Chapter 111: Divine Art (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 111: Divine Art (5)
While Jeong Yeon-shin deflected the sneak attack with a seemingly effortless motion, the two geniuses of the Radiant Wing Unit moved with equal swiftness.
Whoosh—
Namgung Hwa-shin and Lazy Flame Dragon vanished, their figures scattering like snuffed flames.
They closed the distance while the Poison Dragon and Poison Phoenix were still reeling. A mere instant seemed to stretch into infinity.
Shring!
Namgung Hwa-shin drew his blade, instantly pressing the cold steel against the Poison Phoenix's neck.
The White Qilin's Desolate Fortress Sword gleamed with an icy blue tint, a clear wave of energy coiling upward from his rigid frame.
Meanwhile, Lazy Flame Dragon clamped his hand around the back of the Poison Dragon's neck.
Though he didn't release a single shred of his signature heat, the energy quietly surging beneath his skin was a testament to his colossal latent strength.
From the very beginning, neither had factored in the possibility of Jeong Yeon-shin actually taking a hit.
They moved with absolute trust in his capabilities. Thanks to that, they caught the short-statured siblings completely off guard.
"Should I kill 'em?" Lazy Flame Dragon asked with a drawl.
"Kill? You’re going to kill us?" the Poison Dragon shot back. His face, which looked as though it was just transitioning into young adulthood, was pale and smooth.
Is he a half-blood Ironfolk?
Jeong Yeon-shin mused. The attackers' builds were highly unusual.
They were diminutive, barely reaching his shoulders. Their bodily proportions matched their stature perfectly—narrow shoulders and small heads.
It was said that the hidden weapons crafted by the Ironfolk in the Tang Clan's manor were akin to divine weapons; it seemed that rumor was not mere hearsay.
When Jeong Yeon-shin remained silent, the others followed suit. The Poison Dragon cried out, sounding deeply wronged.
"That guy! He was the one who mentioned the Thunderbolt Bomb first! And right after bringing up the Tang Clan! Who wouldn't lose their mind when someone tries to frame their family for treason? Our clan has never violated the Great Ming Code!"
If his words were true, their sudden barrage of hidden weapons was somewhat understandable.
If the Imperial Army mobilized, even the formidable Tang Clan would be forced to retreat deep into the mountains. Their entire domain would be swept away.
"……"
"The flower darts we threw barely had any true qi in them! We only intended to subdue you! You—the one who blocked them—you must know that well...!"
A stream of entirely logical arguments poured from him without pause. He behaved like a commoner desperately pleading his innocence.
It was a truly unexpected demeanor; he possessed a childlike side that perfectly matched his small stature.
"The Tang Clan?" Jeong Yeon-shin asked flatly. He had already suspected as much.
"They are the Dragon-Phoenix Twin Poisons," the Successor of the Beggar Sect nodded from a distance. He had been staring at Jeong Yeon-shin with a somewhat dazed expression.
Did he train in hidden weapon techniques?
He had effortlessly deflected an ambush from the Tang Clan's strongest rising stars. The footwork Jeong Yeon-shin had displayed bordered on divine skill.
Such reflexes and precision... Martial arts aside, it was a move one couldn't even dream of attempting without extraordinary, innate senses.
Who could possibly manipulate internal energy in such a manner?
Even those in the realm of Three Flowers Gathering at the Peak—a stage only a select few veteran masters ever reached—would not be able to replicate that.
The stage of one's internal energy is only supposed to affect the depth of their true qi and the speed of its circulation.
Any other master would have relied on a body protection scripture to endure the blow or deflected it with a fast sword.
But kicking a mere pebble to perfectly shatter a hidden weapon? That required innate technique and sensory perception on an almost unimaginable scale.
The Flash Art. I received plenty of reports about him, but... he is indeed someone to watch out for. I must make sure he is properly recorded in our sect's register of names.
Current threat level: Upper-Medium. Future potential: Ultra-High.
