Chapter 133: Blue Flame (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 133: Blue Flame (6)
A wide vortex expanded with Jeong Yeon-shin at its center, scraping all sorts of stone fragments and leaves across the floor of the training ground. The noise blended with the distant clang of hammers striking divine swords in the forge.
"Well, that's quite a noisy way to gather qi."
It was the Lazy Flame Dragon. He stood beside Jeong Yeon-shin, slouching casually as he tapped his foot against the ground. With his qi sense fully expanded, his shadowed eyes darted about. He was standing guard, though his posture was anything but diligent.
The ways of the Jianghu were strange. He was now entrusting his life to the Hwangbo Young Master, a man he had first met as an enemy.
However, neither Jeong Yeon-shin nor the Lazy Flame Dragon cared about such things. Both were emotionally detached. The boy felt a strange kinship with the poppy addict, knowing they both lived on borrowed time. The addict, in turn, found a unique stimulation in the boy's martial talent.
It was a relationship between a young Unit Commander and a languid subordinate. Strange, yet simple.
"Let's run away," the Lazy Flame Dragon said abruptly.
His expression was quite serious, but that was all. How could anyone take a man seriously when he was chewing on a poppy with such relish?
Still, he muttered through his teeth, "This isn't a fight we can handle right now. I've thought it over, and the outcome won't change."
When it came to innate senses, few could match the Lazy Flame Dragon. His talent was so exceptional that Jeong Yeon-shin had deliberately provoked him by calling him dull. He could easily visualize a battle against one of the Thirteen Heavens Lords.
He must have seen a vision of utter defeat, just as Jeong Yeon-shin had. Even when he factored in himself, Unit Commander Jeong Yeon-shin, the Tang Clan Leader, and all their masters, the outcome was the same.
"This is insane. Isn't the Desolate Fortress supposed to prioritize the greater good over keeping a promise to some noble family? You're the acting Unit Commander; you'll save countless lives in the future. Why die here? More importantly, you're just hastening my own death."
The Lazy Flame Dragon, once the Young Master of the Hwangbo Clan, shook his head. He was assuming the worst-case scenario: facing the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance and the Blood Flame Cult Leader at the same time. They had to be assumed to be peerless masters, at least a cut above the Hwangbo Clan Head.
After all, hadn't his own pathetic father been slain by three Black Rank masters, including the Commander of the Demonlight Wing and the Commander of the Thread-Annihilation Unit? The Thirteen Heavens Lords, who ranked among the very best of the Heterodox Sects, would be at least their equals.
"Listen, Unit Commander. The Thirteen Heavens Lords are the same breed as the Leaders of the Nine Sects. They are the strange, violent, chaotic, and supernatural beings you'd be lucky to see even once in a lifetime. For people with bright futures like us... well, actually, our futures aren't that bright. Anyway."
The Lazy Flame Dragon swallowed the poppy he was chewing. Then, with half-closed eyes, he slowly continued, "Forget a worthless Nameless Disciple like me—even an acting Unit Commander who just borrowed his uncle's clothes is far from ready. The gap between the leader of a Great Sect and the head of a single martial unit is astronomical. Of course... well, your achievements are unprecedented for your age, acting Unit Commander, but..."
"Too late," the boy said.
He felt a massive gathering of powerful auras. They were rushing straight toward the main gate of the Tang Family Pagoda.
Rumble.
It felt as though the vibrations of their footsteps, enhanced by the Body Protection Scripture, were reaching all the way here.
The poppy addict beside him furrowed his brow. The Lazy Flame Dragon must have also perceived it with his naturally vast qi sense.
But before he could reply, the boy spoke again. "Let's come up with a simple tactic for the chaos that's about to start."
"Hmm?"
"You and the Tang Clan masters hold off the Thirteen Heavens Lord. From what I can tell, there's only one."
"Are you out of your mind...?"
"I'll quickly clean up the rest and join you. I'm not saying I'll fight them all. If I can overwhelmingly defeat one of their masters—not the leader—it should crush their morale."
"Isn't that completely reckless? Acting Unit Commander, didn't you perform the formal discipleship bow to the Former Commander of the Divine Sword Corps, not the Fortress Lord? The one whose temperament was said to be like fire."
"Discipleship bow?"
