The World's Greatest is Dead

Reforging the Body.

Just as the name implied, it meant changing every bone in one’s body.

To martial artists, it was called something close to a miracle, and people said it was less a realm achieved through martial learning than a stroke of fortune.

A transformation of the body itself.

The realm one had reached.

The vessel that had widened because of it.

And even the enlightenment to fill that vessel.

It changed what should not change, letting the life one had lived alter the body itself.

That was how Medical Immortal’s knowledge explained Reforging the Body.

A miracle that could not be explained in medical terms.

And that Reforging the Body...

He was saying I had to go do it right now?

At Yoo Cheongil’s words, I couldn’t help but grimace.

“You vanish out of nowhere and come back saying that. What the hell are you talking about?”

[What do you mean, what am I talking about? Were you not listening?]

“No, I heard you just fine. That’s why it makes no damn sense.”

Reforging the Body was treated like a miracle.

Was it really supposed to make sense that I could do that right now?

“...And how exactly are we supposed to do it? And where the hell are we even going?”

[Stop yapping and follow me. We do not have much time. It took some work to figure out where it was.]

“Where what was?”

[Right. I needed something.]

Yoo Cheongil grinned at me.

[I found a root of Moonlit Night Herb. Something truly rare.]

“...!”

At those words, my eyes widened.

Not my own knowledge—Seongheon’s knowledge had stirred.

Moonlit Night Herb?

A herb with an old legend behind it, one that said it bloomed from the droppings of a creature once called a dragon spirit.

It was a moon-born spirit herb, the kind that bloomed where moonlight fell. Among those, only on the rarest of chances did one bloom in places saturated with yin energy.

Its value was impossible to measure in money.

Even Shaolin, which was said to possess every spirit herb under heaven, was known not to have Moonlit Night Herb.

That was how rare it was.

And he found that?

The fact that he had casually found something like that shocked me.

“...Where the hell did you find something like that?”

[I buried it in the back mountain.]

“What?”

What kind of insane bullshit was that?

Buried it in the back mountain?

He buried a spirit herb?

[I figured I would rip it out and eat it later if I ever started feeling weak... but how was I supposed to know I would die first? Tch...]

Yoo Cheongil said it with a look that made it seem like he found the whole thing deeply regrettable.

[Since it turned out like this, kid, I might as well feed it to you and use it for something worthwhile.]

“...What the hell...”

The fact that he had buried Moonlit Night Herb in the back mountain was insane enough.

“Eating that is supposed to make Reforging the Body happen?”

No matter how incredible a spirit herb was, I still could not understand how eating it would suddenly make Reforging the Body possible.

[You do not believe me?]

“Of course not.”

[Ha ha.]

Yoo Cheongil laughed at my answer.

It felt like mockery.

No, it was definitely mockery.

[This is why people who’ve never done something never shut the hell up.]

“...What did you just say?”

[Kid. Do you know how Reforging the Body actually happens?]

“Well...”

[Not the talk about a built realm, a prepared vessel, or using enlightenment. I mean the real thing.]

“...?”

What the hell was there besides that?

I frowned, unable to understand.

Then—

[Reforging the Body comes from friction and collision occurring within a martial artist’s body.]

“...What?”

Friction and collision?

What the hell did that mean?

[If something is going to grow stronger and wider, it needs fitting pain and shock. Same principle as muscles growing stronger the more they tear and regenerate.]

Before I knew it, I was listening closely.

Yoo Cheongil’s expression was serious, and what he was saying was something I had never heard before—not even in Seongheon’s knowledge.

“...And how does that collision happen?”

[What kind of collision can happen inside a martial artist’s body? In the end, it is nothing but energy. So you use that.]

“Energy?”

[Do you know why Reforging the Body requires a minimum realm, a vessel, and enlightenment?]

“...No.”

[A prepared realm. The energy stirred by the enlightenment born from it. You use the collision caused by the energy inside your body at that moment.]

“...!”

My eyes widened.

So when enlightenment occurred and the energy began to move, that collision caused Reforging the Body to manifest?

...Was there any record of that?

It was the first time I had ever heard it.

But still—

“Then why do we need the spirit herb for that?”

Fine. Let’s say the collision of energy part made sense.

Then why did I have to eat a spirit herb?

“Because I need more energy so the collision will be bigger?”

That was the simplest explanation I could come up with.

But—

[Keh keh...]

Yoo Cheongil just chuckled, as though that was obviously not the right answer.

[You really do come up with simple-minded logic. If it were that simple, every stray dog in the street would have achieved Reforging the Body.]

“...Then why do we need it?”

[The problem is that you think the collision of energy is made up of internal energy alone.]

“Then...”

[Do you think a human being possesses nothing but internal energy?]

Then what else was there?

Was there really more to a martial artist’s energy than that?

As I was thinking that—

[There is yang energy and yin energy, is there not?]

“...Ah.”

Yoo Cheongil gave me the answer I had failed to reach.

Yang energy and yin energy.

Not just martial artists—ordinary people had them too.

“Don’t tell me... we have to use that too?”

[There is no need to prepare both. So long as one side is overwhelmingly abundant, that is enough. In your case, kid, yin energy would likely be better.]

“Mine?”

[Yes. You know it yourself, do you not?]

Yoo Cheongil smiled faintly as he said it.

[That your body holds an abnormally high amount of yin energy.]

“...”

I shut my mouth.

He was right.

So he knew.

My body held a great deal of yin energy because of the karma rooted in my soul.

It wasn’t that my yang energy was low, but—

It’s probably because of Ghost Eyes.

A body that could see ghosts and draw near to them.

