Chapter 25: Footwork
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 25: Footwork
"The Blood Flame Cult was involved?" Ma Jin muttered, the scar on his face twisting severely.
"And of all people, the Blood Master Sword..."
"This proves that what happened in Zhenping County wasn't just a fluke," Baek Mi-ryeo said, her brow furrowing as the gravity of the situation set in. Behind her, Cheong-myeong simply stroked Jeong Yeon-shin's head, marveling at the boy.
"There are traces of a regenerative ability that started but stopped halfway. It's definitely the Blood Master Sword."
For some reason, Heonwon Chang’s reaction was unexpected. He didn't click his tongue or shake his head in resignation. Instead, he closely examined the severed head of the Blood Master Sword, tracing the path where the blade had sliced through.
"This isn't normal," Ma Jin said. "It's highly improbable."
"The Blood Master Sword isn't supposed to be this common." Baek Mi-ryeo gave a slight nod.
"We must investigate, whether it's among the Unorthodox Factions or in regions without any martial sects. The expansion of the Cult's influence is a grave matter. If they've developed their sorcery to the point of placing a Master Sword in every county, it could mean the Apostles of the Blood Flame Cult have also grown in number. Those whose hair has turned completely black... If even those bastards have multiplied... it's horrifying."
"Indeed," Cheong-myeong nodded, seemingly in agreement.
"Flash Art has achieved no small feat. It almost seems like trouble follows you around. But surviving it and bringing back both information and merit is something that will shake the martial world. The Desolate Fortress will have to respond."
Ma Jin stared at him silently for a moment before speaking.
"Right. You said you wanted to go to Mount Zhongnan."
"I am weak-willed in this regard. I cannot help but worry about my nephew's safety," Jeong Yeon-shin replied.
Did that sound like an indirect reproach of the Desolate Ma Clan? Ma Jin's face stiffened awkwardly. With a rare, strained expression, he said, "...We have only just received the news ourselves. But Mount Zhongnan is dangerous right now. The Hegemon Sword Sect is a different breed of monster compared to the Blood Flame Cult."
"You can't just call them Unorthodox, either," Baek Mi-ryeo chimed in, a hint of worry in her slightly upturned eyes. "They train in both Orthodox martial arts and sorcery without distinction. They are madmen obsessed with gaining power, and they know no bounds."
"Yes. Above all, no official mission has been issued. It is enough for us to fulfill our assigned duties."
Ma Jin and Baek Mi-ryeo clearly didn't want to let Jeong Yeon-shin go. Only Cheong-myeong, standing beside them, tactlessly defended the youngest member of the Demonlight Wing.
"But a Unit Commander-level expert can assess the situation and issue a mission at their own discretion, can't they?"
"..."
While Baek Mi-ryeo glared at him sharply, Ma Jin continued.
"I will be honest with you. How can we let you go when we don't even know if you'll return from Mount Zhongnan alive?"
"Pardon?" Jeong Yeon-shin couldn't help but ask in disbelief. Yet, everyone in the room except him seemed to agree.
"Anyone in the Desolate Fortress who knows your talent would worry."
"Even if it's a groundless worry, it's true. Any sect would covet you, and now we hear you have family there. There was also that business with the Hwasan Sword Excellence mentioning you as a guest."
Not just Baek Mi-ryeo, but even Cheong-myeong nodded in agreement.
However, Jeong Yeon-shin knew Ma Jin had another reason the others were unaware of. Ma Jin was likely worried that Yeon-shin, who hadn't yet grown attached to the Desolate Ma Clan, might simply leave and never return.
"What will happen if the Unit Commander cannot separate public duty from private matters? Is the trust I've built in the Demonlight Wing only worth this much?" Yeon-shin spoke with a calm face, but his words cut straight to the bone.
"..."
"I have achieved a clear merit. Please let me go. And record this incident as my sole achievement."
"You've been checkmated," Cheong-myeong muttered, only to be promptly jabbed in the ribs by Baek Mi-ryeo.
As Cheong-myeong groaned, Ma Jin, who had been lost in deep thought, slowly spoke.
"You are right. It is difficult to refuse outright. Let us make a bet."
