Chapter 320: Heonwon (15)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 320: Heonwon (15)
It was a massive city, a sprawling forest of tiled roofs where complexes of pavilions stretched endlessly toward the horizon.
The leadership of the Killing Gate’s main branch, including the Slaying Hero, were scattered throughout Taiyuan. They had mastered a martial art that allowed them to perceive the size and distribution of the surrounding crowds, as well as the line of sight of every single passerby.
It was called the Forbidden Protection Sensory Path—an unparalleled technique under the heavens.
"Have those monsters all retreated? It was pure chaos just a couple of days ago."
"Who knows… Either way, try not to go out in the evening if you can help it. I heard the son and daughter of the Jang family at the fabric shop by the well have both vanished. Let's just deliver this and get inside quickly."
"Yeah, yeah. If we just hold out, some martial artists from either the military or the Desolate Fortress will show up… before we see three full moons, at least. That's what my father always said."
"Honestly, even if they do come, I'm worried. The other day, I saw a monster leap across three roofs at once. The people of the Desolate Fortress aren't invincible. I hear they're dying all over the place lately… A single precious sword can't match a hundred iron ones, after all."
"Who knows? Maybe the Desolate Fortress's Prince Nezha will grace us with his presence. I heard it was absolute chaos down in Pyongyang Prefecture. They say Jegal Cheon, the Reincarnated Crouching Dragon, died."
"Ha! The Lotus Nezha? You're wishing for the moon. A fellow like you would bow the moment you met even a White-Ranked Warrior…"
"Don't talk like you wouldn't do the same."
This was the conversation of two men pulling a cart laden with straw.
Though dozens of assassins were observing the trial, not a single person noticed them. Their profoundly advanced Stealth Technique was combined with the Killing Gate's unique martial attainment, which allowed them to tune into every presence in the vicinity.
They hid on shaded walls, atop roofs, right beside soldiers standing guard on watchtowers, and even on the high flagpoles of government offices.
They existed, yet they did not exist.
The same was true for the group gathered on the roof of a wealthy merchant's spacious estate.
Three elders, completely wrapped in black cloaks, stood alongside the Slaying Hero, who wore a black straw hat. A hemispherical energy barrier, a secret technique of the Killing Gate, was deployed over their heads. It was completely transparent and let no sound escape.
One of the elders, an old man with a sword scar across the bridge of his nose, suddenly spoke up.
"Young Sect Leader, the more I reflect on it, the more astonishing it is."
"Elder Orchid Sword, please speak freely," Slaying Hero Geum Jon-hwi said, his gaze fixed on the roof where Heonwon Chang was supposed to be.
A pleased look appeared in the old man's eyes.
"The day you ascend to the position of Sect Leader is not far off, Young Sect Leader. To think you would gather all the lost secret techniques of the branch families… I always believed you would become a hero who breaks down the barrier between the collateral and direct lines, and this old man's judgment was indeed correct."
"It was Seon-hwi who gathered them, not me."
"But wasn't it you who guided him, Young Sect Leader? All the elders are full of admiration. Is that not so?"
As he looked around, the other two elders nodded silently before chiming in.
"After the chaos of the Tomb of the Heavenly Demon, our sect would have fallen into ruin and scattered to the winds if not for you, Young Sect Leader. All the old men of the Elder's Council have long been deeply impressed."
"As a member of the collateral branch, you have surpassed the direct line. Since there is no lowborn blood in your lineage, everyone has no choice but to acknowledge you."
"Indeed. Quite so."
The elder known as Orchid Sword nodded in agreement. Without sparing a single glance toward Heonwon Chang, he kept his pleased gaze fixed solely on the Slaying Hero.
"Once we combine the secret mnemonics Geum Seon-hwi brought back with those of our main sect, the Dark Flower One Line Severance—which will formally elevate you to the position of Sect Leader—will be complete. The moment you obtain those mnemonics, we shall treat you as the Lord of the Killing Gate."
