Chapter 1: Return

Any man should go out into the world and spread his great ambitions.

This is a story that every man has probably heard at least once in his life, and has thought about.

Be passionate in your heart but calm in your mind, and simply act with righteousness and justice.

Many people are captivated by such words and venture into the world of martial arts.

They learn martial arts, serve a master, and set out to discuss the world with a single weapon.

It sounds like chasing clouds, but I am no exception.

In fact, I was the one who enthusiastically threw my life away, completely absorbed in the romantic notion of a swordsman.

“Haah…”

I sit cross-legged on a rock at the peak of a towering mountain, contemplating.

I reflect on the life I have lived, and also what I have dreamed of while living.

“It has been a long and arduous life.”

I recall the moment when I, an ignorant fool from modern times, was thrown into the world of martial arts.

I remember the days when I barely survived, begging like a beggar, and the face of my master who reached out to me back then.

I learned martial arts.

I made connections.

I sought romance.

There were times when I resented the world and lived lethargically, and there were also times when I focused solely on martial arts, desperately wanting to return to my original world.

“It was a useless pursuit.”

And so, I gained the heart of a disciple.

I recall the memory of almost stepping onto the wrong path due to my impatience.

After that, well, I suppose you could say I turned a new leaf.

The heart that was obsessed with returning to Earth gave birth to my disciple’s heart.

After casting that aside and reaching a higher level, my life, which had been tangled up, began to unfold properly.

I accepted this sudden life in this world.

I let go of my longing for returning and appreciated the bonds I have formed until now.

At times, I ventured into the world of martial arts to practice righteousness and justice, and with pure curiosity and fun, I explored the realms of martial arts and its teachings.

Thus, I lived a truly eventful life.

“So now, what do I do?”

Now, the only remaining thing is a pure and vague curiosity.

So, what now?

I’ve already done everything I wanted to try, and I’ve grown tired of locking myself away in the mountains like a hermit, crazily researching the limits of martial arts.

This martial world, rather than being true martial arts, is closer to a pseudo-cult, so if I head west, far beyond these lands, there might be a world of swords and magic.

‘Isn’t fantasy just another form of the martial world with different clothes?’

If you turn martial artists into knights and shamans into magicians, it all ends up being the same.

There may be new feelings and perspectives, but that, too, will quickly fade away.

Above all, I am already over three hundred years old.

The days when I was called the greatest under heaven and the first in history are now over two hundred years ago, and it’s been roughly that long since I achieved the realm of life and death.

The day I reached a legendary realm and posed a question like this feels like just yesterday, but after surpassing several more levels, I truly don’t know what I should do now.

‘Honestly, I’ve reached the highest level I can, should I finally focus on ascension?’

When a high-ranking martial artist, like a sect leader, passes away, the martial world typically expresses that they ascended after their death with due ceremony.

But, honestly, is that really ascension?

They know it too.

Death is just death, and talk of ascension and transcendence is merely ritual and comfort.

‘True ascension is different.’

Since entering the realm of life and death, I’ve vaguely sensed a flow, and now it has fully gripped me.

It’s as if this flow is leading me somewhere, touching both my mind and body.

At first, I was only confused about what this sensation meant, but now I can clearly understand.

The will of heaven.

It is the absolute law and principle of this world, and at the same time, it is the force that flows through the universe to maintain balance.

It is also the gravitational pull that guides martial artists like me toward ascension.

‘I’ve been putting it off until now, even though it’s been troublesome.’

The moment I thought this, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck from the sky.

It was a disaster that fell without any warning from a clear and sunny sky, but I responded indifferently, waving my hand as if brushing away an annoying prank.

“Should I just ascend already?”

Grumbling, I uncrossed my legs and stood up.

The shattered pieces of the lightning scattered in sharp fragments, quickly fading away like embers.

Really, they should stop scattering it all over the place.

I thought that if someone failed three times, they wouldn’t try again.

But since the heavens are not human, they just keep trying until I die.

Who would have thought that heavenly tribulations would keep striking me consistently for a hundred years?

Because of those lightning blades that fall every other day, I haven’t even been able to step near a major city all this time.

‘Right now, my realm has surpassed the Life-and-Death Realm and the Blossoming Dao Realm, reaching the very edge of the Severance Realm.’

I can feel it instinctively.

The moment I break through this “wall” that I can surpass at any time, I will step into the next realm and ascend.

Like a hole being torn into the world, my existence will pierce through this world and be sucked into some unknown place—I am certain of it.

Other martial artists may not understand, but ascension is not exactly a pleasant experience.

