전생검신 91권 12화

After a short while, the arena quieted down as Yongbi-cheon seemed to have tidied up the chaos in place of Tuma. A battle arena about the size of fifteen pavilions had formed where I faced the Master of the Twelve Joules. It was a bit larger than before because some audience seats were rearranged. Yongbi-cheon believed that high-level experts like us would need more space for a fair match, and honestly, he wasn’t wrong.

“Then I’ll make the board.”

Just like that, the Master of the Twelve Joules pulled out his Cosmic Fragment and swung it around.

Swish—

Moments later, his Cosmic Fragment zipped through the air, breaching the sound barrier at an insane speed. Its motions were a dizzying mix of circular and linear movements, too intricate for an average expert to follow. The powerful energy flowing within it smashed into the ground, creating a massive Go board the size of a pavilion.

I couldn’t help but let out a low whistle at his trick.

“The Fierce River Chaotic String Technique!”

Even upon a second look, the precision was truly phenomenal…!!

‘There’s not a single flaw…!! Even swinging such a colossal weapon at that speed, there’s not a speck of error within an area a hundred times smaller than the string hole!’

I had faced countless martial arts and experts, but the meticulousness found in the Master of the Twelve Joules’ techniques was unparalleled. That was the pinnacle of precision. No matter how extraordinary an expert was, could they ever replicate such nonsense finesse? One might come close, but even a single oversight would land them in a separate realm altogether.

Even now, being in the Divine Realm, I found myself in awe, which means I probably couldn’t have matched that precision when my martial arts level was lower.

As I muttered to myself, the Master of the Twelve Joules looked intrigued.

“Oh? You know my martial arts? How do you know?”

“…”

He could be forgiven for being puzzled. Most people in the world didn’t even know that his weapon was the Cosmic Fragment, and his unique technique, the Fierce River Chaotic String Technique, was revealed only to a select few. If you weren’t among those who directly challenged him like I did, it was expected you wouldn’t even know about it. I casually replied to him.

“It wouldn’t be polite not to know the martial arts of the Eastern Number One.”

No doubt about it.

In this era, there might be a few Absolute Realm experts around, but when it came to the skill level, the Master of the Twelve Joules was definitely on top.

Sure, the strongest was the Master of the White Lotus Sect, but supreme and strongest were different concepts.

“Hmm. You flatter me… Given the recklessness that overturned the Wind Spirit Sect’s competition, your politeness is unexpected, to say the least?”

With fascination, the Master of the Twelve Joules chuckled.

“Though, I’m not certain I know the source of your martial arts… It resembles the Thunder God Lineage, but it seems oddly chaotic and mixed up.”

“…”

I had refrained from using the Thunder God Lineage’s techniques directly during our earlier skirmish, yet he noticed it.

He was indeed on a different level compared to other martial artists in the arena.

“Before we play, I want to ask; why do you wish to duel in such a peculiar manner?”

I answered his question seriously.

“I’m playing Go with an external player! I need to improve my Go skills through this duel.”

“…?!”

The Master of the Twelve Joules flinched at my words.

Everyone else besides him just stared blankly, not understanding what I meant, but he reacted strongly to the term “external player” and radiated a focused energy.

“An external player, huh? I thought you were no ordinary person, but does that mean there’s a deeper story behind it? If possible, could you tell me why you’re playing Go with this external player?”

“Just play Go, okay? I don’t feel the need to explain that to you yet.”

I lightly provoked him, and the Master of the Twelve Joules chuckled.

“Oh? You want me to prove myself? To me? How amusing…”

“…”

“Fine. It’s been a while since I’ve fought seriously. I’ll let you have the first move.”

“Hmph.”

What a cocky guy! Like playing Go makes you that special?

Thud!

I silently scoffed, quickly placing the black stone at the center of the board. By putting my stone right in the middle, I unleashed the first move of Go.

Six Harmonies Sword Technique

First Move

Great Mountain Press!