The Dark Flower One Line Severance was the signature technique of the Lord of the Killing Gate, a martial art personally created and bestowed by the Heavenly Demon when the Tomb of the Heavenly Demon was first established. It was also the mnemonic that unlocked the restrictions placed on direct descendants who had completed their training.
In the main branch of the Killing Gate, it was the ultimate symbol of the Sect Leader. However, it had been scattered among the branch families so that only a successor widely recognized by ancient laws could acquire it. It was the duty of the Lord of the Killing Gate, passed down through generations, to keep only the final line of the text preserved in the main sect.
Listening quietly to the elders' admiring voices, the Slaying Hero smiled.
"Seon-hwi has already taken all of those mnemonics. It is his right as a direct descendant. Surely the elders do not intend to force him to hand them over?"
For a moment, there was no reply. Orchid Sword and the other elders either averted their eyes or fell silent. It was clear they had something on their minds, but they seemed reluctant to put it into words.
The corners of the Slaying Hero's mouth curled up like a blade. It was a smile sharp with killing intent.
"I would prefer it if Seon-hwi did not break the laws. Though the sect was shattered after the previous Sect Leader, we have finally managed to regain a proper semblance of order, have we not?"
The rooftop was silent. None of the three elders nodded.
"Young Sect Leader," one began, "we old men of the main sect learned a harsh lesson after suffering that great disaster. The direct bloodline is like an outdated martial art. Even more so if it has been mixed with lowborn blood."
"Orchid Sword is correct," another added. "Young Sect Leader, we have no need to beg Geum Seon-hwi. Whether we use torture techniques like the Muscle-Splitting and Bone-Dislocating Technique, activate all of our sect's Mechanism Formations to capture the child of the Hwangbo Clan, or hold the leash of the Desolate Shin Clan's child… an ancient, prestigious sect will never bow its head."
"The Commander of the Demonlight Wing must have gone to Mount Myo after reading the fake letter," the third said. "In the meantime, Geum Seon-hwi will be forced to offer us the mnemonics of his own accord. If you wish to oppose the will of the Elder's Council, do so after you ascend to the position of Sect Leader."
"…"
The Slaying Hero was used to the elders' coercion. He was also used to suppressing the killing intent that welled up inside him.
Old fools.
Even though they thought highly of him, they would never bend their views. In his mind, they were the very definition of stubborn old fogies. They were a gatekeeper sect of the Tomb of the Heavenly Demon, having existed in isolation for over a hundred and fifty years. There was no way people who possessed martial arts and laws specialized solely in killing a tomb's intruders would think with common sense.
He slowly parted his lips.
"We will discuss that later. We are currently facing a far more dangerous situation."
"Do you mean the Moyong Clan?" Orchid Sword asked, looking at him as if he were a praiseworthy grandson. The Slaying Hero did not meet his eyes.
"Yes. Surely you have heard the rumors that the Moyong Clan's Eye Technique has become incomparably more profound than in the past. The same goes for the power of their Myriad Stars Sword Formation. Hasn't their Young Master, Moyong Myeong-jun, come in person, accompanied by his uncle, the Great Ritual Sword? Although I petitioned for Seon-hwi's trial, we must not let this drag on. What on earth is the Bamboo Sword thinking, taking half a day…"
It was then.
Suddenly, the Slaying Hero's eyes widened. He had reflexively turned his gaze to the elders at the mention of torture, and this happened the instant he snapped his head back.
An unbelievable sight was unfolding near the distant city gates.
Whoosh!
An old woman was plunging down toward a young man.
The Slaying Hero's Eye Technique operated in the realm of milliseconds. This was true for the movement of his pupils and the speed at which the scene on his retina was transmitted to his brain. It took only an instant for him to recognize the face of the person targeted by the Bamboo Sword, Geum Yeon-sang, and freeze in sheer horror.
What the hell?!
In an assassin's perception, time slowed to an extreme crawl.
A dagger was drawn from the plunging old woman's robes. At that exact moment, the Lotus Nezha, who had just passed through the city gates with his two companions, turned his head.
The line of sunlight catching his jaw looked, for a split second, like sharp Sword Qi.
Rustle.
