〈 Episode 644 〉 Heavenly Thunder Sword (Lei Tian Yi Jian).
Is it not in the secret cave of Shaanxi?
How can it be inside the artifact—what does that even mean?
At the words Namgung Myeong spat out, laden with doubt, I had to stand there blankly for a moment.
Whoosh.
A chill brushed past me. It was an illusion.
The surroundings had been frozen for so long that there was no way wind or anything like it could blow.
This was purely a sentiment I felt.
It was chilly.
Emotions rising from within pierced through my chest and penetrated to my brain. Something that was not even my own gently tapped my upper dantian.
Something stifling and oppressive. When I felt a shudder at this, only then was I barely able to come to my senses.
“What do you mean….”
The words I had barely spoken trembled.
“His consciousness was contained within the Huashan Sect’s artifact. Are you saying that was not something you seniors intended?”
Had I misremembered?
Even if I pondered that for a moment, I knew better than anyone that it was not the case.
It was more convincing to think that Namgung Myeong had just explained it wrong.
‘Could it be that it was in the secret cave?’
So…. what was it?
The Huashan Sect’s artifact whose name I could not even recall now.
Wasn’t Namgung Myeong saying that the artifact was in the Huashan Sect’s secret cave located somewhere in Shaanxi? That was the more likely thing to say.
But.
‘If that’s the case, Namgung Myeong’s reaction makes no sense.’
I still remembered Namgung Myeong’s expression, surprised that it was in the artifact.
That was clearly a genuine reaction.
‘Think.’
How did this happen?
While I held my confusion with wide eyes, Namgung Myeong furrowed his brow and spoke to me.
“It was inside the artifact…. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
How could I forget?
Absorbing energy from it while it was being sent to the Huashan Sect, and even Noya’s voice that I had heard then.
Though more than five years had passed, it was a day I could not forget for a moment.
That was why it was more problematic.
‘What on earth happened.’
Something had gone awry.
So, I had to find out what had gone awry, somehow.
“…Did you say that Shin Noya—the Huashan Sword Saint—was in the secret cave?”
“Yes.”
“Are you saying his consciousness was not placed inside the artifact and left there?”
I posed the question first, just as the doubt that had come to mind.
At that, Namgung Myeong slightly shook his head.
It was a clear negation.
“There was never such a thing, and it was something that must not be done.”
“Something that must not be done?”
“Putting consciousness into an artifact is nothing more than buying time. For the purpose we desired, it was something that must not be done.”
“Purpose….”
Perhaps Shin Noya’s reincarnation. Or transmigration.
The purpose Namgung Myeong spoke of was undoubtedly that.
I rolled my mind as I listened. Could those words be a lie?
Could even that person calling himself the Heavenly Thunder Sword be a lie from the start?
I had to judge while hypothesizing even such things.
“Then…. you mean what happened with the artifact was not intended by you seniors.”
Though immersed in thought, I did not let my mouth rest. I could not show signs of suspecting the other party.
‘If….’
If Namgung Myeong’s words were true, there was one situation that came to mind.
A few months ago, when I was in Hubei. Yeongpung, whom I had met by chance then.
His words kept coming to mind.
[I think I have become the successor.]
Yeongpung, who had secretly told me that he had become the successor of the Huashan Sword Saint. Hearing that, I had scoffed, pretending to be surprised.
It was only natural. I am Noya’s successor.
Yeongpung may be a member of the Huashan Sect, but that did not change the fact.
That was certainly what I had thought back then, but….
‘…Yeongpung said he had discovered it in a cave in Shaanxi.’
The familiar energy he personally possessed, and even the voice he had heard.
Since Yeongpung did not seem to be telling a lie, I had thought there was some unknown problem, but….
Even so, in my heart, I had been convinced that I was the true successor.
But.
Now, that belief was beginning to shake somewhat.
‘The situation fits.’
A cave discovered in Shaanxi.
The traces and energy inside it…. And even the voice. Did it not match exactly what Namgung Myeong had said about the secret cave?
If that place was truly Noya’s secret cave that these people had left behind?
‘But, those were merely traces and a fortuitous encounter. In the end, it is different from reincarnation.’
Just as I had obtained Noya’s energy and consciousness from the Huashan Sect’s artifact.
Yeongpung merely obtained traces. It was different from the peculiar concept of reincarnation.
He had failed at reincarnation.
It was right to view it that way.
“The consciousness was clearly inside the artifact. The Huashan Sect’s artifact, nothing else. Do you have no guesses regarding this part?”
