Chapter 50

Reincarnated as the Sword Emperor in the Sword Artisan Family (50)

It was a different flow of memories from the fleeting moments of life.

Before opening his eyes in this world, he was transported back to the moment when the life of Sword Emperor Yan Wuhex had ended. The peak of the Transformation Realm's combat technique allowed him to perfectly construct the mental image with just the memory.

And the moment Leonard opened his eyes in his mental world.

"Are you mad?"

Danzhumu Jin, the unrivaled master of the era, approached him.

A strong sense of déjà vu washed over him.

It couldn't be helped.

He remembered everything, from the black robe fluttering before his eyes to the blood-red flowers embroidered on it. This was the scene he had witnessed just before the final life-or-death battle in the life of Sword Emperor Yan Wuhex.

Danzhumu Jin, unaware of Leonard's thoughts, continued.

"To come to our headquarters alone and challenge me to a life-or-death battle? You're not so foolish as to not understand the disparity in strength."

The aura surrounding Danzhumu Jin's body made the black robe flutter, and the blood-red flowers bloomed like a magnificent wave, creating a vast area over a hundred feet wide.

For a moment, the sky and the earth seemed to be dyed with the setting sun.

Leonard, who knew that even this area was not Danzhumu Jin's full power, involuntarily broke out in a cold sweat.

However.

"You've done a good job recreating it. I didn't know my mental image could be so vivid."

Having seen through the situation, he smiled happily.

Danzhumu Jin tilted his head.

He didn't think the person who came alone to the Heavenly Demon Sect and challenged him to a life-or-death battle was in his right mind.

"Are you truly mad? A mental image? Do you really think this is your hallucination?"

He pointed with his finger.

With that simple gesture, a beam of energy shot out and pierced Leonard's shoulder.

Despite the hole the size of a coin, Leonard nodded without flinching.

"Of course, you fool. Why would I look like Yan Wuhex? I'm Leonard."

There was no need to look at the sword.

The length and ratio of his arms and legs, his eye level, and the presence of the Five Elements True Dragon Ring within his body.

All of these were different from when he lived as Yan Wuhex.

Danzhumu Jin's face turned expressionless for a moment, then he burst into laughter, his eyes and lips splitting wide.

"Keh, hahaha!"

Even though it was a mental image, the power was the same as the Heavenly Demon he had experienced. The laughter of a peak Transformation Realm expert shook the heavens and the earth.

Heaven and Earth Tremble!

A low-level martial artist wouldn't last a moment.

But Leonard, with the hole in his shoulder already healing and his Sword Emperor-era martial prowess restored, could be more complete in his mental image than at any point in his life.

"Hahaha... Yes, you're not Yan Wuhex."

Danzhumu Jin stopped laughing and stared at him.

"And I am not Danzhumu Jin. This could be a kind of mental demon, a remnant of your defeat that day."

"..."

"The stronger the Heavenly Demon in your memory, the stronger I become, and the more your confidence in your martial arts wanes, the weaker you become. It might be better to ignore me. The more you confront and resist me, the harder it will be for you to break through to the Transcendent Realm."

Leonard listened to this with a nonchalant expression and conjured five swords from the empty space.

If he could exert the power of the Transformation Realm, he could also use the Five Sword Technique.

Danzhumu Jin smiled bitterly at the sight.

"Do you really think you can win? No matter how many swords you use, you can't defeat me now."

"You're just a shell of the Heavenly Demon, talking too much."

Holding one sword with both hands in a ready stance, he controlled the other four with his mind, like petals of a flower.

In reality, Leonard could only conceptualize the 'Five Transformations Complete Spirit' technique, which required all five swords.

Sssss.

Black, white, red, blue, yellow.

Five colored sword auras bloomed simultaneously, overwhelming Danzhumu Jin's sword aura. This was something the past Sword Emperor Yan Wuhex couldn't do, but the current Leonard could.

Leonard, with his transparent gaze, said,

"The path of a martial artist is beyond words. Show me your strength."

"Hahaha! Alright, let's play!"

The mental demon in the form of Danzhumu Jin laughed and accepted the challenge.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art

Asura Tyrant Dance

Manifestation of the Divine Image

A massive Asura statue, over a hundred feet tall, appeared.

Like a mirage in the middle of a desert, it was sudden, but the pressure it exerted to subdue all beings was real.

If not for the 'Five Transformations Complete Spirit' stance, he would have been buried up to his knees again. The sword aura boundary circulating in a single cycle fiercely resisted the Asura's oppressive pressure.

And.

Single Cycle Five Elements Sword Technique

Five Transformations Complete Spirit Technique

Manifestation of the Four Divine Beasts

The shapes of the Four Divine Beasts were temporarily manifested on the four swords.

Though not as clear as the Asura statue, each one took on its form and soared through the sky.

In response, the Asura statue extended six fists.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art

Asura Tyrant Dance

Six Senses Supreme Killing

Each punch could shatter a small mountain or overturn a river. In the past, even with the five-colored sword auras, his internal organs would have been shattered, and he would have had to circulate his energy to maintain his life.

