856——————==

True Martial Home

When they said to defeat Musashi, I wasn’t even fazed. In fact, I felt like I was finally getting somewhere, like my vague hopes were turning into solid reality. So, I just nodded silently and left.

Bam!

I decided to gather my thoughts for a moment. I slipped into an inn in Luoyang, ordered some dumplings and food, and let my mind wander.

‘Defeat Musashi and use the Soul Exchange Technique to extract information about the Lunar Kill Technique and Aokigahara Life Sea from him….’

Ultimately, the reason for all this is to obtain the Four Great Spirit Deities that lie in the Outer Dimension. I know that trying the Soul Exchange Technique on Musashi isn’t exactly approved. But let’s face it, it’s pretty clear he won’t just hand over the Lunar Kill Technique on a silver platter, and the chances of him becoming an ally are slim at best. All this winding around, learning the Secret Techniques like Two Heavens One Style, was just so I could have a solid chance of defeating him one-on-one, and I could feel that chance was finally within reach.

So, how do I actually take Musashi down?

First off, Musashi is probably hiding in some corner of the Imperial Palace, camouflaged with his Intent. That means while I’m sneaking around the palace, doing my thing, he might still catch wind of my presence. The way he hasn’t taken any action against me suggests he’s in a passive mode, gathering intel until he gets the signal from the Twelve Joules. Finding someone like him under these conditions is almost impossible.

Even the Master of the White Lotus Sect only found him by intuition after leveling up. Right now, with my current skills, I can’t sniff out his hiding technique at all.

‘But there’s definitely a way.’

I had thought this through even before mastering the Two Heavens One Style. I was just being cautious because facing Musashi head-on didn’t guarantee a win, but now it’s all about how to bring him down.

“……”

Lost in my thoughts, I munched on my dumplings. After a while, I got up from my seat.

“Let’s do this.”

There was no point in delaying any further.

Bam!

I used the Golden Lamp technique and appeared on the roof of Shenguan Palace in the central part of the Imperial Palace. Thanks to my invisibility technique, the wandering palace warriors, guards, and officials didn’t notice me at all. From the outside, it looked like a perfect infiltration, but I knew Musashi was lurking somewhere near me.

‘Let’s use Eye Technique.’

Activate Fire Eye Golden Spirit!

The moment the red light flowed from my eyes, I noticed a faint shadowy space amidst the surroundings. That has to be Musashi, as detected by my Fire Eye Golden Spirit. And to my surprise, he was staring right at me from only three paces away, sending chills down my spine.

I intentionally avoided looking in his direction. Standing on the roof with my arms crossed, I spoke in Dongyoung.

“Two Heavens One Style Musashi. I’ve come to challenge you.”

My voice was low. I hadn’t amplified it with internal power or tried any fancy techniques like the Six Harmonies Assembly. But I figured that would suffice.

Swish!

At that moment, I sensed the space behind me opening up, and a presence appeared without a sound. Since he was only a palm’s length away, I could feel the cold sweat trickling down my back.

A familiar voice in Dongyoung sounded from behind me.

“Who are you?”

“……”

“You seem like that thief who sneaked in before. Are you a Dongyoung ninja?”

As expected.

I had guessed that Musashi would be near Shenguan Palace since the Master of the White Lotus Sect had gotten a hunch about him before, and it turned out to be right. And indeed, Musashi seemed to have recognized me when I snuck in to steal the imperial seal.

It seems my invisibility technique doesn’t work against him. Even while I was cloaked in it, he was clearly aware of my presence. It feels like techniques of a lower level are easily seen through in front of the Absolute Realm’s Intent Heavenly Pillar.

I calmly turned to face him.

“I want to wager on our sparring match.”

Musashi looked at me with a cold glare.

“First, reveal your name.”

“My name is Baek Woong.”

“A Central Plains person, huh?”

“I’m from the Central Plains. However, I know about the Lunar Kill Technique.”

Swoosh!

At that moment, I felt his gaze sharpen. His aura shifted, and the killing intent from the Absolute Realm enveloped my body. But it wasn’t unbearable, and when I held my ground, Musashi’s eyes lit up with intrigue.

“You’re not just some ordinary opponent.”

“I think I have a right to challenge you to a sparring match.”

“I see. Then let’s kill each other right now.”

Musashi assumed a stance and looked ready to unleash his Ultimate Technique from the Absolute Realm, but I raised my hand to stop him.

“Wait! I don’t want a life-and-death duel. I want to wager on our match.”

“What?”

“Don’t you want to know what I know?”

“……”

Seeing Musashi fall into silence, I continued.

“Come to Dragon Cloud Palace at midnight. Let’s fight there. We’ll keep going until one of us admits defeat.”

“What’s the wager for winning or losing?”

He seems ready to listen.

I lit up with excitement.

“If I lose, I will reveal why I recently stole the emperor’s imperial seal, everything I know about the Lunar Kill Technique, and anything else you’re curious about. Conversely, if you lose, you have to tell me everything about the Lunar Kill Technique and the King of the Life Sea. We’ll do a wager match.”

“……!!”

“And keep this dueling match a secret from anyone. I won’t tell anyone how I got here either.”

For the first time, Musashi showed a hint of surprise. Then, he intensified his gaze and growled.

“Are you, by any chance, a ninja hired by Seimei?”

Seimei?

‘Ah, it makes sense that he would think that, considering Seimei knows about Musashi’s affairs.’

Having had a rough grasp of their relationship in my past life, I immediately understood the situation and shook my head.

“No. I have my reasons for needing to go beyond the Death Sea. To do that, I either need to defeat or get past the King of the Life Sea, and rumor has it you’re the only one who has survived after meeting him.”

“Did Seimei tell you that?”

“Yeah.”

