A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation
Kugugu―
Unexpectedly, Song Jin did not rush in impulsively but instead observed me with a critical eye.
[What is this, you insolent one? I have never heard of the Netherworld existing among mortals, nor have I ever encountered such bizarre consciousness arts… I suppose you must know my master.]
A clear warning posture!
‘This time he didn’t smash through the formation barrier and instead slipped in quietly, so he hasn’t fully sensed me yet and isn’t fully prepared.’
In my previous life I had drained the ghost energy from the Seopmyeong Ship to the point where only its outer shell remained, revealing the strength of a decisive sword cultivator. Now, without draining any energy, only the aura of a mid-to-late decisive sword cultivator leaked through.
“How could I not have heard of the Blue Ghost Valley’s prestige? Much less the Heavenly Person cultivator who leads the Blue Ghost Valley!”
[Khehehe, I heard that my master was killed by the weird one as well. Are you mocking my master?]
Kugugu!
And then, at some point, Song Jin began gathering his ghost energy. He launched his attack.
Kiaaaaa!
Thousands of white bones surged up around us like a tidal wave, charging straight at me.
I extended my Invisible Sword.
Danak Sword Art, Layered Mountain Range, Valley Change.
The sword qi of the formless sword spread out like thorns in every direction, completely controlling the surrounding space.
In that state the sword transformed once more.
Danak Sword Art, Single Vein Path, Fist Art, Blade Art, Spear Art, Palm Art…
Countless martial techniques mixed together. All the fields Kim Young-hoon and I had researched together in my previous life. The Invisible Sword I had refined and perfected over two hundred years moved hundreds of times in a single second, pushing Song Jin back relentlessly.
His arts were shattered one after another, and his surroundings were completely under the control of my Invisible Sword.
The first clash. And Song Jin was overwhelmingly losing ground in the very first clash.
Kuaaaaa!
The ghost energy around Song Jin’s body was sucked in, and he transformed into a colossal ghost object. The same appearance I had seen before. However, this time he seemed able to maintain his sanity; he calmly surveyed the surroundings.
Danak Sword Art, Dragon Vein, Qi Mountain Heart Sky, Single Blade.
Whoosh!
The Invisible Sword moved even faster, growing larger until its speed could no longer keep up. The entire body of the ghost object was instantly cut into pieces, and Song Jin, whose ghost transformation had broken, once again formed a magic formula.
Kuo-oooo!
Blue light ghost energy gathered inside his palm. But.
Single Vein Path, Mountain Wind!
Piiing!
The ultra-fast stab pierced the weak point of the ghost energy without allowing a reaction, and the ghost energy detonated right in his hand.
[Kuu-uh…]
Three clashes. Just that was enough to make our skill gap obvious.
The Invisible Sword that had been honed to its limit over two hundred years of training in my previous life. Compared to the Invisible Sword I used when I first clashed with Song Jin, the difference was like heaven and earth. If it had been me from my living days when I could fully exert Heavenly Person level strength, I might not have been certain, but at this point he could not defeat me.
Song Jin gritted his teeth while looking at me. The look of someone who had realized he could not win. However, instead of pressing him further, I decided to change the subject slightly.
“Hmph… I too have seen the weirdo before.”
I recalled the battle between the weirdo and Seo Hyoel that took place above an invisible cloud. Seo Hyoel who with a single gesture wrapped the entire Deungsunhyang in water. And the weirdo who had always overpowered Seo Hyoel and the other sea dragon races.
“Honestly, I don’t think you need to feel ashamed about having left some remnants after fighting such a monster.”
[…]
Song Jin fell silent for a moment at my words. I could see his consciousness mixing shame, anger, sorrow, and resentment.
[…You are right. In that war the weirdo charged at us without any preparation, claiming he would suddenly fight us. He destroyed one-third of the Black Ghost Valley. If he had truly prepared and fought us properly, Black Ghost Valley would have been erased from history fifty thousand years ago.]
