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“Wait, you got marked by the Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens?”

When I questioned Cheon Woo-jin, he pressed his temple as if he had a headache. After a moment of thought, he turned to Mangnyang and said, “That’s not just a minor mistake. Senior Brother thinks every variable can’t be controlled and is strategizing to check all possibilities.”

Mangnyang nodded in agreement. “I think that’s the shortcut. That’s how it should be with Baek Woong.”

“Hmm… this isn’t like your usual efficient strategies, Senior Brother,” I remarked.

“Considering Baek Woong’s 23 lifetimes, you naturally start to think like me,” Mangnyang replied.

“That makes sense,” I said, trying to keep up with the conversation as Cheon Woo-jin turned back to me.

“The reason why your energy doesn’t get consumed when you activate the Immortal Sword Technique and why your insides feel like they’re getting stabbed by needles… it means the Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens refuses to lend you her power.”

“I kinda guessed that from what Mangnyang said. But how does that connect with being marked?”

“Understand the essence of the technique. Her lending you power means the Immortal Sword Technique is close to a spirit summoning technique. It also means you’re borrowing the true power of the Heavenly Mysterious Woman directly, which puts you in a position of an avatar representing her will during the technique’s activation.”

“……!!”

“The Immortal Sword Technique isn’t just ordinary magic; it’s a payback technique that puts a heavy burden on the Great Immortal herself. The stronger the restrictions, the greater the power it wields.”

I gulped at Cheon Woo-jin’s words. He plopped down on a nearby staircase to continue speaking.

“No Great Immortal would be thrilled if a complete stranger borrowed their strength for free. This kind of magic should be obtained through proper offerings and fair exchanges—like a ritual of fortuitous encounters—but you haven’t done any of that in this life, have you?”

“Nope.”

“The more troubling part is that since you don’t know how the causality has connected, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman can’t just show up and ask you directly. So instead of asking, ‘Who the hell are you?’ when you try to activate the Immortal Sword Technique, she’s applying heavy pressure instead.”

“That makes sense.”

“It’s not something to just brush off. It’s similar to how in your last life, you forcefully activated the power of time and triggered Zhuge Wook’s wrath.” Cheon Woo-jin pointed out bluntly.

“So far, you’ve attempted to activate the Immortal Sword Technique twice, right? Until now, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman has been nicely warning you to take it easy. But she’s the battle spirit that fought the Giant Race back in the Emperor’s era, known for her fiery temper.”

“……”

“If you keep trying to activate the Immortal Sword Technique, who knows what consequences might surface?”

I swallowed hard at Cheon Woo-jin’s warning. If what he said was true, it meant the Heavenly Mysterious Woman had let me off easy so far simply because her temperament was milder than that of Zhuge Wook. But she was fundamentally a fierce battle spirit, and continuing to provoke her with the Immortal Sword Technique could lead to disaster.

‘Damn, that’s how it is…’

Just as I was internally promising to be cautious, Mangnyang spoke up. “Baek Woong, I’m sorry. But I feel it’s necessary to clarify the nature of the Immortal Sword Technique.”

Understanding Mangnyang’s train of thought, I nodded. “It’s fine. Like you said, it’s worse to wander aimlessly without knowing what it is.”

“So what do you plan to do now?”

“For starters… I need to absorb the spirit power from this statue,” I replied, pulling out the statue of Zhuge Wook from my pouch. Cheon Woo-jin frowned as he said, “You really are a walking bundle of fortuitous encounters…”

Whoosh!

A short while later, I headed to a location beneath a waterfall inside the village. This place radiated excellent spiritual energy, making it a perfect spot for absorbing spirit power. Cheon Woo-jin, foreseeing potential risks, established a barrier and said, “I’m not helping you for free, so make sure to pay the price later.”

“……”

This guy really knows how to secure his interests. He’s definitely not the type to do things for free.

Once ready, I began chanting the incantation I learned from Cheon Woo-jin in my previous life. This incantation had the effect of absorbing power from the statue, and soon, I could feel a reaction from the statue, sending a jolt through my whole body.

Hisssss…

As the power entered my body, I felt a wave of heat wash over me, followed by a sudden chill as if I had stepped into an ice cave. It felt like a terrifying, dark energy was squeezing my body.

“… Ugh…”

But it was more bearable than before. In the past, the agony felt like swallowing dozens of pieces of ice, but now, it was just a painfully tight sensation in my stomach. To put it metaphorically, it was like having a hangover from a heavy drinking binge the night before. Cheon Woo-jin chuckled as he watched me endure.

