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Yeodong-bin found himself in a mysterious space, suddenly face-to-face with an infinite spiral that completely filled his vision. And there were so many spirals that it became impossible to quantify them with any number he knew.

Yet, each of those spirals was distinctly different, buzzing and spinning in place, each vibrating with its own subtle difference.

Between the infinite spirals floated countless weapons. What on earth was this spectacle?

Yeodong-bin searched for the owner of this space, confusion etched on his face, but time passed without revealing a plausible figure. With no other options, he decided to explore the area, reaching out towards the nearest spiral.

Swish…

The spiral suddenly unraveled at an incredible speed and engulfed Yeodong-bin.

Trapped within the spiral, he felt a terrifying expansion of consciousness happening at breakneck speed, and he screamed in panic.

[ Aaaah! ]

How many times had hell and heaven alternated in his experience?

At the end of his despair, he heard someone calling out to him.

[ Can you… hear me…? ]

The sound grew louder, resonating as if echoing from the depths of the universe.

In his mind’s eye, a colossal white giant seemed to reach out toward him.

[ Until we meet again… ]

Then Yeodong-bin lost consciousness.

[ … In fact, I barely remember our first meeting. It ended in a haze of unclear thoughts tied to a name I swore to remember.]

He continued to speak.

[ However, I definitely recall our subsequent encounters.]

[ So why is it… ]

[ Because I cannot fully trust you, Dharma Protector. As I mentioned, this memory is a key tied to significant secrets, and therefore cannot be carelessly revealed.]

[ …… ]

It seemed that the secret Yeodong-bin was protecting regarding the Martial God was more significant than anticipated. If this Martial God was indeed of the caliber of the Old Ruler, it was understandable why such secrets were kept. After all, Yeodong-bin would hold back his secrets unless he understood mine.

As I pondered, the scene around me suddenly shifted.

“… Ugh.”

Yeodong-bin found himself kneeling in a corner of a shrine. He had just undergone a monumental encounter with the Martial God, and he could sense that the martial obstacles that had previously blocked his path had momentarily cleared. However, an overwhelming sense of mental fatigue hit him, and despite being a master of the Absolute Realm, he was desperate to collapse and lose consciousness.

Before him appeared the dark avatar of Master Mangnyang. This avatar wore the same cold expression as before, yet this time it did not radiate malevolence or chaos. The avatar looked down at Yeodong-bin and asked.

[ How did it feel to meet ‘him’? ]

“… I can’t talk about it.”

[ I thought so. The law of cause and effect is in play.]

Master Mangnyang replied as if already knowing the answer, and picked up a lizard’s tail resting in the shrine. Though it was just a tiny tail, barely the width of a finger, Mangnyang suddenly posed a question to Yeodong-bin.

[ Yeodong-bin, if you could choose again, would you kill that Imugi? ]

“No.”

Yeodong-bin wiped the redness from his bulging eyes and stood up. For an ordinary human, the fatigue would be enough to faint dozens of times; however, as a master of the Absolute Realm, he was holding strong.

“I will save the Imugi and leave Master Mangnyang’s side.”

[ I see. Now that you are connected to the Martial God, I suppose my assistance is no longer needed? ]

Master Mangnyang teased, but Yeodong-bin shook his head.

“You know that’s not the case.”

[ Really? ]

When asked again, Yeodong-bin fell silent for a moment before he replied.

“You said that to gods, there is no good or evil. Therefore, similarly, for those humans who would defeat the gods, there must exist something beyond good and evil. However… the further away from human standards, the more it leads to a broader sense of evil. After all, they are beings that humans cannot understand.”

[ Hmmm. ]

“There may have been someone in history who chose the opposite of the opposite. However, I just realized that path is not one I can take.”

Master Mangnyang pondered Yeodong-bin’s words with a serious expression before eventually responding.

[ Excellent. Now that you have obtained enlightenment, you are truly qualified to be called a Sword Saint.]

“Master Mangnyang.”

[ After being born with the Demon Mask, the one who is destined to walk the path of the Sword Demon has overcome his fate.]