The Lotus Nezha's pitch-black sleeve lifted. It was a movement that pierced through the realm of an instant with shocking ease. In that moment, the very flow of time he inhabited seemed to shift.
Without even drawing heavily upon his internal energy—there wasn't so much as a faint ripple of power—his entire body was enveloped in reflexes that flashed like lightning. The Slaying Hero could feel it.
"…?"
The wrinkles around the eyes of the Bamboo Sword, Geum Yeon-sang, twitched. She was now within arm's reach.
However, the old woman was given no time to turn back.
From the very beginning, the Lotus Nezha's reaction was incredibly profound.
The moment he turned his head, his hand shot out and wrapped around her wrist. The flow of his strike was chillingly natural, as if he had already calculated everything beforehand. It was like watching a master of grappling execute a lifelong-refined form in a pre-arranged sparring match.
Hummm—
Immediately after, a wave of energy rippled from the Lotus Nezha's grip. He applied his strength only at the final moment of impact. It wasn't overwhelmingly powerful. Rather, it felt incredibly dense, yet carried an oddly auspicious quality. If the Killing Gate's martial arts hadn't been purged of demonic energy, she would have died the instant he caught her.
In that split second, the Slaying Hero guessed Geum Yeon-sang's thoughts.
There is still a chance.
Her wrist caught midair, the old woman drove her knees forward.
It was the Heaven-Protecting Body Art, a secret technique of the Killing Gate. It was a method of generating immense force through a brief movement, transmitting the power of Fa Jin all the way to one's grip. It could be considered the very foundation of the full-body Fa Jin that so many martial artists dreamed of achieving. For someone of the Bamboo Sword's caliber, it was possible to unleash an invisible shockwave of sword strikes with just a fraction of a move.
Just as the old woman's eyes narrowed, a sudden cloud of dust billowed up, disheveling her hair. The Lotus Nezha had yanked her wrist.
The Fa Jin contained within that small gesture whipped up a hazy wind centered around the old woman, as if she had been trapped inside a miniature typhoon. At the same time, the opaque shockwave Geum Yeon-sang had generated was ruthlessly torn to shreds.
It was a realm of an entirely different caliber.
In that brief moment, the old woman recalled the maxim she had repeatedly told her juniors:
—Your discernment is your lifeline.
"Heuuuuh…!"
A groan escaped her lips as her breath was dragged out, along with her body, which was violently slammed down in a massive arc from the air.
Boom!
The ground shook.
Blood splattered into the thick cloud of rising dust. The assassin's perception of time, which had dragged the surroundings to a crawl, was ruthlessly shattered.
Among the Lotus Nezha's companions, the woman with a greatsword slung across her back spoke up.
"Do you know her? At your level, you must have piled up all kinds of grudges."
"No."
Jeong Yeon-shin, who had swung and slammed the old woman down, slowly let go. For a brief second, the tip of his index finger brushed against the assailant's wrinkled wrist, but he felt no pulse.
He had struck back by adding only about ten percent of the force he had received, yet she had died instantly.
Jeong Yeon-shin paused for a moment.
Ugh.
His entire body tingled. The full-body Fa Jin he had reflexively unleashed had constricted his already damaged acupoints and muscles. But he had to do it to counter an attack that carried clear killing intent—a strike that bore the hallmarks of killing techniques accumulated over many years.
"Where did she come from? Wasn't that an incredibly long distance?"
"Indeed. That was no ordinary Body Protection Scripture."
Gun Yurin and Jeon Baek scanned their surroundings.
The street had fallen incredibly silent. For some reason, not even the soldiers came running. There were only passersby who avoided them, casting startled glances in their direction. Their reactions suggested they were all too familiar with such fights.
Gun Yurin stood with a slouch.
"I did hear rumors of chaos breaking out in Taiyuan. Something about crazy bastards in masks running around slashing people."
"Isn't that a common occurrence?" Jeon Baek asked blankly.
"Well, Taiyuan was at least a well-managed region. Though I suppose I'm not one to talk."
