Chapter 314: Heonwon (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 314: Heonwon (9)
The situation had been pushed to the absolute limit.
The Seventh Apostle had clearly cried out, "Grandfather!"
Given the context of their previous conversation, anyone would have momentarily thought of the Hegemon Hero.
Even the Leader of the Deep Martial Alliance, a peerless master of the world, was no exception—even if the words were a blatant lie.
"..."
His massive shadow faltered. The torrential wave of internal power radiating from the Leader of the Deep Martial Alliance ground to a halt as well.
The distraction forced him to instantly focus his consciousness outward. The absolute master was robbed of a mere hundredth of a breath's worth of time.
This was exactly what the Seventh Apostle had intended. Her ruby-like eye flashed blood-red from behind her pitch-black eyepatch. To her, this tiny fraction of a second was an immense window of opportunity.
Whoosh!
The epicenter of the shockwave that crushed the snowy field into a perfect circle originated beneath her feet. An unprecedented wave of energy erupted. The hazy snow whipped violently alongside her jet-black hair.
It was like facing a natural disaster. Yet, in this life-or-death crisis with the Leader of the Deep Martial Alliance right before her, she had successfully created an opening.
The Seventh Apostle's upper Dantian burned hot.
At the same time, her perception of time slowed to a crawl. The cold winter air wrapped around her limbs like a heavy weight. Even breathing became difficult.
She did not care.
She resolved to burn away the habits of the True Blood Roaring Blood Art through mental imagery cultivation.
She formed a mental image of completely discarding the Roaring Blood Art she had practiced since she first took her baby steps. To survive here, she couldn't rely on familiar habits; she needed a higher level of martial truth.
The Seventh Apostle conjured a specific image. It was a treasure she had physically burned away, now existing only in her mind.
The Human Body Diagram.
A body so dazzling it had become an immortal symbol in her mind. Its skeleton, acupoints, muscles, and fine meridians—everything represented the pinnacle of martial arts, bordering on a work of art.
Her extraordinary senses dipped into the bloodstream of the human body in her mind, gently caressing the acupoints. It felt like running her fingers through the hair of a beloved.
'Grand Preceptor.'
Haa—
The Seventh Apostle's breath misted white. The blood on her lips began to evaporate into thin threads. An extreme overload surged through the acupoints and fine meridians of her entire body.
Her insides throbbed with tension. She was using her innate, extreme talent for physical control to forcibly mimic someone else's internal workings.
It was something she had once deemed sacrilegious and never dared to attempt.
Now, she breathed as Jeong Yeon-shin.
She circulated her True Qi as Jeong Yeon-shin.
Gradually, the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
It felt as if a sprout of light was blooming in her mind. A thrilling shiver ran up her spine.
Even though the similarity was barely ten percent, it didn't matter. There was no other reason for it—she was simply driven mad with joy by the sensation. It felt as if the Grand Preceptor were holding her, her heart fluttering to the point of delirium.
Crunch.
She pushed off the snowy ground.
Her body, with its Essence, Qi, and Spirit unified, easily kept pace with her thoughts as she shot forward like an arrow.
In a single instant, she mapped out an escape route to flee from the peerless master that was the Leader of the Deep Martial Alliance. She unleashed the propulsive force of the Body Protection Scripture's True Qi through the Yongquan Point—the Gushing Spring—on the soles of her feet.
Before she knew it, she had soared into the air.
The icy atmosphere was no longer cold. Instead, it felt incredibly hot, as if the wind had been warmed by her feverish body.
Flutter—
The red sleeves of her robe billowed magnificently.
A reddish wave of light-footwork energy spread from the hems of her sleeves, trousers, and back. It was the Graceful Body Technique, the secret art of the Blood Flame Cult nobility.
The Seventh Apostle intentionally focused her gaze. Hundreds of lines in her vision scraped past the empty air.
Even to her, the speed was astonishing. It was hard to believe this was a light-footwork technique she had deployed so suddenly.
'I can go... even faster.'
To breathe as Jeong Yeon-shin was to breathe through martial arts; to move her True Qi while thinking of Jeong Yeon-shin was to think through martial arts.
The Seventh Apostle's lips curved into a red arc. It was not out of carelessness in this dire situation.
She was immersing herself in the world of light where the Grand Preceptor swam. Even just dipping her toes in was enough.
If she could soak herself even slightly in the time he experienced, if she could become just a little more ecstatic through it...
The True Blood Ash Exchange Art.
This was the energy currently racing through the acupoints of her entire body.
It was a divine ultimate technique that the young Grand Preceptor had tailored specifically to her martial arts—one that had ultimately remained incomplete, but which she had finished on her own.
