Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Bongmyeong Cave (4)
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My vision blurred, and I could barely see ahead.
An excruciating pain crushed my chest, as if my heart might burst and my brain float away into the void. I wondered if life itself might just vanish from within me right then and there.
Grab.
In that moment, someone seized my hand and pulled me close.
"Sowol-ah."
Turning around, I saw Taeu standing there, her slender hand gripping mine.
Behind her were Haun and Wolhyang, Baek Eunhwa and Unhak—everyone I'd forged bonds with in this life.
They all stood there unharmed, radiant smiles on their faces.
"We'll be waiting for you."
Strength entered the hand holding mine. That warmth slowly brought my senses back.
Right... that's right. I'd promised to return, no matter what.
Taeu, Unhak, Baek Eunhwa... so many people were waiting for me. If I gave up my life here, I'd have no face to show them even in the afterlife.
If I failed to protect them in my past life, then this time, I would safeguard them all. That's why I'd sought this power in the first place.
I had to let go of the pains I'd endured. I'd lectured that serpent so arrogantly, yet here I was, still clinging to the regrets of my previous life.
Gripping Taeu's hand, I turned to look behind me.
A thick darkness hung there—the wounds of my past that I'd desperately averted my eyes from.
Now, it was time for me to let them go as well.
I'd cursed my own weakness for failing to protect a single soul. The guilt of losing friends, lovers, family—it had haunted my entire life. I'd convinced myself I had no right to happiness.
But now, I had a reason to look ahead.
"I'm sorry to all of you. But that doesn't mean I'll lose the people right in front of me again. So begone—phantoms born of my suffering, illusions of a past long gone."
The visions conjured by my memories began to fade one by one, leaving behind relieved smiles, as if satisfied with my resolve to face forward once more.
Soon, I was left alone in a vast expanse so immense I couldn't see its end.
Was this my inner world?
This excessively wide, empty space brimmed with emptiness. A hollow heart like mine couldn't be filled by anything.
Turning back, I saw a massive door standing where Taeu had been.
This was the Life-Death Profound Gate, the boundary between life and death.
If the qi surging through the Du Meridian to the Baihui acupoint isn't circulated into the Ren Meridian, a person typically loses their mind or dies.
There's a gate blocking the path between the Du and Ren Meridians that prevents this circulation, and it's called the Life-Death Profound Gate—the threshold dividing life from death.
Whether you cross it determines your survival.
I too had nearly lost my life to the frigid qi and resentments that filled me up to the Baihui, but having reached this point, the rest should be straightforward.
After all, I'd opened this gate once before, in my previous life.
I lightly placed my palm on the enormous door. Thanks to devouring that inner core, I had more than enough qi to pierce it. All it took was applying force in the right spot with the proper technique—no need for brute strength.
Rumble.
With just a gentle push, the door swung open astonishingly easily.
Now all that remained was to connect the Du and Ren Meridians with my qi.
Feeling a wind from behind gathering toward the open door, I stepped through to the other side.
Flicker!
My eyes snapped open.
Since I was still in the cave, I hadn't died. It seemed I'd successfully pierced the Life-Death Profound Gate and circulated the frigid qi without issue.
"Hm?"
But something felt off about my body's sensations.
Was my body always this large?
Curiously, the way it moved felt similar to before my regression...
Rustle.
Running a hand over my shoulder to check, a chunk of something like old shed skin flaked off my skin.
"What the..."
Had I achieved Shedding Mortality, causing my body to mature?
Shedding Mortality normally couldn't be reached at this level, but there were exceptions.
Cases where the body was too young to bear the inner power one possessed.
In such instances, rather than regressing, the body could grow into one suited to handle that power.
p>Of course, reaching this realm before thirty was so rare that it wasn't widely known.
In any case, that meant I'd surpassed the wall of the Peak Realm.
"I've finally reached the Transcendent Realm."
Transcendent Realm. Beyond perfectly wielding sword qi, it was the stage where one could partially wield the so-called aura.
It was also considered the limit of human potential.
I hadn't expected to reach it this quickly—truly fortunate.
I owed that serpent endless gratitude.
"Come to think of it, how much time has passed?"
Intending to head outside, I stood—and felt my hair, once at my waist, now reaching my hips.
