Chapter 644: Thunder Heaven Single Sword (Thunder Heaven Single Sword)

Wasn’t it in the Secret Cave of Sha’anxi?

How could it be inside the Relic? What does that mean?

I had to remain stunned for a moment by Namgung Myung’s words, laced with doubt.

Hwi-i-ing.

A chill brushed past. It was an illusion.

Everything around had stopped long ago, so there was no way wind could blow.

This must be purely a sensation I’m feeling.

It’s chilly.

The emotion rising from within pierced my chest and penetrated all the way to my brain. It wasn’t even internal energy, yet it kept nudging my lower danjeon.

Something thick and uncomfortable. When I felt a chill of dread about it, I finally managed to regain my senses.

“What do you mean….”

My voice trembled as I barely managed to utter the words.

“His lingering thoughts were inside the Mount Hua Sect’s Relic. Are you saying that wasn’t something you seniors intended?”

Could my memory be wrong?

Even if I considered that possibility for a moment, I knew better than anyone that it wasn’t the case.

It was more plausible that Namgung Myung had just explained things incorrectly.

‘Perhaps it was in the Secret Cave?’

So… what was it again?

The Mount Hua Sect’s Relic, whose name I couldn’t even recall anymore.

Namgung Myung’s words suggested that maybe the Relic was in the Mount Hua Sect’s Secret Cave somewhere in Sha’anxi. That seemed more likely.

But.

‘If that were the case, Namgung Myung’s reaction wouldn’t make sense.’

I could still remember Namgung Myung’s expression of surprise just at the fact that it was in the Relic.

That was clearly a genuine reaction.

‘Think.’

How could this have happened?

While I was wide-eyed in confusion, Namgung Myung frowned and spoke to me.

“It was inside the Relic… Is that true?”

“Yes.”

How could I forget?

The absorption of energy while sending the Relic to the Mount Hua Sect, and even the voice of the old man I heard then.

It happened over five years ago, but it’s a day I haven’t forgotten even slightly.

That’s why it was even more of a problem.

‘What on earth happened?’

Something had gone wrong.

So, I had to figure out what went wrong somehow.

“…Senior Shin, did you say the Mount Hua Sword Immortal was in the Secret Cave?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you put his lingering thoughts into the Relic and leave it there?”

As the doubts surfaced, I decided to ask first.

Namgung Myung gave a slight shake of his head.

It was a clear denial.

“That never happened, nor should it have.”

“What do you mean it shouldn’t have?”

“Putting lingering thoughts into a Relic only serves to buy time. For the purpose we desired, that wasn’t the way.”

“Purpose…”

Perhaps Senior Shin’s reincarnation. Or rebirth.

That must be the purpose Namgung Myung was talking about.

Hearing this, I started thinking. Could his words be a lie?

Or perhaps, the person calling himself the Thunder-Heaven Sword was a lie from the start?

I had to consider even such possibilities to make a judgment.

“Then… you mean the matter concerning the Relic wasn’t intended by you seniors.”

Even as I lost myself in thought, I didn’t stop talking. I couldn’t show any suspicion towards him.

‘What if….’

If Namgung Myung’s story were true, one situation that had vaguely surfaced came to mind.

A few months ago, when I was in Hubei.

Yeongpung, whom I happened to run into back then.

What that guy said kept coming back to me.

[I think I’ve become a successor.]

Yeongpung, who secretly told me he had become a successor to the Mount Hua Sword Immortal. Hearing that, I pretended to be surprised and snorted.

It was only natural. I am the successor to the old man.

Even if Yeongpung is a figure of the Mount Hua Sect, this fact wouldn’t change.

I was sure of that back then.

‘…Yeongpung said he found it in a cave in Sha’anxi.’

The familiar energy he carried and the voice he claimed to have heard.

Since Yeongpung didn’t seem like he was lying, I thought there must have been some unknown issue, but…

Still, deep down, I was convinced that I was the true successor.

But.

Now, that belief had begun to waver somewhat.

‘The situation fits perfectly.’

The cave discovered in Sha’anxi.

The traces and energy within… and even the voice, doesn’t it perfectly match what Namgung Myung said about the Secret Cave?

What if that place really was the Secret Cave left by the old man?

‘But that’s just traces and a fortuitous encounter. It’s not reincarnation, after all.’

Just as I obtained the old man’s energy and lingering thoughts from the Mount Hua Sect’s Relic.

Yeongpung only obtained traces. It’s different from the peculiar concept of reincarnation.

He failed to reincarnate.

That seemed like the correct interpretation.

