804——————==

True Martial Home

Zhuge Bu looked no older than a twenty-something, despite being in his forties, thanks to his internal power halting the aging process. As soon as I saw him, I fiddled with the suspicious fishhook hidden in my pocket, ready to contact Zhuge Sa.

……

‘No response…’

I sent my will towards the suspicious fishhook Zhuge Sa possessed, but there was nothing. It was a big deal since Zhuge Sa was a master of the Soul Exchange Technique and needed that fishhook to communicate with me. I had been so wrapped up in my training lately that it only struck me now.

While I sat in silence, Zhuge Bu spoke up.

“Don’t you trust me?”

“It’s weirder to trust a stranger I’ve never met before.”

I shook my head slightly, but Zhuge Bu remained unmoved.

“I’ve already heard that you’re a reborn person. There’s no need to play dumb.”

“Who told you that? What did you hear?”

“I met Zhuge Sa and the leader of the Bancheon Alliance. I heard about your past life from them, and I found their story believable.”

“I still can’t trust you.”

Even though we promised to share the obsidian in our previous lives, that was conditional on circumstances, and Zhuge Bu was basically a high-ranking officer in the Imperial Palace. I couldn’t help but suspect he was trying to mislead and suppress me.

Zhuge Bu continued, “If you think that way, there’s nothing I can say. Truth be told, I wanted to test you anyway.”

“What?”

Zhuge Bu slowly raised his hand. Suddenly, I felt a presence materializing from all around us, and I realized there were over a hundred unknown entities closing in. As I glanced around the forest surrounding the manor, I could see figures in black cloaks lurking and advancing toward me.

Bang!!

In an instant, the closest man in black lunged at me, trying to strike my solar plexus with the momentum of the unity of body and sword technique. His attack was clean and precise, with sword qi that was impressive—good enough to be acknowledged even in Jianghu. Skill-wise, he was on par with the leader of the middle and small sects, at least.

Swoosh

But I calmly placed my finger against the tip of his blade using Tai Chi, redirecting his sword qi, then flipped the very fabric of space to knock him out in a single hit. My strike at the acupoint was instantaneous, and before he fully registered what happened, he lost consciousness. As for the attackers, they seemed too slow to notice the strange situation involving their lead assailant.

Three Treasure Technique

Like clouds flowing over the earth, my body effortlessly moved within five paces, creating clones that erupted out toward each enemy. The clones also used Tai Chi to easily subdue the attackers, while I continued walking forward, tossing three foes down with each step.

Tai Chi

Wuwei Technique

Anyone within the space of my martial art couldn’t utilize any internal power or techniques to resist the flow of Tai Chi; they were drained of strength. This was the effect of practicing the Peerless Technique, causing lower-tier enemies who tried to exert their power to get caught up in its flow, unable to even regain their own balance.

Those who fell under the influence of Wuwei naturally floated in mid-air, followed by the sound of thuds as the individuals subdued by my acupoint technique hit the ground.

Boom

Boom

“Ugh… Ugh…”

“Monster…”

Within just three breaths, the seventy black-cloaked figures that swarmed toward me were all subdued, writhing on the ground. There were over ten peak experts among them, with the rest being above average, but for me, it was just a second’s worth of effort. None were dead, and not a single one was seriously injured.

Zhuge Bu, observing the scene of dozens laid out in a Tai Chi formation, stiffened.

“Peerless Master level…”

I was holding onto one of the assailants’ wrists and irately tossed him to the ground, saying, “What in the world are you doing? If, as you say, I’m a reborn person, what do you get from doing this?”

“…I was thinking about the possibility that Zhuge Sa had tricked me. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Zhuge Bu bowed his head to me. It was surprising to see him do that, but knowing his true nature, I felt little impact. After all, he was the type of cunning fox who would do anything for his own goals, so bowing wasn’t a big deal.

I coldly replied, “Sorry, but I can’t trust you right now, so I refuse. If you truly want the obsidian, you’ll need to explain the situation more.”

“Hmm, fine.”

