Sword God Reborn

Chapter 318 : Sword God Reborn.

"Can you see me?"

The man's voice was heard clearly.

It was the first time he had heard that voice so clearly. Until now, it had been a voice like scraping iron, a voice that seemed to come from the bottomless pit.

Now, it was as precise as if the same person were speaking.

Cheon Mubaeck quietly looked at the man's face.

Eyes, nose, mouth. Ordinary. Extremely ordinary features that seemed unlikely to remain in one's memory.

"The fact that you can see me means that your senses can completely feel me."

It was a world apart from before. It was different from his previous appearances where he had just presented his sword without any explanation and had blocked him from going to the afterlife.

Why was that?

What appeared on his seemingly indifferent face was a faint surprise or joy.

'Joy...'

What on earth was his purpose? For what reason was he interfering with his eternal rest?

Now, the moment to confirm that reason had come.

The Divine Iron Ancient Sword cried.

The man also aimed his sword without another word.

Cheon Mubaeck's whole body tensed as if it were heating up. His two hands, which were tightly gripping the sword, did not even tremble.

A straight line from the sword to the wrist, elbow, and shoulder.

The moment of the union of sword and self, where he had become one with the sword beyond the state of self and object being one.

For some reason, Cheon Mubaeck was not nervous. It was just a feeling of facing a new opponent, another strong person.

The sword's end, which he had declared while cutting down Gun Cheon-ak a long time ago.

Was the position he was standing on now, the tip of the blade, the final point?

He just had to check. Now, Cheon Mubaeck put his conviction at the tip of his sword.

This time, the opponent moved first. The opponent who had always waited for the offensive, the guy who had waited as if he were giving him the first move.

Rather, with a face full of all his strength, he thrust his sword first.

An honest and clean movement.

A perfect and clean sword path that stretched straight forward.

The sword path of the past, which had been so damn firm that it was impossible to block, was once again reproduced before his eyes.

But at that moment, Cheon Mubaeck burst into laughter for some reason.

The sword path was the same. Although the terrifying power was felt with all his senses, it was the same. It had not changed. But he was not afraid. Yes, he had grown. He had become stronger.

The sword expanded before his eyes as if it were swelling. An overwhelming speed that had compressed the space in an instant. The sword strike exploded with a speed faster than lightning.

Before, he had tried to block it. But he had always failed.

"......!"

Surprise appeared on the man's indifferent face.

Cheon Mubaeck also thrust his sword with the same posture, the same movement.

A simple straight sword path.

A clean and perfect, an honest sword path without a single tremor.

The tips of the swords clashed.

An extremely compressed small point, two points with a powerful explosive force from all the compressed power, clashed in the air.

...There was no noise, no shockwave, no explosion.

The two compressed points clashed, and sucked in everything in the world. The moment they clashed, it temporarily became a vacuum and sucked everything in. Noise, shock, waves, vital energy. Like a bottomless pit.

And at that moment, the sword that could not hold on broke. It split into dozens of strands from the tip of the sword, like splitting bamboo.

"..."

Cheon Mubaeck aimed the Divine Iron Ancient Sword at the man's neck.

The one that had broken was not him, but the man.

So...

"I won. You bastard."

Cheon Mubaeck smiled happily.

Now, after tens, hundreds of defeats.

The sword's end.

Cheon Mubaeck stood there alone and looked down on the world.

With a sword aimed at his neck, the man looked at Cheon Mubaeck with a surprised look, and then closed his eyes as if giving up.

A strange feeling suddenly arose. A fragment of emotion that appeared on the messenger's face. It was not the pity of defeat, but pure joy.

He couldn't understand.

"What on earth are you? Why did you do this only to me? Why did you insist on stopping only my death?"

"I am a grim reaper."

Cheon Mubaeck's face contorted at once.

"A grim reaper? You?"

The messenger, who claimed to be a grim reaper, nodded his head without a word.

A look of bewilderment appeared on Cheon Mubaeck's face.

"Hey, then isn't that dereliction of duty? A grim reaper's role is to take the dead souls to the afterlife. You stopped me, didn't you?"

"...There are many reasons."

Cheon Mubaeck berated him harshly.

"Reasons, my ass! Yes, if a grim reaper's neck is cut, does he disappear? Shall we test it out?"

Although Cheon Mubaeck wanted to chew this guy up, he endured as much as he could to hear the detailed reasons.

"Speak properly. Or I really won't leave you alone."

"I will speak."

