Chapter 171: Manifestation (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 171: Manifestation (7)
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Jegal Hyeon let out a questioning hum. A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes as he stared at the Deep Martial Alliance's camp.
"The barracks... are all empty. Looking at the piled-up fasting pills and jerky, it doesn't seem like they've left for good. I suppose this is the kind of confidence one expects from the heterodox sects of the Thirteen Heavens... They've only left behind a guard detail. About five of them."
"There's even the scent of alcohol in the air. It seems they've been drinking, too," Jeong Yeon-shin said.
The boy lightly tapped his sword hilt. With a single glance, the information Jegal Hyeon shared was already obvious to his naked eye and his sense of qi.
The primary function of an eye technique lay in enhancing dynamic visual acuity, but the practical skill he needed right now was to modify and refine his sword style.
'If I were to create a new eye technique, I would have to devise it in the realm of a divine ultimate technique, like the Law-Transcending Halo Qi.'
No inspiration came to him immediately. It was nothing like his sword style, which already had the ready-made foundations of the Radiant Brilliance Sword Style and the Sword Saint.
Eye techniques were a far more subtle and mysterious form of martial arts.
He had not yet reached the stage where he could independently cultivate spirituality and imbue it into his martial arts. At least, not yet.
'How boring. It's not like I've ever felt my senses were lacking anyway...'
To Jeong Yeon-shin, the meaning of martial arts was special.
While it was a pastime to stave off loneliness, it was also a means to prolong his life.
His was a desperate existence. He could not afford to cling to the impossible. His interest waned, and his mood immediately bled into his voice.
"Let's go wait over there."
His voice was indifferent. Jegal Hyeon and Ak Ye-rim quickly turned their heads.
"Commander, what did you...?"
"Go wait there?"
Jegal Hyeon seemed to be asking for confirmation, but Ak Ye-rim's retort was sharp. Anyone in her position would have reacted the same way.
This was a place where a great sect of the Thirteen Heavens had established a temporary base. It was not a location to be spoken of so lightly, as if it were merely the destination for a casual stroll.
Jeong Yeon-shin, Commander of the Demonlight Wing.
He was at an age where his youth stood out far more than his black robes.
For those who had never traveled the Jianghu with him, there was only so much they could comprehend.
Immediately, distrust surfaced on the face of Ak Ye-rim of the Spear-Staff. Her suspicion that he might be inexperienced and reckless was plain to see.
Step.
By then, the boy was already stepping forward. From the perspective of the young Commander of the Demonlight Wing, it was actually Ak Ye-rim who was trapped in a well.
There was no way a greenhouse flower from a prestigious family, complacent in Shandong, would understand.
The experience he had gathered while racing across the Jianghu had granted this seventeen-year-old boy insight that far transcended his age.
'A group of over a hundred experts has set up camp,' the boy thought.
As a rule, experts of the Jianghu loathed tedious complications. Even if they formed a group, their romantic ideal lay in roaming the martial world alone.
Furthermore, if they were warriors affiliated with the Thirteen Heavens, they would hardly band together just to plunder commoners.
Whether considering efficiency or their temperaments, it made no sense.
Leaving in a massive crowd and returning in a massive crowd? That was something only conscripts with shallow martial arts would do.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly parted his lips. He could sense Ak Ye-rim standing behind him, completely at a loss.
"A greenhorn who knows nothing of the martial world."
"What did you say...?"
To be called a greenhorn by a boy so much younger than her—Ak Ye-rim's eyebrows shot up.
Jeong Yeon-shin continued, unbothered.
"The real problem is after they return one by one. Did you perhaps think of waiting until then to fight? I didn't realize your courage was so small. And here you are, having trained in the Ak Family Spear. Senior Ak of the Divine Sword Squad wasn't like you."
In fact, she was so boisterous it was dizzying. The boy swallowed his remaining words.
He was referring to Ak Su-rim, the Divine Spear of the Desolate Fortress. Ak Ye-rim's brow twitched, her expression one of utter disbelief.
"At your age, talking like an elder of our main family..."
Her voice trailed off.
But her words did not register with the old soul who had become the incarnation of a raging storm.
"In the first place, this mission is like striking a rock with an egg. It only happened because of the petty politics of that pathetic Alliance. It makes no sense to clash with the martial arts army of the Thirteen Heavens with just this handful of people."
The boy thought that he had spoken unusually long. It was a trivial conversation. It wasn't even about martial arts.
"You there! Halt!"
In the meantime, the group had been spotted. From thirty paces away, warriors clad in leather armor came rushing toward them.
Their sprint was incredibly swift.
Using a body protection scripture that made their steps sound like horseshoes striking the ground, the five of them kicked up a thick cloud of dust in their wake.
"Don't kill them, even by mistake."
The Unit Commander of the Desolate Fortress commanded the Martial World Alliance warriors. He did not wait for an answer.
Thud.
The young Commander of the Demonlight Wing stepped forward, spinning the halo in his heart.
The Law-Transcending Halo Qi, spreading through all the fine meridians of his limbs, wrapped around his entire body like the wind.
