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**Rebirth Sword God Volume 85, Chapter 10**

The reason the Grand Dragon Pavilion Master recognized the Sword Demon instantly was simple. Even though his clothes had changed, his posture and aura were exactly as I remembered the Sword Demon. Furthermore, even after over twenty years, his face hadn’t aged a bit; if anything, it looked even more taut, suggesting that his inner power had reached an incredible level.

The person next to me, Huang He Daoist, was shocked by the Sword Demon’s words. He exclaimed in surprise, “Bae… Baek Woong? You’re saying he’s the legendary Lord of Soeul Castle…?”

*Thud!*

*Thump!*

Huang He Daoist was immediately knocked out by the Sword Demon’s palm strike to the back of his neck. His expression seemed to suggest that he didn’t even realize what had just happened before he fainted. Following that, the Sword Demon quickly knocked out all the still-conscious experts from the Mossan faction.

*Boom!*

As the last martial artist fell unconscious, the Sword Demon shook his hands and said, “I guess it’s not a good idea for things to get noisy, so I sealed their mouths for a bit.”

[His skills have improved tremendously in my absence.]

“You provided me with such a fortuitous encounter, and I’ve been in continuous fights for the past twenty years. If I hadn’t gotten stronger, I wouldn’t have survived all this time.”

With that, the Sword Demon sighed.

“Now then, let’s go inside. We need to talk.”

As I followed the Sword Demon into the Grand Dragon Pavilion, I felt nostalgic upon seeing the preserved architectural style from the past.

[This building isn’t filled with any mechanized devices after all.]

“The sorcerers wanted to set up their devices here and made quite a commotion. I turned them down because I didn’t find it appealing.”

Saying that, the Sword Demon opened the door to what appeared to be the reception room and sat down. I took a seat across from him, and with my non-human body, a loud *crack* sounded from beneath me as I sat. When I shot a glance at my backside in discomfort, the Sword Demon chuckled heartily.

“Hehe, you look rather awkward. Is it because that body doesn’t belong to you?”

[Indeed. Honestly, I never expected to have a mechanical body.]

“What happened?”

[…….]

I paused, unsure of what to say. So much had happened during that time. I took a moment to reflect on the past, becoming sentimental before finally speaking up.

[Right now, I can’t use obsidian, so let me briefly share what occurred over this period…]

I recounted everything that had happened for quite a while to the Sword Demon. Of course, unlike during my time at the Zhuge Clan, it didn’t feel like a leisurely time to share; I had to condense my story to just over a meal’s length. The Sword Demon listened calmly as his eyebrows twitched in response to what I said.

“I see. Your original self is still in that Ancient Takrok era, and you came to this world with the assistance of the Mirror of Clarity…”

[As for the specific circumstances, I can’t be sure. But the Zhuge Clan referred to me as the ‘Servant’… ]

“Hmm. With that remark, any doubt about whether you’re a fake Baek Woong has vanished. There can’t be anyone who could weave such a bizarre tale out of thin air.”

While expressing admiration with a hum, the Sword Demon fell into deep thought before speaking again.

“I don’t know the exact situation, but one thing is certain.”

[What is it?]

“It’s strange that you can’t use martial arts right now.”

[……?]

What does this sudden remark mean?

I questioned the Sword Demon in response to his unexpected statement.

[What do you mean? Since I’m in a mechanical body, it’s only natural that I can’t use inner power or dantian, so I can’t employ martial arts. What flows through my body now is magical power absorbed from the World Tree.]

“Hmm.”

[This magical power, though it resembles the intangible energy, is fundamentally different from qi. Therefore, I can’t employ martial arts using this magical power.]

“I know that.”

[Then why is it… ]

The Sword Demon opened his mouth.

“The Master of Zen during the Great Bear Empire era was also mechanical.”

[……!!]

Ah!!

Upon hearing those words, I acted surprised, which made the Sword Demon chuckle.

“You have realized it.”

[…… So that was it. I hadn’t fully grasped the situation since I had just come to this world.]

The reason the Sword Demon mentioned the Master of Zen from the Great Bear Empire era was straightforward.

‘500 years later, the Master of Zen was an android… But he was able to use intent!!’

Back when I arrived at the Great Bear Empire, my original self had died, but I had witnessed the Master of Zen, revived as an android, using intent to execute martial arts.

If the Master of Zen, now an android, could use intent, then I too should be able to use intent despite having a mechanical body.

‘But why can’t I?’

I hadn’t been idle either. While absorbing magical power through Setsu, I had occasionally tried to utilize qi and intent. However, no matter how I attempted it, intent did not respond at all, causing me to give up halfway, which left me feeling rather perplexed.

