Chapter 156: Chivalrous Hero (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156: Chivalrous Hero (3)
Yu-hyeon's dry lips parted slightly.
"Yeon... shin...?" he squeezed the words out of his parched throat.
Looking down at him, a faint chuckle escaped the boy's lips. The corners of his mouth softened into a smile—one he only showed to those with whom he shared a deep bond.
"Is your vision clear? Your eye technique's mastery is as sharp as ever, even if your internal power seems to be in disarray."
"You... those clothes... what are they?"
The corners of Jeong Yeon-shin's mouth curled up a fraction more. Yu-hyeon was truly one of a kind. To ask about the color of his robe first was the mark of a true martial artist. He cared more about his friend's martial prowess and standing than how he had even gotten here.
"Are all disciples of the Nine Sects like this? You certainly have unshakable nerves."
Yeon-shin had formed ties with disciples from four of the Nine Great Sects: the Sword Dragon Wiji Myo-hwa, the Hidden Dragon Yu-hyeon, the Young Divine Monk Gakjeong, and the Small Sword Empress Chwi So-ok. None of them were ordinary. Though they all possessed vastly different personalities, they shared one common trait: a distinct, unyielding individuality.
Even now, Yu-hyeon was stammering slightly. "Every time I see you, the color of your clothes changes... How is that even possible? You've become equal in rank to our Martial Uncle, Perfected Heavenly Pillar."
In the Mount Hua Sect, Perfected Heavenly Pillar was far more famous by his moniker than his Taoist name: the Hwasan Sword Excellence. As the leader of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, he had left behind countless legendary tales. It was even said he had once clashed with the Demonlight Wing and fought to a draw.
"That's disrespectful to the Sword Excellence. Don't speak of him so lightly."
It's because my time flows a bit differently, Jeong Yeon-shin thought, burying the truth deep inside as he brushed the comment aside.
As they were outsiders to his faction, it was enough that only the Sword Immortal of Zhongnan and Wiji Myo-hwa knew of his short-life syndrome. It wasn't that he didn't trust Yu-hyeon; he simply didn't want to talk about it.
'It seems my maternal grandfather didn't tell my uncle, either.'
Ma Jin's demeanor had suggested as much. He was still completely in the dark. Ma Yeon-jeok, the former Commander of the Divine Sword Corps, had chosen not to rashly interfere in his grandson's affairs. While it was impossible to know what was on his mind, Jeong Yeon-shin preferred it this way.
He now had the support of Heonwon Chang, Cheong-myeong, and Baek Mi-ryeo. He had no desire to burden those close to him with unnecessary worry. It was a burden to himself as well. It would be a different story if he could obtain the fruit of the World Tree, cure his condition, and one day speak of it as a joke.
"So, how did you get here, Lord Black Rank of the Desolate Fortress?" Yu-hyeon asked, feigning nonchalance while his eyes continuously swept over Yeon-shin's robe. His bewildered expression was quite amusing.
Yeon-shin glanced around. In the distance, three martial artists of the Double Yang Gang who had been on guard duty stood frozen. He had sealed their acupoints on his way in, leaving them paralyzed and mute.
'Is their main force concentrated inside?'
The Lazy Flame Dragon, Namgung Hwa-shin, and Heonwon Chang had gone to search in other directions. The island was vast, but it seemed he had found the right place.
Yeon-shin pulled a blue jade from his breast pocket and tossed it into the air. The bead shattered, its fragments scattering in all directions and refracting the sunlight. It was the Spirit Treasure Jade he had received from Ma Se-in—an item that cracked when infused with pure True Qi. The Demonlight Wing had decided to use it as a signal flare for their new Commander.
"How did you end up captured?" Yeon-shin asked casually.
Yu-hyeon, who had been staring blankly at the falling fragments of the jade, lowered his gaze. "There was a survivor in the village. A young boy. I came here after hearing his story, but it turns out the sect and the Branch Head of Yunyang Prefecture are in league. They have hostages, too. I was caught completely off guard."
"The Branch Head?" Yeon-shin repeated. The existence of the village boy was already suspicious, but the involvement of a high-ranking government official was even more serious.
"It's ridiculous. The Branch Head is the one violating the Great Ming Code, but if a martial artist lays a hand on her, it's treated as treason. Besides, the accusations of a few martial artists would never carry more weight than the claims of a Branch Head."
"If you are a warrior of the Desolate Fortress acquainted with our Martial Uncle... are you Young Hero Flash Art...?" one of the Mount Hua Sect disciples tied up alongside Yu-hyeon asked. She had raised her head at some point, her exceptionally large, clear eyes leaving a striking impression.
Yeon-shin gave a brief nod and gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Sshhhk!
A flash of light flared.
He drew and sheathed his sword in a single, seamless motion. In that instant—drawing the blade, severing the ropes, and returning it to its scabbard—he could feel the sheer speed of his sword, enhanced by his Halo Qi. The sensation of the blade slicing through the ropes and gliding back into its sheath was astonishingly smooth, a feat largely due to the Northern Light Sword, which had transformed into a Divine Sword.