The hem of his pitch-black robes fluttered slightly. It was a full-body Fa Jin, unleashed without even launching an attack.
"Ugh...!"
Before they even clashed, the enemies gasped in fright. It was the same for his allies.
Leaving behind Jegal Hyeon, who inhaled softly as if reminded of a fan dance, and Ak Ye-rim, who froze as if she had laid eyes on some bizarre spirit beast, he kicked off the ground.
Whoosh!
The Wind God Movement Technique left behind an afterimage of black light. Jeong Yeon-shin deliberately drew his sword.
He immediately operated the mnemonics of the Radiant Brilliance Sword Style. This was to contemplate his sword style in actual combat against the warriors of a great sect.
A faint haze of light gathered on the blade of the Divine Sword: Northern Light. He unleashed a horizontal slash.
Slash!
He planted his feet perfectly in accordance with his body protection scripture.
The full weight of his stomp was transferred into the sword strike, and a single flash of light flickered on the right arm of the enemy in the lead.
He had definitely cut him. Yet, no resistance was felt in the hand gripping Northern Light's hilt.
At the tip of the faint ray of light, the man's sword and arm fell together. It was a lifeless drop.
"It's the Commander of the Demonlight Wing!"
The man shouted as he retreated. He was quick-witted.
The speed at which he connected the situation, rumors, and his opponent's appearance was remarkable.
This was likely one of the reasons why the Thirteen Heavens was called a great sect. It was worth keeping in mind.
"Subdue them," the boy said. It was directed at Ak Ye-rim and Jegal Hyeon, who had caught up to his side.
Jeong Yeon-shin's steps did not falter. There were four enemies remaining.
The Deep Martial Alliance.
They were called a martial arts army.
If their numbers were that vast, the quality of their experts was bound to be lower. By the Desolate Fortress's standards, these guys were barely around the White Rank.
In the rogue markets, they might act as undefeated warriors.
If over a hundred of them gathered, they would display a tremendous increase in combat power.
But at this moment, they were few, and they had to face the Commander of the Demonlight Wing of the Desolate Fortress.
Hum!
The wind brushing past their sleeves was accompanied by the sword light of Northern Light. Another man's arm fell.
The leg tendons of two others were severed. It all happened in a single breath. It was a display of overwhelming martial prowess and decisive execution.
Jegal Hyeon and Ak Ye-rim only needed to seal the acupoints of the helpless men. In an instant, the warriors' limbs were paralyzed.
Meanwhile, the response of the last remaining man was different. He deflected Northern Light and evaded. A white trajectory drew a semicircle.
The pure white blade swept past the tip of the nose of the man, who had thrown his head back, and returned.
It was a strike delivered with seventy percent less power, as Heonwon Chang had advised, but even so, it was a surprising feat.
"I've seen... someone who uses a similar sword art before," he spoke in a rough voice.
He was a man with disheveled hair. He seemed to be referring to a warrior of the Flash Art lineage who had mastered the Radiant Brilliance Sword Style.
The warriors of the Desolate Fortress set out to all corners of the Central Plains to execute their missions.
For warriors of the Thirteen Heavens, clashing with them was not uncommon.
"There must be quite a few like you," the boy said.
An insignificant nobody had recognized the sword style of the Commander of the Demonlight Wing.
Even a warrior of a great sect was no different from a rogue before a Black Rank of the Desolate Fortress.
Had those who experienced the same sword art put their heads together to study it? It was hard to think otherwise.
He had said it was not uncommon.
The martial arts of prestigious lineages were always targets to be dismantled. The more profound they were, the more enemies they attracted.
Famous martial arts usually prepared countermeasures in ways different from Jeong Yeon-shin. Their variable moves were diverse, and their secret manuals were thick.
It was said that the common method was to respond with dozens of different, diverse stances.
Clang!
He thought as he exchanged blows with the man.
'They say the ultimate techniques of prestigious families are martial arts with profound principles and many options for execution.'
The experts of newly emerged martial lineages had no such luxury. That was why various great sects had defended their status for so long.
They would gain insight into their opponent's martial arts to crush them, and then engrave another page of highly practical derivative stances into their own secret manuals.
He was facing what the warriors of the Flash Art lineage would often experience.
It was also what the Martial World Alliance was doing to Jeong Yeon-shin.
Experiencing it firsthand, he found it highly pleasing. They were more meticulous than the Commander of the Law Enforcement Unit. In fact, that was because her martial arts were too high.
For her, it had been enough to disrupt his rhythm rather than grasp the form of the Radiant Brilliance Sword Style.
This warrior of the Deep Martial Alliance did not do that, which was satisfying.
'I must construct a new form based on the mnemonics of the Radiant Brilliance Sword Style.'
He had created it back when he was a highly inexperienced White Rank.
It was a sword style that heavily referenced the sword marks engraved on the cliffs of Mount Zhongnan, and he had not modified it much since then.
Naturally, there was plenty of room for improvement.
He twisted his wrist to unleash another horizontal slash. The man reacted instantly, raising his sword in the opposite direction of Jeong Yeon-shin's.