Zhuge Bu opened his mouth.

“For the past ten years, the Bancheon Alliance has continuously obstructed our Imperial Palace’s plans, causing us to repeatedly waste our efforts. Then, the Bancheon Alliance secretly requested to meet me. I attended that meeting, where I heard the ‘truth’ from Zhuge Sa. I found his words credible, which is why I came to find you.”

“Aren’t those guys from the Golden Eagle Guard? You’re really claiming credibility?”

“They aren’t from the Golden Eagle Guard. They’re a secret group I’ve raised called the Arang Corps. With their skills, they could probably wipe out one of the Nine Great Sects with a plan.”

While Zhuge Bu stared coldly at the fallen warriors, he continued, “If what you say about being a reborn person is true, it wouldn’t be unusual for me to abandon the Imperial Palace and side with you. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“You’re saying you came here ready to betray your father, Zhuge Yulong?”

“Betrayal or not, if the reborn is my enemy, it becomes meaningless. Moreover, if your strength surpasses mine, I have no choice.”

“……”

He was right. I had avoided getting involved in events until now, but if I wanted to, I could deal with Zhuge Bu in a day, even from the start of my rebirth. However, the situation was big enough that I didn’t feel the need to deal with just one guy.

I looked at Zhuge Bu and asked, “Can you promise me? That you won’t betray me.”

“If I could betray you, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.”

“I know that. But I want you to make the promise with your own mouth.”

“… I won’t betray you.”

“Good.”

I nodded and handed the obsidian to Zhuge Bu. As I transferred my memories, he trembled for a moment.

“Ugh…!! No way… This can’t be.”

Zhuge Bu seemed shocked not just from hearing I was a reborn person, but by the amount and content of the memories. He staggered for a moment, grabbing his temple, then lowered his voice to say, “… Follow me. We need to rescue Zhuge Sa.”

“What?! What do you mean?”

“Uh… I need to explain the situation first. You’re my lord now.”

He glanced at me with an unhappy expression before speaking, “The incident began about seven nights ago when I responded to a meeting at Zhuge Sa’s request. He revealed that I was intended to be a reborn ally and that you were a reborn person. Naturally, I wanted to dismiss it as nonsense, but Zhuge Sa brought multiple pieces of evidence that I had no choice but to believe…”

“……”

“But right at that moment, a third party intervened, and both the Imperial Palace and the Bancheon Alliance suffered catastrophic damage. I barely managed to escape, but the Golden Eagle Guard was annihilated, and the leader of the Bancheon Alliance went missing, seemingly kidnapped along with Zhuge Sa.”

“A third party…? Kidnapped?!”

Zhuge Bu nodded.

“The enemy is incredibly powerful. And the current unfolding situation exceeds the limits of my abilities… Thus, I came to find you after much contemplation.”

I was baffled by the rapid development of events.

‘I’m definitely under the protection of Zhongli Quan’s favor?!’

That favor was to prevent fate from spiraling out of control and allow for concentration on training. So why were the Imperial Palace and the Bancheon Alliance experiencing such a catastrophic event, completely opposite to that?

Could it be that the favor’s effectiveness had already waned?

While I was in deep thought, I asked Zhuge Bu, “Who’s this third party? Is it the White Lotus Sect or the Twelve Joules?”

“No. If it were those guys, I wouldn’t have used the term third party. They truly are a separate entity.”

“Who are they?”

Zhuge Bu’s next words widened my eyes.

“The Westerners!”

“……?!”

“The Western demon sorcerers attacked in unison, and we couldn’t handle it. Their appearance caught us completely off guard…”

Western demon sorcerers?!

When he said “the West,” I immediately recognized them. The West had become entirely engulfed in demonic practices, and their level of sorcery was vastly superior to ours in the East, both in quantity and quality. If such beings launched an assault, it made sense for both the Imperial Palace and the Bancheon Alliance to fall, but that wasn’t the problem.

‘Why?’

Why are the Westerners getting involved in this situation?

‘Lack of variables!’

