Chapter 211: Turbulence (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 211: Turbulence (5)
Rumble.
The single beam of sunset filtering in was cut off as the stone sliding door shut.
The heavy, dull thud of the firmly closed door seemed to be a command for the new Commander of the Demonlight Wing to steel his resolve. Jeong Yeon-shin took it as exactly that.
His fingertips brushed against the rough door handle.
Step.
He entered the inner quarters of the pavilion, a place prepared for him by Ma Jin, the Head of the Desolate Ma Clan.
His maternal uncle was busy with both public and private affairs—a burden that came with being the newly appointed clan head. It was said that the stronger a clan's members, the harder it was to maintain discipline, and the Desolate Ma Clan was a prestigious family where even the one-armed Ma Jin was bound to struggle.
The exhaustion had been palpable in the letter he’d sent Jeong Yeon-shin, which was filled with lines about having to prove himself. He hadn’t even come to watch the duel between Jeong Yeon-shin and Cheon So-so, the Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit.
‘It would be more accurate to say he couldn’t make it.’
He recalled what Cheong-myeong had said during their confrontation—that the eyes of his mysterious clan could, to some extent, see through an opponent's mind. It was a well-known fact. The man Cheong-myeong had subdued was undoubtedly a warrior of the Ma Clan.
If there was an unsettling reason for this, only one came to mind.
Ju Yeon-jeong.
Moving a Purple Rank expert was treated with the same gravity as a major mission. At Jeong Yeon-shin's request, Ma Jin had overextended his reach and smuggled Ma Yeon-jeok out in secret. This was a clear overstepping of the clan head's authority. If the truth came to light, it would be difficult for him to avoid accountability.
‘That might be exactly what Ju Yeon-jeong is aiming for.’
If Ma Jin’s gamble yielded no results, her plan would succeed. Given the strict laws that governed the Desolate Fortress, ordinary achievements wouldn't be enough to justify his actions.
But it was fine.
Jeong Yeon-shin took the matter seriously, but he didn't see it as an insurmountable challenge. He possessed the Jeong Family Dynamic Art and the Great Restoration Pill. He was confident that vitality would sprout once more in his maternal grandfather's body. That was why he hadn't bothered asking the Lord of the Desolate Fortress to act as his dharma protector.
Before she was his master, she was an incredibly unapproachable existence. The word "Supreme" fit her perfectly. He couldn't imagine asking for her help with something he and the Demonlight Wing could handle on their own.
It was a hundred times better to clash with Ju Yeon-jeong instead.
Such an arbitrary decision was no longer mere childish rashness. It was the discretion of one who was both Ma Yeon-jeok's grandson and a Commander of the Desolate Fortress.
Lost in thought, he stepped into the room closest to the door. The first thing he saw was the face of Ma Yeon-jeok, lying on a large bed.
His eyes were closed, his body emaciated. His pure white beard, which used to gleam with luster, now looked dry and brittle. It was hard to find any trace of the peerless expert he once was.
"Grandfather," Jeong Yeon-shin whispered softly.
No answer came.
Only when he approached the head of the bed did Ma Yeon-jeok's wrinkled eyelids tremble. Soon, hazy eyes opened, their focus slowly finding him.
The old man's gaze took in his grandson's handsome face, and the gentle softening of his expression struck a chord deep within Jeong Yeon-shin's heart.
"You have... returned..."
The corners of Ma Yeon-jeok's mouth curved into a faint arc. It was a benevolent smile, and in it, Jeong Yeon-shin felt the warmth of family he had yearned for since childhood.
Because of that, he found it difficult to part his lips to speak.
"I left the Small Restoration Pill for you. Why didn't you take it?"
He had learned of this from Ma Jin’s letter. The Shaolin Small Restoration Pill was being kept exactly as he had left it. The letter had told him to visit sometime and take it back. Upon learning that the pill was his grandson's mission reward, Ma Yeon-jeok had flatly refused to take it.
—Yeon-shin, I simply cannot overcome your grandfather's stubbornness.
Ma Yeon-jeok had apparently threatened to disown Ma Jin the moment he tried to force-feed him the pill. Recalling his uncle’s words, the corners of Jeong Yeon-shin's mouth dipped slightly.
Ma Yeon-jeok's smile deepened.
"Was it not... the reward for your mission? How could I possibly take it?"
"Your grandson wished for you to take it."
"What... did you just say?"
Ma Yeon-jeok's white eyebrows twitched upward. He had reacted instantly to the word "grandson," and his trembling eyelids showed just how moved he was.
It was a term Jeong Yeon-shin had never used in his life. A wave of awkwardness washed over him, and he unconsciously stiffened his expression before immediately changing the subject.
"I came to see you about a different matter today."
"No, I asked what you just said."
"I obtained a Great Restoration Pill from the Martial World Alliance. I intend to restore your energy now, Grandfather."
