Chapter 160: Commander of the Demonlight Wing (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 160: Commander of the Demonlight Wing (3)
‘Is that a human hand? The Commander of the Demonlight Wing?’
Jegal Cheon, Commander of the Worthy Heaven Unit, raised his eyebrows. Deep creases suddenly etched across his forehead, betraying his shock. He stared across the room, his expression rigid.
Rip.
A hand had pierced through the curtain. A five-fingered hand blade, smooth yet firm.
But it hadn't merely pierced a single sheet of silk.
Rumble.
The Go stones scattered around the room trembled. These dozen or so black and white stones were the keys used to activate the formation. And now, this very formation—laid down when the Alliance was first established—was collapsing.
The Heavy Wind Vine Wall Formation, though activated by just a few Go stones, was a supreme art that required far more effort than met the eye. Every material held sorcerous power, meticulously installed in accordance with feng shui and the Book of Changes. From the ridgebeams, eaves, foundation stones, and rafters, down to every single pillar.
Meaning, it was never supposed to be breached like this.
“What...!”
Sorcery was an art difficult to define in a few words. Unlike martial arts, it had no fixed form of mnemonics. Its sects were divided into countless branches, sharing only one thing in common: it was a discipline that toyed with the principles of all creation.
Unless one practiced the sorcerous martial arts of the heterodox sects, it was nearly impossible for an ordinary martial artist to grasp. This was especially true for orthodox martial artists who cultivated honest, deep internal energy.
To breach it with Fa Jin required immense, overwhelming strength. The Heavy Wind Vine Wall Formation installed in this office was sturdy enough to withstand at least one full-powered strike from a sect leader of the Nine Sects.
‘How on earth...?’
To pierce through it instantly with a single blow meant the boy had stepped into the realm of miracles. It made no sense unless he had mastered an extremely rare and exceptional martial art.
Just like the two grandmasters who had left immortal footprints upon the martial world: Zhang Sanfeng, who mastered the source of Taoist sorcery known as the Eight Great Divine Incantations, and Zen Master Bodhidharma, the Buddhist grandmaster who had melted the Buddha's Dharma power into martial arts.
Woooosh!
A divine wave rippled from the extended hand blade. It was an invisible wave of energy that wrapped around the office. Jegal Cheon, a feng shui master who had cultivated both martial arts and sorcery, felt it immediately.
The Heavy Wind Vine Wall Formation was vanishing as if it had never existed. The immense wealth and effort invested into this office were disappearing in an instant.
‘As expected, this isn't simple breathing-cultivated True Qi! Taoist? No, is it mixed with Buddhist power...?!’
It happened in the blink of an eye. The wave of internal power carried an incredibly clear and bright feeling. Could there be another internal energy so pure in the entire world?
The formation, which had taken vast amounts of time and money to install, was neutralized without a trace. Would it have been easier to counter if they had clashed with martial arts instead?
“Truly...?”
A questioning murmur escaped him like a groan. An immediate reply came back.
“You told me to enter, so I stepped inside.”
The curtain forming the boundary of the sorcery formation was swept aside with a single wave of a hand. The green silk fluttered down, revealing a boy clad in a pitch-black robe. He wore the same black leather boots that had been glimpsed beneath the curtain moments earlier.
He shook his hand once to let the green silk curtain fall completely, then lightly stepped inside, a strange elegance radiating from his entire body.
“Surely, this Commander has not committed a discourtesy. I merely cleared away an obstacle,” the boy said. His expression was indifferent, unbefitting his age. Or perhaps, given who he was, it was exactly typical of his age.
Because his status and martial arts were at a level that could influence the world, his every action carried immense weight. It was difficult to even guess his state of mind.
‘He is definitely a Black Rank of the Desolate Fortress,’ Jegal Cheon thought. Regardless of his youth, he possessed the skill to match his attire. It meant he was a monster.
A boy in a black robe who had torn apart a sorcery formation with a single move. The pressure radiating from his entire body far exceeded the realm of a rising star. It was a realm where, in the eyes of many in the Jianghu, he would not even seem human.
“...I welcome the Commander's visit. I am Jegal Cheon, acting Chief Strategist of the Martial World Alliance.” Jegal Cheon maintained a calm expression, though it took great effort.
He felt that if he did not act as though nothing had happened, something terrible would occur. He regretted his actions deeply. An attempt to gauge the boy's character was certainly necessary, but he had never expected him to possess a martial art capable of neutralizing sorcerous power.
He had intended to provoke him slightly and then release the formation as if it were a simple misunderstanding. As expected, the young Commander before him would not let it slide.
“Is this how your Alliance treats envoys?”
