Chapter 65
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Protector Heavenly Dragon Clan
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In front of her, stunned speechless, Wi Jonggi and Mu Sujong landed.
Wi Jonggi had drawn his twin swords, gripping them tightly, while Mu Sujong held his Demon-Slaying Saber at the ready in a fierce stance.
Ananta instantly regained her composure and faced off against the two.
"You have no fear, do you? To dare block my path here in the fortress commander's quarters."
Ananta drew two curved wolf-fang sabers from her waist.
They were hooked blades shaped like wolf teeth, and strangely, their bluish edges glistened with a black liquid.
"Hey, Horse-Head Brother. That blade of hers is coated with something nasty."
"Indeed. Looks like a particularly vicious poison, so please be very careful, Brother. If it even grazes you, this little brother will suck it out for you. Heh heh..."
"Tch. You vicious Horse-Head. So you're telling me to step up front?"
"What can we do? You know better than anyone that horses can't handle snake venom... Heh heh..."
The two exchanged jokes leisurely, but their expressions were anything but relaxed.
Dozens of black shadows were swarming around them, blocking Ananta's path.
The Protector Heavenly Dragon Clan warriors who had been withdrawing were returning one after another.
"Haha. So you're planning to hold off all of them yourself, Brother? I'm fine with that, of course."
"Tch. That's impossible. In that case, this Horse-Head will face the poison fangs in your stead, Brother."
"Blow that horn first. It might be too much for just the two of us. Kah kah."
"Heh heh heh. The mighty Azure Dragon Divine General Wi Jonggi whining like this—I'll tease you about it starting tomorrow. 'The fortress commander's snakes had the Azure Dragon trembling in fear.'"
Even as he joked, Mu Sujong lifted the small horn pipe from around his neck with a serious expression and brought it to his lips.
Poo... Poo...
The horn's steady blasts echoed toward the upper reaches of the valley.
"Alright then, stay sharp. It'll take about one ke. They hate our guts, those two. Kah kah kah."
Wi Jonggi let out a hearty laugh before raising his twin swords and charging at the approaching foes.
At the same moment, Ananta's wolf-fang sabers thrust toward Mu Sujong.
Mu Sujong's horn blast had signaled the start of the great battle.
Ananta's opening strike, aimed at Mu Sujong's knees, was utterly bizarre.
It bore no resemblance to Central Plains martial arts, nor to any widely known Western Frontier techniques.
For one, her stance was impossibly low by Central Plains standards—utterly unthinkable.
She had sunk almost to the ground, using her flexible, springy legs to execute astonishing footwork.
Yet she whipped her wolf-fang sabers with the speed and sharpness of a striking viper.
It was because this clan's roots originated in Tianzhu.
Though they had fled Tianzhu after Buddhism's rejection there and settled in the Western Frontier centuries ago, their martial arts remained unchanged from their origins over a thousand years ago on the northwestern Tianzhu plateaus.
Mu Sujong had no choice but to be flustered.
It was like an upright bear facing a viper flattened to the ground.
No easy way to attack Ananta, crouched low like that, came to mind.
For now, he could only buy time by swinging his massive Demon-Slaying Saber to block her assault.
Meanwhile, Ananta's attacks grew even stranger.
The poison coating her saber blades was no mere threat—it was real.
After just a few exchanges, a black sheen began to flow along her blades.
It then solidified into inky sword aura, revealing its full menace.
"Shh. Can't drag this out."
Sure enough, over there, Wi Jonggi's twin swords were unleashing dazzling sword beams, cutting down her subordinates.
Now, with every swing of Ananta's wolf-fang sabers, inky sword aura shot out like hidden weapons.
Mu Sujong paled and swung his Demon-Slaying Saber even more precisely.
Of course, Mu Sujong's own saber was cloaked in a faint blue glow.
The technique Ananta was using was truly wondrous and deadly.
Infusing weapons with qi was basic to martial arts, but projecting that qi through the weapon was no simple feat.
And since it sliced through empty air, its power fell short of true sword aura.
"Annoying... truly..."
Mu Sujong abandoned unnecessary counters, focusing solely on solid defense.
While he tied down the enemy leader Ananta, Wi Jonggi could steadily cut down her subordinates—that was exactly their plan.
Moreover, their main force would soon come sweeping down, ending it all.
At that moment, Wi Jonggi was unleashing the full might befitting his title, Azure Dragon Divine General.
The first to surround him had thrown a bizarre net.
It was woven from vines pickled in poison for decades, with iron hooks dripping venom at each corner.
It was their method for dealing with peak masters like Wi Jonggi.
But Wi Jonggi was no ordinary wanderer high master—he was a warrior tempered by over a hundred battles.
He didn't hesitate for a moment against the flying poison net, unleashing sword aura from the start.
