Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 404

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 404
Cheonma Sect Leader Dokgo Hyeon had, at some point in the future, slain Hyeok Wi-sang and perished alongside Baek Mu-heun in mutual destruction. Thereafter, his soul, for reasons unknown, had reversed the flow of time and returned, possessing the body of Dokgo Myeong.
I had simply accepted this without thinking too deeply about it.
‘Why? Why didn’t I think more carefully?’
Was I not the one in all the world most renowned for my relentless persistence?
‘If I truly returned to the past, shouldn’t I have entered my original body? Wouldn’t that be the natural course?’
Thump-thump!
My heart raced as it never had before.
Cold sweat beaded upon my brow.
‘Am I… avoiding this? Deliberately?’
Yes, in truth, I was avoiding it.
Perhaps I had been fleeing from it.
But…
‘The Sect Leader himself has already confronted that terrible truth, so I cannot afford to run away.’
Dokgo Myeong peeled the books away from beneath the bed with trembling hands. Upon selecting the oldest-looking volume and opening it, it proved to be a journal, as I had anticipated.
After taking a deep breath, I began reading the contents, which felt both foreign and strangely familiar.
I have always dreamed.
Others dream only in sleep, but I dream with my eyes open.
In these dreams, I often become countless people other than myself, and encounter memories that are not my own.
Even within a single sentence, the brushstrokes and pressure varied greatly between characters.
It is said that handwriting, like fingerprints, cannot be concealed. If that were true, then this appeared as though countless different people had taken turns wielding the brush.
In my childhood, I believed everyone experienced such things.
So I spoke of it often, yet no one believed me.
I wondered if writing in a journal might help, so I began recording here what I witnessed and experienced.
A bitter smile crossed Dokgo Myeong’s lips.
‘Yes, that’s how it was.’
I remember this day.
Since I had learned to write quite late, by this time I was already considerably older.
Today I became the brother of the Martial Arts Alliance Leader’s brother. My entire body ached. Later, I learned that the Martial Arts Alliance Leader’s brother had died young.
Dokgo Myeong flipped rapidly through the journal. Similar entries continued thereafter.
Today when I paid my respects to Father, I suddenly saw a vision of him drenched in blood, his eyes gleaming like a ghost’s.
I screamed and writhed, and Father remained silent for a long while before telling me never to come pay my respects again.
Dokgo Hyeon had always regarded the “true Dokgo Myeong” as somewhat deficient.
When walking, he would often collide with things or stumble while distracted, and due to his scattered nature, he frequently lost focus, failing to properly master even the basic Samjae Sword technique.
The greatest fool under heaven, the shame of the Dokgo Family.
He possessed no severed meridians or external afflictions, yet was remarkably dull.
But what if there had been a reason for it?
Dokgo Myeong read through all the journals, several volumes in total. Soon the final journal rested in my hands.
Last night I was pressed down by the nightmare demon.
It happens often, but this time something was different.
A strange crimson energy enveloped my body. My head throbbed as though it might split apart, and I found myself trapped in an unsettling dream.
On the next page lay a name that should never have appeared.
There existed a person called the Cheonma Sect Leader on that battlefield.
I had become someone named Dokgo Hyeon.
* * *
Across both my past and present lives.
Dokgo Myeong had always suffered under the endless whispers of people.
They said the heavens had cursed me into idiocy, that I must have endured unspeakable horrors in the womb, that I had killed my mother at birth and possessed a vicious fate.
All of it was baseless rumor. The only somewhat plausible explanation was that being born backwards had damaged my mind.
‘Yet how could that be true?’
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
‘If I truly possessed such defects, reaching this realm would be impossible.’
Spirit, energy, and will.
If even one of these three possessed flaws, one could never achieve the proper realm. Even with Dokgo Hyeon’s experience and knowledge, if body and spirit harbored defects, those would need resolution first.
Yet since beginning this life, I had never encountered such problems.
In other words, there had never been any defects to begin with.
Then why had Dokgo Myeong been considered a fool? Or rather, why had I been perceived as one?
I felt I understood the reason.
“The Upper Dantian….”
That realm which even absolute masters rarely dared to touch.
Dokgo Myeong gazed at the journal again with trembling eyes.
Until now, I had always dreamed of people connected to me.
Yet this man called Dokgo Hyeon was clearly someone unconnected to me, someone I had never known.
Flap!
The journal pages turned rapidly.
At first, I believed I had created him through imagination.
He was a formidable martial artist I longed to become—incomparable to a hollow-minded fool like myself.
Flap.
One page, then another.
The journal continued turning.
Today I had a dream.
In the dream, I gazed down at water.
A face reflected there. Strangely, it was not mine, but Dokgo Hyeon’s.
Had I been dreaming of Dokgo Hyeon all this time? Or had I been Dokgo Hyeon?
