전생검신 86권 6화

I said to Roland.

[Even if I wanted to prove myself with martial arts, I can’t use them right now.]

Swoosh!!

[….]

At the same time I made my excuse, Roland’s sword strength brushed right next to my neck. No matter how you looked at it, he could’ve easily cut my throat, but since he intentionally avoided it, I glanced down at my neck, and Roland said,

“Can’t use martial arts, huh? I don’t care, but there will be plenty of comrades who won’t recognize you for that.”

He wasn’t wrong. But I felt wronged and retorted.

[What can I do if I really can’t use it?]

“Does that mean you can’t use intent?”

[That’s right. I can’t use intent, internal power, or the Intent Heavenly Pillar.]

After hearing this, Roland seemed to think for a moment. Then he said,

“That’s quite the excuse. A true master should be able to use intent even if they become a machine, don’t you think?”

[It’s not about being a master… ]

“Alright, here I go!”

Boom!!

In that moment, I recognized that Roland’s posture changed, and he took on a different martial stance. As soon as I saw that stance, I muttered unconsciously.

[Wind Spirit Techniques…]

With a buzzing sound, I felt a vibration emanating from Roland’s body. He was creating artificial vibrations around him using his intent, and since I knew how the Wind Spirit Techniques worked, I quickly energized my mana to dodge his attack.

Swish!

In the next moment, fifteen wind blades struck the spot where I had been standing. I managed to dodge all of them, but while rolling on the ground, I had left a significant opening. Not missing that gap, Roland gripped his giant sword tight and swung it toward me.

Boom!!

This time, I couldn’t dodge it, so I had no choice but to concentrate all my mana into Oreycalcos’s arm and counter with a mana barrier. Thankfully, due to the strength of my mana, I managed to withstand Roland’s blow, but the next moment I realized there was a huge sword mark etched into my palm.

Even though Roland could have continued his onslaught, he paused for a moment. He resumed his Wind Spirit Techniques stance and asked,

“Baek Woong. Do you know what technique I just used?”

I answered without much calmness.

[It’s Butterfly Dance of the Wind God Flow and the Wind God Sword Form. Given you can perform the Sixteen Butterfly Dance, it seems you’ve mastered the art of converting the technique into swordsmanship and reached the level of a master. But the latter must be the Four Divine Sword Form. Did Jin So-cheong teach you that?]

“……!!”

When I grasped Roland’s techniques in one glance, he was taken aback for a moment. Then, with a hint of disbelief, he said,

“……Is it true that you can’t use intent or internal power? To be able to discern everything so precisely…”

There was no way I couldn’t. I had trained like a madman for over a hundred years in the Training World, honing the martial arts of The Four Great Families, and had sparred with the ancient master Shim Su-ryeok. What I primarily practiced was the Soul of the Evil God, but while learning it, I naturally absorbed and understood the techniques of the Wind Spirit Style that I had learned before.

As I fell silent, Roland nodded.

“You’re right, Jin So-cheong did teach me. When I sought his guidance on martial arts, he suggested the Wind Spirit Techniques suited me and passed them on.”

[What about the Four Divine Sword Form?]

“It’s a technique that Jin So-cheong taught me when I hit a wall while learning the Wind Spirit Techniques. I found out later that it was the Four Divine Sword Form, but regardless, I’m using it well.”

[….]

At that moment, I felt dizzy.

‘Jin So-cheong… does that mean he has fully mastered the Wind Spirit Techniques and even restored the Four Divine Sword Form from my memories of my past life?’

Of course, it’s not impossible. I passed my memories to my past comrades, and those memories include the techniques of the Wind Spirit Styles and witnessing Yong Junil’s Absolute Realm Sword Form.

But…

‘Jin So-cheong never received my obsidian! He only received my teachings… Did he just restore the Four Divine Sword Form through what he heard from my past comrades?!’

That was truly absurd. Sure, since the Master of the White Lotus Sect became a comrade, he might have learned from the masters of the Wind Spirit Sect, but he had only fought against the Four Divine Sword Form without properly mastering it. How could he restore something like that to the level of easily passing it on to Roland in just twenty years?!

What level had Jin So-cheong reached now?!

As I stood frozen in shock, Roland said,

“Jin So-cheong has always wanted to meet you. It seems he has something important to tell you.”

[….]

What could Jin So-cheong want to tell me?

It must be something to do with martial arts.

“But seeing you in such a pathetic state, unable to even use intent, how disappointed would he be? You need to at least be strong enough to easily knock me down.”

As Roland pointed the holy sword Durandal at me, I couldn’t help but chuckle. I was no rookie who would lose composure over a bit of pressure now.

