Chapter 206
Chapter 206
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
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I returned straight to Jin Rang Valley. The Nameless Sacrificial Book had originally been bound with a tracking spell, so bringing it to Jin Rang Valley would have been troublesome, but now that it had passed to Astana's prophet, it no longer mattered. It was safe to say I could put the matter of the Zhuge clan dealing with the prophet out of my mind.
"Mang Ryang. I've found a solution."
I explained to Mang Ryang how to reach the [God of Silence] on the North Pole Continent. I also told him about obtaining the Nameless Sacrificial Book, the deal I'd made with Astana's prophet, and everything that had happened. Mang Ryang, who had listened to the whole sequence with great interest, spoke up.
"So now you can store your memories in obsidian?"
"That's right. I've completely mastered that spell."
"Why don't you test putting a memory into the obsidian?"
"I will."
Miho had quietly approached us at some point and was listening to our conversation with curious eyes. I glanced at her and thought.
'Right. Let me select some of my experiences and show them to Mang Ryang and Miho.'
All Mang Ryang and Miho knew about my ordeals was what I'd told them in stories. That's why they approached my experiences somewhat superficially. But if I showed them the memories I'd seen and felt myself, it might change something.
I picked up two pieces of obsidian and rubbed my palms over them, focusing my mind.
'Mind and matter... relate more within time than within space... memories and habits and choices influence the present... organization... factors... convoluted paths... form resonance...'
Memories, as factors, were said to sink into spacetime like they were distorted by some immense force. Moreover, there were inevitable laws and forms up to the point of their manifestation—that was form resonance. Thus, memories didn't exist merely as matter but could exert causal influence, freeing them from the greatest coercive force in sorcery: the law of causality.
'...but that's all just injected knowledge.'
I gave a wry smile midway through casting the spell. This obsidian memory storage technique was something I couldn't have mastered even after thirty years of study, let alone ten. Having received it as payment for the demonic tome, I resolved to make good use of it from now on.
A low hum rose.
In an instant, I could feel the memories I'd experienced being sucked into each obsidian. Once the process was complete, I held them out to Mang Ryang and Miho.
"Here."
"......"
Mang Ryang and Miho glanced at each other. Then, almost simultaneously, they took the obsidians.
A flow like blue water seemed to envelop them. The soundlessly seeping energy was the stream of memories, connecting to their own and delving into their subconscious. Thanks to the injected knowledge, I understood the process well and knew this method had the least side effects.
For a moment, Mang Ryang and Miho looked dazed, as if their heads were ringing.
Miho reacted first.
"It was all true. You really..."
Her face suddenly flushed bright red.
"Ah!!"
Miho abruptly vanished using transformation magic. It seemed she was extremely flustered, employing the yokai's signature divine technique, Body Transformation in a Hundred Ways.
'What's with her?'
As I puzzled over Miho's reaction, Mang Ryang chuckled bitterly beside me.
"She remembered how, in your tenth reincarnation, she sacrificed herself in your place and died clashing with the Wind God Style Dharma Protector. I saw that memory too."
"Ah..."
"She's a pure heavenly being and a great earth fox yokai with her pride. Feeling true affection for you must have flustered her."
So she fled out of embarrassment.
Convinced by Mang Ryang's words, I watched as he sat wearily in the main hall and muttered.
"Now I get it. How incredible your willpower is, Baek Woong..."
"What's that out of nowhere?"
Mang Ryang looked me straight in the eye.
"Any normal person would have broken after five deaths, let alone fourteen—giving up and just drifting through life. No, they'd probably have gone mad. That's what's normal."
"Hmm..."
"But you've reaffirmed your convictions and charged ahead without a sideways glance. You haven't even fallen to corruption. You resisted ancient gods and their temptations with suicide, and even facing them directly didn't bend your spirit."
"......"
"I don't think there's anyone in the world with stronger mental fortitude than you."
Mang Ryang's sudden praise embarrassed me. It wasn't flattery—he seemed genuinely awed. As I tried to play it off, he grinned and took my hand.
"You've done amazingly well so far, Baek Woong. You'll keep doing so."
"Hah, heh-hem! That's goosebump-inducing. What, you think I haven't been doing well? Of course I have to."
I figured my face was beet red. Unable to bear the burning flush, I scratched the back of my head vigorously. Mang Ryang released my hand gently and said.