Putting aside talk about Yeongpung. For now, I brought up only what I had experienced.
“I do not know. Successor, if your words are true, it means an accident occurred.”
“…”
Tap. Tap.
I secretly tapped my waist with my fingers.
Because no matter how much I thought about it, I could not understand.
‘What happened?’
There had been prior preparations, yet the fact that the situation had turned out like this meant, as Namgung Myeong said, that an accident had occurred in between.
Perhaps what Yeongpung had experienced was related to that accident as well….
‘Something went wrong, the plans were twisted, Noya failed to reincarnate, and his consciousness was contained in the artifact.’
In the midst of that, Yeongpung discovered Noya’s traces in Shaanxi and was even recognized as the successor by his sect.
The heroes of the past whom I had met seemed unaware of this fact.
‘I do not know about Dang Je-mun and Yeon Il-cheon, but Hwang A-bul-yeong and Namgung Myeong do not seem to know.’
That is, if the Namgung Myeong before me is real.
Twisted and distorted. The diverging paths were so complex that the end could not be seen.
How did Noya fail to reincarnate? I stopped pondering and asked Namgung Myeong.
“Why on earth did you try to make the Huashan Sword Saint reincarnate?”
There was too much to think about, but no conclusion was forthcoming now.
So, I had to obtain whatever other information I could.
Putting aside that Noya had failed to reincarnate, why him of all people? I decided to start with that.
I did not ask how such a thing was possible. That would be a useless question now.
The purpose was more important now.
When I posed the question about this, Namgung Myeong looked at me with a strange expression.
“Why are you curious about that?”
“Because it is strange.”
How could it not be strange?
“The number one under heaven of that era was the Gold Heaven Fist King.”
The tale of a bloodline from the small Su Clan, located somewhere in Sichuan, overwhelming the great sects and famous clans to stand at the summit was still famous to this day.
To the point that the merchant guild operated by his clan rose to become the greatest in the Central Plains, making him a perfect figure possessing strength, fame, and wealth.
He was none other than the number one under heaven from centuries past, and one of the heroes who had stopped the Blood Tribulation—the Gold Heaven Fist King, Yeon Il-cheon.
And on top of that.
‘He was a regressor like me.’
A being who had even gone against time.
And yet.
“What was the reason you chose the Huashan Sword Saint over such a man?”
What was the reason for choosing the Huashan Sword Saint while leaving the era’s number one under heaven? It was something I had been curious about all along.
“…”
Namgung Myeong fell silent at the question.
I waited. He seemed to be pondering what answer to give rather than ignoring the question.
After waiting like that for a moment, Namgung Myeong looked at me and opened his mouth.
“He was the right man for it.”
“Excuse me?”
A somewhat strange answer popped out.
“No matter how much I think about it. It was because only he would do.”
“I do not understand.”
The only choice was Shin Noya?
Those words couldn’t mean….
“…Actually, was the Huashan Sword Saint stronger than the Gold Heaven Fist King….”
“No. He never defeated Il-cheon. It was the same for the others, not to mention me.”
“I see.”
I had wondered if perhaps there was something like him being a hidden powerhouse, but Namgung Myeong was firm.
“Then, why?”
“Successor.”
“Yes.”
“You said you conversed with Shin Cheol’s consciousness.”
“…That is right.”
Rather than conversation, we often exchanged sarcasm or curses in quarrels, but if that counted as conversation, then it was.
“In your eyes, what kind of man was he?”
“…May I answer plainly without mincing words?”
“Speak.”
“He was a crazy old man who did not even seem like a Taoist despite being one. He had no tact, and his temper was so filthy that we would always be fuming after just ten words.”
“…”
Oops. Had I spoken too rashly?
I had wondered if I should have spoken more tactfully. But Namgung Myeong’s reaction was unexpected.
“You truly are his successor.”
I had thought he might get angry since I had insulted his sworn friend, but for some reason, he nodded.
For some reason, that reaction left a bad taste in my mouth.
“That was not the answer I wanted to hear, but you saw right through him. He was not Taoist-like.”
Namgung Myeong’s expression changed slightly as he brought up Shin Noya.
It felt somewhat nostalgic.
“Far from putting hypocrisy on his lips like other Taoists, he lived while spouting curses. He had no interest in dignity or honor, so the moment he held a sword, he was no different from a madman.”
“…”
His expression looked nostalgic, yet the words he spat out were the opposite.
What kind of life had the real Noya lived? To be treated like a madman by his own sworn friend….
