Chapter 25
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Little Loach Meets His Master 2
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Unfurling the fifth form of the Kunlun Sect's signature lightness skill, Dragon Form Step—Flying Dragon Chases Lightning—the arriving Yunhak Daoist immediately checked the pulse of the fallen child.
“Heh heh… Did you really think I’d taken that child’s life? Seeing the mood you all were in, it didn’t seem like words alone would settle things today, so I just put the kid to sleep. It wouldn’t do the boy any good to witness it, would it?”
By then, Kunlun experts were steadily gathering around Jade Flower Hall.
U Gyeongcheon, however, paid them no mind and simply lifted his remaining teacup to his lips.
Moments later, the courtyard of Jade Flower Hall was filled with Daoists clad in white robes. Not only that, but within ten zhang all around, countless more Daoists assembled, swords in hand.
“For Leader U to grace this humble place with his presence, and us unaware—our hospitality has been lacking.”
Curiously, an elderly Daoist clad in jade-green robes and a jade-green Daoist cap stepped forward with a formal bow.
U Gyeongcheon set down his teacup and slowly rose to his feet.
“Ugh… Getting old, my joints ache something fierce… Anyway, you must be the lad they call Yunjang.”
“Indeed, I am Yunjang, however unworthy, leading Kunlun. Please, Leader, state your business.”
That was right.
Among all of Kunlun Sect, only the current sect leader donned jade-green attire.
The jade-green sash belt at his waist, the Green Jade Waistband, was the sacred artifact symbolizing Kunlun’s sect leader.
It was exceedingly rare to behold Kunlun’s sect leader in the jianghu.
Even within the reclusive Kunlun Sect, the sect leader held the most secluded status, and under no circumstances did they ever leave Kunlun for jianghu travels.
Only the rarest of jianghu dignitaries who personally visited Kunlun could meet them.
The current Kunlun sect leader, Yunjang Daoist, was widely renowned as a disciple of Grandmaster Yukmun Seonin—the Kunlun Sword Immortal, one of the Six Immortals among the realm’s Thirty-Three Masters—excelling in both martial prowess and leadership.
And now, Yunjang Daoist had leaped forth in a single bound.
“My business is simple. I have three questions and one matter to convey.”
“You’ve come uninvited and without a calling card, so it’s unlikely to be pleasant tidings, but we shall listen with open ears.”
“Very well. First, though, wouldn’t it be best to call off those children? They’re all standing there so stiffly—it’s killing my mood.”
U Gyeongcheon gestured to the twenty-odd Daoists encircling him.
“Please state your business first, Leader. As you are already an uninvited guest to our Kunlun, we cannot withdraw those duty-bound to defend the sect.”
“Could those be the Kunlun Twenty-Eight Mansions?”
“Precisely.”
“I see. In that case, I suppose I should first witness their skills. Since we dwell in the jianghu, it’s not amiss to exchange hands before discussing business. Heh heh…”
“You’ve hidden your tracks for decades, yet that bold spirit remains unchanged. Very well, then. I shall order our guests welcomed. Hear me, Kunlun Twenty-Eight Mansions! Form the sword formation and subdue that old man.”
“We obey.”
At the sect leader’s command, the twenty-eight Daoists replied in unison, drew their longswords, and surrounded U Gyeongcheon.
The Twenty-Eight Mansions originally referred to dividing the night sky into four quadrants—Northern Black Tortoise, Southern Vermilion Bird, Eastern Azure Dragon, Western White Tiger—and combining the seven constellations in each.
Kunlun’s Twenty-Eight Mansions likewise positioned U Gyeongcheon at the center, forming four small formations of seven each according to the cardinal directions, which together made one grand formation.
At last, the Supreme Purity Two Principles Sword Formation—deployed only when Kunlun faced invasion by great foes—revealed itself.
The swords wielded by Kunlun Daoists were originally three cun longer than those commonly used in the jianghu.
Yet the blades of these Kunlun Twenty-Eight Mansions were five cun longer still.
Daoists wielding swords so abnormally long they seemed misshapen at first glance began circling U Gyeongcheon exceedingly slowly, like constellations wheeling across the night sky.
And their speed gradually quickened.
Fusing the principles of the Four Images and Two Principles to infuse the formation with cosmic energies, it soon severed the surrounding qi flows.
Moreover, the inner force poured forth by the twenty-four soon merged, pressing down upon U Gyeongcheon.
“Excellent, splendid. Kunlun never fails to surprise me. Folks call it one of the Nine Great Sects, but truly, they know nothing of Kunlun.”
“Take care!”
Issuing a warning laced with U Gyeongcheon’s praise, the twenty-eight longswords of the formation surged forward.
Astonishingly, dense indigo sword qi now cloaked every blade.
The consummate united sword formation of twenty-eight masters transcending peak realm was a spectacle unmatched anywhere in the jianghu.
Though Mount Hua’s Plum Blossom Sword Formation and Wudang’s Five Elements Sword Formation were famed, they paled in potency.
This was the true might of Kunlun, whose Daoists had never ventured beyond their mountain gates.
U Gyeongcheon lightly stretched his body and began unfolding exquisite footwork.
He wove through the lightning-like sword qi targeting his vital acupoints, tracing circles as if dancing.
