Chapter 107: Divine Art
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 107: Divine Art
The warriors spoke in unison.
Their voices, laced with the profound respect due to a grandmaster, gently shook the night air. Every single voice was incredibly solid, born from well-tempered internal qi gong.
What in the world...
An impossible event had just unfolded before Ju Yeon-jeong's eyes. This was no ordinary matter. Even a single white martial uniform was a rare sight in the Jianghu.
The white robes of the Desolate Fortress were proof of rare, exceptional martial prowess. As a rule, a formal warrior of the main fortress was someone capable of serving as a core pillar of strength in any martial sect across the Jianghu.
For so many of them to gather and throw their support behind a single person? What did that imply?
"What..." Ju Yeon-jeong's voice bristled with thorns. "What do you think you are doing? Do you dare violate the laws of the main fortress right in front of the Desolate Ma Clan?"
"It is Madam Ju who is trying to mislead our hearts. What is your true intention?"
A deep, resonant voice rang out as a man stepped forward. It was Red-Day Sword of the Thread-Annihilation Unit. His blue robe draped over him like a military battle surcoat. Though it looked somewhat worn, as if he hadn't bothered to maintain it, the fabric appeared incredibly sturdy, fully saturated with True Qi.
"Mislead? How dare you spout such nonsense to me...?"
Ju Yeon-jeong's eyes grew sharp. However, Red-Day Sword paid her no mind.
"I understand why you bring up the laws. Are you not referring to the main fortress's directive forbidding master-disciple relationships? It is truly laughable. Not the law, but you, Madam Ju."
"Go on. Keep spouting your sophistry."
She scoffed outwardly, but her inner thoughts were in turmoil.
She had fully intended to forge the Flash Art, Jeong Yeon-shin, into Ma Se-in's personal sword. She had already prepared a substantial fortune, premium weapons, and even rare spirit medicines for this exact purpose.
Though from a collateral branch, Ju Yeon-jeong was still of royal blood. She knew people like Jeong Yeon-shin. He was not the type to break an oath. If she could just secure his vow of protection, he would undoubtedly become a treasured blade she could wield for years to come.
The Demonlight Wing has been annihilated. The perfect time had come, and I was just about to bring the Flash Art into my embrace...
She inwardly cursed herself for the mistake of speaking as if she were offering a mere conditional transaction. Even so, she believed she still had another chance.
Aside from the Lord of the Desolate Fortress, whose very nature was transcendent, his maternal Ma family, and the Demonlight Wing whose whereabouts in Sichuan had grown faint, what did the Flash Art have left?
He was merely a sixteen-year-old boy who had entered the main fortress completely alone.
In the end, he would have no choice but to lean on her. When that time came, she would embrace him with the utmost gentleness. So gently that he could never escape her warmth and authority.
That was what Ju Yeon-jeong had thought. And she hadn't been wrong.
At least, not until Red-Day Sword brought this gathering of warriors to pay their respects to the Flash Art.
A man who used to scrape by in the White Rank has somehow risen to the Blue Rank...
Glaring at Red-Day Sword's scarred face, she caught sight of Jeong Yeon-shin in her periphery. She tried not to make her glance obvious, but it was a pointless effort. The boy's face was colored with an unprecedented agitation. Though subtle, his interest and surprise were palpable.
She could understand why. Ju Yeon-jeong was also a martial arts expert.
She could feel a distinct similarity to the Flash Art in the very nature of the warriors currently confronting her. They were of the same lineage. A bond was bound to form.
To think the variable would be martial arts.
That was the very method she had used to shake the Desolate Ma Clan. However, two things were different here.
First, the Flash Art had not intended for this situation to happen. Furthermore, he had created his own martial arts and was now receiving the respect due to a grandmaster. And it was happening right here, at this very moment.
"...Madam Ju, are you listening to me?"
Red-Day Sword stared blankly at Ju Yeon-jeong.
She suddenly snapped out of her thoughts. Whenever she got involved with the Flash Art, nothing went her way. Though this was only their second meeting, he had already left an incredibly strong impression on her.
"I am listening."
Ju Yeon-jeong gestured haughtily with her chin. She had to maintain her dignified demeanor, no matter what was happening in her head, no matter how the situation shifted.
"You claim that was not a fist-salute offered to a master? That is hard to accept. The courtesy you showed to an absurdly young Blue Rank was far too excessive. Can you explain it with any words other than a master-disciple relationship? Unless you are directly challenging the taboos of the main fortress."
She spoke in an extremely cold, stern tone. Red-Day Sword was not particularly intimidated.
