Chapter 35

One

Commander Hunters, taking advantage of the restriction that they could only deal with "things that are not alive," often stored the corpses of monsters in a subspace.

The interior of the temporary subspace was a place where time was completely stopped, making it the optimal storage location to prevent the corpses from decaying.

"Now, I finally get to take these out."

Yushinyun thought as he looked at the corpses.

If the members of the Baiyun Escort Agency saw the faces of the corpses lying on the ground, they would probably have gasped in shock.

Their true identities were none other than the warriors of the Jigun Pavilion and the Pavilion Master, Xiaqian.

Due to memory manipulation, the members believed that the Jigun Pavilion had exploded, and all the corpses had burned and disappeared.

Woo!

A purple aura began to emanate from Yushinyun's fingertips.

"Let's start."

He used the skill with a familiar appearance.

Swoosh!

Thud!

Enveloped in the aura, they slowly rose and began to transform into skeletons one by one.

After half an hour had passed.

Finally, in front of Yushinyun, 19 'Skeleton Knights' and 1 'Skeleton Mage' stood in a row.

[Skeleton Knight, 'Peak Swordsman']

Level: 32

Trait: Peak Swordsman (A+)

Skills: Ghost Twenty-Four Swords (A+/10-star), Demon Horse Technique (B+/7-star)

Internal Energy: 5,846 (about 16 years)

Strength: 186 Agility: 190 Constitution: 171 Magic: 0

-Internal energy of the summoner is required for the 'Summon' and 'Summon Maintenance' of the domain.

[Skeleton Mage, 'Peak Mage']

Level: 38

Trait: Frost Mage (A-)

Skills: Ice Back Demon Hand (A-/7-star), Blood Jade Step (A/8-star)

Internal Energy: 7,322 (about 20 years)

Mana: 2,300

Strength: 222 Agility: 201 Constitution: 140 Magic: 160

-Internal energy of the summoner is required for the 'Summon' and 'Summon Maintenance' of the domain.

Despite his efforts to contain the skeletons' aura to prevent it from spilling out, an overwhelming aura still emanated from them.

Nineteen peak martial artists of intermediate level.

They were a force equivalent to a major martial arts sect's combat team.

What was even more astonishing was the Skeleton Mage created from Xiaqian.

It possessed the power of ice and had stats that were ruthless, unlike any mage-type summon.

However, Yushinyun was not entirely pleased.

"Hmm, but I can't use these recklessly. Indeed, all the martial arts they know are demonic arts."

Since the Blood Sect's warriors were used as sacrifices, all the martial arts they knew were demonic arts.

If it were discovered that he had subordinates who used demonic arts, many people would surely try to eliminate him without regard for the law.

He needed to be very cautious when summoning them.

Nevertheless, the fact that Yushinyun had obtained a powerful force was an undeniable reality.

Yushinyun then reverse-summoned all the completed skeletons.

In the now empty room, Yushinyun looked at the temporary subspace with a strange expression.

He muttered to himself in a quiet voice.

"…'He' is too precious to be made into a skeleton. If he was treated that way by the system, he will surely…"

He fell silent for a moment, organizing his thoughts.

After a short while.

"Temporary subspace, release."

Yushinyun, seemingly having organized his thoughts, quietly released the temporary subspace.

Although it seemed his task was complete, Yushinyun's eyes shone brighter than ever.

"Then, now…"

The moment had come to take action on the most important matter.

Yushinyun murmured in a low voice.

"…It's time to organize the chaotic memories."

Two

The most threatening aspect of the Blood Sect to Yushinyun was the lack of any information about their true nature.

Information was the most crucial element in defending oneself and, more importantly, in defeating the enemy.

"To gather information about the Blood Sect, I need to organize my own memories."

Yushinyun thought this as he recalled the memory that surfaced when he saw the hidden face of Guo Zhushan.

"Kukuk! Rejoice. You are now reborn as the unique and unparalleled *** of the Blood Sect, a cornerstone of the grand plan!"

The most important part of the memory, which he somehow remembered, sounded as if it had been smudged.

In the past, he would have had no choice but to give up.

"It's finally time to use the skill that has been liberated."

The seal on the skill to recover memories had been lifted.

Yushinyun made a final decision and quietly focused his mind.

Swoosh!

A purple aura began to ripple across Yushinyun's entire body.

The dark mana was surging.

A chilling phenomenon occurred as Yushinyun concentrated.

His pupils disappeared, leaving only the whites of his eyes.

This was the normal activation of the 'Mind Projection' skill.

[Mind Projection]

Rank: A+

The user separates a part of their soul and enters their mental world.

-When used, it can heal damage from mental skills.

Originally, the Mind Projection skill was used to heal damage from mental skills.

However, Yushinyun, who had reached the pinnacle of mental skills in his previous life, could use it in a highly advanced manner that no one else could even imagine.

"Success."

Yushinyun was in a soul state, invisible to others, detached from his physical body.