"What kind of fast sword is that..." Yu-hyeon muttered in awe, the only one who had managed to catch even a glimpse of its trajectory.
Yeon-shin silently pushed the hilt all the way home.
Clack.
Only after the sound of the sword settling into its scabbard echoed did the other Mount Hua disciples snap out of their daze.
The disciple who had asked for his identity stammered, "Thank... thank you, Great Hero."
"Great Hero, huh... Well, I suppose calling a Black Rank of the Desolate Fortress 'Young Hero' would be a bit odd. Though it still feels incredibly strange," Yu-hyeon muttered as he brushed himself off and stood up, his face a mix of disbelief and amazement.
Yet, when he raised his clasped hands in a formal salute to Yeon-shin, his movements were perfectly disciplined. His refined conduct was a testament to the noble spirit of the prestigious Mount Hua Sect.
"Thank you. I owe you my life."
"Don't mention it."
Yeon-shin turned his head slightly, his lips tensing. He had sensed presences emerging from the pavilion opposite them. It wasn't just one or two; some of them possessed formidable strength. His eyes narrowed.
"I heard a single boat had crossed over without fear, so I was waiting for a corpse. But what do we have here?"
The voice belonged to a middle-aged man. A group of people walked out, led by a man and a woman. The man, carrying a great saber, was the one who had spoken. He was the Leader of the Double Yang Gang. It was exactly as Yeon-shin had heard from the village boy. However, there was another sight he hadn't been told about.
'The government really is involved.'
The retinue escorting them was quite a sight. There were twenty of them, a mix of martial artists and government soldiers. The martial artists were clad in light attire, while the soldiers wore iron plates over cotton armor.
"A mere weakling pretending to be from the Desolate Fortress, I see. Are you a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect? That character 'Hwang' on your back is quite large. It has a rather bold, gallant look to it—it would suit me far better than you," the Leader of the Double Yang Gang sneered.
A leader's mockery naturally spreads to his subordinates. A few gang members, eager to claim credit, began to approach Yeon-shin. The Leader of the Double Yang Gang didn't stop them, as the boy hadn't even drawn his sword.
"A Black Rank at that age? You really don't know how the world works. You're not a Mount Hua disciple, probably just some kid who learned a few moves at a decent martial hall..."
"If you're ignorant, it's hard to pull off a lie. At your age, even a White Rank of the Desolate Fortress would be too generous."
The members of the Double Yang Gang approached with mocking words. Crude banter, it was said, was a daily routine among the Heterodox Sects. Yet, despite their belittling words, they assumed proper stances, holding their sabers and swords tightly. Seeing their comrades paralyzed in the back seemed to have put them on guard.
It was then.
"Husband. Stay back," the Branch Head said. Her expression as she looked at Yeon-shin was grim. Sensing something, she reached out to stop the Leader of the Double Yang Gang and opened her mouth to call back the men approaching the intruder.
But her warning came a step too late. The boy, who had been standing still, was already thrusting his fist forward.
A colorless wave surged from his outstretched arm. It was a shockwave of pure force, unleashed in an instant without so much as a stamp of his foot.
Infinite Flower of Time Hand Second Form: Advancing Thunder.
Thwack!
It was as if a sudden tempest had descended. A dull, heavy impact echoed amidst a swirling dust storm as blood sprayed in all directions like sea mist. The bodies of the three Double Yang Gang members were swept away by the single strike, scraping across the ground with a tremendous shockwave before collapsing into a heap. The residual force of the spiral shockwave, unique to his Halo Qi, carved a swirling pattern into the earth, as if mocking the three corpses.
"..."
Suddenly, everyone froze. A level of martial prowess that no one on the island could have imagined had just been unleashed. Even the Mount Hua disciples standing behind him gasped.
Only Yu-hyeon, famous for being an eccentric despite his Taoist sect background, muttered under his breath, "What kind of Fa Jin is that..."
'Where are the commoners?'
Yeon-shin expanded his Halo Qi, sweeping through a radius of ten Zhang. He instantly sensed the presences of powerless commoners in a shabby outbuilding, nestled between the pavilions that formed a circle around the training ground. He could tell just by the feel of their Qi. Every one of them was weak from starvation, and because they had only learned the Three Talents Mental Method promulgated by the Ming Imperial Family, their accumulated True Qi was shallow.
Had they been gathered as hostages to deal with righteous martial artists? There wasn't even a single guard. It seemed the bastards who ruled this island had never encountered a level of martial power so far beyond their imagination. The sounds of starving people dry-heaving contrasted sharply with the plump, glossy cheeks of the Branch Head and her husband.
'They shattered so easily under the shockwave of Advancing Thunder. Both their body protection Qi and their physical frames.'
The boy glanced at the mangled corpses. They appeared to have cultivated the internal power of the Heterodox Sects. He saw no reason to show them any mercy.
"...Husband, he truly is a Unit Commander of the Desolate Fortress," the Branch Head said belatedly, her lips trembling slightly. "Flash Art Jeong Yeon-shin. They said the new Commander of the Demonlight Wing was extremely young. It must be him."
