Chapter 142: The Turbulent Return Journey (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 142: The Turbulent Return Journey (7)
"The Heart Sword. You exaggerate."
The Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance chuckled, repeating the Lord of the Desolate Fortress’s words.
Her black robes, as dark as Jeong Yeon-shin’s own, billowed in the wind. She carried an aura as formidable as hellfire itself.
The final obstacle on their return journey was massive and daunting. The seeds they had sown in Sichuan had now blossomed into a formidable challenge in the form of the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance.
She was gradually regaining her composure.
Sssss—
Along with a hiss of steam from the Samadhi True Fire, the blood on her abdomen vaporized. A scorched scent arose, one only an expert with refined senses could detect.
There was no other source. She had cast the Samadhi True Fire directly onto the sword wound on her abdomen.
It was a scar left by the Lord of the Desolate Fortress's Moon Spirit Divine Technique, a wound stretching from her ribs down to her hip bone. Since it wasn't a hemorrhage that could be stopped by sealing her acupoints, she was simply cauterizing the long gash to seal it shut.
Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes widened slightly. It was an improvisation born of a peerless expert's extraordinary control over her body and True Qi.
Astonishing.
So was her face, which twisted into a smirk as she bit her lip. Her slender features exuded the fierce spirit of a lioness.
A Grandmaster of the Demonic Path. The makeshift measure the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance displayed in the middle of a life-and-death duel was truly worthy of the head of a heterodox sect.
She spoke.
"Rumors have long echoed through the world that the Lord of the Desolate Fortress has reached the Heaven Beyond Heaven. Still, I never expected you to be one of my kind. Look here, child."
The Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance lowered her gaze. Her eyes, fixed on Jeong Yeon-shin, curved into a cold, blue smile. There was an incredibly icy, peculiar quality to them.
"If I were your martial aunt, I would have taken you in and taught you myself. An expert is still human, and one must wield both martial arts and words to survive in this turbulent Jianghu. But your master is needlessly noble; he probably couldn't win half the verbal spars you do."
This was proof of just how unbridled the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance's speech and actions were.
"And it's quite something to hear you babble on about seniority while spouting nonsense to a Jianghu senior," Jeong Yeon-shin said, slowly gripping his sword hilt. As he settled into the starting stance for his flying sword, he poured his sincere thoughts into his blunt words.
"The side effects of your demonic arts are fascinating. It seems they've thoroughly clogged the fine vessels in your brain. Is there a specific technique in demonic martial arts that narrows one's blood vessels? If you tell me, I might consider taking you in as my junior sister."
"..."
The Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance was one of the Lords of the Thirteen Heavens. Her status was supreme. While she was free-spirited enough to throw provocations, she wouldn't deign to respond to such outright insolence.
She likely deemed it beneath her dignity.
"What a fool."
Jeong Yeon-shin continued to hurl insults at the sect leader until the very end.
By now, not only Heonwon Chang but also the Lazy Flame Dragon beside him shook their heads slightly as they assumed their own stances. They were preparing themselves, unsure if the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance's next strike would be aimed at them.
"Looking at him now, our Acting Unit Commander doesn't seem to fear dying young at all. But I find it terrifying. I'm not the weird one here, am I?"
Ignoring them, the youth slowly circulated his True Qi. His heart tingled as his halo began to spin.
To resolve this without harming Ma Yeon-jeok, the Lord of the Desolate Fortress had to slay the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance without a destructive clash of energies. This seemingly quiet standoff had to be handled with wisdom.
Sssss.
An extraordinary wave of energy began to spread from the body of the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance, who had fallen silent. Had she bought all the time she needed?
In contrast, the Lord of the Desolate Fortress stood quietly, merely gazing at the distant forest.
If a lethal strike wasn't ready, the youth intended to throw his flying sword first to buy time.
'My mastery of the Body Protection Scripture is still lacking. How can I intercept the Void Treading of a peerless expert?'
He had realized the same thing during the battle between Ma Yeon-jeok and the Blood Flame Cult Leader.
Keeping the riddle-like question in his mind, the youth glared at the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance. He had already activated the Demonlight Formula. The optimal trajectory formed in his mind.
It was then.
"It is done."
The Lord of the Desolate Fortress suddenly spoke.
Only a few breaths had passed since she had mentioned the Heart Sword.
Her grass-green sleeves fluttered once.
Stepping forward like an illusion, she gently slashed upward, aiming at the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance, who was suspended in the air via Void Treading. The sword strike flickered pure white, tracing a graceful curve.
It was a sword move that seemed to carry no weight, no meaning.
Slash!
No, it wasn't.
From a distance, Jeong Yeon-shin heard a sound that couldn't be heard. It echoed directly in his mind.
The faint sound of something being severed pierced his Baihui Point.
It shot straight to his Upper Dantian. It wasn't a sound, strictly speaking, but a phenomenon he had sensed.