“...You speak of things I do not understand. It seems the fatigue of your long journey still lingers. I believe it would be best to meet again on a better day. We shall provide you with fine quarters, so why not rest?”
“I am Jeong Yeon-shin, Commander of the Demonlight Wing. Show the respect appropriate to my status.”
The young master of the Desolate Fortress gave no room for further excuses.
As he took a slow step toward the grandmaster's chair where Jegal Cheon sat, the rustling of his robe—which looked as if a piece of the night sky had been torn away—sounded exceptionally clear. He had raised his Body Protection Qi. He was fully prepared.
Since they had plotted to humiliate him, his intent to strike if necessary washed over the room with that single step.
“This couldn't have been the doing of a single person. Not when welcoming an envoy.” The boy in the black robe parted his lips. “Apologize to me on behalf of the Alliance.”
He did not frame it as the act of Jegal Cheon as an individual. He expanded the clash with the formation into a diplomatic issue between the Martial World Alliance and the Desolate Fortress. His sharp, rapid-fire speech was like a fast sword.
The White-ranked warrior of the Desolate Fortress, who was the sole escort following behind the Commander of the Demonlight Wing, smacked his lips. He's truly stepped into the Jianghu, our Commander.
“....”
Jegal Cheon was silent for a moment. Now he understood why the boy before him had risen to the rank of Commander. He was already a true man of the Jianghu, quite apart from his martial prowess.
He spoke well. He possessed decisiveness. He perfectly overlapped with the image of a beast that bit into its prey's neck and refused to let go.
The Go stones deployed to activate the Heavy Wind Vine Wall Formation had become a self-defeating move. A losing play. It had damaged the Alliance's face upon their very first meeting.
He stared quietly at the boy. An expressionless face filled his vision.
Jegal Cheon thought as the acting Chief Strategist. ‘If this humiliating situation cannot be confined to my personal affair...?’
Jegal Cheon, the feng shui master, had not risen to Commander of the Worthy Heaven Unit through individual martial strength alone. Possessing the skill to deftly manipulate sorcery formations alongside broad knowledge and a respectable level of martial arts, he had established himself as a highly valued figure to the Jegal Clan Leader.
Should he call the warriors stationed in this pavilion? How much manpower and time would it take to bring down that Black Rank? Jegal Cheon himself would not escape unscathed. And what would they do after gathering people to subdue a single Commander of the Desolate Fortress? Kill him to silence him?
The Alliance was not fundamentally a single entity. A massive uproar would ensue, and once the crowd witnessed it, there would be no stopping the rumors from spreading. Nor did he think they could capture the Commander of the Demonlight Wing without a massive fuss. They would suffer catastrophic losses.
He couldn't even deny doing anything because of the traces left by the breached formation. It seemed this Commander of the Demonlight Wing had a deep understanding of sorcery formations. One could tell just by how he scanned his surroundings with his hands clasped behind his back.
Where on earth had he seen a formation of this caliber before? According to his investigated track record, he had distinguished himself during the destruction of the Blood Flame Cult's main headquarters; perhaps it was related to the breaching of the cult's sorcery formations.
‘It's hopeless.’
He had shattered the Heavy Wind Vine Wall Formation with a single technique. A martial art that could affect sorcery and the keen eye to trace the flow of a sorcery formation were two entirely different things. A man of his resolve would surely search the office and find the cracked materials.
‘I must abandon a hardline response. There is more to lose than to gain.’
Jegal Cheon slowly opened his mouth. The hands he raised to his chest in a fist-and-palm salute trembled slightly.
“...I have committed a discourtesy to the Commander of the Demonlight Wing. As a member of the orthodox Martial World Alliance, I apologize.”
An apology. A word he, as Commander of the Worthy Heaven Unit, had never uttered to anyone, escaped in a low murmur. It was something he had only ever said before his Clan Leader, and even then, only back when he was a mere cog in the Worthy Heaven Unit.
The boy's lips curved into a faint arc.
“I shall take one thing with me. Lest you try to deny that this ever happened.”
The young Commander of the Demonlight Wing raised his left arm. The wide sleeve of his robe slid down to his shoulder. Revealing a well-defined forearm forged through rigorous training, a storm-like energy surged from the boy's palm.
“...!”
Whoooooosh!
An immense suction force erupted. His execution of the Qi absorption mnemonic went far beyond normal bounds.
Amidst the wood splinters scattering overhead, the entire ceiling of the office was being ripped away, collapsing inward. A thick cloud of dust spread. Through the vision-obscuring debris, Jegal Cheon's eyes widened in sheer horror.
‘Myriad Blossoms Rain...?!’
Grab!
