전생검신 89권 01화

I shared the backstory with Lee Gang-ryong.

Whoosh—

The sound of a fierce wind howled outside the cave. After quietly listening for about a meal’s worth of time, Lee Gang-ryong suddenly spoke up.

“Can you show me the Four Great Spirit Deities?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem.”

Ching!!

I brought out Agni, Varuna, and Vayu from the Four Great Spirit Deities one after another. Lee Gang-ryong made an impressed sound and reached out for Agni.

“Ooh…!! This is…!!”

“Wait a minute!!”

I panicked and tried to smack his hand away, but it slipped in surprisingly smoothly, almost like he was treating space like a playground.

‘To be so swift yet graceful!’

This was definitely not an absolute peak level!

I instinctively sensed from Lee Gang-ryong’s move that his martial arts skill reached the Absolute Realm. Truly, it was to be expected from the leader of Thunder God Lineage. However, since I could read the [flow], I naturally blocked his hand midway and batted it away.

Clang!

Lee Gang-ryong’s hand bounced off mine, causing him to stumble back. He stared at me intently as I sighed and said,

“Sigh, anyone who touches the Four Great Spirit Deities without permission might suddenly bring about harm. Do you want to be burnt to a crisp by Agni?”

“Indeed… I was reckless. I apologize.”

Lee Gang-ryong brushed off his hand and continued,

“That was something I had sought my whole life, so I couldn’t control my heart in that moment.”

“……”

Thinking back to what Lee Cheong-un told me, it seemed that Lee Gang-ryong had only said he was leaving to perfect his martial arts to his disciple, Lee Cheong-un.

‘But what I heard from the Master of the White Lotus Sect was different…’

I remembered the Master’s words.

[Lee Gang-ryong said he would stop by Su Shin Sect before leaving the Thunder God Lineage to search for the Four Great Spirit Deities, rummaging through the library for information. I also helped him find the data, and he said he wouldn’t return until he found the Four Great Spirit Deities.]

So, the Lee Gang-ryong who faced the Master of the White Lotus Sect back then, rather unexpectedly expressed his desire to seek out the Four Great Spirit Deities instead of focusing on perfecting his martial arts, and got help from him to find the materials.

Recalling that, I said,

“……It seems you didn’t tell your direct disciple, Lee Cheong-un, that you were going to look for the Four Great Spirit Deities. Why was that?”

“Hmm! As expected of someone with divine abilities, you know everything. Have you spoken to Dokgo Uncheon?”

“The bookworm you know as Dokgo Uncheon later became a peerless master of the Absolute Realm and the High Monk of Su Shin Sect, as well as a Supreme Martial Artist of the Martial Arts World. I even faced him once as I am among the later generations.”

“……!!”

Lee Gang-ryong looked utterly astonished, and I forced a smirk.

“Well, he’s one of my companions now. As I relive my past life, I inevitably teamed up with him.”

“Hmm…… I see…”

“You still haven’t answered my question. Why didn’t you tell Lee Cheong-un about going to find the Four Great Spirit Deities?”

At that, Lee Gang-ryong sighed.

“Sigh – If I could find the Four Great Spirit Deities, I thought our sect could regain its glory, so I was prepared to risk my life to find them. However, if the leader is too obsessed with finding the Four Great Spirit Deities, then the sect itself might not survive. I hoped that Lee Cheong-un, as a solid leader of the Thunder God Lineage, would help maintain the sect, and I also didn’t want to pass on my burdens.”

“So that’s how it was…”

“But it’s truly strange…… You, a Reborn Person, exist in a world made merely for training, which is only contained in a book called the Heavenly Secret…”

Lee Gang-ryong suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hahaha. Honestly, if it weren’t before I started searching for the Four Great Spirit Deities, I would have wondered if you were making fun of me. However, I now think that might just be true.”

Feeling slightly odd about his words, I tilted my head.

“What do you mean? Did something change in your heart after you began searching for the Four Great Spirit Deities?”

Lee Gang-ryong responded to my words.

“Well, I wouldn’t say it was a change of heart…… I stepped out of the Martial Arts World to search for the Four Great Spirit Deities and waded into the [darkness]. The world inhabited by demon beasts that the Bai Hua Sect often eliminated, and where the evil races from other realms resided…”

“Oh…”

“As it turned out, diving deep into that world known commonly as the Demon Path or Demon Realm revealed unimaginable things. The levels of the otherworldly demon clans and divine beings were on a completely different plane than what I had experienced in the Martial Arts World. As a result, I went on numerous adventures, and amidst that, I acquired new powers… but I ultimately failed.”