"Seeing your memories has made my own task much clearer. This is perfect."
It suddenly hit me, and I asked.
"Your task? Speaking of which, how's it going with the Imperial Palace?"
"I haven't explained the details to you."
Mang Ryang nodded and continued.
"Before politically checking the Imperial Palace, what was our first strategy?"
"Well... the White Lotus Cult..."
Ah!
I stopped mid-sentence as I grasped his meaning, my eyes snapping wide. Mang Ryang smirked at my surprised expression.
"Exactly. We decided to give the world to the White Lotus Cult. The plan started long ago, and now it's bearing fruit."
"No way..."
"Using the black-and-white lotus, we successfully became a subordinate force of the White Lotus Cult. And I succeeded in learning some of their secret martial arts. That's how I became a master so quickly. Of course, my tireless training helped, but fundamentally, it was inheriting the White Lotus Cult's peerless techniques."
"......!!"
I checked Mang Ryang's pulse. Until now, I'd only sensed his qi vaguely, but now I probed his internal energy and arts directly. In mere seconds, I grasped his current state.
"Your internal energy has far surpassed the peak level... and you've learned the Fire God Style arts."
"You noticed right away. As expected of a supreme Thunder God Style master."
"Well, each school's internal arts in the Four Divine Styles have such distinct characteristics..."
Mang Ryang's inner self now breathed with the power of the Fire Spirit. Just as the Thunder God Style used the Thunder Dragon One Qi Art to reach the Thunder Spirit realm and attune to lightning's power, the Fire God Style cultivated secret internal arts to wield Fire Spirit Qi. Plus, with the black-and-white lotus I'd given him—save for one root—he could consume as much as he wanted, allowing him to master peerless internal energy swiftly.
Mang Ryang said.
"After sending the black-and-white lotus and the young cult leader was healed, the White Lotus Cult Leader promised I could learn any school's arts. So I deliberately chose the Fire God Style and have been training in it since."
Just like with Dongbang Mukeol, the Cult Leader rewarded the one who cured his son's strange illness.
"Why the Fire God Style?"
"Two reasons. First, I'll be working closely with the Fire God Style Dharma Protector based in Luoyang, so sharing her school will make things smoother. Nominally, we're fellow disciples now."
"I see."
"Second, I thought mastering a school you don't know well would help you down the line."
"......!!"
"The techniques, secret skills, internal arts' traits, weaknesses of the Fire God Style... Knowing them will prove useful someday. As you pursue your goals through reincarnations, you'll likely clash with them."
I thought Mang Ryang was absolutely right. What an initiate learns firsthand differs qualitatively from what rivals observe and counter. The higher Mang Ryang's mastery of Fire God Style techniques, the deeper his understanding—and if he shared that intel, I'd handle Fire God Style foes effortlessly in the future.
Mang Ryang continued.
"I considered the Wind God Style too, but it's incompatible with the Thunder God Style from the start, so no need. Truth be told, I wanted the Water God Style, hailed as the strongest of the Four Divine Styles, but it seemed to require some special ritual, so I passed."
"Special ritual?"
"Yes. The Cult Leader said Water God Style was fine, but it required a year-long special grand ritual in the cult's forbidden grounds. With your matters urgent and plenty of suspicions, I couldn't choose it."
"......"
A year-long special grand ritual in the White Lotus Cult's forbidden grounds.
It might seem like a mild condition for the world's supreme peerless art. But considering the Water God Style's extreme secrecy, who knew what curse it might impose? Mang Ryang chuckled.
"But I'm plenty satisfied with Fire God Style arts. It's a mighty school that held its own against the Thunder God Style in the White Lotus Cult... With my current skills, I can handle most experts."
"Impressive."
I voiced my honest admiration. Mang Ryang's foundation was probably first-class expert level, but factoring in the Fire God Style's brutal, flashy attack power and his near-supreme internal energy, he could likely take down one or two peak experts in a real fight.
This was extraordinary. He'd only seriously begun training less than a year ago. Normal sect prodigies spend over a decade in tireless devotion to reach first-class. Mang Ryang's growth was beyond what any ordinary martial artist could fathom.
Mang Ryang said regretfully.
"I expected this, but using the spirit medicines needed to build the Anti-Heaven Alliance on myself has made our current one smaller than in your original reincarnation. It should be twice this size by now..."