Had she truly cut the heart?
The Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance gasped, her disheveled black hair whipping wildly. Her body, held aloft by Void Treading, swayed violently in midair. And that was not all. In an instant, she plummeted nearly thirty feet.
If she fell another forty, she would be within range of his flying sword.
Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes flashed. The hilt of the Divine Sword: Northern Light at his waist glowed white.
However, the opportunity to draw his sword never came.
The Lord of the Desolate Fortress's second form followed. This time, it was visible.
Flutter!
Her wide sleeves fluttered with the colors of the forest.
The sword, which had been raised high above her small, green-clad head, swept down once more.
A single strike.
The gesture was so delicate, it was impossible to tell if she was attacking or performing a single movement from a sword dance. Her poise was remarkably elegant. At the same time, a faint flash erupted from her sword, looking exactly like a ray of light.
It was an inhuman technique, projecting a brilliant radiance unlike Sword Qi—an already rare attainment. It felt far more mysterious, far more transcendent.
Jeong Yeon-shin could not fully perceive the sequence of strikes.
All he could do was burn the image into his memory: a sudden burst of moonlight in the shape of a long, slashing arc.
It was a direct hit. It shattered the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance's dark internal energy armor, scattering fragments of light from her abdomen.
The Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance, who had frozen with her hand outstretched as if to strike, stood completely still, her eyes wide.
Thud—
The profound martial principles that guided the strike were unfathomable.
The sound of colliding energy echoed only within the Leader's own body, so quiet it was nearly imperceptible. With a single stroke, she had driven the entire shockwave deep inside the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance, likely out of consideration for Ma Yeon-jeok's condition.
'Wow.'
An exclamation of awe erupted in his mind.
Jeong Yeon-shin had never seen a more profound sword strike in his life. Even with his eyes, he could not fathom its subtle principles. It struck him even more deeply than the first move she had called the Heart Sword.
Just then.
Boom!
A powerful wave of energy erupted from the falling body of the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance.
At the same time, a dark current of energy, like the night sky, enveloped her, continuously releasing waves of internal power. It was overwhelming, as if it could crush mountains and rivers.
Was this the true depth of her power? Gritting her teeth, she straightened her posture and resumed the Body Protection Scripture for Void Treading. A pitch-black wave of energy exploded from behind her, and her body shot diagonally upward once more.
Even Jeong Yeon-shin could tell she was forcing her True Qi to a degree that risked Qi Deviation.
'It's over.'
The youth thought.
The Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance had made a swift decision. The trajectory of her body cutting through the air was peculiar.
Whoosh!
She shot far above their heads. Her figure momentarily blocked the sun as she passed, leaving the battlefield behind.
She was escaping.
"The Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance is fleeing!"
Heonwon Chang, standing beside the youth, cupped his hands and shouted. With his characteristic wits, he had already grasped the flow of the battle. His energetic voice, filled with True Qi, sounded as if he had never tried to hold Jeong Yeon-shin back in the first place.
It was a warning to the Pure Demon Alliance experts who were surely rushing to escort their leader.
—I shall not forget this day!
The voice of the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance echoed from the distance. She had already shrunk to a tiny speck.
The peerless expert of the Demonic Path had apparently kept an eye on Jeong Yeon-shin and his hand on his sword. Even while facing the Lord of the Desolate Fortress, she had never once stepped within range of his flying sword.
'I must find a way to counter Void Treading and Void Stepping.'
It was a new assignment for the youth, who would soon officially rise to the Black Rank.
Even after appearing and invoking Baek Mi-ryeo's name, only to be defeated and forced to retreat, the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance didn't look pathetic. She was still a peerless expert far beyond Jeong Yeon-shin's current reach.
He resolved that if they ever met again, he would be the one to take the Lord's place.
'The realm of the Black Rank is vast. Even more so than the Blue Rank. If I possessed Law-Transcending Halo Qi with the skill of my uncle or the Commander of the Thread-Annihilation Unit, I might have been able to stand against her. Should I focus on reaching the Three Flowers Gathering at the Peak first?'
As the youth briefly organized his thoughts, a clear, resonant voice rang out.
"I must check on Yeon-jeok."
Rustle.
The Lord of the Desolate Fortress approached slowly, walking toward the three four-horse carriages that Jeong Yeon-shin and his companions were guarding. She didn't even glance at the retreating back of the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance, showing no intention of giving chase. Unsure of Ma Yeon-jeok's condition, she had likely been hesitant to make a reckless move.
She did not bother with the pursuit. To her, even the master of the Pure Demon Alliance was merely the leader of a sect on the outskirts of Sichuan.
Her very demeanor showed a new world to the youth, who had struggled so hard just to carve a path through the Sichuan martial world.
"You protected me."
With those quiet words, the Lord of the Desolate Fortress brushed past Jeong Yeon-shin.