"Lately, a lot of strange sects have been performing the Nine Bows Ceremony, cramming all nine etiquettes into one go just to establish authority."
"If you're going to spout nonsense, just shut up. You really are a poppy addict."
Whoosh!
Before they knew it, both of them had begun executing their movement techniques. When the situation finally arrived, this was how they acted. The Lazy Flame Dragon, who had just been talking about running away, kept up with Jeong Yeon-shin perfectly, pulling another poppy from his robe and starting to chew.
"I should have spoken up sooner."
"If we had abandoned the Tang Clan, who have finally become our allies, the Main Fortress wouldn't have been pleased."
"I don't know about that. This is just your personal chivalry, acting Unit Commander. The Desolate Fortress would probably be displeased that a promising Rising Star of the Main Fortress is putting himself in such a precarious situation."
Their figures, one in black and the other in the robes of the Nameless, cut through the air. Even as they spoke, they displayed a profound mastery of the Body Protection Scripture. They were headed toward the main gate of the Tang Family Pagoda.
The masters of the Tang Clan also seemed to have detected the enemy's arrival, as many presences were converging from all directions.
Whoosh!
A headwind whistled past their ears. With every step, the training ground seemed to slide backward beneath their feet.
Amidst this, the Lazy Flame Dragon's voice rang out cheerfully, as if trying to lighten the mood. "Anyway, they say that old man, the Former Commander of the Divine Sword Corps, walked the Tyrannical Way in his youth. The tactic you just mentioned, acting Unit Commander, sounds exactly like his style. I wonder if you inherited your legacy from your maternal grandfather rather than the Fortress Lord."
"Stop talking nonsense."
"I only say it because we desperately need more strength. Where on earth did our Purple Rank expert disappear to? Surely he didn't die in some remote corner of Sichuan."
"He will arrive in time, so you'd better worry about your own safety. That's what my intuition tells me."
"The people approaching don't have the aura of Demonic Arts or Blood Arts. I'm sure of it. Isn't this the worst-case scenario? It seems the Tenth Sect has arrived first."
Chewing on his poppy, the Lazy Flame Dragon frowned.
Jeong Yeon-shin had felt it too. Strictly speaking, the Ten Thousand Kinds Mixed Origin Art of the Tenth Sect was not an internal cultivation method of the Heterodox Sects. It was just that their behavior followed the patterns of the Unorthodox Factions. This meant they were not the natural enemy of his Law-Transcending Halo Qi.
The enemy he had tried to delay by sparing the Halberd-Surpassing Sword So Jin-rang had arrived first.
"At least we're fully prepared on our end. Noble family members are indeed quicker on their feet than those of the Nine Sects. That's a small mercy," the Lazy Flame Dragon said.
The outer courtyard of the Tang Family Pagoda. It was the space just inside the main gate where guests were received. Beautifully landscaped shrubbery lined both sides, rustling with a desolate air.
Leaping through the air, Jeong Yeon-shin brought the center of the courtyard into view. He saw the masters of the Tang Clan, clad in green martial uniforms and equipped with various hidden weapons and hand guards. At the forefront stood the Tang Clan Leader and the Dragon-Phoenix Twin Poisons siblings.
They were sharp. Their auras were venomous, as if they had never been known as benevolent divine doctors.
The boy landed among them alongside the Lazy Flame Dragon, their black and nameless robes fluttering.
Thud.
"Master," the Tang Clan masters said in unison, performing an arching hand salute. The Tang siblings and Tang Un-hwang did the same, politely clasping their hands to their benefactor in the face of a great enemy. It was a gesture that exuded the elegance of a prestigious Jianghu family.
"I will take the vanguard," Jeong Yeon-shin said.
It was a rational decision. The martial arts of the Tang Clan were optimized for support. In a coordinated attack, they could deploy hidden weapon techniques combined with Poison Arts from behind while someone trained in close-quarters combat stood at the front.
"I will follow your will, Master. It is something I dared not ask for... but there is no better way. I am truly grateful."
Tang Un-hwang raised his clasped hands once more. The Poison Lord, a short, middle-aged man, wore a complex expression—a mixture of reverence and apologetic gratitude. He was the head of a noble family. Since he was responsible for the lives of his clan members, he could not easily refuse the kindness offered by a powerful benefactor.
