Chapter 323: The Title of the Strongest (3)

How could one ever forget this scene?

It was clearly when I beheaded Ja Gyeongjeong, the expelled disciple who had betrayed Master Geomseon at Dohwaseon.

It had been the last thing I said to him, so I remembered it precisely.

Never did I imagine that it could be Ja Gyeongjeong's soul (魄).

Not only did I behead him, but I even burned his body just in case, to ensure there'd be no lingering threat.

There shouldn't have been a trace left—so how did he return in the form of a soul (魄)?

'Ah!'

As I puzzled over this, the memories in the soul began to scatter like mist, the scene changed, and another memory emerged.

I saw someone's face.

A middle-aged man with long eyebrows and a gentle appearance.

My perspective was drawn from the soul's memories. It felt like I was lying on something like a bed.

'A cave?'

Looking around the middle-aged man who looked down at me, it seemed to be a cave chamber.

The cave, lit by flickering torches, gave off a bleak and desolate feeling.

The middle-aged man spoke to me with a brightened expression.

[Do you recognize me?]

To this, the soul within the memory responded:

[...Who are you?]

At that, the man's expression hardened.

He lifted his head and looked off somewhere, speaking with a voice laced with anger.

[What's going on here? He doesn't recognize me?]

Then a voice replied from that direction.

[I'm sure I warned you. That transferring a soul from the body and embedding it in something like a scroll isn't the same.]

It was the voice of a young woman.

The tone and manner of speaking sounded familiar from somewhere.

The middle-aged man snapped irritably at the woman.

[Do not take Daoist techniques lightly.]

'Daoist techniques?'

Then this man might actually be a Daoist?

It's possible.

He appeared in Ja Gyeongjeong's soul's memory, and there were Daoists who followed him. The possibility is strong.

The woman's voice replied again.

[Regardless of whether it's a Daoist technique or not, I personally proved that a soul becomes unstable once the body is lost.]

[Was there no anomaly at all?]

[Anomaly? If there had been, he wouldn't have even remembered you. Nae-jang.]

'!!!'

If I heard correctly, the woman just called the man Nae-jang.

Nae-jang was one of the three most trusted aides of the Golden Emperor over 300 years ago.

He was said to have possessed the greatest martial power among them, yet I had never actually encountered him, neither 300 years ago nor now.

I still couldn't grasp what all of this meant.

Then the man referred to as Nae-jang said to the woman in an irritated voice:

[No matter what it takes, revive his memory. He must live.]

[If it was that important, you should've stopped his body from burning to ashes.]

At her remark, Nae-jang muttered bitterly.

[If I had done that, I would've died too.]

[You would've died?]

The woman questioned, incredulous.

Nae-jang diverted the subject.

[That's none of your concern. Either way, burned or not, far too many years have passed—any dead body would decay.]

[Which makes the soul even more unstable.]

Listening to their conversation, I began to piece together more.

If this man Nae-jang spoke of being burned, it had to mean I was the one who burned him.

'...Did he infiltrate Dohwaseon?'

That would be the only way he could have taken Ja Gyeongjeong's soul.

So this man Nae-jang must be a Daoist connected to Dohwaseon, just like Ja Gyeongjeong.

Otherwise, there's no way he could've entered the sect freely.

'He's no ordinary man.'

Though I never learned Dao directly from the masters, anyone capable of storing a soul in something like a scroll must be well-versed in Daoist arts.

Nae-jang then said to the woman:

[No matter how long it takes, retrieve his memory. At all costs.]

[I told you already—memories that have been lost cannot be restored.]

[Are you giving up without even trying?]

[The very concept of giving up—]

Before she could finish, Nae-jang extended his hand toward the direction of her voice.

Then came the sound of someone suffering.

[Aaargh…]

He seemed to be suppressing her with internal energy.

[Have you forgotten already? I'm the one helping keep him from finding you.]

To that, the woman croaked back:

[...Cough, cough… You called yourself… a trusted aide… but clearly not… seeing how… you speak like this… just because he's not around…]

[This is none of your concern, Cheol Su-ryeon.]

