The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 159

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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 159

I widened my eyes as I gazed upon the golden radiance pouring from the countless holes in the cave wall.

‘This isn’t graffiti, nor something that occurred naturally.’

Sword marks. Every single one of these hundreds of holes was the trace of a blade.

‘And made with a swordsmanship I know.’

Now I understood why it had felt so familiar the first time I saw it. The sword marks carved into this cave were unmistakably created using a technique I possessed.

-A swordsmanship you know?
‘Yes. The realm of mastery differs greatly, but I’m certain of it.’

The six rings of fire rotating in my heart spoke to me of this technique’s true nature.

Flame Spirit.
These were traces of Flame Spirit—the technique I favored most among my arsenal and had recently refined to new heights.

-But the holes are far larger and more numerous for that technique, aren’t they?
‘I told you. The difference in realm is severe.’

It was Flame Spirit, yet not the same Flame Spirit. This was the technique of a swordsman who stood at such heights as to look down upon me.

I scanned every trace without blinking, desperate to capture all the sword marks etched into the cave.

Whoooosh!

Before much time had passed, the golden light shimmering from the marks began to fade like a shooting star disappearing into the distance.

‘I haven’t seen it all yet….’

I clenched my lips and rushed toward the cave wall, but the fading light did not return.

“Damn it!”

I couldn’t perfectly grasp the brilliant light flickering in the traces. Hoping to see more, I pressed my hand against the Wall.

Whoooosh!

In that instant, heat surged from the cold stone surface, and my vision filled with blinding white light.

The world transformed.
A far more expansive Cave came into view. The countless holes that had riddled it were completely gone.

Two men stood upon trembling earth that seemed ready to crumble at any moment.

The man with his back turned was the Blonde Swordsman I’d seen before, and on the opposite side stood a Strange Being with inverted pupils—black and white reversed—whose fingers writhed with menace.

As the Strange Being’s left hand ignited in black flames, the fire clinging to the swordsman’s blade began to waver.

The swordsman remained unflustered by this bizarre power. With only a faint aura remaining on his blade and mysterious footwork, he blocked every savage assault from the Strange Being while seeking an opening.

The Strange Being’s attacks grew progressively fiercer. He attempted to shift the black energy from his left hand to his right, creating an even more terrifying wave.

In that fleeting moment when the Strange Being’s power lost its balance.
The Blonde Swordsman’s blade erupted like lightning. The materialized flames of pure aura wreathing the blade consumed the entire Cave in an instant.

Perhaps this was how the World Tree’s leaves scattered. Crimson petals of flame enveloping the entire blade drifted and dominated the entire space.

The Strange Being belatedly concentrated power in his left hand, but it was already too late. The hundreds of petals created by the Blonde Swordsman had seized control of the entire Cave.

The true form of the Fire Spirit mercilessly incinerated the Strange Being, and with power to spare, it collapsed the Cave’s ceiling and walls, creating the sword marks I now witnessed.

Whoooosh!

[You are acquiring Ring of Fire (6-Star).]
[You are acquiring Myriad Fire Technique (4-Star).]
[Insufficient achievement.]

My entire field of vision flooded with golden light once more. I closed my eyes against the piercing brilliance, then opened them to find the original empty Cave before me.

“Hah…”

I clenched my trembling hands and examined the Cave wall.

‘Is this truly Flower Realm?’

It wasn’t merely a few petals dancing through illusory and transforming blades—true Flower Realm was the scattering of aura-infused petals that blanketed the entire world.

‘So he has indeed mastered both the Ten Thousand Flower Art and the Ring of Fire.’

Now it was certain. That Blonde Swordsman, the ancestor of Zigheart, had acquired the Ring of Fire and the Ten Thousand Flower Art just as I had.

‘His presence here makes sense now.’

Though he didn’t appear to belong to the Central Intelligence Agency, as an ancestor of Zigheart, his presence in this place was hardly unusual.

‘But that being….’

I couldn’t fathom who or what that Strange Being was—the one with inverted eyes, white pupils and black sclera. I had never heard of nor seen such a creature before.

As I pondered why that Strange Being lingered in Zigheart Territory, I felt Wrath’s chill and fury seeping in gradually.

Zing!

I summoned the Ring of Fire and the Ten Thousand Flower Art, severing Wrath’s aura in one decisive motion.

-Ugh!
“What are you doing?”
-Your soul vanished for a moment, so I was merely checking if you still lived.
“That was quite a deep check, wasn’t it?”
-D-Don’t be ridiculous! Had I truly desired it, I would have devoured your body already!
“Then I’ll simply take it back if you do.”

