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“I’ve informed Dokgo Seong about the existence of the Golden Eagle.”

It’s a tough secret to share, but Dokgo Seong is someone who can teach the secrets of the Thunder God Lineage, so we’ll definitely have a close connection in the future. If I hide it and get a reaction like, “Why are you messing with me?” it would be quite the predicament.

Surprisingly, Dokgo Seong didn’t seem too shocked when I told him about the Golden Eagle.

“Really?”

“Aren’t you amazed?”

“If what you said is true, then it’s obvious you’ve received help from the Unique Artifacts of Inner Strength. I figured you must have some unusual items.”

“But that…”

Dokgo Seong replied calmly.

“It wasn’t as remarkable as the Golden Eagle, but the White Lotus Sect had its peculiar treasures too. So, it’s not that shocking.”

“……!!”

I was taken aback.

‘Could it be that the White Lotus Sect also has some treasures?’

Does that mean there are magic artifacts like the Golden Eagle or the Wooden Armor? I quickly asked Dokgo Seong.

“What kind of treasures?”

“The divine artifacts held by the Master of the White Lotus Sect, and several treasures passed down in the priest’s lineage. I’m not sure who holds them now, but they definitely existed.”

“Divine artifacts… what abilities do they have?”

“Who knows? Maybe they manipulate the weather or something…”

Dokgo Seong uttered those words in an uninterested tone.

“Anyway, that’s the sorcerer’s business. I know nothing beyond that.”

“Okay…”

To Dokgo Seong, the so-called unique treasures were clearly worthless. He had a firm belief that anything other than weapons was just trash to a martial artist. Even though I felt disappointed, I realized I had obtained a clue.

‘There are precious sorcerer artifacts within the White Lotus Sect.’

Perhaps there are magic items created with the power of Otherworldly Races.

After collecting my thoughts, I said to Dokgo Seong,

“Then I’ll head to Dongyoung. Please hold my shoulder.”

Pa-at!

I arrived at the Obsidian Mine in Dongyoung, a place I had once visited with Miho. There weren’t many people around and since it wasn’t far from the urban area, it felt like a suitable spot. I told Dokgo Seong,

“I need to mine some obsidian. Can you wait a moment?”

“Obsidian? Why?”

“I need it for myself.”

Dokgo Seong stood on a hill, silently observing the miners several dozen feet away, and frowned at their nearly bare attire.

“This truly is the land of savages. Hurry up and finish it.”

“Yes.”

I used the Soul Removal Technique to swiftly sneak into the mine without drawing attention. Sure, I could have overpowered the miners with martial arts, but it wasn’t wise to attract unwanted rumors, so I opted for stealth. I successfully retrieved a large piece of obsidian from the spot I had previously noted.

After collecting the obsidian, I used the Unique Items of Inner Strength technique to return to Dokgo Seong’s location. He remarked uninterestedly,

“Isn’t there any good quality steel instead of this obsidian?”

“Is it for weapons?”

“Yes.”

I shook my head firmly.

“I’m sorry, but the iron from Dongyoung is very low quality. The weapons made from it aren’t great either.”

“I see.”

Dokgo Seong seemed disappointed but accepted it. I had previously heard that the sabers produced in Dongyoung were very sharp, yet the reality was that the quality of the metal was poor and the manufacturing techniques were crude. They relied on a kind of haphazard craftsmanship, struggling to highlight any characteristics. Perhaps that’s why the durability of their weapons was relatively weak, comparable to that of a thin taffy.

“If you really need a weapon, I can buy you a good sword from the Central Plains.”

“No need. I was just saying it.”

“Then let’s head near Mount Busa.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Dokgo Seong and I headed to a village near Edo City. To reach Mount Busa, we needed to go a bit further than Edo and head toward Honshu Island. If you go east from Honshu Island, you’ll come to Mount Busa, and the adjacent Life Sea is the Aokigahara Life Sea.

Dokgo Seong glanced at Edo City and said,

“Is that the city of the barbarians?”

“Yes. They say it’s the actual capital of Dongyoung.”

“So the king of the barbarians lives there?”

“Well, yes.”

Then, unexpectedly, Dokgo Seong suggested,

“Let’s go there.”

“Huh?”

“I want to see what the Dongyoung barbarians’ swordplay is like. It’d be interesting if I know someone there.”

“Wait a second…”

Tu-woong

Dokgo Seong suddenly started running toward Edo City. While I expressed it as ‘running’, his mastery was so swift and graceful, it was like watching a bird take flight. I had no choice but to use the Soul Removal Technique to chase after him.

‘What is he thinking?!’

This was entirely unplanned. I just wanted to check what Aokigahara Life Sea was like with Dokgo Seong, but I never imagined he would charge straight into Edo. Naturally, I couldn’t even predict what he would do next.

Before long, he skillfully leapt over the castle walls and landed in the city. I descended alongside him. Dokgo Seong asked,

“Who is the best expert here?”

He wasn’t in the mood to listen to any objections.