“Failed? What do you mean?”

Then, Lee Gang-ryong pointed to a strange magical seal engraved on his neck with his finger.

“Do you see this?”

“Uh… what is that?”

“It seems you revived my old body and applied rejuvenation, but this magical seal remains. In fact, this was the direct cause of my death.”

“That magical seal killed you?”

Lee Gang-ryong nodded and said,

“This seal is a curse of aging. Anyone marked by it ages at a hundred times the normal rate.”

“……?!”

“Even though I had achieved the Absolute Realm and had superior internal power, I should have lived easily for about 200 years, but because I couldn’t remove this seal, I aged and died in just a few short years. It’s like getting old a century in just one year.”

Completely unexpected reasons!

I was dumbfounded as I said,

“W-What? A person of your caliber died just because you couldn’t break one curse? Why didn’t you go back to the White Lotus Sect and study how to remove it?”

Lee Gang-ryong shook his head.

“No, even if I returned to the White Lotus Sect, there would have been no method. This curse was cast directly by the [Old Ruler].”

“What?!”

“Umm…… After stepping into the world of darkness, I worked as a [mercenary]. I accepted requests from ancient gods and often cleared the lairs of evil gods. However, in doing so, I earned the enmity of the [Old Rulers] who were rampant in the Western Regions. Even the ancient gods claimed there was no way to solve my curse.”

“……”

“Time was running out, so I had no choice but to pick a place where the impact on people would be minimal, leaving my martial arts and insights behind quietly as I prepared to die. The curse of the [Old Ruler] is so malignant that even after I die, it might spread to those around me.”

“That place was this isolated cave in the Barren Lands.”

“That’s correct.”

“……”

As I listened to the story, my thoughts became quite complicated.

‘Although it may not be known to later generations, even the leaders of the Four Great Families worked hard. But can efforts by a single individual actually lead to change…?’

And for some reason, I found myself feeling annoyed with the Ancient God. They seemed to be using Lee Gang-ryong as bait by promising information on the Four Great Spirit Deities and then pushing a messy task onto him. Did they even have the right to consider themselves benevolent beings?

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, grabbed Agni, and stepped closer to him.

“Wait a minute. Let me try to remove that seal with Agni.”

“Do you think you can?”

“Hmph… If I can’t do it with Agni, what on earth could work?”

I chuckled and infused spiritual energy into Agni before pressing it against Lee Gang-ryong’s neck.

Zzzzz!

There was briefly the smell of something burning, but Lee Gang-ryong’s expression didn’t change as he seemed to bear the pain, showcasing the patience expected from the leader of Thunder God Lineage. After a moment, when I pulled Agni away, the seal on Lee Gang-ryong had vanished without a trace. When I created a mirror to show him, he looked utterly astonished.

“……!!”

“See? It’s simple, isn’t it? There isn’t a curse that can withstand the Four Great Spirit Deities.”

“R-Right…”

After standing there stunned for a moment, Lee Gang-ryong suddenly grasped my hand firmly.

“I’ve made up my mind! Whatever you desire, I, Lee Gang-ryong of the Thunder God Lineage, will make it happen!”

It seemed like removing the curse with the Four Great Spirit Deities left a strong impression on him. Relieved that no awkward negotiations were necessary, I said,

“Uh… hmm… well… you’re still a leader of the Thunder God lineage, but I won’t use honorifics from now on. Is that okay?”

“Of course! You’re practically a god already, so what does it matter?”

“Then one more thing… It’s about training.”

I elaborated on the story related to Lee Kwang. After listening to my tale for quite a while, Lee Gang-ryong nodded.

“So you want to seriously learn the Heavenly Flower Thunder Dragon Divine Arts from me, right?”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm… but even I have no grasp on the Heavenly Flower’s level that Lee Kwang has mastered. How about this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Teach me the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique and the Soul of the Evil God. As I train in them, I can find out firsthand what Lee Kwang realized and let you know.”

“Of course, I intended to do that. Let’s work hard at training together from now on.”

Just as I was about to dive into a fresh training session, Lee Gang-ryong spoke up.

“Ah, but let’s train somewhere else, not here.”

“Hmm?”

“The Heavenly Flower Thunder Dragon Divine Arts has a tendency to respond to extreme Thunder Energy, so the more energy-infused the location, the faster the training speed.”

“Is there such a place?”

“I have a place I’ve noted while living as a mercenary for the Ancient Gods. I’ll lead the way.”

