하얀색 연꽃의 영혼이여

I headed towards the Shadowless Gate. In front of the gate, I introduced Seo Mun-hye, Yeon Jong-hwi, Gum Cheon-jae, and Kim Manje to each other. They were feeling awkward since they had never met before, so I quickly introduced them again before leading Seo Mun-hye into the Shadowless Gate.

Boom!

As the gate shut, we all approached the Sword Demon. The Sword Demon raised an eyebrow and said,

“An astounding expert… Have you mastered Half-Transition?”

Not wanting to tease him by hiding my strength, I decided to show a hint of my power from the get-go, and his reaction was instant. I bowed respectfully before the Sword Demon and said,

“I haven’t mastered Half-Transition. I am Baek Woong, the chief of Soeul Village, and these are my aides, Gum Cheon-jae and Kim Manje, alongside Yeon Jong-hwi.”

“I am Gum Cheon-jae…”

“I am Kim Manje, son of Gum Cheon-jae…”

Gum Cheon-jae and Kim Manje didn’t quite get where they were, offering awkward greetings, but Yeon Jong-hwi was visibly tense, beads of sweat forming at the tip of his nose as he stammered,

“I am Yeon Jong-hwi and I meet the Sword Demon, lord of the Nine Great Sects.”

“Gasp!”

Gum Cheon-jae looked shocked. He knew it was a big sect, but realizing this was the Sword Demon he had only heard of was unexpected. The Sword Demon nodded lightly, still focused on me, saying,

“A person who can traverse Jianghu. Was it truly you who saved our Hyea?”

“Indeed. I wish to explain the situation, but could you please send the others away, except for Seo Mun-hye?”

“Of course.”

Soon, only I, the Sword Demon, and Seo Mun-hye were left in the hall while the other three went to a place to entertain guests. I looked at the Sword Demon fondly for a moment before speaking.

“I am an Absolute Realm expert. In this world, the only ones who could match me would be Master of the White Lotus Sect Dokgo Uncheon, the Master Pasun of the Summit in the distance, and the Strongest Warrior Miyamoto Musashi. The level you read of me is likely accurate.”

“…!!”

The Sword Demon looked taken aback, and with a hint of wariness and determination in his eyes, he continued to gaze at me. He then said,

“I don’t know how you attained such world-defining power, but first of all, on behalf of the Seo clan, thank you for saving Hyea.”

“Not at all. The main point is from now on.”

I straightened my back and continued speaking.

“I am recounting my powers to you not to boast. My strength now comes from what I gained in the past, thanks to you, and I am indebted to you in my heart. Thus, I intend to assist you, Sword Demon, in all I can. Rescuing Seo Mun-hye from the Pirate Island is a part of that.”

“Hmm…!! I don’t understand. All I can follow is that you rescued Hyea from the Pirate Island.”

“Seo Mun-hye entered a Dark Realm Martial Arts Tournament secretly held in the darkness of the Imperial Capital Luoyang, lost, and was taken as a captive by the Evil Qi. I learned of this while crushing the Pirate Island and came to rescue her.”

At my words, Seo Mun-hye looked shocked.

“Did you know about this?!”

“Of course. I might know much more about that secret than you thought…”

“That can’t be….”

Ignoring Seo Mun-hye’s shock, I shifted my gaze back to the Sword Demon.

“Sword Demon. I wish to tell you everything, but now is not the time. I just want you to know that I fully wish to cooperate with you, and I hope you can provide full support to Soeul Village. I will never become your enemy.”

The Sword Demon seemed deep in thought for a moment before responding.

“No matter how I think about it, I’ve never helped someone like you who is an Absolute Realm master. But if you wish to help, I would gratefully accept this offer. If we can become allies who help each other, it would be immensely welcomed.”

“Thank you for understanding. Now, I would like to make three requests.”

“Go ahead.”

“First, once Seo Mun-hye’s mind and body are stable, please send her back to Soeul Village. I want to personally teach her martial arts. Second, please assist the unfortunate captives I rescued from the Pirate Island in returning to their hometown. Third…”

Before stating my last request, I took a breath and said,

“…when the time comes to reveal the truth, please don’t hold it against me too much.”

“……?”

The Sword Demon tilted his head in confusion, but eventually nodded in agreement.

“Chief of Soeul Village. I will abide by your words.”

I released the captives from the Pirate Island to the Shadowless Gate, and it seemed they would find their way home, assisted by the Shadowless Gate as before. As I left the gate, I thought,

‘That’s settled.’

Under normal circumstances, I would have to soon reveal that I am a Reborn Person and bestow their memories upon them. However, that “normal course” had become so repetitive that it felt like a squirrel running on a wheel, draining me. I wanted to approach the journey of saving the world with a bit more leisure.