‘His eyes are sparkling…’

Right now, Dokgo Seong seemed very interested in the swordplay of the barbarians, and it felt like he was itching for a fight. Trying to stop him in this situation would only fuel his wrath.

So I explained calmly, feeling a bit resigned.

“In Dongyoung, there are sword heroes above regular low-tier warriors, and among those sword heroes, the clan leaders from prestigious sword families are much stronger. And there are three individuals stronger than the clan leaders.”

“Oh, an interesting place then! How strong are those three?”

“I think they’re likely similar to or a bit stronger than me.”

“I see.”

After briefly mumbling to himself, Dokgo Seong looked at me and said,

“You seem to know some of those individuals. Lead me to them.”

“……”

I hesitated for a moment before saying,

“Promise me you won’t kill or cripple any of them.”

“I promise.”

“Then let’s first go to the Yagyu clan.”

The three great sword heroes I knew from Dongyoung were:

Kamizumi Nobutsuna,

Miyamoto Musashi,

Tsukahara Boku Ten.

Among these, Nobutsuna was the only one I had personally met, while I was aware that Musashi’s skills were deceptive, making him not worth the meeting. And Tsukahara Boku Ten was known to be an equivalent master to Nobutsuna, but he was elusive due to his wanderings around the world. Therefore, I had no choice but to knock on the door of the Yagyu clan to find Nobutsuna’s whereabouts.

Thinking my outfit was too conspicuous, I purchased some simple clothing from a fabric shop and bought a long conical hat. Covering my face with it like a wandering monk, I knocked on the door of the Yagyu clan.

A disciple from the Yagyu clan irritably asked,

“Who’s there?”

“Just a passing warrior. I’ve come to challenge the master of the Yagyu clan.”

“……”

The disciple sneered at me, unfurling his sword suddenly in an attempt to teach me a lesson. However, his level barely grazed the low-tier martial artists of the Central Plains, so I effortlessly waved my hand and sent him flying.

Crash!

“Ouch…!!”

The loud noise attracted several disciples to rush over. They quickly drew their swords and gathered their killing intent, but facing their intent didn’t faze me at all. I felt as if I was watching a bunch of kittens bristling their tails.

‘Are these guys really warriors?’

It seemed like a bloodbath would ensue with just a few cuts. No one could definitely stop or dodge my one slash. As I pondered what to do with them since they looked so weak,

“You must be the ancients!”

A sword hero emerged from among the disciples. He was none other than Yagyu Munenori, the current clan leader of the Yagyu clan. He stepped forward and took a martial stance, then after a while, he got pale reading our energies.

“W-what…?”

He then yelled to everyone around,

“Everyone, get inside! You fools!!”

“Yes, sir…”

At Munenori’s roar, all the disciples quickly fled into the building. Since Munenori had reached the level of a Peak Expert, he quickly realized our strength and knew he couldn’t match us.

Shaking his hands, Yagyu Munenori stammered,

“C-Celestial expert… who are you?”

I glanced at Dokgo Seong. He seemed entirely uninterested in Munenori and was watching a butterfly fluttering beside him. To Dokgo Seong, Munenori’s power probably seemed as trivial as a weed.

With no other choice, I spoke,

“We’ve come from the continent to find Dongyoung’s best sword hero and try our skill.”

“The continent…!!”

“I heard that your Yagyu Shinkage school has a great swordsman named Kamizumi Nobutsuna. Being the clan leader, you should know where to find him.”

“……”

Munenori grimaced and said,

“The Grandmaster is not available right now.”

“Then where is he?”

“That…”

I wasn’t keen on wasting time on trivialities. Since Dokgo Seong hadn’t promised not to kill or injure anyone, I wanted to wrap this up quickly and conduct my investigation in the Aokigahara Life Sea. So, I began to threaten Munenori.

“The person standing behind me is a master twice as strong as I am. And I alone could wipe out your lot in a single heartbeat. If you avoid giving a straight answer, there could be dire consequences.”

“Ugh…”

Munenori responded with a grim expression.

“The Grandmaster is currently training at the entrance of the Aokigahara Life Sea.”

“……?!”

I was taken aback. I’d come all this way, and he was in the Life Sea!

I decided to dig for more details.

“What do you mean?”

“The Grandmaster has felt the limits of swordsmanship for a few years and is now undergoing harsh training against powerful monsters in the Aokigahara Life Sea. That’s all I know.”

“Hmm… Do you know where Tsukahara Boku Ten or Miyamoto Musashi are?”

“Tsukahara Boku Ten entered the Life Sea with the Grandmaster. And Miyamoto Musashi is said to be teaching swordsmanship in Kumamoto.”

“I see. You’re quite well-informed about the whereabouts of the great swordsmen.”

When I somewhat praised Yagyu Munenori, he wore a bewildered expression.

“What do you mean? Great swordsman?”

“……?”

“Miyamoto Musashi is not someone you could call a great swordsman. He has considerable skill, but he can’t be compared to the Grandmaster.”

“You mean he’s not at the Peak Expert level?”

“The Grandmaster once said that he gained strength through an exceptional secret technique but remained a second-rate swordsman who could never aspire to greater heights.”

