Chapter 1: The Immortal Divine Sword (1)

Chapter 1: The Immortal Divine Sword (1)

Baek Yi-gang suddenly brought up a random topic.

“About running.”

His maid, Sohwa, opened her eyes wide and responded,

“Yes?”

“I’m a slow runner. I don’t know why, but no matter how much I practiced, I didn’t improve.”

“I know.”

“Don’t say you know. It’s slower than you think. Since elementary school... no, since I was young, I’ve never not been last in races with my friends. I even lost in running to guys who weighed more than twice as much as I did.”

“Um, Young Master, you didn’t have any friends.”

“You shouldn’t nitpick that.”

“Um... What?”

Yi-gang ignored Sohwa’s comment.

He coughed lightly and continued.

“So, I got teased a lot. The kids would maliciously mock me for being slow. They’d call me a turtle and keep running away, repeating the act.”

“So, you did have friends?”

“Hey now.”

Sohwa smiled slyly. Yi-gang, realizing she was joking, smiled back.

“... Anyway, I chased after those fleeing kids. They probably thought I couldn’t catch them.”

“Because you’re a slow runner.”

“Right. But I caught all of them. And I kicked them in the butt.”

“How?”

This was the true story of Yi-gang, not an embellishment.

The story of his previous life before being born as a frail child of the Baek Noble Clan — It was a past he was mentioning for the first time since his reincarnation.

“I never gave up.”

“...”

“No matter how fast those kids were, they’d eventually glance back as they ran. They knew I’d give up soon since I was slow at running.”

“I see...”

There was no strength in Sohwa’s voice.

“Of course, it was hard. I probably suffered more chasing them than they did running away. I felt as if my heart would burst from the exertion, and I could taste blood in my mouth.”

“Ah...”

“But I never gave up. You know what I mean?”

“...”

“I’m saying I will never give up this time either.”

“As expected... Young Master, you’re so mature...”

Yi-gang wiped the blood flowing from Sohwa’s mouth with his sleeve. However, his sleeve was already soaked in blood.

A dagger was embedded in the back of the maid trying to protect her master, and Yi-gang hid with her in this secluded storeroom.

“Those assassins will probably try to capture or kill me, but I won’t give up.”

“Alright...”

“I won’t let them capture me easily, and if I’m discovered, I’ll fight till the end.”

“Even though you’re weak...”

“And even if I’m caught, I’ll escape again. As you said, I’ll take my medicine regularly, heal my body, and live until I’m 100.”

“...”

“So...”

Sohwa could not reply anymore. She just blankly stared at the ceiling.

“...Rest in peace.”

Yi-gang gently brushed over her unfocused eyes. Her powerless eyelids slowly closed, never to open again.

Sohwa’s face turned pale without a hint of blood. One would never see her simple smile again.

Yi-gang tightly shut his mouth.

Ever since he was born as Baek Yi-gang, Sohwa had been like a real sister to him.

Though he was born as a child of a Murim clan, he was unable to learn martial arts, and exiled to live in a small manor on the outskirts of the city.

Sohwa never treated him differently from others.

However, there was no time to remain immersed in sorrow. He heard footsteps right above him.

Thump, thump, thump.

“They must be here!”

“Search a bit more, there must be a secret passage!”

The voices of the assassins were heard from above the side door.

When Yi-gang found the hidden door in the old warehouse floor, he felt as if he had found a lifeline.

He entered through that door, supporting the injured Sohwa, but she could not go any further and took her last breath there.

Yi-gang laid Sohwa’s body in a corner. Then, he took off his outerwear to cover her.

“I’ll definitely come back and hold your funeral.”

With his frail body, he could not carry Sohwa’s body. Blood oozed from his bitten lip.

It felt chilling around his neck, as if the spirits and wraiths were waiting for Yi-gang’s death.

For a moment, it seemed as if he could hear the whispers of ghosts.

「You shouldn’t grip the sword like that.」

“Wha—!”

Yi-gang was startled and felt like his heart dropped.

A translucent bald elderly figure floated right beside him.

「Heh, descendant. You’re feeble and your actions are panicked.」

“What, what is this?!”

It was undoubtedly a ghost.

Otherwise, how could a human be translucent, float in the air, and freely pass through walls?

“...What kind of trick is this?”

Jeokpyo spoke with a cold voice.

Yi-gang was equally baffled.

“What? Can’t you see it? That thing that just popped up, right there!”

「Descendant, speak respectfully to your Great Ancestor.」

The assassins looked equally perplexed.

To them, Yi-gang seemed to be pointing at thin air.

“Trying to act crazy all of a sudden? Utterly disappointing.”

Yi-gang realized that the assassins could not see the ghost.

「Hmm, haven’t you learned swordsmanship, descendant? Your stance is a mess.」

“...It’s meridian disease. Great Yin Meridian Blockage.”

「Your words are brief. Considering your age and inexperience, perhaps strictness is required.」

Seeing the ghost addressing Yi-gang as ‘descendant,’ it seemed that the ghost might be an ancient ancestor of the Baek clan.

If Yi-gang truly had not gone mad, then ghosts indeed existed.

And if so, an afterlife existed too.

‘After all that showing off. I’ll see you soon, Sohwa.’

Realizing this, he felt strangely at ease.

“Tsk, just die, kid.”

Jeokpyo retracted his offer to spare him and raised his sword.

Yi-gang too stood ready, positioning his sword.

He was certain of death, but he resolved to at least swing once before the end.

At that moment, his trembling hands stilled. It was the very moment Yi-gang truly confronted death.

The old ghost, who had been silent, spoke softly.

「It must be a match made in heaven to encounter a descendant in danger.」

His voice held a certain authority.

「Descendant, entrust your sword to me, Baek Sung-cheon, the Immortal Divine Sword.」

“...What?”

Yi-gang’s regained composure was shattered once more.

This was because the ghost claimed to be the legendary martial artist, Baek Sung-cheon, the Immortal Divine Sword.

「I shall borrow your physical form for a moment.」

In that moment, a chill enveloped Yi-gang’s neck, and the ghost vanished without a trace.

“Enough! No more nonsense!”

Unable to hold back any longer, Jeokpyo swung his sword.

Despite his rage, it was a sharp, swift strike. A brilliant swordplay that Yi-gang could hardly block.

Yet, Yi-gang’s right arm moved on its own, meeting the strike head-on.

Kaaaang-!

It was an unnatural movement.

A first-rate martial artist was striking his sword from above, but Yi-gang, who could not gather a single ounce of internal energy, struck back from below.

Such a counter-attack was only possible if he completely dominated his opponent.

“No mere assassin can lay a blade on the body of a Baek Clan martial artist.”

The words came from Yi-gang’s mouth, but it was certainly not his voice.

Deep and resonating, neither Jeokpyo nor the assassins dared to act recklessly.

“I will show you, as the price for your lives, the 7th form of Heaven’s Shadow Sword.”

Yi-gang’s body assumed a mysterious stance on its own.

‘Seventh form?’

To Yi-gang’s knowledge, only six forms of the Heaven’s Shadow Sword Technique remained, with the last three missing.

This implied a certain fact.

“Repent, evildoers.”

The spirit who was borrowing Yi-gang’s body—

It might truly be the Immortal Divine Sword.

From Yi-gang’s meridians, which should have been blocked, internal energy surged like sparks.