'This time, it will be different...!'

Following Leonard's will, the light of the sword auras, now in the form of the Four Divine Beasts, shot out in four directions, countering four of the Asura's fists.

The remaining two had to be handled by a single sword.

The yellow sword aura transformed into a massive dragon, meeting the Asura's two fists. The Yellow Dragon Style, the final and ultimate stage of the Five Directions Flow, which was still incomplete, was finally realized in his mental image.

"Indeed, you seem to have some confidence."

The mental demon marveled at his performance.

In the past, he could only struggle to survive, but now he could face it head-on.

"Well, you still have a long way to go."

The Asura statue immediately launched the next move.

The Four Divine Beasts, having expended considerable energy in the first clash, were a bit blurry but still charged forward without hesitation.

The battle between the mental demon imitating Danzhumu Jin and the Sword Emperor Leonard.

The shocking fight within the mental image ended in 184 seconds with one person's defeat.

* * *

At the same time, Leonard's eyes snapped open.

'I lost.'

It was expected, but the bitter taste in his mouth was unavoidable. Even though the mental demon only borrowed Danzhumu Jin's strength and appearance, it could perfectly recreate what was etched in his mental image.

The moves and flow were familiar, but the gap in level was too great to overcome.

Still, his expression wasn't entirely dark.

'From 127 seconds to 184 seconds. It's not just that I lasted longer; I can now exchange blows properly. I've grown visibly.'

If Leonard could break through to the Transcendent Realm, he would surpass Sword Emperor Yan Wuhex by at least three levels. This alone was enough to acknowledge that his path so far was not wrong and that he was doing well, making him feel elated.

Rejoicing in his martial achievements before his own life, Leonard then looked around.

"Where am I?"

His body felt unusually comfortable, and the bed he was lying on was extremely luxurious, far superior to the basic beds in the training facility.

The scent in the room was clearly an artificial luxury, and there was not a single cheap item among the furniture and decorations.

'A faint, briny smell. The sea, perhaps?'

Leonard detected the smell of seawater from the air seeping through the window frame. It was closer to the southern sea than the northern sea, and not the kind of smell you'd get near a beach.

In addition to the smell of water, there was a damp wood scent, and a subtle sensation of the body rocking. There was only one answer.

'I must be inside a ship. A fairly large one.'

As Leonard pondered why he was on a ship, the events leading up to this moment flashed through his mind.

The determination to chant the incantation even as he was beheaded by Fabian's sword.

The spatial magic that ultimately went out of control after two activations.

Several hypotheses quickly formed in his mind.

'Was I thrown to a place far from Galapagos? Since there are no ships around, in the worst case, I might be outside the Arcadia Empire.'

Leonard closed his eyes and thoroughly examined his body.

'Most external injuries have healed, but the internal injuries are still there. The spatial magic might not have been good for me.'

His energy flow was unstable in many ways.

While he couldn't use the sword auras or the Three Sword Technique, he could still use the One Sword Technique or sword qi. Unless a Transcendent Realm expert appeared, there was no way to force him physically.

The absence of his sword and spatial pocket was annoying, but the fact that his limbs were not restrained and his broken nose had been treated suggested that his captors were not hostile.

Squish.

Removing the stick and cotton from his nose, a clump of blood fell out. Healing with a potion alone would result in misaligned bones, so they had to be fixed this way.

Leonard used a towel near the bed to clear out the blood and scabs inside his nose.

"Phew, that's much better now."

At that moment.

Tap, tap.

There were footsteps approaching his room, one, no, two sets. The person in front moved and sounded ordinary, but the one behind exuded a well-trained aura, indicating years of experience as a bodyguard.

Creak.

The door opened, and a person walked in, far from what Leonard had expected.

"Ah! You're awake!"

A woman with long, jet-black hair.

She was around his age or a bit older, but didn't look over twenty. Her behavior and the mischievous glint in her sapphire eyes betrayed her youth.

"Where did you come from? Why were you floating on the sea? Huh? You owe me your life, so you have to answer all my questions!"

The fearless girl approached Leonard, placed her hands on her hips, and declared confidently.

"Miss! You shouldn't approach unknown people like that! I've told you this many times!"

The woman following her raised her voice.

Leonard involuntarily agreed.

"You're right."

"That wasn't directed at you."

"I know, but?"

"Keh!"

The woman, out of words, glared at him with a displeased expression but then stepped back as a bodyguard should.

Seeing this, the black-haired girl smiled cheerfully.

"Ahahaha! You're a fun one. I would have just thought you were good-looking, but now I like you even more!"

She confidently stepped forward and extended her hand.

"I'm Francis, the leader of the 'Aquamarine' adventure group, a renowned name in the Atlantis Maritime Alliance. What about you?"

Francis's clear eyes looked at him boldly.

Young and inexperienced, yet pure, a gaze he had lost long ago in the martial world.

Leonard shook her hand and replied.

"Leonard, from the Arcadia Empire."