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00533  Dark Heaven Village ————————————————————————=

The Ten Great Masters.

In my first life, that name represented the strongest warriors at the very peak of the Central Plains Martial World chain. Of course, the people of this era, being from a previous generation, couldn’t possibly know, but having experienced fifty years later, I was well aware of their renown.

Old Sage of Mount Tai.

Geol-seon.

Master of Zen.

Poison King.

Bow King.

Divine Spear.

Phantom.

Fist Saint.

Heavenly Demon.

Sword King.

Among these, the current Three Great Masters remains the Ten Great Masters fifty years from now. And the Divine Spear refers to Jin So-cheong, the unmatched champion of the Central Plains.

“Hmmm… And that friend tied up over there will later be known as the Bow King, Yeon Jong-hwi, the Ten Great Masters with the ability to shoot a hundred arrows in a single shot.”

The Sword Demon, listening to my explanation, stroked his beard in admiration. Not just him, but all the companions gathered around seemed fascinated by my story. The Extreme Tiger chuckled.

“Hey Baek Woong. Could it be that I’m the Phantom among the Ten Great Masters?”

That seemed plausible. But I shook my head.

“I’m not sure either. The Phantom wanders around so wildly that I have no idea other than his title.”

“Man, you must not have any attachment to your first life. The memories I received from the obsidian are so vague that I only just learned about this.”

“……”

“That memory is extremely faint. Did you purposely try to hide it?”

The Extreme Tiger teased, but I just laughed bitterly.

After living a life filled with hardships, could the miserable ending I faced as a pawn be anything pleasant?

At that moment, Jin So-cheong, who was listening, spoke up.

“Something feels off, Baek Woong.”

“What’s off?”

“Others might not know, but Sword Demon is still in his prime. Even if it’s fifty years later, a master’s body doesn’t age easily, so he’ll surely maintain his peak ability. But why isn’t he included among the Ten Great Masters?”

“Oh, now that you mention it…”

I realized I hadn’t really thought about it. But after Jin So-cheong’s words, it seemed strange. Even in his current state, the Sword Demon was among the best in the world, and he should undoubtedly be one of the Ten Great Masters fifty years from now. After a moment of thought, I replied.

“The Shadowless Sect will exist even fifty years later. However, it’s such a high-profile sect that a mere pawn like me couldn’t grasp the news well. Plus, the Shadowless Sect will still be the number one sect fifty years from now.”

“Hah! That sounds nice.”

The Sword Demon smiled contentedly.

“Hmmm… I think I sense something unusual about the Jianghu. Either I or Hyea might have been hiding our strengths. If that’s not the case, then perhaps I was murdered before fifty years passed.”

“……”

Various ominous thoughts sprang to mind.

I hadn’t deeply considered what had happened in my first life over the fifty years.

Then Miho remarked, intrigued.

“Baek Woong, so who was the greatest in the world among the Ten Great Masters?”

I flinched.

When that sensitive question flew at me, I thought for a moment. Then I replied.

“I don’t know. Really, I have no idea.”

“What kind of answer is that?”

“Well… among those ten Ten Great Masters, the Sword King was this guy.”

I grabbed Namgung Hwan’s neck, which had fallen to the ground. Namgung Hwan, the Azure Dragon of the Sky, would rise to fame as the Sword King and one of the Ten Great Masters fifty years later, but here, he was beheaded by the Extreme Tiger. The Extreme Tiger then chuckled mockingly.

“Hah! How pathetic. Is a little guy like that considered one of the Ten Great Masters?”

“I don’t know. The current Three Great Masters will indeed become the Ten Great Masters, so their skills are assured. They’re already eyeing the peak now. Plus, Jin So-cheong is involved. I just can’t judge.”

Hearing my words, the Sword Demon said,

“It seems the Ten Great Masters had significant differences in strength among them.”

“That does seem to be the case.”

“Then… who were those ‘one or two’ you saw in Baek Woong?”

“Huh?”

The Sword Demon stared at me intently.

