Chapter 383: The World (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 383: The World (7)
Jeong Yeon-shin caught the Divine Sword: Lingering Thunder in his hand. It had slipped free from the abdomen of the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect as smoothly as flowing water.
The two of them hovered in midair, Unhoe Peak looking small far below.
They hung suspended in a momentary pause.
Fwoosh.
Enveloped in a bloom of deep blue flames, the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect slightly lowered her head toward Jeong Yeon-shin.
With that small nod, sparks scattered from the nape of her neck like molting feathers. She looked like the very incarnation of the Golden Wing Bird, the mythical beast said to devour dragons.
Rather than auspicious, she exuded an aura of extreme transcendence.
"That was a bit sharp."
Her clear voice rang out softly.
Jeong Yeon-shin glanced at her slender waist, visible through the deep blue flames.
A faint bloodstain seeped through her golden-yellow collar—the mark of his Sword Control. Her skin seemed slightly torn, but that was all.
What absurd Body Protection Qi.
The speed and strength of her internal energy barrier, along with its ability to absorb and disperse force, were staggering. She was incomparable to any enemy he had faced so far.
Slide.
The number one expert of Sichuan reached out, aiming directly between Jeong Yeon-shin's brows. A golden wave rippled from the tip of her pale finger.
The wave of energy that had previously bound Jeong Yeon-shin's body like a statue, along with the gale that had violently whipped their clothes, subsided all at once.
A blue light flashed in Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes.
'Qilin's Judgment, mnemonic alteration.'
From his grip on the hilt, white and red waves of energy overlapped, surging to the tip of the blade.
The Moon Spirit Harmony Art and the Mara True-Blood Art. He was not running them simultaneously. Instead, he was rapidly alternating between the two energies in a split second.
The veins on the back of Jeong Yeon-shin's hand bulged.
Wrapped in a red-and-white current, the Divine Sword: Lingering Thunder slashed upward against the golden wave.
Pshhh!
The golden wave dispersed to the left and right like sea foam.
Her divine skill, which sealed the movement of true qi to paralyze an opponent's body, had been broken on his second attempt.
Yet, the beautiful face of the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect remained expressionless. Only her pitch-black, short hair whipped upward in the rising gale.
Her lips parted. The movement was so fast it looked like a lip-reading technique played in reverse.
"Stitched Resonance."
Her exquisite voice echoed in overlapping layers, sounding as if multiple Lords of the Golden Wing Sect were speaking at once. It was a mantra unique to sorcery martial arts.
Not even the blink of an eye had passed since their last clash, yet a massive golden halo of light rose from her palm, forming a ring.
It was translucent yet incredibly dense. The wave swelled like a tsunami in an instant, swallowing Jeong Yeon-shin as it swept past.
In that moment, the true qi flowing through his entire body froze in place.
'It's changed,' Jeong Yeon-shin thought.
With the short mantra "Stitched Resonance," her very nature had shifted. Her presence grew faint, as if she were straddling another world.
Was this what it felt like when a ghost manifested? It was similar to what he had once felt from the Jegal Clan Leader.
The sorcery martial art, Heaven-Overturning Dragon-Slaying Formula.
It seemed to be a state that made her sealing techniques even stronger and faster, lethally channeling the power of the Heaven-Ruling Dragon-Slaying Art.
And this was despite her not having prepared any formations, spells, or dharma treasures beforehand, unlike the Jegal Clan Leader.
Whoosh!
The face of the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect filled his vision. Void Stepping. She kicked upward, instantly erasing the distance between them.
Enveloped in a brilliant golden light, her palm pressed against the empty air right in front of Jeong Yeon-shin's abdomen.
The golden radiance tore up and down like lightning, flickering violently.
Striking without touching. It was an Air-Hitting Palm.
Boom!
A blurry shockwave swept across the sky.
Jeong Yeon-shin's body plummeted vertically toward the ground. In a split second, his back slammed violently into the earth with a heavy thud, bouncing him upward.
Using the Iron Plate Bridge technique, he naturally sprang back to his feet, fresh blood spilling past his lips.
Even in the midst of this devastating impact, he hadn't lost his grip on Lingering Thunder's hilt.
A minor tremor rippled through the ground beneath his feet. It was the aftermath of the Air-Hitting Palm he had just endured. Even though he had redirected a significant portion of the force into the earth, the residual impact was still this severe.
His abdomen throbbed. It was an agonizing pain, as if his muscles were being torn apart and twisted in every direction.
His fascia had ruptured. He was fortunate that his temporarily crushed internal organs were already returning to their original state—a testament to the efficacy of his fully mastered Jeong Family Dynamic Art.