Quite a bit of time had gone by, it seemed.
I quickly gathered my things and stepped out of the cave.
"Whoa."
After spending so long in the cave, the outside world was breathtaking.
With the frigid qi gone, the snows of White Snow Heavenly Peak melted under the sun, reflecting light in all directions—like pristine white jewels embedded in the mountains, dazzling to behold.
And beyond them, autumn leaves...
Hm? Autumn leaves?
When I arrived, it had been lush spring greenery.
Did that mean...
"Already half a year has passed?"
So deep in trance that I hadn't noticed time flying.
I'd estimated months, but half a year? Unbelievable.
The war hadn't started yet, but with all I had to do, I'd need to move even busier from here on.
But no problem.
Whoosh!
I unleashed my lightness skill, bounding between sheer cliffs. The towering walls I'd barely scaled in agony on the way up now felt like flat ground.
"Hoo, haa."
I drew in a lungful of crisp air and exhaled. It felt like soaring through the skies as a bird. Even in my past life, I'd often traversed the jianghu like this.
White Snow Heavenly Peak's long winter had ended, and the serpent had finally become a dragon. I'd shaken off the past and begun looking to the future. And I'd gained the strength to overcome whatever came next.
All that remained was to set forth.
"Just you wait, you bastards!!"
I bellowed into the empty mountains. My shout echoed everywhere. I hoped it reached all the countless bastards in the jianghu I'd cut down with my own hands.
Just wait a little longer.
I'll be coming for you soon.
Yichang, located in Hubei Province bordering Shaanxi, sat at the end of Xiling Gorge, one of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze. It had long been a hub for jianghu folk.
Not a metropolis like Chang'an, but filled with inns and bustling with porters, it was a haven for wanderers.
It was also the base of the Yangtze Waterway Stronghold, which operated along the river.
From White Snow Heavenly Peak to Yichang was a three-day ride on horseback, but practicing lightness skill day and night, I'd made it in two.
"Huff, huff."
Of course, I was half-dead from exhaustion now.
"What kind of person runs nonstop for two days straight? Madness, pure madness."
To master anything, you just grit your teeth and do it. The best way to raise lightness skill was brute-force dashing—nothing for it.
And it worked best, too.
"That aside, it's been a while since I've been here."
In my past life, I'd ended up here after tangling with Waterway Stronghold thugs while crossing the Yangtze on a ferry.
Any martial artist worth their salt knew the river was their turf and avoided ferries, but what did a battlefield newbie like me know?
I just thought some weirdos were picking a fight, beat them down, and somehow wound up here.
"Looking for an inn, sir?"
As I scanned the village, admiring the river view, a kid approached to drum up business.
"Yeah, one with a good view."
"Follow me!"
The kid led confidently ahead, clearly no rookie.
They say to beware kids and women in the jianghu. But in cases like this, it was usually safe to follow.
"Are you a martial artist, sir?"
I nodded, and he immediately sized me up head to toe. Impressive how he observed without seeming guarded—quite the savvy kid.
"Mind if I ask your nickname?"
His eyes sparkled with feigned innocence. Not bad for a young one.
"They call me Sword Dragon now."
"Whoa, you're a big shot!"
"You know me?"
"Of course. Working inns along the Yangtze, you pick up on martial folk whether you want to or not."
Makes sense. No place revealed jianghu secrets like an inn.
"Here we are! Food and drink coming right up."
He finished guiding me to a small, shabby inn overlooking the Yangtze.
Nice view, for sure.
I took a seat and waited briefly. Soon, a middle-aged man approached quietly and sat before me as if we were expected companions.
"The Gate Leader awaits."
Lower Five Gates inn, as expected.
Obvious, with a kid that savvy on jianghu matters guiding me.
"Where?"
"The branch in Yidohyeon. You know the location, I hear."
Yidohyeon was a district in Yichang—close by, luckily. With me vanishing for half a year after planning to head to Hubei in months, she'd be worried.
Better go see her soon.
"Leaving right away?"
"No, hold on a bit."
But I still had business here.
"I'll eat first."
I told him firmly—no compromises. Two days of nonstop dashing on an empty stomach? I needed food.
"Ah, yes... As you wish."
Only after devouring every scrap of food and drink the waiter brought did I leave the inn with him.