He evaluated Jeong Yeon-shin in his mind, assessing both his present and future worth.
The rumors of his martial prowess, combined with the raw talent he had just displayed, placed him in the highest tier. It meant he was already beginning to transcend the realm of a mere rising star.
The Successor weighed the youth's current position, standing, sect, talent, and martial lineage. It was an evaluation subject to change at any moment.
What else will he show me? The Successor's innate curiosity swelled far beyond mere interest.
Now, all the fuses of the Sichuan martial world have gathered in one place. It will explode soon. It seems worth following them around for a while.
Lost in thought, the Successor forgot one crucial detail. Or rather, he had inadvertently overlooked it while measuring the talent of the Desolate Fortress's Flash Art.
There was no way the clan would let the twins—hailed as the absolute treasures of the Tang Clan—travel alone.
Sssss—
A mist-like killing intent spread through the air. The intent, carried by their inner power, was distinctly venomous.
Green robes emerged from the surroundings, warriors radiating a sharply honed aura. Some wore swords, some wore iron gauntlets, and others had rows of daggers strapped to their chests. Though there were only seven of them, no one dared look down on them.
The sheer lethality of the Tang Clan's poison arts had been demonstrated countless times throughout the martial world's bloody history.
"The Sichuan Tang Clan...!" the Successor groaned, realization dawning on his face.
"Release them."
A large-framed man wearing thick hand guards stepped forward. He appeared to be the leader of the Tang Clan warriors.
"If even a single hair on the young master or young lady is harmed, we will drag you to the grave with us."
From that single sentence, Jeong Yeon-shin grasped the true nature of the Tang Clan. Their extreme protectiveness over a mere hair spoke volumes of their insular, fiercely loyal culture.
On the other hand, their immediate threat of mutual destruction meant they could accurately gauge their enemies' level. They recognized they had no chance of winning unless they were fully prepared to die.
The Sichuan Tang Clan. Also known as the Sichuan Tang Family, or the Tang Family Pagoda.
They had many names in the martial world, and they were universally feared.
Repay a favor twofold, but a grudge tenfold. It was a saying that had originated directly from the Tang Clan.
Even when faced with a stark gap in strength, their towering pride elevated the direct descendants of their lineage above all else. He had heard the tales often—how this contradictory behavior gave rise to a vicious, ruthless martial power.
"Smells as foul as they say. I’m so scared my hands are shaking," Lazy Flame Dragon smiled faintly.
Heat began to radiate from the fingers gently resting on the back of the Poison Dragon's neck. It was a blatant, provocative threat.
"You bastard!" the man who had threatened mutual destruction bellowed, taking a furious step forward.
It was then that a voice cut through the tension.
"Stop."
It was the small woman whose neck was held at the point of Namgung Hwa-shin's sword.
She seemed completely unconcerned by the sight of her brother captured beside her. Her pitch-black eyes remained fixed on Jeong Yeon-shin. Instantly, the movements of the Sichuan Tang Clan warriors ground to a halt.
"I can apologize, but I won't beg for forgiveness. The claim that our clan is manufacturing Thunderbolt Bombs... is news to us as well."
The Poison Phoenix, one half of the Dragon-Phoenix Twin Poisons, parted her small lips. Her voice was barely a whisper, yet it carried with absolute clarity.
"You would have reacted the same way we did, wouldn't you? If some stranger you've never met before was muttering words that could bring about the ruin of your entire clan."
"Your words are a bit harsh. Did you say that on purpose? Our unit commander has a lot in common with me. His clan is already ruined, you see," Lazy Flame Dragon remarked casually.
The Poison Phoenix's eyes widened in shock.
Jeong Yeon-shin stared blankly at the nameless disciple who seemed to know everything about everyone. The corner of Lazy Flame Dragon's mouth twitched upward.
Yet, when their eyes met, he quietly averted his gaze—a gesture highly unbefitting the young master of the Hwangbo Clan, a man said to have dominated the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering multiple times.