Even if it was from my previous life.

After a moment’s thought, Musashi replied.

“Fine. I’ll accept your challenge. Don’t be late for the duel.”

Swish!

As soon as Musashi finished speaking, he vanished. I couldn’t help but grumble as I stared at the spot he just occupied.

“It’s a sparring match, not a duel!”

As expected, he, with his fighting-only mindset, had no intention of making it just a friendly spar. He would undoubtedly push it towards a fight to the death. Shaking my head, I left the place.

‘Even though I could duel right away, I need at least a day.’

The reason I intentionally set a day for waiting is important. Because, to make full use of the benefits I gained from my meeting with the Divine Thief, I needed at least a day. The key was to figure out how far I could apply that technique in reality.

I headed to Luoyang Castle first and bought a mask. I had reached the level where I didn’t particularly need it, but having it makes it easier to keep my intent alive.

Then, I headed to the Iron Blood Gate, snuck into the Lord of Iron Blood Gate’s place, and ambushed him.

Puff!

“Cough.”

Even though he was a Peak Expert, the Lord of Iron Blood Gate seemed to attempt to block my ambush, but after just one hit, he took a blow to the acupoint and collapsed.

I reached out to the fallen Lord of Iron Blood Gate and muttered.

“Don’t hold a grudge. I’ve died at your hands before.”

“What did you say…?”

The Lord of Iron Blood Gate wore a perplexed expression, but I ignored him and slowly began to recite the incantation.

Sssss….

As the 108 characters of the incantation rolled off my tongue, a mask slowly emerged from behind the Lord of Iron Blood Gate’s head, accompanied by darkness. This mask is visible only to the caster, and according to the Divine Thief, it embodies the essence of the Abyss. I proceeded to the next stage of the Technique of All Things as the mask appeared.

‘Open your eyes….’

Once the mask had emerged, the caster must keep reciting the incantation while waiting for it to open its eyes. As I was continuously chanting, the subdued Lord of Iron Blood Gate seemed to gaze blankly, as if his consciousness was fading away, and soon began to mumble.

“Huh… I… no… Why am I… seeing myself?”

This was a phenomenon I hadn’t even heard of from the Divine Thief. I remained calmly patient, and soon enough, I could see the mask above the Lord of Iron Blood Gate slowly opening its eyes.

Flash!

“……!!”

It looked as if light was radiating from the mask’s eyes. The mask squirmed as if it were alive, continuously emitting rays of light from within its pupil.

‘Don’t delay!’

I had heard that if I took too long, calamities would occur. I quickly extended my hand and snatched the mask, promptly placing it over my face.

Bam!

The moment I donned the mask, my body completely transformed into the Lord of Iron Blood Gate’s. I slowly rose from my position, only to notice something strange.

“Uh?”

The fallen Lord of Iron Blood Gate before me was gradually turning black. His whole body was being dyed in shadow until his clothing and sword also turned pitch-black. That darkness seemed to transform into a living liquid, and just after, it flew towards my face.

Splat!

Bam!

The moment the liquid absorbed into the mask covering my face, I realized something with a heavy jolt.

“Ah!”

I’m the Lord of Iron Blood Gate, Bae Jin-hyuk!

I had been knocked out by some goon, but what the heck happened?

Did I just get taken down by that ugly little brat? Where the heck is he?

I should catch him and kill him!

….

But….

No!

I am Baek Woong!

I’m not the Lord of Iron Blood Gate Bae Jin-hyuk!

“……!!”

Identity confusion!

I staggered in confusion, and in that moment, I understood why the second stage of the Technique of All Things was dangerous. Because it makes you feel the consciousness of the opponent, if you don’t leave your own consciousness behind when you steal it, it could lead to the caster’s own consciousness being obliterated! This was yet another reason to master the first stage of the training to improve the skill of the mask technique.

‘Ugh… I feel dizzy…!!’

I felt like I might vomit. But I managed to hold on, drew my sword, and tried to execute a martial arts technique.

Swish, swish, swoosh!

It worked!

My body was smoothly executing the Iron Blood Gate’s 24 Techniques as if I had known them from the start. To be precise, I was reading the history embedded within the Lord of Iron Blood Gate’s body through the mask, allowing myself to embody him. At this moment, I was the Lord of Iron Blood Gate, a master of Iron Blood Sword Techniques.

“Ugh.”

But I felt so dizzy that I could no longer hold on and started throwing up.

Unable to endure any longer, I forcibly peeled off the mask from my face and threw it away.

Boom!

As soon as I did, the mask reverted back into a human form and turned into the unconscious Lord of Iron Blood Gate.

Seeing that, I understood the essence of the Technique of All Things.

‘The ability to turn your opponent into your mask and use them…!!’

There was a reason it was called divine power! Such an ability transcends the realm of martial arts!

Yet, it also possessed an unimaginable power that surpassed even the transformation arts of Qimen Dunjia. If it works like that, stealing a mask of a being stronger than yourself could yield unimaginable results. Of course, that’s under the premise that you defeat them, but in any case, the potential was enormous.

I took a deep breath, calmed my body, and thought.

‘That’s why the Divine Thief emphasized that it needed long time to master…. Even using just one Lord of Iron Blood Gate as a mask only lasts a split second.’

Even with my mental strength and internal power, using the Technique of All Things still felt challenging.

Truly, it befits the Martial Mythological Age.

If I could use the first stage of the Technique of All Things, I could maintain my transformation for a while, but using the second stage, which allows me to access the opponent’s abilities flawlessly, is still quite beyond my reach. However, I had seen enough potential that I felt a spark of confidence.

‘Alright. If I use this technique and the insights from the Divine Thief well….’

Tomorrow, I will definitely defeat Miyamoto Musashi.

 

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