"Bastard! You cut off my head by luck and now you're acting all high and mighty!"
Charuruk!
The snake opens its mouth and spews a poisonous mist laced with a red aura.
I hold my breath and move my sword.
Chwak!
Three exchanges.
Within three motions, a burst of wind blows away all the poisonous mist.
I begin overloading my brain, using all the muscles in my body.
'My muscle fibers might tear a little. But with no Qi, there's no other way to deal with an opponent like this.'
I gather the faintest trace of energy and infuse it into my wooden sword to strengthen it.In this situation, let alone Sword Gang, even Sword Energy is unthinkable.
I need to strengthen the sword enough so it doesn't break.
'I need to produce the greatest result with the least amount of strength.'
Cheok!
I clearly perceive the weight of the sword, my eyes gleaming.
Weight.
Or the strength called attraction force.
As long as attraction force exists, so does fate.
And as long as fate exists, I can summon the All-Heavens Sword at any time.
It was through the same method that I escaped from being trapped in the small dimension in the Lightning Sacred Sea.
But...
'Is the very law of this world twisted...? Despite the attraction force, I can't seem to grab hold of the All-Heavens Sword.'
I can vaguely sense that higher planes like the Plane of Soul exist in this world, above the material realm.
However, the method to connect with those higher dimensions feels somewhat different from my previous world, so I can't fully utilize my original abilities.
'Well...it's not a big issue for now.'
I'll have to search for a way to recover my abilities and escape this world eventually, but...
For now, just a slightly enhanced wooden sword is enough to deal with the snake in front of me.
Chwaruruk!
From the snake's exploded head, a flood of poisonous blood spurts out, transforming into hundreds of venomous serpents that rush toward me.
Dodging all the serpents and cutting off the snake's neck is easy enough, but my comrades are behind me.
'I can't let any of them get poisoned.'
In that case, I'll just have to dice through all the venomous serpents and close in on the snake.
Kuguguk...
I grab the tip of my sword with my hand and strengthen my grip on the hilt.
Without the ability to use energy, I need to rely on this trick to amplify the power of my technique.
The wooden sword's blade bends like a bow for a moment.
But the blade, reinforced by my energy, does not break.
Then, just as all the venomous serpents enter within my sword range,
Tuung!
I let go of the sword's tip and begin spinning along with the wooden sword.
With the combined force of the sword's elasticity and my movement, I sweep away the hundreds of venomous serpents.
Severing Mountain Swordsmanship,
Bouldered Cliff,
Strange Stone,
Joy of Mountain and Peaks.
Combined Application Technique: Collapsing Tomb (壞陵).
Bouldered Cliff which combines offensive and defensive properties, Strange Stone which specializes in feints, and Joy of Mountain and Peaks which sends sword energy vertically and horizontally come together, forming an overwhelming cutting force that grinds everything around me into dust.
Piiiiiit!
Pababababang!
Bursting all the venomous serpents, I use the rotational force from spinning with my sword to kick off the ground, using the bow-body movement technique to chase after the snake that's trying to distance itself from me.
[TL/N: It's the technique where you bend the body like an arrow and use the rebound force to move faster. I forgot what I translated it as before. :p]
"For the Demon Race that gained renown through close combat to distance itself from me, you should be ashamed."
I can see it.
The defensive demon abilities tightly covering the snake's body.
Dozens of demon abilities swirl within its blood and energy, layering over its scales like armor, completely covering its body.
But it's nothing.
I see through the grains of all those demon abilities covering its body like armor.
They are certainly excellent demon abilities, but they met the wrong opponent.
Pang!
I stop right in front of the snake, compressing all the flows from earlier into the wooden sword.
Crack!
The wooden sword vibrates as if it's about to shatter.
'Let's add to this.'
"This...lowly mortal bastard!"
The snake, suddenly forced into close combat, is startled and swings its tail at me.
Severing Mountain Swordsmanship.
Echoing Valley!
In an instant.
I face the snake's tail with my sword.
Then, I absorb and add the force of its tail into my sword.
At the same time, I read the flow and force in the snake's tail and once again confirm its weak points.
'It's over.'
Piiit!
In an instant.
My movement breaks the sound barrier.
Air is pushed aside by my sword.
The sound of breaking through air starts to erupt from my entire body.
Severing Mountain Swordsmanship.
Landscape Painting!