Just as the daughter of the Leader of the Deep Martial Alliance laughed awkwardly to herself, a meteor-like light sliced through the air from beyond a massive wall, hurtling toward the side of Jeong Yeon-shin's head. A chilly beam of light was etched into the empty air as if it had been suspended there all along.
It was a sword light.
Clang!
Perhaps wanting to show off, Gun Yurin stepped in front of Jeong Yeon-shin, only to be sent flying back. At the same time, a translucent shockwave rippled outward in concentric circles, and a precious-looking sword tumbled to the ground at Jeong Yeon-shin's feet.
"My Lady!"
Just as a horrified Jeon Baek started running toward her, a voice feigning nobility echoed calmly from behind the wall.
"Just now, you clearly failed to react, didn't you, Commander of the Demonlight Wing?"
"It appeared so to this subordinate as well. I can only marvel at your profound Eye Technique attainment."
"It is still far from my father's."
Two figures stepped down from the wall.
Rustle.
Their footwork was light. Anyone could tell it was the Body Protection Scripture of a prestigious clan. Their appearance was no different. Their silk martial uniforms, a rare pale pink hue and completely free of wrinkles, were as neat as if they were always freshly pressed.
The youth, who seemed to be of high status, wore a gold-rimmed monkey mask of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, while the man who appeared to be his subordinate wore a distorted demon mask. To those with low martial arts, they might have looked like monsters.
They were likely the culprits who had disrupted the peace of Taiyuan. Despite the rumors spreading rapidly, the military had not moved, leading to widespread talk of troubled times. They had to possess immense power. It was only natural that they would hide their identities.
People whose true identities must never be revealed.
Is it a three-way battle now, including me? Because of the Tomb of the Heavenly Demon?
Had the manifestation of the Commander of the Demonlight Wing drawn the bowstring?
Countless presences were rising in the surroundings. The sound of clashing swords could even be heard from various directions. The sensation of the enemy's subordinates closing in, drawing a massive dragnet, prickled Jeong Yeon-shin's skin.
Thud! Thud!
Waves of energy, comparable to the elites of any prestigious clan, fluttered in the air. A truly overwhelming Net of Heaven and Earth could be felt.
"Seeing you here makes it clear. Commander of the Demonlight Wing, I do not see any Body Protection Qi on you," said the one wearing the mask of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. "They say you achieved the great feat of slaying the Reincarnated Crouching Dragon. The price for such an achievement could not have been cheap. I can see it all. You haven't concealed your energy; you simply lack the strength to unleash your internal power."
A dark blue glow flickered occasionally from the eyeholes of the mask. Jeong Yeon-shin sensed an extremely insidious nature from it, close to the demonic energy he felt from Baek Mi-ryeo or the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance in Sichuan.
"You would have regretted it bitterly if you had moved while I went to call my father," the one in the Great Sage Equal to Heaven mask continued slowly. "You will die without ever knowing who I am. Once I extract the core of your Dharma Power and have those short-legged artisans refine it, I will hold a Dharma Treasure rare under heaven. With the Heavenly Demon Armor and the Dharma Power Orb, I will be able to tear through both the Northern Region and Xinjiang."
Cold laughter seeped from his voice, triumphant in tone. Not only did he possess the courage to approach the Lotus Nezha at immense risk, but he also had the information network and Eye Technique to see through Jeong Yeon-shin's condition. The movement he displayed the moment he detected the brief clash was also extraordinarily swift.
Jeong Yeon-shin, who had been staring quietly at the man in the Great Sage Equal to Heaven mask, tilted his head slightly. A fragment of white light briefly flashed in his eyes.
"Your way of speaking is strange."
"Hmm?"
"When I saw you at the Hanzhong Martial World Alliance, you seemed like quite the noble young master. But looking at you now, it seems you're destined to practice the Bedside Leg Technique in the future. To think you have no shame at your age."
"What?"
"You're the Young Master of the Moyong Clan, aren't you?" Jeong Yeon-shin said. "Act your age, Moyong Myeong-jun."
In an instant, the figure in the Great Sage Equal to Heaven mask froze.
Silence fell over the street.