Swish—!!

Following Lee Gang-ryong, I sped out of the Barren Lands using quick light body technique. After quite a bit of running, we passed through an area I had visited once before in the Barren Lands, and upon spotting a location atop a mountain, I paused for a moment.

“Hmm… over there…”

“Baek Woong, what’s wrong?”

The location I was staring at was somewhere I’ve visited relatively early in my past life.

I unexpectedly said the name of the location aloud.

“The ruins of Juuban.”

It was the ruins of the Baehwa Sect found with the guidance of Karan Lama, a High Monk from the Western Secret School!

That spot was the very base of the heretical sect and the place where the Demon King Feng Shen and Simon Magus appeared.

Maybe it was coincidence, but as we passed by, curiosity struck me, and I spoke to Lee Gang-ryong.

“Lee Gang-ryong, let’s stop by there for a bit.”

“Hmm… it seems like a sinister ruin… but you should be fine. Let’s go.”

Tap-tap

As we entered the white temple atop the mountains, the altar that I had remembered from before came into view. Of course, in this training world, the realms of Tao King and Simon Magus did not exist, so I noticed that the once oppressive evil energy I had felt back then was nearly absent. I briefly scanned the area around the altar and discovered something peculiar.

‘What’s this?’

Inside a labyrinth-like corridor, there was a massive disk attached to a huge wall. It was incredibly large, with dimensions that surpassed what this pavilion could hold.

‘A disk?’

However, it was covered in mysterious alien script, so I couldn’t quite grasp what it was. Lee Gang-ryong, who had followed me, spoke up as he looked at the disk.

“This is the Outer God Diagram.”

“Outer God Diagram? What’s that?”

“It’s knowledge I learned from the Ancient Gods. The Outer Gods exist outside the ‘Cycle’ of this world, and their numbers are limited, leading many demon sorcerers to sacrifice themselves to investigate the names and numbers of these Outer Gods. The Outer God Diagram preserves their names and title symbols.”

“……”

“Look. At the center of this Outer God Diagram, there’s a character symbolizing 0. This represents the great [Father] Azathoth, and several Outer Gods are inscribed around it in relation to that.”

As I listened to the explanation, I was left perplexed, staring at Lee Gang-ryong.

“Wait… you’re the leader of the Thunder God Lineage, aren’t you? You seem more versed in demon sorcery than Zhuge Sa?”

“Is that so? I was so engrossed in studying demon sorcery knowledge in my quest for the Four Great Spirit Deities during my time as a mercenary… so I might know more than the average demon sorcerer.”

“……”

Ignoring my incredulous gaze, Lee Gang-ryong pointed at the Outer God Diagram with his finger and continued to explain.

“And then above Azathoth at the true north location. That’s a being representing 1, known as the all-knowing Demon God and the Divine King. It’s the second most powerful entity in the entire universe.”

“Hmm… I think I’ve heard of it before.”

“This Outer God Diagram is a kind of hierarchy.”

“In that case…”

I examined the Outer God Diagram closely. I found some ancient alien script that was rarely decipherable and roughly figured out its meaning.

‘Excluding the [Father] of 0, there are a total of 13 Outer Gods…?’

So I had acquired the information that there were 13 Outer Gods?

As I nodded, I suddenly realized that this disk could rotate.

Creeeeak…

Creeeeak…

“It’s turning in a circular fashion.”

“Oh, it seems to be a structure that rotates six different wheels?”

“What does it mean?”

“…….”

After pondering for a while, Lee Gang-ryong said.

“It seems this Outer God Diagram is currently in a wrong state. Each Outer God needs to be at a designated position, and both their names and hierarchy must be restored to their proper states.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“If we restore these six wheels to their rightful positions to complete the correct hierarchy, something hidden will appear.”

“……!!”

I was startled.

‘In this world… I didn’t expect this kind of secret to be hidden in the ruins of Juuban!’

Though I had found new things while rummaging through Jeon Wook’s ruins, I never anticipated anything like this!

I said to Lee Gang-ryong,

“Can we smash this with brute force?”

“Well, I suppose. You can’t break it that way. Moreover, these kinds of riddles share a common trait.”

“What common trait?”

“In the end, the level of rewards is determined by the status of the deity that the demon sorcerer serves. You seem to know about these ruins already; which god was that sorcerer serving?”

The sorcerer who ruled this place was Simon Magus…

The god that Simon Magus served…

“……”

Hearing those words, I clenched my fist.

“……I have to solve this somehow later.”

Incredible rewards must be awaiting!