“The lingering thoughts were definitely inside the Relic. Not just any Relic, but one from the Mount Hua Sect. Do you have any idea about this part?”

“I don’t know. Successor, if what you say is true, it means something unexpected happened.”

“…”

Tuk. Tuk.

I secretly tapped my waist with my fingers.

Because no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand.

‘What happened?’

I had made arrangements beforehand, but the situation turning out like this means, as Namgung Myung said, that something unexpected occurred midway.

Perhaps what Yeongpung experienced is also related to that unexpected event…

‘Something went wrong, the arrangements were messed up, the old man couldn’t reincarnate. And the lingering thoughts ended up in the Relic.’

Meanwhile, Yeongpung discovered the old man’s traces in Sha’anxi and was even certified as a successor by his sect.

The past heroes I met didn’t seem to know about these facts.

‘Tang Je-mun and Yeon Il-cheon might not know, but Hwang-a-bul-yeong and Namgung Myung seem unaware.’

Assuming the Namgung Myung in front of me is genuine, that is.

It was twisted and convoluted. The diverging paths were so complex, I couldn’t see the end.

How did the old man fail to reincarnate?

I stopped pondering this and asked Namgung Myung.

“Why exactly did you try to reincarnate the Mount Hua Sword Immortal?”

There was so much to consider, but I couldn’t reach a conclusion right now.

So, I needed to obtain some other information.

Setting aside the fact that the old man failed to reincarnate, why him of all people? I decided to ask about that first.

I didn’t ask how such a thing was possible. It was a pointless question right now.

The purpose was more important now.

When I asked about this, Namgung Myung looked at me with a peculiar expression.

“Why are you curious about that?”

“Because it’s strange.”

How could it not be strange?

“The greatest under heaven of that era was the Golden-Heaven King.”

The anecdote of a blood relative from a small family somewhere in Sichuan surpassing those from great sects and noble families to reach the top was famous even now.

Furthermore, the trading company his family operated rose to become the foremost in the Central Plains, making him a perfect individual possessing power, fame, and wealth.

He was the greatest under heaven centuries ago, one of the heroes who stopped the Blood Calamity, Yeon Il-cheon, the Golden-Heaven King.

And.

‘He was a returner, just like me.’

He was someone who even defied time.

Yet.

“Why did you choose the Mount Hua Sword Immortal over him?”

What was the reason for choosing the Mount Hua Sword Immortal over the greatest under heaven of that era? It was something I had always wondered about.

“…”

Namgung Myung remained silent at the question.

I waited. He seemed to be contemplating how to answer rather than ignoring the question.

After waiting a moment like that, Namgung Myung looked at me and spoke.

“That guy was the best fit.”

“Pardon?”

A rather strange answer came out.

“No matter how I thought about it. It had to be him.”

“I don’t understand.”

His only option was Senior Shin?

Could that mean…

“…Actually, the Mount Hua Sword Immortal was stronger than the Golden-Heaven King…?”

“No, that guy never beat Il-cheon. Not me, nor anyone else for that matter.”

“I see.”

Perhaps he was a hidden master. I thought something like that might be the case, but Namgung Myung was firm.

“Then, why?”

“Successor.”

“Yes.”

“You said you conversed with Shin-cheol’s lingering thoughts, didn’t you?”

“…That’s right.”

Although we mostly exchanged taunts and curses rather than conversation, it could still be considered a conversation.

“In your opinion, what kind of person was he?”

“…May I answer without holding back?”

“Go ahead.”

“He claimed to be a Taoist, but he was a crazy old man who wasn’t like a Taoist at all. He was clueless and had a foul temper; after about ten exchanges, he’d always get angry.”

“…”

Oops.

Did I speak too carelessly?

I wondered if I should have phrased it a bit more diplomatically.

Namgung Myung’s reaction was unexpected.

“You truly are his successor.”

I thought he might get a little angry for insulting his friend, but for some reason, he nodded.

That reaction somehow felt unpleasant.

“That wasn’t the answer I was looking for, but you saw correctly. He wasn’t like a Taoist.”

Namgung Myung’s expression changed slightly as he spoke of Senior Shin.

It felt somewhat nostalgic.

“Unlike other Taoists, he didn’t spout hypocrisy; instead, he swore constantly. He seemed indifferent to dignity or honor, and when he grabbed his sword, he was nothing short of a madman.”

“…”

His expression looked nostalgic, but his words were the opposite.

What kind of life did the real old man live? To be treated like a lunatic by his close friend…

Tsk, tsk.

‘What a strange person he must have been.’

It was something I, as a normal person, couldn’t comprehend.

