786 ——————————–

True Martial Home

The 25th life had begun.

I was lying in the barn, just staring blankly for a while.

‘What is this…?’

It’s so disappointing.

It was my first time gathering all Seven Luminaries, and I had just challenged the trials, overcoming even the most challenging trial of the Sun. I thought I would finally meet the Emperor and make significant progress in my path, but who would’ve guessed that sacrificing the Six Needs would prevent me from reaching the “next stage” of consciousness and end up being a failure!

No, that’s not the real issue. The issue is whether I could challenge the Seven Luminaries again and achieve those results. Gathering the Six Needs on Earth itself came with tremendous difficulty and luck, so no matter how hard I try this life, the likelihood of achieving it is quite low. Moreover, without the Blessing of the Sky, my chances of overcoming the powers of the Heavenly Mysterious Woman and Shenglong, the final guardian of the Sun, are almost non-existent.

Should I give up on gathering all Seven Luminaries?

I simply couldn’t find an answer and ended up blankly staring into space, feeling hopeless.

Moo-

After a while like that, a cow from the barn, Golden, came over and nudged my side.

“…Thanks.”

As I petted Golden’s head, I suddenly felt a melancholic thought.

‘This guy is the only one who’s been on my side since the first life.’

Someday, I should let Golden live comfortably…

But as it stands, every living being is just going into the Ruler’s belly without any cycle of reincarnation, so it hardly matters who I take care of in this life. Now that I’ve come this far, the only way left is to get rid of the gods and settle this.

Then, a sudden thought about reincarnation crossed my mind.

Why do humans need the Underworld?

Why must humans be reborn after dying?

It might be a silly thought, but for someone like me who has seen the Underworld, death, the cycle of life and death, and the divine powers, it became a realistic question. Of course, if there were no reincarnation system, the living beings would be in the belly of the Old Ruler after death as it is now, but then I pondered, why must life be repeated at all?

Some might envy me for endlessly repeating life because of the Heavenly Secret, but I certainly don’t feel that way. The tasks I have to complete are so overwhelmingly difficult that I don’t have the luxury to think about it—endless life is practically a curse. Even if I were to enjoy unimaginable bliss in the human world for thousands of years, my perspective wouldn’t change.

Humans are best off just living once and then dying.

I just have to get things done…

Thinking of life rolling on like a cart gets tedious. Even I, who gained privileges through the Heavenly Secret, feel this way, so ordinary humans with memories of their past lives would initially rejoice but eventually scream in anguish due to the harsh curse of it all.

Yet, I can’t understand why the great existences of ancient times made such a system of ‘reincarnation’ in the first place. Can’t they just let us die once and end it all?

‘Should I just ask?’

While contemplating reincarnation, I suddenly changed my mind. So, unlike how I’ve been escaping from the Soeul Village all along, I headed straight for the village chief’s house.

Tydaht

Using the Soul Removal Technique, I arrived at the chief’s house almost instantly. It was the middle of the night, so everyone in his large household was fast asleep. It had been a while since I was here, so I looked around briefly before opening the chief’s door and stepping inside.

Creeeak

“……”

The chief was sleeping with Mrs. Seo, naked and cuddling. Since Mrs. Seo was the chief’s concubine, this was somewhat expected. It was unlikely the main wife would overlook such a thing, but the chief’s power kept everyone in agreement about it. Of course, I didn’t care about that, so I suppressed Mrs. Seo’s blood to make her sleep deeper and gently slapped the chief’s cheek to wake him up.

“Wake up.”

“Uh…Huh? Cow Dung?”

The chief was about to scream loudly upon waking, but I pressed down on his pressure points, preventing him from making a sound. Realizing that he couldn’t move well, his eyes started rolling in panic. The chief spoke in a trembling voice.

“Wh-What are you doing? You’re not planning to…”

“I won’t kill you, so put on some clothes and follow me. I have something to ask.”

As I spoke, I picked up a nearby steel ornament. Infusing my internal power into it, I twisted it like taffy and set it ablaze using the True Martial Home technique.

“Let’s be clear. It’d be better if you don’t make a fuss.”

“Huh….”

Seeming to realize I was a martial arts expert, the chief quickly dressed. I pulled him by the scruff and used the Light Body Technique to ascend a nearby high hill. Trembling in the cold wind at the top of the hill overlooking the village, the chief knelt before me.

“Oh no!! Cow Dung, I was wrong! Please… just save my life!”

“…There’s no need for that. I hold no grudge against you at the moment.”

It’s because I’ve already killed you once.

As my voice turned incredibly dry, the chief seemed to catch on to something strange and slowly lifted his head. Upon realizing with his instinctive intuition that I held no grudge, his expression shifted to one of deeper suspicion. I continued to speak slowly.

“Chief, you know about my parents, right?”

“Y-Yes, of course. Did you come to ask about your parents?”

“You’ve avoided mentioning them for a long time. Why is that?”

“…….”

The chief was hesitant before speaking.

“It wouldn’t do any good to tell you, and it’s not important to me…”

“I see. Then, did you have feelings of guilt about my parents?”

This was something I had learned in my second life when I pressed the chief. He had claimed he felt guilty for not taking me in since my parents had difficulties.

“I did…”

“Why did you feel guilty? According to you, my parents were just ordinary farmers.”

The chief hesitated under my relentless questioning.

“When I was young, your father once saved me from drowning in a pond…”

“…That’s a new one. You didn’t make that up, did you?”

