you afraid of being left alone with us?”

A hint of an assassination threat!

Stunned by Jin So-cheong’s provocative words, I turned to him, but the Master of the Twelve Joules replied nonchalantly without any emotional expression.

“So, you are Jin So-cheong, the Divine Spear of the Bancheon Alliance. I’ve heard much about your heroic exploits. True to your reputation as the strongest in the Central Plains, you seem quite formidable.”

Jin So-cheong had built an impressive reputation over the ten years he had been active in the Bancheon Alliance and was known not only in the Central Plains Martial World but also beyond. The Master of the Twelve Joules provocatively leaned forward into an open stance.

“But how could you devour the head of the Han people, Dan-gun, if you fear people like us? Isn’t that right?”

“……”

“Your spirit is admirable. If you’re confident, come at me. I typically don’t shy away from challenges.”

His nonchalant demeanor was more chilling than threatening. I gritted my teeth, tightly clenching my fists.

‘Currently, Jin So-cheong undoubtedly embodies an absolute realm… The Master of the Twelve Joules must have recognized his power at first sight. Yet, he was unfazed.’

This only meant one thing.

The Master of the Twelve Joules believed he could defeat us both here, even in a life-and-death situation!

It also implied his absolute confidence in his Heavenly Unrestrained Technique.

Swoosh

The next moment, the Three Masters returned. Wind Master approached the Master of the Twelve Joules, staring at him, seemingly using a technique similar to Secret Transmission. After a moment of thought, the Master said,

“… It doesn’t seem like a lie. This is indeed a dangerous situation.”

“Will you help us?”

“Of course! But I dislike taking orders from you.”

“In that case, we’ll outline our attack plan for you to coordinate our joint efforts.”

“That sounds good.”

I then explained the plan to attack the enemies in the Southern Seas early at dawn three days later to the Master of the Twelve Joules. Although I hadn’t received a definite answer from the Master of the White Lotus Sect, I was convinced he would participate. After successfully forging an alliance with the Master of the Twelve Joules, I returned to the Bancheon Alliance with Jin So-cheong.

I spoke to Jin So-cheong.

“Jin So-cheong. I think it’s time to reveal what you know. Where is the Sword Demon?”

“……”

“I would like to hear about the research results on the Master of the Twelve Joules’ Heavenly Unrestrained Technique.”

The Sword Demon was not dead.

Although it was reported that he was missing, the truth was he had disguised his death to act independently. Given the circumstances, he planned to call me, a reborn person, to take the empty position of the alliance leader while he secretly pursued Peng Zuo and his group. It seemed the Sword Demon had infiltrated the heart of the enemy base in the Southern Seas, and only Jin So-cheong and Sa Ma-gyeong knew this top-secret information within the Bancheon Alliance. The Sword Demon would likely assist us from within when we attacked the enemy in the Southern Seas.

With a sigh, Jin So-cheong said,

“… Since the Sword Demon founded the Bancheon Alliance and I also joined it to serve for over ten years, we developed the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique based on your past memories whenever we could. The conclusion we reached is… just one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Heavenly Unrestrained Technique is an absolute realm that humans cannot attain.”

I was taken aback.

“… What?! Are you saying the realm of Heavenly Unrestrained Technique is the martial art of the Divine Realm?!”

Divine Realm!

Considered a potential higher tier above even the absolute realm, and both the Overlay Master Jang Sam-bong and Yeodong-bin were aware of its existence. Jin So-cheong from fifty years in the future also demonstrated reaching the Divine Realm and the Ultimate Technique, Silver Galaxy. However, those who actually knew about the existence of the Divine Realm and the Martial God tended to hesitate to divulge its true nature.

Jin So-cheong shook his head.

“My explanation lacks clarity. That’s not what I mean. While it’s not a level that can annihilate the Old Ruler or the Apostle like the Divine Realm, the practical difficulty of the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique cannot be compared to any other absolute realm, and its structure cannot be achieved through human effort.”

“I don’t understand. Are you implying it’s as incredibly challenging as Thunder Spirit?”

“It’s different from that.”

Jin So-cheong’s eyes sparkled.

“Thunder Spirit represents the purification of a millennium of the Thunder God lineage. It is a result of compressing the dozens of insights the masters of the Thunder God lineage have researched over the years into the essence of the Thunder Spirit. Since the compression rate is exceedingly high, the difficulty of acquisition is daunting, but after partially decompressing and succeeding in interpretation, it’s not impossible to obtain. This is because the direction of attaining the essence of the Thunder Spirit is clear; while everyone claims Thunder Spirit is difficult, as far as I know, I’m among two or three people who have the talent to achieve it.”

I was aware of that fact too. I nodded and replied.

“So the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique is of a different nature?”

“Indeed. While the difficulty of Thunder Spirit is top-tier, the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique is unattainable. The Sword Demon and I reached that conclusion about three years ago. I believe whether I train for a hundred years, or a thousand, achieving the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique will be impossible.”

Impossibility of attainment!

Why would such a martial art exist?

Looking incredulously at Jin So-cheong, he explained.

“The reason for the impossibility is simple… The Heavenly Unrestrained Technique is a perfect technique.”

“Perfect?”

“Baek Woong, the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique has two characteristics. It can always counter-attack before the opponent can attack, and should you engage in actual combat, there would be no room for mistakes, not even a single error. These two features imply that it is indeed a perfect technique.”

I pondered his words for a moment and then said,

“Does that mean it has something to do with foresight?”

“No. You, being an expert too, should know that once you’re in the absolute realm, even if you know the next sequence, you still wouldn’t be able to evade or block it. You can only do so by distorting the laws with intent. Hence, in this realm, foresight loses its significance.”

“True.”

“The Heavenly Unrestrained Technique cannot be classified as foresight; it’s more about observation. The reason there are no mistakes, even in a million chances, is that the observer’s perspective is beyond human understanding. The perfection of the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique holds because the observer has perceived all the millions, if not billions, of possible outcomes existing in nature from a divine perspective.”

With that, Jin So-cheong sighed again.

“In simpler terms… it requires calculating nature itself and placing it under one’s observation. The amount of computational ability necessary to accomplish that is beyond prediction, and it’s unattainable by human capacity. In fact, from the perspective of absolute realms, it’s insurmountable.”

“Why is it insurmountable?”

The more I heard, the less sense it made. What realm could the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique truly represent?

“Baek Woong, you could say the absolute realm is a compression of a martial artist’s lifetime. But do you believe any martial artist can seamlessly govern nature with a level of computational ability that far surpasses humans and without any errors margin? Is that what human life entails?”

“……!!”

“Such a thing is impossible. From the moment you see the light of the world, every breath and every movement must be accounted for in a conscious calculation to build a life. Is it even possible to undergo the grinding of such extreme training that a single misstep would render all those calculations void?”

“……”

Jin So-cheong spoke gravely.

“It’s as if… one has perceived the absolute realm not from a martial perspective, but from a standpoint of something far greater.”