At the same time, my sword momentum transformed into a sharp beam of sword Qi, striking downward with the Invincible Sword’s form. The Great Mountain Press was a move known to all involved in the martial world, but calling it a ‘move’ felt almost ludicrous as it was simply a basic downward slash. Even a child could comprehend the concept of a downward strike, so I was showing the absolute basics of swordplay.

But I could tell. From the moment I executed the Great Mountain Press and struck from above, only the Master of the Twelve Joules among many martial artists in attendance fully grasped the nuances of the move. Observing until the end, the Master of the Twelve Joules countered with a technique of his own.

Horizontal Sweep of Thousand Armies

Kaang!

With a crisp sound, my long sword clashed with the Master of the Twelve Joules’ Cosmic Fragment and bounced off. The impact caused a burst of light to erupt in the hall, and the Master of the Twelve Joules maintained his stance, smoothly redirecting the energy from the collision. He then remarked:

“Great Mountain Press of the Six Harmonies Sword. For a move indicating the first at Heaven’s Origin, nothing could suit it better.”

“Why did you counter with Horizontal Sweep of Thousand Armies?”

“Because it’s a move of the Six Harmonies Sword? And it’s common knowledge that the horizontal slash is the best way to counter a downward strike.”

“…”

Hmm, he wasn’t wrong…

I had to concede to the Master of the Twelve Joules’s words. Although the Great Mountain Press is the first move, the Horizontal Sweep of Thousand Armies was the second move, simple as that, alongside the third move, Eight Directions Wind and Rain. While the names sound grand, if the Great Mountain Press was a downward slice, the Horizontal Sweep was merely a horizontal cut, making it a straightforward yet complete answer.

The Master of the Twelve Joules lowered his stance slightly, taking on a strange posture and smiling.

“Did you know? Many human Go masters tried to defeat artificial intelligence using the same first move you just made.”

“…”

This guy was starting to talk about things only someone who’d been reborn would understand!

No, more than that, why on earth was he talking about the information age in medieval China?!

I rolled my eyes at the Master of the Twelve Joules’s audacity, but he continued as if unfazed.

“Unlike the standard plays starting at the four corner points or small points, the first move at Heaven’s Origin is an optimistic formation meant to gain the advantage in chaotic late-game scenarios. For thousands of years, skilled Go players have avoided that move, calling it foolish. But after the rise of AI, human players had no choice but to study it. Do you know why?”

Normally, I wouldn’t have been able to answer his question. However, thanks to the countless theories about Go that Cheon Woo-jin had pounded into me over the past two days, including the meaning of the first move, I was ready to engage in conversation. I fixed my gaze on the Master of the Twelve Joules and replied.

“Because standard plays often fail against entities with overwhelming strength.”

“Ha! You seem to know about artificial intelligence too?”

After that profound observation, the Master of the Twelve Joules grinned.

“You’re right. At the initial stages of development, deep learning and reinforcement learning alone have already allowed AI to surpass humans unfathomably. The only way to beat such AI is to instigate self-contradiction beyond probabilities. To do that, one must read chaotic central battles where human intellect wouldn’t normally allow it…”

A glimmer of light appeared in the Master of the Twelve Joules’s eyes.

“I sensed your earnest desire to win at Heaven’s Origin. I’m truly curious to see if you can beat me at Go!”

Thud!

The next moment, the Master of the Twelve Joules placed his stone at the small point on the left and simultaneously attacked me with the Fierce River Chaotic String Technique. However, this was not just a simple Fierce River Chaotic String Technique; it was mixed with a variant I had never seen before, leaving me astonished.

‘What?! The Master of the Twelve Joules can do this too? I’ve never seen it before…’

Ka-ching!

I countered his move with the form of the Invincible Sword, but his attack was so intricately aimed at my weaknesses that even a second’s delay would have been disastrous. I looked at the Master of the Twelve Joules and asked,

“What technique did you mix with the Fierce River Chaotic String Technique?”

“The Master of the Zhu Yi Sect’s Ultimate Technique, the Red Sun Dance! It’s a secret passed down exclusively through the line of the Master of the Twelve Joules, so you might not know.”

I exclaimed in disbelief.

“…You say it’s passed down, but why are you practicing it!!”