Step.
Jeong Yeon-shin returned the salute, slowly stepped forward, and asked, "Is it the Tenth Sect?"
"Yes."
The enemies' presences were clear. They had now arrived just outside the main gate. Among those who did not bother to hide their energy, there was one exceptionally powerful existence.
A terrifying aura.
Even across the gate, it felt sharp enough to slice through flesh. It did not feel like a human presence.
Finally. As soon as he reached the Black Rank, he was facing a Thirteen Heavens Lord. Jeong Yeon-shin's Jianghu was expanding rapidly.
The boy maintained a calm expression as he stood at the front. His rational decision to annihilate a couple of the Thirteen Heavens here, combined with the banner of chivalry raised by the Azure Qilin, had transformed into a steadfast resolve.
— Infinite Flower of Time Hand, Brilliant River. If anyone asks, I shall call it that.
— Good...
— You seem to want it to be widely known, and I, too, must roam the entire Jianghu. That is my innate nature. I cannot do otherwise.
— Yes... do so. Very freely...
'Freely.'
Jeong Yeon-shin had not expected the matter of the Tang Sect Supreme Elder Tang Tae-dok to be resolved so easily. Originally, it was a task that would have required years of searching. Now, it was time to repay the faith Tang Un-hwang had shown.
The members of the Tang Clan stared at the back of the boy clad in a pitch-black robe. A Black Rank expert of the Desolate Fortress was standing at the very front of the Tang Clan's masters. As they witnessed an event rarely seen in the Jianghu, various emotions flickered across their faces.
For the Poison Phoenix and Poison Dragon siblings, it was pure admiration. Their expressions said it all.
"I should at least get a divine sword out of this," the Lazy Flame Dragon muttered, tapping the ground.
At that moment—
Boom!
The massive main gate of the Tang Family Pagoda exploded.
Through the wood fragments and dust scattering in all directions, several figures emerged. Their leisurely steps were strangely swift. At the forefront, a figure holding a spear came into view. With a single sweep of the weapon, a shockwave erupted from the spearhead, clearing away the dust like a whirlwind.
"Is the culprit who killed the Sword Scorpion Demon and the Halberd-Surpassing Sword here?"
A woman's hoarse voice rang out. The figure that revealed itself was striking. Starting with the spear she held diagonally—from the shaft to the blade, it was a single piece of solid steel. Though its weight must have been immense, she held it as easily as a bamboo stalk. She wore an iron-colored battle robe like a general, a look that suited her perfectly. Her disheveled hair felt like a lion's mane.
"Was the leader of the Tenth Sect a woman...? I've never heard of that. Her aura is strange too," the Lazy Flame Dragon muttered.
Beside him, the Poison Dragon Tang Yeo-hwa shook his head. "Among the Thirteen Heavens Lords of Sichuan, the only woman is the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance. That person is the Moon-Gazing Radiant Halberd Yeo Ju-ha. She is the most famous spear master in Sichuan. I heard she was in closed-door cultivation, but she must have broken it because her sect suffered such severe damage."
"She is the lover of the deceased Sword Scorpion Demon Dokgo Gwang," the Poison Phoenix Tang Ryeo-ryeo added.
Indeed, Jeong Yeon-shin was already staring past Yeo Ju-ha's shoulder. About forty people had pushed through the destroyed gate. Even considering the masters who had died in the City of Master Craftsmen and on the Giju highway, their numbers were substantial. It seemed they had handpicked warriors suitable for a clash between Great Sects.
Among them stood a man. He alone stood out.
Such was his presence.
He seemed to have completely concealed his energy the moment he entered; at a glance, he didn't even look like a martial artist. That made him all the more terrifying. It was proof that he had reached the realms of Three Flowers Gathering at the Peak and Five Qi Converging to the Origin, where one controls internal energy as easily as their own limbs.
'The Lord of the Tenth Sect...!'
The man stood still, merely nodding his head once, as if it were not yet his turn to step forward. At the same time, the figure of the Moon-Gazing Radiant Halberd Yeo Ju-ha blocked him from view.
"I asked! Is the culprit here?"
She was acting as a vanguard. She had brought her grudge here, and the Lord of the Tenth Sect had apparently permitted her to settle it herself. To avenge a grudge with one's own hands—she was upholding a principle highly valued in the Jianghu.