A total of seven attacks tear through the gaps in the spell armor, striking various points on the snake's body and neutralizing it!
As my sword, now moving faster than sound, tears through the spell armor, the resulting shockwave makes the nearby flesh and scales explode.
Neck, waist, tail, stomach in three places, and its side.
A total of seven points explode, and the snake collapses, screaming in pain.
Chiiiiiii—
I look at my forearms and shoulders, now burnt from the friction heat.
My body couldn't withstand the strain of breaking the sound barrier.
'To think my body couldn't endure even this much speed and got injured...'
Despite only strengthening the sword to conserve my meager energy, it was still quite a novel experience.
My current body feels exactly the same as it did when I fell onto Ascension Path, which is probably why I feel it even more intensely.
'This body of an untrained office worker. No wonder my muscles ache.'
Fortunately, since I perfectly controlled all my muscles, none of them were torn.
'For now, I'll need to do some physical training.'
As I assess the state of my body, I point the sword toward the snake's eyes.
Chiiiiiii—
Even though I strengthened it with energy, the reinforcement was too weak, and the surface of my sword burnt and turned to charcoal.
"Now that I've defeated you, does that make me the master of this forest?"
"Kh...keheok...kuk..."
"You look like you're in a lot of pain...If you don't want to die, transform into your human form. If you do, I can at least give you some emergency treatment."
At my words, the snake begins to slowly transform back into its human form using its demon ability.
I glance at it for a moment before quickly returning to the cave.
My comrades are waking up because of the noise from my battle with the snake.
Pabat!
I knock out my companions again by hitting them on the head, then tear Jeon Myeong-hoon's clothes into strips and return to the spot where the snake is.
The snake has fully transformed into its human form by now, and I wrap its wounds with the cloth before applying pressure points to stop the bleeding.
"Kuh, keheok...ugh..."
Due to the loss of the male head, only the female head remains on the snake's head.
But amusingly, while the face is female, the body is still male.
I slap the snake, who still seems dazed, a few times to help it regain its senses.
Smack, smack! Thwack!
"W-Wait! I've regained my senses, elder. Please stop hitting me."
"Good. So, what's your answer to my question?"
"A-About the master of the forest?"
I nod.
The snake, seemingly observing my reaction, speaks.
"That...I would like to offer you the position of the master of the forest, but this Ascension Forest was granted to me by my master, so I cannot recklessly...give it away..."
Suruk...
The snake conjures clothes with a spell and continues to speak.
I tap the wooden sword, knocking off the charred pieces stuck to it.
Seeing this, the snake trembles in fear, probably thinking I'm about to hit it again.
"Right, your master...I have some questions about them too. Did you say your master is Shi Ho?"
"Yes, yes. Elder Shi Ho. He is a Six-Tailed Fox and has reached the Grand Perfection Qi Building stage. In fact, he's practically an expert at the Golden Core-level."
"Hmm...I see. There's much I want to ask you. Follow me. We'll go to the cave, and I'll need to hear more about this world from you."
"Uh...I can't walk right now... Could you perhaps help me?"
"What? Why not?!"
"Elder broke my ankle...so I can't walk..."
"..."
I help the snake and bring it to the cave, where I start asking about this world.
As I make a splint for its leg, it tells me about the world.
"So...you're saying Black Ghost Valley doesn't exist?"
"Yes, that's right. According to Lord Shi Ho...there's a record in ancient texts of such a sect existing...but it's said to have ascended to the Upper Realm about 100,000 years ago, along with the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, Azure Heaven Creation Sect, and others."
"I see."
It seems this world's setting is about 100,000 years after the ascension back then.
It's said the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect came back down to the Lower Realm at some point but left for another world again after about 10,000 years. During that time, the Cheongmun Clan grew rapidly and reestablished the Azure Heaven Creation Sect.
Then, one day, the amount of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy in the world began to decline, causing many powerful figures to disappear. Gradually, the average cultivation level in the world dropped as well.
What was once a continent teeming with cultivators at the Heavenly Being stage has, at present, only three supreme cultivators known as the Three Powers (三強) of the Continent, all of whom are at the Grand Perfection Qi Building to Core Formation level.
"Who are the Three Powers of the Continent, and what are their characteristics?"