The new Commander of the Demonlight Wing spoke of the martial world's ultimate treasure as casually as if it were a common restorative. He did so deliberately. There was no greater use for it anyway.
Three Flowers Gathering at the Peak was a realm he would inevitably reach someday. Even with the short time allotted to him, that remained true. There was no reason to prioritize it over his maternal grandfather, who might draw his last breath at any moment.
"I have heard much of your achievements. I am truly proud of you. Your martial prowess, Yeon-shin, is already something the entire world speaks of. That Sword Idiot, Hyeon So-baek... that fellow is no ordinary old man..."
Ma Yeon-jeok laughed softly, his eyes wide. He’d called him the "Sword Idiot," not the "Sword Saint"—a jab only Ma Yeon-jeok could get away with.
"In any case, a Great Restoration Pill... I might have wished for it once, back in my foolish youth. Regardless of achievements, it is a spirit medicine so rare that one cannot obtain it even if they wanted to. However..."
The old man continued with a smile.
"It is only right that you take it. Is it not yours? This old man can never accept it."
"Did you not save me from the Blood Flame Cult Leader? You would have died then and there if you had been a moment slower. Please, give me a chance to repay my debt. I am now the Commander of the Demonlight Wing. I do not wish to live my life indebted to you."
Jeong Yeon-shin's words were unusually long, his flat tone carrying a firm conviction that this was how things ought to be. This moment was the very reason he had fought to make a name for himself in the exclusive Martial World Alliance.
He still remembered the love he had felt in Ma Yeon-jeok's Demon-Quelling Azure Steel Hand—a warmth only blood could provide. Seeing his grandfather healthy and robust once more would be his true reward.
"I told you, I cannot take it. It is a matter of duty and reason."
"There is no such reason in this world."
He didn't need to consume it himself. The merit he would gain from restoring the energy of a Purple Rank expert would be more than enough to help him catch up to the seniors who had gone before him. As far as his future was concerned, that was plenty.
But Ma Yeon-jeok simply turned his gaze away—a stubborn refusal to listen.
"This grandfather of yours... has never properly played the role of a grandfather to you. How could I have the shamelessness to accept such a thing? I must go and scold that rascal Ma Jin. How dare he move my old body for something like this..."
His words came in halting breaths, his wrinkled face pale. Yet, a clear anger was etched between his brows, directed at his son, Ma Jin.
Jeong Yeon-shin decided not to argue further. In his grandfather’s intransigence, he caught a glimpse of the old man's youth. He had probably driven his enemies mad in battle, and his colleagues at the fortress must have found him just as infuriating.
I must make sure I don't end up like my grandfather, Jeong Yeon-shin thought to himself.
He slowly parted his lips.
"As you said, Grandfather, the Great Restoration Pill is mine. Since I intend to use it as I see fit, I believe there is no room for you to interfere. I will handle this myself."
"..."
"I am opening it."
He pulled the wooden box containing the Great Restoration Pill from his robes. It was a red sandalwood box, smaller than his palm. A subtle fragrance wafted from it; even sealed, a distinct, divine energy could be felt. He’d known it was a treasure the moment he received it from Miss Ye at the Martial World Alliance. The spirit medicines crafted with the secret arts of the Shaolin monks were said to be incredibly mysterious.
Click.
He flipped open the lid of the box, which had warmed against his chest.
At that moment, the fragrance vanished. The pill, a white, pebble-like pellet, seemed to contain all its medicinal energy within itself. It was as if it possessed a spirit of its own, keeping its efficacy sealed away—truly a mystery of the Jianghu, just as he had heard since childhood.
Yet Ma Yeon-jeok didn't even spare it a glance. The old man's eyes were fixed on his grandson.
"This old man said he will not take it. Surely, you do not intend to force it down my throat...?"
Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer. He had once helped Taoist Yu-hyeon of the Mount Hua Sect absorb a Purple Grace Pill, and that was when he was only a White Rank. Now, having become far more proficient in internal cultivation thanks to his Law-Transcending Halo Qi, things were different.
He could do it again, but far better than before.
Slide.
Jeong Yeon-shin decisively took out the Shaolin Temple's Great Restoration Pill and swallowed it. It had no scent, no taste.
The spirit pill melted down his throat, its descent quiet yet extraordinary. In an instant, it felt as if it would reach his lower abdomen.
"Grandfather, please forgive my rudeness."
Jeong Yeon-shin gently pushed aside the silk quilt covering his grandfather. The old man, who had been watching with wide eyes, stiffened as a hand pressed against his lower Dantian.
"Internal Power Transfer...!" Ma Yeon-jeok muttered, his voice a groan.
It was a secret art for transferring one's energy to another, a technique that came with extreme physical exhaustion. But such side effects wouldn't affect the current Jeong Yeon-shin. As the Flash Art and Commander of the Demonlight Wing, he paid it no mind. He had more urgent matters to attend to.