'Cheol Su-ryeon?'

Then the woman speaking was Cheol Su-ryeon of the Evil Heart Sect?

That was a shocking revelation.

Her intonation and manner of speech were familiar, but the voice itself was so different that I hadn't recognized it.

But now that I knew, there was no mistaking it.

[No wonder… I found it strange… that she helped so readily.]

[Did you really think I was offering kindness with no benefit? Obey our agreement. If you don't, you'll die before you get what you want.]

[Grrgh…]

After that, Nae-jang withdrew his energy and turned his gaze to the soul lying there.

Then he spoke to it:

[Whether you remember or not—from now on, you are Ja Gyeongjeong.]

[Ja Gyeongjeong?]

– Srrr…!

As he said this, the memory within the soul faded like mist and began to shift again.

Only the strongest impressions remain in a soul's memory, so not everything is preserved in detail.

But one thing was now certain.

The fake Lee Jeong-gyeom that I killed had been resurrected using Ja Gyeongjeong's soul.

It was essentially the same method Cheol Su-ryeon used—transplanting a soul into a new body.

However, from what I'd seen so far, the resurrected person had completely lost their original memory.

'Come to think of it…'

The fake Lee Jeong-gyeom who enraged me had spoken of Dohwaseon as if he had only heard about it from someone else—not as if he had lived through it himself.

Which meant that even now, his memories hadn't fully returned.

Can someone like that really be called Ja Gyeongjeong?

– Srrr…!

Another memory shift.

Again, a dark cave appeared, and amid the flickering torchlight sat Nae-jang in meditation.

He spoke to the soul:

[Focus. What you've just achieved is something your former self had already mastered.]

[Understood.]

[Originally, it would be best to retrain in the Dao to regain your enlightenment and understanding. But it's meaningless now—I will teach you the Dark Dao (魔道).]

Dark Dao?

Could he mean that evil surge of energy that overwhelmed everything?

Nae-jang continued:

[Dao is endlessly close to the celestial and pure. As there is light, there is dark. The counterpart to Dao is the Dark Dao.]

[What is the Dark Dao close to?]

[A good question. The Dark Dao is close to pure evil. It can be corruption, or even chaos.]

[Is it stronger than Dao?]

[The Dark Dao can do everything that Dao can.]

The soul seemed curious and asked:

[Then… can it help me recover my forgotten memories too?]

[No matter what it takes, I will recover them for you. Gyeongjeong, you focus on regaining your original power.]

The soul also seemed eager to regain its memories.

Not remembering anything would be frustrating, of course.

[If I regain my power… can I kill the descendant of Geomseon who killed my former self?]

[…]

At that question, Nae-jang fell silent.

Then he answered with solemn resolve.

[I will make sure you kill him with your own hands. But remember—this isn't about revenge.]

[It's not?]

[You and I had a goal. We must achieve that. And for that, within your memories—]

What is it…?

I couldn't hear the voice of the Brain Chief.

Suddenly, my memories tangled up, the voice disappeared, and I immediately moved on to another memory.

"Why?"

I absolutely couldn't understand the reason.

If it was memorable, it must have been something important, and it couldn't just end like this.

While I was puzzled, another memory started.

The other memories were about Baek receiving teachings from the Brain Chief.

As these memories continued one after another, everything that Baek—or rather, the newly born Ja-gyeong-jeong—had acquired began to become embodied within me, just like how I had learned them.

"Igi Jin-gyeong… Madō…"

It wasn't just martial arts.

Things related to Madō had also accumulated in his memory.

As the Brain Chief had said, Madō was very similar to the Way (Do), and they could also perform the techniques of those who had reached a high level of the Way.

A representative example was the Chukji technique.

However, unlike proper Do, the Chukji technique required a long period of Madō training to be properly utilized.

Baek inside Lee Jeong-gyeom hadn't yet reached a smooth level.

But as I recalled the memories of training the Chukji technique, I began to have a suspicion.

"...Could it be that he is the Brain Chief?"

While watching these memories, I recalled the one who had cut Ja-gyeong-jeong's neck.