If Yeodong-bin had heard such words from an ordinary human, even if spoken by the world’s greatest master, he would have inwardly scoffed. Who could dare judge Yeodong-bin and evaluate his fame? Not even the Emperor of the great Dragon Empire could do that. Yet, Yeodong-bin felt an immense sense of fulfillment from the acknowledgment given by the Master standing before him.

Whoosh!

At that moment, the lizard’s tail in Master Mangnyang’s hand began to glow and vanished. Shortly after, a heavy sound echoed from outside the shrine.

Boom…

Yeodong-bin turned around. Seeing Master Mangnyang show no reaction, he hurried outside, only to be met with an unbelievable sight.

“…!!”

The Imugi! The gigantic 2,000-year-old Imugi he had just beheaded stood right in front of the shrine. There was no trace of the beheading, and no matter how he looked at it, this was no illusion. Seeing the living Imugi threw Yeodong-bin into a momentary state of bewilderment.

How could the Imugi he had slain be standing there, fully alive?

Before he could ponder for long, the Imugi looked up to the sky.

Whoooosh!

The Imugi’s body began to rise into the air, scaling upwards. The coarse, fierce scales attached to its body began to shed, replaced quickly by beautiful, smooth scales of a Fire Dragon, creating a scene that looked like a new dragon was being born.

At the same time, the sky split open. The clouds dispersed, revealing the vast entrance of the celestial realm. Numerous Earth Immortals and Celestials gathered, celebrating the new dragon’s birth, awaiting the Imugi’s ascension!

As Yeodong-bin stood there in a daze, the Imugi turned its gaze toward him.

[ Thank you, Sword Saint. Because of your enlightenment, Master Mangnyang has allowed me to ascend.]

The tone was incredibly respectful.

“… I am.”

At that moment, Yeodong-bin felt his face flush and suddenly grasped what he had just done. Had the Imugi been angry, he wouldn’t have felt such emotions.

The heavenly music resounded throughout the village. The Imugi had fully transformed its physical form into the Heavenly Dragon and had seemingly converted all its latent demonic power into divine power. Witnessing the complete Heavenly Dragon with his own eyes, Yeodong-bin realized that even if he fought it, there was no guarantee he could win. The difference between a true dragon and an Imugi was as vast as the heavens and the earth.

[ Sword Saint! Please fulfill your destiny. I shall also be cheering for you from the heavens.]

Swoosh!

After a moment, the ritual of ascending the dragon concluded, and the entrance to the celestial realm closed. Yeodong-bin was filled with a mix of emptiness and excitement as he stared vacantly at the sky, and at that moment, Master Mangnyang walked over slowly and spoke to him.

[ I read the law of causality and foresaw that you would visit.]

“Then…”

[ I had a bet with that Imugi. It was obvious that no matter how much training he underwent, his ascension was a far-off dream, so he agreed to the bet. The condition was that your answer after meeting him would determine his ascension.]

“……”

[ That guy got lucky. He won the bet, so despite not being qualified to become a true dragon by Queen Mother’s standards, I managed to pressure her into making him one.]

Yeodong-bin was desperate to ask Master Mangnyang one thing.

So was slaying him the right answer? Or was it sparing him the right answer? Why had his choice turned out to be right?

‘… No, there’s no need for that.’

Yeodong-bin suddenly realized that the choice itself held no grand meaning; it ultimately came down to whether he could find his answer regarding great desire and sacrifice. Had Yeodong-bin faced the Martial God and claimed that trivial sacrifices were inevitable for the greater good, that would have been his failure. The meaning was clearly evident in what Master Mangnyang was conveying.

And this fact implied another possibility. Yeodong-bin forgot his mental fatigue and firmly looked into Master Mangnyang’s eyes.

“Master, you didn’t expect that I would change my mind.”

Exactly. A bet requires opposing choices to be placed. In this instance, the choice for ascension favored the Imugi, and naturally, Master Mangnyang had to bet on Yeodong-bin’s failure.

As Yeodong-bin spoke, Master Mangnyang merely wore a slight smile, yet Yeodong-bin felt a chill. He realized that this entity before him had no genuine concern for good or evil, merely observing the world with an endless calmness. Master Mangnyang displayed little expectation for humanity.

Yeodong-bin suddenly felt something strange and said,

“But that Imugi should have been killed by me. How is he alive?”