It was a masterful counter, unraveling the Two Principles with Two Principles and the Four Images with Four Images.
Less a life-or-death clash than a prearranged spar, the scene was one of utter grace and beauty from both sides.
But inwardly, it was anything but.
The twenty-eight Daoists, who had cast aside life itself to pour every ounce into the formation, plunged into shock.
They had believed no being could evade their blades within this Supreme Purity Two Principles Sword Formation, just as no bird could escape the night sky—yet their foe danced leisurely, utterly at ease.
In truth, U Gyeongcheon was savoring this moment.
It was the first day in decades he had stepped into the jianghu.
For him now, the thrill of experiencing Kunlun’s peerlessly refined arts with his entire body—arts unmatched elsewhere in the jianghu—was priceless.
At that moment, Yunjang Daoist’s resounding voice echoed forth.
“East and West, reverse to Anti-Two Principles!”
The elegant formation turned ferocious in an instant.
Dozens of razor-sharp sword qi strands assaulted in unison.
The formation, which had naturally unfolded the Five Elements’ energies in Four Images sequence, now spun backward, moving according to the mysteries of defying heaven.
No regularity remained; it was utter chaos.
By inverting the formation’s core principles of Two Principles and Four Images, disorder and irregularity took their place.
U Gyeongcheon burst into wild laughter.
“Ha ha ha ha… Yes! That’s martial arts for you.”
Remaining at the formation’s heart, he raised the wooden staff in his hand toward the dozens of incoming sword auras from all directions and spun his body.
As U Gyeongcheon whirled like a top, a bizarre suction emanated from the wooden staff, dulling the trajectories of the incoming sword auras.
“Wooong… Boom!!”
In a flash, the surrounding air was sucked toward U Gyeongcheon at the center before exploding outward.
“This can’t be…”
Yunjang Daoist could scarcely believe the sight before his eyes.
U Gyeongcheon stood as if nothing had happened, leaning on his wooden staff with his hunched back.
But his surroundings were a scene of devastation.
Not one of the twenty-eight Daoists who had formed the Supreme Purity Two Principles Sword Formation remained upright; all lay mangled beyond recognition.
At a glance, none drew breath.
Radiating from U Gyeongcheon in the precise pattern of the Twenty-Eight Mansions’ constellations, the Daoists’ bodies bore blades plunged into them—each other’s.
The hall fell deathly silent.
Not a soul among the hundreds of Kunlun Daoists uttered a sound.
High above the Kunlun Mountains, a single eagle appeared in the sky.
And their numbers were growing, one by one.
They had scented death.
“Shall we talk now? Or play some more?”
Moments later, U Gyeongcheon spoke.
“Nggh… Very well. That Qiankun Great Chaos Divine Art we’ve only heard of… Today, I acknowledge Kunlun cannot match you, Leader U.”
Yunjang Daoist spat the words through gritted teeth.
The eyes of several surrounding Kunlun Daoists misted over.
“Good. I didn’t come all this way just to kill a few of you. That said, shall we converse standing in this dreary spot?”
Yunjang Daoist nodded.
“Hear me, reception hall disciples! Prepare a seat for Leader U in the guest hall. The rest of you, reverently gather the dharma bodies of our fallen brothers who perished today and bear them to Supreme Purity Hall.”
At that time, atop a distant peak, far from the valley where Kunlun Sect’s stone chambers and halls stood in disarray.
“Hm! What is this…”
Seated atop a massive boulder weathered by tens of thousands of years atop a certain mountain peak was an elderly Daoist who mirrored the rock itself.
His hands, resting on his knees, trembled faintly.
Placing his quivering hand to his left chest, the elderly Daoist drew deep breaths for a time before slowly rising.
He then leaped downward from the peak.
Like a soaring dragon, his figure vanished into the clouds enshrouding the mountaintop.
It was the divine realm of lightness skill: Cloud Dragon Great Soaring Flight.
When the apprentice Daoist named Seojong regained his senses, the tragedy in the reception hall’s front courtyard had already been cleared away.
Seojong scrambled up and looked around frantically.
Before Seojong’s eyes, at the table sat the old man, sipping tea as if nothing had occurred.
“Sleep well? Heh heh…”
Three Kunlun elders stood around U Gyeongcheon.
“You, go up to Supreme Purity Hall. All your fellow disciples will be gathered there.”
At the command of one elder, Seojong quietly bowed in salute and left the reception hall.
“What a pretty child. At my age, all kids look cute… Goodness. Heh heh…”
The Kunlun elders made no reply to U Gyeongcheon’s banter.
Then Yunjang Daoist entered the reception hall.
As the sect leader sat before U Gyeongcheon, one elder offered tea.
But Yunjang Daoist’s hand never reached the cup.
“Well, then. Speak. What is your business?”
“Where is Grandmaster Yukmun? I heard he left Kunlun long ago to live in seclusion.”
“Indeed. Master departed the sect thirty years past. No one, myself included, knows his whereabouts. He merely passes through like the wind every few years.”
“I see. But you, surely you’ve heard from him of the Heavenly Mountain Pact?”
Yunjang Daoist let out a long sigh.
“Haaa… So that’s it. You’ve come regarding that matter from back then.”
A cold smile curled at U Gyeongcheon’s lips.