The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 954

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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 954

‘Ugh….’

I bit down on my parched, cracked lips. Blood trickling across my white teeth evaporated instantly. The scorching heat of the sun burning across my entire body made it impossible to maintain consciousness.

‘Borrowing Wrath’s words, this heat is absolutely insane.’

Even operating the Manhwagong at full capacity, I couldn’t absorb all of the sun’s heat. I had no idea what method was used to generate such intensity.

‘But….’

If I endure this heat here in the Mental World, would it affect my physical body in reality?

Swordsmanship mastery was a matter of spiritual growth independent of the body, so what I learned here would definitely carry over to the outside world. But whether aura or physical growth would transfer to reality seemed far less certain.
But it seemed unlikely that the growth of aura or physical body would extend to reality.

“No, for now it’s right to trust them.”

The First Patriarch would never have prepared such a trial without meaning. For now, it was right to trust him and focus solely on accumulating inner energy.

“The heat is so intense that all sorts of strange thoughts are crossing my mind.”

Without operating the Manhwagong, my soul would have already melted away like ice cream left in the blazing sun.
If he hadn’t operated Manhwagong, his soul would have already melted and dripped away like ice cream under the blazing sun.

“The First Patriarch was a more ruthless person than I thought.”

The First Patriarch in my memories always showed kindness and consideration. I thought he was simply a gentle person, but now I see he was a man of extraordinary determination.

“I don’t want to lose to poison either… Ugh!”

Raon let out a fleeting laugh before shrugging his shoulders.

“Damn it.”

The heat felt as though my skin, muscles, and bones were melting away.
No—it wasn’t merely a sensation. Real pain lanced through my flesh as if carved by a blade.

‘I can’t endure this much longer.’

This wasn’t something concentration could overcome. A bizarre sensation washed over me—as if my very soul were being erased.

‘Should I try operating Glacia alongside it?’

Glacia’s frost was the antithesis of heat; it might provide some relief.

Uuuuuung!

I summoned both Manhwagong and Glacia simultaneously, as I would during an urgent battle.

‘Even this won’t work.’

Glacia’s chill reduced the heat around my mana circuits slightly, but the difference was negligible.
The golden sun’s radiance was too overwhelming; the frost couldn’t gain any purchase.

“Kugh…”

A ragged groan escaped my cracked lips—not intentional, but involuntary. My soul was screaming against the overwhelming heat.

Kugugugu!

I felt as though I’d stepped not beside Balkan’s Charcoal Kiln, but directly inside it.

Sssssizzle!

Sensation fled my skin. The severity of the burns was worsening. This had become genuinely dangerous.

‘The First Patriarch wouldn’t impose a trial I couldn’t overcome…’

The First Patriarch had always granted trials that were painful or difficult, yet entirely surmountable. There had to be a way to withstand this heat.

‘What method should I use? To accept the fire… Ah!’

As I contemplated the First Patriarch’s intention, a method I hadn’t yet attempted came to mind.

‘Ring of Fire.’

The First Patriarch had passed down more than just the Manhwagong. The Ring of Fire remained—a cultivation method, yet also something beyond cultivation.

During aura cultivation outside of combat, one should theoretically employ only a single cultivation method, but this was no time for such conventions. The Manhwagong alone could never withstand the scorching heat of that sun.

‘Let’s do this.’

I clenched my fist with the hand resting on my knee, operating both the Ring of Fire and the Manhwagong simultaneously.

Whoooosh!

The Ring of Fire blazed with the most vivid flames yet, beginning to draw in the torrential heat of the descending sun.
As the nine rings resonated, the Manhwagong seemed to gain vitality, accepting an even greater volume of heat.

‘The pain has lessened.’

The searing agony hadn’t vanished entirely, but it had subsided from the level of being inside a blast furnace to merely standing atop a hot plate—entirely bearable.

‘So the Ring of Fire was the answer.’

It seemed the First Patriarch had wanted to teach me to always employ the Ring of Fire and Manhwagong together, not merely in combat but during cultivation as well.

‘Why not just tell me with words…’

It was something easily explained verbally, so why resort to such violent instruction? Though I had to admit, I would never forget this lesson now.

‘Let me begin again.’

I exhaled a breath infused with heat and focused on operating the Ring of Fire and Manhwagong in harmony.
The nine rings chimed brilliantly, infusing my entire body with vitality, while the Manhwagong converted the heat into aura and guided it toward my dantian.

Ching!

I listened to the crystalline resonance of the Ring of Fire as I sank deeper and deeper into a state of profound selflessness.

*

*

*

“You’ve grown stronger.”

The mysterious Blue-Haired Child observed Wrath with a subtle nod.

“Is this the life you desired?”