I shook my head.
‘How strange a man he must have been.’
It was something a normal person like me could not understand.
As the explanation continued, I was wondering if they should have left it to Noya even less, when—
“However.”
Namgung Myeong said to me in a clear voice.
“He was a man who would not bend his beliefs in the slightest.”
“His beliefs?”
Belief (Xin Nian).
My shoulders felt a little weighed down by that difficult and heavy word.
“You asked why it was Shin Cheol.”
“Yes.”
“It was because his beliefs were the most righteous among us.”
Righteous beliefs.
What did those words mean? I did not really know.
As if that was all showing on my face, Namgung Myeong continued his explanation while looking at me.
“Hwang A-bul-yeong’s will is righteous but weak.”
The description of the Shaolin hero, the bald old man dwelling within the koi.
“Knowing this himself, he stepped back on his own and chose to remain in Shaolin.”
He stepped back.
Did those words mean he had given up on reincarnating?
“Dang Je-mun possessed firm beliefs unlike Hwang A-bul-yeong. But her martial prowess was the weakest. Moreover, she was not compatible.”
I recalled the woman I had met at the lake in Sichuan. Contrary to her name, she was a frail and beautiful woman.
“Yeon Il-cheon’s beliefs were incomplete. I had too many attachments. That is why it was Shin Cheol.”
“I still do not understand. What does that even mean?”
Going on and on about beliefs—what kind of maddening nonsense was this?
How could the heroes who saved the world have weak beliefs?
They were humans who should have been deeper and stronger than me, at the very least.
When I asked with that meaning, Namgung Myeong made a strange expression.
It seemed somewhat bitter, yet also enlightened.
“We must not crumble.”
That was why his words felt particularly precarious.
“Therefore, we had to choose someone who would not crumble no matter what happened.”
“What does that have to do with beliefs? Are you saying the others had weak beliefs?”
“No, everyone was strong.”
“Then….”
“The problem is that the direction of our beliefs was different.”
Namgung Myeong’s gaze was somehow hazy.
“Do you know what belief was important to us?”
“…I do not know.”
“It was the world.”
My eyes widened slightly at his words.
“We had to save the world. For that, we needed a belief that would not break.”
“That….”
“Bulyeong lacked confidence in his own beliefs, not knowing when they might break. Dang Je-mun’s martial prowess was weak, and that one’s belief was compassion (Ai Shin), so she had to be excluded.”
Compassion. There was no need to ask toward whom that heart was directed.
Everyone except that tactless old man seemed to know.
“The same goes for me. I….”
Namgung Myeong, who had paused for a moment, continued.
“I wished for the prosperity and safety of my clan more than the world.”
I tilted my head at Namgung Myeong’s somewhat agitated words.
“Is that different?”
Stopping the Blood Tribulation to save the world.
Wasn’t that enough? I could not understand why he viewed it differently.
“It is different. Very much so.”
“What do you mean?”
“Living for the world and that being incidental are different. That is the reason we all had to step back on our own.”
“Then, are you saying Noya lived for the world?”
“Yes.”
“…!”
An answer without a moment’s hesitation. At those words, my mouth clamped shut instead.
“To save the world. That was the only reason he drew his sword. Despite being the sect leader of a major sect, he never let go of that stubbornness.”
That man?
I was about to retort, recalling Noya’s usual temperament, but then I remembered that I myself had treated Shin Noya as a hero.
“A sword solely to save the world. That was the reason we chose him and wanted to bind his soul in the secret cave.”
Namgung Myeong trailed off and turned his gaze away, as if falling into thought.
“I cannot fathom how his physical body manifested properly while his soul ended up contained within the artifact.”
He fell into thought as if questioning it too. As expected, if the plan had gone awry, it was someone’s doing….
Hm?
“Wait a moment.”
I was about to speak when I suddenly felt like I had heard something strange just now.
“Senior.”
“Speak.”
“…What did you say about the Huashan Sword Saint’s physical body?”
“What are you talking about?”
Namgung Myeong looked at me again. And then he spoke.
“Is it not right before your eyes?”
“…Excuse me?”
At those words, I immediately looked around.
I saw Paejon and Seongyul. And also Heuksaja and Gungju.
They were just frozen stiff.
Among these?
I looked at Namgung Myeong again with a surprised expression, and his gaze was fixed on one spot.
“You.”
It was me.
“You are his reincarnation.”
My expression twisted bizarrely at the words.
“What?”
…Me?