“Looks like you’ve built resistance to the energy of the moon after absorbing 20 years’ worth of spirit power in your last life.”

“Haha… urgh!” Suddenly, a chill ran through my body, causing me to shake and collapse.

“That doesn’t mean the spirit power is easy to handle, though.”

“……”

Damn, Cheon Woo-jin was right. It felt like this pain wouldn’t be getting any easier to get used to.

After a short while, once all the spirit power was absorbed, Cheon Woo-jin picked up the statue that had fallen to the ground and said, “Now you’ve accumulated 40 years of spirit power from your past life.”

“Hmm… Does that mean I need to absorb it 12 more times?”

“Honestly, you probably don’t need to go that far…”

“Huh?”

“As I mentioned before, the greater the power you wield, the more training points you gather. If it looks like you’re planning to die quickly in this life, I won’t push the matter, but in the future, it’s advisable to balance out your technique training. Then you could reach a level where you could master the Phoenix Arts without necessarily dying 12 more times.”

Mangnyang, who was beside us, chimed in, “Baek Woong, before moving on, let’s visit Mount Huang first.”

“Why Mount Huang?”

“We need to cultivate spiritual pills in the Earth Soil.”

“Ah…!!” I gasped, impressed by the suggestion. Mangnyang grinned as he said, “I figured it would be too much of a hassle for you to think about that part, so I’ll take care of it.”

“I appreciate it.”

Finally, I went with Mangnyang to Mount Huang and handed over the Black and White Lotus and Sacred Lotus that I had obtained. According to Mangnyang, if these were transplanted, they would soon sprout seeds for future cultivation, allowing me to have a field suited for easy growth of spiritual pills if I lived long enough.

Next, I visited the Namgung Clan’s secret location to retrieve the treasure, the Suspicious Fishhook, and rescue the women trapped inside. Normally, I would have thoroughly wrecked the Namgung Clan and devised various methods to destroy them, but what was important this life wasn’t the Namgung Clan. So, I randomly pulled out a bomb from my pouch.

Whoosh!

I suddenly appeared at the center of the Namgung Clan, looking for the clan leader, Sword King Namgung Myeong. Surrounding him were the Eight Swords of Namgung, all eyes suddenly fixed on me. I threw the bomb toward them.

Bang!

As the bomb I brought from the pirate base exploded, the scene before me turned into chaos. I had used this method once in my past life, and it seemed quite effective; most of the Eight Swords of Namgung died or were left incapacitated.

“Grrr… you little!!”

Namgung Myeong, who took the brunt of the explosion, trembled as he was scorched black. Though he was seriously injured, his eyes burned with rage, suggesting he had protected his vital points. When our eyes met, I casually muttered, “Still alive? Looks like you avoided a fatal injury with your protection energy technique.”

“I’ll kill you!!”

Clap!

Namgung Myeong charged at me with fire in his eyes. Even though he was badly hurt, a man renowned as the strongest among the Five Great Families wasn’t someone to be taken lightly even in that state. But I just smiled coldly and said, “The reason I didn’t just walk away this time is… I was simply curious about the outcome.”

In an instant, ten strands of Sword Strength whipped out like whips, eliciting a terrifying momentum as they followed his sword form. I elegantly dodged, easily reading all the trajectories. Compared to Lee Cheong-un’s attacks, this was just child’s play.

“After the bomb went off, I was eager to see if you’d be dead or alive.”

Swiftly, I evaded Namgung Myeong’s charge using the Three Treasure Technique and seized the opportunity to strike at his back, executing a massive palm strike. Overwhelmed by rage and injury, he fell victim to a critical hit far too easily.

“Gack!!”

He coughed up blood, collapsing to the ground, and as I looked down at his dying form, I remarked, “Looks like the result is the same.”

With his spine broken, he was dying pitifully, and I felt no compassion for him.

The Sword King, Namgung Myeong, deserved to die for all the sins he had committed thus far.

Clap!

Using the Golden Lamp technique, I moved to the underground of the Imperial Palace this time to obtain the Crystal Stele. Normally, I would avoid stimulating the Imperial Palace forces due to the potential ramifications, but since I might die quickly this life, I decided not to sweat the small stuff. Right after, I moved to the Inner Imperial Pavilion and managed to acquire the Nameless Ritual Book before heading towards the prophet of Astana.