"No, there's no need to ask further. It's you, isn't it?"
The spear pointed at Jeong Yeon-shin. Vanguard met vanguard.
In that moment, the tactic he had discussed with the Lazy Flame Dragon became meaningless. An atmosphere of a one-on-one, life-or-death duel naturally formed.
"Yes. I did it," the boy replied slowly.
Although he found it strange that she mentioned So Jin-rang's death, the Sword Scorpion Demon Dokgo Gwang had certainly died by his hand. Since the Lord of the Tenth Sect had already appeared, there was no reason to make petty excuses.
Yeo Ju-ha's eyes blazed with the light of internal energy. "They say your martial talent is immense? Face me in a life-and-death duel. I must show you how Jin-rang died, and how my beloved Gwang departed."
The way she spoke of "my beloved Gwang" was filled with a chilling intimacy, her attitude extremely hostile.
Sssss—
Her aura seemed to reflect its master, blazing outward like a flower of flame and causing Jeong Yeon-shin's black robe to flutter violently.
'She's not just at the level of a Blue Rank.'
The boy's eyes darkened. It was said that a Great Sect usually did not have more than one Black Rank-level master, with the Blood Flame Cult being the only exception. But that was not true. Facing her directly, he knew it was different. Had they been hiding their strength?
If all the Thirteen Heavens in the world were like this, the Desolate Fortress might face an unprecedented crisis.
But for now, this was fine. If he could break the Moon-Gazing Radiant Halberd's spear, the Tenth Sect would be crippled beyond recovery. That alone would be enough.
"No more words! I shall ask with my martial arts!"
A shout laden with powerful true qi burst from Yeo Ju-ha's mouth. The Tenth Sect warriors standing behind her roared in response. It was a military-like disposition, identical to the Deep Martial Alliance masters the Azure Qilin had slain.
Moon-Gazing Radiant Halberd Yeo Ju-ha. The word "valiant" suited her well.
Jeong Yeon-shin silently drew his Desolate Fortress Sword. This was because his Northern Light Sword had not yet completed its transformation into a Divine Sword.
Facing Yeo Ju-ha made him think of the Divine Spear of the Desolate Fortress, Ak Su-rim. The Deputy Unit Commander of the Divine Sword Corps. It was said she had undergone Rejuvenation and wielded spear techniques that had reached the divine realm. He couldn't help but compare the spear master before him to her.
Shring!
A sharp light flashed from the spearhead, imbued with powerful internal energy. Though it was a thrust, the sound of it tearing through the air was immense, as if a great blade were slashing.
Clang!
Jeong Yeon-shin deflected it upward with his Desolate Fortress Sword. The moment he parried the blow, a powerful vibration surged into his palm. The force behind it was incredible, enough to remind him of the sword force of the Sword Scorpion Demon Dokgo Gwang.
Beneath the rising spearhead, a fierce smile played on Yeo Ju-ha's lips.
Before he knew it, she had let go of the spear shaft with one hand, which now pulsed with a wave of force. It was a feint, a combination of forms meant to catch him off guard.
Hummm.
A resonant sound leaked from her clenched fist. It was a fist technique. The crushing force, powerful enough to overwhelm any opponent, was identical to Dokgo Gwang's—an extremely profound application of internal energy.
The spear master pulled back her weapon and continued her assault with a flurry of punches, each one releasing enough force to shatter steel.
Thud! Thud! Crash!
Stomping hard enough to trigger earthquakes, she closed the distance in an instant.
Before he knew it, her blazing eyes were right in front of his face. Below them, Yeo Ju-ha's fist seemed to suck in the very air.
At the same time, the boy thrust out his own empty hand in a deceptively gentle gesture.
Slide.
His palm met Yeo Ju-ha's fist, blocking it and sweeping it downward. In that split second, the colorless power of the Law-Transcending Halo Qi spread from him. His technique had reached its absolute limit.
It severed the storm-like waves of her fist technique, strand by strand. It was an application of internal energy that created its own domain, combined with the movements of the Harmony Realm.
A perfect counter.
Anyone who used the same kind of overwhelming force as the Sword Scorpion Demon Dokgo Gwang could no longer harm the boy.
