《The Reincarnated Martial Artist Is A Prodigy![Reincarnation, Progression]》


 C1 :The End and the Beginning

    I am going to die.


    The cool night breeze brushed against my skin, but it wasn''t the wind that chilled me¡ªit was the bitter taste of betrayal, of a plan gone terribly wrong. Around me, the dead bodies of those I had once called comrades littered the ground. Baek Ji¡ªthe traitor¡ªlay at my feet, a cold, lifeless body. Park Soah¡ªonce my trusted ally¡ªwas sprawled out, an arrow lodged in her chest, her face frozen in shock.


    Kim Jaehyun... his lifeless eyes stared up at the sky. Each body was a reminder of the betrayal I hadn''t seen coming, the deceit that had shattered the fragile world I had fought so hard to protect. I hadn''t expected them to attack¡ªnot like this. These were the people I trusted. The people I thought would fight by my side. But no, they had all conspired against me, alongside the sects, bringing in Grandmasters to kill me.


    They used me.


    I staggered to my feet, barely able to keep my balance. Blood poured from the gash across my side. The pain was unimaginable, but there was something far more suffocating than physical injury: the realization that I had been played. Betrayed. And now, I was going to die here in the wilderness, like an animal in the cold.


    "I''ll drag myself out of hell if I have to," I muttered, my voice raspy and filled with venom. "I will make them all pay for this."


    The pain in my chest flared, and I coughed up blood, but the anger was stronger. My vision blurred, but the image of the elders'' smug faces danced before me. They had ordered my death. Their precious son couldn''t have someone like me becoming a martial monster and overshadowing him.


    "Damn bastards¡­ all of them¡­" I gritted my teeth.


    But then, reality hit me again. My body was failing. The blood loss. The poison. I was dying.


    "Get it together, Jin Se-young," I scolded myself, trying to force some clarity into my foggy thoughts. "You''re literally dying here. And you''re talking like some damn avenger. What the hell''s wrong with you?"


    A bitter chuckle escaped my lips, despite the fact that I could barely hold myself upright. "You know what? This is ridiculous. I''m in such a pitiful state, and I''m thinking I''ll just drag myself out of hell and kill them all. What a joke."


    I let out a dry laugh, my vision flickering as the first light of dawn started to break through the horizon. The Great Wilderness, the vast land I had spent my entire life in, stretched before me¡ªendless, unforgiving, and now, the final place I would see.


    But in my dying moments, I couldn''t help but wonder. What''s past this damn wilderness? Is there something better beyond it? Flowers? Pretty women? Better money?


    I had spent my entire life trapped in this shitty world, where all the pretty women were taken by the greasy, smelly higher-ups. Those arrogant nobles who didn''t deserve them. God, why was I born into this hellhole?


    My vision swam as I tried to focus on the distant mountains. Was there something better out there? Something I never got to see? I had spent my whole life training, fighting, surviving, and all I had to show for it was this cold, empty death.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    "Dammit," I cursed under my breath. "Is there even a chance I''ll get a family in the next life? Maybe a woman who won''t get stolen away by some disgusting noble or elder."


    I closed my eyes, a sigh slipping from my lips. "Yeah, who am I kidding? I''m dying, and I''m talking about some idealized future life. Great. Real great, Se-young. You''re finally getting your chance to be a ''prodigy,'' and you waste it on regrets about women."


    As the sun began to rise, a part of me knew that I wouldn''t survive this. The Grandmaster was long gone, fleeing like the coward he was. He''d left me to die, knowing I was too weak to stop him. It didn''t matter. The elders had won.


    I lay back, my body finally succumbing to the damage. A peaceful stillness started to settle over me, but as my vision faded, I took one last glance at the horizon.


    I wonder what''s beyond this damn wilderness...


    <b>Maybe in my next life, I''ll get a better shot at all the things I never got to have.</b>


    Suddenly, there was light.