I gazed down at Wrath with an unperturbed expression.

-You insolent wretch….
“Besides, you wouldn’t resort to such petty tactics.”
-What?
“A noble Demon Realm lord wouldn’t engage in such sordid and contemptible acts as preying on a defenseless body. You’d seize my form through your own strength and ability, boldly and without shame. Isn’t that right?”
-Y-You know me well! Of course! I am the lord of the Demon Realm! I would never stoop to such cowardly treachery!

At my subtle flattery and encouragement, Wrath uncrossed his arms and broke into a satisfied smile.

This way, he won’t interfere even if something similar happens in the future.

I applied psychological pressure to Wrath, then turned my thoughts to the true Flame Blossom technique.

‘Even reaching Master rank, replicating that would be impossible.’

In the memory, the man’s Flame Blossom had each petal composed entirely of aura. That was a realm requiring considerable growth even after reaching Master rank.

‘But I should be able to do something similar.’

Flames from the Infernal Mana Sphere erupted above my blade. With the Ring of Fire ascending to the sixth star, I could now operate my full aura even in this twisted space.

Whoooosh!

I pulled the fourth-star Infernal Mana Sphere to its extreme and unfolded the Flame Blossom. The flames clinging to the blade scattered like a fountain, and dozens of petals scattered into the air.

Both its power and number were incomparably weaker than the Blonde Swordsman’s, but I could feel it had developed slightly more than when I fought Horain.

‘Let me try a bit more.’

Just as I was about to draw the Flame Blossom again, recalling the memory—

[You have observed the 【Flame Blossom】 technique perfected.]
[Acquisition of 【Flame Blossom】 accelerates.]

The same message that appeared when I witnessed Glen’s Heavenly Flame Protection before. It was a growth enhancement message that appeared when observing martial arts worthy of the Demon King’s study.

‘Perfect timing!’

I clenched my fist. With this acquisition ability, I could master the Blonde Swordsman’s Flame Blossom even faster.

-What, what is this! Why did this suddenly appear!

Wrath shook the message around in exasperation.

-Where did you go just now and what did you see!
‘Who knows….’

I closed the message and answered internally. That I’d received a personal lesson from my ancestor.

*

*

*

Slion Family Training Ground.

“Advance!”
“Advance!”

Following the commanding voice of Rokan Slion, the patriarch of the Slion Family, the swordsmen moved in perfect unison, unfolding a magnificent yet stable sword formation.

Whoooosh!

The momentum of the swordsmen surged through the center of the formation, creating a formidable wave of energy.

“Wall Formation!”

As Rokan Slion raised his finger, the swordsmen transformed the formation into a diamond shape and unleashed a sharper wave of aura.
It was the appearance of a piercing sword formation designed to shatter enemy ranks.

“Final Form!”

Rokan Slion sequentially transformed the shape of the sword formation, and the swordsmen created different formations according to his commands, achieving perfect harmony.

“Mm!”

Rokan nodded with satisfaction as he observed the flawlessly formed sword formation. His heart swelled with pride seeing the swordsmen display a perfect formation on such an important day.

‘She must have seen it well.’

Anticipating how his beloved daughter would have appreciated the perfect sword formation, he turned his head to the right.

“Huh…?”

Rokan’s mouth fell open. His cherished daughter was not watching him or the formation—she was gazing blankly up at the sky.

‘Oh no…’

I knew he was stubborn, but I never expected him to show no interest in the examination. I approached Lunan with trembling hands.

“L-Lunan?”

Rokan grasped Lunan’s shoulder as he stood there in a daze.

“What are you thinking about? You should be watching Dad work.”
“Raon.”
“Huh?”

My teeth clenched at the name that fell from Lunan’s lips. It was the name of the man I’d come to despise most recently.

“W-why Raon?”

I forced a smile and asked.

“The instructor told me about Raon yesterday.”
“The instructor? You mean that Rimer?”
“Yes.”

I bit my lip. So Rimer had visited in secret—that explained why my focus had suddenly faltered today.

“That bastard. I mean, what did the instructor say?”
“Raon defeated someone named Horain from the Central Intelligence Agency.”
“H-Horain? Horain, you say?”

My eyes widened at the mention of Horain’s name.