The fragrant scent of fresh grass tickled the youth's nose. There was a faint trace of a smile in her voice.
It was truly over.
The final obstacle on their return journey had crumbled.
*
Immediately after the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance fled, the Lord of the Desolate Fortress entered the carriage to check on her old friend's condition.
Once again, an energy barrier enveloped the carriage. It was a transcendent sight, as if she had spun soft moonlight into silk to wrap around the space.
It was impossible to tell what was being said inside.
"They say just witnessing a duel between peerless experts drains your mental energy. They weren't lying."
"Let's rest a bit, Acting Unit Commander."
Heonwon Chang and the Lazy Flame Dragon agreed on this point. The dynamic between the two was peculiar. Though they seemed distant, Heonwon Chang appeared to be walking on eggshells around the Lazy Flame Dragon, who was a nameless disciple. The Lazy Flame Dragon, on the other hand, simply lay back comfortably, chewing on poppy.
While no one paid any attention to the Small Sword Empress and her companions standing blankly to one side, Jeong Yeon-shin spoke.
"We rest," he said, keeping his senses spread in all directions.
Even with the Lord of the Desolate Fortress present, he couldn't afford to let his guard down. If anything, he had to show himself worthy of being a Unit Commander.
'Back at the Main Fortress, my conduct was decent.'
At the time, the youth had exchanged greetings with the scholars of the Chief Steward's Office, the ones who held the power of appointments. He prided himself on having handled them skillfully.
The Lord of the Desolate Fortress stood above them all. He had to earn her favor by proving himself truly trustworthy.
'Achievements, rewards.'
His mind eased considerably. He was now certain of the safety of his maternal grandfather, the one he had worried about most.
"Look at our young Unit Commander. He looks more like a Unit Commander than the actual one," Oh Wol-hyang, a Blue Rank senior, teased. She was referring to both Jeong Yeon-shin and Ma Jin. The youth just shook his head slightly.
The seniors from the Demonlight Wing had emerged from the carriages one by one, settling down in various spots. Cheong-myeong climbed a tree, while Ma Jin stared at Ma Yeon-jeok's carriage, which the Lord of the Desolate Fortress had entered.
Only Baek Mi-ryeo did not come out.
The Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance had called her sister. Jeong Yeon-shin didn't think it was a baseless lie. Baek Mi-ryeo had also trained in demonic arts. They even looked alike. Yet, the expressions of Ma Jin, Cheong-myeong, and the other Demonlight Wing seniors remained calm. They had already known.
'They said they brought Senior Baek back from Xinjiang. And in the process, my uncle was crippled.'
Xinjiang was the region where the headquarters of the Ming Cult once stood. He had heard that the lineage of the Ming Cult Leader, also known as the Heavenly Demon, had fractured with the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Some had moved to Sichuan and became the Pure Demon Alliance, while others roamed Xinjiang, plotting to rebuild the cult or engaging in banditry.
The youth recalled the treasure map that the Halberd-Surpassing Sword of the Tenth Sect had briefly shown him. The bastard had babbled about it being a map to the Tomb of the Heavenly Demon. It likely had something to do with Baek Mi-ryeo.
It was then.
"You seem lost in thought."
It was Ma Jin's voice. Before he knew it, his uncle had stepped down from the carriage and sat beside him. His knees were pulled up slightly toward his chest, his heels lightly brushing the sand. He balanced himself perfectly, even without his left arm.
"It's not time for you to worry about Mi-ryeo's affairs. Not yet. It might be different once you become a Unit Commander, but for now, it's unnecessary meddling."
"You're right."
The youth nodded slowly. It was a simple, clean agreement. There were too many pressing matters at hand. His promotion to the Black Rank, the formation of the Martial World Alliance, the Alliance's Sect Founding Ceremony... He had to put aside things he couldn't resolve immediately.
Ma Jin smiled faintly.
"As soon as we return tomorrow, a meeting of the Unit Commanders will likely be held. It will be to discuss your promotion to the Black Rank. The future of the Radiant Wing Unit and the Demonlight Wing will also be decided then."
Jeong Yeon-shin nodded silently. A trace of worry then etched itself onto Ma Jin's face.
"The commanders of the 17th Unit of the Divine Sword Corps have strong personalities. There will be obstacles."
"What kind of obstacles?"
"Because of the Radiant Wing Unit. The martial artists of your unit are just experts scraped together from the parts of the 17th Unit that didn't go on campaigns, aren't they? If we change the organization, do you think the other commanders will just sit back and watch? They might refuse to acknowledge you."
"..."
"They are all rare, top-tier experts of the Jianghu, and leaders who command elite groups. Their character isn't bad—none of them. But there are definitely many eccentric bastards among them. You must be on your guard."
His uncle's advice was gentle.
After a brief silence, Jeong Yeon-shin slowly spoke.
"I must learn the Heart Sword. From the Lord. By tomorrow."