Chapter 229: Precious Sword (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 229: Precious Sword (2)
Jeong Yeon-shin stood ten paces from the two men. With his arms crossed, he looked perfectly at ease.
Only stray wisps of force, carried on the wind, fluttered the ends of his pitch-black sleeves.
“My, my.”
Gang Un-chan raised his head. He was standing directly in front of Heonwon Chang.
Gang Un-chan, the Sword of the Full Cart.
His face, now visible, held a faint, bitter smile. It was a fitting expression for his moniker, one that implied he had read enough books to fill a cart.
Such was his character as a warrior guarding the Chief Steward's Office. He devoured literary and martial manuals alike, using them as sustenance.
Gang Un-chan was an expert on the verge of the Blue Rank. His Body Protection Qi was strong enough that it wouldn't waver from a sudden shockwave, not even one that stirred the very air.
That held true even if his opponent was a Black Rank supreme expert.
Besides, the force behind the strike hadn't been nearly enough to shatter his internal energy barrier. It was more like the petty tantrum of a unit commander than a serious attack.
This was a familiar situation for the experts of the Desolate Fortress.
The fortress was home to eccentrics like the Vice Commander of the Divine Sword Corps, the Commander of the Forest-Treading Unit, and even the former Commander of the Divine Sword Corps.
They took full advantage of the status granted by the law of the jungle, which paradoxically coexisted with absolute obedience to one's superiors. Moreover, Flash Art was of the Desolate Ma Clan's bloodline.
Few expected much from the Commander of the Demonlight Wing in terms of personality. Only the newly appointed unit commander was unaware of this.
“This Gang’s babbling has gone on for too long.”
Gang Un-chan muttered, scratching the back of his head. He himself had delayed the start of the duel. Since the strike hadn't been delivered in the heat of battle, it was difficult to argue about fairness.
“Even though the Commander of the Demonlight Wing said… that it was tedious.”
He spoke, his eyes flashing toward Heonwon Chang. The gesture of stroking the back of his head was strangely slow.
His hand moved as if trying to dissect the very texture of the shockwave.
He was obsessed with martial arts. It was said that not a single warrior in the Desolate Fortress wasn't a genius. He couldn’t help but feel a flicker of curiosity toward the strike that had just occurred.
He simply couldn't bring himself to turn and ask the question that was already causing a stir among the gathered heroes: What kind of technique was that?
“Do not delay. I have ordered you repeatedly.”
Flash Art, the Commander of the Demonlight Wing, spoke.
“My experience as a commander is shallow, so I am not well-versed in the art of provoking opponents. However, I know which techniques are useless in a duel. Compete with your martial arts. I will judge fairly, based solely on your martial skill.”
His low voice flowed with sincerity, and the calm finality of his words carried the dignity of a unit commander.
“My apologies,” Gang Un-chan said, reaching for his sword hilt. Heonwon Chang, who had been standing with a strange expression, drew his own sword in response.
Sunlight danced wildly off the two blades in a silent flash of light.
Glancing at the two, Jeong Yeon-shin briefly reviewed his own technique.
So palm force can be compressed to that extent.
It was the subtlety of Striking the Cow Across the Mountain—attacking the mountain to hit the cow on the other side. Jeong Yeon-shin had struck the air with a brief release of force.
He had struck hard with a shockwave. It was just like when he had created the Wind God Movement Technique using the secrets of the Brightfolk's movements.
The moment he focused the impact point of his full-body Fa Jin to one side, the wind responded and delivered the blow. It was similar to a technique the Brightfolk were said to favor.
Is the Shaolin Temple's Hundred-Step Divine Fist also based on this kind of principle?
Jeong Yeon-shin immersed himself in the profound principles of martial arts.
Its utility was low compared to the mental effort required. The Hundred-Step Divine Fist was not a supreme technique one could simply copy on a whim.
Since it was the most famous Divine Ultimate Technique in the world, there had to be a secret unique to the thousand-year-old Shaolin. It wasn't something to ponder deeply right now.