“You saw the future through Baek Woong. Back there, Jin So-cheong said that only one or two of the Ten Great Masters could contend with the Bishop of the Nine Lotus Sect.”

“Ah.”

“Baek Woong is a treasure that predicts the future based entirely on the knowledge and experience you’ve accumulated. If that’s the case, then Jin So-cheong’s judgment was certainly influenced by your vague standards of the ‘Ten Great Masters.’”

“I see. I understand now.”

In essence, the greatest masters as judged by Jin So-cheong meant the absolute beings of fifty years later. After taking a brief breath, I said,

“The Heavenly Demon, the Divine Spear, and the Fist Saint were ranked as the peak masters of the age.”

“What kind of individuals were the Heavenly Demon and the Fist Saint?”

“The Heavenly Demon was the unmatched master of the demonic arts, known for his invincibility. As for the Fist Saint, he was considered the best fist fighter from Goryeo and was also undefeated.”

“The same goes for the Divine Spear?”

“Yes.”

The Sword Demon nodded as if he understood.

“So all three, the Heavenly Demon, the Divine Spear, and the Fist Saint, were legendary undefeated champions. That’s why they couldn’t make any judgments about each other until they clashed in the Jianghu, huh? It’s a contradiction—one can’t know the outcome until the spear and shield collide.”

“That’s correct.”

“If they were masters of the Absolute Realm, one could discern their strengths, but such individuals wouldn’t deliberately cater to the whims of the Jianghu enthusiasts.”

The Sword Demon’s insight was remarkable. Just a single word from me was enough for him to deduce the entire situation.

At that moment, Yeon Jong-hwi, who had been listening, muttered,

“Are you all collectively going insane? What mad nonsense have you been spouting since earlier…”

“Yeon Jong-hwi.”

“Just make up your mind to kill or spare me.”

“Can’t you believe that you’ll become the Bow King?”

When I questioned him, Yeon Jong-hwi looked bewildered.

“Why would I use such a quaint title? I have no intention of acquiring great fame in the Jianghu; I was merely searching for a place to train my skills to their completion. I just happened to get caught up with you lot…”

“……”

But there was no way I could be mistaken. The Yeon Jong-hwi before me would surely become one of the Ten Great Masters in the future.

I sent a secret transmission to the Sword Demon.

[Did that guy use the Mind Control Technique?]

[He did. It’s weak, but he knows how to use it. That’s why I said he would become a significant figure.]

[No doubt about it.]

[Are you planning to take him?]

[Yeah.]

[That would be interesting.]

The Extreme Tiger said,

“Well then, let’s clean this up and head back.”

“Got it.”

Following the Extreme Tiger’s words, I stuffed the bodies of the Namgung Clan experts into the wooden armor. Leaving them there would obviously lead various factions in the Jianghu to investigate the background, so I had to make them disappear into a state of being missing by putting them in the armor. The remaining humans from the Namgung Clan were trapped in Naseng Gate, lost in Miho’s enchantment as their memories were manipulated.

Once the clean-up was done, I escaped and took my party to Jinrang Valley, then headed straight to Zhuge Sa.

Pa-at!

When I showed up at Zhuge Sa as an unexpected visitor, he stared at me blankly. I immediately cut to the chase.

“Zhuge Sa. How much time is left on the contract with Fengshen War? Before long, I’ll need to visit her and cooperate to be recognized as the heretical sect leader and establish the Divine Temple of the Demon King. Can I just sit around like this?”

“Who are you?”

“The Heretical Sect Leader.”

I tossed the obsidian lightly at him. Instead of catching it directly, Zhuge Sa summoned what looked like an arm made of an ethereal substance to grab the obsidian, clearly on guard. I said to Zhuge Sa,

“I also know you injected the Heavenly Secret Technique into Zhuge Bu.”

“……”

“That obsidian transmits memories. By reading it, you’ll find out how I know this.”

“How fun…”

Zhuge Sa accepted the obsidian. Once the memory transmission finished, he looked somewhat bewildered. Then he spoke.

“You’re going all out from the very beginning, huh… heh heh. You really wanted to show off your strength, didn’t you?”

