Chapter 117: Law-Transcending Halo Qi (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 117: Law-Transcending Halo Qi (5)
With a grinding screech, the stone gate swung wide open. Jeong Yeon-shin casually lowered his hand from the groove.
He had already deciphered the traces of the True Qi diagram at the entrance to the Spring Region, allowing him to fashion a key from his own True Qi—just as he had done now.
"What was that about thirty percent?" Heonwon Chang asked abruptly.
His question was directed at the man who had been boasting about the True Qi diagram of the treasure token. A wide, mocking sneer spread across the lips of the Hero of the Desolate Fortress.
He had never once doubted Jeong Yeon-shin's talent when it came to manipulating internal energy. Even if he hadn't witnessed the opening of the Spring Region's gate, his faith would have remained unshaken.
"What… what in the…?"
The man, who had been speaking with such refined dignity just moments ago, now stammered. He frantically scanned Jeong Yeon-shin's body, searching for a treasure token, but the boy's hands were empty.
He held nothing at all.
"What kind of trick did you use?!" he shouted, completely bewildered. He couldn't even begin to fathom what Jeong Yeon-shin had done.
"Should we kill them all before we go?" Tang Ryeo-ryeo asked, stepping forward.
As she toyed with her sleeve and looked up at Jeong Yeon-shin, he sensed the hidden weapons concealed within her cuffs. She was a noble daughter of the Tang Clan. Though she appeared demure before him, she would show no hesitation in unleashing her deadly arsenal.
"Wait! I am Seo Gwon-il, the illegitimate son of the Branch Head of Shunging Prefecture and the founding patriarch who left his family to establish the New Pillar Sect! Treat me with the respect befitting my status, and I shall never forget your grace!"
The man with the elegantly groomed beard cried out, his lips trembling. He couldn't move; his acupoints had been sealed by a swift touch from the Lazy Flame Dragon.
"A founding patriarch?"
"Calling himself a patriarch. He must really be the son of a branch head."
Several martial artists of the Radiant Wing Unit smirked. They all belonged to the Flash Art Lineage and revered their temporary unit commander as their grandmaster. To establish a sect was to found a new lineage—a claim the martial artists of the Radiant Wing Unit could not take lightly. The title of "founding patriarch" was reserved for a great grandmaster who had birthed an entire school of martial arts.
"Status? Are you begging for your life?" Jeong Yeon-shin asked, turning his head only slightly.
The beard of Seo Gwon-il, the Lord of the New Pillar Sect, twitched. He had bitten his lip.
"They say the words and deeds of the Desolate Fortress's martial artists do not befit those of the Jianghu, and it seems they are right. I am not begging for my life. I am giving you an opportunity to earn my favor. Are you not all originally the swords of the government?"
Perhaps because he was the illegitimate son of a high-ranking official, he clung to his dignity until the very end. The Central Plains was home to all kinds of people; as vast as the continent was, different standards of common sense prevailed in different regions. Each province was like an independent kingdom, and it was no easy feat for someone from Huguang Province to comprehend the customs of Sichuan Province.
The same applied to Seo Gwon-il. It was a mindset Jeong Yeon-shin had no reason to understand, let alone accept.
The boy turned around completely, issuing no orders. Simply stepping toward the wide-open gate was enough.
Behind him, the sharp, surging force of the Red-Day Sword flared.
"Ugh…!"
With a death rattle, Seo Gwon-il's body collapsed to the ground. He had tried to enslave innocent artisans. In this turbulent world, that was more than enough reason to die.
"To be honest, it's hard to view the artisans here as common folk. They live in hiding without paying taxes to the state, don't they? Are they even citizens of the Great Ming? I don't see why the Desolate Fortress should concern itself with their livelihoods."
It was the Lazy Flame Dragon's amused voice. His characteristically lethargic tone cut straight to the heart of the City of Master Craftsmen's predicament.
As the breathing of Jang Jong-myung, the chief of the Spring Region, grew ragged, Heonwon Chang's voice rang out.
"Even if they are not part of the Ming's tax system, they are still living souls breathing in the Central Plains. If they have fallen into undeserved plight, it is only right to help them. Of course, now that the City of Master Craftsmen has been revealed to the world, I trust they will also contribute to the well-being of the Central Plains in the future."
"..."
Jang Jong-myung and the other Ironfolk fell silent. This was the way of the Desolate Fortress. They did not offer unconditional protection. The convictions of Heonwon Chang, the Divine Hero of the Desolate Fortress, were far from naive. His justice was not a tool to be easily exploited.
Such was the diversity of righteousness in the world.
Jeong Yeon-shin walked forward in silence, pushing aside the thought of the Azure Qilin, Namgung Se-jin, which had drifted into his mind.