The child twisted his lips upward in a sneer.

“To think you’d make me recall such a wretched time….”

Wrath pressed his lips firmly together, observing the child’s dark smile.

“You certainly know how to foul the True Demon King’s mood.”

That Blue-Haired Child was my past, yet simultaneously not myself.
It was my worst, weakest period—merely looking at it made my insides feel as though they were crumbling.

“Don’t pretend you’ve changed.”

The Blue-Haired Child laughed softly and shook his head.

“King of the garbage heap.”

The child’s eyes gleamed with an eerie light, warning me not to flee.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that title.”

Wrath tightened his trembling fingertips.

“I miss it, yet it infuriates me.”

Though I am called the Lord of Wrath, I was not always this powerful.
Born in the deepest darkness of the Demon Realm—that hellish land where all the world’s refuse gathered—I was weaker than anyone.

“Infuriates you? Isn’t this the hell you created?”

The Blue-Haired Child bared his white teeth, demanding why I had fled. His eyes held both mockery and resentment.

“The True Demon King fled? What nonsense are you spouting! You know better than anyone! The meaning of that cursed war!”

Wrath let out a bestial roar, extending his hand toward the Blue-Haired Child.

“Yes. Tear out my throat. Just as your hands killed those I held dear!”

The Blue-Haired Child spread both arms wide as if inviting him to do as he pleased.

“I have not….”

Wrath released the murderous intent gathering at his fingertips and pulled the Blue-Haired Child into an embrace.

“I have not forgotten the past. I merely carry it deep within.”

Closing my eyes as I recalled that hellish moment from ages past—a memory that thousands of years could never erase.

“Ha! Cursed wretch.”

The Blue-Haired Child twisted his lips in displeasure, then dissolved into smoke and vanished.

“…Was this a trial?”

Wrath exhaled slowly, gazing at the now-empty Cave.

‘If I had unleashed my wrath, I would have failed?’

From the circumstances, it seemed that had I succumbed to anger at the mirror reflecting my past, I would have naturally failed the trial in the Chamber of Self.

‘Fortune favored me.’

It was then that Raon’s face came to mind.

The reflection of my past from the mirror had evoked memories of Raon’s childhood—when he burned with deep vengeance.
Having witnessed how he transformed, I too was able to quell the raging fury that threatened to consume me.

‘The Lord of Wrath must not lose control of his wrath.’

Humans often misunderstand: while the Demon Lords immerse themselves deeply in their dominions, they must above all maintain control over them.
This trial in the Cave seemed designed to test whether I could master my own wrath.

“The Chamber of Self, huh….”

Wrath narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the mirror from which the Blue-Haired Child had emerged.
Within the black mirror, a reflection far different from reality appeared—a young version of himself, his entire body covered in wounds.

“I don’t know who named it, but they certainly chose well.”

He gazed down at the mirror, a laugh tinged with irritation escaping his lips.

‘Still, I can feel something changing within me.’

Wrath examined his pale hand—as if he had never seen sunlight in his entire existence—and narrowed his eyes.
As I overcame the past, I felt the power dwelling within my soul grow stronger. Whoever had named this place, the Chamber of Self suited it perfectly.

‘Of course, I won’t be able to obtain everything this place has to offer….’

From what I could sense, a space meant for only a single soul had developed a small fracture when both Raon and I entered simultaneously.
It seemed I wouldn’t be able to claim all the power originally available in this place.

‘Unfortunate, but I must press forward.’

Wrath clicked his tongue briefly and stepped into the mirror from which his past had emerged.

Ssssssshhhhh.

As I sensed the feeling of walking through water, something soft as a blanket brushed against my feet.

Goooooooo!

As my eyes slowly opened, a pristine Snowy Plain stretched before me, untouched by any footstep.

At the end of the Snowy Plain, a World Tree carved from ice extended its branches toward the sky’s horizon, and perched upon those branches sat a handsome man with black hair and black eyes.

“I had a suspicion, but you really did break through.”

Wrath bit his lips deeply as he regarded the black-haired, black-eyed handsome man.

“Lord of the Previous Era.”

*

*

*

Whoooosh.

I lifted my heavy eyelids and gazed upon the nine rings of fire suspended in the Sky, and the countless swords drifting across the heavens.

‘The Mental World?’

It was always the same here.

Even entering the Mental World through the Chamber of Self, nothing seemed to have changed.

‘No, that’s not quite right.’

The nine rings of fire in the Sky resonated with brilliant intensity, forming a shape like the sun itself, and the swords floating across the heavens traced sword paths that had grown distinctly sharper based on the experience I’d gained here.

‘I have grown.’

Simply observing the Mental World allowed me to feel just how much stronger I had become.

‘Though this is far from over….’