Without giving them the slightest opening, he plunged into their midst, swinging his twin swords—cloaked in bluish sword qi—with wild abandon.
The venomous net shattered harmlessly to the ground, and severed limbs and heads began flying.
They specialized in poison arts and stealth assassinations, after all—they were no match for absolute masters unleashing real combat techniques.
Moreover, the twin swords in his hands were legendary blades passed down through generations in the Great Cloud Bright Religion.
When wielded in earnest by a peak master like Wi Jonggi, no one could stand before them.
Over fifty had already fallen, and around Wi Jonggi—standing tall under the moonlight—a mist of dark red blood began to rise.
That was when it happened.
"Stand down. You're no match for him."
From some unknown distance, beyond even sight, a high master bellowed with qi-infused voice.
But the Protector Heavenly Dragon Clan warriors instantly recognized the voice and withdrew in unison.
Moments later, an imposing old lama descended with peak-level footwork.
"Your hands are ruthless indeed."
"This is a battlefield."
Wi Jonggi calmly replied, crossing his twin swords before him.
This old lama was Go Ipa, who guarded Dongcheon Lama like a limb.
He held one of the four great protector seats in Potala Palace and was one of the Western Frontier's absolute powerhouses who had mastered over ten levels of the Esoteric Great Hand Seals.
Wi Jonggi eyed Go Ipa briefly, then shook his twin swords nonchalantly to fling the blood from their blades into the air.
Go Ipa glared murderously at him.
"Arrogant fool. To fiddle around right before the Bara Buddha Palm Go Ipa..."
But Wi Jonggi's demeanor grew even more relaxed.
He sheathed both swords into their scabbards and clasped his hands, raising them in salute.
"General Wi Jonggi under the Azure Dragon Flag of the Great Cloud Bright Religion humbly pays his respects to Venerable Go Ipa."
"What nonsense is this? Don't tell me you've suddenly grown fond of living."
"Haha... As if. I'm merely following our Teachings Lord's orders to avoid needless fights. But if Venerable One desires it, I am more than willing..."
"What drivel? You invade our stronghold at will and slaughter mercilessly, then spout this?"
"We merely returned what was given. Can't just take poison lying down, can we? If our Religion truly meant to invade the Western Frontier, do you think we'd come so lightly? Heh heh..."
"Enough pointless sophistry. Never mind the rest—I'll collect for the blood already on your hands. Come."
Go Ipa raised both hands, circulating his inner power.
"If you insist on using your hands, it would be my honor."
Wi Jonggi smiled faintly and lowered his clasped hands to his waist.
Go Ipa's hands began to swell.
At the same time, golden energy gathered in his palms.
The famed Western Frontier Esoteric Great Hand Seal was about to reveal its might.
"You lot, don't just watch. Aid your leader Ananta, take out that Horse-Head over there first, then await orders. As he said, this is a battlefield."
With that command, Go Ipa launched his attack on Wi Jonggi.
As the massive golden palm force bore down, Wi Jonggi unleashed his signature art, the Azure Dragon Twin Sword Style, from its very first stance.
That opening stance—named Twin Dragons Emerge from the Sea—was a sword-drawing technique, but in truth a lethal kill move.
Sheathing his twin swords so casually against Go Ipa wasn't mere courtesy.
Go Ipa's palms thrust toward Wi Jonggi's face and solar plexus, while Wi Jonggi's swords slipped past, slicing toward the openings at Go Ipa's waist.
To meet the enemy's first strike head-on without blocking or evading—it was suicidal madness to any onlooker.
But the one in trouble was Go Ipa.
His palm strike wouldn't reach Wi Jonggi before the blades buried into his sides.
"Huh. Such swift swordsmanship..."
Exactly.
The Azure Dragon Divine General Wi Jonggi's signature Azure Dragon Twin Sword Style was an extreme speed art that struck second to control first.
It had swept away lesser foes with overwhelming might, but now against a peak master demanding caution, its true nature emerged.
Go Ipa startled, crossing his extended hands downward to guard his waist.
But the second stance of the Azure Dragon Twin Sword Style—Coiling Dragons Sever the Rope—anticipated just such a response.
Wi Jonggi's twin swords spun even faster than on the draw, aiming for Go Ipa's now-exposed throat.
Speed was everything in martial arts.
Though Go Ipa struck first, his hands chased after Wi Jonggi's swords.
And that spelled his doom.
Go Ipa's twin palms whipped out more fiercely, but Wi Jonggi's swords read his intent, exploiting every gap.
After several assaults, Go Ipa couldn't cope with the swift swords.
He had no choice but to retreat with a Lotus Nine Grades-like footwork.
"Urk. This can't be..."
But as Go Ipa pulled back a zhang, he faced an even more bewildering sight.