Throughout my past lives, there were plenty of situations where the Imperial Palace and the Bancheon Alliance clashed, and most just dragged on without resolution. The most similar scenario was the tenth cycle where I, alongside Miho, traveled through Goryeo and eventually perished with the Wind Spirit Sect’s Dharma Guardian, Yongbi Cheon. The timing and circumstances were the closest, and during that time, I didn’t remember the West invading Jianghu at all.

Besides, I had mostly holed up in Sichuan focused solely on martial arts training, with only a bit of treasure collected; I hadn’t interfered with the world in any way. I hadn’t provided any variables to affect the world.

So why?

Seeing my confusion, Zhuge Bu said, “I know why. Because you did nothing, the situation from your past life has changed.”

“……”

I sat in silence, glaring at him, saying, “You said that seven nights have passed since the incident. So why did you come looking for me, instead of consulting your father, Zhuge Yulong, about how to defeat the Westerners?”

“That’s a rather foolish question. Do I seem like someone who blindly obeys my father’s commands?”

Zhuge Bu retorted as though he found it absurd.

“I’m no fool. I’ve known for a while that my father was trying to use me for some grand plan. However, since I hadn’t yet suffered any harm from his actions, I simply went along with it… But now that I know you’re a reborn person, blindly relying on the Imperial Palace forces would be the height of folly.”

“So you didn’t inform your father about my situation?”

“Of course not. There was nothing to gain from doing so.”

“You said Zhuge Sa was kidnapped; do you know where he’s being held?”

In response to my question, Zhuge Bu said, “Peng Zuo took him. I have a rough idea of the location.”

“Peng Zuo?! How do you know his identity?”

“Until just before receiving the obsidian, I had no idea. But once I took in the memories from the obsidian, it became clear that there’s no one else fitting that description— a Great Immortal who employs Western sorcery and uses many treasures.”

“Hmm. So Peng Zuo… stormed the meeting place.”

Peng Zuo was an ancient figure who conspired with Chi You to betray the Eastern celestial realms and had fled to the West with numerous treasures, becoming a Great Immortal and a descendant of the Gods. He was the leader of the Western demon sorcerers, wielding immense power and currently threatening the Golden Eagle Guard’s sealed place, trying to seize their treasures.

However, it seemed he had only focused on the Golden Eagle Guard so far, showing little interest in the East, which is why I hadn’t learned of his presence until well after my rebirth.

I couldn’t help but ponder, “Could it be that Peng Zuo has the Golden Eagle?”

I shut my eyes tightly as this thought crossed my mind.

“Yes. Looking back now, that shining pearl… must have been the Golden Eagle.”

“Damn it!”

He actually got his hands on the Golden Eagle!

‘The sealed place, Paliyas, has been breached!’

There was no way around it! If the already powerful Peng Zuo acquired the Golden Eagle and attacked with dozens of high-ranking demon sorcerers, there was no chance of victory!

I was dumbfounded by the sudden emergence of Peng Zuo as an enemy, but I quickly regained my composure and said to Zhuge Bu, “You mentioned that you know where Zhuge Sa was taken. Where is it?”

“Hainan City has been occupied by Western forces for over a year now. The millions of people living there are currently under the West’s control.”

“… I didn’t know.”

I gave Zhuge Bu a puzzled look as he continued, “In the South Sea, an enormous, pitch-black fleet hovers that you’ve never seen in the human world before. According to my informants, it seems Zhuge Sa was taken within that fleet.”

“……”

A fleet.

It definitely had to have been constructed using the West’s latest sorcery. And within it were bound to be sorcery soldiers and demon sorcerers, likely the temporary stronghold chosen by Peng Zuo. It was undoubtedly a place equipped with perilous sorcery and scientific technologies—far more dangerous than a fortress guarded by one hundred thousand troops.

But I gritted my teeth, commanding Zhuge Bu, “Get in contact with the Bancheon Alliance immediately. We’ll team up with my companions to kill Peng Zuo and rescue Zhuge Sa.”

Zhuge Bu nodded readily.

“Right. I look forward to working with you.”