Chapter 248: Punishment, Ties of Fate (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 248: Punishment, Ties of Fate (5)
From the lips of the Unorthodox leader fell an arrest order for a fourth-rank official.
What?
The act was so absurd it was hard to believe, even when witnessing it firsthand.
In that instant, Branch Head Wang Wi-su’s pitch-black eyebrows furrowed. What did this lowly bastard just say?
The Judicial Officer, who had been cautiously observing the cold, stern eyes of Jeong Yeon-shin, was the first to react.
"Get back!"
The red tassel on the hilt of her sword suddenly blazed with energy. Her left hand, gripping the hilt, unleashed a powerful wave of force.
It was the drawing stance of the Golden Autumn Flower Sword Technique.
Even in Beijing, it was an art renowned as a sword style for the elite; once unleashed, it sent petal-shaped waves of force sweeping through the surroundings. It was a sword art favored by the upper class of Beijing, a city teeming with high-ranking officials.
The Lord of the Vast Art Stronghold is terrifyingly powerful, but his internal and external injuries are extremely severe! I must deal with the leader first!
Just as she urgently reached for the hilt with her right hand—
A flash of white light flickered in a line from ceiling to floor.
Swoosh.
It swept across the Judicial Officer's shoulder. The attack had barely any presence, as if a damp, spine-chilling killing intent had simply materialized into a single, deadly trajectory.
Beyond the pale white haze of the sword light, Heonwon Chang was already kneeling on one knee, his posture low. The knot of his Hero's Headband fluttered behind him.
His expression was utterly indifferent, the tip of his bloodless sword resting against the floor.
Beside him, the Judicial Officer's right arm fell.
Splurt!
"Aaaargh!"
Only then did blood spray from her shoulder—the aftermath of a terrifyingly smooth and refined sword strike.
Heonwon Chang had been blending his own swordsmanship into the Vast Art Formula.
With a single strike, he had neutralized the Judicial Officer who governed the thousand-year-old city of Xi'an. When it came to concealing one's presence and delivering a single, fatal blow, he was the best in the Demonlight Wing.
It was, without a doubt, the realm of a Desolate Fortress Blue Rank. Every member of the Demonlight Wing was relentlessly chasing the example set by their Unit Commander.
"Stop!"
Branch Head Wang Wi-su, who was halfway to his feet, shouted loudly.
His shout wasn't directed at the Lord of the Vast Art Stronghold. He raised a hand behind him, halting the mounted warriors trying to force their way into the inn.
"The man who cut down the Ghost Soul Divine Sword has ordered an execution! You will fulfill your duties as subordinates and sheathe your weapons! Are you trying to get me killed?"
"Some officials are quite quick-witted, I see."
Cheong-myeong said with a smirk, having appeared from nowhere. His descent was incredibly fast yet perfectly natural.
The Brightfolk's Body Protection Scripture resembled the movements of an assassin, yet it was packed with immense power.
A white gleam flashed across the blade he lightly pressed against Wang Wi-su's neck.
"..."
An even deeper silence settled over the already quiet inn. In the faint sunlight filtering through a gap in the window frame, the movement of dust motes became starkly visible.
The Branch Head's warriors, who had pushed all the way to the entrance, froze in their tracks, shock written across their faces.
Wang Wi-su groaned.
"Your discipline is impeccable. You are no ordinary Unorthodox thugs. Who the hell are you?"
"That is none of your concern," said Jeong Yeon-shin, who remained seated calmly.
Wang Wi-su let out a dumbfounded laugh.
For all his authority, he well understood the value of an exceptionally powerful martial artist.
This was a man who, without lifting a finger, commanded experts on par with the elites of a great sect. Even spanning both the government and the martial world, this was an extraordinary status.
Even if his personal martial prowess fell short of the Thirteen Heavens or the Sect Leaders of the Nine Sects, he commanded a force that could rival them.
This fact had become painfully clear. The Judicial Officer, who had always looked down on the disciples of the Seven Great Sects, was now writhing in agony on the ground from a single sword strike.
Therefore, Wang Wi-su puffed out his chest even more confidently.
This was a world where only the strong survived, a world where momentum proved one's worth. If he wanted to walk out of here alive, he had to present his authority with even greater elegance.
He was different from the Branch Head of Yunyang Prefecture, who had died silently due to his gloomy disposition. His background, conduct, and the status of his city were on a completely different level.
He spoke as if reciting poetry.
"Do you have any idea in whose presence you stand, or what you are doing? I am of the Beijing Wang Clan, a prime ministerial family. I have personally witnessed the Emperor's divine sword dance. His Majesty himself bestowed this rank upon me and graced me with the promise that he would remember my face. No matter how powerful you and your subordinates are, to dare do this to me in broad daylight..."