[ …… ]

“Did you by any chance forcefully reclaim its soul from the Underworld and resurrect its body?”

To Yeodong-bin’s inquiry, Master Mangnyang replied.

[ I wouldn’t go through such a hassle. I merely brought forth the possibility that he was still alive and manifested it. No matter how slight the chance, it ultimately hinges on whether it is observable or not.]

[ ……? ]

[ If a causal law is established between him and me in our bet, I can do anything. The universe’s causality automatically aligns with the possibilities I bring forth. Neither souls nor bodies are particularly special in this universe…]

Master Mangnyang said in a tone that felt nihilistic.

[ You’ll be tired, so it’s better to start heading off. I will send you to someone who can help you.]

“Thank you for the help.”

[ Since you have the merit of helping that Imugi ascend, a shrine will be established for you in this village.]

Whoosh!

In the next moment, Yeodong-bin realized he had been transported to an entirely new location he had never seen before. He remained cautious of his surroundings, but shortly after, someone approached him.

“Are you the Sword Saint Yeodong-bin?”

In the place Yeodong-bin appeared, five phantoms stood. Or rather, he could say he had intruded into their domain. And as he faced them, he realized that four of them were peerless masters whom even he could not carelessly confront. The only exception was a beautiful woman who seemed to wield techniques of magic, holding a mystical artifact, and she did not exude the powerful pressure one would expect of a martial artist.

Yeodong-bin looked at them and soon recognized a familiar face.

“You are the Dharma Protector of the Thunder God Lineage.”

The one who met his gaze smiled brightly and said,

“I am now the Master of the White Lotus Sect. I won first place in the recent sect leader election.”

“Is this the main sect of the White Lotus?”

“Indeed. To have arrived here so suddenly, you truly are the Sword Saint. I, Lee Gun-ak, am impressed.”

The unexpected location where Yeodong-bin had appeared was the Hall of the Sect Leader of the White Lotus Sect. The Dharma Protector of the Thunder God Lineage, Lee Gun-ak, from their previous encounter on Mount Ye, had now become the sect leader, with fellow Dharma Protectors of the Thunder God’s Four Great Families lined up at his side.

‘Why on earth did Master Mangnyang send me here?’

Under normal circumstances, Yeodong-bin would not be afraid of the White Lotus Sect, but the aftermath of his encounter with the Martial God had severely drained his mental and physical energy. He was in a state where a careless move could lead to his death in a conflict with the masters of the White Lotus Sect. Yet, since Master Mangnyang said he sent him to those who could help, he couldn’t make light of that intent.

As Yeodong-bin contemplated what to do, Sect Leader Lee Gun-ak turned to the woman beside him.

“Priestess, can you discern how he managed to arrive here?”

The woman called Priestess replied with apprehension.

“I just performed a divination, and it appears we must comply with the Sword Saint’s request.”

“What do you mean?”

She trembled slightly, as if sensing something terrifying, and spoke.

“An unimaginable being continues to overturn the results of the divination. It insists that whoever appears before us must be aided. Yeodong-bin is under the protection of that being. I never thought such an existence capable of bending fate would exist…”

“Hmm… Is that so!”

Lee Gun-ak murmured, and then, with a tone of resignation, said,

“Sword Saint, whether you knew or not, I feel sorry for having turned down the request for assistance from the Eight Immortals not long ago. However, I never imagined you would come to press us with such tremendous backing. There was no ill intent, so I hope you won’t take offense.”

[ …… ]

Something felt wrong. And as Yeodong-bin began to comprehend the situation, he nodded.

“No, there is no offense. I hope you can join the fight against the Dragon of the Apocalypse to save the world.”

“Huh… It can’t be helped.”

Lee Gun-ak smiled bitterly.

“The Priestess’s divination skills are absolute. If she says that, we have no choice…”

“I’ve traveled long and am weary; can you provide a place to rest?”

“We will immediately attend to the noble guest.”

This was a gift from Master Mangnyang for Yeodong-bin, who was about to face the Dae-Ryong. Realizing that the power of the Eight Immortals alone wouldn’t be enough to fight the Dragon of the Apocalypse, Master Mangnyang had taken direct action to ensure he could borrow the strength of the sect leader and the Dharma Protectors of the White Lotus Sect.

 

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