Moreover, even if I learned the truth of this world quickly, it wouldn’t necessarily make the Sword Demon and Seo Mun-hye happy, so I wanted to leave things as they were for a while. There are times when not knowing is better—it’s a lesson I’ve learned all too well.

‘It’s not too late to think after confirming the memory’s disappearance….’

The primary concerns of both this life and the last were my magical powers and Evil Qi. Fortunately, there hadn’t been any sudden crises yet, though I didn’t know what would come next.

However, I thought that if an urgent situation arose that nearly destroyed the world, the Sword Demon might just blame me a little. He was always devoted, so he might feel he missed an opportunity to quickly gain strength.

‘But the life of a human is… a precious thing… perhaps a burden I alone must bear. I don’t regret this choice.’

It was still too early to drag the Sword Demon and his daughter into the world’s shadows.

I resolved to withhold that truth.

With that commitment, I exited the Shadowless Gate and set off towards my next destination.

Whoosh!

I was on my way to the Seal of the Water Spirit. Normally, as soon as I started my previous life, I would have raced to get there, but this time there wasn’t any urgency, so arriving now seemed appropriate. Upon reaching the hidden danger of the sky, my three companions looked astonished.

“Is there really such a place behind the waterfall…?”

“What is this place?”

Boom!

Without further ado, I ran ahead and pulled out the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. Having harvested it dozens of times, I now memorized its hidden location somewhere in the snowfields. Then I shouted.

“Look closely! This is the legendary Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng!!”

“Gasp!”

“Wow!”

“No way?!”

Gum Cheon-jae, Kim Manje, and Yeon Jong-hwi all looked in awe. I threw each of them a large bag and pointed at the pond blooming with Black and White Lotus, saying,

“I originally planned to do this alone, but honestly, that sounds too tedious, right? You three collect every single Black and White Lotus from that pond! Separate them carefully, making sure not to damage the lotuses while you’re at it.”

“Is the Black and White Lotus those flowers there?”

“Exactly. The one who works the hardest will get a reward.”

“…!!”

As soon as I finished my sentence, the three of them rushed to the Black and White Lotus pond. They started frantically picking the lotuses, and I growled,

“Just remember, if you ruin the Black and White Lotus by rushing, I won’t go easy on you!”

“Yes!”

“I’m heading down for a bit. Work hard!”

The reason I set this task for them was that if I only made Gum Cheon-jae and Kim Manje do it, they might conspire to secretly stash some away for themselves since they were father and son. But with an outsider and martial arts master like Yeon Jong-hwi along for the harvest, they’d think twice about stealing.

‘Heh. It’s convenient not to work alone this time.’

I then descended to the ruins of the Water Spirit and encountered the Human Face Pillar. I thought about taking it down in one strike as usual, but surprisingly, the Human Face Pillar’s reaction was strange.

[Great Being!! Awesome!! Make me your subordinate!!]

“……”

Seeing the Human Face Pillar’s endearing behavior like last time, I facepalmed.

[Anything! Please!]

That response felt oddly reminiscent of my last life…

In a whim, I showed my arm and said,

“Sorry, but I think I’ve already accepted your name.”

[Wow?! Really?! No way?! What’s happening….]

The Human Face Pillar sounded shocked and then, as if realizing something, spoke in a meaningful tone.

[Aha!! I am Chaos… I am part of the essence of greatness…. I can be elevated….]

“Essence of greatness?”

[Bind me!! Please!]

“Uh… sure.”

As soon as I granted permission, the Human Face Pillar was overwhelmingly ecstatic.

[Ohhhh!! Blessing of the great cycle!!]

Boom!

Suddenly, a light emerged from the Human Face Pillar, and a dark mass of spirit energy shot toward my wrist. Dark light erupted from the engraved name, merging with the energy mass, and soon after, my aura felt washed away.

Vroom!

I could see strange ancient characters begin to transform. And I observed as the ancient letters slowly changed.

[Strong, physically powerful, and incredibly swift ancient spider]

It seemed something had been added compared to before.

“……”

I looked at the Human Face Pillar. Unlike before, it didn’t vanish; its body stood intact, merely releasing its soul like an empty shell. I found this phenomenon puzzling but decided to first retrieve the Human Face Pillar’s Inner Dan.

‘Thankfully, the Inner Dan seems fine.’

I then proceeded to obtain the Seal of the Water Spirit from the altar, along with gold bars and the statue of Jeon Wook. Once I finished that whole process and stepped out, it appeared that the others had nearly completed the work with the Black and White Lotus. As their task wrapped up, I placed the bags in my possession and said,

“Great job!”

Gum Cheon-jae cautiously spoke up.

“Um… about the reward…”

I cleared my throat.

“Hey!! Are you saying that just one person deserves a reward when we all worked hard?!”