A shiver ran through the crown of her head as she felt a sense of oneness with the Grand Preceptor. She desperately wanted to see his sullen yet beautiful face.
'Can I shake him off?' she wondered, sensing the heavy, swelling energy of the Leader of the Deep Martial Alliance in the airspace beneath her feet.
*
Two figures descended into a dark spot beneath a lush coniferous tree. Despite it being broad daylight, the shadow was deep. The conversation between the two was equally dark.
"My apologies. We could not find them."
"Their trail went cold? You are saying three experts of the Great Moyong Clan's Hwijeol Squad vanished into thin air?"
"Yes."
"It was no major affair, merely a trivial task of tracking the trail of some petty assassins."
"Could they have been taken down by an opponent they stood no chance against...?"
"An opponent they stood no chance against? No such person remains in Shanxi. It has been confirmed that the Vice Commander of the Divine Sword Corps, the Commander of the Demonlight Wing, and the Commander of the Bloodkeeper Unit are currently unable to exert their full strength. Unless they consume some treasure of Shaolin, they will not recover anytime soon, given that they clashed with the Jegal Clan Leader."
"Could it be that additional reinforcements have arrived from the Desolate Fortress?"
"They are a force incapable of concentrating their strength in one place. Deploying three Black Ranks must have been an immense strain on them already. The Desolate Fortress is out of the question."
"But high-ranking members, including the Hwijeol Squad Commander, have vanished. What should we do? Their trail went cold near the Gongya Clan..."
"...First, tell the others not to act rashly. A martial arts army supporting the daughter of the Leader of the Deep Martial Alliance is on the move. We, the Moyong Clan, must not clash with them. It would only benefit Shaolin."
"Yes. I heard the army numbers over a hundred and twenty."
"There are reports that even more have arrived. Those Deep Martial Alliance bastards wield their relationship with the Imperial Family like a treasured sword. Do not engage them under any circumstances."
"I will convey the message."
"What I am about to say now is more important. Gather all our family members scattered across Shanxi to Taiyuan. Tell them to prepare means to conceal their identities. Human Skin Masks, veils... anything is fine."
"Are you speaking of war?"
"It is a Net of Heaven and Earth. Do you realize how gravely the Clan Head views this matter?"
"What do you plan to do after that...?"
"We suppress them with force and withdraw. The Clan Head said that the final mnemonic of the Heavenly Demon Armor must be within the Killing Gate. We only need to get our hands on that one thing."
"Are that fellow called the Hero of the Desolate Fortress and the Slaying Hero truly descendants of the Geum Family Assassin Sect that guarded the Tomb of the Heavenly Demon? I thought it was proven that the techniques of the Midday Moon Great Slaughter Gate differ from those of the destroyed Killing Gate."
"The Clan Head remembered," the slightly larger superior continued. "That brat Heonwon Chang is a boy who escaped from our main house. He was a prisoner captured from the Killing Gate to extract the energy of spirit medicines. He endured that harsh torture remarkably well..."
*
A manor stood tall on a high hill, situated inside walls that overlooked a small rural village.
A girl and three men faced the members of the manor. A middle-aged man in yellow robes, standing at the head of the manor's household, wore an expression of disbelief.
"...I can tell by your aura. You truly came from the main house." His tone was heavy.
The Slaying Hero's low laughter echoed. Because of the Black Bamboo Hat on his head, only his lower face was visible. A sense of refinement drifted from the deep curve of his lips.
"This must be quite baffling. A ghost from a past you forgot and lived without for over a decade has suddenly paid a visit. Ah, come to think of it, I haven't even apologized for the intrusion."
"Forgot and lived without? Never. We merely eked out a living because our sect's legacy was shattered. How could we have opposed the Moyong Clan and Taemo Mountain Fortress, who drove out our main sect and claimed the Tomb of the Heavenly Demon? Did not even you, the main sect, succumb?"
"You are quite shameless, Branch Master. You clearly heard of the fame this unworthy Geum has spread, yet you never sought out the main house. Even if those two great clans didn't know, I left traces of my assassinations using techniques that a branch sect would surely recognize."
His words dripped with sarcasm. The face of the middle-aged man, who had the sharp look of a wildcat, twitched slightly.
The atmosphere between them was tense. The chilly breeze sweeping across the front yard perfectly mirrored the mutual wariness they held for each other.
Yu Manor.
The landlord family of the village had taken in four uninvited guests. They had to, even if they didn't want to. The presence of each guest was far from ordinary.
Even the beautiful girl standing in the middle was no exception. Her white robes fluttered slightly on their own.
She was shrouded in an aura so powerful that it was rarely encountered in ordinary regional martial circles. She possessed the martial prowess to single-handedly annihilate a minor sect.