While I was deep in thought, the Sword Demon said, “Baek Woong. What do you think intent is?”

[It’s the means to enforce one’s will onto the world.]

“Exactly… That’s correct. I too think it’s not vastly different. Both of us are approaching the pinnacle of martial arts, so we can’t define it beyond that.”

The Sword Demon continued speaking.

“However… if we were to pinpoint why you can’t use intent right now, I suspect it may be due to the nature of intent being a release.”

[……]

I mulled over the Sword Demon’s words for a moment. As I interpreted the realm of Muwak, I grasped the hidden implications in his words.

[It’s about shooting (發) consciousness (意) and intent (念) to reach the world, but does this mean that even if I release my intent, it won’t reach the world?]

“Indeed, you grasped it immediately, how impressive… You’ve spent centuries honing martial arts, and your inner realm has become much deeper than before.”

The Sword Demon, filled with admiration, announced.

“Just as you said. The peculiar sensation of intent ‘knocking’ on ‘something’ is something that experts in the Absolute Realm of Intent feel. It seems you have been unable to pass that stage, which is why you can’t use intent.”

I tilted my head.

[That doesn’t make sense. I’ve used intent countless times during my past lives, yet there was never a time when the mechanism of intent was blocked like this. Unless the enemy’s abilities had reached a terrifying level where they pulled me into a space where I couldn’t use intent.]

“Is that so? Then, think back to the instances when you couldn’t use intent. If you compare the commonalities between that space and your current state, you might find an answer.”

[Hmm.]

The only instance I could clearly recall where I couldn’t use intent was when I was trapped in Mephistopheles’ space.

It was when I was forcibly summoned into his virtual space that I became utterly powerless. Back then, all techniques, including martial arts and intent, were completely sealed.

‘Are you implying that my current mechanical body is similar to back then? Then why?’

At that time, my mind was essentially data composed of 0s and 1s in the virtual space. If the data couldn’t employ martial arts or techniques, it was perfectly reasonable that I couldn’t use intent either.

However, now, regardless of being in a mechanical body, I wasn’t in a virtual space— I had a body! So why could I not use intent like back then? What commonality existed?

At that moment, a thought struck through my mind.

And unexpectedly, I murmured.

[…Heavenly Pillar.]

“Are you referring to the Intent Heavenly Pillar?”

[……]

I didn’t even know why the Intent Heavenly Pillar came to mind. However, as soon as I thought of it, I felt the remnants of a remark left by the Master of Zen flood my mind.

[Baek Woong, please keep this in mind… Discover what lies beyond intent.]

Beyond intent. The Intent Heavenly Pillar.

The Master of Zen could definitely use intent, yet he couldn’t employ the Intent Heavenly Pillar. He wanted me to ponder the Intent Heavenly Pillar. Ever since then, it was such a challenging and vast subject that I hadn’t thought about it until now, and yet here I was facing it again unexpectedly.

How could such a thing occur? I never imagined I would confront martial arts from such an unexpected angle!

‘Even a martial artist at the peak of the Absolute Realm can’t see what’s above the pillar supported by their Intent Heavenly Pillar. Even if they try to look, a white void wraps around their vision, returning them to normal, serving as a constraint.’

When I heard that Asura had attempted to see what was above the pillar thousands of times over many years but failed, I had hesitated to try it myself thereafter. But with these constraints suddenly surfacing, an inspiration flashed in my mind.

Could it be…

The sky (天) at the end of the pillar reached by releasing (發) intent…

Does that mean that since I don’t have that sky in my current state, I can’t use either intent or the Intent Heavenly Pillar!!

‘Then the ‘sky’ supported by the Intent Heavenly Pillar is either a state of 0 and 1 data, or it simply doesn’t manifest in my current bodily state.’

Once I reached that point in my reasoning, I realized what I had been unaware of.

‘…That’s right. I… don’t know anything about my current state!!’

First, I needed to figure out what I was now!

I couldn’t just rely on the Zhuge Clan’s deductions; I needed to understand how I arrived at this world through the Mirror of Clarity, and how I could truly return from this realm!

Otherwise, I might end up wasting my time doing nothing and not harnessing any power!

With this realization, I spoke to the Sword Demon.

[I think I know what I need to do.]

“What is it?”

I showed my resolute will by clenching my fists.

[I must hurry to the Underworld and find the Mirror of Clarity. I feel that I can’t move forward without finding that medium used to cross into this world.]

Right now, everything else was secondary.

I absolutely had to find the Mirror of Clarity first!