How to live is something to think about only after surviving, isn't it? he muttered to himself.
Step.
The experts of the Radiant Wing Unit followed their young unit commander. The captured enemies drew their last breaths, silenced by the Tang Clan martial artists who seemed to have received instructions from the siblings.
Have they been ordered to support the Flash Art Lineage? Jeong Yeon-shin, who held the introductory techniques of the Myriad Blossoms Rain, walked on, paying them no mind.
Behind him, he felt the gazes of the Beggar Sect Successor and the other Beggar Sect experts. It was a strange sensation.
* * *
The group tore through the City of Master Craftsmen. With Jeong Yeon-shin at the lead, no one could block their path. The Radiant Wing Unit advanced with unstoppable momentum, sweeping through the city in less than half a day.
They conquered the Summer Region and cut down the leaders of the heterodox sects and neutral martial artists stationed in the Autumn Region. Most of the Thirteen Heavens' elites seemed to be gathered in the Winter Region; those left behind were mostly from small and medium-sized sects caught between the orthodox and unorthodox factions. Occasionally, an expert from the Pure Demon Alliance or the Tenth Sect was mixed in, but they were no match for Namgung Hwa-shin and the Lazy Flame Dragon.
Soon, they arrived at the entrance to the Winter Region, the final territory of the City of Master Craftsmen.
Jeong Yeon-shin stood before the stone gate. With his hand placed in the groove meant for the treasure token, his speed in tracing the remnants of energy was now noticeably faster.
To one side, the Tang Clan siblings, Tang Yeo-hwa and Tang Ryeo-ryeo, stared intently at Jeong Yeon-shin, their eyes never leaving him for a moment. Their faces were masks of perpetual amazement.
"I pray they are safe…" Heonwon Chang muttered.
Beside him, the Successor of the Beggar Sect spoke up. "A futile hope, I'm afraid."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You were separated from the Demonlight Wing, so you should know. The martial prowess of the expert groups from the Pure Demon Alliance and the Tenth Sect is not inferior to that of the Demonlight Wing. In fact, each group is on par with them. By simple arithmetic, there is a twofold difference in fighting strength."
"..."
"If they clash head-on, annihilation is the only logical outcome. That is why the Demonlight Wing was pushed back so helplessly. They seem to be holding out only because they are all seasoned experts."
Meeting Heonwon Chang's gaze, his expression calm and untroubled, the Successor of the Beggar Sect slowly continued.
"The martial units under the Divine Sword Corps were created to counter the elites of the Thirteen Heavens and the Nine Sects. Conversely, this means the elites of a single great sect are enough to contend with one martial unit of the Divine Sword Corps. That is how it looks from an outsider's perspective. I am only pointing this out because I, too, do not wish to see you all perish in vain."
"..."
There was no reason to argue with facts. Heonwon Chang held his tongue, seeing no benefit in continuing the dispute.
"The child from the Beggar Sect is correct. Those bastards are incredibly powerful. The Thirteen Heavens has always been so."
The voice came from directly above their heads.
Jeong Yeon-shin hastily looked up. He hadn't sensed any presence until the stranger spoke.
"Your martial talent is truly marvelous. You, you, and you. It feels as though my eyes have been cleansed for the first time in ages."
It was a man standing upside down on the high ceiling of the cavern, the soles of his feet adhered to the stone through a profound Body Protection Scripture. His gaze shifted between the Lazy Flame Dragon, Namgung Hwa-shin, and Jeong Yeon-shin.
Could it be…?!
The moment he saw the figure, an immense, overwhelming aura washed over him. It was a truly formidable presence, so powerful that it made the man's extremely short stature completely irrelevant. Jeong Yeon-shin guessed the middle-aged man's identity. It was pure intuition. There was only one elite master he had heard of since entering Sichuan who fit the description and had the appearance of the Ironfolk.
"I am Tang Un-hwang," the middle-aged man in a green robe spoke.
The Poison Lord, Tang Un-hwang. His name was widely renowned, his fame having spread from Sichuan all the way to distant Xiangyang.
"The Tang Clan Leader…!" Heonwon Chang groaned softly.
Tang Un-hwang, who had been clinging to the cavern ceiling, drifted down gracefully. Using a supreme Body Protection Scripture, he righted his body in midair—a profound mystery of the Heavenly Step Nine Palaces Movement Technique, a legendary secret art of the Tang Clan.
Swish.
He landed on the ground without a sound and approached Jeong Yeon-shin with smooth, fluid steps. Though the Tang Clan siblings watched with shocked faces, he didn't spare his children a single glance.
