전생검신 86권 15화

“Teenage Grandmaster Raoun?!”

“You trained with Asura?”

‘Teenage Grandmaster…? Sounds familiar, but what is it…?’

Just as I tilted my head in confusion, Raoun’s sword lunged straight at me with brutal honesty.

Swoosh!!

A ridiculously fast sword! It was like comparing a gentle breeze to a hurricane—I had no choice but to take the hit.

Kaang – !!

With a lively smack, Raoun’s sword ricocheted backward. Thanks to the anti-elasticity of my magical powers wrapped around me, his attack couldn’t break through my defenses. But that didn’t save me from the intense pain shooting from the wound.

[…!!]

“Ah, that hurts?”

Am I really in pain right now? I have a steel body, for crying out loud!

This whole situation was baffling. It was just a harmless jab that couldn’t even pierce my magical defenses, so why did it hurt? And I shouldn’t even be able to feel pain in this mechanical body!

Seeing my panic, Raoun cracked a grin.

“Ah, so it’s true. If that is affecting you, then you’re an awakened being!!”

Whoosh –

Explosive Destruction Sword!

Purple Light Cutting Moon!

The signature move of the Explosive Destruction Sword unfolded from Raoun’s hand, slicing through the air towards me. It was faster than before, but not by much—still, I felt my insides tremble at its profound power.

‘This… is a perfected move!’

The power of techniques isn’t just defined by speed and strength. Excluding a few extreme techniques focused on max speed or power, the proficiency and characteristics embedded in each attack significantly impact combat. And as these techniques become perfected, their power gradually increases, making them impossible to judge purely by outer speed.

‘And those who reach this level have mostly attained the Absolute Realm…!!’

Judging Raoun’s proficiency from earlier, there was no way he should be performing such a move, making me quite puzzled. Despite looking easy to dodge at first, I quickly realized that as the moves progressed into seconds and thirds, my escape routes would be cut off, leading to a potentially fatal hit. If I had my Intent Heavenly Pillar and martial arts, I could match his move’s perfection, but with this body, that was completely impossible.

I had no choice but to overpower his skill with my strength. So, I infused my punch with all my divine power and charged at Raoun.

Thud!

Raoun, seemingly startled by my response, muttered in awe for a moment.

“To choose that path… truly impressive for a great expert.”

Swooosh –

The sword energy of the Purple Light Cutting Moon thinned, transforming into a sharp line before blending into thin air. Before I knew it, everything became a bladestrike of unmatched sharpness aimed straight for me. Indeed, Purple Light Cutting Moon was a perfected technique that could completely counter such a counterattack, meaning my current actions were akin to signing my own death warrant.

Yet, in that moment, I opened my eyes wide and launched an unyielding punch.

Kwang – !!

An enormous shockwave erupted between us, sending both our bodies flying backward for a moment. Normally, I’d use divine technique to land gracefully, but lacking that ability now, I had to forcibly expel magical energy to stay in the air. When I finally descended slowly to the ground, Raoun coughed up blood and said:

“Have you… stepped into the realm Asura longed for?”

I felt like I’d sustained internal injuries, but they didn’t seem too severe. It made sense since the opponent’s internal power was boundless, comparable to what I once possessed as a human. Finally grasping Raoun’s genuine strength, I shook my head.

[Asura must have already surpassed this level. The fact that you mention that makes it clear you’re indeed acquainted with him, Raoun.]

“Heh, is that so…?”

I clenched my fist tightly and muttered.

[Honestly surprised. I knocked Roland out with one shot, but you’re surprisingly resilient.]

The technique I just used halted all actions of the Intent Heavenly Pillar, allowing me to let my body instinctively respond to the [hearing] point with an immaculate time lag for a counterattack. It was an incomprehensible martial arts level for me, but trusting my body to the [hearing] point strangely allowed a perfect timed counterattack as if I was meant to be there in the first place.

Using this technique, even absolute realm experts would succumb to a single counter. It had already been proven when I dropped Roland, and my plan was to take out most experts this way.

But Raoun was different. The very moment I attempted to land my counter with the Thunder God Fist, he once again established a sword barrier through the Intent Heavenly Pillar, successfully minimizing the impact on himself! That meant his perspective on martial arts was at a different dimension compared to Roland, implying he had anticipated my counter from the start.

I glared at Raoun.

[That jerk… You were holding back since the beginning. Your real skill isn’t too far from Asura’s.]

Pretending to be just another peak-level expert, he was in fact an absolute realm expert comparable to Asura!