"Is that so..."
"No need to worry. This reincarnation's goal was never strengthening the Anti-Heaven Alliance—we aimed to elevate the White Lotus Cult to check the Imperial Palace."
His eyes gleamed as he answered.
"Baek Woong. Put off unlocking Makya's second seal in the North Pole for now."
"Why?"
"You think you'll die there, right? Better to train here first and go when you truly need Makya's power, rather than suffer sudden losses."
It made sense. Grasping the implication, I said.
"You're going to teach me Fire God Style arts."
"Precisely. Since death could come anytime, learn their techniques, secrets, and weaknesses from me now. Fortunately, neither the White Lotus Cult nor anyone else knows of you, so they won't suspect me teaching you."
I pondered briefly, then asked.
"My internal energy is based on different natural spirits—possible?"
"Haha... That's something you should know better than me. Didn't Lee Gwang explain it to you?"
I shook my head.
"No. Lee Gwang has immense pride in the Thunder God Style arts, so he barely mentioned such things. Even when saying each of the Four Divine Styles could use basic techniques, he forbade even thinking of adaptations."
"So mixing all Four Divine Styles' schools is impossible?"
"Probably. Your body specializes in one natural spirit to glimpse each school's pinnacle—how could you discard what you've mastered for a new one?"
This was near-certain. I'd learned tips from Lee Gwang to use Water Spirit Qi, Wind Spirit Qi, Fire Spirit Qi, but their practicality was nil. I'd tried forcing shifts with massive internal energy, but the inefficiency was hopeless. Once attuned to one school's natural spirit, others become impossible.
But Mang Ryang's next words left me frozen in shock.
"That's odd. The White Lotus Cult Leader I met wielded all Four Divine Styles' arts freely. So I assumed it was possible."
"......!!"
What?!
I thought Mang Ryang was joking. But he wouldn't toy with me on something so grave, so I calmed and accepted reality. Still dubious, I asked.
"Is that... really true?"
My voice trembled pathetically, but Mang Ryang looked understanding.
"Yes. Days after presenting the black-and-white lotus, cult elders took me in. I met the Cult Leader one-on-one. He thanked me for curing the young cult leader's illness and offered any reward. I asked to learn one of the Four Divine Styles' arts and requested key figures to demonstrate each school's techniques."
"And?"
"The Cult Leader said no need. Right there, he demonstrated secret techniques and killing moves from Thunder God, Wind God, Fire God, and Water God Styles. Even linked techniques. That's why I thought fusion was possible."
"......!!"
A chill of awe and terror ran down my spine.
Mang Ryang was still a novice in martial arts, so he spoke casually. But to me, with nearly a century of delving into the arts at master level, his tale was pure horror. A being who could use every technique of the Four Divine Styles!
If true, I couldn't even withstand a single casual strike from the Cult Leader. A flick of his finger might instant-kill a supreme expert. Each school's killing moves held terrifying power—fused, their synergy defied prediction.
'Can such a being even be called human?'
Even supreme experts could solo a thousand soldiers using terrain well. Guns or cannons barely faze them. To ordinary martial artists, supreme experts were unstoppable calamities. Stronger ones could hold against Dharma Protectors.
What was the White Lotus Cult Leader, who could instantly slay such beings?
As I brooded gravely, Mang Ryang said.
"Hmm... Can't teach you the arts themselves, but I can explain the Fire God Style's. You'll learn all its secrets from me in about a month."
"I'll do it."
"After that, the Imperial Palace will crumble without us lifting a finger. The White Lotus Cult is already moving to destroy it."
"Already? Isn't that too fast?"
"The Cult wasn't just biding time due to weakness. Plus, presenting the black-and-white lotus, I told the Cult Leader everything you shared: the Imperial Palace's true nature, atrocities, dangers. He now sees it as the top threat to eliminate."
Mang Ryang had wrapped up a year's work in under one. Smiling confidently, he continued.
"Soon... within half a year at most, they'll move."
"They?"
His following words convinced me the Imperial Palace wouldn't last this reincarnation.
"The White Lotus Cult's three great Dharma Protectors and the supreme experts of the Elder Council will assault the Imperial Palace head-on. A martial force beyond measure, even compared to the full might of the jianghu, will bring it to ruin."