Ju Yeon-jeong held no official position in the main fortress. She wasn't even the matriarch of the Desolate Ma Clan. She was someone far removed from the organizational structure of the Desolate Fortress, and Red-Day Sword was acutely aware of this.
On the other hand, Red-Day Sword himself had finally donned the blue martial uniform after languishing as a White Rank warrior for decades. It was all thanks to mastering the Flash Art's Radiant Wing Step, which had been released recently.
The second key mnemonic of the Radiant Wing Step suited Red-Day Sword perfectly. The footwork mnemonic for creating distance resonated with his entire life's experience.
Lazy Donkey Rolling. He had never hesitated to roll on the ground for even a single move during duels. This meant he was an expert at measuring distance in the heat of a fierce battle.
Radiant Wing Second Step.
In the mnemonic that created the combat interval, he had glimpsed a heaven-sent realm. Red-Day Sword had trembled at the footwork that perfectly supplemented and filled the gaps in his lacking talent.
It was a divine art. At least, it was to him. It was enough to let him effortlessly pass the Blue Rank promotion test, which he had failed dozens of times before.
Therefore.
The Flash Art is my benefactor, and he is indeed a grandmaster.
Every warrior gathered here thought the exact same thing.
Red-Day Sword stood firm. This was a place where the laws of the Desolate Fortress were being discussed. Neither the years he had accumulated nor his rank were lacking.
He parted his lips slightly.
"Madam Ju, you are of royal blood. It is a well-known fact throughout the world that the Ming imperial family keeps Buddhist sects close. Is there not a reason why Shaolin is exceptionally powerful among the Nine Great Sects? Especially when even the Young Divine Monk is of the Brightfolk."
"Do not stray from the point."
Her cold voice carried no weight. Red-Day Sword continued, unbothered.
"I understand that it is a tradition for members of the royal family to ascend Mount Song as incense-burning patrons. I assume you have visited at least once, Madam."
"And?"
"Is not the Pagoda Forest, which houses the relics of Shaolin's high priests, a famous attraction of the temple? I believe there is no royal who does not press their palms together in reverence to Zen Master Bodhidharma and Huike, who have entered Nirvana, when offering sacrifices."
Ju Yeon-jeong's eyes widened. "Are you implying..."
"We and the Flash Art of the Demonlight Wing are no different. No, the only minor difference is that the grandmaster of our martial lineage is still alive, and happens to be young. We are just like the incense-burning patrons of Shaolin. We have paid proper respect to the grandmaster of our lineage. What warrior of the main fortress would be angered by that? Unless, of course, their mind is strangely twisted."
He threw her own sarcastic tone right back at her.
Perhaps because it was a humiliation she had never experienced before, losing the moral high ground and being thoroughly defeated in an argument, her eyes momentarily flashed white as her pupils rolled back slightly in fury.
The Flash Art no longer had anything to lose.
Those bound to the martial lineage he had created were more than enough to make up for his lack of backing.
These undeniable facts struck Ju Yeon-jeong's mind like a bolt of lightning. Only Ma Se-in, standing beside her, fidgeted restlessly.
"These people truly..."
Red-Day Sword turned his gaze away from the furious woman, looking instead toward Ma Yeon-jeok, the Purple Rank peerless expert who had been silently watching them.
"Lord of the Ma Clan, you have indeed been blessed with a magnificent relative. It is something the practitioners of the Flash Art lineage will always be grateful for."
He offered flattery while simultaneously giving the other party a graceful way to step back. It was a seasoned, diplomatic way of speaking.
It was so smooth that Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly imagined himself whispering sweet words to the Lord of the Desolate Fortress.
"...You speak the truth. Yeon-shin has indeed gained reliable allies."
"Clan Head!"
Ignoring Ju Yeon-jeong's outcry, Ma Yeon-jeok's demeanor remained astonishingly calm. He merely stared at his grandson, who was already building his own reputation and following, and finally spoke.
"Born with a talent unseen in a thousand years, you are building both your martial arts and your martial lineage simultaneously."
"...Maternal Grandfather."
"I have shown you many unsightly things. I am ashamed. When you return safely, you will see a changed main family..."
Cough.
His words were cut short as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Clan Head!"
"What in the world...?"
The members of the Ma family surged forward with shocked faces, but Ma Yeon-jeok only smiled bitterly, looking at the blood leaking through the gaps of his fingers.
"Am I already in this state? I only made a single trip to Southern Zhili."
He ignored Ju Yeon-jeong and the elders. He merely shook his head, raising a hand to halt the startled Jeong Yeon-shin and Ma Se-in.