“It is indeed engraved here.”
Jeong Yeon-shin caught a fragment of the shattered beam while simultaneously suppressing the mnemonic. He lowered the piece of wood in his left hand to inspect it.
Written in a powerful script was the phrase 'Accordance with the Law.' It was indeed a trace of the formation. It felt similar to what he had sensed from the Blood Flame Cult's Dual Flame Blood Spirit Formation. A mystical energy lingered on it.
“This power is far from ordinary. Is this the handwriting of the Jegal Clan Leader?” the boy murmured.
Jegal Cheon, who had regained his color, wore a fierce look on his face. “...Do not speak of the Clan Leader so lightly.”
“Hmm?”
“He is of a far higher standing than you. Both in seniority and status.”
“This Commander was taught by the Lord of the Desolate Fortress.”
“....”
No one in the Jianghu discussed seniority in front of the Brightfolk. This was especially true for the Lord of the Desolate Fortress, who was said to be the most noble among their clan.
Jegal Cheon snapped his mouth shut. The dozen or so Alliance warriors who had rushed into the office in a panic at the massive commotion also fell silent. Their faces showed they had pieced together at least some of what had transpired.
“Watch your step,” Heonwon Chang said. It was what Jeong Yeon-shin had once said to the Lazy Flame Dragon. The young Commander of the Demonlight Wing gave Heonwon Chang's shoulder a playful pat for no reason and turned around.
Though the commotion had been loud, only property had been damaged. Jegal Cheon, the master of the office, bore no signs of combat. As the experts of the Martial World Alliance parted to make way, only Jeong Yeon-shin's voice rang out briefly.
“We shall meet again on another day. Since our quarters must have already been decided, I will have a servant guide us.”
*
The relationship between the secular orthodox sects and the Desolate Fortress was not simple. This was even more true before the Martial World Alliance was formed.
Until then, the orthodox martial sects had not shown a hostile attitude toward the Desolate Fortress. It was the sect that most actively protected the livelihoods of the common people in the world. Though they might curse the Fortress's heavy-handed methods behind its back, they could not openly condemn it before the world.
As long as the banner of the orthodox martial world stood for chivalry and justice, they had to maintain that stance. Yet, they did not draw close to it either.
The Desolate Fortress's conduct made it so. They never accommodated the circumstances of other Jianghu people. They did not care about the opinions of the orthodox sects when it came to looking after the public. They exposed hypocritical deeds for all to see and did not hesitate to draw their blades to bring about a sect's annihilation.
In name, the righteous sects pursued both chivalry and justice. The Righteous Path, the White Path, the Orthodox, the Righteous Faction. They were martial schools that sought to enjoy fame under designations carrying the meaning of righteousness.
Yet, in reality, the chivalry of the Central Plains did not align with justice. It was vastly different. When viewed through the teachings of the Four Books and Three Classics, it was an incredibly bizarre belief.
“For example, if a guilty family faces the disaster of annihilation...” The Lazy Flame Dragon tapped the table with his large hand. Jeong Yeon-shin and Namgung Hwa-shin were sitting around it with him. “If a third party who had ties to that family dies fighting alongside them against their enemies at the scene of their annihilation, that person is hailed as a chivalrous hero. Simply because they kept their loyalty and beliefs until their dying breath. That is the realistic sentiment of the Jianghu.”
“And here I thought I had experienced quite a bit of the Jianghu,” Jeong Yeon-shin said.
The Lazy Flame Dragon smiled lazily. “The world of high-and-mighty fighters is, at its core, crude and foolish. They can never get along with the Desolate Fortress. Not if they want to protect their own brand of chivalry.”
Rhyme-Fragrance Court.
It was the quarters assigned to Jeong Yeon-shin's group. True to its name, it possessed immense elegance.
Just opening the door revealed a loft built over the outer gate. The entrance was on the second floor. The miniature mountain in the center of the courtyard was also beautiful. It was a rock carved and placed like a small island on the garden's pond.
It was certainly treatment fit for a distinguished guest. Except for one thing. The location of the quarters was rather awkward.
“So, you're saying someone will pick a fight with us at any moment?” Jeong Yeon-shin asked.
The Lazy Flame Dragon tilted his head toward his shoulder. “That is exactly what I mean. Can you not hear the voices from all directions? The constant thudding of footsteps sounds like thunder. Well, it's only natural since we've taken up residence in a house built right in the middle of the Alliance. I heard there are over a hundred and several dozen martial sects making up this Alliance... Even if we don't know their exact intentions, can you not feel their blatant scheme?”
“Indeed.”
“Hmm... but why are you smiling? This young master wishes to die of old age, you know.”