791——————==

True Martial Home

The 26th life has begun.

After the last life ended way too quickly, I felt no nostalgia even as I stared at the barn’s ceiling. However, death wasn’t without meaning, so I gathered my strength and slowly got up.

‘I need to strengthen my power.’

Death came after my fierce battle with Yeodong-bin.

That fight showed me just how far behind I was compared to Yeodong-bin and helped me understand how much power I needed to reach the ‘standard’ he desired.

First, I must achieve complete Absolute Realm.

Then, I’ll create my own martial arts strong enough to counter Yeodong-bin’s terrifying sword skills!

Honestly, even if I achieve this, I still wouldn’t win against Yeodong-bin. But I took note of the fact that he allowed me to use Great Destruction.

‘If I reach a mature Absolute Realm, I might take down Yeodong-bin with the power of Great Destruction.’

Of course, this means I’ll barely be able to take him down. Currently, the only method to survive after using Great Destruction is sharing life force with Zhuge Bu or another sorcerer, and Yeodong-bin would never allow that. So, my meeting with the Martial God feels eons away.

But, it’s not like there’s no hope. I just need to prepare myself to last 100 seconds against Yeodong-bin, no matter how much time and effort it takes. I can feel it—I just might be able to do it.

Right after I got up from the barn, I immediately obtained Heavenly Secret, and then I rushed off to get Golden Lamp. After acquiring Golden Lamp, I swiftly got Obsidian, defeated a demon beast in Great Thunder Valley, and collected wooden armor and other treasures. I headed to Mount Huang to snag Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, Black and White Lotus, and Su Yowu’s treasures. The moment my basics were done, I went to Jangryeong Valley to meet Zhuge Sa.

Crack!

I approached Zhuge Sa and spent a bit of time convincing him before handing him the Obsidian. After receiving the Obsidian, Zhuge Sa squinted at me after a moment.

“…This is pitiful. What happened to my plan?”

“My bad.”

“Ah, whatever. I guessed from the start you were that kind of guy.”

Zhuge Sa seemed surprisingly unfazed. Curiosity got the better of me and I asked him a question.

“Zhuge Sa, do you happen to know what scheme you devised in your past life?”

“There’s no reason I wouldn’t know. It’s simply a thoughtless plan.”

Zhuge Sa continued.

“Gather all five formidable grimoires you can find, then combine every artifact and treasure you have to use as offerings. After that, summon all the powerful ‘Old Rulers’ recorded in the grimoires and recruit someone to take down the King of Aokigahara Life Sea in exchange for Su Yowu.”

“……?!”

What kind of plan is that?!

But given that Zhuge Sa can’t misinterpret his own past schemes, what he said must be true. I was so baffled that I couldn’t help but retort.

“So, you’re saying we summon multiple ‘Old Rulers’ at once and then… hold an auction?”

“Got it right. It would indeed be an auction. The powerful Old Ruler could easily establish their own sect in this continent with the causal rate and influence gained from summoning five upper-level grimoires, the Seven Luminaries, and all kinds of valuable treasures at once. Naturally, they’d all be scrambling to lend their assistance.”

An auction, huh!

I was left dumbfounded before cautiously saying, “But creatures so cruel, clever, and arrogant wouldn’t make it that easy…”

“Maybe not, but the value of the Seven Luminaries is extremely high. It goes beyond the amusement of mortal destruction that the Old Rulers often enjoy. It’s directly linked with ‘Destruction’ and ‘Prophecy’, and even threads through the Three Sovereigns. Another one that could become an absolute being wouldn’t be arrogant.”

“I see.”

“And if the Old Ruler that offered the best terms won the auction, they could use their immense power to smash through everything and kill the King of Life Sea. Then, they’d leisurely look for that ‘singularity’ afterward.”

“…….”

“As long as you find information about that singularity, the rest isn’t my concern. You’d just need to cut your life force and commit suicide to go to the next life.”

Definitely a thoughtless and reckless scheme. Plus, if they offered us a massive offering, it would lead to total destruction on the earth, and we wouldn’t even have a plan for that. That’s why Zhuge Sa probably ordered to keep it from Mangnyang and Cheon Woo-jin.

