Reincarnated Sword Ghost

Realm of Ascension

It is said that a martial artist's powerful will can work miracles.

When veteran experts reach the realm of a master, even their physiology may revert to a youthful state.

When the senses for manipulating true ki reach their peak, even physical restructuring becomes possible—a miracle born when the intent that governs true ki possesses overwhelming strength.

And now, Jeong-un was generating the greatest intent of his life.

A simple desire, rooted in the refusal to ever again suffer such terrible pain as he had just experienced.

Paradoxically, that single-minded determination became a tremendous willpower that he had never known before.

It is said that the path of the martial artist inevitably entails suffering.

That is not a lie.

Those who wield the sword must always bear such resolve.

But Jeong-un had never cared for the experiences of others.

His life had always been that way.

He simply kept walking on the path he desired, having long realized that comparing oneself to others is meaningless.

Even now, nothing had changed.

His commitment—a determination unimaginable to others—had become the fuel for his resolve.

The straightforward will to never again endure any pain led directly to the conclusion that he must possess the strongest body possible.

Following the pull of that overwhelming desire, his true ki moved and began to ferociously restore the damaged parts of his body.

The foundation that made such a feat possible was the pure energy filling his dantian.

His body had completely assimilated the vast energies of the Immortal Spirit Pill and the Human-shaped Ginseng.

The more sensitive one was to energy, the greater their absorption of such elixirs.

If an ignorant individual without any knowledge of cultivation methods or internal energy were to ingest such things, they might not manage to assimilate even a fraction of it.

But Jeong-un had thoroughly made both elixirs his own.

The words of Monk Mu Jung—that his body was now perfected—had not been empty in the slightest.

Jeong-un's body moved as if, at last, it had only been waiting for its master's intent.

All that was needed was a catalyst.

'......'

In an instant, his breathing calmed.

Even the traces of blood that had been spitting out with his exhalations disappeared.

In reality, barely a split second had passed since he awakened his intent.

The efficacy of true ki did not end there.

After all, simply recovering his wounded body was not his sole aim.

Jeong-un's mind was likewise transformed.

He even forgot that the pain had disappeared, completely focused instead on the movement of ki within his body.

The waves of ki that had been flowing in steady patterns around him faded away.

It was a perfect marshaling of true ki.

All the true ki within him was forging new paths through the meridians.

His will to become completely different was so strong that it colored every movement.

He wanted a pathway where all the immense true ki he harbored could be released at once in an explosive burst.

Even knowing it was extremely dangerous, he did not hesitate.

For he already knew that his eight extraordinary meridians were exceedingly resilient.

'Let go of your preconceptions.'

Now, until this moment, he had used the mnemonic formulas of One Illumination Movement Technique to circulate energy through the eight extraordinary meridians.

It was an instinctively crafted path, providing his body with the strongest functionality.

But not now.

He thought solely of the flow that would be used when exercising his martial arts in full.

At last, he found it—a straightforward flow that traversed vertically through the central channel and returned in a simple circuit.

As soon as he conceived of this, true ki surged up the central channel, rushing unimpeded toward Baihui.

In this moment of peril—and without so much as a prior attempt—he forced the ki through a desperate small heavenly circuit.

Yet it moved as smoothly as if it had always been meant to.

As if everything had been waiting for this very moment.

A direct channel was opened, piercing straight from the perineum to Baihui.

Fwaaah!

A mysterious light spilled out from his entire body like mist, its color too enigmatic to describe.

Soon, it began to take on a shape.

Had it not been for the thick blanket of dust all around, it would surely have looked like a blooming flower.

'......!'

The flow of true ki through his whole body accelerated rapidly.

The speed at which his body recovered surpassed what could be achieved by normal cultivated power.

Wherever the true ki reached, the damaged parts were instantly restored; his bones and muscles became far stronger than before.

But it could not end at recovery. He desired a body that would not falter against any danger ever again.

True ki responded, forming a thin barrier just outside his skin.

It was effortless, his senses now different from before.

And it wasn't simply a matter of forcing ki outside his skin, either.

True ki flowed naturally along the meridians and began to envelop his entire body.

'More.'

A mere veil was not enough. It had to be strong enough to withstand any shock from an opponent's attack.

He wanted his cultivated power to permeate his flesh as if coating a sword with energy—hard and impenetrable enough to block even devastating sword strikes and bursting energy.

Fwaaak─

At last, he completed the shroud of true ki around his body—a perfect manifestation of body-protecting enhanced ki.

"......."

Jeong-un slowly opened his eyes.

The fine cloud of dust stirred up by the fire bombs had yet to settle back to earth.

* * *

The role of High Priest within the Blood Cult was a noble identity.

It referred to the eight who, after receiving a secret manual and learning the blood arts to the realm of ascension from the Blood Lord, were esteemed and revered by thousands of cult members nearly as much as the Blood Lord himself.

One of those eight was here now.

The branch established at Nampung-hyeon was of great geographical importance.

Not only was its location a node for dispatching operations, but it was a transport hub for sending supplies to headquarters.

It was no accident that a High Priest managed it directly.

Yet at this moment, he was frowning deeply.

The cultists around him held their breath, not daring to make a sound under the suffocating tension he exuded.

His eyes, brimming with force, were fixed on one place: the dense swirl of dust where the fire bombs had exploded.