“Hm? Why wouldn’t I?”

At his follow-up words, I gasped in shock.

“I’m the founder of every line of the Twelve Joules.”

“…What?!”

What did he just say?

I was taken aback to hear something I had never encountered in my thirty past lives before. The Master of the Twelve Joules leisurely continued,

“Sure, the very first individual who’s the foundation of the sect was different, but I have always discovered them, trained their martial arts, and helped them establish their own line. I’ve been the founder for thousands of years, even before the Gojoseon era. How could I not learn from the later generations?!”

“…!!”

I was so flabbergasted I had to drop my jaw. I couldn’t believe this truth existed?!

‘Right, I thought it was strange!’

The existence of twelve major sects, each more powerful than the Nine Great Sects, in the eastern martial world of Liaodong since ancient times was absurd. I had vaguely guessed that the Master of the Twelve Joules might be involved, but who would have thought that he was the founder of every line?!

This made him essentially the ancestor of the Eastern Martial World and the very embodiment of the Twelve Joules, right?

In comparison to the White Lotus Sect, he was certainly on par with the likes of the Great Teacher Bodhidharma or Howol.

Then the Elder, Hong Gil-dong, who had been silently observing from the back, spoke up with a displeased tone.

“Master, why are you revealing such secrets to an outsider? That’s a highly classified secret that should remain undisclosed…”

The Master of the Twelve Joules laughed heartily.

“Ha ha! Hey, can’t you see the situation? That guy is just messing around.”

“Messing around? Against you, Master?”

“Yep. For some reason, that guy hasn’t shown even an ounce of his true power yet. He’s making a lot of concessions to establish this duel, and I just felt the need to reciprocate.”

“……!!”

At his words, the Elder Hong Gil-dong looked shocked and stared at me. His expression said it all; he obviously didn’t see me as such a slouch.

‘Did he catch on?’

It seems the Master of the Twelve Joules had somewhat grasped that I was toying with him rather than using my real strength. I was planning to let him think of it as playtime but realized it wouldn’t be that easy, so I chuckled.

“So being the founder of the Twelve Joules means you have access to undisclosed techniques… Does this mean you have at least several thousand techniques at your disposal?”

“Perhaps. Certainly not enough to cover the infinite possibilities of Go, but at least you’d be unable to predict my moves. Isn’t that fitting for this match?”

“…I see.”

He was right. Even if the degree of variation in the Fierce River Chaotic String Technique was fierce, the techniques derived from a single martial art had limitations. However, if he could mix all of the Twelve Joules’ martial arts, the very meaning of predicting his moves vanished. Such a capability for variation represented the endless and unpredictable power of AI.

But the game had only just begun.

Fired up, I made my next move.

Thud.

The Master of the Twelve Joules immediately countered without hesitation. With each exchange, an intricate display of martial arts unfolded between us. After about twenty moves, I could sense it.

‘…Damn it…!!’

He was playing way better than I expected!

I was already feeling outmatched!

Even in the early stages of the game, the defeat was palpable, and I could feel the disparity between his skill and mine like the difference between heaven and earth.

… Can I win?

“Arghhhh!!”

I can’t give up now!

If I give up here, how can I Go and play with an external player?!

Thud!

The next moment, I explosively made a move while employing the Soul of the Evil God and the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique. Then, I swiftly rotated once for good measure, empowered the Soul of the Evil God, and poured all my strength into unleashing a sword strike at Ha Eun-cheon.

Take this!!

“No way!!”

Ha Eun-cheon, caught off guard, tried to block with the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique; however, the next moment, he shattered through all defenses and crashed back against the wall of the arena.

Boom!

Thud…

“…”

I blinked in disbelief as I took down Ha Eun-cheon. He groaned in pain as he lay embedded in the wall.

“Cough! Cough… I-I didn’t expect such strength from you…”

“…Are you okay?”

“Ugh… Ugh.”

Ha Eun-cheon seemed to faint from the shock momentarily.

‘What…!!’

I never expected the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique to be this powerful!

And just as I was panicking, a window floated before me.

[Will you change history?]

“…….”