That person could perform the Chukji technique.

According to the memories, the only ones who had properly honed Madō were the newly born Ja-gyeong-jeong and the Brain Chief.

So the chances were high that he was the Brain Chief.

"Hmm."

Strange.

If he cared enough to revive Ja-gyeong-jeong's soul, he must have had an attachment to him.

Yet, fearing he might reveal some secret, he beheaded him instead of rescuing him.

Not only that, but he had also tried to eliminate Lee Jeong-gyeom, who possessed Baek.

What kind of secret could he have?

Then, after memories of training continued for a while, the scene switched to another memory.

Sssssrrr!

But this was different from before.

From Ja-gyeong-jeong's Baek, an enormous fear and terror were felt.

"Where on earth is this?"

Was this memory accurate?

The air around was boiling with heat, shimmering like a mirage.

It looked like a valley, but instead of flowing water, something hot with a crimson and black color was flowing down.

Ja-gyeong-jeong's Baek screamed in agony.

The reason was that Ja-gyeong-jeong's Baek's body was immersed in that scorching crimson substance.

[Ahhhhhhh!]

Ja-gyeong-jeong's Baek broke through it and forced himself out.

His entire body had melted away except for his upper torso, crawling out, unable to endure this burning pain.

[Aaah! Why did I end up here? Brain Chief… Brain Chief! Where are you? What just happened?]

Ja-gyeong-jeong's Baek desperately searched for the Brain Chief.

Then he found him kneeling somewhere.

[Brain Chief?]

Ja-gyeong-jeong's Baek crawled toward him.

As his body recovered, the burning sensation still continued entirely.

Chiiiiiii!

[Ughhhh!]

Even I felt this memory was terrifying.

As Ja-gyeong-jeong's Baek crawled, the faint voice of the Brain Chief whispered in his ear.

[Ahhhh! ...I have been eagerly waiting for this day. Kyung-jeong has finally... remembered the secret hand signs of the law tool that has bound you for hundreds of years.]

It was hard to understand exactly what he was saying.

Because I was seeing it through Ja-gyeong-jeong's memory, if he couldn't understand it, neither could I.

Then, a chilling voice came to Ja-gyeong-jeong's Baek's ear.

[........]

But although he was clearly saying something, it was difficult to comprehend.

One thing was clear: hearing that voice made Ja-gyeong-jeong writhe in pain.

Just hearing the voice seemed agonizing.

Ja-gyeong-jeong, almost screaming, raised his head to look at the presence of that voice.

There, restrained by chains covered in golden inscriptions, was a human-shaped figure, charred black by burns all over, almost reduced to just bones.

"!?"

The moment Ja-gyeong-jeong saw that figure, he was struck with great shock.

[Ah... Ahhh...]

The figure turned his gaze toward Ja-gyeong-jeong.

His eyes had no whites, only black.

Those eyes looked less human and more like those of a snake.

Enveloped in terror, Ja-gyeong-jeong soon collapsed on the spot, and the memory ended.

"What on earth is this?"

After seeing this memory, I was only left confused.

I could not understand what the being in Baek's memories was.

The moment I saw that being, I felt chills all over, as if it was not human.

What on earth was the identity of that being?

Sssssrrr!

My doubt lingered, but the memory moved on to another.

The location changed.

It was again a cave, where the Brain Chief pointed at a sword placed on a rock, intricately engraved with patterns.

"This is the Geopsal Sword."

Ah... so that's the Geopsal Sword?

Ja-gyeong-jeong's Baek spoke at the Brain Chief's words.

"Geopsal Sword? Have we finally found one of the five key swords of Guya-ja?"

"Yes."

"That one will be happy."

"No. We will not give this sword to him."

"Not give it to him?"

"Yes. We must keep one sword here so that at the decisive moment, we can take 'it'."

Ja-gyeong-jeong's Baek agreed, nodding.

"Oh, I see. Then we should wait until he finds all the other swords."

"Yes. But before that, we must take measures."

"Measures?"

"We will put your Baek inside here."

"My Baek?"

The Brain Chief gave a meaningful smile to the puzzled Ja-gyeong-jeong's Baek.