"No. Wait a minute. Do you feel pain too?"

"Pain?"

"If you're a grim reaper, do you really feel pain?"

"If it's an attack that can affect the spirit, not just cutting the flesh, then yes, I feel it."

"An attack that can affect the spirit. What is that?"

"It is the fact that you broke my sword, and I cannot do anything about the sword aimed at my neck. It is something that only a being who has reached the ultimate meaning can do. It is proof that you have reached the sword's end."

"Aha. So that's it."

Anyway, you feel pain, right?

A smile that seemed amused appeared on Cheon Mubaeck's lips. He slowly withdrew his sword. For a moment, the messenger felt a sense of anxiety.

It was an ominous smile.

Cheon Mubaeck rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles.

Crack, crack.

"Then let's get hit a little."

"...What did you say?"

"I'll beat you just before you disappear."

"Y, you're going to beat up a messenger now?"

"What, is there some kind of afterlife law that says you can't swing your fist at a messenger's body?"

Cheon Mubaeck smiled as if he were amused. The messenger's body trembled.

* * *

"Yes. Now let's hear the story."

Cheon Mubaeck sat down opposite him, dusting off his hands. The messenger, with a bruised face, staggered and barely raised his upper body.

"You have to be that tough to be a messenger. You're pretty good."

"...I've raised a monster."

"What do you mean, raised? The guy who kept stopping my eternal rest."

"I have raised you as a messenger."

Cheon Mubaeck's mouth fell open.

A messenger. What kind of strange talk was this? Even the great Cheon Mubaeck's thoughts could not continue, as if his head had hardened for a moment.

The messenger continued.

"Sometimes, there is such a spirit. A being whose birth itself is special and incomprehensible. A special soul that realizes ten things even if it learns one, and overcomes ten years of experience in just one year."

"..."

"You are a being born with such a spirit. If you had lived an ordinary life, you would have become an immortal, and if you had lived an evil life, you would have become a demon, a peculiar spirit."

Cheon Mubaeck crossed his arms and tilted his chin. Although it was an arrogant attitude, the messenger answered without caring.

"Do you think it was a coincidence that you absorbed the Seon-gi of the five sacred objects? Do you feel it was just a simple fortunate encounter?"

Cheon Mubaeck thought and shook his head.

"Seon-gi resides not in the body, but in the soul. It is a power that is not allowed to the humans of this world. Only Taoists who have trained for a long time can barely experience a very small part of it. You were different. That is proof that your soul is special."

"So the reason you've been stopping me from going to the afterlife until now is..."

"You have repeated your life to meet the conditions to become a messenger."

"..."

"To become strong enough to physically interfere with the spiritual world. The so-called realm of entering the divine, the realm of being peerless, the realm beyond human, you have been continuously sent back to this world to reach the ultimate meaning that surpasses all of them."

"..."

"And now, you have reached the ultimate meaning. You saw me, you felt me, and in the end, you interfered with me without any problem. You have reached the sword's end and have become a being who can interfere with the spiritual world. In other words, it means you have become a being like me."

The ultimate meaning.

The concept of the sword's end was vague, without being established. But now, it had become clear what it was.

A realm that could exert physical force beyond the physical world, that is, this world, to the spiritual world, the afterlife.

That was the sword's end. It was a realm where one could precariously stand on the borderline between this world and the afterlife, and could interfere with two completely different worlds.

But there was one thing he couldn't understand in the explanation.

"So why did you try to make me a messenger? Simply because my soul is special? Are you the only messenger in the afterlife?"

"No. There are many. But what I needed, what the King of Hell needed, was not an ordinary messenger."

"An ordinary messenger?"

"The rest of the story, let's talk on the way to the afterlife."

As the messenger slowly got up, the surrounding terrain changed. Cheon Mubaeck looked around at the unfamiliar sensation.

"It's strange."

"It's the way to the afterlife."

"Is there no Sanzu River?"

"The boatman demands an excessive fare, so we're taking a different route these days."

"Well, that's a pretty funny way to the afterlife."

"..."

With every step, the surrounding space changed rapidly.

The messenger opened his mouth again.

"Not all grim reapers are like me."

"Then?"

"I am the one who stands alone among the messengers."

"So you're the head?"

"...Although it's a vulgar word, yes."

The messenger said that and hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"Just as living beings in this world have death, beings in the afterlife have annihilation. But the cases of annihilation are extremely rare. In fact, they are beings of eternal life. But from some point on, there have been incidents where young messengers who have gone to guide the dead have been annihilated."