“That’s… that’s absurd! Horain is an Expert of the highest tier! No matter how much of a genius that bastard is, there’s no way a seventeen-year-old could defeat him!”
“Raon won.”
“Lunan. The difference in realm isn’t something you can simply—”
“Raon won.”
“No, even among Experts, the gap in growth is—”
“Raon won.”

Lunan nodded, his luminous violet eyes gleaming with absolute certainty. He looked ready to believe it even if I told him I’d slain a dragon.

‘Damn it…’

I couldn’t fathom what Raon had done to so thoroughly captivate my beloved daughter.

“W-well then, Father, shall we make a wager?”

Rokan Slion considered it a fortunate turn and raised his index finger.

“A wager?”
“Yes. I’ll show you just how vast the gap in our realms truly is. Come over here.”

Rokan Slion led Lunan toward the left side of the Training Ground.

“I’ll use only half a stage more power than you possess.”
“Okay.”
“If you manage to land even a single successful strike against me, I’ll give you a gift.”
“A gift….”

At the mention of a gift, Lunan’s eyes sparkled. She was undoubtedly thinking of ice cream.

“But if you fail to land even one, you must forget about Raon from now on and focus entirely on my lessons. Understood?”
“Okay.”

Lunan nodded eagerly without hesitation. She drew her blade at once, eager to begin.

“Then, begin!”

Rokan Slion called the start, but Lunan did not rush forward immediately. Her violet eyes burned with crystalline resolve as she lowered her stance.

‘Impressive.’

I knew she had grown, but I hadn’t expected such composure. She was truly my daughter.

“I’m coming.”

Lunan gave fair warning before extending her right leg far behind her. Like a mountain goat scaling a cliff, her leg drove fiercely against the earth, launching her forward in a explosive burst.

“Hah!”

Her speed—swift as lightning riding upon ice—caused Rokan Slion’s hand to twitch involuntarily.

‘This is….’

It was the charge technique of the female clan leader who guarded the Katam Jungle. Swift as a beam of light, yet with complete freedom of direction. Lunan was recreating her technique flawlessly.

‘At my current level, blocking it completely will be difficult.’

At my current realm—the martial mastery I had promised Lunan—I lacked confidence in perfectly intercepting that charge.

“Hngh!”

If I drew upon just a bit more power, I could deflect it effortlessly, but I couldn’t bring myself to deceive my daughter. Instead, I took a defensive stance using only the strength I had promised.

Whoosh!

Lunan swept past, and the sleeve of my robe tore cleanly away.

“Lunan….”

I gazed at my torn sleeve, exhaling softly. It wasn’t merely raw power that had grown—she had mastered such refined techniques. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes at the realization.

“To wield the footwork of the female clan leader who guards the Katam Jungle with such skill! Remarkable!”

Forgetting about Raon entirely, I stood frozen like a broken doll the moment I heard Lunan’s answer, my eyes glistening with pride.

“To help Raon.”
“To—to help Raon?”
“Yes.”

Lunan nodded as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

“R—Raon. Raon Zigheart….”

I trembled, my shoulders and arms shaking as I murmured Raon’s name.

“I can’t hold back any longer!”

I stamped the ground as if to dash toward Raon immediately.

“I’ll snap your legs like twigs!”
“Hey! The family head’s at it again!”
“Stop him! Everyone grab him!”
“You get the lady! She’s the only one who can calm him down!”

The anxious swordsmen of the Slion Family rushed forward and seized Rokan Slion.

“Raaaaaaon!”

Lunan Slion left Rokan’s wails behind and stomped about, gazing vacantly up at the sky.

“We should eat ice cream together.”

*

*

*

I seized this precious moment when my learning ability had temporarily surged, deploying Flame Sword technique endlessly.

Naturally, I didn’t sleep, and I swallowed the bitter bread that Wrath despised without chewing. I even economized on water breaks, wielding only my blade in ceaseless repetition.

As I rotated the rings of fire and depleted my aura, I replenished it with mana, and when that was exhausted, I refilled again—cycling through Flame Sword technique without pause.

[The achievement speed of 【Flame Sword Technique】 returns to normal.]

Even as the achievement speed reverted, my blade continued its endless dance through empty air. Only when my aura, stamina, and mental fortitude reached their absolute limits did I finally lower my sword.

‘As I suspected, replicating that was impossible.’

Despite forsaking sleep and meals to train, I couldn’t recreate that Flame Sword technique from my memory.

‘It’s beyond my current realm.’

I understood it clearly now.
I would need to reach at least the advanced Master realm to unleash Flame Sword technique that engulfed the world like that man did.

However….

‘This time wasn’t wasted.’