I had achieved growth worthy of satisfaction, yet everything remained unfinished.

This trial would only conclude once I transformed all the endless, blazing heat of the sun into my own power.

Roooooar!

I awakened the Manhwagong while gazing at the nine resonating rings of fire.
I drew the heat toward my Upper Dantian, visualizing my entire mana circuits filling with flames.

Boom!

My chest resonated like a drum struck atop a high mountain—not a physical sound, but my very soul pulsing with vitality.

I awakened my senses to that magnificent resonance and focused on the connection between Manhwagong and the Ring of Fire.
The heat I had absorbed from the sun had already filled my Lower and Middle Dantians, surging upward into my Upper Dantian.

Crash!

As the refined heat passed through Manhwagong and the Ring of Fire to touch my Upper Dantian, I felt a mysterious sensation as if my soul were connecting with the heavens themselves.

Hummmmm.

The three Dantians and my mana circuits expanded further, and the crimson flames within them began to tint a deep golden hue.
Manhwagong, having fully absorbed the sun’s heat, had transcended a new threshold.

Yet my transformation was far from complete. A new ring was materializing above the nine Rings of Fire, overlapping with them.

Crash!

The tenth ring. As the ring forged from golden flames attempted to connect with the others, a blue fissure tore across the sky, and my Mental World shattered.

“Hah…”

I opened my eyes, breathing heavily. The Mental World had vanished, leaving only the golden sun that had tormented me.

‘What just happened?’

Did I fail?

It seemed I had been expelled from the Mental World after failing to forge the new Ring of Fire, yet something felt wrong.

‘It felt like I was succeeding.’

The tenth Ring of Fire wasn’t something I had drawn forth myself—it was a form the Ring of Fire had created on its own. I couldn’t understand why it had been blocked.

‘Now that I think about it…’

The blue fissure seemed to have obstructed the ring?

Just as the Ring of Fire was about to complete, a blue fissure suddenly appeared and shattered it—that was the sensation I felt.

“How frustrating.”

As Raon’s eyes narrowed, the sun vanished, and a man descended in its place—one who resembled me but appeared older, bearing the weathered countenance of a life lived harshly. The First Patriarch of Zigheart.

“I didn’t anticipate this.”

The First Patriarch stroked his clean jawline with curiosity. Though his voice carried a familiar timbre, his words were obscured as if drowned beneath the sound of crashing waves.

“Perhaps two souls… thus… influence….”

The First Patriarch released a thin laugh of amusement.

“What do you mean? Please explain properly.”
“Wait… no need to despair… this is another opportunity….”

He nodded as if things had turned out well, seemingly indifferent to whether I heard him.

“Since it’s come to this, we shall meet again.”

The First Patriarch’s final words came through clearly. He waved his hand as if we would meet again someday, then vanished into the white expanse.

Whoooosh!

As the First Patriarch disappeared, the golden sun sank away, and the peak of the Sand Mountain where I had undergone the first trial came into view.
It seemed I had not moved from this place from the beginning.

“Then the trials are all finished?”

Interpreting the First Patriarch’s words, it appeared that all the arrangements he had prepared were complete.

“Though it’s unfortunate to miss the tenth ring, I’ve gained far more in return.”

I had mastered the proper techniques of the Ten Thousand Swords, and my swordsmanship had grown tremendously.
With my three dantians and mana circuits expanded further, not only the flow of my swordsmanship but its power would be on an entirely different level.

‘Of course, there’s something even greater than that….’

I felt the scorching heat blazing within my dantian and curled my lips upward.

‘The Manhwagong at ten stars.’

Unlike the Ring of Fire, Manhwagong’s rank had increased. It was difficult to sense it properly here, but once I returned to reality, I would likely be able to unleash flames of an entirely different dimension.

“I want to test that out soon….”

Why wouldn’t this end?

Even though the First Patriarch said we’d look at it later, this world continued to persist without concluding. I was curious about what was happening.

‘Now that I think about it….’

Didn’t he say there were two souls?

I hadn’t heard it clearly, but the First Patriarch had mentioned something about two souls.

‘One would be me, and the other….’

Could it be Wrath?

Before entering this place, I’d seen Wrath reflected in the Mirror, which made it clear he’d entered alongside me.

‘Then that sea must be Wrath’s path.’

I’d thought something felt familiar about the sea I’d seen before climbing the Sand Mountain, and now it seemed to be the path Wrath had traversed.

Imagining the blue cotton candy swishing its tail as it crossed that sea, I found myself laughing without realizing it.

“So that’s why it said this was another opportunity.”

I gazed at the undulating blue sea that rippled like Wrath’s hair and smacked my lips with anticipation.

“Should we go squeeze some benefits out of our Wrath?”

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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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