[That’s quite the provocation. So you plan to keep showing off your martial arts against someone who can’t even use intent?]

“If that’s what it’s going to take…”

[Hmph.]

“I’m going all out from now on.”

Sssssss……!!

From Roland’s entire body, an aura far beyond what he had displayed before leaked out. The light in his eyes was filled with fighting spirit as his sword moved. And a sword dance started that masked the awkwardness of converting the Wind Spirit Technique into swordsmanship, each move telling the story of how much he had trained until now.

Slowly approaching me, he said,

“Since you can’t use intent, I will tell you the principles of my Absolute Realm in advance. I call this realm Fengyun Danchun, and I shall cleave my enemy with a single real sword from within the sword dance.”

[Fengyun Danchun.]

“Take this!”

Slash!!

In the next moment, I was caught in the whirlwind created by Roland’s sword dance. The moment I stepped into that whirlpool of sword energy, I could feel the dense sword qi swirling like a storm, making it hard to see in front of me.

Ting ting ting!

Thanks to the mana shield I had set up, my body wasn’t shredded by the sword qi, but any decent expert from Jianghu would be in critical condition just from this precursor. The real problem was that once this fengyun danchun reached its peak, one true attack would fly out from the chaotic whirlwind with tremendous force, and from my experience, that blow would definitely surpass the concentration level of any ordinary Absolute Realm.

‘To block or dodge Fengyun Danchun at its apex, I need to use the Intent Heavenly Pillar as well. Otherwise, I won’t be able to sense it at all. But…’

Right now, I couldn’t use my abilities, not even intent or internal power. To withstand a technique from the Absolute Realm in that state was like a martial arts novice claiming they could take a master’s attack. The more I thought, the more hopeless I felt about facing Roland’s martial arts.

‘Damn it… why can’t I use my intent?!’

This advanced android, Shin Seung, who survived in the Great Bear Empire 500 years later, could definitely use intent. Sure, he couldn’t use the Intent Heavenly Pillar, but he could still use martial arts infused with intent. On the other hand, I, unlike Shin Seung, couldn’t use even the slightest bit of martial arts and had to rely completely on external forces, making me feel utterly frustrated.

‘Of course, with good use of this mana and arm, I could win…’

But is that really the victory I want?

Roland wasn’t attacking me out of malice. In a way, he stood before me as a disciple of Jin So-cheong seeking to prove my worth in martial arts. That proof symbolized one thing.

Whether I was worthy to stand in front of the current Jin So-cheong!

Crunch

I ground my teeth in frustration.

‘Damn it! Was all that time I spent training the Soul of the Evil God completely pointless? How many times did I clash with heart demons and struggle against walls… only to come back to my original world and find myself rolling around helplessly without being able to use even a single intent?!’

…Wait, the Four Divine Sword Form?

Can I use the Four Divine Sword Form right now?

[But the true essence of the White Lotus Sect’s Thunder Spirit Flow is not bound by the five elements. Even if the laws of the five elements that make up the world are interrupted, it can still operate. That’s possible because it moves the ‘vessel’ as a whole, which Howol referred to as the Soul of the Evil God.]

I remembered Shim Su-ryeok’s words. At the same time, I could feel the memories of training in the Soul of the Evil God flowing through me in that fleeting moment.

‘The vessel… the key to the Soul of the Evil God is precisely the soul’s vessel.’

The process of moving the vessel of the soul is the same as switching between the Thunder Spirit, Wind Spirit, Fire Spirit, and Water Spirit, and this transformation itself generated tremendous power.

Then there’s something strange.

Am I really in a state where the ‘vessel’ I gained from my rigorous training in the Soul of the Evil God has been flipped?

What is the current state of that ‘vessel’?

‘…Creating a vessel that can accept divine martial arts is the training of the Soul of the Evil God. If I assume that just because I crossed worlds, that vessel would disappear…’

In the next moment, I opened my eyes wide.

‘No…!! Such an assumption is impossible!!’

Absolute Realm

Fengyun Danchun

Ultimate Technique

One Sword of Cleaving Souls

Boom!!

The final absolute slash of Fengyun Danchun—the real sword—shot through thousands of pieces of sword energy and stabbed right at my vital point. At the same time, a massive explosion occurred, and dust clouds swirled all around, making it hard to see in front of me.

When the dust cleared, Roland stared at my revealed figure in shock.

“……!!”

I had definitely blocked it.

Crackle… crackle…

The circuits inside my iron body twisted, and electric shocks coursed through me, leaving my form grotesquely distorted. But I had definitely used a regular steel arm, not made from Oreycalcos, to block Roland’s strike, and his sword was stuck right through the center of my arm and had not pulled back.