“Good. I can sense that your mental state has definitely changed compared to just moments ago. Until a while ago, you seemed confused about what you needed to do.”

The Sword Demon nodded in satisfaction and stood up.

“Follow me. There’s something I want to show you.”

[Understood.]

*Thump, thump!*

As I slowly ascended the stairs of the Grand Dragon Pavilion following the Sword Demon, I could hear his voice.

“Has the Zhuge Clan within you still not awakened?”

[No, not yet.]

“I hope it doesn’t awaken. There are things I’d rather not show him.”

[……?]

“We’ve arrived.”

It was when I climbed all the stairs, which seemed to number over ten floors. In the Grand Dragon Pavilion’s assembly hall, I saw a white light-enveloped pearl that appeared just large enough for a person to enter. Within the pearl, a vague silhouette of a figure could be seen, and when I confirmed that it was a woman, I immediately felt a bad omen.

[…No way!!]

“That’s right…”

[Not again… ]

I stared blankly at the glowing pearl, completely at a loss, and turned to the Sword Demon.

[Are you saying that Seo Mun-hye is inside that pearl?!]

The Sword Demon nodded solemnly.

“…That’s correct.”

To think another anomaly had befallen Seo Mun-hye!

I couldn’t hide my shock and exclaimed.

[In the past, the power of the Giant Race within her went berserk, causing the Divine Fever phenomena. Is this happening again? How could such a thing occur?]

The Sword Demon fell silent. He slowly approached the white pearl and gently stroked its surface.

“Up until two years ago, Hyea had no such phenomenon. On the contrary, with the help of her companions, she awakened her divine power steadily, becoming one of the strongest among her party. In fact, aside from Jin So-cheong and the Master of the White Lotus Sect, she was practically the strongest. She alone had defeated over ten powerful demon beasts in Liaodong.”

[And this happened all of a sudden?]

“Indeed. At some point, she began sleeping for longer periods, until one day she sealed herself into this pearl overnight.”

[……!!]

“I had no particular interest in the feud between the White Lotus Sect and the Heavenly Genius Sect. I was the neutrals, waiting for you to return like the Zhuge Clan. However, to resolve this anomaly, I had no choice but to collaborate with the Heavenly Genius Sect, secretly relocating our base from Liaodong to this Nanjing.”

Finally, I understood the situation and muttered.

[The Zhuge Clan knew that you and Seo Mun-hye were in Liaodong. Yet, you had actually been working as the Grand Dragon Pavilion Master in Nanjing, so you didn’t want the Zhuge Clan to know your whereabouts.]

“Who in their right mind would want to reveal their whereabouts to the Supreme Being of Forbidden Law like the Zhuge Clan?”

[But we are companions.]

“Companions are companions. However, as you’ve seen, the Zhuge Clan treats everyone except you as expendable. What good would it do to show them this state of my daughter?”

[……]

It was a reasonable argument, but I couldn’t agree because it would make the Zhuge Clan seem too evil, leaving me speechless. The Sword Demon withdrew his hand from the white pearl and continued.

“The reason I didn’t go to Luoyang, dominated by the White Lotus Sect, is twofold. First, because the Heavenly Mysterious Woman is here, and secondly, because I don’t know when the Master of the White Lotus Sect would use my daughter as leverage and offer her as an offering.”

I was slightly startled by this unexpected revelation.

[The Heavenly Mysterious Woman? Are you saying that she’s in this Nanjing Castle?]

“Indeed. The Heavenly Mysterious Woman has been temporarily halting the anomalies in my daughter.”

[How could that be… a being that should exist in the Celestial Realm.]

“Didn’t the Zhuge Clan tell you about what’s happened lately?”

I nodded.

[In my haste, I didn’t have a chance to learn my companions’ detailed situations. So you’re saying that the Heavenly Mysterious Woman has been here in Nanjing?]

“Indeed. It’s basically one of the main reasons the Heavenly Genius Sect has been able to withstand.”

[But the Four Heavenly Kings I met in Luoyang were mostly powerful Great Immortals from the Celestial Realm. You’re telling me that the Heavenly Mysterious Woman and those beings are opposing each other?]

Indeed, among the four Heavenly Kings in Luoyang, there was Zhongli Quan. The Eight Immortals had always served under the Heavenly Mysterious Woman. It seemed hard to imagine that such opposing factions would each have a member in their ranks. Who in the world would think that the Heavenly Mysterious Woman and the Eight Immortals would clash?

The Sword Demon let out a bitter laugh.

“Hehe… It’s absurd, but Gum Cheon-jae has become the contractor of the Heavenly Mysterious Woman. That’s how he managed to become the master of this Nanjing.”