Unhoe Peak.
He had returned to the hill where the martial arts tournament had begun.
The scene was different from before. The crowd that had once packed the mountainside was now sparse. The martial monks of the Emei Sect were nowhere to be seen.
Jeong Yeon-shin stitched his abdominal fascia back together with true qi as he looked ahead.
Rustle.
The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect landed softly, her gaze meeting his. Her eyes looked like molten gold. Now completely golden, they silently urged him to surrender.
No one in the crowd dared to speak.
This was the arrival of Sichuan's absolute strongest. The oppressive atmosphere was entirely different from when the Lord of the Tenth Sect was present.
"I can forgive you once. Become the net," the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect spoke quietly.
It was the same offer as before. The role of binding the Flood Dragon's movements with the Myriad Blossoms Rain. It seemed there were no people in her mind—only the mental image of the dragon filled her thoughts.
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke slowly.
"The technique that seals the movement of true qi. Is it martial arts?"
"It's sorcery martial arts," she replied readily.
Her attitude was completely devoid of wariness. It didn't feel like just the composure of an absolute master; Jeong Yeon-shin thought she was quite adept at provocation.
"Why seek the Myriad Blossoms Rain instead of using it on the Flood Dragon?"
"Sorcery doesn't work on it," she replied flatly.
Jeong Yeon-shin nodded inwardly. The ability to manipulate natural qi did not work on a spirit beast that stood at the pinnacle of the strange, violent, chaotic, and supernatural.
It seemed that only internal cultivation—where energy was fully digested and made one's own—and internal energy techniques derived from true qi respiration could inflict damage. This was a principle he needed to keep in mind when considering the Purple Rank experts of the Jianghu.
"Didn't you say before that my mastery of the Myriad Blossoms Rain was lacking?"
"You mean its depth? That only matters for catching people. Dragons are of a completely different scale, so raw power is what's important."
"Why are you so intent on catching the Flood Dragon?"
"Because it is the natural order. Why are you curious? Are you going to join my sect?"
The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect asked, her pronunciation slightly slurred. Before he knew it, she had pressed her lips against the side of the cracked gourd bottle hanging from Jeong Yeon-shin's sword.
She seemed intent on licking up every drop of alcohol that clung to it like dew.
Step.
Jeong Yeon-shin silently took a step forward, staring at her. Her presence was still as faint as a ghost or a wisp of smoke.
Even while displaying behavior that was the epitome of self-centeredness, she maintained her "Stitched Resonance" state, ensuring she could subdue him at any moment.
"So the Heaven-Ruling Dragon-Slaying Art has two forms. When dealing with humans, you combine it with sorcery martial arts for its subtle, mysterious effects. But when hunting spirit beasts, you rely solely on powerful force emission."
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke with clear eyes. Pulling her lips away from the gourd, the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect nodded.
"Yes. Those two make up the Heaven-Overturning Dragon-Slaying Formula."
"My martial arts pursue short, decisive battles. For now, I do not have many variations."
"I figured as much. Why are you telling me this?"
"Because people of the Jianghu care about appearances."
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke as he thought of the Tang Clan siblings. In truth, the stability of the common people's lives was secondary to him at this moment.
The enemy of the Dragon-Phoenix Twin Poisons stood before him. Holding Lingering Thunder, he intended to seek vengeance as a man of the Jianghu. That was why he bothered to mention his Flash Art Lineage. It was the typical face-saving courtesy of a martial artist.
Perhaps sensing his killing intent, the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect furrowed her brows.
"If you die, the Myriad Blossoms Rain... What happened to the Tang Clan children? Are they well? Or should I win over the Tang Clan Leader instead?"
No answer came.
Jeong Yeon-shin's body vanished from his spot, the space around him distorting.
Clang!
He brought his sword down right before the eyes of the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect. Dust surged like waves to the left and right of the pure white blade of the Divine Sword: Lingering Thunder.
Immediately after, a pale shockwave rippled outward, violently shaking the earth.
It had begun.
Their hands and feet clashed in a blur. The sword light of Lingering Thunder began to flash incessantly.
The golden waves of the Heaven-Ruling Dragon-Slaying Art, exuding immense pressure, clashed with the shockwaves of the Moon Spirit Harmony Art and the Mara True-Blood Art. It was a spectacle of white and red threads unraveling within a golden mist.
Clash! Boom!
It was different from before. This was no longer an exchange of brief, single blows.
Jeong Yeon-shin poured out every single form of the Lightning-Flash Sword Ridge Style.