At that moment, the beautiful woman standing beside the Lord of the Vast Art Stronghold opened her lips. She, too, was shrouded in a cold, stern aura, her voice as freezing as the northern wind.
"You're the one who has no idea in whose presence you stand. It may be difficult for officials across the land to keep wanted posters for the seventeen of us up to date, but even so, your ignorance is pathetic."
"Seventeen? What is a mere escort warrior babbling about..."
Wang Wi-su suddenly shut his mouth.
A brief silence ensued.
Martial prowess capable of confronting the Ghost Soul Divine Sword, peculiar behavior, a demeanor that treated a Branch Head as nothing, an extremely youthful appearance, seventeen people... He was not a foolish man.
The panic rising in his mind gradually turned into terror, sending a chill racing down the back of his neck.
"It seems... there has been a misunderstanding."
Branch Head Wang changed his tone instantly. He had no choice.
He had walked into the tiger's den on his own two feet.
"Pathetic" was indeed the right word. Could there be anything more absurd?
To think he had just confessed his sins to the newly appointed Unit Commander of the Desolate Fortress, a man at the absolute peak of his momentum. This was the same commander shaking the world, fresh from his triumph at the Sect Founding Ceremony.
Rustle.
He brought his hands together in an Arching Hand Salute.
Though it was an etiquette where one did not normally bow, he lowered his head as far as it would go. He completely discarded the arrogance of a high-ranking official from a prestigious clan, lowering himself as if he were addressing the Former Empress Dowager.
"The endlessly vast Shaanxi has become a paradise for the Heterodox Sects. The annihilation of Zhongnan was a devastating blow. If an official wished to survive, there was simply no other way..."
Slash!
A pitch-black current of energy warped the air beside Wang Wi-su's ear. It was the materialization of exceptionally powerful True Qi.
An energy like a thread pulled from the abyss sliced off his ear, letting it fall into the pooling blood.
"Do not defile my lord's ears with your excuses. Now you know how it feels."
As Baek Mi-ryeo extended and then curled her pale fingers, Wang Wi-su's excuses turned into a scream.
Even as he writhed alongside the groaning Judicial Officer, his escort warriors dared not charge. The extreme deference their Branch Head had shown just moments before had paralyzed them.
"What in the world..."
The leader in the dark blue martial uniform standing at the entrance muttered in bewilderment. A scene completely opposite to what he had anticipated was unfolding.
He had assumed they would be sharing drinks, but instead, blood was spilled. Besides, there was nothing he could do against experts of their caliber.
Under the sunlight that poured down with an almost indifferent brightness, the officials had no choice but to be bound one by one.
* * *
The bloodshed served as a turning point, and events began to unfold rapidly.
The Branch Head and the Judicial Officer were locked in the inn's underground cellar—a practical imprisonment. There, they were forced to face the armless Ghost Soul Divine Sword.
Meanwhile, Shin So-bin and Kang Chang-mu returned with various documents. They were scrolls detailing the deeds of the Xi'an Prefecture officials, stolen when they infiltrated the government office using their swift Body Protection Scripture.
Having fully grasped the situation, the faces of the Branch Head and the Judicial Officer turned deathly pale.
To think of how they had behaved in the presence of the Desolate Fortress's Unit Commander...
There was no room for excuses. The fear that their heads might be severed if they spouted any more lies froze their expressions.
"Since it's a whole chain of corruption and not just one bastard, executing them on the spot might be more trouble than it's worth. I heard the Eastern Depot is already groaning about this. Chief Eunuch Myeong-yeo has been completely ousted, after all," Cheong-myeong mused, squatting on the musty cellar floor.
"Just kill me, please! If you unseal my blood points, I will take my own life!"
They had used the ranks bestowed by the Emperor to pursue personal greed and deceive the public. The grave crimes of the Xi'an Prefecture officials would not end with mere decapitation. The laws of the Great Ming were extremely strict; this was a matter to be punished by the execution of three generations of their families. The moment this case reached Beijing, their entire clans might face punishment.
Wang Wi-su was begging to bury the entire matter with his life alone.
However, the timing was poor.
They were already forgotten by the Commander of the Demonlight Wing.
"What should we do? It's outside my authority," Cheong-myeong smirked.
Above them, on the first floor of the inn, Baek Mi-ryeo finished her interrogation of the Ghost Soul Divine Sword. Blood dripped from her fingertips as she reported to Jeong Yeon-shin.
"It won't be easy. The Zhongnan disciple, Jeong Hye, is..."
The young Commander of the Demonlight Wing was feeling an immense exhaustion. Gradually, his entire body felt as if it were going limp.
He hadn't shown it to his comrades, but he was suffering an extremely severe backlash. The drawback of explosive martial arts that prioritized short-term, decisive battles was now making itself painfully clear.