"……I apologize for my slip of the tongue," the Poison Phoenix said demurely, recovering from her fluster.
Even with Namgung Hwa-shin's sword pressed against her neck, she politely bowed her head.
A graceful lady. Her demeanor brought to mind a passage from the Classic of Poetry in the Four Books and Three Classics. Was this what a well-bred young lady of a noble house looked like?
Yet, the fact that she was offering a refined apology in this life-or-death situation was rather amusing.
The same went for the Poison Dragon, who looked like a mere boy due to his Ironfolk blood. The siblings left a highly peculiar impression.
Jeong Yeon-shin furrowed his brow slightly. He felt a strange sense of kinship. Not toward Lazy Flame Dragon, but toward the Tang siblings.
What is this?
He couldn't quite place the feeling. It was as if the spirituality flowing in and out of the Baihui Point at the crown of his head was whispering something to him.
"Unit Commander."
A clear voice rang out. Namgung Hwa-shin called out to him calmly.
The gaze they exchanged was heavy; he was silently asking how to handle the siblings.
Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer. Instead, he simply kicked the ground once more.
Thud!
This time, fragmented pebbles sliced through the air.
With a dull thud, sharp gasps escaped the siblings' lips.
The pebbles had precisely struck the Yinjiao Point above the Poison Dragon and Poison Phoenix's dantians before falling harmlessly to the ground.
It was an acupoint located directly above the Qihai Point of the dantian, acting as the intersection of the three yin meridians in the human body.
Jeong Yeon-shin's true qi, carried by the pebbles, lodged itself like a dam in their flow of inner power. It was a technique adapted from the Seventh Apostle's blood art acupoint sealing, and it completely paralyzed the smooth circulation of their internal energy.
"Look at that half-hearted kick. If I were on the receiving end of that, I'd feel absolutely filthy," Lazy Flame Dragon muttered.
"This way," Jeong Yeon-shin gestured calmly.
Namgung Hwa-shin and Lazy Flame Dragon gave the siblings a light nudge forward.
The Sichuan Tang Clan warriors, who had been about to spring forward in a frenzy, flinched.
A shower of sharp, formless sword qi had suddenly rained down before them.
Fwoosh!
It was the Azure Sky Boundless Sword of the White Qilin, Namgung Hwa-shin. A small cloud of dust plumed into the air as the ground was gouged with deep, violent lines.
"You were the ones who made the first move. Regardless of whether you intended to kill," Namgung Hwa-shin warned, his tone cold and stern.
He had certainly changed. He looked as though he wouldn't hesitate to strike down anyone with his sublime sword techniques.
I should talk to him once the mission is over, Jeong Yeon-shin thought, watching him silently.
Soon, the four of them drew closer together.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly parted his lips, pointing at the marks left by the hidden weapons on the ground.
"The trail of our main fortress's Demonlight Wing ends here. And this side—isn't this a trace of a Tang Clan secret art? Tell me what you know."
He got straight to the point.
Lazy Flame Dragon chimed in from beside him, showing absolutely no qualms about treating the direct bloodline of a great sect so roughly.
"Don't play any tricks. I doubt you've ever been tortured with Fervent Yang True Qi before."
"……"
While the Poison Phoenix remained silent, the Poison Dragon spoke up.
"We don't know exactly, either. We only guessed that they were traces left by our father's attacks."
"The Tang Clan Leader?" Jeong Yeon-shin asked.
It was a well-known fact that the leader and head of the Sichuan Tang Clan was wandering the martial world.
The story went that he had lost his wife to the machinations of two factions within the Pure Demon Alliance of the Thirteen Heavens. However, because the Supreme Elder refused to permit an all-out war between the sects, he severed ties with his clan and left home.
Thus, it had become a tragic, heroic tale of a man seeking to destroy a great sect all on his own.
"……The marks originally left here were not ours. They were from our father's martial arts. I knew it the moment I saw them. Because other than us, the only person capable of mastering the Myriad Blossoms Rain is our father," the Poison Dragon concluded bitterly.
