Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter 24

Unspeakable agony!

A rupture in my breath!

My tongue‘s curling up.

“Kweeeeek!!!”

For a moment, I found myself letting out a squeal like a pig being slaughtered.

“…Eugh!!”

However, I quickly suppressed that noise and forcibly calmed down the internal energy rampaging throughout my body like a volcano. I swiftly observed my surroundings and then pinched my cheeks, nose, and neck. As I felt the pain, I relaxed my entire body and lay back down in the cowshed.

“……”

Once again, I found myself lying in a cowshed during my early teens at midnight. A chill seeped out from the haystack set up to block the morning dew. I felt so nostalgic about that coldness that I quietly hunched my legs and leaned against the straw wall.

“Haah…”

I’m lucky.

I really am lucky.

A tear of joy rolled down my cheek.

This time, I had resolved to avoid any scenario where I could sense my own death and get ‘tortured’ as much as possible. Because given the character of the Iron Blood Gate sect leader, refusing his coercion and running away might mean that he would torture me before killing me. Also, being tortured increased the chance that I would spill secrets about the Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries.

So I deliberately accepted the duel, fought as best as I could, and died. At least dying in battle meant there wouldn’t be any gratuitous humiliation. Having died several times, I had gotten relatively better at mentally preparing for it.

However, this was all in the realm of ‘luck.’

I had reversed time twice using the Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries, but there was no guarantee it would happen a third time. Mainly because I knew nothing about the contents of the Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries. So I jumped into the fire half betting on another reversal, believing it would happen.

Furthermore, I deliberately induced extreme pain by elevating my internal energy with breathing techniques, aiming to numb the agony of death. The one who beheaded me was a peak expert, making it a quick and clean cut, so the pain was minimal.

Hence, this time around, I managed to control my scream and not go berserk due to the pain. To put it in terms of severity, it was like being whipped across the neck.

In conclusion, I was lucky.

I managed to come back, and my internal energy remains intact.

On top of that, I still possess the knowledge, martial art techniques, and illusions I learned from Mang-ryang, which makes me significantly better off.

“……”

Yet, I found myself speechless.

More precisely, I was too depressed to say anything.

‘Damn it. In the end, I couldn’t bring down even one of the Twin Gates.’

I also realized how daunting it was to infiltrate the Imperial Palace and retrieve the Nameless Ritual Sacrifice Rites. Mang-ryang seemed to have planned assuming I was an unparalleled expert, but in reality, I couldn’t even defeat a peak expert who could summon a sword aura.

Moreover, the sword expert who killed me within 350 breaths would probably die fighting against just ten Embroidered Uniform Guards. The sheer strength of these guards was a testament to their terrifying average martial prowess.

Inside the Imperial Palace, over 30 such Embroidered Uniform Guards roamed. They not only had the ability to trap invaders with array formations, but the Eastern Depot’s spy-level experts were also guarding. I couldn’t help but chide myself for being so naive.

[TL/N: Eastern Depot or Eastern Bureau is a security and intelligence unit made up by eunuchs. The authority of Eastern Depot surpassed that of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and its commander was allowed to directly memorialize the emperor and to execute imperial verdicts autonomously, even to arrest and try officials, and to punish them.]

‘No. It’s impossible with my current capabilities.’

Getting the Nameless Ritual Sacrifice Rites right now is impossible.

Even the greatest thief in the world would risk their life for it.

Do I need to reach the level of an absolute peak expert who can look down on other peak experts before even attempting it?

I even thought it was good that I had died quickly to reassess the situation.

“Hmm… But there are gains.”

I could faintly smile as I sorted through what I had gained in this reincarnation.

Firstly, I obtained the internal energy of a thousand-year ginseng.

Secondly, I gained both basic knowledge and advanced tactical knowledge.

Thirdly, I embedded the map of the imperial palace in my mind.

Fourthly, I gained experience in a life-and-death battle with a peak expert.

Fifthly, I learned that the prestigious clans of the martial world are all despicable people without a drop of sincerity.