“…”
Song Jin exhaled a sigh and said,
[So… why did a strong man like you invade the Seopmyeong Ship? The Seopmyeong Ship is a ghost ship, and you don’t seem to have learned any art that requires its ghost energy…]
“Hmph…”
I thought of an excuse for a moment and then told the truth.
[…I came to retrieve an item of that sea dragon boy’s.]
At his words the puppet I had hidden behind me shuddered. Song Jin’s eyes burned brighter with ghost energy.
[There is no such thing as that kid’s item in the Black Ghost Valley. What belongs to the Black Ghost Valley is only kept there. Discard your greed and get lost…!]
But Seo Ran swallowed his saliva and stepped forward.
“Please show mercy to my senior. What I am looking for… is my mother’s keepsake.”
Whoosh!
The ghost energy around Song Jin’s eyes surged even higher.
[Why are you looking for your mother’s keepsake in the Seopmyeong Ship of the Black Ghost Valley?!]
“…Because she was a disciple of the Black Ghost Valley.”
Kugugugu!
Song Jin’s body twitched as if he was shaken, and he looked back and forth between me and my Invisible Sword. He was sizing me up after recalling the three clashes from moments ago.
I looked him straight in the eyes without flinching. In my previous life I had hunted Kim Young-hoon right after acquiring the Invisible Sword and then refined it again over two hundred years. Right now, even if he drained all the ghost energy from the Seopmyeong Ship and fought me, he would not be able to defeat me easily. Much less when I had suddenly appeared and he had not prepared properly.
‘Come on then.’
I stared at him for a while, and Song Jin, who had been observing us, let out a small sigh.
[…Fine. If that is the case, I will give you half a day. Search the Seopmyeong Ship and look for your mother’s keepsake. If you cannot find it within that time, as an elder of the Black Ghost Valley I will use any means necessary to drive out the intruders who have entered without permission…!]
It seemed he was reluctant to fight me directly, so Song Jin eventually reached a compromise with us.
Kuuu…
The ghost energy that had been boiling in Song Jin’s eyes finally subsided. I too sheathed my Invisible Sword.
[Remember this. Half a day. If you cannot find your mother’s keepsake within half a day, you must leave the Seopmyeong Ship…!]
“…Understood.”
Seo Ran bowed his thanks to Song Jin, and after a moment’s glance I passed him by.
And after half an hour.
I reached the lowest floor of the Seopmyeong Ship. The room where I had found my previous life’s keepsake of Seo Ran’s mother. I handed the keepsake directly to Seo Ran.
“Is this it?”
“Ah…!”
Seo Ran’s face twisted in tears and he trembled as he took the keepsake from me.
“Thank you, thank you. Senior…”
“It is nothing. By the way, that ghost seems a little angry…”
I stood outside the room of Seo Ran’s mother. There I found Song Jin, fists clenched and trembling.
[T-this kid… How do you know which room the boy lives in? You…! What is your relationship with that boy…!?]
At those words Seo Ran also looked at me with a puzzled expression.
‘So this is how it turned out…’
Well, seeing me enter his mother’s room directly made me understandable. I sensed it would be troublesome and offered him a half-truth.
“I met the Black Ghost Valley elder Baekgol Gwima a while ago near Deungsunhyang. He was in a good mood after acquiring something wonderful and told me to say whatever I wanted. At that time Seo Hyoel, the King of the Sea Dragons, asked me to help you and I, to make the request convenient for him, listened to his explanation and asked Baekgol Gwima for the location of your mother’s room.”
[What…]
Song Jin listened for a moment, then nodded reluctantly despite his gritted teeth.
[…Yes, that is enough…]
“By the way, are you blocking the doorway? Both me and Seo Ran want to leave. Did you not find it within the half day you suggested?”
[…Wait.]
Song Jin looked at us with eyes burning with ghost energy and said,
[You sea dragon boy. Your mother was a special child to me. So, right here and now, read the letter your mother left with me.]
“What…?”
Seo Ran looked displeased, but when Song Jin’s eyes blazed with blue ghost energy he had no choice but to sit down, unfold the letter, and read it.