"A bet?"
"Take one of my techniques. A single strike will suffice. If you neutralize it or evade it, I will let you go. To walk the Jianghu alone, you must possess at least that much strength. Furthermore, I will promise you another reward."
"Understood."
While the others looked on in surprise, Jeong Yeon-shin readily nodded.
*
They headed to the backyard of the inn. Neither Jeong Yeon-shin nor Ma Jin paid any mind to the eyes of others.
It was a stage set to exchange a single strike.
The experts of the Mount Hua Sect approached and asked what was happening. Upon hearing the general situation, many of them politely requested to watch the exchange. Ma Jin granted permission without much thought.
"Thank you."
The Mount Hua Sect martial artists formed a perimeter, blocking the view of the commoners.
"To see the Commander of the Demonlight Wing strike... If he is a Black Rank Expert of the Desolate Fortress, isn't he comparable to our Martial Uncle?" Yu-hyeon asked the Heavenly Pillar.
The Heavenly Pillar, leader of the Plum Blossom Sword Warriors, replied in the affirmative and added, "He would be even stronger than me in a chaotic brawl. His moniker is the Naraka Reaper. It means he completely dominates the battlefield. Not a few elders of prestigious sects who flaunted their hypocritical malice have met their end at his hands."
"Just receiving a single strike from him sounds terrifying."
"When facing a peak expert of that caliber, you cannot take even a simple hand gesture lightly. A single strike contains the profound truth of instant death. He is different from us, the martial artists of the Nine Sects who seek the ultimate Way of the Sword. His martial arts are honed thoroughly for real combat. When battlefield martial arts reach their absolute zenith, there is nothing more terrifying."
"...No matter how great Yeon-shin is, I think this will be difficult. Against an expert like that, there isn't a single person among our peers who could withstand even a single blow."
Yu-hyeon's gaze shifted to Jeong Yeon-shin, who stood facing Ma Jin.
Flash Art of the Demonlight Wing. He stood facing the wind, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword. His face, as always, showed little trace of emotion.
Jeong Yeon-shin remained calm, thinking only of demonstrating the martial arts he had mastered. He spoke slowly.
"Will you give me a moment?"
"As much as you need. I intend to show you a strike that a White Rank cannot easily withstand, so you had best sharpen your senses."
It sounded like he was going to hold back, but Ma Jin's standards were on an entirely different level.
The Commander of the Demonlight Wing. A peak Black Rank Expert. It was said he was not yet thirty, a rarity even within the Desolate Fortress.
Jeong Yeon-shin closed his eyes. Observing his own body, he first awakened his Lower Dantian. The energy accumulated through his Dynamic Cultivation Art, which had lain dormant throughout his body, rose in tandem.
As he circulated his True Qi through his entire body, he sought to draw out the sensation he had realized at the Mantis Sect.
An ordinary martial artist might have found that fleeting experience slipping through their fingers, forcing them to devote themselves to endless training to grasp it again. But Jeong Yeon-shin was different. Once he truly felt a sensation, it became entirely his. There was no need for him to waste time trying to take a step forward based on mere coincidence.
I can see it.
Was this what the cloning technique of the legendary Sun Wukong felt like?
He could perceive Ma Jin's body from all directions—even his back—as if it were right before his eyes. Combined with his unique Sense of Qi, which was highly sensitive to energy, his perception reached absolute perfection.
"I will let you take the first move."
Jeong Yeon-shin cracked a rare joke.
With a smirk, Ma Jin raised his hand, forming a thick, upright hand blade.
He had heard that Ma Jin's martial arts were the crystallization of the Demonlight Formula. It meant he had truly mastered every weapon to the level of a grandmaster. It was said he could skillfully wield any object scattered across a battlefield—even a wine bottle rolling on a tavern floor.
In that case, his bare hands must be the most terrifying.
He could tell just by looking at the gathering waves of energy. He now understood what Ma Jin meant when he said a White Rank would find it hard to withstand.
The density of the energy was on an entirely different level. A palm technique of that caliber felt as though it could shatter even the thickest fortress wall in a single blow.
I must evade.
He finished his calculations. Trying to block it half-heartedly would undoubtedly result in severe injury.