Even over short distances, he used Qilin's Judgment to instantly close the gap between his sword and the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect. Amidst the storm of shockwaves that violently lashed his skin, he unleashed the compressed power in his sword with the Second Form: Nine Azure Rivers.
Whenever the golden-clad hands of the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect detonated shockwaves akin to Thunderbolt Bombs, he drew dizzying trajectories with the Phosphorescent Light Sword—a counter-form derived from the red flowers of the Lazy Flame Dragon—to disperse the impact.
Thud!
His vision shook instantly. It was right after a sudden golden ripple swept over his body.
With the propulsion shockwaves throughout his body frozen, the fist of the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect buried itself into Jeong Yeon-shin's solar plexus.
The circular shockwave radiating from her fist dug endlessly into the ground beneath their feet with a grinding screech.
The Stitched Resonance state of the Heaven-Overturning Dragon-Slaying Formula. She wielded her immense sealing techniques as fast as a flash of light.
Cough!
Jeong Yeon-shin hacked up blood.
In his momentarily dazed mind, the faces of the Tang Clan siblings appeared and vanished, along with the Body Protection Qi they had gifted him like a constellation of stars.
He thought: Not yet.
"Your resilience is... Should I use a sword? Your swordsmanship is more subtle."
Just as the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect muttered to herself, her round eyes widening further, Jeong Yeon-shin slammed his left elbow down onto her hand with a heavy thud and released Lingering Thunder from his right hand.
"Sword Control? No."
Hummm!
Her exquisite voice rang out. Once again, a golden haze of light swept across the surroundings.
Jeong Yeon-shin snatched the falling, powerless Lingering Thunder out of the air and spun on the spot.
Clang! Clang!
It was the Lightning-Flash Sword Ridge Style once more.
His grip began to tremble slightly. With every exchange, the impact accumulated. Each of the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect's blows was monstrously powerful.
He had an intuitive sense that if he did not immediately disperse the force of her strikes through the muscles of his entire body the moment they landed, that part of his body would literally explode.
Splat!
Her Air-Hitting Palm detonated at close range. Flesh from Jeong Yeon-shin's right shoulder and left thigh exploded in a shower of blood.
His wrists were gradually losing responsiveness.
His meridians felt as if they were tearing apart. The battle itself was a hellish test of endurance.
Time, which had never been on his side since birth, wrapped sluggishly around his body and mind. He could not even count how many forms had passed.
Only his heightened senses burned hot.
From his Baihui Point down, his entire body felt as if it were turning white-hot. Even the fine hairs on his skin brushed against and analyzed every detail of the shockwaves she emitted.
What was the underlying principle behind her true qi sealing? Was the force emission of the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect, said to shatter even the scales of a Flood Dragon, truly only at this level? If he unleashed his Law-Transcending Halo Qi here, how would it clash with the Heaven-Ruling Dragon-Slaying Art?
His vision blurred.
Only the trajectories drawn by her hands and feet remained vivid.
Whenever she used the Dragon Slaying Scale-Treading Movement Technique—said to be capable of scaling the body of a Flood Dragon—to take his back at extreme speed, Jeong Yeon-shin's deep blue eyes scanned the orientation of her inner pelvic iliopsoas muscle, her knees, and the tips of her toes.
It was a long-standing habit. The form of every technique was gradually being engraved into his subconscious.
A familiar state of selflessness was washing over him.
He could not see an immediate path to victory. Only a single koan grew clearer and more prominent in his mind.
He thought:
What would Bodhidharma and Zhang Sanfeng do?
The grandmasters who wielded Buddhist Dharma Power and the Three Pure Powers of Taoism in their lifetimes. Would they, too, have no choice but to fall before a master of the Heaven-Ruling Dragon-Slaying Art?
'No way.'
If so, he had to ponder.
What is martial arts?
A seemingly trivial question crossed Jeong Yeon-shin's mind for the first time.
Something distinctly different from anything before pricked his mind with a sharp sensation, accompanied by thoughts that followed the tail of the koan.
A macaque's hundred years of effort versus a human's one year of devotion.
'Does time even matter...?'
Sigh—
It was just as he began to forget his exhalations and inhalations.
A monstrous impact to his entire body jolted his consciousness back. An explosion originating from the palm technique of the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect. A lightning-like vibration traveled from his sword through his hands and feet.
"I don't want to do this anymore."
Having pushed Jeong Yeon-shin far back, the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect spoke. A faint trace of bewilderment flickered in her golden eyes before vanishing.
"What...?"
"This should be enough of a lesson. If you aren't going to listen to me, never come to Sichuan again," the number one expert of Sichuan spoke.