I felt certain that I would dream no longer.
Swish. Snap!
At last, Dokgo Myeong closed the journal. Beyond that point, only blank pages remained.
“….”
Dokgo Myeong stared blankly at the diary before letting out a laugh.
“So you’ve truly become the reincarnation of Zhuangzi himself. The butterfly dream—what’s next, will you ascend to immortality?”
Dokgo Myeong-i, who had been laughing without substance, soon released a deep sigh.
Thump!
He tilted his neck back, resting his head against the chair’s backrest.
How much time had passed since then?
Chirp! Chirp chirp!
At some point, the sound of birds chirping drifted in from the window.
When I turned my head to look, the light of dawn was seeping through. It seemed I had stayed up all night.
Dokgo Myeong-i stared blankly at the window and muttered to myself.
“If this were true….”
A single hypothesis that could overturn everything came to mind.
“Am I merely Dokgo Myeong-i?”
The moment I spoke those words aloud, my brow naturally furrowed.
“Tsk, then why haven’t I noticed anything strange until now?”
Dokgo Myeong-i crossed his arms and fell into deep contemplation.
‘I merely obtained Dokgo Hyeon’s memories? That makes no sense!’
All those countless thoughts, emotions, sense of mission, and responsibility—they merely came from memories?
Even those frivolous merchants who haggle over cheap wine prices would be struck down if they spouted such nonsense. Even if Heaven itself were indifferent, where in this world could such an absurd thing possibly occur?
‘That’s right—if that were the case, then my lack of awareness as Dokgo Myeong-i until now would also make no sense.’
I deceive myself? That’s ridiculous.
The realm of ascension is no joke, and it’s impossible to deceive oneself without knowing it. My martial arts would have surely collapsed long ago.
Then what’s possible is….
“Unity of Two.”
This is it.
In that instant, my heartbeat quickened.
An inexplicable certainty seized me.
Dokgo Myeong-i tried to calm my chest and think rationally.
‘What if I am both Dokgo Myeong-i and Dokgo Hyeon?’
Dokgo Hyeon is indeed dead, and if his soul entered Dokgo Myeong-i, who had been living as a half-spirit due to an abnormally enlarged upper dantian, and became entangled with me….
“It could make sense, but… from the start, it’s strange that this bastard’s upper dantian is so grotesquely enlarged. To dismiss it as mere birth….”
Dokgo Myeong-i suddenly sprang up from the chair.
“…Esoteric Buddhism?”
Those heretics who had spread all manner of heterodox practitioners with bizarre approaches to the upper dantian.
Why had Dokgo Gyeong kidnapped Song Hyang only to release her?
Dokgo Myeong-i’s eyes gleamed sharply.
But soon after, I sighed and shook my head.
“Tsk, this is nothing but fitting conclusions to results. I can’t even speculate or be certain without knowing something.”
But if that were true….
Dokgo Myeong-i sat back down awkwardly in the chair.
‘Does that mean the Sect Leader is my real grandfather, and the Deputy Leader is my father?’
Without realizing it, such thoughts crossed my mind, and a hollow laugh escaped.
“It seems I’ve been wanting this all along.”
What was I thinking, getting ahead of myself like this? There’s still no concrete evidence whatsoever.
Yet somehow, I felt an undeniable certainty. Both my mind and heart were telling me this was right.
Creak!
Dokgo Myeong opened the window and gazed at the breaking dawn sky, murmuring to himself.
“If it’s uncertain, then so be it. There’s no need to keep deceiving or hiding anymore. It’s time to stop.”
The dawn sky rippled within Dokgo Myeong’s eyes.
That’s when he sensed someone approaching his quarters.
“Young Master, it’s Jang Sam. Are you already awake and coughing…?”
He must have noticed the candlelight burning in Dokgo Myeong’s room. Likely, he had been paying closer attention ever since noticing something unusual when they parted last night.
“Brother Jang. Good timing. While you’re here, I need a favor.”
“Yes, yes?”
“Go and bring someone for me.”
I had become certain—I was Dokgo Hyeon and Dokgo Myeong. But that presented one problem.
‘Is it really true that no one named Dokgo Hyeon exists in this world?’
I needed to search for the man I couldn’t find in Maegseom Village.
* * *
Seo Ryun always arrived at the training grounds before the other disciples for his dawn practice.
Today was no different as he prepared for his training.
“Is Seo Daejoo here?”
Jang Sam walked into the White Tiger Corps training grounds with a tired expression.
“Hmm? What brings the servant here?”
“The Young Master is looking for you urgently.”
“The Commander is looking for me?”
“Yes. He says he has a quiet request for you, Seo Daejoo.”
Seo Ryun’s expression grew puzzled.
“Is it a matter for the Enforcement Division?”
“That doesn’t seem to be it.”
