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“What did you just say?”

I was a bit taken aback by Jin So-cheong’s sudden comment and had to ask, “What do you mean by that? Why do you want to be a disciple of the Master of the White Lotus Sect?”

Jin So-cheong replied, “I read your memories and understood that my ‘past life’ owes you a debt. But let’s be honest, that debt didn’t come about overnight. I’ve helped you, and you’ve helped me too.”

“That’s true, but…” I hesitated.

“However, we can’t start nitpicking every single exchange. You and I are already comrades pursuing the same goal, are we not? After hearing your story, my heart has been moved, and I want to help you, so don’t think too much about it.”

It seemed Jin So-cheong was talking about his concept of ‘comrades.’ ‘Is he trying to lighten my burden?’ I pondered. As silence fell, he continued, “The reason I want to be a disciple of the Master of the White Lotus is simple: I want to steal and learn his techniques and pass them on to you.”

“Um…!!” Stealing techniques, huh! That was definitely a worthy idea. After all, I had entered the Master of the White Lotus Sect when the opportunity arose during my past life. I understood his thought process well enough, but after some contemplation, I said, “But… I’m probably going to challenge Dark Heaven Village soon. I think I’ll be ready to leave in three months at most. The odds of surviving my first challenge at Dark Heaven Village are almost nonexistent, so your plan to become the Master’s disciple might not be meaningful.”

“That’s exactly why I want to become a disciple of the Master of the White Lotus,” he said.

“Huh?”

“Your Black Card should be saved for emergencies. Using it to save Lee Cheong-un in this life would be a waste. So the fastest way for me to grow is to join the Master of the White Lotus, who possesses the world’s greatest martial arts.”

I realized Jin So-cheong’s reasoning made a certain level of sense. ‘Even though the Master of the Twelve Joules is an unknown monster, the Master of the White Lotus, obsessed with the Thunder God Lineage’s martial arts… is likely to accept Jin So-cheong as a disciple!’ I had even seen the look of admiration the Master had for Jin So-cheong’s talent with my own eyes. The Master was someone with pure passion when it came to martial arts, so Jin So-cheong’s plan seemed quite plausible.

Despite this, there was still something nagging at me, so I asked Jin So-cheong, “But three months, is there really enough time to learn something?”

Then Jin So-cheong replied, “I’m not trying to brag, but my talent is quite decent. If I challenge him with a will to die, I should be able to learn something from the Master of the White Lotus.”

“Hmm…” Normally, one would scoff at the idea of learning techniques in just three months, but oddly enough, I couldn’t completely dismiss Jin So-cheong’s potential.

“When I examined your memories, the Master possesses considerable zeal and purity regarding martial arts. If you sincerely seek him out, he might bestow something upon you.”

It seemed like Jin So-cheong had genuinely resolved to become the disciple of the Master of the White Lotus at that moment. Feeling his spirit of wanting to help me, I found courage bubbling up inside me. How could I refuse the help of a genius like Jin So-cheong? I had been a disciple of the Master of the White Lotus in my past life, solely researching the Seven Great Techniques, but if Jin So-cheong became his disciple, wouldn’t I gain something different?

Not the Seven Great Techniques, but the Master’s unique ultimate skills. Those might even provide clues about the Heart of Heaven’s Abundance and the remnants of the past.

“…Understood! Then if it comes to delaying my challenge to Dark Heaven, I’ll make sure to help you become a disciple of the Master of the White Lotus.”

“Thank you.”

It didn’t need to be a big deal as long as I was ready to do whatever it took. Besides, this life was about settling things quickly based on past life experiences, so I wouldn’t need to worry much about potential repercussions from the Master of the White Lotus. Until now, I’d never considered the possibility of having Jin So-cheong, the successor of the Thunder God Lineage, enter the Master’s service, but if Jin So-cheong took the initiative, the story would change.

‘Even so, I probably shouldn’t expect to gain anything in such a short time, so maybe I should prepare for my training and extend the timeline a bit…’

There’s no need to rush, right? There’s no guarantee that Seo Mun-hye’s investigation into the family bloodlines at the Shadowless Gate would conclude quickly, either. I instinctively sensed that the timeline for challenging Dark Heaven Village might be further off than I initially thought.

“Alright then, let’s go,” I said.