Jeong Yeon-shin tilted his head slightly to the side. His hair, now heavily soaked in blood, brushed against his shoulder, but he felt no particular pain from the wounds that exposed his bones.
Rumors occasionally spread of martial artists who committed suicide out of resentment after their enlightenment was interrupted.
Jeong Yeon-shin had never understood that. Even now, he didn't.
His talent was like lightning. It illuminated even his subconscious. He never missed or forgot a single clue.
Dusk was beginning to fall over the surroundings.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly parted his lips.
"One form."
"Huh?"
"Let's exchange just one more form. A life-and-death duel."
"No. Go play with the old Pure Demon. I'm sick of this."
Rustle.
The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect turned around. Her silk shoes stepped lightly onto the ground, which was deeply gouged like furrows plowed by a giant.
Jeong Yeon-shin bit his lip imperceptibly.
Her Dragon Slaying Scale-Treading Movement Technique was a peerless movement technique. She could also utilize her propulsion shockwaves as a lightness skill.
With his current physical condition, he could not keep up. Even if he cast the Ten-Mile Light Grace, it would be the same.
"Let's not meet again."
It was right after she spoke.
Rumble—
The collective energy of a large group began to surge faintly in the surroundings. A massive number of internal power waves subtly sliced through the atmosphere.
He could feel a murderous intent aimed at the enemies gathered on this mountainside. It wasn't just one or two; there had to be at least several hundred.
It was a Net of Heaven and Earth.
Many of the energy waves were familiar to Jeong Yeon-shin.
The energy heavily weighing down the atmosphere belonged to the Hegemon Sword Sect; the demonic qi spreading fiercely like countless blades belonged to the Pure Demon Alliance; the sect emitting a heavy military aura alongside the clanking of armor was the Tenth Sect; and the hunters displaying unbridled power with all kinds of strange weapons were from the Golden Wing Sect...
And they weren't the only ones. A force of this scale could not be gathered without mobilizing the subordinate sects of the region. He could also sense the presence of many rogue mercenaries who sold their sword skills for food and a few copper coins.
The battle that had begun as a martial arts tournament had taken a rapid turn. It was entering an entirely new phase.
[The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect's amusement ended sooner than expected! While the bald monks of Emei and the goat-nosed Taoists of Qingcheng are bickering down below, I shall slay the Commander of the Demonlight Wing myself!]
At the broad summit of Unhoe Peak.
The Lord of the Tenth Sect, split into three bodies as if he had activated the Unified Martial Transcendence, revealed himself at the head of a countless crowd.
It was a martial arts army.
The majority did not march up in neat lines. People leaped up from all directions, landing and packing the surroundings tightly.
The density of their energy waves was staggering. Jeong Yeon-shin watched as the surrounding shrubbery sheared itself apart and withered away under the pressure.
"..."
He was surrounded.
The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect had not left yet. She stood at an angle, staring blankly at Jeong Yeon-shin.
The Lord of the Tenth Sect was picking up the eighteen weapons scattered around one by one.
A Net of Heaven and Earth deployed by the elite experts of the Thirteen Heavens. Perfected Cheongsu had suffered deep internal injuries from the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect, and Abbess Baekyak's whereabouts were unknown—perhaps she had gone to pursue the Leader of the Pure Demon Alliance.
A desperate crisis.
He had fully anticipated that such a situation might arise.
In this chaotic Sichuan, he had simply prioritized the chance to take the heads of three Lords of the Thirteen Heavens above all else. There was no hope of victory in a great sect war, nor could he abandon the Tang Clan in their hour of need.
[Even if we must retreat, we must take that fellow's head. If we let him leave here alive, there is no telling what kind of future trouble he will bring.]
The Lords of the Tenth Sect spoke. Jeong Yeon-shin swept his gaze over them one by one.
"Answering a duel invitation with a Net of Heaven and Earth... You have completely abandoned your dignity."
[One must weigh the gravity of the matter. A brat is just a brat.]
"Your mastery of the Turtle Breathing Technique is quite impressive. Do you happen to know the Divine Hero of the Desolate Fortress, hailing from the Main Fortress's Demonlight Wing? He would be a rather good match for you. Though, unlike you, he isn't exactly the type to play dead..."
[......]
The Lord of the Tenth Sect remained stubbornly silent, offering no reply to the provocation. Above them, the cool, fading glow of the sunset casting its light over Unhoe Peak gradually deepened into the heavy shadows of twilight. The internal energy radiating from the hundreds of martial artists forming the encirclement was incredibly dense, pressing down on the mountaintop with a suffocating, physical weight.
