Chapter 246: Punishment, Ties of Fate (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 246: Punishment, Ties of Fate (3)
Yeo So-hyang's eyes flew wide open.
It happened in an instant.
Perhaps because his opponent was the sworn enemy who had annihilated his mother's family, a sinister impulse stirred in Jeong Yeon-shin's heart.
Hadn't they had this conversation once before? Her face had been calm, indifferent.
— I was merely traveling. I looked down and saw a land far too grand for its owners. Since time immemorial, fertile soil has served as nourishment for the World Tree. It was only right that your family be laid to waste.
— For that reason alone? There were many commoners in the household my mother chose.
— How pitiful. Instead of being grateful for contributing to the Lord's noble cause, you dare to complain.
The fierce battle with the core master of the Thirteen Heavens was reaching its end.
Jeong Yeon-shin severed her only remaining arm. The Elder Council Head of the Hegemon Sword Sect was far more famous for her swordsmanship than her Body Protection Qi.
She was in no position to withstand the ultimate technique of the Commander of the Demonlight Wing with her bare body.
The clear winter sunlight pierced down from the sky, shimmering where Yeo So-hyang's right arm had been. Shadows, as if announcing the end of the battle, bloomed and faded in rapid succession.
At last.
"Keo-heok…!"
A groan burst from the Ghost Soul Divine Sword's lips as they twitched violently.
Her previously lofty expression shattered. The pain, rushing through her like a searing brand, seemed to slice through the old woman's mind.
The sword beneath her feet lost its power, and she began to plummet.
"You bastard…!" Yeo So-hyang writhed, only a torso and legs remaining.
Amidst the blood spraying through the air, her lost internal power erupted in an invisible wave. Even the residual True Qi in her minor meridians was immense.
Jeong Yeon-shin did not let his guard down. He clenched his left hand into a fist. His opponent was someone who had once vied for supremacy with the Purple Ranks.
Even if she had declined due to her Hegemon Art and the passage of time, she was bound to have dozens of life-saving techniques. She might still be able to control her sword with her toes; he had to crush her completely.
Ugh.
He swallowed a groan.
The Azure Flame First Form was a sword art that aligned all the internal energy in his minor meridians with the path of the sword, placing immense strain on the muscles of his entire body. As the ultimate technique of an explosive sword style, its recoil was enormous.
His body was growing as heavy as waterlogged cotton, but he could not afford to succumb to the technique's backlash just yet.
One more move. Just one last move…!
He had to channel the pain from the lacerations that clawed at his entire body. As his skin grew cold from the blood whipped away by the biting wind, Jeong Yeon-shin used the chilling sensation like ice water, gathering the sharp pains like blades to awaken his mind.
Whoosh!
He fell alongside Yeo So-hyang.
Even such a brief moment in the air provided a master with enough time for over a dozen exchanges. He struck her abdomen with his clenched left fist.
Thud!
It landed squarely. A heavy shockwave battered Yeo So-hyang's Body Protection Qi. His knuckles met an incredibly hard surface. She was indeed a veteran master.
Though the loss of her major meridians must have warped her internal energy flow, she had still formed an invisible shield of True Qi. Her internal energy barrier was not so flimsy as to shatter from a weakened blow.
Thud! Thud!
Jeong Yeon-shin didn't stop. From his shoulder blades to his fist, he violently circulated the True Qi of the Infinite Flower of Time Hand.
It felt as if his acupuncture points were being torn apart. Had he not cultivated the Jeong Family Dynamic Art, he would have suffered permanent damage. But to a grandmaster of the physical body, the threat of lasting injury was meaningless—it only intensified the pain.
The internal power of the Law-Transcending Halo Qi bloomed from his fist. It was the Third Form: Fist Flower.
A colorless, distorted force blossomed like a bouquet. Force struck force, generating repeated, explosive releases of power.
I will cripple your martial arts.
He rained blows down upon her lower dantian. Her internal energy barrier began to shatter under the force of the shockwaves.
The Hegemon Art True Qi, which had always been ineffective against him, was completely unraveled by the Law-Transcending Halo Qi. Soon, Jeong Yeon-shin's fists penetrated all the way through to her lower dantian.
Crack-crack-crack!
The moment his fist made contact, twenty-four strikes landed. It was as if translucent petals were scattering from the old monster's abdomen—all fragments of the shockwave.
He pulverized her Body Protection Qi and smashed the hard internal energy shell of her lower dantian to pieces. A torrent of blood gushed from Yeo So-hyang's mouth.
The ground rushed up to meet them.
I won't let my guard down.
Jeong Yeon-shin pulled back his blood-soaked left shoulder. He lacked the strength to manifest Brilliant River, but Advancing Thunder would suffice.
He thrust his final fist strike toward the middle dantian of Yeo So-hyang, whose wrinkled face was contorted like a demon's.
It was the Infinite Flower of Time Hand, Second Form.
The moment all his remaining power converged into his fist, its surface lightly brushed her solar plexus.
The final reserve of internal power surged from the halo that had been spinning for so long.