With that caliber, he could very well rise to the seat of Jikukcheon, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Then Raoun spoke.

“Before Asura completed Nirvana of the Absolute, I was the Greatest Master of Tianzhu…”

[What’s your relationship with Asura?]

“We were comrades learning martial arts together. The Explosive Destruction Sword is a culmination of thousands of sparrings between us.”

[Asura claimed the Explosive Destruction Sword was his unique technique. Didn’t you invent that?]

“I also never passed down the Explosive Destruction Sword after it was completed, so it’s not entirely wrong.”

After that, Raoun wiped the blood off his mouth and said,

“Baek Woong. You seem to be neither righteous nor evil. Yet you’re aware and responsive—what exactly are you?”

I found myself at a loss at his words.

[What do you mean by awareness? How did you make me feel pain?]

Raoun chuckled softly.

“Heh. To be standing on the edge of the Divine Realm, and ask me such questions… Are you trying to condescend to me, a mere human?”

[……]

“If you really don’t know, I can explain, but it has to be without words.”

Raoun slowly picked up his sword and positioned it in front of him. It was a typical thrusting stance, but the gravity emanating from him indicated that this strike would be far more potent than the previous Purple Light Cutting Moon. I understood this was his ultimate move and felt a wave of tension wash over me.

‘This guy is serious…’

I never imagined there’d be someone like this in Tianzhu. A millennia-old absolute master and a former companion of Asura!

Is this the reality—we’re having all these hidden masters revealing themselves in the ending times?

While I braced for Raoun’s attack, he spoke slowly.

“Though its power isn’t on par with Nirvana of the Absolute, I too have been training martial arts for over a thousand years. If you can withstand the final realization of the Explosive Destruction Sword, I’ll acknowledge you.”

[There’s a final realization?]

“After Asura and I nearly completed our martial arts, we decided to achieve our final realizations according to our own preferences. Are you confident you can receive it?”

[……]

I hesitated for a moment before adopting a martial arts stance.

[You’d better brace yourself. I know exactly how to break Nirvana of the Absolute.]

“Heh, that’s quite the jest…”

Swoosh

Seeing Raoun’s gathering energy, I felt an instinctive tension. Considering his level of internal power and capabilities, the attack he was preparing could very well be akin to Nirvana of the Absolute. For sure, he felt like the strongest among the Four Heavenly Kings before my eyes.

‘Damn it. Fighting when I can use martial arts would indeed be fun…’

Regrettably, I couldn’t use divine or intent powers right now, so I could only surrender everything to this new stage called the Dark Night. While I understood the [flow] of the Dark Night, I felt utterly lost on what to do when faced with an opponent who wouldn’t fall for my counters.

I grasped the true intent but couldn’t articulate it in words!

I couldn’t even explain how I’d activate the Dark Night principle to someone else!

Hence, I thought I had no other choice but to react whenever necessary and could scarcely recall proper martial theories. I felt like a total novice in martial arts.

Then, a sudden thought occurred.

‘As bewildering as this realm is, Asura from the 28th cycle truly was an extraordinary master to teach me about this.’

If I work hard, could I eventually reach the level to teach the Dark Night to someone else?

‘… No, why am I thinking such pointless things with an enemy right in front of me?’

I found it absurd that I had so many irrelevant thoughts and suddenly felt drained.

What’s the use of focusing hard when I can’t use internal or intent powers?

In this state, could I even keep up with the reaction speed of the Intent Heavenly Pillar?

Physical limits might not even matter anymore, right?

What exactly is the Dark Night?

Is the dark expanse I see truly martial arts?

Just as I continued spiraling into these thoughts, Raoun’s attack came crashing in.

Absolute Realm!

Explosive Destruction of Heaven!

Boom-boom-boom –

In that moment, I felt my entire body tremble as an immense shape of the Spirit Sword pressed down on me.

And I grasped the principles of martial arts quite well.

This Spirit Sword would vibrate, perfectly constraining my movements, and if I couldn’t break free from this vibrating pressure in the blink of an eye, the destructive power released by the vibrations would soon tear me apart. Its power was undoubtedly lethal.

As this translucent gigantic Spirit Sword surged at me, I pondered whether this could be the true Spirit Sword, and soon realized it wasn’t.

‘It’s not the real Spirit Sword…’

Though it had the semblance of spirit, there was still technique embedded within this form. The notion that techniques were embedded might sound odd, but it was truly how I felt. As long as it carried techniques, this attack couldn’t manifest true intention or true emptiness.

Could it be that way?