    Not the pale light of dawn, but a warm, golden glow. It wasn''t like anything I had ever seen before. My body, broken and bleeding, began to feel lighter, as though I was floating away from the earth. A soft, soothing warmth enveloped me. It was almost¡­ peaceful.


    A voice whispered through the light, soft and gentle.


    <b>"Do you wish for a second chance?"</b>


    The words hung in the air, reverberating in my mind. The last thing I remembered, I had been dying. I had been betrayed. And now, a voice was offering me¡­ a second chance?


    "What?" I murmured aloud, unsure whether I was even speaking or just thinking.


    <b>"A second chance."</b>


    Before I could respond, the light became blinding, overwhelming. Then darkness.


    I felt something soft beneath me. Not the cold, rocky earth of the Great Wilderness, but something warm and comfortable. My eyes opened slowly, adjusting to a sight I couldn''t comprehend: an ornate ceiling adorned with golden carvings and intricate designs.


    Something felt wrong. When I tried to move my arm, a small, pudgy hand came into view instead of my calloused warrior''s fingers. My entire body felt strange, confined.


    "What..." I tried to speak, but only a gurgle came out.


    "Sunshine! Look here!"


    A beautiful woman with golden hair and warm red eyes appeared above me, holding something that made jingling sounds. She shook it with enthusiasm, and to my horror, I found my infant mind captivated by the simple movement.


    "That''s right, look at mommy!" she cooed, her smile radiant.


    Mommy? The word echoed strangely in my mind. I had never known my mother in my previous life. Previous life... The thought struck me like lightning. Was this reincarnation? But why did I remember everything?


    The woman ¨C my new mother ¨C lifted me into her arms, holding me close to her chest. The warmth that enveloped me was unlike anything I''d ever experienced. Something inside me ached at the simple comfort of being held.


    "Let''s show you the morning view, Sunshine!" she said, carrying me to a massive window.


    The sight that greeted me made my infant heart stop.


    Below us stretched gardens more beautiful than anything I''d seen in my previous life, with fountains and flowers that seemed to pulse with some kind of energy. But it wasn''t qi ¨C no, this was something fundamentally different. I could feel it even through my underdeveloped body, a power that flowed through everything like qi, but... wrong. Different. Foreign.


    Beyond the gardens, a city sprawled toward the horizon, its architecture both familiar and strange. Buildings of stone and wood rose into the sky, adorned with crystals that pulsed with that same foreign power. Not quite the ancient style of the sects, but not the legendary advanced technology of the ancient cultivators either.


    And there, in the distance, rising above everything else...


    My eyes widened. It couldn''t be.


    The Great Spire.


    The legendary tower that martial scholars believed marked the center of the wilderness, said to house a power different from qi. I had seen drawings of it in forbidden scrolls, listened to theories about its significance in secret gatherings.


    But I was seeing it from the wrong side.


    Unless...


    The ancient texts suddenly flooded back to me. Theories whispered in dark corners of the sect libraries. Legends of a land beyond the Great Wilderness, where people had developed a completely different power system. A continent that no one from the Murim world had ever reached.


    It couldn''t be that, could it?


    [End of Chapter 1]

 C2: A New Begininning

    The warmth of the morning sun streamed through the ornate window, bathing the room in golden light. My new "mother" cradled me in her arms, humming softly as she swayed. The song was unfamiliar, its melody soothing yet strange, and it pulled me deeper into my thoughts.


    I had reincarnated. There was no mistaking it.


    Everything¡ªthe foreign architecture, the vast gardens, and that unmistakable Spire in the distance¡ªconfirmed it. This was not Murim. Somehow, in this new life, I had been reborn across the Great Wilderness into the fabled land that scholars back home whispered about in secret.


    The Western Continent.


    My eyes drifted to my small, chubby hands, and I clenched them weakly. It felt wrong. My body¡ªthe hardened, scarred weapon I had honed over decades of martial practice¡ªwas gone. I was nothing but an infant now, completely helpless.


    It would''ve been almost laughable, if it wasn''t so utterly frustrating.