"If the descendants of Geomseon find out his plan, they will surely try to get the key swords first to stop it."

"You are like Jiang Ziya, Brain Chief. But I am still alive, so how can you take my Baek and put it in the sword? This sword already contains another Baek filled with original hatred."

"She will do it."

Snap!

At the snap of fingers, someone holding an iron chain with bells on it entered the cave.

Seeing her, Ja-gyeong-jeong muttered in a displeased voice.

"Cheol Sul-ryeon."

---

"Master, what on earth is wrong with So-hyung?"

"I don't know either."

To the question of the disciple Lee Jeong-gyeom, former leader Baek Hyang-muk shook his head.

He saw So Un-hwi absorbing the energy that appeared to be a demon energy from Lee Jeong-gyeom's body.

But after absorbing it, So Un-hwi closed his eyes and trembled.

He even broke out in cold sweat.

"Could something be wrong?"

"He is a descendant of the sword line called the Sage. There's no way this would affect him badly."

Despite the master's words, Jeong-gyeom frowned and said.

"It's strange. Since the demon energy was drawn into So-hyung, his energy has been growing."

"What?"

"...The energy is subtly changing and increasing."

At Jeong-gyeom's words, Baek Hyang-muk was astonished but could not understand why.

He wondered why the energy would increase after absorbing demon energy.

Jeong-gyeom, sensitive to energy changes, would not say such things lightly.

'Ha!'

If such a strong monster-like person's energy grows even more here, what can be done?

At that moment, Baek Hyang-muk looked eastward.

Soon, Jeong-gyeom also looked in the same direction.

"It seems the Martial Alliance is moving."

"That seems to be the case."

Many people were rushing toward this place.

"Well, it's strange if no one noticed this chaos."

This place was not far from the Martial Alliance.

If it was just a fight, it might be overlooked, but this was almost a natural disaster with a huge hole in the mountain.

It was only a matter of time before they noticed.

"What should we do?"

At Jeong-gyeom's question, Baek Hyang-muk looked at So Un-hwi, who still had his eyes closed.

Soon, the Martial Alliance members would arrive.

If they stayed here quietly, they would have to explain what had happened.

"Hmm..."

How would Martial Alliance members react when they saw the ruined mountain?

It would be difficult to explain.

If So Un-hwi was awake, the clever one would come up with an excuse, but Baek Hyang-muk was not skilled in such talk.

"There is no choice."

But they couldn't leave So Un-hwi alone and leave.

"Let's protect him first."

"Understood."

If they left him, something might happen, so they had to guard him.

Gradually, the presence of approaching people grew stronger.

Judging by the immense energy, it seemed the deputy leader of Bumangju, Jin Gyun, was leading the Martial Alliance elders and faction leaders here.

Their figures were becoming visible.

Then So Un-hwi opened his eyes.

"So-hyung!"

"You're awake?"

It was fortunate that he woke up at the right time.

So Un-hwi told them.

"I have somewhere urgent to go."

"What?"

Wuuuuung!

Before finishing the sentence, So Un-hwi was suddenly pulled into a twisting space.

'!?'

The two disciples were dumbfounded as he vanished without a trace.

"What was that?"

It wasn't lightness or flying.

Not knowing what it was, they were stunned that he disappeared leaving them behind.

Papapapapat!

Meanwhile, the deputy leader of Bumangju, Jin Gyun, Martial Alliance elders, faction leaders, and warriors arrived.

They were shocked by the sight of the huge hole in the mountain and the nearly destroyed forest.

"This can't be..."

"How did the mountain get like that?"

The sight was even more shocking than from afar.

Baek Hyang-muk and the deputy leader Jin Gyun rushed over and asked.

"How are you here? And what happened?"

Jin Gyun's gaze was toward the hole in the mountain.

Baek Hyang-muk took a deep breath and exhaled.

Unlike So Un-hwi, he lacked the wit to make excuses quickly.

There was only one suitable answer.

"Ask So Geomseon."

"So Geomseon?"

"He made the mountain like that."

'!!!'