Wasn’t the sword demon in the past, when facing Musashi’s sword that deeply felt the same way as I do now?

Knowing the true Spirit Sword made the weaknesses of the unfinished version glaringly apparent, causing me to question whether I could wield a Spirit Sword myself!

And a memory from the past flitted through my mind.

[The spirit is but one blade. It’s merely a blade, thus can wound itself and be bound by the cycles of techniques. However, sharpening to create a Spirit Sword is to break free from that cycle.]

Yeodong-bin had said that.

‘A blade,’ or not.

The distinction between the Spirit Sword and the spirit could certainly be viewed that way.

Then, how could a Spirit Sword without lethality still deal damage?

The question I hadn’t considered back then resurfaced anew. Then I recalled another remark from Gong Sun Da-rang.

[Only the proper path can break the blade of contradiction. I shall show you that proper path.]

What Gong Sun Da-rang demonstrated was none other than the Natural Sword.

The solution Gong Sun Da-rang presented was to embody nature itself as the sword.

I firmly believed that the Natural Sword was also a spirit sword and spirit technique. At that time, Gong Sun Da-rang wielded a single blade of grass or even a breath of air, transcending into cuts woven by the heart.

Then, does that mean the Natural Sword truly encapsulates nature?

Though Gong Sun Da-rang claimed that, as nature often signifies all things contrary to our fixed notions, couldn’t everything encompass realms beyond the incomprehensible?

‘What I capture in the sword is my heart… and what can block my heart is the [flow]… I…’

Moments later, I felt something resonate and slowly extended my hand forward.

‘I’ve seen that instant when the formless meets the formless.’

The battle of Asura and Gong Sun Da-rang.

The vivid memory of being merely a hair’s breadth away from witnessing the clash of ‘real’ divine realm experts!

And now, I feel like I could somehow express that.

One Sword.

I smoothly aligned my upper arm and lower arm to form a straight line, making my whole arm a sword.

Two Swords.

I swung it and entrusted it to the [flow].

Three Swords.

I felt the Explosive Destruction of Heaven scattering back into nothing from the tip of my arm.

That was it.

No further explosions or dazzling energies flew around, and with that, I was able to halt the ultimate move of my opponent.

In an absolute silence, I slowly returned my arm from sword to its original state and spoke.

[It’s over.]

“……”

Thud!

Raoun sank to the ground in sheer shock, trembling as if he couldn’t believe it. Then he shouted.

“How… how did you do that? How did you turn my Spirit Sword to nothing!!”

Hearing that cry, I realized.

‘He’s just like Musashi.’

A trap talented beings often fall into—achieving anything with exceptional talent, leading them to arbitrarily define the limits of their heart and judge their imagination by what they see; Raoun had fallen into this pit as well. Perhaps this trap was even harder to escape for geniuses.

I said slowly.

[This is the Dark Night Slash.]

When unleashing the Dark Night Slash, having a sword isn’t strictly necessary.

Just like Gong Sun Da-rang brandished foliage and even stone as a sword, I too could become formless.

“……!!”

Raoun’s eyes widened with disbelief at my words.

After a while, he finally composed himself, stood up, and bowed in genuflection.

“I concede. I acknowledge you.”

Unlike before, his greeting had the air of public courtesy, indicating he sincerely accepted defeat to me.

Yet, I didn’t respond to his courtesy, merely gazed at him, and Raoun, catching my eye, forced a wry smile and said.

“Want to know about realization?”

[I thought you’ve already mentioned it repeatedly.]

“Then I must formally reintroduce myself.”

Raoun slowly brought his palms together in prayer and bowed his head.

“I am Raoun, the Tenth Disciple of Shakyamuni, known as the First of Secret Actions. Now a Brahmin of the Four Heavenly Kings, but truly, I’m just a wandering cloud.”

[……]

The moment I heard that, I realized something and spoke.

[Wait… Are you Su-bori’s older brother?]

“Indeed. Su-bori is my elder brother.”

[……!!]

This was totally unexpected!

The Raoun before me was the brother of that Su-bori!

As I processed this shocking news, Raoun continued.

“When Shakyamuni entered the Great Cycle, he bestowed powers on his disciples. The power I received allows me to recognize the Eight Consciousnesses of my opponents. I often used this ability in combat.”

[So, the pain I felt was because of the ability to sense the Eight Consciousnesses?]

“Correct. When one recognizes the Eight Consciousnesses, even inanimate objects gain feelings and consciousness.”

Raoun said this with a peculiar look.

“But… you, Baek Woong, were already a being with an awakened awareness before I could even tap into that.”