It happens when the world can no longer sustain a single being’s existence and forcibly expels them for the sake of its own survival.

A self-defense mechanism of the world, dictated by the will of heaven.

To put it simply, that’s all it really is.

“I purposely put it off until the very end…”

The first time I hesitated to ascend was a hundred years ago.

Back then, I still had ties to the mortal world, and I did not want to leave this world while turning my back on those I cared about.

But now?

I no longer have any lingering connections to the mortal world.

There is no knowledge left that I am curious to acquire, and the only thing that remains before me is the wall of my next realm.

I stretch my body upright and take a deep breath.

The fresh, crisp air fills my lungs, and as I exhale, a faint sigh escapes between my lips.

“Come, will of heaven.”

I murmur to myself, solidifying my resolve.

As I bid farewell to this world I have lived in for three hundred years, I take in its sights one last time.

Then, I finally knock on the wall of the Everlasting Realm, which I have delayed for nearly a hundred years.

“I shall ascend at last.”

The boundless energy within me surges wildly.

At that call, the natural energy from all directions violently surged toward me.

It contained the essence of all the elements—Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements—but it did not take on any particular shape or form.

It was simply a chaotic, mixed energy mass.

However, receiving that energy was an incredibly difficult task.

If one carelessly attempted such a thing, their body would be unable to withstand the energy, causing it to collapse, or their internal energy would clash with the chaotic nature of the force, resulting in entering a state of madness.

‘If that happens, it’s the end. There’s no coming back from that.’

Of course, this is all assuming that one is consumed by the energy.

In my case, thanks to the martial art I personally devised, I have no worries of falling into madness.

I simply accept the energy of the great nature, grow by using it as nourishment, and that’s all.

“Slowly now.”

The vast energy of nature was trapped within my body.

The moment it did, the sky that had covered the world collapsed.

The space and time around me seemed to shrink toward me, and a distant yet dizzying sensation pounded my whole body.

‘This is a strange feeling.’

All my senses tried to sharpen in an attempt to feel my surroundings, but ironically, I couldn’t perceive anything.

For a moment, I shivered at this bizarre sensation.

I allowed my body to be carried by the swirling, tumultuous flow of space and time, letting it guide my existence.

How long did I remain in the flow of time and space?

As if the events until now were a dream, an overwhelming pressure suddenly began to press down on my whole body.

It was like falling in a dream after having been asleep—my body’s senses flickered on and off erratically.

Though it was a disorienting situation, I instinctively realized.

‘It’s almost time.’

Having ascended and left the world of martial artists behind, I had now reached the boundary of another world.

As I recognized that fact, the corners of my mouth, which had remained unmoved, twitched slightly.

I couldn’t be sure if it was actually happening because I couldn’t feel anything, but at the very least, I thought that it was happening.

The excitement rising in my chest surely caused the corners of my mouth to twitch as well.

‘I wonder what kind of world it will be.’

Honestly, I was so curious about what kind of world I would reach after ascension.

The legendary world of immortals, which had been passed down through word of mouth, or perhaps some unimaginable, extraordinary world—whatever it was, my curiosity surged uncontrollably.

Thud.

In that instant, my senses returned.

The feeling of standing on something solid and the resulting sound reached my ears.

“Haa…….”

I didn’t open my eyes right away but instead calmed my excitement with several deep breaths.

I needed to quell the rush of emotions that came with entering a new world, while also relieving the distinct feeling of fulfillment that accompanies a rise in level.

After all, I couldn’t behave like an excited child with a new toy and hop around wildly.

That kind of immature display had long disappeared over two hundred years ago.

‘But what’s this noise I’ve been hearing since earlier?’

While focusing on my inner mental state through meditation, the chatter and noise suddenly distracted my concentration.

So, to figure out the source of the noise, I opened my eyes with a somewhat settled mind to observe the new world.

“Who, opened their eyes!”

“What’s that?”

The scenery unfolding before me felt strangely familiar and brought about a fuzzy, nostalgic feeling.

High-rise buildings soared into the sky in every direction I looked.

It looked like the cityscape I had sometimes dreamt of when I missed my hometown.

And in the voices I heard, mixed in with the familiar language, was a language I never expected to hear in the Central Plains—English.

“……This was the answer?”

Unable to hold back, a hollow laugh escaped from my lips.

I thought I would never return in life, having already let go of my regrets—but who would have thought this would be the answer?

I felt both a sense of relief and lightness as I sorted out the situation I was in.

‘Wow, a smartphone, after 300 years.’

It seems that after ascending, I have somehow returned.