Jeong Yeon-shin completely lowered the hand he had resting on his sword hilt.
While the onlookers couldn't hide their bewilderment, Ma Jin's massive frame lunged forward.
Boom!
Ma Jin's Body Protection Scripture was not elusive. It was linear and brutally fast. It felt like a condensed typhoon was crashing down upon him. Even though this likely wasn't Ma Jin's full speed, Jeong Yeon-shin found it difficult enough just to twist his body aside.
Whoosh!
Ma Jin controlled his movements with astonishing precision. With a slight twist of his toe, the flow of force reversed. At the end of the hand blade's trajectory, which tore horizontally through the air, was Jeong Yeon-shin's head.
Even then, Jeong Yeon-shin closely observed Ma Jin's movements. A faint blue light flashed across his eyes.
He could not escape this with the Body Protection Scripture he had mastered so far. Since the Brightfolk's movements that Cheong-myeong had taught him were not a set formula, he needed a single step that would carve out a path of survival with clear intent.
Just one step.
The trajectory and direction of force that Ma Jin would generate drew complex lines in his mind. The Baihui Point at the crown of his head felt as if it were burning.
With what posture, what circulation of True Qi, and at what exact moment should he take his step?
The single step that would tear through the gaps of the raging wind began to take shape within his mental space.
At the same time, he felt another dantian budding near his heart. It was but a fleeting moment. A strand of internal energy from the Jeong Family Dynamic Art had briefly activated his Middle Dantian in a split second.
The True Qi, which had grown even more robust for a brief instant, spurred the creation of a new ultimate technique.
This was not the realm of certain peak experts who perceived time as moving slowly. It was simply that Jeong Yeon-shin's cognitive speed was as fast as a flash of light. That was all. His innate talent manifested in the realm of martial arts at this very moment.
Step.
Craaaack!
The moment Jeong Yeon-shin took a single step, a massive shockwave swept upward, blowing his hair back. Immediately after, he felt the fierce wind brought by the force that exploded behind his back.
"..."
Dust swirled, but no one spoke.
Everyone present was an expert who lived by martial arts. Anyone could feel that the step Jeong Yeon-shin had just taken was anything but ordinary.
"That footwork just now." Ma Jin's lips parted slightly, his hand still extended in the striking posture. "What was that? I have never seen it before."
"I simply walked. Because I saw a path to survival."
"...Truly, your talent is incomprehensible. It remains so even now."
"I shall call it the Radiant Wing Step," Jeong Yeon-shin said calmly.
The origin of the name Demonlight Wing was not complex. It was derived from the meaning of being the wings of the Desolate Fortress that destroyed the demons of the Great Ming Empire.
The name Radiant Wing Step was different. Incorporating the character Hwan—meaning to shine or be brilliant—revealed the warmth Jeong Yeon-shin felt toward the Demonlight Wing he belonged to.
Naturally, the faces of Ma Jin, Cheong-myeong, and Baek Mi-ryeo softened, their stern expressions melting away.
Ma Jin composed his posture and slowly spoke.
"I permit Flash Art's journey to Zhongnan."
"Whoa!" Heonwon Chang let out a wild cry and rushed over. Utterly excited, he showered Yeon-shin with praise, calling it an incredibly profound footwork.
As his body shook from having his shoulders grabbed, Jeong Yeon-shin thought quietly.
Radiant Wing Step.
For now, it was a single step. He did not know how many steps he would eventually advance. If it expanded to something like the Radiant Wing Tenth Step, would he reach the realm of the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps?
"A peerless genius has emerged from the Desolate Fortress."
"It is not entirely welcome news. However, it is the step of a rising star with limitless potential. There will be joy in watching him grow."
"I'm going to visit you, so don't turn me away at the door!"
Amidst the admiration of the Mount Hua Sect experts and Yu-hyeon's envious gaze, he returned to his guest room. A warm atmosphere filled the space among the gathered Demonlight Wing experts.
"To act alone in the Zhongnan Sect, being a White Rank is indeed insufficient," Cheong-myeong said with a broad grin.
What was he talking about now? Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes filled with curiosity.