After teaming up with Jin So-cheong, I went straight to Geok-ho and persuaded him easily through Jin So-cheong to hand over the Obsidian.

Oh!

After regaining his memories, Geok-ho wore a puzzled expression. Then he asked, “Hey, Baek Woong. So I took revenge on the Wind Spirit Sect’s Yong Bi-cheon in my last life?”

“That’s what I heard.”

“You heard that? Hey…”

Geok-ho sighed heavily.

“That’s a letdown. I’ve wanted nothing more than to cut off Yong Bi-cheon’s head; how can you just casually mention it like this? I feel like my entire life’s goal has been spoiled.”

“Ugh, sorry…”

Then Geok-ho chuckled.

“Hahaha! Just kidding. Honestly, I’m glad about this.”

“Huh?”

“If you had shown me a vivid memory of my revenge being successful, I would’ve felt good momentarily but would have been left feeling empty. How am I supposed to motivate myself to live on if I’ve already accomplished my lifelong goal in the past? And I still haven’t taken my revenge now, have I?”

“……”

He had a point.

‘Wait. So helping Geok-ho achieve his revenge in the future may actually become a poison to his current life?’

Then what’s the right move here?

Feeling confused, I hesitated, causing Geok-ho to continue, “Well… I still have many other things I want to do besides killing Yong Bi-cheon, so I don’t think I’ll feel empty easily. The problem is that it feels too difficult right now.”

“If I help, it won’t be that hard.”

“That sounds exciting!”

He stretched widely and spoke energetically.

“Alright then, how about we celebrate our little reunion with some drinks? Today’s on me!”

“Drinks? Hey, do we really have time for that…” I replied in disbelief, but Geok-ho just laughed.

“You might be stumbling around trying to train anyway, right? You seem to have finished most of your tasks already—what’s one day of drinking going to hurt?”

“……”

“Trying too hard won’t get you anywhere!”

Why did his words feel so pointed?!

As I touched my temple, Jin So-cheong smirked beside me.

“How about we celebrate by downing five bottles of liquor all together?”

“Ugh, five bottles? Whose idea is that?”

“Just for a bit of fun, my older brother.”

“Tch…”

Jin So-cheong mentioned five bottles lightly, but that was no small amount. Most people would be red-faced and toppled over after two or three bottles, but Jin So-cheong could drink a lot.

‘Damn. Why does the Thunder God Lineage love their booze so much…’

In the end, I drank heavily with both of them, snagged some chicken, and returned to Jangryeong Valley. As soon as I arrived, Zhuge Sa frowned as he caught a whiff of alcohol.

“Where have you been, smelling like booze?”

“…I couldn’t help it; I was told not to mix my last drink with my internal power…”

Was that how experts enjoyed their drinks?

Jin So-cheong and Geok-ho could just easily eliminate their drunkenness with their internal power, but we’d all agreed implicitly to drink the last round without any internal power—an essential unspoken agreement since martial artists typically didn’t get drunk if they were conscious of their limits.

I explained everything that had happened to Zhuge Sa and showed him the Obsidian. He seemed intrigued and stroked his chin thoughtfully as he said, “Hmm. The biggest issue, above all else, seems to be your memory leakage…”

“Yeah. I feel like Cheon Woo-jin might not be able to handle this with his alcohol techniques either.”

“That’s obvious. The brain is just one part of the organ, and once it reaches its limit, memory can’t help but fade. That’s a problem that can’t be fundamentally resolved, even with alcohol techniques.”

Zhuge Sa, who initially responded to me casually, suddenly fell silent and deep in thought. After a moment, he said, “This is something I need to ponder as well.”

“So, what do I do now?”

“What do you mean? You haven’t even obtained the Fire Dragon Sword yet…” Zhuge Sa shot back.

Suddenly, he stopped breathing.

Then, with a pat on his knee, he shouted, “That’s it!”

“Wha… what?”

“Baek Woong! Get moving right now. I have a feeling you’ve already half-discovered the solution!”

“……?!”

“First, break the seal on the Fire Dragon Sword, then do as I instruct.”

Upon hearing Zhuge Sa, I realized it could indeed become a clue for the current situation. I pondered why I hadn’t thought of it earlier and asked, “I’ll need to pay some form of price to negotiate with it; will Platinum be enough?”

“That will be plenty. Now, hurry up.”