The sheer concentration of their combined martial aura was enough to form a massive, intangible energy barrier that locked down the entire area. At some point, even the harsh mountain winds had ceased their howling, unable to pierce the veil of their killing intent.
A profound, heavy silence fell over the peak.
"Hidden King Amidst Flowers," a stern voice finally broke the quiet. A swordsman with a jagged, ugly scar carved across his cheek stepped forward from the vanguard of the formation. "I am the Lord of the Sword-Venerating Sect. I studied the blade under the Hegemon Sword Sect before establishing my own sect in Luzhou."
He pointed his weapon forward, his voice echoing with absolute authority. "Declare it here and now, as a Unit Commander of the Divine Sword Corps. Swear that you will no longer interfere in the affairs of the Sichuan martial world."
"Bring me a royal edict stamped with an official government seal, and then say that," Jeong Yeon-shin replied slowly, his posture relaxed yet utterly immovable. "Then, I might listen."
'Could it be...?'
Even with hundreds of hostile eyes locked onto his every breath, Jeong Yeon-shin felt an entirely different, strange sensation washing over him. His heartbeat grew heavy, thumping against his ribs with a sudden, rhythmic intensity.
Its pulsing rhythm was overwhelmingly strong. For the first time in his entire life, a massive surge of pure, unadulterated excitement coursed through his veins. And for the first time, he found himself unable to believe what his own finely tuned sense of qi was telling him.
'Are they really...?'
But asking himself was pointless. They were coming. From far beyond the mountain's edge.
Rushing inward and ruthlessly tearing through his wide-open senses was a chaotic, overwhelming blend of deeply familiar energy waves and entirely unfamiliar presences. They were closing the distance at a monstrous, almost incomprehensible speed.
Had they all set out from the exact same place together? How could such a thing even be possible?
"Famine has plagued this world for far too long," the scarred swordsman continued, completely oblivious to the approaching storm. "The time has finally come to cast off the tyranny of the Desolate Fortress. The sacred rule of Non-Interference between Government and Martial World must be upheld... Starting today, the martial world will begin to sever the fingers of the Divine Sword Corps, one by one..."
Just then.
At the very outer edge of their grand encirclement.
Thud!
A massive banner was driven diagonally into the hard earth with explosive force. In an instant, the thick blue fabric fluttered wildly, snapping in the air from the incredibly powerful recoil of its landing.
Six bold characters were inscribed upon the cloth. The calligraphy was elegant yet fierce, the ends of the strokes light and sharp as if they were about to take flight from the fabric itself.
[Divine Sword Corps, Searing Abyss Unit]
"The Divine Sword Corps... Searing Abyss Unit?" A martial artist standing within the Net of Heaven and Earth muttered blankly, his eyes wide with dawning terror. It was a legendary martial unit, universally feared and famous for possessing the absolute finest body protection scripture within the entire Desolate Fortress.
Immediately after.
Thud! Thud!
The Bloodkeeper Unit.
The Martial Apex Hall.
Plumes of dust rose into the air like a reverse waterfall. One by one, or perhaps all at once, heavy banners were violently driven into the ground, forming a secondary ring that completely surrounded the Net of Heaven and Earth.
Without exception, terrifying vibrations stemming from immense internal energy mastery swept out in all directions. While the original encirclement of enemies fell into a frozen, horrified silence, the entirety of Unhoe Peak continued to violently quake beneath their feet.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Rumble—!
The Divine Sword Squad. The Netherflow Unit. The Wish-Fulfilling Spring. The Dragon-Treading Unit. The Law Enforcement Unit. The Forest-Treading Unit. The Immortal Wood Spirit. The Azure Sky Unit. The Thread-Annihilation Unit...
The frosty silence was shattered repeatedly by the deafening impacts of the flagpoles piercing the mountain's surface. Yet, not a single martial expert dared to speak. They merely looked around in silent, paralyzing shock, staring as if these mere banners were artifacts that surpassed even legendary divine weapons.
And then.
Boom!
A final banner slammed into the earth right next to Jeong Yeon-shin. Unable to fully withstand the sheer impact of its descent, the thick flagpole shook violently, thrumming like a plucked bowstring. The dim orange sunlight washed over the dark inscription:
[Divine Sword Corps, Demonlight Wing]
He slowly raised his head.
Beyond the banners that were now fiercely fluttering in the gale of their own creation, a new presence emerged. The intangible energy waves emitted by over a dozen absolute masters overlapped and crashed forward like a suffocating tsunami. Walking with the dying light of the setting sun at their backs, pitch-black sleeves fluttered menacingly as they descended from all directions.