Wad

We don't have any explanation about the concept of reincarnation that affected him somehow other that taoism doesn't comprehend it (BUT somehow influences it!!) and it does not fit with the buddhist phenomenon, the only ones with some kind of idea are the demons, but they don't really comprehend it either, they just know that is true

There are many moments of foreshadowing in the narrative (all the times they call him a demon, the fact that he scared the demonic cult, Im Sobyeong pointing the parallels between Hwasan and Magyo, his almost enlightement that scared him, etc, etc) so i won't quote any of it, i'm just going to put together my own logic(¿

As far as we know, his reincarnation is the same as Cheon Ma: he simply dies and passes into a random body after a certain amount of time, they aren't "reborn" but suddenly posses another body not related to their previous life. There are no memories of this new life either, nor any kind of muscular memory, just the minds of their previous life

However- in the scene (chapter 1062) when Ho Gamyeong and Jang Ilso see the slaughter done by Cheon Ma just reincarnated makes us go back to Cheongmyeon's narrative of the war, his power is there! Not like Cheongmyeong who has needed to train to regain his former strength and skill... Right?

I don't think so! There's a moment (chapter 1876) when he just decides to be the Sword Saint again, he regains his habilites for a moment against Jang Ilso, and nothing changes in his body other than his mental state but he starts to beat the shit out of Jang Ilso (to the point he even gets scared!) and is really great but??

Wasn't he fighting exactly like this when he just reincarnated? After he used his true qi (chapter 34) and was dying, or even before! (chapter 5) When he's literally a starving child and either way just beats up three men after stretching a little, just like when he was the Sword Saint! He doesn´t even get any kind of repercussion then! But when he's stronger and has more qi... he does?

There's some kind of dissonance within him and i think is the willingness to be that person again- the one with the power and the rage to wield it.

The final fight with Jang Ilso was exasperating to me KJHSADBSSHA i was raging reading! I couldn't understand why he didn't fucking killed Jang Ilso as fast as he could, but kept talking to him, there's the whole thing about Cheongmyeong seeing the Sword Saint in Jang Ilso, like a fucked up version of himself but what does that even mean?

I think Cheongmyeong wanted an equal! His attachment to Jang Ilso, for me, stems from the projection he does (in chapter 1061) of Jang Ilso as himself and he as Tang Bo in the war!! He wanted that again SDGFKAHSJB I'M KILLING MYSELF WITH THIS but yeah! Jang Ilso isn't his soulmate this life, but Cheongmyeong wanted someone to be! He recognizes his absolute loneliness from the moment he learns that he has been reborn a century later of his own death, at that moment for him as been like three hours since the war JSAJHS that weighs heavily on him!! He doesn't get to grieve and even less able to overcome none of the trauma!

So he makes himself softer, kinder and weaker to evade the loneliness and admit more people to his narrative- the memories of the past only have three people:(( and in Cheong Mun's narrative (chapter 688) is said that Cheongmyeong is isolated, he's so outsanding but he doesn't care about others, plays nice with him as to not to be alone. He gets to understand the importance of having others later, but none of them are an equal, if anything- the children of the present keep reflecting his friends and family of the past, but not him. He doesn't belong, so- Jang Ilso being the closest to the monster he was? He wants to keep him too... it does not work, everyone involved is traumatized or dead or both KSJDHBF yeah, what-fucking-ever

The point here is that he's not that willing to be the Sword Saint again, he's fucking tired, ah, he's actively suffering, puking blood and he's going against someone he unconsciously identifies with? He's getting low-key possessed by himself, that's not it

However he HAS the ability to channel the same power, which is what we saw with Cheon Ma. I think Cheon Ma is someone who reincarnated too many times to the point where he has been drained of humanity and has the memories of several lives

Cheon Ma knows how the reincarnation goes “This is not the end. The Demons will return. (chapter 1)", this isn't his first or even second time reincarnating, even the Dalai Lama knows

(chapter 1780)

And in chapter 1493 is mentioned that the Demonic Cult, when invades, comes back stronger- the invasions had been happening many times, but the title of the Heavenly Demon seems to be new. Has Cheon Man just gained the ability to remember his past lives two or three lives ago?

Also Cheongmyeong's story starts when he enters the same path, just the chapter before (1779) Dalai Lama says to Cheongmyeong that time, for him, is not lacking. Sounds like he's now inmortal too, but i don't think this is even his first time reincarnating either

This is where my idea goes somewhat weird- i think they (the geniuses, the monsters) get to reincarnate repeatedly! Like... is a normal phenomenon(? Cheon Man and Cheongmyeong are like that, but maybe Jang Ilso is too, and Tang Bo was another, and maybe Yu Yiseol will be one!

They accumulate talent(? or something. They don't really can recall it every life, that's the point, but they have the innate potential and abnormal natural strength. The "once-in-a-hundred-years talent" they keep talking about maybe has some real cyclicality!

And!! This is what i keep thinking about!!! Someone remembers Yak Seon? The pill maker that was also the Untraceable Seizing Sword or something?

I think he's Cheongmyeong's previous life(?), famous a century before Cheongmyeong? The best of his time out of nowhere? I think the time period is deliberate!! Also that whole scene about Cheongmyeong suddenly fucking understanding everything the doctor was thinking with just by repeating some key words deep enough? He even identifies with that one again ajshbdahgsdm and we never have another moment of him reaching this kind of familiarity with other's thought process, not even the almost enlightement is the same, he has another type of trance then

I feel a little like... the way he explains Yak Seon's ideology, if he's right, is this previous life where he understood that helping other is shit and martial arts doesn't have any value to keep trying to be the best, he can just excel at it and is whatever, fuck everything and everyone-

Isn't that how he lives when he's raised in Hwasan?

In the side story "Someone's story" this is said:

He's just born as weird as he's reincarnated?? Yeah, not first reincarnation either, no waaaayyyy

That scene where he saves Hwang Mun-Yak and he's rewarded? He isn't manipulated by the gratitude because, as he says- "he isn't a child", but look at that dude being an actual child??? What the fuck, he straight up eats poison to prove a point, i'm sure his age didn't even had two digits then (Cheon Jin says he's a young man twice Cheongmyeon's size, and Cheongmyeong also says he's big for his age, so for a child to reach any lower than shoulder height of an adult has to have less than 9 years, i don't know if there's any canon information about this)

Or when he keeps Un Geom alive after Maninbang cuts his arm off? Or when he cures the leader of their subsidiary sect? I mean- he's a genius and masters qi control, but actual healing techniques? Someone ever let him practice that on them for him to be so good??? He got Tang Soso in the team to compensate for the lack of a medic, but then he goes and just fixes internal wounds? It can be experience from war, yeah, what about the treatment for Im Sobyeong's illnes that he recognizes just like that????? I mean, he guesses around a bit xD but he does it by sight??? And when he makes the pill that's another trance, idk i'm so sure, i'm so excited about this