As the explanation continued, I felt even more that perhaps he shouldn’t have been entrusted with the task, when suddenly…

“However.”

Namgung Myung said to me in a clear voice.

“He was someone who wouldn’t bend his convictions, no matter what.”

“Convictions?”

Conviction (信念).

My shoulders felt slightly weighed down by that difficult and heavy word.

“You asked why it was Shin-cheol.”

“Yes.”

“It’s because, among us, his convictions were the most upright.”

Upright convictions.

What could that mean?

I wasn’t sure.

Perhaps sensing my uncertainty, Namgung Myung continued his explanation while looking at me.

“Hwang-a-bul-yeong has a firm will, but is weak.”

This was a description of the hero of Shaolin, the bald old man contained within the carp.

“Knowing this about himself, he chose to step down and remain in Shaolin.”

Stepped down.

Did that mean he gave up on reincarnating?

“Unlike Hwang-a-bul-yeong, Tang Je-mun possessed firm convictions. But her martial arts were the weakest. Moreover, their compatibility wasn’t right.”

I recalled the woman I met by the lake in Sichuan. Contrary to her name, she was a delicate and beautiful woman.

“Yeon Il-cheon’s convictions were incomplete. And I had too many lingering attachments. That’s why it was Shin-cheol.”

“I still don’t understand. What on earth are you talking about?”

He kept rambling about convictions; what kind of nonsensical talk was this?

How could the heroes who saved the world have weak convictions?

They must have had deeper and stronger convictions than me, at least.

As I asked with that thought, Namgung Myung wore a peculiar expression.

It looked somewhat bitter, yet also liberated.

“We cannot fall.”

So the words that followed felt particularly precarious.

“Therefore, we had to choose someone who wouldn’t break, no matter what.”

“How does that relate to convictions? Are you saying the others had weak convictions?”

“No, everyone was strong.”

“Then….”

“The problem is that the direction of their convictions differed.”

Namgung Myung’s gaze seemed somewhat distant.

“Do you know what conviction was important to us?”

“…I don’t know.”

“The world.”

My eyes widened slightly at his words.

“We had to save the world. And for that, we needed convictions that wouldn’t break.”

“That…”

“Bul-yeong lacked confidence in his own convictions, which could break at any moment. Tang Je-mun’s martial arts were weak, and that guy’s conviction was affection (愛心), so he had to be excluded.”

Affection. There was no need to ask whose feelings they were. It seemed like everyone knew, except for that clueless old man.

“It was the same for me. I….”

Namgung Myung paused for a moment before continuing to speak to me.

“I wished for the prosperity and safety of my clan rather than the world.”

I tilted my head at Namgung Myung’s somewhat complex words.

“Is that so different?”

Stopping the Blood Calamity to save the world.

Isn’t that enough? I couldn’t understand why he saw it differently.

“It is different. Very different.”

“What is?”

“Living for the world and having that as a byproduct are different. That’s why we all had to step down voluntarily.”

“So, are you saying the old man lived for the world?”

“Yes.”

“…!”

It was an answer without the slightest hesitation. Those words actually sealed my mouth shut.

“Saving the world. That was the only reason he drew his sword. Even as the sect leader of a faction, he never let go of that stubbornness.”

That guy?

I considered retorting while recalling the old man’s usual disposition, but then I remembered that I myself considered Senior Shin a hero.

“A sword solely for saving the world. That was the reason I chose him and intended to bind his soul in the Secret Cave.”

Namgung Myung trailed off, turning his gaze as if lost in thought.

“It’s baffling how his physical body manifested properly, yet his soul ended up in the Relic.”

He too seemed puzzled, lost in thought. So, the plan went awry because of someone’s doing…

Huh?

“Wait a moment.”

Just as I was about to speak, I suddenly felt like I’d heard something strange.

“Senior.”

“Speak.”

“…What did you say about the Mount Hua Sword Immortal’s physical body?”

Namgung Myung had just said the physical body appeared properly.

His soul couldn’t be contained, but the old man’s body reincarnated correctly?

Feeling like I’d heard incredibly significant information, I asked again in confusion.

“What are you talking about?”

Namgung Myung looked back at me. And then he said.

“Isn’t he right in front of you?”

“…What?”

At those words, I immediately looked around.

Pae-jon or Seong-ryul. And then there were Black Lion and the Palace Lord.

They were just frozen stiff.

He’s among them?

As I looked back at Namgung Myung with a surprised expression, his gaze was fixed on one spot.

“You.”

It was me.

“You are his reincarnation.”

Hearing that, my face contorted strangely.

“Me?”

…Me?