I pondered this before continuing, “Out of the Three Sovereigns, the Yan Emperor Shennong is favorable to humans, and we’ve seen him directly beat the King of Life Sea, right? Wasn’t the scheme to resurrect the Yan Emperor in place?”

“Nüwa hates Shennong and directly sealed him. Given that she’s pretty much the leader of the current Three Sovereigns, how is that possible? Last life was an overly special case; Shennong’s resurrection won’t happen again until this world ends.”

“Hmm.”

“Anyway, since you’ve changed your mind, there’s no need to cling to this plan any longer.”

Zhuge Sa mumbled, sitting back in his chair with a slight smile.

“To meet the Martial God… Do you really think such a delusional plan can be a hope or solution in this crisis, where we don’t even know when or how that singularity will come?”

“Sure, the Martial God is indeed a tremendous figure. Meeting him might make me way stronger. It sounds safe too.”

“True. But wasn’t it the advisors who’ve helped you so far that didn’t suggest that method because they didn’t know?”

“……”

“You lack talent. The fact that you expect to be chosen by mysterious absolute beings that have only ever reached out to the masters of the martial arts is laughable. Wouldn’t it be easier and faster to gather the Seven Luminaries again and challenge the trials? You already did it once; if luck is on your side, you could reach it in ten deaths.”

Zhuge Sa’s words left me speechless. It was true, and I had no more arguments to counter him with. But having already solidified my will in the last life, I replied firmly.

“…Still, I’m going for it!!”

“Fine, let’s assume you will. And what about the singularity?”

I knew I was being unreasonable, yet desperately declared, “After all, Master Mangnyang said that singularities are unavoidable even for gods! If they come, they come! I’ll just reach my goal before then!”

“Hmm….”

I expected Zhuge Sa to have a ridiculous expression, but instead, he seemed deep in thought. My words might not have sounded as foolish as I thought. Eventually, Zhuge Sa said, “You have a point.”

“Uh? You understand?”

“I knew singularities are unavoidable. But it’s not the advisor’s duty to just sit back and watch as you meet your end, so I planned to let you try what you can.”

“Ah….”

“Now that you’ve decided, I’ll just throw that problem away.”

When Zhuge Sa said that with a refreshing tone, I felt oddly relieved. I had been worried about harsh criticisms from him, but it seemed to be a close call. Zhuge Sa continued:

“Then it becomes quite simple to craft the plan. Or rather, you wouldn’t need a plan. From now on, just focus on training your martial arts to get stronger.”

“What shall I do now?”

“What else—You haven’t finished your work yet, so you need to complete it first. Find all the treasures and rescue all the people. Bring back enough of your existing companions here.”

“Got it.”

“The story begins from that point.”

Crack!!

Next, I headed to Taekyung Village and got Phoenix Fragment, then made my way to Mangnyang. Handing him the Obsidian, he said, “Baek Woong, this means the odds of facing the gods have just reduced.”

“Help me to grow stronger.”

“Of course.”

After saying that, Mangnyang thought about it for a moment and added, “Since time is precious, I’ll handle the ritual for Su Yowu’s offering myself.”

“Hmm? Is that even possible?”

Mangnyang nodded.

“Thanks to you accepting the knowledge from the Mirror of Clarity and merging it with Ji-seon Mang-nyang’s extensive knowledge of techniques, I’ve learned how to process the offering ritual while delaying it.”

“Ohh!”

“I’ll temporarily offer the ritual to the Celestial Realm and keep the future reward reserved, so come back later. I’ll also persuade the priest in advance.”

“Thank you.”

After that, I traveled to the pirate island where Seo Mun-hye was trapped, defeated the pirates, and rescued the prisoners. I also collected treasures from the pirate island and gained the Black Blade, which I then handed over to Seo Mun-hye.

Whoooom

Seo Mun-hye’s face was filled with surprise as she accepted the Obsidian. Suddenly, her expression turned sorrowful.

“…That must be incredibly hard. After such a grueling adventure, to find there is still so much more to go….”