I must ensure no one gets hurt. Not one person from our fortress.
Jeong Yeon-shin raised his head.
Clang—!
A sharp, metallic ring erupted, like brass being struck. The swords had clashed. In an instant, a shockwave swept past like a freezing wind, brushing against their skin.
The veins on their wrists bulged as they locked blades. The force loaded into the two swords was incredibly powerful.
A colorless heat shimmered from the point of impact, like the air in midsummer.
Beyond the blades, the corners of Gang Un-chan's mouth curled up slightly.
“Young Hero Heonwon’s sword force is quite impressive, more so than it appears.”
“What’s impressive is your Body Protection Qi. The True Qi shield at the back of your head must be as thick as your face. To be so perfectly fine after bringing disaster upon yourself, this Heonwon is truly filled with admiration for Warrior Gang's skill.”
Heonwon Chang replied, slyly raising an eyebrow. He spoke even as they were locked in a contest of strength.
His internal energy control was astonishingly deep. It meant he had more than enough breath left to carry on a lengthy banter.
Gang Un-chan’s eyes widened slightly.
It was the same for those watching from below.
Standing next to the Lazy Flame Dragon, Jegal Cheong-a showed a flicker of interest on her otherwise indifferent face. Her eyelashes fluttered upward.
“His breathing is too deep for his level of accumulated Qi.”
“He’s just an idler of suspicious origin,” the Lazy Flame Dragon said, his lips curling. Ignoring Jegal Cheong-a's shake of the head, he plucked a red poppy from a nearby plant.
“He isn't transparent like this young master. He has a sly, insidious side to him, the exact opposite of myself, I suppose.”
“You should watch your words. I’ve heard that each unit under the Divine Sword Corps is practically its own sect, but he is still a fellow member of the Demonlight Wing.”
“That’s why I speak so freely. You only evaluate irrelevant people when they're an enemy you're about to kill. But isn't he supposed to be the one watching our commander's back?”
“…”
Thud! Clang-clang!
The two continued their conversation, their eyes fixed on the sparring stage. The sounds of heavy foot stomps and clashing swords were fierce.
As vibrations spread through the stage, the two swordsmen crossed paths, their white sleeves fluttering.
Dozens of sword paths tangled and clashed.
The crowd around the Lazy Flame Dragon and Jegal Cheong-a let out low exclamations of awe.
“The sword moves of the Sword of the Full Cart are truly marvelous. Did you see that upward slash? The fragments of force completely occupied the space in front of him. The shockwave bloomed like flower petals, completely blocking the Demonlight Formula forms.”
“They said he swept through all the secret manuals in the fortress's Gold-Piercing Martial Library… It seems it wasn't an empty rumor.”
“I heard he read every single book on the lower and middle floors. That's why he's the Sword of the Full Cart. A genius is a genius, after all.”
“It's like he trained his eyes with some unique method. How vast must his knowledge be?”
Heonwon Chang's sword momentum was being suppressed. He had long since stopped advancing and was now being forced back, step by step.
To anyone watching, he was clearly being overpowered, his weakness in both sword force and perception becoming prominent.
With a faint smile, Gang Un-chan spoke.
“You need to be more humble.”
“What?”
“I know you secretly denied my words. Isn't that why you cannot fully draw out Commander Jeong's capabilities? Even though the world does not yet fully know the talent of our fortress's Commander of the Demonlight Wing.”
Gang Un-chan punctuated his solemn words with a sword strike. With a sharp clang, sparks flew in all directions.
Even with his deep internal energy, Heonwon Chang couldn't trade barbs while on the defensive.
Heonwon Chang was not Jeong Yeon-shin.
It had been less than two years since he entered the Desolate Fortress. It was far too early for him to be discussed in terms of Blue Rank martial power.
Even their ages were different. Gang Un-chan, the Sword of the Full Cart, was an experienced swordsman in his thirties.