The moment the boy swung Northern Light outward from his chest without a care, the man's sword-wielding hand thrust toward Jeong Yeon-shin.
He did so while slightly tilting his blade toward his own head.
The man had created a slope. Fa Jin force flowed from the fist gripping his sword hilt.
Clang!
Northern Light's blade scraped up the man's sword, leaving a scratch. At the same time, the man twisted his body to escape the sword sphere.
It was a move that showed insight into the straight trajectory of the Radiant Brilliance Sword Style. A faint smile played on the man's lips.
Of course he would be pleased. He was holding his own against the sword moves of a Black Rank of the Desolate Fortress.
Jeong Yeon-shin silently kept the man in his sight, never stopping his sword strikes.
Looking at him now, he seemed to hold a fairly high position within their camp.
"Thank you," the boy muttered. The man before him flinched.
Hum.
The Halo Qi spun within the palm gripping his sword hilt.
He did not draw more True Qi. Instead, he altered his sword move. The diagonal path of his sword curved gently.
The shockwave of the sword strike wrapping around the blade also curved. It was a trajectory that entirely bypassed the sword the man had raised once more.
The man's defensive stance was made a mockery of. It was as if he had thrown open the path for Jeong Yeon-shin's sword.
'I only changed it to a curve.'
The interest that had lingered on the boy's face vanished. What had the man been so smug about?
"..."
The man's eyes widened. That was as far as he got.
Thud!
He mercilessly slashed the man's upper body. A dull sensation traveled up the hand gripping Northern Light.
It tore through the man's Body Protection Qi and carved deep into his ribs. He wanted to eliminate any potential future trouble.
If by some miracle the man survived, the warriors of the Flash Art lineage might face a threatening situation in the future.
Spurt!
Blood sprayed the moment he withdrew his sword.
The open autumn forest path stretched out with extreme clarity, and the fresh blood spilled beneath his feet was just as vivid.
Red streams of blood dotted the yellow earth. It was clear and distinct, like a painting by an artist who had spared no pigment.
It meant there was no unnecessary dispersion of force in his sword strike. There was no stagnant blood.
This was because he had not inflicted internal injuries while exchanging blows. He had precisely severed only the lifeline.
The man's body collapsed at Jeong Yeon-shin's feet. A soft thud echoed.
Swish!
The black-robed boy flicked his sword once.
Then, holding the Divine Sword pointing downward, he slightly bowed his head. To anyone watching, it looked like he had gained an enlightenment and entered a state of meditation.
His closed eyes on his handsome face exuded a strange elegance. His long eyelashes cast soft shadows.
He looked like a young swordsman from a landscape painting, where the Brightfolk were usually the main subjects.
A solitary gaze. Swordsmanship that had reached divine heights.
The boy possessed a peculiar aura.
While displaying ruthless execution and blunt speech, he also exuded a temperament that one would expect to feel only from a peerless master of Taoism.
It was the air of a practitioner who seemed only a few years away from Feathered Ascension.
'As if he doesn't have much time left to live...'
Ak Ye-rim, who had been staring at the Commander of the Demonlight Wing as if spellbound, suddenly snapped out of it. She had been thinking of something absurd.
She hastily bit her lower lip and swept back her long, braided hair, scolding herself. Of all things to get distracted by.
She forced herself to speak.
"...The Commander of the Demonlight Wing is a cruel person. Even at a glance, he wasn't using his full power. He toyed with him before killing him."
"Cruel? It might actually be the opposite," Jegal Hyeon, who had tucked his iron fan into his waist, replied immediately.
"He got to exchange blows with a peerless master to his heart's content before he died, so it depends on how one looks at it. I believe it is still too early to judge the Commander's character."
"..."
"Let us extract some information."
There were four enemies they had subdued without killing.
He took the lead in interrogating the remaining men, taking extra care not to disturb the Commander of the Demonlight Wing's meditation.
He asked many questions.
How many of them had scattered, what their return cycle was, and where their leader, the Yeongcheon Sword Ghost, had gone.
He received no answers. The mouths of those determined to remain silent were like safes without keys.
They were indeed warriors of a great sect of the Thirteen Heavens. The man who had spoken in front of Jeong Yeon-shin earlier was an exceptional case.
"It's fine," the boy said, emerging from his meditation.
The group settled right in the middle of the enemy camp. It was the decision of the young Commander of the Demonlight Wing. His courage was astonishingly vast.
"Who are you? What is your sect!"
"Des... Desolate Fortress...!"
The men who had gone out to plunder returned.
They seemed to move in groups, returning in squads of ten or eight.
Every time they drew their weapons and rushed forward, they were slaughtered in turn.
The sunset glow lingering on Jeong Yeon-shin's Northern Light gradually turned red with blood.
Restraining Jegal Hyeon and Ak Ye-rim, who wished to join the fray, the boy retraced his own sword style alone.
The man who had previously confessed their movements had spoken of a hundred and fifty men.
It was not a lie.
Two days passed. The camp was filled with corpses. All of them had died of sword wounds.