"The Commander of the Demonlight Wing said it would be worth waiting for reinforcements. I didn't expect such an incredible rookie to arrive, but in the end, his words have proven true."
"I greet the Tang Clan Leader," Jeong Yeon-shin said, offering a cupped fist salute. He was careful not to give the impression of looking down on him.
The boy's height had been growing rapidly ever since he began the mission of the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, his entire body maturing toward adulthood. The Tang Clan Leader's head barely reached his waist.
The corners of the Poison Lord Tang Un-hwang's mouth twitched upward.
It was then.
Cough.
Tang Un-hwang coughed, spitting up a mouthful of dark blood that clung to his beard.
"…Do not mind it. It is merely proof of how harsh my father's hand was," he said, spitting out the remaining blood.
The Tang Clan Leader. It was said he had lost his wife to the Tenth Sect and the Pure Demon Alliance. He had wished to pour the entire martial might of the Sichuan Tang Clan into his vengeance, but the Supreme Elder had opposed him, leading him to sever ties and leave his home.
So it didn't just end with an argument, Jeong Yeon-shin thought.
Whether they had clashed head-on or if the Supreme Elder, who practically ruled the Tang Clan, had laid a trap was unknown. Normally, a leader of the Eight Families would look down on even most Black Rank experts of the Desolate Fortress. But now was different. He did not feel stronger than Ma Jin. He had been unable to heal his internal injuries.
For a brief moment, the image of his maternal grandfather, Ma Yeon-jeok, overlapped with the man before him. They were both men who pressed forward, even while carrying the burden of diminished strength.
"We do not have the luxury of a long conversation. I wish to help you. I will lend my strength to annihilate the bastards inside the Winter Region. Frankly, I had no intention of joining a battle with no chance of victory, but now, it seems worth taking a shot," Tang Un-hwang said.
As Tang Ryeo-ryeo and Tang Yeo-hwa hesitated, trying to step closer, he turned them away with a single sentence.
"The timing is poor. Finishing the matter of the City of Master Craftsmen comes first."
"..."
That was the end of it. The mission to rescue the Demonlight Wing rapidly gained momentum. Tang Un-hwang provided detailed information about the Tenth Sect and the Pure Demon Alliance, giving them an exact grasp of the identities, martial arts, and numbers of those in the Winter Region.
"You do not need a treasure token? You were born with an unprecedented talent for channeling internal energy. I would love to see how you utilize that talent in actual combat."
These words were directed at Jeong Yeon-shin, who had once again placed his hand against the groove of the stone gate.
The boy closed his eyes.
The moment the gate opens, the decisive battle begins.
He thought as he dismantled the True Qi diagram in his mind. He also retraced the circulation pathways of his heart cultivation art, which was now on the verge of completion. From the moment he had received the Moon Spirit Harmony Art from the Lord of the Desolate Fortress until now, he had been grappling with it for a long, long time.
I must alter the nature of my True Qi all at once. Can I achieve this in actual combat?
He recalled the clues: the verses of the Diamond Sutra, the Moon Spirit Harmony Art, the Demon-Quelling Azure Steel Hand, the Mara Blood-Roaring Art, the Jeong Family Dynamic Art…
Meanwhile, the conversation between the highly sociable Heonwon Chang and the Tang Clan Leader drifted over.
"Are you not also after the treasure of the Winter Region, Clan Leader? I heard that Bodhidharma's True Qi crystal creates spirituality."
"I have no need for it. I can create it myself. If one strikes the hammer with all their soul, a weapon will take on spirituality. Such is the case with legendary divine swords and divine weapons."
"Create…? What exactly is spirituality?"
"To human eyes, it is an incredibly faint intent, but it is a power distinct from internal energy. A wondrous property that only artisans who have reached the pinnacle can manipulate."
"Are you praising yourself?"
"Imagine a chipped piece of iron repairing its own body. How magnificent is it to forge such a divine weapon? Like the Pangu Giant of the creation myth, it is creating life with human hands."
The Tang Clan Leader seemed to be a more pleasant person than expected. Unlike when dealing with his children, he got along famously with Heonwon Chang.
If putting spirituality into iron makes it a divine sword… then what if I imbue it into my martial arts? Jeong Yeon-shin thought suddenly.
The advice of the Lord of the Desolate Fortress flashed through his mind, a teaching that aligned perfectly with Tang Un-hwang's words.
[Imbue your intent into the flow you have fashioned. If you breathe with a Divine Art, your sword will ascend to a higher realm.]
Meanwhile…
Rumble!
At the boy's fingertips, the gate opened.
The martial artists who revered the Flash Art Lineage drew their swords as one. A faint haze of light leaked through. The final territory of the City of Master Craftsmen was revealing itself.