For a moment, Yeo Ju-ha's eyes wavered. Her heightened senses realized that her fist strike had been neutralized. But it was too late.
Jeong Yeon-shin's hand had already slipped past her fist to grip her wrist, holding it with an iron grip. Her decisive fist was bound, and the spear she'd swung behind her back for a close-range strike was now uselessly far.
At that moment, the Desolate Fortress Sword fell from the boy's right hand. He had dropped it intentionally. This was not the distance for a sword.
'Brilliant River.'
Rumble!
His pitch-black sleeves fluttered violently. A storm erupted from his palm. In the swirling vortex of force, the fragments of the gate scattered in all directions.
"Ugh...!"
Caught in the powerful whirlwind, Yeo Ju-ha drove her knee forward. In the realm of supreme masters, the time it took to execute the move felt like an eternity.
She had instantly perceived the microscopic flaw in his stance, piercing through the singular weakness of a palm technique that had already brushed the absolute pinnacle of a divine art. With the desperate, honed instincts of a supreme master, she dug into his guard, launching a devastating Knee Strike aimed directly at his vital points.
Thud!
A heavy, bone-rattling impact echoed through the air. Jeong Yeon-shin did not retreat. Instead, his foot lashed out with terrifying precision, intercepting her rising leg and violently pushing her calf away. The sheer physical weight of the contact sent a shockwave rippling through the narrow space between them.
In that same heartbeat, a violent release of force erupted from the sole of his foot. The explosive burst of qi completely shattered the gathered momentum of Yeo Ju-ha’s Knee Strike, fracturing her martial force into scattered, harmless pieces of energy.
No matter how fiercely she struggled, her every response and reflex remained entirely trapped within the inescapable flow of the counter-formula the boy had meticulously woven. She was nothing more than a fly caught in a spider’s web of martial logic.
In a mere fraction of a split second, the gathering of his ultimate strike was completed. The Brilliant River surged to its absolute zenith, and Jeong Yeon-shin’s right hand pressed flush against her abdomen.
Yeo Ju-ha’s eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated terror. In a final, desperate bid for survival, she hastily manifested a thick, colorless Internal Energy Armor over her skin. But it was far too late. The moment her defenses flared to life, the devastating power of the Law-Transcending Halo Qi detonated directly from his palm, exploding outward in the shape of a fiercely condensed typhoon.
Boom!
The earth shook violently, a localized earthquake tearing through the stone paving of the courtyard.
Yet, for Jeong Yeon-shin, the seismic trembling of the ground was nothing compared to the overwhelming force of the release surging from his own palm. The tactile sensation was brutally vivid—he could feel the exact, visceral moment his surging energy caught hold of her true qi shield and mercilessly tore it to absolute shreds.
A terrifying recoil force, one that easily surpassed the catastrophic destructive power of a military-grade Thunderbolt Bomb, erupted from the very center of his palm. The violent kinetic backlash swept violently up his wrist and forearm, straining his muscles and meridians with its sheer magnitude.
Despite the cataclysmic blast, his left hand had never moved. It remained locked in an iron grip around the enemy’s wrist.
Then came the sudden, heavy weight sagging downward against his hold. That lifeless, dead weight was all the confirmation needed to declare the final outcome of their life-and-death duel.
Slowly, the swirling vortex of destruction began to settle. Through the narrow gaps in the rising clouds of dust and pulverized stone, a chilling sight emerged. The wide-eyed, completely lifeless gaze of Yeo Ju-ha remained fixed upon Jeong Yeon-shin, her pupils dilated and devoid of any remaining spark of vitality.
"You asked how the Sword Scorpion Demon died," Jeong Yeon-shin slowly parted his lips, his voice cutting through the lingering ringing in the air.
He released her wrist and slowly raised his right hand—the exact same hand that had just unleashed the devastating fury of the Brilliant River. Reaching forward with an eerie, almost contradictory gentleness, he brushed his fingers over the face of the deceased Yeo Ju-ha, softly closing her unseeing eyes.
"He died in vain. Just like you."
His cold, final words echoed faintly, carried away by the desolate, blood-scented breeze sweeping through the Tang Family Pagoda's outer courtyard. Amidst the carnage and the settling dust, the boy's voice remained perfectly, terrifyingly calm.