His bearing alone spoke of his courage and capability. In many respects, he possessed the virtues of a true swordsman.
That was why he maintained his composure, even when facing the Commander of the Demonlight Wing.
Damn it.
Heonwon Chang's eyes narrowed.
He was constantly backing away. Gang Un-chan's sword strikes, which brushed past his ears and sleeves, were indeed worthy of his reputation.
Under the pressure of the man's sword moves, the fabric of Heonwon Chang's sleeves stood on end. The efficiency of his sword’s Fa Jin was incredible.
He could easily be a Blue Rank.
Heonwon Chang did not grow impatient. What mattered today was the symbolism of the martial art he was about to display.
The true value of prestigious martial arts like the Plum Blossom Sword or the Shaolin Five Fists is demonstrated by the elites of the middle ranks. That element is just as important as the existence of a supreme expert. After all, they say a joint attack of elite swordsmen executing the Plum Blossom Sword Formation can trouble even the Hwasan Sword Excellence.
The Vast Art Formula had to start from that same rank. It had to.
It was the unique martial art of the Demonlight Wing, created by his young sworn brother.
Jeong Yeon-shin had created it. Everyone would come to know. That was why he didn’t care about the chatter of the crowd.
“The martial power of the Demonlight Wing has always been famously strong… but how can they coordinate with members recruited in such a hurry? That fellow is the same. Heonwon Chang, the Great Tongue Sword. The Commander of the Demonlight Wing is a hero who is difficult for an ordinary person to assist.”
“His future is promising. It's just too early right now.”
“That's the limit of the Demonlight Wing, suddenly downgraded to the level of a newly formed unit. They had so many severely wounded.”
“At least they barely filled the void, so they only have room to grow alongside their new commander. There's no reason to disparage them now. It would be insulting to those who died in Sichuan Province.”
It was around that time.
The clash of sword strikes reached its peak.
Boom!
Gang Un-chan, in the middle of trading blows, stomped his foot. He slammed it down, and a wave of internal power exploded from the Yongquan Point on his sole.
A colorless wave surged up from his ankle, violently slicing through the air.
It rose to his waist, carrying immense power. Leaning forward, he thrust his sword outward, tearing the air apart.
Screeech!
The force surrounding the blade seemed to chew through the empty space. It was then that Heonwon Chang suddenly brought his precious sword down from above his head in a move that met the attack head-on.
Just before the swords clashed, a resonance like the buzzing of a swarm of bees spread through the air.
The sound echoed from Heonwon Chang's grip, accompanied by a radiance that enveloped the back of his hand.
A white beam of light instantly enveloped the blade. For a brief moment, it scattered in all directions like threads of sunlight.
It was different from before.
A beam of light, never before seen, bloomed the moment Heonwon Chang unleashed his shockwave, tracing a truly beautiful trajectory.
“That…!”
Many in the crowd leaped to their feet. Every warrior with a discerning eye did the same.
A technique no one had anticipated bloomed before them. It resembled the move the Commander of the Demonlight Wing had shown earlier.
A martial art they had dismissed as a secret technique only Flash Art could perform was now being executed by a mere subordinate.
It ruthlessly shattered their frozen, common-sense perceptions.
Roar!
Heonwon Chang's precious sword surged forward, enveloped in a current of radiance, deflecting and pushing aside his opponent's strike.
The momentum of the shockwave scraping the air felt as if it were clawing at their ears.
It was an incredibly violent, explosive strike. Even in that fleeting instant, the true nature of the martial art was fully felt.
The temperament of its creator bled through the sword's raw, straightforward path, remaining so until the very moment it arrived before the opponent's eyes.
Insane!
Gang Un-chan's eyes widened. His own thrust was forced back toward his chest, with Heonwon Chang's precious sword pressing down on it.
He couldn't withstand the sword force that had amplified in an instant. It felt as if his entire body would be split in two.
Beyond the beautifully shimmering shockwave of the sword strike, Heonwon Chang's dark eyes were chillingly calm.