“No! Your father and I were about the same age, and while we were drinking together, I slipped and fell in, and your father saved me.”

“That’s just a kindness, isn’t it? There’s no reason to feel guilty about that.”

“Umm, well…”

The chief avoided my gaze but seemed to suddenly realize something. With a trembling voice, he spoke.

“W-What are you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not the Cow Dung I know…. That look in your eyes… who are you, really?”

“……?”

The chief’s sudden shift in demeanor was a bit baffling. Just a moment ago he was terrified that Cow Dung was out for revenge, but now he seemed to face a complete unknown monstrosity with fear.

Is it due to his life experience that he can feel such intense strangeness from just my gaze and tone?

I said to the chief,

“Right. I’m not Cow Dung; I have the name Baek Woong. And honestly, you just feel like a bug to me, so I don’t even feel like dealing with you. I don’t even feel any grudge.”

“……!!”

“Let’s get back to the point. Why did you feel guilty?”

“…He saved my life, but when he was poor later, I didn’t lend him any money…”

“What?”

“Th-That’s all there is to it. The plague in the village has nothing to do with me. I just felt guilty for not lending him money…”

Even in my childhood memory, it was so painfully poor that it seemed my father had gone to the chief to borrow money, but had been turned down.

“Why didn’t you lend him money?”

“Because I was afraid…. He was poor, and I didn’t think I’d get it back.”

“Haah…”

I sighed in exasperation.

Is that really all it was?

‘… I don’t have any secrets about my birth. I was just Cow Dung of Soeul Village.’

Now, confirming that fact made me feel empty.

So many divine beings and transcendent entities treat me like some significant existence, leading me to expect that perhaps my father or distant ancestors might have been extraordinary too. I even thought I could grow stronger with the hidden power of my bloodline.

Yet, my father was just an ordinary farmer, and the chief felt guilty for not lending him money after he saved him! Sure, that guy was a bit of a scoundrel, but it’s a typical human relationship and grudge found in ordinary society. My parents were truly just ordinary people.

I said to the chief,

“Forget about that; if reincarnation really exists in this world, what would you do?”

“Uh, if possible, I’d try to live… kindly.”

“Why?”

“If I live well this time, I’ll be rewarded in the next life…”

“Then is that why you threaten the pretty ladies with your power, and bully the poor farmers, and do bad things because you think there’s no reincarnation?”

“Well, that….”

The chief hesitated, then said.

“Since it’s just one life and you die, why go through the trouble of living kindly? It’s best to live comfortably and enjoyably…”

“…….”

While listening to the story, I didn’t quite see the chief as an irredeemable villain. The truth is, I used to have a mindset just like the chief’s before I met Mangnyang. I desired to become a martial arts master, searching for Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng to indulge in and living how I wanted. Just lacking talent meant I kept hitting walls, which eventually led to an understanding of the feelings of losers and the weak, awakening a desire to save the world.

No, it wasn’t just the chief; most humans living in this Central Plains continent probably shared the same thought. Wanting to live a fun and enjoyable life just once is a fundamental mindset of the Central Plains People and a form of earthly belief.

I felt a sense of clarity in my mind. Then I spoke.

“Chief, it’s best to keep what we talked about today a secret and bury it in your mind.”

I slowly said this while placing a finger on his forehead. Simultaneously, I began to activate the Soul Exchange Technique to dominate his consciousness.

“You’ll find it hard to remember.”

Using the Soul Exchange Technique, I muddled his memory and put him back in place before leaving Soeul Village. Then I recalled the last words of Zhuge Sa in my head.

[Baek Woong. Do you understand? Once you’ve pulled the singularity, your tasks for the next life are fixed.]

I remembered that previously, right before challenging Shenglong, Zhuge Sa had said in a fit of anger.

[Once the next life begins, quickly gather what you need and come to me directly. Not Mangnyang, me!]

[Why?]

[According to your past memories, the singularity resides in Aokigahara Life Sea. That means in the next life, you won’t have time to do anything else; as soon as your 25th life starts, you must be ready to challenge Aokigahara Life Sea.]

[… Hmm, I see! But does it matter if I drop by to see Mangnyang first?]

I argued like this, but Zhuge Sa replied.

[No. Just you and me dying is enough.]

[… What?]

Zhuge Sa said with a solemn gaze.

[You see, I don’t have time to explain. But anyway, you’d better come to me first. Don’t ever break this promise.]

[… Understood.]

Recalling Zhuge Sa’s words, I quickly blended the Earth-shifting Technique with the Light Body Technique, gathering the Heavenly Secret and then obtaining the Golden Lamp. As soon as I got the Golden Lamp, I headed toward Jangryeong Valley where Zhuge Sa was.

Pa-at!

The moment I arrived at Jangryeong Valley, I could see Zhuge Sa. He seemed to be preparing for a demon ritual, and I shouted at him.

“Zhuge Sa! I’m a Reborn Person. Accept my memories!”

Zhuge Sa stroked his chin and said,

“You’re crazy…. Can’t you just go out and die?”

“……”

I had no words, but I persuaded Zhuge Sa to stir his curiosity so that he would accept the obsidian. Once he absorbed the obsidian with his memories, he seemed to be sorting through a lot of memories right there and then. He then said,

“Haah… it really is me. It looks like I have no choice but to use that method.”

“What method? Did you guess it?”

“The plan my previous self wanted to execute was probably this.”

Zhuge Sa said with a crazed smile.

“To annihilate Aokigahara Life Sea, no matter what means or methods are used….”