“Don’t you feel despair like the Master Hyuncheon?”

“Despair? In any case, all the time I was trapped on the pirate island after losing the martial arts tournament was filled with despair for me. It’s not really different.”

“I see….”

Seo Mun-hye’s mental strength didn’t surpass Master Hyuncheon’s, but she had endured the depths of life deeply, which made her easily bear despair. The despair she felt when on the verge of becoming a pirate’s plaything was indeed tremendous. I said to Seo Mun-hye, “You already know your enemy, Yong Jung-il, is not only the heir of the Wind Spirit Sect and the leader of the Huashan Sect but also a reborn person. Therefore, I’d appreciate if you could hold off on taking revenge on him for a while.”

“I understand. Having someone like that rashly touched would be a burden for everyone and could throw the situation into chaos… Don’t worry.”

After finishing our conversation, I took her to Shadowless Gate to carry out post-processing, then handed the Obsidian to the Sword Demon. He accepted the Obsidian and said, “Hmm! So, in this lifetime, you’ll focus on enhancing your own capabilities instead of gathering the Seven Luminaries?”

“That’s right. Given that the Emperor’s schemes seem shady, there’s no need to cling to the trial of the Seven Luminaries anymore. It’s better to gather my strength and challenge afterward.”

“Although the singularity is a concern… I got it. I will do my utmost to assist.”

I decided to wait until Seo Mun-hye and the Sword Demon finished handling the prisoners, and this time I went to the secret space of the Namgung Clan to steal the Suspicious Fishhook. Then I thought to myself,

‘In my last life, I impulsively stole the Nameless Ritual Book without thinking about the consequences, but this time I can’t do that. Let’s leave the Crystal Stele and National Seal alone.’

For the same reason, I can’t forcibly grab the Sorcerer’s Grimoire from Su Shin Sect either, and things like the pearl from Golden Crow Island or the treasure Half Yellow Pearl from Mount Penglai cannot be brought over for now. The truth is, in both cases, I currently don’t possess the strength to obtain them.

Next, I visited Jin So-cheong. After pulling her into a spar and winning, I handed her the Obsidian.

Whoooom

After accepting the memory from the Obsidian, Jin So-cheong said, “Hmm…, meeting the Martial God, so you’re really challengin’ the Absolute Realm now.”

“Exactly.”

“And reading the remnants of Obsidian’s memory, it seems your thoughts are…, hmm.”

Jin So-cheong looked thoughtful and said, “Let’s discuss it later.”

“Sure.”

After dropping Jin So-cheong off at Jangryeong Valley, I headed to Dongyoung to meet Miho. Convincing her, I handed over the Obsidian, but Miho seemed lost for a long time after receiving it.

“…….”

After a while, she said, “Baek Woong… are you trying to save me?”

I nodded in response to her question.

“Yes. I hesitated until now, but not anymore. Even if you are Nüwa and a fragment of the Queen Mother of the West and the tail of Daji…, I now see a glimmer of hope.”

“Is that really hope?”

Miho said with a skeptical look. “This maiden has never hated or resented the Queen Mother of the West. I always thought my exile was my fault…. Even if she sought to utilize me, I wouldn’t hold it against her.”

“……”

“I can’t go against the Queen Mother of the West.”

I felt my strength fade away. I hadn’t expected Miho’s change in such a way…

But I clenched my teeth and held onto her hand.

“…Fine, I will never oppose the Queen Mother of the West, no, Nüwa in this life. If I must face her, I’ll choose to lose. I swear on my name!”

“What…, are you serious?”

“Yes! I mean, if I’m just focusing on training, that scenario probably won’t happen. So, follow me!”

“Alright… then I’ll follow you.”

After convincing Miho, I brought my companions one by one to Jangryeong Valley. Lastly, I made my way back to Mangnyang.

Swish

“You’ve come, Baek Woong.”

Mangnyang greeted me with a bright voice.

“You must’ve discussed it with your uncle. Have you thought about what blessing you’ll receive from the Celestial Realm?”

I nodded at his words.

“I’ve decided.”

In this life, the blessing I’ll receive is but one.

“`

 

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