My mastery of Flame Resonance had grown substantially, and the proficiency of Transforming Blade and Illusory Blade had skyrocketed exponentially.

Now, I felt confident that I could display Transforming Blade and Illusory Blade techniques that wouldn’t fall short even against Horain from our sparring match back then.

“Phew.”

I exhaled a turbid breath and lowered my sword.

“Wrath.”
-This bastard….

Wrath climbed onto my wrist bracelet, trembling violently.

-You kept shaking me around so I couldn’t sleep, and now when I’m finally about to close my eyes, why are you calling me!
“How much time has passed?”
-Since we arrived here, I’ve missed 56 meals properly, so 14 days have passed!

Wrath, my timekeeper and calendar substitute, provided the answer without needing to calculate. Yet something felt off.

“56 meals would be 19 days, not 14.”
-What are you talking about? The Demon Realm has 4 meals per day. In other words, today marks the completion of two weeks.

The fact that the Demon Realm had 4 meals a day was surprising enough, but a Demon King who counted days by meals was truly novel.

“Then today is the day I leave.”
-Surviving for two weeks by eating that rubber bread, you cursed wretch!

Complaining about eating tasteless bread as if it were a curse, the Demon King’s way of thinking truly defied my comprehension.

“Don’t be so angry. Once I leave today, I’ll be able to have a proper meal.”
-….

Wrath, who had been gnawing at his lips, flinched and stopped, then slowly approached me.

-Is that… really true?
“Yes. I’ll eat whatever you want. But before that….”

I picked up my blade again, drawing every last drop of aura I had left.

“One final time. Let me attempt Flame Blossom.”

My stamina was depleted, my mental fortitude exhausted, my aura drained to its limit—yet my focus had never been sharper, honed to a razor’s edge.

At this moment, I felt I could at least begin to follow that man’s blade.

A resonant hum echoed through the air.

The soft luminescence of the glowing stone cascaded down my angular shoulders, seeping into the steel. I extended my legs and twisted my wrist with fluid grace.

The trajectory of the red blade curves along the wrist, embroidering the empty air like tree branches, and blossoms bloom from those branches and scatter in the wind.

Flames ignited upon flames.

The petals of fire that blossomed from the convergence of inferno consumed the entire cave.

The swordsman’s petals, embodying both the keen edge of a well-honed blade and its resplendent beauty, spread along nature’s currents, dancing through the heavens and drenching the earth.

The line of flames that had stretched like a horizon connecting sky and earth thickened and swelled, birthing a far greater stem of Flame Blossom.

The cluster of flowers I had summoned adorned the entire cave, unleashing a tempest of blazing petals.

Though the number and power of the petals were incomparably smaller, the flow and trajectory embedded within Flame Blossom bloomed unchanged in my hands, carried through a thousand years of time.

A deafening explosion tore through the air.

Fragments of sword energy struck the cavern walls, releasing concentrated force that triggered a massive detonation throughout the entire cave.

The cave shook violently as if it might collapse, raining down rubble.

But I, already lost in concentration, did not cease the flow of Flame Blossom.

The increasingly vivid petals of the Flame Demon pulverized the falling stones, their numbers and sharpness multiplying with each moment.

The sight of a single blade holding back an endless cascade of rubble—it resembled exactly what I had longed for, the sword of my ancestors.

The trembling of the cave subsided, and the relentless shower of stone finally reached its end.

Whoooosh.

I stood amid the stone dust blanketing the ground, exhaling ragged breaths.

As I reveled in the exhilaration of having unleashed my finest swordsmanship despite the constraints, a message materialized before me.

[The Mana Sword 【Flame Spirit】 evolves into 【Flame Spirit Opening】.]
[You have shattered equipment, swords, people, and now a cave.]
[The title 【Destroyer King】 is created.]

A message announcing the creation of the title Destroyer King.

-No way….

Wrath glared at the message with blazing blue eyes.

-Why would you grant a title to that reckless brat who destroys everything! And using my power at that!

His irritation exploded as he shrieked and shook his head violently.

-My body, my power….
“I’ll treat you to something delicious in a moment. Just be patient.”

I chuckled softly while steadying Wrath, who was writhing like slime.

-In a moment? Eat as soon as we get out!
“I’m sorry, but I have something to do first.”

A crimson gleam flickered in my eyes as I gazed toward the passage leading out of the cave.

“I need to pay my respects to those Central Intelligence Agency bastards.”

After all, I’ve grown stronger because of them.

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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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