It was unusual, since Dokgo Myeong typically relied on the Cheonma Sect for such matters, which only deepened his confusion.
“Hmm… I understand. Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Seo Ryun entrusted the disciples’ training to the Deputy Leader and headed straight for Sa Heon-gak.
“Commander, you called for me?”
“Come in.”
Upon entering Dokgo Myeong’s quarters, Seo Ryun paused momentarily.
The state of the room was unusual. The bed was overturned, and old books were stacked on the desk.
“Welcome. It’s a bit messy, isn’t it?”
“Not at all.”
Dokgo Myeong, who had been pressing his temples, closed the book and rose to his feet.
The atmosphere felt peculiar.
His face bore unmistakable signs of doubt and exhaustion, the weariness etched deeply into his features.
Seo Ryun asked cautiously.
“Has something happened, sir?”
A master of Dokgo Myeong’s caliber should not be this exhausted from merely losing a night’s sleep.
In other words, it meant he had expended an enormous amount of mental energy on whatever this matter was.
“Ah, yes. A rather troublesome situation has arisen.”
“Is there anything I might assist with?”
At the words that tumbled out without hesitation, Dokgo Myeong let out a soft chuckle.
“Hah, you’re truly dependable. My subordinates, on the other hand, just grumble and complain whenever I look like this, wondering what trouble I’m about to cause.”
Seo Ryun cleared his throat.
“Given how close you are with the Commander, I’m sure they simply worry without meaning to.”
“That must be it, right? That has to be it?”
“….”
“Seo Daejoo, why have you fallen silent?”
“It is nothing, sir.”
Dokgo Myeong closed his mouth.
“In any case, there is something I must ask of you.”
“Please, speak freely.”
“I would prefer this to proceed in secrecy.”
“A seal of silence, then?”
“For now, yes. Especially, this must not reach the outside world under any circumstances.”
“By ‘outside world,’ how far does that extend?”
“All of it. The Outer Faction, the Elder Faction, the Jeong Faction, the Sima Faction… and even the Enforcement Bureau and the Cheonma Sect.”
“…!”
“Most critically, we must be wary of the Twin Horse Alliance’s eyes. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Whether in this life or the previous one, whether it concerns Dokgo Hyeon or myself, or both.
Those wretched members of the Twin Horse Alliance must never become entangled in this matter.
“Yes, I understand. I shall proceed with utmost discretion.”
“And this applies to you as well, Seo Daejoo.”
Seo Ryun paused and looked at Dokgo Myeong.
Dokgo Myeong pushed a teacup toward Seo Ryun.
“Even if you harbor doubts about this matter, I ask that you refrain from prying or investigating further. When commanding people, you need those whose mouths and minds remain firmly sealed. Do you understand?”
Seo Ryun swallowed dryly.
This was unprecedented. It was not someone else, but Dokgo Myeong himself issuing such an order.
Was this not the man who preferred to expose secrets rather than hide them, and made it painfully obvious whenever he was being evasive?
Seo Ryun nodded without hesitation.
“Should you command it, I shall simply obey. Is that not the duty of a subordinate?”
“You know I dislike such formal words, yet you say them deliberately?”
As Seo Ryun chuckled, Dokgo Myeong chuckled as well.
At first, the atmosphere seemed different from usual, but it was not. Dokgo Myeong remained simply Dokgo Myeong.
Dokgo Myeong continued speaking.
“I need you to find someone for me.”
“A person, sir?”
Dokgo Myeong handed over a small piece of paper.
It contained detailed information about someone.
“Dokgo… Hyeon?”
“It’s a common name. Given how many branch families exist within the main clan, finding him may prove difficult.”
“With these distinguishing features documented so thoroughly, it shouldn’t be too hard.”
Dokgo Myeong shook his head.
“You must distrust all of this information. Especially the section regarding his whereabouts—it’s quite likely to have changed. There’s a possibility he’s either hiding or has been hidden away. He should have been in Maegseom Village originally, but he wasn’t there.”
“Ah, surely not back then…?”
“Exactly. That’s why we came up empty-handed then.”
That was the problem.
Even after my rebirth, I thought this world was one where a person named Dokgo Hyeon simply didn’t exist.
Seo Ryun’s expression became peculiar.
‘Who exactly is this Dokgo Hyeon?’
As a man, Seo Ryun naturally harbored that question. For his commander to make such an earnest request, this person had to be someone of considerable importance.
But he did not ask.
Because that was not what his commander desired.
“I depart immediately, sir.”
Seo Ryun bowed respectfully and headed straight for the Cheonma Sect. It seemed the White Tiger Corps’ training would need to be entrusted to the Cheonma Sect for some time.
Given that the Cheonma Sect was known for its brutal training regimen, his disciples would surely grimace, but there was no helping it.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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