I realized Zhuge Sa had captured the memory completely, and I grumbled,

“Damn! Having to say the same thing in every lifetime is so annoying. Don’t you have a magical word that can make it easier to give you the obsidian?”

Zhuge Sa’s suspicion was too high, so he wouldn’t easily fall for ordinary bait. I had no choice but to rely on the faint glimmer of madness that existed within him. Passing the obsidian to him was quite a challenge. Zhuge Sa then shrugged.

“Not likely. If you feel that way, just beat me up until I go missing and then transmit the memory. With your current strength, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“Don’t kid me. It’s obvious that if I corner you with my martial arts, you’ll invoke hidden law or a curse and take us both down.”

“Well, that’s probably true.”

“‘Probably’ true, huh? Do you wish to see me perish due to your folly?”

When I questioned him in exasperation, Zhuge Sa grinned.

“How interesting.”

“……”

Zhuge Sa stood up from his chair and said,

“Anyhow, thanks to that guy Extreme Tiger, you’ve probably regained some confidence. Feeling good after taking out those fools?”

“Why say it like that? The Namgung Clan are bad folks, so I only persecuted them.”

“But from their perspective, it must’ve felt like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.”

“I don’t care how they feel.”

When I answered firmly, Zhuge Sa wore a strange smile.

“Really is that so?”

“……?”

“Well, anyway, you handled the cleanup better than expected. Now, let’s gather the remaining fortuitous encounters and maximize the training period in our strategy.”

“Zhuge Sa. We can’t leave the Imperial Palace as it is.”

“Hehe. White Lotus Sect, Imperial Palace, Twelve Joules… it’s a matter of how to adjust their strange antagonistic relationships.”

That’s the problem.

If we leave the Imperial Palace unbothered, it would grow dangerously strong over time with the support of the Evil Gods, leaving us with no way to deal with it. Of course, there are ways to destroy such a stronghold, but we’d have to heavily rely on the power of the gods.

However, if we destroy the Imperial Palace, the White Lotus Sect would then invade the Central Plains and go on a rampage. If the leader is willing to go to any lengths to gather the teachings of the Non-Birth Mother, then ultimately the war between the Old Ruler and the Three Sovereigns would reignite.

The Twelve Joules are close to a third force, but in times of crisis, they might meddle in the chaos of the Central Plains to gain benefits or even resort to assassination. Moreover, I can’t fathom what the Twelve Joules are thinking, as they’re a mysterious and impenetrable enigma.

Zhuge Sa remarked,

“I think it would be best to let things flow much like last time, but this time, avoid the Offering Ceremony altogether.”

“What?”

“The big turning point from the last life was you becoming the Apostle of Jeon Wook. Until then, we were handling the Imperial Palace smoothly while keeping a low profile, but after that, the turmoil began with the Sea God’s subjugation and the entanglement of the White Lotus Sect. Furthermore, having an Offering Ceremony would certainly create a massive impact.”

With his arms crossed, Zhuge Sa explained.

“Do not become an Apostle of God or perform the Offering Ceremony. That would be like lighting a bomb. Instead, gather as many of the Seven Luminaries as you can, and focus on enhancing personal capabilities with the gathered opportunities. Prepare to train for at least twenty years.”

“Understood.”

“Your thoughts likely aren’t much different from Mangnyang’s. There’s just one thing to note…”

“What is it?”

“Something that must be figured out.”

Zhuge Sa paused for a moment and then said,

“Why does the strongest Overlay Technique, the Celestial Sage, oppose gathering the Seven Luminaries?”

“……?”

“He does not heed the commands of the Celestial Realm and opposes the liberation of the Seven Luminaries on his own volition. I believe the reason lies with him going to Tianzhu along with Samjang.”

As I listened to his words, a sudden realization struck me.

“We can search for the entity known as Samjang and call his spirit using the Heavenly Secret Technique. Or we could directly ask King Mi-hu.”

“Exactly.”

Zhuge Sa’s eyes sparkled.

“I get the feeling something’s off. That existence called Samjang might be the key to unraveling many matters.”

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