"Yes, I will explain that as well. First is the Supreme Elder of the Azure Heaven Creation Sect that is known as the strongest force on the continent, Rising Cloud Saint (漲雲子), Cheongmun Sunwoo. Then, there's the reclusive master who used to be a disciple of the Azure Heaven Creation Sect but left the sect, Salt Sea Master (鹹海子) Cheongmun Ryeong. Lastly, my master, the most beautiful of them all..."
"Be moderate with the flowery language."
"Yes! The Number One Beauty of the Continent, Lord Shi Ho, also known as Heavenly Chess Piece (天棋子) is regarded as one of the Three Great Powers of the Continent."
"I see... Thanks for now."
I close my eyes after hearing about the state of this world from the snake.
'Azure Tiger Saint and Shi Ho are both doing well, and also...'
Salt Sea Master Cheongmun Ryeong.
The title is unfamiliar, but the name is all too familiar to me.
'Are you in this world as well...?'
As expected...
The world where Buk Hyang-hwa resides, and the world where Cheongmun Ryeong came to, seem to be the same.
In my mind, the vision of Cheongmun Ryeong, who appeared in my memory not long ago and gave me guidance, surfaces.
'I will come see you.'
I look at my body.
A body with very weak energy.
Honestly, compared to the authority I once wielded, it's an overwhelmingly frail body, but...
Right now, it actually feels rather fortunate.
When I go to meet Cheongmun Ryeong, I won't be called 'senior' in front of him.
'Good. First, let's leave Ascension Path and go find Cheongmun Ryeong. I'll study under him for a few years, then meet Azure Tiger Saint and Shi Ho to strengthen our rapport. With the power of the three, I'll meet Buk Hyang-hwa, and then...after that, I'll find a way to leave this world.'
As I lay out a rough plan for this world, I toss some branches into the campfire.
"Seo Ran, are you starting to recover your memories?"
She shakes her head at my words and replies.
"Well...actually, a lot of memories that don't seem like mine are mixing in, so I'm in the process of sorting through them."
"Hmm, I see. How long do you think it will take to sort everything out?"
It seems that Seo Ran, who is playing the role of Kang Min-hee 'in this world', is having memories mixed in.
"It's hard to say... It's not just memories but also emotions mixing in. It might take a while to sort them all out."
"What kind of emotions?"
"Uh...emotions of thinking about 'someone.' How should I put it...? Emotions of being annoyed, of wanting to possess them, of feeling bothersome...umm...it feels tender as well."
"...Hmm..."
'If Seo Ran is playing the 'role of Kang Min-hee,' could it be...?'
I feel my face redden and let out a cough.
"Enough. There's no need to talk about that. For now, let's just wait for our comrades to wake up."
"Yes."
"And you..."
I glance at the injured snake and speak.
"Wait until the others wake up. Once everyone is awake and your body is fully healed, we'll use your body to leave Ascension Path."
"Yes, yes...I understand."
"And by any chance...can you cough up your demon core?"
The snake looks at me with an expression that says, 'What kind of crazy talk is this?' Then it flinches and bows its head.
"E-Elder, please spare me. I swear to take you safely out of Ascension Path."
Judging by its reaction, it seems that spitting out the demon core would be fatal.
'Shi Ho didn't die though...Is it the difference between the Core Formation stage and the realms below?'
I nod and sit down, waiting for my comrades to wake up.
The snake and Seo Ran fall asleep by the campfire to recover their strength and organize their mind, while I stay awake, keeping watch over the fire as I see the setting sun.
"It's cold..."
I look at the sleeping figures of Kim Young-hoon, Jeon Myeong-hoon, Oh Hyun-seok, Kim Yeon, Seo Ran, and the red snake, then throw another log into the fire.
"You brought the snake with you."
"Yes well...it looked injured, so I couldn't just leave it outside."
"Not this time, but last time. When you first arrived. I saw traces of the snake."
"Pardon...? Hmm...that does seem to be true..."
"You came in through the Head Realm's entrance, so there's no helping it. That place is incredibly ominous. But if you bring in a snake next time, I won't let it slide. Be careful."
"Yes, I will be careful. But...is the snake perhaps a metaphor or...?"
Just as I'm responding to answer the person who's advising me, I suddenly realize that I'm alone in the cave.
'What?'
For some reason, the voice sounds vaguely familiar to what I've heard in the past.
Feeling chills run down my spine, I grip my wooden sword tightly and stay alert on the surroundings.
Fortunately or unfortunately, nothing out of the ordinary happens until the next morning.