Saaaa―

A strange radiance, unmistakably unnatural, leaked through the thick veil of dust.

It was so disturbing that the High Priest, waiting for the wind to clear the dust, hesitated in spite of himself.

'What is that?'

It lasted only a moment, fading quickly, but left a lingering unease.

Undoubtedly a sign that something was off. Stranger still, he could sense no presence or hint of ki—even now.

'Did I see it wrong?'

No, impossible. He was no lowly commoner; he had reached the realm of an expert.

With senses honed sharper than any civilian, the possibility of a misperception was unthinkable.

'He shouldn't be alive.'

This operation had been meticulously planned.

When word came that the Nampung-hyeon branch had been wiped out, he hadn't given in to agitation and had responded calmly.

Similar incidents were occurring at other branches throughout Geonchang District.

By then, the enemy's identity had already been surmised—they were rookie martial artists from the so-called Heavenly Martial Hall, an orthodox faction.

Fools, moving to punish the unorthodox under some absurd pretense.

While their force was said to be considerable, their inexperience made them manageable with proper preparation.

Still, headquarters had regarded the simultaneity of these incidents as a grave matter.

After all, it was a critical moment so soon after their foundation.

The Blood Cult's main goal was to lure the common people into its ranks.

For that reason, their preferred method was to infiltrate villages as unremarkable martial artist groups.

Yet, somehow, the enemy had discovered their branches and simultaneously raided them for information.

No wonder suspicion was aroused.

'Even so...'

But, as one of the eight High Priests, he wasn't especially alarmed.

Retribution for those who destroyed a branch was necessary, yes—otherwise, they'd only be emboldened to attack again.

But the notion that there was some deeper motive behind the attacks, he rejected.

He saw it as an impossibility from the start.

'The unorthodox faction isn't made up of just us.'

Compared to the vastness of the Central Plains, these foes were few in number.

That they would suddenly launch focused strikes against them?

Nonsense.

He assumed the rookie warriors had simply grown reckless and their attacks were coincidental.

He likewise considered the incidents throughout Geonchang District to be mere coincidence. What else could he think?

A few days earlier, groups like the Heavenly Blade Gate had vanished, and there had been other instances of members exceeding their quota and kidnapping more civilians than authorized, drawing unwanted attention.

He'd reprimanded them several times for such carelessness.

'Anyone would have become suspicious.'

So, he hadn't even interrogated the captured intruder in detail, as long as it was clear the attack wasn't a coordinated organizational move.

Instead, his preparations were thorough.

Headquarters held these incidents in high regard, and since he was handling it personally, he would ensure that every last one of the attackers was slaughtered.

Above all, this was someone who had dared to annihilate a branch; a crime that called for severe punishment.

That was why he had rained down the entire stockpile of fire bombs secretly amassed in Beijing.

'But...'

Twenty fire bombs had kicked up a massive cloud of dust. Still, there was nothing visible to the naked eye.

And there was no trace of ki either.

If he were a martial artist, he should still emit at least a faint aura, but there was nothing.

Normally, he would assume the intruder was dead, but the light from a moment ago was highly suspicious.

Moreover, the subsequent bombs had missed, but the very first had hit the mark directly.

Any average martial artist—especially a youngster—would surely have died instantly.

"......."

Frowning, the High Priest gestured lightly, signaling for confirmation of the enemy's death.

At that, a few cultists cautiously moved forward into the dust cloud.

Even after some time, no word came back, and the High Priest shouted,

"What are you doing! Stop dawdling and bring me the body!"

But there was no response.

Strange.

The Blood Cult's hierarchy was extremely strict; even failing to answer a High Priest's command was a punishable offense.

The High Priest squinted sharply.

By now, it was obvious that something was wrong.

"Should we go in and check as well?"

Other cultists nervously asked from the side, but he shook his head. Still glaring through the smoky haze, he murmured in a low voice:

"When that bastard comes out, be ready to throw all your fire bombs at once."

"......!"

The cultists' eyes went wide.

The implication was obvious.

It meant their bombs had failed, and the cultists who had gone in earlier had all been slain as well.

"Use them all—don't hold back..."

Fwaaak─

Just then, a sudden gust of wind swept away the dense haze.

At the same time, a human figure burst out of the smoke.

Seeing this, the High Priest shouted,

"Throw them!"

Nearly twenty fire bombs rained down upon Jeong-un at once.

There wasn't even much distance between them.

The cultists' arms were filled with cultivated power, and the bombs flew at him with ferocious speed.

Even so, Jeong-un didn't slow down.

He was already well aware of their lethality, having experienced their power firsthand.

Ordinary martial artists would be obliterated, unable to recover even their bones.

Yet, knowing this, Jeong-un continued to charge forward.

And then, facing the barrage of bombs head-on,

Saaaak!

He reached out his hand and split them in two with his sword. The bombs exploded right on cue.

Kwaaang!

Everyone watching expected a repeat of what happened before: that he would fail to withstand the blast and be hurled backward again.

Shwaaaa!

But Jeong-un charged through the exploding smoke, undeterred.

He was incredibly swift, outrunning the next wave of bombs before they could even catch up.

And just like that, he was upon the High Priest.

"What...?"

"For you, I am grateful."

Jeong-un murmured.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

And just like that, another power up...

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】