The fifth point was especially deeply etched into my heart.

I blamed myself.

“Damn it. I’m still an idiot.”

How naïve I had been.

No matter which of the six great sects of Twin Gates Four Families I approached to be their guest, the result would have been the same. Whether sooner or later, they would never forgive someone who tarnished their honor. The moment I instigated conflict, I was doomed to become a fool or die. As people say, elevating your skills through real battles is nothing but a fantasy found in novels.

If you want real combat experience, you must go through real combat.

You have to drive your opponent into a situation where you can kill them to avoid future troubles.

It’s such an obvious statement, yet I seemed to have been intoxicated by the dream of the martial world.

I sat cross-legged, contemplating deeply.

Through this incident, I realized the gap between my skills and those of a peak expert. I heard from the expert himself that at least 10 years of hard training would be needed to close the gap. If I practice martial arts for 10 more years, I could become a peak expert too.

But how exactly?

Practicing random basic moves and swinging a sword aimlessly won’t help me improve. I need someone to point out my flaws and give me advice on what to improve.

If not, I have to risk my life to fight people of similar strength to improve myself. But I realized through this near-death experience that such an approach is too risky. Even if you gain enlightenment through fighting, it’s unrealistic. 

Beating weaker opponents will not help me improve either. If I start doing that, it would just be me overpowering lesser experts using my internal energy. But I realized through this incident that this kind of fighting is useless in front of real peak experts. It might work against the likes of Gyo-jun, the head of Sword-Facing Hall, but it’s useless against the elders of Iron Blood Gate.

Though I thought hard, the best way was still to train under a ‘master.’ I’m not a genius; I need to learn everything from an excellent master and only then could I possibly establish my own style. I seemed to have forgotten this obvious fact after obtaining the power of the thousand-year Snow Ginseng.

When I think about it, I’ve only learned martial arts seriously for 3 years. I may have trained intensively during that time, but afterward, I just picked up random skills that are practical for real fights. There was no real improvement in my martial arts skills, just an enormous increase in internal energy.

Then, I should go to Azure Dragon Martial Hall.

My master is there.

The one who can give the most suitable and best advice for the martial arts I’ve learned now!

Though I came to this conclusion, I sighed.

“Ah… What should I do?”

Entering Azure Dragon Martial Hall now would be the epitome of audacity, inviting a horrendous scandal. A kid in his early teens who mastered both the school’s martial arts and internal energy, and also has the dreadful internal energy of a thousand-year snow ginseng, asking to be taken as a disciple—it’s absurd.

If I meet Threefold Expert Lee Gwang, the owner of Azure Dragon Martial Hall, he’d either kick me out or try to kill me himself. I’ve become such an aberrant being.

Even though this is my third life, my worries have only deepened. I shook my head as if to shake off this uneasy feeling, and then got up from my seat.

“Well, I don’t know. For now, I should do what I have to do.”

Tasks I have to do.

No—tasks I mustdo.

There are two.

First, go to the cave to obtain the Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries.

Second, go to Huangshan to obtain the Thousand-Year Ginseng.

‘Both tasks should take about a month, right? Well, it doesn’t matter.’

Thud

Without any hesitation, I left the village chief’s house and started using lightness skill to head towards the cave. With my current power, killing the entire village chief’s family would be as easy as flipping my hand, but it felt so easy that I thought it wasn’t necessary right now.

‘Hmm… I feel like I’ve forgotten something important… What was it?’

I slightly tilted my head, but at this moment, I couldn’t figure out what I’d forgotten. I was too preoccupied with other thoughts.

I reached the cave in much less time than in my second past life. My running speed had increased at least threefold, and I didn’t get tired, so it was a natural outcome. By the time morning broke after dawn, I was inside the cave.

This time, to save time, I didn’t buy a copper shield. Instead, I picked up some large rocks on the way. And then, I decided to go through the arrow-shooting trap guarding the Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries.

“There’s no need to make things difficult. I know where the arrows will be shot from.”