Beneath his ornate Hero's Headband, his narrowed eyes even held a trace of killing intent. It was incredibly sharp.
They were executing the exact same martial art, yet the difference between the users made it as different as heaven and earth.
Thud!
Twisting his wrist, Heonwon Chang struck Gang Un-chan's forehead with the flat of his blade.
A heavy shockwave spread. As an incredibly weighty resonance rippled in all directions, pure white beams of light danced chaotically.
Each one was a shockwave of sword force, and all the strands turned into sharp threads, shredding the clothes on Gang Un-chan's upper body to pieces.
Rip—!
Even the aftershocks were like blades made of thread. Heonwon Chang had shown immense mercy by using the flat of his blade; he was not in a position to control the residual shockwave.
He looked down at Gang Un-chan's well-trained physique dismissively.
“Your external martial arts are soft compared to our commander's,” Heonwon Chang said, continuing.
“In any case, you were wrong. Just ‘lucky to have met a good sworn brother’? No.”
“…”
“I was extremely lucky. Far beyond what the thick skull of the Sword of the Full Cart could ever comprehend.”
Swish!
He lowered his sword lightly, as if brushing off dust.
The Vast Art Formula.
The martial art that the Commander of the Demonlight Wing had established as the exclusive technique of the Demonlight Wing had finally manifested.
It stirred the turbulent air with a final wave of energy before crumbling between Heonwon Chang's fingers like a dissipating moon halo.
The light, now so dim it was as if it had never shone, scattered into fragments.
The sight commanded a profound silence.
In an instant, the vast central training ground froze. This was a place where no one lacked a discerning eye.
“…”
Even without seeing the mnemonic, they knew.
— That is a Divine Ultimate Technique.
The experts of the Desolate Fortress gathered in the arena all came to the same conclusion. Even without spirituality, it would still be classified as such.
The Sichuan Tang Clan's Myriad Blossoms Rain was also such a martial art.
The feeling was completely different from when Flash Art, the Commander of the Demonlight Wing, had performed it. It was difficult to fully capture the strike of a top-tier expert with one's eyes.
Because the speed itself was on another level. Heonwon Chang had demonstrated it fully.
He had not revealed the unheard-of technique from the start, keeping it hidden like a dagger. It was the temperament of a killer. Yet, he could hardly be considered an ordinary assassin.
He had channeled the power accumulated from his ordinary forms into the supreme technique he revealed in that single instant. It was a feat that could only be explained by innate talent.
It was also far removed from those lowly sects that specialized in sneak attacks.
Suddenly.
The Lazy Flame Dragon's laughter broke the silence. The gazes of the assembled heroes shifted between two men: the Commander of the Demonlight Wing, who stood as witness, and Heonwon Chang, the cause of this unexpected turn of events.
“…That.”
Gang Un-chan, standing before him, parted his lips. His face was devoid of expression, looking incredibly dazed. Only in his eyes did a starlight-like desire shimmer.
“What is it?” he asked.
Heonwon Chang curled his lips. He channeled True Qi into the Renying Points on both sides of his Adam's apple and the Lianquan Point right above his vocal cords.
It was an internal energy manipulation that was practically a specialty of the Hero of the Desolate Fortress.
Even the way he minimized the energy's wavelength to maintain his dignity was a testament to his skill, one that was difficult for just anyone to replicate.
He spoke immediately. Not through sound transmission, but in a voice loud enough to pierce the ears of every warrior in the central training ground.
— The Vast Art Formula.
His refined voice spread in all directions.
While True Qi moved restlessly within his throat, his voice was remarkably solemn. It spread heavily, like the waves of the Yangtze River.
— The Commander of the Demonlight Wing created it to serve as our unit's standard martial art.
Finishing his words, Heonwon Chang spoke again, this time in his natural voice.
“It is exclusive to the Demonlight Wing. You won't find it registered in the Gold-Piercing Martial Library even if you search for a hundred days.”