Boom!
A heavy shockwave erupted. It penetrated deep, destroying her middle dantian as well. He clearly felt the distinct sensation of the impact.
"Heo-uh—!"
Just as the old monster gasped in agony, the two masters crashed onto the grassy ground simultaneously.
A dull thud echoed through the blades of grass, accompanied by a fine spray of blood.
Yeo So-hyang's right arm tumbled to a stop behind them.
The arm of the swordswoman who had once dominated an era began to stain the dirt, as if it had never unleashed such thunderous techniques.
It was an incredibly desolate sight.
Whew.
With a short exhale, Jeong Yeon-shin slowly pushed himself up, hands on his knees.
The watching crowd expressed their astonishment in various ways.
Whether they were gaping blankly or grimacing with complex emotions, not a single person could utter a sound.
The legend of the Ghost Soul Divine Sword's mastery had been shattered.
"……."
Only a few breaths had passed, yet everyone's expression was a mask of disbelief.
From the commoners watching from all over the gorge to the martial artists who had drawn near the hill, it was the same.
The Elder Council Head of the Hegemon Sword Sect had been defeated by a young newcomer. Everyone had witnessed her right arm flying off and her being ruthlessly battered.
She had lived a long life as one of the preeminent masters in Shaanxi, a province where three great sects were established. Yet today, she had descended to punish a newcomer, only to be broken herself. Utterly and miserably.
In the vast, slow breeze of the Great Moon Gorge, bewilderment, disbelief, and shock lingered.
Only one person was free from the silence: the Commander of the Demonlight Wing of the Desolate Fortress, currently disguised as the Lord of the Vast Art Stronghold.
Jeong Yeon-shin took his hands off his knees and straightened his bare upper body. Then, slowly and with difficulty, he parted his lips.
"That was… an excellent fan technique."
"I am glad to have been of help. It was not a particularly pleasant memory, but the ways of the world are truly strange," said Jegal Hyeon, stepping up to his side. As the Eldest Son of the Jegal Clan, he concealed his astonishment deep within his mind.
He thought that within three years, the landscape of the martial world's upper echelons might change completely.
The Fan Dragon Jegal Hyeon recalled the Commander of the Demonlight Wing who had stepped onto his fan at the main gate of the Alliance.
To think he would reduce the Elder Council Head of the Hegemon Sword Sect to such a state… Unit Commander Jeong's achievement is immense. This is no ordinary matter. The Alliance will be turned upside down. The repercussions will be far different from those of the Sect Founding Ceremony. It will be difficult to predict the movements of each faction.
His eyes darkened.
"He actually managed to take her down. No matter how many times I see it, it's a bizarre feeling."
The Lazy Flame Dragon approached from the other side. His demeanor was completely different from when he had rushed forward in a panic to block the attack of the Twin Demons of Chaneum.
His plodding steps were splayed outward. However, his idle posture did not last long. He stopped abruptly.
A sword that had been lying on the ground was floating into the air.
Sword Kinesis.
The precious sword, which had defeated the Twin Demons of Chaneum of Lingering Spirit and heavily suppressed the Ghost Soul Divine Sword, moved on its own.
It headed toward the cliff below. As Jeong Yeon-shin stared blankly at it, he heard a strange voice in his mind.
— I cannot bring myself to face you, so I will not approach. I shall visit you in the near future. Please… do not turn me away. I am sorry.
The voice was somewhat hoarse yet refined. It was a voice he had heard once before.
Baek Seo-gun, the Yeongcheon Sword Ghost. The Sword Venerable of Henan Province…
Doubt flickered in Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes. He had helped out of nowhere and left behind such incomprehensible words. What was this about?
He was said to have ties with the Jeong Family Manor. Was it no ordinary connection? Judging by today's events, it certainly seemed so.
Hadn't he just received a life-saving favor? A joint attack by the Ghost Soul Divine Sword and the Twin Demons of Chaneum was not something even the leaders of great sects could easily handle.
Soon, he merely gave a small nod. He wanted to clasp his hands in a martial greeting, but he couldn't do so while disguised as an unorthodox leader.
Yet, perhaps that was enough.
For a moment, Baek Seo-gun's precious sword trembled slightly. Then, as if nothing had happened, it vanished beneath the cliff like a streak of light, leaving behind only the faint sound of tearing through the air.
Jegal Hyeon and the Lazy Flame Dragon, who were beside him, said nothing.
Connections at the very peak of the martial world were as valuable as any martial arts manual. They were not something to be casually pried into.
"Heooo…"
It was the sound of air escaping from lungs.
The Ghost Soul Divine Sword, Yeo So-hyang, gasped for thin breaths where she lay collapsed at Jeong Yeon-shin's feet. Karma had stripped her of both arms.
Her left arm to the Sword Immortal of Zhongnan, her right arm to the Commander of the Demonlight Wing. Her paralysis points had been struck just before her fall, leaving her unable to even move her body.
She couldn't even commit suicide. She was barely capable of uttering faint words.