Muttering, I infused qi into a slingshot stone and threw it from a distance at the place where the arrow-shooting mechanism was. The stone, filled with my potent qi, had enough physical force to penetrate a human body.

*Kwaang!*

Then, the wall broke, and I saw the hidden arrow-shooting mechanism crumple. I had easily bypassed the trap.

But at the same time, a loud noise rang out, and the ground beneath me shook.

*Rumble*

“…Whoa! F*ck!”

Realizing this was a signal that the cave was collapsing, I quickly ran inside, grabbed the chest containing the Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries, and dashed out of the cave. Using lightness skill, I successfully leapt onto the cliff on the other side.

Moments later, I saw the cave entrance completely collapse, sending rocks tumbling down to the base of the cliff. Relieved, I checked the Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries inside the box.

“Phew, that was close. Almost had a disaster.”

I realized that this method shouldn’t be used in the future. It would be better to use a stone or copper shield to block the arrows. It was a close call, and I shouldn’t recklessly try it again.

After obtaining the Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries, I buried the chest in the ground and securely wrapped the manuscript in my inner pocket. It was something I must never lose, so I planned to carry it with me no matter what. Then, I started my journey towards Huangshan.

I could go to Azure Dragon Martial Hall, but right now, I just felt like eating the Thousand-Year Ginseng. There’s no guarantee that I can learn anything at Azure Dragon Martial Hall, and it would be better to gain internal energy from the Ginseng rather than wasting time hesitating.

“Alright, let’s go!”

This was my third enjoyable trip to Huangshan.

Thud thud

At first, I walked, but midway, I started to run whenever I had the time. The road to Huangshan was very long and boring, and I wanted to save as much time as possible. Of course, I still had to catch animals in the mountain and bathe in streams, as well as eat root vegetables. Sleeping outdoors was out of the question; it hurt my back too much.

The silver lining was that I was very accustomed to living in the mountains due to my time in Huangshan, and my increased internal energy had greatly improved my hunting ability. I could now hunt wild animals without tools and succeed 8 out of 10 times, so I was no longer wandering the mountains on the brink of death.

Crash…

In a mountain about a day’s walk away from Huangshan, I was roasting a frog over a fire. A day’s walk meant that if I started running now, I’d probably reach Huangshan within 2 hours, and it would take another 3 hours to reach the hidden scenic spot where the Millennium Snow Ginseng is located. Essentially, it was safe to say that I’d be eating the Millennium Snow Ginseng “tomorrow.”

My clothes were already wearing out, but I wasn’t concerned about that. What bothered me now was the fact that I wasn’t sure if this was a poisonous frog or not. Either way, I had to eat it, so I was in the middle of heating it up over the fire.

I swallowed my saliva.

I’m so hungry.

I want to eat this…

If you eat a poisonous frog, your entire nervous system can get paralyzed, and your face can turn purplish, leading to death. I almost died eating one back when I lived in Huangshan, but a passing villager saved me by feeding me an antidote herb.

And that villager happened to be a herbalist, who then shared some vital knowledge with me.

“The stomach of a poisonous frog swells when heated, right?”

I calmly observed the frog. Sure enough, its stomach popped out with a ‘pop’ sound. This was a poisonous frog, and eating it could kill me. Disappointed, I threw the stick skewering the frog away.

“Ah, damn it.”

I’d have to starve again today.

To ward off any approaching snakes, I scattered some asbestos I had gathered nearby around my sleeping area. Then, as I started to camp, I felt somewhat uneasy. The tip of my nose tingled.

Would anyone else endure the same hardships if they retraced their steps like I did?

Am I the only one doing something this absurd?

Is it really right to go through all this just to live an easier life?

… But no matter how much I pondered, it wasn’t something I could ask someone else.

If thinking won’t solve it, then I won’t think about it.

Chirp chirp chirp chirp.

The sound of grasshoppers was noisy.

And so, the night before my second time eating the Millennium Snow Ginseng in my third life passed away.