He floated in the air like a translucent mist, resembling the commonly described out-of-body experience.

Yushinyun saw his reflection in the air, like a mirror.

His body had lost a significant amount of fat, now reduced to a plump level.

The excess fat on his face had also largely disappeared.

However, his expression was cold and somber as he looked at himself.

"…Why?"

A vague sense of foreboding lingered in his mind.

It felt like standing before Pandora's box.

The moment he glimpsed his original memories,

he had a premonition that he was stepping into a place from which there would be no return.

But only for a moment.

He steeled his resolve, his eyes shining.

"Fear will only consume you if you don't break it."

In the next instant.

Boom!

Yushinyun unhesitantly threw his astral body back into his physical body.

Kaa!

Kaa!

"Ugh!"

He felt as if he had entered the eye of a storm, overwhelmed by intense pain.

This was completely different from his experience in his previous life.

It was not a normal process.

This meant that, as he had suspected, there was indeed a 'problem' in Yushinyun's mental world.

The pain he felt in his soul state was on a different level from physical pain.

It felt as if his brain was being torn apart, but he endured it with superhuman patience.

After an unknown amount of time had passed.

Crack!

The world shattered like falling leaves, fragmenting into pieces. Soon, the entire world lost its color and turned gray.

"Where am I?"

He realized he was standing on the surface of a lake, not in the Yun Hall.

Looking around, he saw that nothing existed in the gray world.

His eyes widened as he looked down.

"…!"

The face reflected in the water was completely different.

It was not the current Yushinyun but the face of his previous life, 'Jang Tae-ha'.

The Jang Tae-ha who fought the final battle with the Griffin.

Woo! Woo!

Before he could process his confusion, a massive wave began to form on the lake where he stood.

Countless ripples merged into a single flow.

And then.

A familiar scene began to vividly appear on the surface of the lake.

A warm room.

A young child, about seven years old, was sitting in a chair.

The child, with a worried expression, had his head bowed and was sniffling.

Click.

The door opened, and a middle-aged man with a kind face walked in.

The man knelt down and looked the child in the eye, smiling warmly.

"Hello? I'm Park Hyuk-joon, and I'll be living with you from now on."

Jang Tae-ha's heart began to beat loudly.

This was not Yushinyun's memory.

Jang Tae-ha looked at the man with eyes full of longing.

"Director."

Indeed.

The child was none other than Jang Tae-ha himself, and the middle-aged man was the director of the orphanage where he grew up.

The scene in the lake continued to change.

"…What about his parents?"

"…They were already dead when the monsters arrived."

Because his parents were killed by monsters at birth, Jang Tae-ha had lived in various orphanages.

However, after meeting Park Hyuk-joon, he no longer moved to other places.

"You're doing well, Tae-ha!"

"Yes, you look so beautiful when you smile like that."

He had found a true family.

He lived happily, laughing and crying with good people.

"…Until that day."

The surface of the water began to ripple violently again.

"Big trouble! Director, we need to run!"

Tragedy always strikes without warning.

An experimental subject with the power of an infectious monster had escaped from a secret laboratory near the orphanage, and the orphanage's family members became its hosts.

"It's too late for you. You must survive, Tae-ha."

His siblings, now turned into monsters, killed the family.

His powerlessness brought tears of blood.

He clenched his teeth and ran, running again and again to honor those who sacrificed their lives for him.

He survived alone in a horrific hell.

And on that day, by a twist of fate, he awakened as a player.

After that, he severed all ties and isolated himself.

He burned with a desire for revenge against monsters and relentlessly attacked the gates.

As years passed, people began to fear him more than the monsters.

Then, a man approached Jang Tae-ha.

"Are you the Immortal King?"

Yeo Jo-gyu, the president of Griffin.

He offered to help Jang Tae-ha find the organization that conducted human experiments during the orphanage incident and take revenge. Jang Tae-ha took his hand.

Ten years later.

In exchange for information, he became a hunting dog for the guild, successfully completing all their requests.

Finally, he killed everyone involved in the experimental organization and completed his revenge.

Just when he thought it was over.

"…Why are you taking this?"

"The president said it's needed."

He discovered that Griffin was trying to take the results of the human experiments.

They were not helping him out of kindness but were also after the research results.

He realized too late how dirty the guild he belonged to was.

The next day, he announced his retirement and took on a final mission.

"Good luck."

The surface of the water calmed down as Yeo Jo-gyu's cold smile faded.

Jang Tae-ha's expression was filled with confusion.

"…Why are my memories…?"

He had not expected to recall the unpleasant memories of his previous life, not the memories of Yushinyun.

Just then.

"Is this your world?"

A mysterious voice suddenly came from behind him.

The existence of another person in his mental world was impossible.

But the moment he met the eyes of the voice's owner.

"…You?"

Jang Tae-ha instantly understood what was happening.

In front of him.

"Finally, we meet."

Yushinyun appeared.

Martial World's Previous Life Ranker