I stepped back because I had no desire to involve myself in Seo Ran’s family history, and Song Jin followed behind him to read the letter together.
After some time.
“…Kheuk.”
Tears began to fall from Seo Ran’s eyes, and the ghost energy burning in Song Jin’s eyes weakened. No, it had softened.
[…]You fool. You thought that even excluding the King of the Sea Dragons, all sea dragon races were selfish and knew only their own interests?]
He raised his ghostly arm and snatched the letter from Seo Ran, trembling. Seo Ran, however, did not try to hold on and simply handed the letter over to Song Jin.
[You fool! What was so good about that idiot of a husband who died without any responsibility?! You idiot…! You fool…!]
Crack!
The letter in Song Jin’s hand was about to split. Only then did Seo Ran snatch it back hastily.
Song Jin glared at Seo Ran.
[I… disliked you from the start, but I dislike you even more now. Because of you the boy’s life was ruined… I cannot stand it…]
Crackle…
Suddenly I noticed new ghost energy forming a face above Song Jin’s skull. The ghost energy gathered into his skull and shaped a face. The face of an elderly man I had seen before. The face realized with dark ghost energy was shedding blue tears.
[I wanted to kill you right now, but…]
He glanced at me and muttered,
[Thank that weird one who sent you. I was afraid he would die meaninglessly without protecting the Seopmyeong Ship… So I left you alone…]
“…”
Seo Ran listened quietly for a moment, then bowed to Song Jin.
“…Please tell me about my mother.”
[What…?]
“I have lived my whole life being looked down upon even by the sea dragon race itself as an inferior. The King of the Sea Dragons said that because I could not win this time I should go my own way. Please, senior, elder. I want to know what kind of person my mother was. Please… tell me about my mother.”
[This kid right now…]
Kugugugu!
Dark blue ghost energy filled the cabin. But I raised my Invisible Sword to disperse the ghost energy, and Song Jin glared at me.
“What is so difficult about talking?”
I asked, looking into his inner thoughts and consciousness.
“You actually want to talk and your mouth is itching.” Although he was a ghost leaking ghost energy, his consciousness was a clear ocean with a red-sailed ship. He was clearly a clear person.
Song Jin, who had revealed his true feelings to me, gritted his teeth, trembled for a moment, then lowered his arms.
Kuuu…
The ghost energy subsided once more.
[…]The scary one sent by Seo Hyoel.
Thud!
Song Jin staggered and sat on the bed in the cabin. He remained silent for a while, and Seo Ran sat silently watching him. A slight silence filled the cabin.
I read Song Jin’s consciousness and left the cabin. He no longer had any intention of harming Seo Ran.
After a while the sound of Song Jin talking to Seo Ran could be heard from inside the cabin. At first he spoke slowly and heavily, unwillingly, but eventually his words sped up and he began speaking more and more. Seo Ran responded in turn, and the two began to bloom like flowers.
‘…What a scene I could never have imagined.’
Seo Ran and Song Jin sitting side by side talking. I lifted my Invisible Sword slightly and thought. When I broke free from fate, more and more new things were coming. Words I could not convey, connections I could not understand. New meetings, new futures. I looked once more at the cabin, read the consciousness flowing from it, and stepped onto the deck of the Seopmyeong Ship.
The formation barrier hiding Black Ghost Valley in the Black Wind Sea. The center of the cylindrical well-shaped barrier. There I could see the sky pierced open. Night had fallen. Stars were faintly visible beyond those clouds.
“…I will become stronger.”
Stronger and stronger. Strong enough to escape all the pull of fate, to create new futures, new connections. I made that resolution.
* * *
Seo Ran and Song Jin stayed up all night talking, and continued their conversation until the sun set again. They stayed up all night once more and chatted until sunrise. Days passed like that. I could not tell what kind of conversations or emotional exchanges had taken place between them. But.
[I have decided to take this boy as my disciple.]
Connections beyond fate had also given birth to unimaginable new miracles. Song Jin had decided to take Seo Ran as his disciple.