It wasn’t pretty, but I had definitely withstood Roland’s Absolute Realm!

Roland couldn’t hide his astonishment and seemed a bit flustered.

“Really… is it true that you’re incapable of using intent? I watched until the very end, but you haven’t activated intent or the Intent Heavenly Pillar!”

[….]

“But… how did you accurately figure out the trajectory of my Cleaving Souls technique at the last moment? How is that possible without using intent?!”

I didn’t respond instantly. Roland’s strike had caused significant damage, and I felt like my insides were slightly wrecked. There was no doubt that his blow was worthy of the rank of Absolute Realm. Miraculously, it ended with only this level of damage without properly receiving it with intent.

I slowly pulled Roland’s sword from my hand and spoke.

[Is that level of Fengyun Danchun also the one Jin So-cheong taught you?]

Roland snapped out of his stupor and replied.

“…No. It’s a level I reached after independently training the Wind Spirit Techniques and the Four Divine Sword Form. I think this is the Absolute Realm that suits me the best.”

[You’ve got it all wrong.]

“What did you say?”

As Roland’s eyebrows twitched, I fully pulled out Durandal and took my stance. My stance was identical to the martial stance Roland had just displayed before using Fengyun Danchun.

With the stance held, I said,

[You were a warrior, pressing head-on with your innate vitality and brute strength. Pursuing illusions this way won’t play to your strengths at all. You should’ve gone to the extremes of the steel sword to become even stronger, but because of the subtleties of Eastern martial arts, your vision has become clouded?]

“…….”

[Jin So-cheong likely told you to compensate for the speed and precision you lack with the Wind Spirit Techniques and the Four Divine Sword Form, aiming for an all-around perfect realm, but you misinterpreted the path you should take. Twenty years have been wasted.]

Roland shouted angrily at my words.

“How dare you lecture me when you can’t even use intent?!”

[Hush now.]

“What did you say…?”

I slowly closed my eyes.

[Don’t you hear something?]

I truly felt as if a vague sensation had enveloped me since earlier.

[I can feel the flow.]

In its essence, an attack from the Absolute Realm is sensed and blocked through the sixth sense of intent, but when I blocked Roland’s attack, that wasn’t the case. The flow itself seemed to whisper a natural path to me, and all I did was follow that flow without resisting it. It was a kind of gamble, but following that flow was the right answer.

What is this [flow] that I hear?

At that moment, a phrase the Asura once told me flashed through my mind.

[Listen well. This is the [flow]. A man-made flow that emerges necessarily when five intents harmonize into a single flow. If the opponent can grasp that single flow and cut through its seams…]

[The Nirvana of the Absolute becomes completely powerless.]

I had already embodied that Asura’s teaching in my duel against the master Gong Sun Da-rang of the Divine Realm. Back then, I read the [flow] and bypassed Gong Sun Da-rang’s technique, which led him to praise my grasp of the Divine Realm’s entrance.

But this current sensation is different from that time.

It’s not about ‘reading.’ It just ‘comes to me.’

Why was it that back then I had to forcefully read, and now it just comes?

…

Could it be… is this the path that leads to the Dim Night?

“Rraaah!!”

I felt Roland unleashing a fierce attack with Fengyun Danchun once more. But he had wasted too much of his potential on unnecessary facets of illusion during the last years, making his sword not threatening enough against other masters of the Absolute Realm. As such, even without reading the signs or trajectory of Roland’s attack, I didn’t feel threatened at all.

I still couldn’t feel intent.

I couldn’t use internal power.

I couldn’t feel the Intent Heavenly Pillar either…

But in that moment, I clenched my fist and thrust forward with my mana-charged arm.

Thunder God Lineage

Straight Fist

Boom!!

Along with a great sound, blood sprayed high as my fist pierced Roland’s chest. I delivered the counterattack exactly when he charged forward. Under normal circumstances, Roland should have been dead from such a massive wound, but instead he shivered and spoke.

“Once again… intent… wasn’t used…”

[….]

“But… as we got closer… it felt like I was using your speed… how…”

Thud!

As I drew back my fist, he fell unconscious. The overwhelming wound he received would normally have killed anyone, but he fainted instead, thanks to his awesome vitality as the Apostle of the God.

Looking at the collapsed Roland, I muttered,

[If the divine martial arts sought by the White Lotus Sect truly exist, then the vessel I’ve trained will never disappear.]

Indeed.

If the Martial God really exists… it can’t be like that.

At the same time, I realized what state I was currently in.

[….]

I looked up.

Instead of a pillar of light, I saw pure darkness.

In a state where I couldn’t use intent or the Intent Heavenly Pillar—yet that was why I could be free.

I clenched my fist.

This was the meaning of the Dim Night.