Hearing his wife's words, the Leader of the Double Yang Gang panicked. He realized instantly that they stood no chance in a direct confrontation. He had to play his last card—the hostages.
"Right now, go—!"
His words were cut short.
Whoosh!
An explosive momentum erupted from the boy's entire body, lifting the hem of his pitch-black robe. Streams of energy scraped against the ground, leaving whirlwind tracks in their wake. A brief silence fell as the sheer presence of his Qi wave commanded everyone's attention. Soon, the Commander of the Demonlight Wing, shrouded in a mist of dust, parted his lips.
"Kill them."
Boom!
In an instant, shockwaves erupted from three sides of the training ground. Figures in grey, white, and blue robes leaped in from the outside. It happened in the blink of an eye. Heat, killing intent, and sword Qi tore through the air.
Splat!
Smoke and blood sprayed in all directions.
The Lazy Flame Dragon's double-handed Fervent Yang Palms crushed eight men in an instant. Heonwon Chang severed the necks of five men in a single move with his signature Killing Sword. Namgung Hwa-shin, unleashing the Azure Sky Boundless Sword Art, sent out ten shockwaves with a single strike.
It took less than a breath for the area to be cleared. The Commander of the Demonlight Wing had drawn their attention with his overwhelming Qi wave, and the elites of the Desolate Fortress had struck in the opening. It was a tactic that any sect would fall victim to at least once; the only question was how much damage they would take in that first exchange.
For the Double Yang Gang, that single exchange was the end. The government soldiers fared no better. They had suffered total annihilation.
The sound of collapsing corpses echoed from all around, mostly from the directions of Heonwon Chang and Namgung Hwa-shin, who had used their swords.
The Lazy Flame Dragon, dusting off his hands, furrowed his brow slightly. "They aren't growing poppies? Are these guys really Unorthodox scum?"
"..."
The only ones left standing were the Leader of the Double Yang Gang and the Branch Head. The gang leader's face was completely blank, as if his soul had left his body, while the Branch Head's expression was unreadable. She simply stared at Yeon-shin calmly.
"As expected, Diancang didn't even need to come. It was right to leave them to look after the kid," Heonwon Chang said, walking among the dead. He nudged the corpses with his scabbard, checking if anyone was playing dead using the Turtle Breathing Technique.
The Desolate Fortress was a faction akin to a military force. They did not negotiate with those who harmed the common people, nor did they show mercy. Once they arrived at their target and completed their mission, they left nothing but ruins in their wake.
"Yaaawn."
A strange groan echoed as the Lazy Flame Dragon stretched, his hands clasped behind his neck. After a long yawn, he grinned at Yeon-shin, an oddly annoying smirk on his face.
"Young Commander, remember what you said when we sparred recently? What a pity. You said you were going to create a sword art, but these guys couldn't even withstand a single form."
"I'm not creating something new. I'm just introducing a new flow to the Radiant Brilliance Sword Style, so people can't exploit its blind spots like the Commander of the Law Enforcement Unit did," Yeon-shin replied half-heartedly, just to shut him up. If he didn't respond, the man would keep pestering him. He had suffered enough of it back in the ruined village; his ears felt like they were about to fall off.
Perhaps because he was born with the Solar Divine Pulse, a talent of a thousand years, his interest in Yeon-shin—who possessed a martial talent even greater than his own—was immense.
'Though it probably doesn't compare to the Seventh Apostle...' A crimson smile flashed through his mind.
Along with the Branch Head standing before him, it presented a dilemma. What should he do?
The Lazy Flame Dragon continued, a relaxed smile on his lips, "In any case, it seems you'll have to wait until the Martial World Alliance to get some real combat experience. If you're up for it, why not trade blows with the Alliance Leader? The Sword Star is a peerless swordsman, said to be comparable to the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps."
"Even if I don't want to, it will probably turn out that way," Yeon-shin replied flatly.
Conquering the Alliance Foundation Ceremony of the Martial World Alliance was said to grant two special privileges. The first was the Great Restoration Pill. The second was the guidance of the Sword Star, who had been appointed as the Alliance Leader. While both rewards were enough to excite any martial artist, the Desolate Fortress's Chief Steward's Office believed a trap was hidden in the second. The Martial World Alliance was an interest group, united under the pretext of the Hwangbo Clan's annihilation and the destruction of the Namgung Clan's direct line.
What would happen if a faction that wasn't a member of the Alliance won the founding ceremony? Especially if the victor was an expert from the Desolate Fortress.
'They said they would hand over the Great Restoration Pill along with a public humiliation.'
Yeon-shin brushed the thoughts aside, lightly gripping the hilt of the Divine Sword Northern Light. He had to decide what to do with the Branch Head.
At that moment, the Lazy Flame Dragon slid up beside him and whispered, "Let's kill her and eliminate any future trouble."
"Get lost," Yeon-shin replied indifferently, nudging him away with his elbow.
At the same time, the pure white blade of the Northern Light Sword swept upward in a reverse arc. A flash of white lightning flickered across the neck of the despondent Leader of the Double Yang Gang.
Sshhhk—
It was the sound of blood vessels being crushed and bone being severed.