Jeong Yeon-shin stared down at the old monster and spoke.
"I will interrogate you."
"Heh, heh… Don't make me… laugh…" Yeo So-hyang curled the corners of her mouth, as if to say he wouldn't get a single word out of her. Her resolve was formidable.
Despite losing an arm and having both her lower and middle dantians shattered, she still exuded the spirit of a true martial artist. The internal power that had not yet fully dissipated from her body was also immense.
Jeong Yeon-shin tilted his head slightly.
"You talked so big before we fought. Aren't you ashamed? What's even funnier than a loser's bravado right now is…"
As he trailed off, genuinely puzzled, Yeo So-hyang shut her mouth.
Jeong Yeon-shin no longer spared the old monster a glance. As a leader of the Thirteen Heavens, she wouldn't talk under ordinary interrogation.
I have no talent for torture, but…
It was fine.
The moment he turned his head, a cascade of waving, pitch-black hair entered his vision. It was the Sun Lotus Sword Enchantress, Baek Mi-ryeo.
She was running toward him, a worried expression on her pale face. Despite the coarse texture of her disguise, her white robes fluttered elegantly.
She possessed pure demonic True Qi.
Yet, like Senior Jin, the Commander of the Bloodkeeper Unit, she showed no outward sign of it. Along with Cheong-myeong, she was the most reliable senior in the Demonlight Wing.
She would find out Jeong Hye's location. Injecting her True Qi would be a terrifying torture in itself.
"The Ghost Soul Divine Sword… the Ghost Soul Divine Sword has lost!"
"She's ruined beyond recovery… No, isn't she dead?"
"Another monster has appeared in the martial world. He's a walking calamity!"
"Spread the word! We must report this!"
A belated uproar erupted across the entire gorge, a miniature version of the martial world itself.
Messenger pigeons flapped their wings in all directions, while some in the crowd watched Jeong Yeon-shin and his group with rapt attention.
Step.
Jeong Yeon-shin walked away in silence. He glanced at the Ghost Soul Divine Sword and gave a brief chin-flick toward the Lazy Flame Dragon.
Ignoring the silent retort of 'You want me to carry her?', he started walking. The sunlight reflecting off the few remaining bushes sparkled.
* * *
The Great Ming is an empire.
It does not neglect the livelihoods of its people, the very source of its national power.
If martial artists who brandished their blades above the Great Ming Code were left unchecked, the commoners would suffer. Consequently, if public sentiment grew turbulent or tributes were not paid on time, problems would arise in the governance of the realm.
Thus, the government and the martial world are inseparable.
They cannot be separated, for the martial world is a society built upon the livelihoods of the common people.
Even the Black Way sects, which made a living by collecting protection money from inns and various shops, paid tributes to the local County Magistrate.
They had to, if they wished to avoid a visit from the Desolate Fortress's White-Ranked Warriors. Those warriors possessed the martial prowess of over a dozen ordinary rogue cultivators, and they would crush a small sect single-handedly.
The moment an official reported to the Desolate Fortress, the signboards of several sects would be taken down. The tributes were meant to prevent that.
Famine.
A time when the collaboration between corrupt officials and martial sects reached its absolute peak.
Clatter, clatter—
A luxurious carriage sped along the official road. Pulled by two fine steeds, it left a long trail of dust in its wake.
The wide streets held their breath. The windows of the shops and stores lining both sides were quietly closed or opened just a crack.
If they wished to keep their heads on their shoulders, they had to remain as quiet as dead mice.
The Branch Head, who had been watching from the sidelines, was finally making his move.
The great sect war of Xi'an, Shaanxi, which had verged on a popular uprising, had come to an end. Now, it was time to sort out the city's new power structure.
Voices drifted from the carriage, mingling with the noisy clatter of the wheels.
"The Lord of the Vast Art Stronghold. I still can't believe it. I went so far as to scatter bags of silver, yet those madmen have completely vanished. Into thin air, no less."
"Is that not simply the nature of the unorthodox? They destroy and are destroyed by one another. What loyalty can you expect from a mob that gathers and scatters at a whim?"
"Are you suggesting my foresight was lacking?"
"No, of course not. I merely…"
"It was just a joke. Good heavens, man."
"In any case, you must be careful. They say he is an unorthodox leader who even defeated the Ghost Soul Divine Sword. He must be a truly vicious villain."
"Do you not know my background? I know these lowly martial artists better than anyone. Since internal energy is a discipline that requires a deep understanding of letters, if his martial prowess is that high, he cannot be uneducated. 'Non-interference between government and the martial world' is a phrase only uttered by those ignorant of how the world works."
"Indeed. Of course."
"He can't do anything to a Branch Head of the Great Ming visiting in broad daylight. I just need to be mindful of my conduct. You, on the other hand, keep your mouth shut. Don't needlessly provoke him. They're the perfect kind to collect double the tribute for us, aren't they?"
"Yes, Lord Branch Head."
Just then, the carriage slowly came to a halt.
It had arrived at its destination: an inn with a detached annex.