“……”

It seemed Miyamoto Musashi’s reputation was heavily inflated. Judging from how Munenori dismissed him, there appeared to be something deeply wrong with Musashi’s persona as merely a prodigal swordsman who seemed to be living off of praise.

After obtaining some additional information from Munenori, I left the Yagyu clan. Utilizing the Light Body Technique, I quickly exited Edo City and briefly recounted what I’d learned from Dokgo Seong. He grumbled bluntly.

“Are you telling me that was Dongyoung’s acclaimed swordsman?”

“Yes. He’s probably the best of his time.”

“What a joke.”

Dokgo Seong’s scornful expression didn’t betray any kind of arrogance—he simply had every right to feel that way. In his eyes, there was no distinction between low-level experts and mere insects.

“Anyway, we must head to the Aokigahara Life Sea.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

Two moments later, we arrived at the entrance of the Aokigahara Life Sea. As soon as we got there, Dokgo Seong seemed to sense a strong energy and dashed off somewhere.

Tydaht!

Moments later, I found Dokgo Seong in front of a building, facing two middle-aged swordsmen. There were two swordsmen in their forties or fifties, tense and drawing their swords.

Ka-kang!

Dokgo Seong casually flicked his sword, and in the blink of an eye, the two swordsmen barely managed to defend themselves. He maintained a leisurely pace, claiming the space, while the swordsmen focused their intent entirely on deflecting his attacks.

The tussle lasted for about thirty seconds.

Dokgo Seong stopped attacking and muttered,

“For barbarians, they’re not too bad. I liked that.”

I stepped forward beside Dokgo Seong and bowed to the two swordsmen.

“Kamizumi Nobutsuna, Tsukahara Boku Ten. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Indeed, Dokgo Seong and the swordsmen he had just sparred with were none other than the acclaimed sword saints of Dongyoung. These individuals had achieved the extraordinary level of their arts on their own in a region where extraordinary masters were few and far between. I particularly knew Kamizumi Nobutsuna well from our past encounters in a previous life.

“Who are you? You must be extraordinary warriors…”

Kamizumi Nobutsuna inquired.

“We are masters of the Thunder God Lineage from the continent. This is Dokgo Seong, and I am Baek Woong.”

I deliberately introduced myself as part of the Thunder God Lineage rather than the Shadowless Gate for ease of conversation.

Kamizumi Nobutsuna was taken aback.

“Dokgo Seong?!”

He hurriedly lowered his head to greet Dokgo Seong clumsily but in Central Plains vernacular.

“It’s been a while. Nice to see you, Dokgo Seong.”

Dokgo Seong seemed bewildered by the unexpected greeting from the top swordsman of Dongyoung, but also recognized the unique tone of the dialect from the Thunder God lineage. It was evident he realized Nobutsuna was familiar with the White Lotus Sect.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Kamizumi Nobutsuna. More than a hundred years ago, I visited the Thunder God lineage. You guided me on that occasion.”

“Ahhh…”

Dokgo Seong stared at him for a long moment before his expression brightened.

“So, you are that Dongyoung warrior! No wonder your face seems familiar.”

“……”

I watched their reunion in disbelief.

Kamizumi Nobutsuna mentioned that he had visited the Thunder God lineage as a young man over a hundred years ago. He had shared his reflections on the Four Great Families with me back then. Who would have thought the one who introduced him to the Thunder God lineage would be Dokgo Seong!

‘How old is he?!’

Dokgo Seong still appeared to be a middle-aged man, but without a doubt, he must have lived an incredibly long life. As I gazed at their reunion in awe, Tsukahara Boku Ten, who stood beside Nobutsuna, said,

“We were just cooking. Would you like to join us for a meal?”

“Why not?”

And so, we joined the great swordsmen for a meal. It was a simple spread of rice and vegetables. Kamizumi Nobutsuna asked,

“What brings you all the way to this demon realm?”

“I heard that the Dharma Protector of the main text entered here, and that’s why we came. He went in searching for something called the Lunar Kill Technique.”

Upon hearing that, both sword saints paused their meal and exchanged glances.

“That person…”

“Have you seen him?”

Tsukahara Boku Ten stood up and moved toward a large wall. He pulled a piece of paper that had been concealing the wall, revealing what seemed to be characters written with the power of martial arts. Tsukahara Boku Ten stated,

“This building serves as a forward base to enter the Life Sea. It has protective barriers to block the invasion of great demons, as well as a mental defense barrier. This was built by a master who challenged the Life Sea before us, and he left behind his aspirations here.”

On the wall were concise sentences written in the language of the Central Plains.

[ I will find the Lunar Kill Technique and kill the Master! ]

“……”

“Although we don’t quite understand what this means, it’s clear someone entered the Life Sea searching for the Lunar Kill Technique. And he lived here while fighting demons, undergoing martial training.”

Needless to say,

The Dharma Protector of the Thunder God lineage and one of the Thunderbolt Three Saints! Cheongwol!

He must have built this very structure and ventured into the Aokigahara Life Sea in search of the absolute martial art known as the Lunar Kill Technique.

 

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