"Annihilated?"

"The guys who should have died and gone to the afterlife have refused death and have annihilated the messengers."

He couldn't understand. Annihilated the messengers? Hadn't Cheon Mubaeck just given a good beating to the messenger in front of him?

"You said interference with the spiritual world is impossible? Then are all the guys who annihilated them beings who have reached the ultimate meaning?"

"No. That's not it. Except for you, no one can interfere with the spiritual world. But if the soul does not leave the body in the first place, if it does not pop out into the spiritual world, there is no way for the messenger to take it."

Cheon Mubaeck felt as if something was about to be caught in his mind.

Those who forcibly held on to their souls in their bodies...

"Are you talking about the reverse-heaven practitioners?"

"Yes. Those who have performed a reverse heaven and have forcibly extended their lifespan. Those who maintain their bodies with a powerful internal energy and prevent their souls from leaving their bodies."

"..."

"Since their given lifespan has passed, the messengers go to find them, but the reverse-heaven practitioners cunningly induce the messengers to enter this world. Experienced messengers do not fall for it, but some young messengers fall for the trick and go to this world."

"And?"

"It's obvious. The owners of a powerful internal energy who have already performed a reverse heaven are the absolute masters you speak of. It's not difficult to cut down the young messengers who have entered the physical world."

"..."

"Of course, if a being like me steps forward, I can lead all such guys to the afterlife with a single stroke. The problem is that I am alone, and the number of reverse-heaven practitioners is increasing as time passes."

Only then did Cheon Mubaeck understand the series of events.

The number of reverse-heaven practitioners who had performed a reverse heaven and had forcibly extended their lifespan had been increasing as time passed.

As martial arts had been standardized upwards and the internal energy techniques for accumulating a powerful internal energy had developed further, it had accelerated.

But there was a limit to a reverse heaven, and when the internal energy was depleted and the body could no longer be supported, they would eventually face death.

"But there are reverse-heaven practitioners who break even that limit and maintain their reverse heaven for an incomprehensibly long time. They are the demons who cut down the messengers."

Anger burned on the messenger's face. Cheon Mubaeck crossed his arms. He felt as if something was about to be caught in his mind.

"But thanks to your help, we have been able to lead many reverse-heaven practitioners to the afterlife recently."

"Damn it, so it was the Kunlun old monsters?"

"Yes. Didn't you cut the necks of the reverse-heaven practitioners who were in Kunlun and burn their bodies? Thanks to that, the atmosphere in the afterlife has improved recently."

Cheon Mubaeck scratched his chin. The old monsters of Kunlun. Cheon Mubaeck had tracked and had eliminated quite a few of those ugly monsters.

The wolves of the Great Desert had rushed in like crazy and had half-destroyed them, and Cheon Mubaeck had also cut them down with a single stroke as soon as he had found them.

But still, the old monsters of Kunlun were still alive. Some had survived and had left Kunlun and had gone to Xizang, and even beyond.

Would even the great Cheon Mubaeck have the thought of tracking the guys who had gone beyond the end of the world?

"So, your intention was to make me a grim reaper and to lead all such guys to the afterlife?"

"Before the reverse-heaven practitioners of Kunlun appeared, the number of reverse-heaven practitioners who could not be led to the afterlife was extremely small. If I had stepped forward, I could have taken care of them. But the reason I had been trying to make you a messenger for a long time was because I needed a successor."

Cheon Mubaeck's face contorted bizarrely.

"I am a being who will soon ascend to the throne of the King of Hell, and I need a messenger who will represent me and lead the reverse-heaven practitioners to the afterlife. That's why I made you."

"Ha..."

"Only you can represent me and return the reverse-heaven practitioners to the way of heaven."

"So, you're saying you did that to me just to make me do the work you should be doing?"

Cheon Mubaeck let out a sound of air escaping and rubbed his eyes with his hand.

Really... it's so ridiculous.

Finally, Cheon Mubaeck raised his head and opened his mouth. It was a deep, low echo.

"Why should I?"

At the intense hostility in his voice, the messenger smiled bitterly.

"I know. Because I made you fall into the swamp of reincarnation without even explaining it to you. But I couldn't explain it. Wasn't the last death the first time you heard my voice? Because that was when you were able to interfere with the spiritual world at least a little."

Cheon Mubaeck's indifferent gaze turned to the messenger.

The messenger spoke calmly.