Then, the Poison Phoenix spoke up.
"We quickly erased our father's traces and waited here endlessly. In hopes that he might return."
"Yeah. All while pretending to our grandfather that we knew nothing."
"However, we can guess why the paths of the Desolate Fortress's Demonlight Wing and our father crossed."
At the Poison Phoenix's words, Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes flashed.
"Speak."
Overwhelmed by his sudden pressure, the Poison Phoenix's face turned pale. She slowly parted her lips.
"We don't know exactly what happened, but we heard that forces from the Tenth Sect and the Pure Demon Alliance of the Thirteen Heavens passed nearby. We cannot rule out the possibility of a clash with the Demonlight Wing. We suspect our father might have intervened in the midst of it..."
"So you're saying the Tang Clan Leader might know the full story of the incident," Namgung Hwa-shin said.
Lazy Flame Dragon tilted his head slightly.
"You're telling us this too easily. It's unlike the Tang Clan, who are said to be the most venomous among the orthodox factions. What are you plotting?"
At those words, the Tang siblings turned their gaze to Jeong Yeon-shin. The Poison Phoenix's lips slowly parted.
"……Because his talent is great enough to understand us."
At the same time, the Poison Dragon beside her began to grin. He was a truly unpredictable boy. As if someone had roughly messed with his head as a child, an innocent, childlike demeanor suddenly surfaced.
"Everyone else seemed so dull that the two of us ended up completely isolated. The whole world seemed easy only to us, so whenever we try to discuss martial arts, no one can hold a conversation with us."
"Initiation into the Myriad Blossoms Rain is the only difficult part, but I think you would make a wonderful conversational partner. As long as you don't bring up the Thunderbolt Bomb, which we know absolutely nothing about," the Poison Phoenix added with a girlish air, her pitch-black eyes shining.
Jeong Yeon-shin was silent for a moment before speaking.
"I've heard many oral accounts of the Myriad Blossoms Rain. It is probably the most well-known martial art in terms of its ultimate technique's form. Hidden weapons falling like rain, entirely at the caster's will."
"Exactly, exactly!" the Poison Dragon chimed in excitedly.
"If we take it literally, I can guess the core principles. The only real hurdles would be the physical hidden weapon technique and the mastery of internal energy. I mean supreme realms like the Three Flowers Gathering at the Peak or the Five Qi Converging to the Origin. That raw power would be the key to the martial art's strength. The mnemonic itself isn't difficult."
"What did you just say...?" the Poison Phoenix trailed off, staring at him in disbelief.
Jeong Yeon-shin bent down and picked up some stone fragments.
If he clearly understood the phenomenon, that was enough.
Fwoosh!
A sound echoed from the crown of his head. The youth began to calculate backward.
It was just like when he had witnessed Ma Se-in's powerful fist, realized such a shockwave was possible, and instantly grasped the mnemonic of the Infinite Flower of Time Fist.
But now, his comprehension was incomparable to that time.
As the Baihui Point opened on its own, the power of his Upper Dantian grew stronger as well. It was an ability that expanded in tandem with his despair.
"From what I've heard, isn't this how you use your inner power?"
Crumble.
The stone fragments crumbled into fine pieces within his grip, completely imbued with the true qi of the Jeong Family Dynamic Art.
Soon, the tiny fragments began to whirl in an orderly fashion, forming a miniature vortex in the palm of his hand.
"You can tell just by looking, right? Is this correct?" the youth asked.
The Dragon-Phoenix Twin Poisons did not answer. Jeong Yeon-shin spoke again.
"I hope our understanding aligns. We don't have much time."
"……"
"It's an easy mnemonic. It just requires a bit of technique, but if you still don't understand after seeing this, I'll teach you. In return, you will explain everything you know about the Tang Clan Leader."
The two siblings remained dead silent, staring at his hand as if frozen in place.