"It is karma. The tyrannical path I walked in my youth is returning to me as arrows. Not knowing my limits, I took truly countless heads. It is only natural that a martial art built so rapidly would eventually crumble."
"Is this the reason you cannot go to Sichuan...?"
At Yeon-shin's words, Ma Yeon-jeok shook his head.
"The law. It is because of the law. Protecting the main fortress comes first. That is all."
It was a statement that carried the stubbornness of the former Commander of the Divine Sword Corps.
His body was deteriorating alongside his declining skills. The Divine Sword Corps martial units were scattered across a chaotic world. Even if both were the true reasons, he spoke only of the law.
Yet, looking at Jeong Yeon-shin with eyes filled with nothing but pride, he soon turned around. His purple robes swirled around him.
"I wish you martial fortune. It has always been so, and it will remain so in the future," Ma Yeon-jeok said, his back turned. "Members of the Ma family, escort the guests out and follow this old man."
The command that followed was not directed at Jeong Yeon-shin. Ma Yeon-jeok spoke clearly and deliberately.
"Ju Yeon-jeong has spoken and acted beyond the bounds of reason. The elders silently condoned her behavior. Listening quietly, I did not realize things had reached this point. I cannot tolerate today's insubordination. The imperial family's Golden Immortal Eight Methods? No, if we are to truly discuss the revival of the clan, we must first establish discipline and laws. Even if I must discard my dignity and disregard life and death, I will mete out punishment."
His suppressed tone was different now. It felt as if old age itself was dripping from his words.
The Purple Rank expert, the Head of the Desolate Ma Clan, had spoken of punishment. Was this not unprecedented?
For the first time, panic crept into Ju Yeon-jeong's voice.
"Clan Head...!"
"I said, follow me. Just how profound are the martial arts of you wretches that you look down on this seat so? Since I have been utterly humiliated in front of my maternal grandson, I must find out. I will not draw my sword. For I might kill you in a single stroke."
Those were his final words.
Jeong Yeon-shin left the Desolate Ma Clan manor alongside the warriors of the Flash Art lineage. The heavy atmosphere dictated that they must depart.
However, a martial artist's sensitive five senses clearly detected the energy waves rising beyond the threshold.
Thud!
The explosive sound of a Fa Jin shockwave striking an abdomen echoed out, followed by the sensation of Ju Yeon-jeong's long breath scattering miserably, and finally, Ma Yeon-jeok's polite coughing.
"Well, that's brutal," said Lazy Flame Dragon, who was sticking close to Jeong Yeon-shin's side.
The boy walked on in silence, pushing his worry for Ma Se-in to a corner of his mind.
The presence of the martial artists following behind him was immense.
In a single night, a force capable of forming an entire martial unit had come to find him. With this backing, even the Grand Steward's office would willingly authorize his departure to Sichuan. All that was left was persuasion.
"I heard about the Demonlight Wing," Red-Day Sword said suddenly.
Step.
Jeong Yeon-shin stopped in his tracks and turned around. Red-Day Sword continued.
"I visited the Grand Steward's office to trace the grandmaster's whereabouts. An incident like that was bound to spread throughout the main fortress anyway."
"..."
"If you happen to need us, please say the word."
"I do need you," Jeong Yeon-shin answered without hesitation.
As he turned back, the faces of the warriors filled his vision.
Some nodded silently, while others curled their lips into smiles. The traces of the exclusive martial arts created by Jeong Yeon-shin could be clearly felt from them. They offered words of respect and affection, bantering and sharing opinions among themselves.
"Grandmaster, you must know that the Sichuan martial world is... practically a chaotic world of its own within the Central Plains."
"Indeed. It is a region where one of the Eight Families, three of the Nine Great Sects, three of the Thirteen Heavens, and seven Great Sects are all tangled together. Can you even imagine it?"
"There is no other place like it in the world. Just as the number of experts and commoners is astronomical, there are countless talents. It is a region where martial artists die in droves. The conspiracies and schemes are immense as well."
"Well, we already finished discussing it on our way here. We agreed it is the perfect place to demonstrate the martial studies of the Flash Art lineage. Besides, since you are going to rescue your comrades, how could we not follow? Our righteous spirit is boiling over."
At the words of a young White Rank warrior, Red-Day Sword looked back at Jeong Yeon-shin.
The moonlight pouring down from the wide-open night sky cast the shadows of the boy and the warriors together.
"Even if the Sichuan martial world is vast and endless, we are martial artists bound by a heaven-sent school."
He politely clasped his hands in a fist-salute.
"Draw your Desolate Fortress Sword at our head. Our sole grandmaster."