"I cannot force you. If you wish, you can be reincarnated again, or you can end your soul's journey here. Of course, when you are reincarnated, all your memories will disappear, unlike before. You would rather have that, right?"

It was a matter of course. Although he had gotten used to escaping from the memories of his previous life, he didn't think it would be the same this time. Baek-gi, Neung-heo, Zhuge Seol-ah, the family of the escort agency...

It was hard to even imagine living a new life with all those memories.

"Is that the only choice? What is the end of the soul's journey?"

"It's as it says. You can choose to annihilate yourself."

Cheon Mubaeck was silent. At that moment, the surrounding space changed once again.

Cheon Mubaeck sneered.

"Well, why is the afterlife so peaceful?"

"If the afterlife were gloomy, what would happen to the morale of the souls who live and work here?"

The messenger joked, unlike himself.

The surrounding scenery was beautiful. As if seeing the heavenly nature of Yunnan, his eyes were bright with various colors and a blue river.

Cheon Mubaeck's mouth became sullen.

"Damn it. I should have come here sooner. You kept stopping me? To be honest. It wasn't that you were trying to make me a messenger, you just didn't want to see me go to the afterlife, right?"

"...I will give you as much time as you want to think. When you have made a decision, tell me."

Cheon Mubaeck crossed his arms.

"Hey."

"...?"

"I've repeated my past lives so much because of your greed, isn't there some kind of reward? Shouldn't you be trying to persuade me somehow?"

"Of course. The dead are judged and are reincarnated as humans or beasts, or they fall into hell forever. At least you will not go to hell."

"Huh. Is that all the reward?"

Cheon Mubaeck sneered.

"No. All the dead cannot go against the above order. But..."

The messenger's words trailed off and he winked. Cheon Mubaeck glanced at him with a disgusted expression.

"Sometimes, it's okay to break the rules once, isn't it?"

"What is it?"

"Look."

Instead of answering, the messenger pointed in one direction with his hand.

A peaceful, picturesque scenery that he would not have thought of if he had not known it was the afterlife. In it, someone was casting a fishing rod in a small stream in front of a small house.

Cheon Mubaeck, who had enhanced his vision and had seen the man's face, chuckled without realizing it.

Cheon Mubaeck, as if possessed by a ghost, approached the man's side without realizing it.

"What are you doing? Are you pretending to be Jiang Taigong now?"

The man laughed without even turning his head.

"Hehehe, you don't get sick from eating raw freshwater fish here. Just wait, I'll make you a fresh one. You must have been tired from all the sword fighting, my lord, so go and rest."

Seeing that harsh face, Cheon Mubaeck laughed. Whether it was a happy laugh, a joyful laugh, a laugh just flowed out.

"Neung-heo, you bastard... I thought you'd go to hell."

"Why would I go to hell? I'm one of the heroes who saved the martial world."

Neung-heo grinned.

Only then did Cheon Mubaeck realize what the messenger was talking about.

All the dead could not stay here. They had to follow the given order.

But if it was a being related to me...

"That messenger is the egg you mentioned, right, my lord? He said. That you would be coming soon, and asked if I would wait here, or if I would just be judged and be reincarnated or go to hell."

"So?"

"Even if I were judged, I have no sin, so I'm confident, but it would be a bit sad if there was no one to wait for you when you came, my lord, wouldn't it? I also made a promise before I left this world."

"A promise?"

"That I would serve you in my next life, and if that's not possible, I would serve you in the afterlife."

"...You're a loyal subject."

"Hehehe. I'll catch a fish and make some sashimi, so you go in and say hello, my lord."

"Hello?"

"Well, hurry up and go."

Cheon Mubaeck turned his head. At that moment. The door of the small house opened and someone walked out.

Cheon Mubaeck let out a small admiration. An indescribable emotion appeared on his face. Even Cheon Mubaeck, who rarely showed any emotional changes, was now showing the most intense emotion of all his lives.

Cheon Mubaeck, after a moment of silence, barely squeezed out.

"You are still beautiful, you."

"I have to dress up beautifully and wait to greet my life's partner. You've come?"

Zhuge Seol-ah smiled. Not as they had grown old together, but as they had been in their youngest and most beautiful days.

Cheon Mubaeck rubbed his bloodshot eyes with his hand.

"Ha..."

Was this it? The persuasion that the messenger had prepared.

Somehow...

"I'm persuaded, ha."