Because of that, the proportion of yin energy in me was unusually high.

[That is why it can be used.]

“...You mean my yin energy?”

[Moonlit Night Herb is a spirit herb brimming with yin energy. It has plenty of raw energy in general, but the proportion of yin energy is overwhelming.]

Since it was a spirit herb that bloomed under moonlight, especially in wet places, that sounded plausible enough.

[If an ordinary person were to eat Moonlit Night Herb thoughtlessly, they would be swallowed by yin energy and die on the spot... but that probably ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) will not happen to you.]

He sounded utterly certain.

So certain it was almost strange.

“...So your plan is to increase my yin energy and smash it into the rest of my energy to force Reforging the Body, right?”

[Now you finally understand.]

“Will that really work...?”

[Ha.]

At my question, Yoo Cheongil answered as if he found it ridiculous.

[Who exactly do you think I am?]

The confidence in that tone, the absurd pride packed into it—

[I am Yoo Cheongil, the Sword Saint. If I say it will work, it will work.]

Annoyingly enough,

that made it sound believable.

*****

“Hoo...”

I climbed the mountain under moonlight.

The whole thing felt like utter bullshit.

“This mountain is fucking high.”

It was the mountain behind Blue Moon Sect.

They said that when the moon hung over the summit, it was so beautiful that the mountain was called Moonlit Night Mountain.

Moonlit Night Mountain, my ass.

What kind of fucked-up mountain is this?

It didn’t feel like something made for human beings to climb.

WHOOOOOOSH—!!!

I used my footwork and climbed the slope.

There wasn’t a single path made for people to walk.

Cracks in rock. Branches. Unstable footholds that looked like they wanted me dead. I stepped across them and pushed forward through sheer vertigo.

“...Are you sure this is the right place?”

[It is. Ah, watch that moss there.]

“What—ah! Shit!”

I stepped on a rock and slipped.

There was moss in the crack.

WHOOA—!!

“Damn it...!!”

I lost my balance and pitched sideways.

Just as I was about to tumble straight into the drop—

SHIIING—!!

I yanked out the Divine Sword, wrapped it in force, and drove it into the rock.

KRAAAAAASH—!!!

“...Jesus fucking...”

I barely managed to hang on.

[Keh keh keh. You nearly died.]

What was so damn funny to this old bastard?

Ignoring the cold sweat running down me, I found a crevice and dragged myself up into it.

“Hah...! Hah...!”

I might have reached Transcendent Peak, but if I had rolled all the way down from here, I would have died for sure.

I had really almost died.

“Seriously...”

If I was going to die, it shouldn’t be like some idiot.

I lifted my trembling head and looked up.

“What the hell is moss doing on a rock like this...”

It didn’t fit the place at all.

Why would there suddenly be moss here?

I stared at it in disbelief when—

[It means we are close.]

At Yoo Cheongil’s words, I focused on the moss-covered rock.

[It means the humidity is finally matching.]

I could feel the dampness in the air.

Was he saying the reason the moss had formed was because Moonlit Night Herb was here?

[Kid.]

“Yes.”

[At this rate, climbing the rest of the way will take forever, so use Moon Heaven and go. It will be faster.]

“...”

Without another word, I activated the energy.

BZZZT—!!!!

White power surged across my entire body.

Relying on the lift I felt from it, I launched myself forward.

Whoom!

The speed was on a completely different level from before.

Even the fear I had felt because of the height vanished.

It was probably because I had entered that artificially induced trance.

Even so.

I still had to be careful.

I trampled over the moss and kept my balance.

After climbing like that for quite a while—

I’m starting to run low on energy...

I couldn’t maintain Moon Heaven forever, and just when I started thinking this was getting dangerous—

[Here.]

Yoo Cheongil finally said something worth hearing.

A narrow space stood ahead.

Yoo Cheongil was standing there.

The moment I reached it, I released Moon Heaven.

As the energy vanished, my body grew heavy.

“It’s in there?”

[Yes.]

It was a space barely wide enough for one person to enter.

Honestly, if Yoo Cheongil still had his body, he looked too broad to fit through it.

“...Hm.”

I cautiously stepped one foot inside.

The instant I did—

WHOOOOOOSH—!!!

“...!!”

My body went stiff.

What the hell?

An immense surge of yin energy brushed across me on the wind.

At this level—

...This is on the same level as the yin energy an evil god gives off.

That was how overwhelming it was.

Thankfully, there was no deathly malice in it, so it wasn’t the energy of an evil god.

My insides are shaking.

The moment I felt the yin energy, my whole body nearly trembled.

Even the sensation in my hands felt strange.

Moss spread everywhere, and the walls were slick with moisture.

I stared into the darkness and poured power into Moon Eyes.

The space sharpened.

Then I moved through it.

Splash.

Before long, I felt water brushing against my feet.

At the edge of the cliff, water was running downward.

[Go down.]

I listened and made a short leap.

Splash—!!

Water sprayed up and soaked my feet.

“...”

Cold.

The chill was so intense it felt like my feet were going to freeze off.

It was honestly strange that the water wasn’t frozen solid.

What the hell was this place?

Between the yin energy and everything else, it was hard to think of it as just the inside of a cave.

I narrowed my eyes.

Then—

[Look straight ahead.]

Yoo Cheongil said it, and I turned my gaze.

There—

“Ah.”

Moonlight from somewhere I couldn’t see was pouring down onto one single spot.

And on the rock illuminated by that moonlight—

“...Moonlit Night Herb.”

A pure white flower had bloomed.

Bluish energy shimmered off it like heat haze.