The messages that had arrived through the Commander of the Bloodkeeper Unit, Jin Myeong-jo, and the Desolate Fortress's secret line right after they had locked up the officials were also a problem.
[Lintao Prefecture, Shaanxi. The Lord of the Hegemon Sword Sect has emerged from seclusion at the Hegemon Sword Sect main headquarters. He is heading south alone, moving at a speed his subordinates cannot match.]
[Hanzhong Prefecture, Shaanxi. The First Apostle of the Blood Flame Cult has appeared. He is heading north with terrifying lightness skill.]
[In the center, Fengxiang Prefecture, Shaanxi. The First Sword of the Yeoryeong Lord has appeared. Shaanxi's Number One Demon, Wi Geuk-sang, has broken through the Mount Hua Sect's Plum Blossom Sword Formation and escaped.]
[The Mount Hua Sect Leader, Saint Flower Sword God Yul Ha-nang-rang, has descended the mountain carrying the Purple Mist Divine Sword.]
I must prepare something. Whether it's recovering or creating a fourth sword move.
Though it was a reasonable price to pay for confronting a top-tier expert, he was born with a destiny that required him to shatter the limits of what was considered "reasonable."
Shaanxi was a battleground for great sects.
There was no telling when he might face other top-tier experts again.
I need to devise the next sword move of the Lightning-Flash Sword Ridge Style. A sword form that doesn't place too much strain on my body.
There was no shortage of ideas coming to mind.
At this point, the elements that could serve as inspiration for Jeong Yeon-shin were virtually limitless: rumors about the orthodox martial lineages like Shaolin and the Wudang Sect, various martial principles overheard from the seniors of the Desolate Fortress, or even the breeze brushing against his skin.
His Upper Dantian, glowing with a white light in his mind, whispered to him: There is nothing impossible for you.
Indeed. At least you should say so.
As he organized the inspirations flashing through his mind and cast his gaze toward Baek Mi-ryeo's lips—
"Hmm...?"
Suddenly, it felt as if lightning had struck the Baihui Point at the crown of his head. A tingling sensation arose, and Jeong Yeon-shin's vision tilted sideways.
At the same time, his vision blurred. Baek Mi-ryeo's distorted shout echoed in his ears.
—Flash Art!
* * *
Nine days ago, the Demonlight Wing pavilion.
Miss Ye of the Martial World Alliance had become quite close with the Nameless Disciples of the Demonlight Wing. Her friendly nature, which led her to approach them with a smile as they practiced the Vast Art Formula, played a major role.
The Desolate Fortress was a bellicose sect. By its very nature, it had to be. Resolving conflicts through combat in the training ground known as the Martial Transcendence Arena was a frequent occurrence. After all, they were a martial army of Jianghu people who captured and killed other Jianghu people.
The children readily accepted Miss Ye, who had even stood against their seniors.
Naturally, they also frequently talked about their Unit Commander.
Gathered in a huddle at the training ground, the children told their beautiful and powerful guest many things. Since the Lord of the Desolate Fortress had personally authorized her entry into the main fortress, they had no suspicion that she would harm their Unit Commander.
"As for why our Unit Commander brother doesn't inherit the Ma Family... maybe he just doesn't need to? With that face, at that age, with that martial prowess, and even the Fortress Lord doting on him, what could he possibly lack? Besides, the Ma Family already has a designated successor: Ma Se-in. He's called the Shield Hero now."
"He's actually quite close with our Unit Commander brother."
"He's a good person! It's his mother who's the problem."
"Yeah, exactly," they nodded in agreement. This was right after they had told Miss Ye roughly where their Unit Commander was heading.
"His mother?"
"She's so wicked she used to persecute our Unit Commander. There was a major incident last time, too, so I heard she's confined to a corner of the Ma Family estate. She's a collateral member of the imperial family. Her name is Ju Yeon-jeong."
"Ju Yeon-jeong...?"
That afternoon.
The right arm of the noble lady Ju Yeon-jeong, who was leaning back in a secluded pavilion, was severed. A loud scream spread through the Desolate Fortress with the setting sun.
Just as her neck was about to be sliced, the current Ma Family Head, wearing a pitch-black prosthetic hand, descended like a flash of light and deflected Miss Ye's hand blade.
Thus, her second strike failed.
Glancing at her opponent's face, she showed no particular regret.
With a stride that made it hard to tell whether she was fleeing or simply taking a stroll, she gracefully drifted away, only her sleeve torn by Ma Jin's Demonlight Formula. Ma Jin, for his part, did not make a desperate effort to capture her.
"It is just as the Fortress Lord warned. The Grand Military Advisor of the Martial World Alliance, was it? Your true intentions are hard to fathom."
"How foolish. There is probably no one in the world as simple as me."
Those were her final words.
Miss Ye vanished from the Desolate Fortress's main fortress without a trace.