"The afterlife is the same world as this world. There is joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, there is conflict, and there are beings who live. You can live here. With the people you want. But to do that, you need a decent job, don't you?"

The messenger continued to speak.

"The realm you have reached through repeated past lives, the sword's end, it would be a pity to just forget it and disappear. It is also a good choice to use that sword to punish all the reverse-heaven practitioners in the world, including the reverse-heaven practitioners of Kunlun."

Now, it was a blatant persuasion.

Cheon Mubaeck chuckled.

"If I'm here, can the people related to me also stay in the afterlife?"

"If those people want to. Your partner, and your subordinate, all hoped to stay in the afterlife and to be by your side."

"I see. What about Yoo Baek-gi?"

"He calmly went on the path of reincarnation."

"I knew that guy would."

Cheon Mubaeck smiled lightly. It was a smile that seemed to have cast off all his burdens.

How much time had passed?

Cheon Mubaeck, who had been continuously meeting eyes with Zhuge Seol-ah and Neung-heo, suddenly said.

"Hey, egg. Then are you my superior?"

"If you take the position of a messenger, I will become the King of Hell, so I am your superior."

"Do you know my past deeds?"

"Deeds?"

"When I lived as the Heaven Shattering Sword Demon, and also in this life, I was nominally the sect leader of the Sword Sect, right?"

"...What are you trying to say?"

"Whether I was the Hevean Shattering Sword Demon, or the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, and was the sect leader of the Sword Sect. Anyway, my nominal superior was the Heavenly Demon."

"So?"

"I just want to kill my superiors when I see them. It's a rather unique hobby, right? Killing my superiors has now become a habit."

"...I made a mistake. You are not my subordinate, and I am not your superior."

Cheon Mubaeck smiled lightly.

"I see, then you have no right to give me orders, and I have no need to follow your words, right?"

The messenger was silent for a long time and then chuckled.

"Do as you please."

"Good. Then let's move right away."

"Right now?"

The messenger made a strange expression. Cheon Mubaeck shrugged his shoulders.

"I have to finish it quickly and come back quickly, and rest comfortably."

Cheon Mubaeck's gaze fell on Zhuge Seol-ah, who was standing demurely.

Just as she had been in his memory, in her most beautiful and youngest days.

It felt as if old emotions were blooming.

The messenger let out a hollow laugh and then nodded his head.

"That would be good. Your first target is this guy."

He read through the portrait of the person and the brief personal information that the messenger had presented.

The character Mancheon was clearly stamped.

"He is the worst reverse-heaven practitioner who has made the afterlife a headache."

"He's a rather famous person."

"He is the originator of the reverse-heaven practitioners. He was the first to create the method of reverse heaven, and has developed it. And then he lied that he had eaten an unbelievable peach of immortality and had become immortal, and is a swindler who boasts as if he had become a god himself."

"Well, isn't it a big job to give a new employee on his first day of work?"

"You are an experienced new employee. Weren't you cursed by your enemies in this world as being no different from a grim reaper?"

"That's true."

Cheon Mubaeck muttered and looked at Zhuge Seol-ah.

"I'll be back."

"Be careful, my dear."

Cheon Mubaeck somehow felt his whole body filled with joy. He smiled and looked around at Neung-heo.

"Let's go, Neung-heo."

"Now?"

"Yes."

"I've already made the sashimi. I've also warmed up the wine."

"Let's come back before it gets cold."

"Th, then what's the plan?"

"What do you mean, what? We have to go my way."

Neung-heo's face contorted. But a faint excitement appeared in his pupils. Cheon Mubaeck chuckled.

The familiar way of Cheon Mubaeck.

"Let's go, let's go catch the head."

"Are the guys we're going to catch now the leaders of those Kunlun old monsters? Who are they?"

"You know him too."

"I know him?"

Neung-heo tilted his head.

But he soon burst into a hollow laugh after seeing the portrait and the personal information written below that Cheon Mubaeck had handed him.

"This bastard... isn't he the guy who scammed people by saying he had lived a long time after eating the peach of the Queen Mother of the West? Wasn't he just a braggart in a legend? He's the head?"

"He's alive. Well, he has to be that much to be the head of the Kunlun old monsters."

Cheon Mubaeck said, tying the Divine Iron Ancient Sword firmly to his waist.

"Let's go. Let's go catch the three-thousand-year-old Dongfang Shuo."

Cheon Mubaeck's life does not end. He constantly rebukes the world, escaping the repeated past lives.

The Sword God, is Reborn.

(End of Chapter)