    "You''re quite alert for one so young," my mother observed softly, her voice gentle and measured. The way she looked at me¡ªwith such genuine care¡ªmade something deep in my chest ache. It was a kind of love I had never known. In Murim, there was no room for softness. Even the closest bonds were tinged with ambition and rivalry.


    As my mother moved across the room, a tall, imposing figure entered with quiet authority. His presence was overwhelming, even without a word spoken. He wasn''t just powerful¡ªhe was perfection incarnate.


    His movements were deliberate, his gaze sharp as it swept over the room. He was dressed in a finely tailored coat, adorned with glowing sigils that seemed to pulse faintly as he walked. This wasn''t a warrior in the traditional sense. No, his aura was too composed, too refined for that.


    "Father-in-law," my mother greeted him with a small bow, her tone reverent. The name Alexander Reinhart carried weight in this world¡ªeven I, with my limited awareness of this new life, could sense that much.


    He turned his crimson eyes to me, narrowing slightly. I froze. Even as a child, I felt the weight of his scrutiny.


    "Have you named him yet?" he asked, his voice carrying that familiar authority that seemed to command the very air in the room.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    My mother shook her head slightly. "Not yet, Father-in-law. I was waiting for Arthur to return, but..." She paused, her expression clouding slightly. "The situation where he is... it''s not ideal for him to return just yet."


    "If I may," he said, his stern expression softening almost imperceptibly, "I would like to name him."


    My mother''s eyes widened slightly. "Father-in-law, that would be... it would be an honor for my firstborn to be named by someone of your standing."


    "You flatter me too much," he replied, though there was a hint of warmth in his voice that hadn''t been there before. He studied me for a long moment, his crimson eyes seeming to pierce through to my very soul. "Zain. That shall be his name."


    The maids who had been quietly attending to their duties nearby paused in their work, exchanging glances at the weight of the moment. The name seemed to resonate through the room, carrying with it expectations I couldn''t yet understand.


    "Zain..." my mother tested the name, a small smile gracing her features. "It''s perfect."


    "My Lady," one of the younger maids suddenly burst out, unable to contain herself. "May we... that is... could we perhaps hold young Master Zain?"


    The older maid beside her looked mortified at the breach in etiquette, but my mother''s laugh was light and genuine. "Of course. He should know the faces of those who will help care for him."


    As I was carefully passed between gentle hands, cooed over and fussed with, I continued to observe. The maids'' touch was practiced and professional despite their excitement, suggesting they had served noble families for years. This body might be weak, but my mind was sharp as ever.


    "My Lady," a guard appeared at the doorway, bowing deeply. "Your carriage is prepared."


    My mother nodded, taking me back into her arms. "Thank you. We shouldn''t keep them waiting."


    As we stepped into the hallway, I was immediately struck by the presence of what could only be described as an elite guard unit. Six warriors, each clad in ornate armor that seemed to shimmer with that strange energy, formed a protective formation around us.


    Even without being able to sense their energy, my centuries of martial experience screamed at me that these men were dangerous. If I had to compare them to Murim standards, they would easily match peak realm martial artists, perhaps even approaching the supreme peak. The casual way they carried such power told me this was likely just the standard guard detail for a noble family in this world.


    Just what kind of family had I been born into?


    The guards moved with practiced precision as we made our way through the mansion''s corridors. Their armor bore the Reinhart family crest¡ªa stylized blade wrapped in what looked like lightning¡ªand their movements spoke of years of rigorous training.


    As we approached the carriage, my mother looked down at me with a gentle smile. "Little Zain must be wondering where we''re going, hm?" She adjusted my blanket as a guard opened the carriage door. "We''re going to meet Mommy''s parents. They''re so excited to meet their little grandson."


    I found myself genuinely curious. What kind of people had raised my mother? In this world of nobility and power, what would my maternal grandparents be like? As the carriage began to move, I pondered these questions, all while taking in every detail of this new world I could gather.