‘It's fast.’
He had no time to check his grandfather's condition. The Great Restoration Pill was different from the Purple Grace Pill. The moment he swallowed it, its power dissolved throughout his entire body. It felt as if a wildfire had erupted at his Shimen Point, where his lower Dantian resided.
Before he could even complete a Great Heavenly Cycle through the acupoints of his upper body, a monstrous energy surged forth.
Wuuuung—
A low resonance echoed from deep within him. His muscles felt hollow, as if his entire body had become a cavern, all because an unprecedented energy was flooding his meridians, fine vessels, and acupoints.
The efficacy of the Great Restoration Pill... was truly colossal.
Now he understood why Mount Song Shaolin was called the greatest in the Central Plains. The pill was their secret spirit medicine, one that monks from various clans spent decades to craft. The power spreading through his fine vessels was hard to even describe as medicinal energy. It was so clean, so unbelievably pure, it felt as if it had already been refined. It would barely require a few circulations of the Jeong Family Dynamic Art.
A heavy pulse throbbed several times beneath his navel.
"You must circulate the Jeong Family Dynamic Art, not the Harmonious Bloom Divine Art," he said. Even as he spoke while guiding his energy, his internal force didn't waver. This was the result of the Jeong Family Dynamic Art, which refined internal energy through physical movement, combined with his innate control.
He channeled the energy as it surged. A transparent ripple spread from the fingertips resting on his grandfather's lower abdomen.
Wung.
If Ma Yeon-jeok rejected it now, they would both risk Qi Deviation.
"Sigh..."
With a soft sigh, Ma Yeon-jeok closed his eyes.
The corners of Jeong Yeon-shin's mouth curved up slightly.
This was the second time he was examining the body of a Purple Rank peerless expert. First, it was the current Commander of the Divine Sword Corps; now, it was the former.
Jeong Yeon-shin's consciousness descended into the old man’s body, a space as vast as a universe. Simply by observing, all kinds of enlightenment flowed into him: how the muscles and fine vessels were structured in their prime, which acupoints and muscle groups his grandfather favored, what kind of physical system those traces implied, how the three Dantians were formed...
Gathering all this knowledge, he began to guide the energy of the Great Restoration Pill into his grandfather's acupoints, starting the circulation while channeling the core principles of the martial art most needed at this moment.
‘Mother...’
The intent of the Jeong Family Dynamic Art infused the power penetrating Ma Yeon-jeok's body.
A daughter embracing her father.
Suddenly, Ma Yeon-jeok's eyebrows turned pitch black. In that same instant, the wrinkles around his eyes seemed to vanish as his skin tightened.
It was a sign of a profound change.
* * *
"I heard a request for support came from the Azure Sky Unit. Seems they're struggling."
"I heard. The Golden Wing Sect's momentum is unusual. No telling what those madmen are plotting. At least the Tang Clan is cooperating with the Azure Sky Unit... but there are rumors the Commander of the Azure Sky Unit was defeated by the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect. Wonder if he even survived."
"Is the Heaven-Aligned Wing still out of contact? I heard the messenger pigeons aren't returning."
"Well, there isn't even a branch office in Xinjiang..."
"Isn't that place a demonic realm to begin with? It's also where the former Commander lost his manhood."
"Do you really have to bring that up..."
This was the conversation between the Blue Rank experts of the Demonlight Wing. Their Qi senses, sharp as blades, enveloped the pavilion, but they remained relaxed. Most of them had far more experience in the Jianghu than their Commander, Jeong Yeon-shin, and their knowledge was much broader. They were adept at easing their tension without neglecting their duties.
"What's even scarier are the leaders of the unorthodox great sects. Rumor is the Yeoryeong Lord and the Lord of Heaven's Bane are touring the Thirteen Heavens. Sounds like those noble families forming an alliance really spooked them."
"The Thirteen Heavens forming an alliance? What a horrifying thought..."
"If that actually happens, even our main fortress won't be able to handle it."
"Stop it. That's not something those unorthodox bastards could pull off."
"In any case, it's an unprecedentedly turbulent time. Must be because of the famine. They say food is scarcer than silver now, so the leaders of the great sects have no choice but to get bolder..."
It was then that a voice came from far beyond the main gate.
"You are right. A turbulent age is coming."
The voice rang out clearly, though its owner had not shouted.
The Blue Rank experts had already sensed her presence. None of them showed any surprise as they turned their heads.
It was a middle-aged woman dressed in a pitch-black court dress. The silk wrapping her body was dyed in jet-black ink, and her slender face held an air of elegance. She was shrouded in the overwhelming aura of the Golden Immortal Eight Methods, an imperial martial art, and the temperament in her eyes seemed to look down upon the world.
Ju Yeon-jeong of the Desolate Ma Clan.
"Yet you all sow discord," she said, her red lips parting. "To meddle in the affairs of a family without knowing your place—have you no shame?"