A flash!

I dashed to the underground of the Zhuge Clan, where the Fire Dragon Sword was sealed. After contacting Yeodong-bin through my devices to notify him of the sword’s location, he immediately agreed to lend me his strength to save our Master. As soon as the Fire Dragon Sword revived, I swiftly placed it in my wooden armor and moved toward the Kingdom of Duke Du.

Upon arriving at the Kingdom of Duke Du, I went straight to the location where the Westerners were gathered and shouted, “Matteo Ricci, are you there?!”

Pouring my internal power into my loud voice, Westerners began to appear one by one. I saw Matteo Ricci standing before me along with soldiers. He spoke fluently in Central Plains language, “Who are you?”

“I’m Baek Woong, and I’ve come to trade treasures with you.”

“You say treasures? But it looks like you’re not holding anything aside from a sword…” Just as he finished his sentence, I reached into my wooden armor and pulled out a chunk of platinum, showing it to him. The dazzling light of the platinum caught the eyes of the soldiers, stirring whispers among them. But Matteo Ricci appeared more interested in something else than the platinum’s value—he seemed astonished.

“Taking such a large item from a small wooden armor… this is… a Demon Artifact! Are you a Demon Sorcerer?”

“No.”

I shifted my position to briefly explain the situation to Matteo Ricci, then expressed my desire to trade the Silver Phoenix Fragment for the platinum. After pondering a bit, Matteo Ricci answered, “You seem to understand the value of that item… Could you possibly be a descendant of the dynasty?”

“That’s none of your business! Just know that this exchange is beneficial for you.”

“……”

After a moment, Matteo Ricci nodded and said, “I accept.”

Then I handed him all the platinum chunks I had from the Yangnam Dong Tunnel and received the Silver Phoenix Fragment in return. When I placed it alongside the one I had from the Hwa Clan of Taekyung Village, it formed a pair. As soon as I secured the pair of phoenix fragments, I headed towards the former capital of Balhae.

Flash!

As I inserted the phoenix fragments into the door, I found that I could enter. Upon arriving at the tomb of the ancient kings, I proclaimed to the spirits of the kings at the end, stating that I had legitimately earned the phoenix fragments and asked, “… So, please let me know the details.”

Feigning interest with the fiery cause of Balhae’s demise, they seemed to agree with me. Then, the King of Dae-In summoned an enormous silver phoenix, holding it out for me.

[May this be of help…]

“Of course.”

After exiting the tomb of the Balhae kings, I returned to Jangryeong Valley and presented the silver phoenix to Zhuge Sa.

“I got it.”

“… You’re one impressive guy. It’s normally impossible for an ordinary person to acquire a silver phoenix within a lifetime; yet you bring it back as if it’s nothing.”

“Huh? Well, I had the intel from my past life…”

“Hahaha.”

Zhuge Sa chuckled as he slowly lifted the silver phoenix with both hands. He gazed at it before saying, “This might just hold the answer to your memory leakage. Although I doubt a conclusion will come immediately, it’s worth researching.”

The Silver Phoenix! This was a remarkable memory storage device, far superior to the Obsidian I possessed, utilized by the ancient kings of Balhae to transmit their knowledge and experiences. In terms of memory transmission, it was the finest treasure I possessed, leading Zhuge Sa to believe it would assist me somehow.

After that, Zhuge Sa glanced at me sideways, “Oh, and I think it’s necessary to check your current condition with some medical practices. Since we’re at it, go and get a medical diagnosis from Hwa Seong-myeong.”

“Got it.”

I headed towards Goryeo, contacting Hwa Seong-myeong and offering financial support to bring his clan members to Goryeo. However, since I had to get examined this time, I explained my situation fairly openly, mentioning that I hadn’t gone through the Half-Transition Master process but hinted that I was of significant age. As I simultaneously revealed that my memories were growing increasingly hazy, Hwa Seong-myeong readily agreed to help.

“Alright. It will take three nights to thoroughly examine your body, so take the Demon Waste Potion to cleanse the internal energy.”

“Yes.”

Finally, I only wore a thin cloth and went through acupuncture and other treatments for three days, absorbing all of Hwa Seong-myeong’s medical techniques. On the last evening of the third day, he called for me.

“Um… I’m not quite sure how to put this…”

 

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