“……”

“What a lack of loyalty!”

Seeing Gum Cheon-jae’s face wrinkle up with indignation made me stifle a laugh.

‘How does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine, chief?’

This situation mirrored how in my first life I’d tell the kids, “I’ll give a reward to the one who works hardest,” only to have them echo it back to me now.

‘This is why I take you guys along with me!!’

Feeling triumphant, I declared,

“Next, we’re heading to the Maoshan Sect!”

“The Maoshan Sect?”

“Yes! I reckon they must be pressed for time by now.”

Whoosh!

After putting the trio in my bag, I soared towards the Maoshan Sect. Upon arriving at the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace, I unleashed the Infinite Slash, breaking through their barrier and charging inside, and as expected, the Taoist Masters of Maoshan were struggling to seal the Odor.

“Aah! Don’t come closer…”

Ignoring the anguished cries of the Grand Master of the Maoshan Sect, I confidently strode forward and gripped the Odor firmly, shouting,

“Great ancient king Gun! Do you wish to take revenge on the Three Sovereigns?”

Whoosh!

As an ancient presence regained its shape from the depths of the shadows, Gun turned to me and asked,

[Who are you….]

“I am Baek Woong, the chief of Soeul Village!! I have a proposal for you!”

[What? I’ve heard this before.]

With a grin, I replied to Gun,

“I will help you regain your strength. I’ll handle the Celestial Guards and the Three Sovereigns’ minions. But in return, can you please stay by my side as a subordinate for a while and use your strength?”

[……]

Gun seemed to evaluate my strength, exuding an intense spirit energy. However, the dark energy he released didn’t manage to invade my body, thanks to my immense Divine Power and Intent Heavenly Pillar. After confirming my capabilities, Gun eventually replied,

[Alright… I had thought to just kill time here, but you seem worthy enough to team up with….]

“Great! Then we have a deal from today.”

[If you mess around, I won’t let it slide….]

Whoosh!

Gun receded back into the Odor once more, entering a meditative state. The Taoist Masters of Maoshan were utterly shocked by how easily I subdued Gun.

“Gasp.”

“How on earth….”

“Who is that guy?”

I turned to the Grand Master of Maoshan, Taoist Master Dosan, and said,

“Hey.”

“Y-yes!!”

“Help me with the Water Spirit Offering Ceremony.”

“……?!”

Taoist Master Dosan looked taken aback, but after a brief explanation of the situation, he seemed to understand. We headed toward the area where the Water Spirit’s power had condensed, and Taoist Master Dosan commenced the Water Spirit Offering Ceremony.

Thump!

Once Taoist Master Dosan completed the preparation for the ritual and fainted, I stretched my hand towards the drops of power he condensed and made contact with the Water Spirit Baruna.

[Baek Woong! What the heck is this?!]

As I blew the power towards Baruna, he appeared, just like in my previous life, and I said to him,

“Can’t you tell what’s going on? It’s a bribe…!!”

[……!!]

“Are you going to refuse the bribe?!”

Just when I was about to withdraw the power, Baruna suddenly grabbed my arm.

[I didn’t say I wouldn’t take it, haha!!]

“……”

[You’ve made a good decision, Baek Woong!]

He was so transparent!

I was internally grumbling when I asked,

“By the way, are the others going to accept bribes too?”

[Hmm, let’s see…]

Baruna looked thoughtful, glancing at the other three circles in sequence.

[Except for one, they all will.]

“One that you mentioned?”

[I think you might have a guess already.]

“……”

Our gazes landed on one specific circle at the same time. It was emanating crackling energy and I felt an invisible killing intent radiating from it. The presence was unmistakably hostile.

“What’s wrong with that guy?!”

Thunder God Vajra!

That guy was confirmed to not accept anything even during the offering, according to Baruna! Then Baruna crossed his arms and said,

[He probably won’t outright refuse. But unlike us three, who won’t be picky about similar energies, he seems to desire something special…. A mere offering of Thunder Energy won’t suffice.]

“Something special?”

[Something symbolizing the Thunder God….]

Crackle!

In that moment, an overwhelming thunderbolt erupted from Vajra, crashing down upon me. I barely had time to dodge, but Baruna’s water barrier protected me. Then a voice, sounding particularly agitated, echoed from Vajra.

[Stop babbling nonsense, Baruna!!]

[Hmph. What a foul-tempered guy….]

Baruna clicked his tongue and gestured to me,

[You better head back, Baek Woong. Just a heads up, you’ll need to overpower that bad-tempered fellow to bring him under control.]

Boom!

I jolted back to the real world. Stewing in frustration from Vajra, I clenched my fists.

“Alright. Just you wait.”

I’ll definitely give that guy a good smack someday!