Upon arriving in front of the prophet, I shouted as soon as he appeared. “Prophet!! Wait a minute!”

[Hmm…?]

A peculiar silence hung in the air as I faced the prophet. Moments later, Zhuge Bu teleported in and glared fiercely at me.

“You dare steal the Nameless Ritual Book?!”

“Hello, nice to meet you, Zhuge Bu,” I greeted, raising my hand in a wave.

Then I added, “I’m Baek Woong. I’d like to propose a bet to you, the treasure of the Central Plains. Are you willing to accept?”

“A bet?”

I nodded toward Zhuge Bu and said, “Let’s have the prophet serve as an objective witness, and you and I will duel here. The loser will be the other’s slave for life.”

“……”

Zhuge Bu scoffed in disbelief. “What a ridiculous fellow. Do you even understand the value of the grimoire you stole? It would be perfectly justified to kill you right here and take it back.”

“Then why are you listening to my words so patiently? Because I can teleport instantly, and you can’t grasp what kind of trap I’ve set? If I keep trying to escape from here, you’ll never be able to catch me in your lifetime.”

“……”

“This is an opportunity I’m extending to you, Zhuge Bu. Take a moment to think.”

At that moment, the silent prophet spoke up. [I never said I would certify your duel…]

I grinned at the prophet. “Are you willing to do it if I pay a fee?”

[Alright… make your opening move…]

“Damn.”

The prophet really loves those opening moves, huh?! Why is it that he fancies them so much? I could finally sympathize with Zhuge Sa’s past grumblings about opening moves. I instinctively felt that the prophet’s reactions would shift entirely depending on what conditions I laid out.

“……”

I pondered for a moment before pulling out three Black and White Lotus from my pouch and presenting them. The prophet accepted the lotus, observing silently, before he said, [This is… a bit lacking…]

I snapped, feeling irritated. “Aren’t you being a bit greedy?!”

[Then… I won’t do it… the duel certification…]

“Creak, damn it. Then I’ll give one more Sacred Lotus.”

As I begrudgingly handed over another Sacred Lotus, the prophet finally seemed satisfied and spoke. [Alright… Now that I’ve received the fee, I’ll act as the witness to this duel and take responsibility for all its outcomes… If he agrees, we can immediately establish the ceremony for the duel.]

Sneaking a glance at Zhuge Bu, who had been quiet until now, he stared at the prophet and then spoke.

“I see now. You’re the Tao King of the esteemed Zhuyong Tribe among the otherworldly races, aren’t you?”

His tone had changed to that of respect. The prophet responded to the question. [Yes… Will you accept the duel proposed by Baek Woong…?]

Zhuge Bu resolutely answered, “No. It’s a duel that will gain me nothing. Especially in a setting like this.”

[Hehe… Is that so…]

Seeing the prophet smile made me uneasy. ‘No way! That bastard is planning to run off after just collecting the fee!’

My plan was to challenge Zhuge Bu, believing I had the capability to bring him down—then make him my slave, using him as a shield when crossing over to Dark Heaven Village. That’s why I wanted the prophet as an objective witness to enforce the conditions.

However, the prophet had no reason to keep facilitating the duel, so it seemed he was intent on fleeing after pocketing the fee. I quickly called out to the prophet. “Wait! I’ll add to the fee.”

[What do you mean…?]

I pulled out the Nameless Ritual Book from my pocket and held it up high. “Prophet! I’ll offer the Nameless Ritual Book as a fee. Now establish the duel!”

The space fell silent at my declaration. The gazes of the prophet and Zhuge Bu clashed momentarily, and Zhuge Bu quickly exclaimed thereafter, “Then farewell!”

Clap!

[That won’t do… You must fulfill the customer’s request…]

Zhuge Bu vanished again using spatial barriers or teleportation techniques, but the prophet extended his tentacles, drawing a magic circle in the air. Moments later, Zhuge Bu reappeared here like a ghost, visibly fuming. “Damn it!! This absurd situation…”

[The duel has been established.]

“……!!”

Wiying!

As the prophet created a battleground, Zhuge Bu and I found ourselves in territory we had never seen before. It looked like the specialized duel arena crafted by the prophet. Zhuge Bu scowled fiercely and growled, “Do you really think you can stand a chance against me in an actual fight?”

Feeling the duel commence, I raised my sword defiantly. “Of course!”

At this point, there was no retreating. I was determined to turn the value of the Nameless Ritual Book into a lifetime’s worth of servitude from him!

 

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