"Am I some kind of candy?" she blurted out bluntly, adding a sharp warning for them to watch where they looked.
The five or six boys who had been staring blankly at her flinched and lowered their heads. They instantly sensed the nobility embedded in Shin So-bin's demeanor, realizing that obtaining her favor would be next to impossible.
The women of the manor, who had been staring dazed at the two handsome men, also averted their eyes. Such was the overwhelming presence of even the weakest among these uninvited guests.
"Won-chang, is this really the place? This young master thought you grew up a bit more luxuriously."
"I told you, it's a branch sect. And calling my upbringing 'luxurious' is a misnomer. There is only one place in my entire life that truly treated me with precious care."
"Says the guy who's always told he has a big mouth."
Chuckling, the Lazy Flame Dragon leisurely scanned the surroundings as if evaluating them. On the other hand, Heonwon Chang merely kept his head slightly lowered, stroking the hilt of the sword at his waist.
The single mnemonic held by Yu Manor was the key to unlocking a portion of the restriction.
To chase after Jeong Yeon-shin, who was constantly advancing, Heonwon Chang needed to at least close the gap with the Lazy Flame Dragon.
These young men were wearing only thin silk robes in late winter, as if they had lost their minds.
'How could the half-destroyed Geum Family Assassin Sect possess such individuals...?' The Master of Yu Manor felt an intense wave of bewilderment.
He did not want to disrupt his family's peace. Most of the manor's household members shared his sentiment.
They had lived in hiding as an important branch of the Geum Family Assassin Sect. After the Rebellion of the Tomb of the Heavenly Demon, they had continued to live without any contact from the main house.
He knew what this group from the main sect wanted.
The Gatekeeper Secret that had been distributed among the branch sects.
By now, it had become the core essence of Yu Manor's martial arts. It was something they could absolutely never hand over.
Even if the master of the Pure Demon Alliance—the largest group to split from the Ming Cult—came, or even if Yelu Jin, the legitimate successor of the Xinjiang Ming Cult, demanded it, they would not yield.
"At first, you must have walked on eggshells around the Moyong Clan and Taemo Mountain Fortress," the Slaying Hero spoke slowly, staring intently at the Master of Yu Manor.
"You probably had some intention of cooperating with the main sect. Even back when those now-dead elders of the main house sold Seon-hwi out to the Moyong Clan."
"..."
"But then, you were deceived by time. As the years flowed endlessly, you must have developed the desire to become independent as a branch. Is that not so?"
"The Yu Clan is not of such baseless stock," the Master of Yu Manor said.
At the same time, the Slaying Hero clapped his hands.
"I misspoke. I rashly judged the spirit of our branch. Once Seon-hwi's trial is over, I will bow and apologize to you, Branch Master. Without fail."
"A trial..." The words escaped like a low groan.
The Slaying Hero took a step forward, pressing for an answer.
"There must be something prepared through the generations. Test Seon-hwi according to the laws of the Killing Gate."
A brief silence ensued.
The Master of Yu Manor bit his lower lip hard.
"...You have brought outsiders into our sect. I cannot allow a sacred rite to take place in this setting."
"Are you really going to play it that way?"
Just as the Slaying Hero's lips began to twist slightly—
"Indeed! An illegitimate child carrying the blood of a lowborn, attempting to unleash the power of the Sect Leader's position! No matter how much I think about it, this must be reconsidered!"
An elderly voice boomed loudly, accompanied by a powerful wave of internal power.
Dust rose from various spots on the ground, a result of deep internal energy fragmenting and scattering in all directions.
Shin So-bin knit her brows tightly. An old man she had encountered back at the Geum Family Assassin Sect was descending from above.
He was someone who had never looked kindly upon Heonwon Chang.
He was said to be a high-ranking elder within the Killing Gate, and there were rumors that he posed as a highly respected scholar in the public eye.
He had previously scolded Heonwon Chang, accusing him of trying to snatch away the achievements of the Slaying Hero—who had painstakingly gathered the shattered and divided Killing Gate—solely on the basis of his direct bloodline.
Now, it seemed he had followed them to interfere with their plans.
"To think the rootless Thieving Ghosts of the Demonlight Wing were truly coveting our main sect!"
The moment the old man, his pitch-black robe fluttering grandly, landed in the center with a heavy thud—
Slam!
He hit the ground belly-first.
The old man was flattened instantly. In that moment, the surrounding air warped violently.
Before anyone realized, the Lazy Flame Dragon had closed the distance to the Killing Gate elder's side and slammed his elbow down onto the man's back. The shockwave that spread in that split second was incredibly powerful.
"What a trivial piece of trash..." the Lazy Flame Dragon muttered, his eyes dark.