Chapter 385: The Divine Sword Corps
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 385: The Divine Sword Corps
The Lord of the Tenth Sect had been slain.
Coming after his crushing defeat at the hands of the Commander of the Demonlight Wing, this was an event that would shake the Jianghu to its core.
However, it did not immediately turn the tide of battle. The battlefield was simply too vast, the number of combatants too immense.
Boom! Boom! Claaang!
Blades flashed with a cold, sharp light. The weapons wielded by the hundreds of men in the Net of Heaven and Earth formed a dense forest of steel, reminiscent of the Sword Tree Hell of the underworld.
Every one of them was an expert who had refined their Body Protection Scripture to project a barrier easily surpassing a man's height. Figures swarmed the Unit Commanders of the Divine Sword Corps from all directions, filling the ground and the air above.
The battlefield was a cacophony of earth-shattering explosions, the whistle of wind, and a constant, invisible web of telepathic transmissions.
—Southwest of Flash Art… Look at those armored bastards from the Tenth Sect setting up a sword formation. Are they actually trying to use Internal Power Transfer? They must be out of their minds. I’ll snap their necks before they pull off anything troublesome.
—The Commander of the Searing Abyss Unit is close.
—I’m on my way.
Countless figures brushed past one another in a violent frenzy, both on the ground and in the air.
Shock and malice intertwined. As men screamed in agony, their throats pierced or limbs severed by the Unit Commanders, those behind them, fueled by rage and internal energy, shoved their half-dead comrades forward.
"We can win with a Chariot Wheel Battle! Forget acupoint sealing, just slash them! Cut their hamstrings and push them off the cliff!"
"They're human too! They aren't invincible!"
"Exactly! At best, they're just a dozen leaders from the old Nine Sects' elite!"
"Are you trying to destroy our morale?!"
The reason the Net of Heaven and Earth, forming a massive circle on the hill, was so desperately surging against the Unit Commanders of the Divine Sword Corps was simple…
The ruthlessness of the Desolate Fortress was legendary. When they annihilated the Hwangbo Clan under the pretext of punishing them for exploiting the people, they put the entire martial world on high alert. Although the incident occurred in Shandong, far to the north, the story had long since spread all the way to Sichuan.
If they didn't win, they would be slaughtered.
"The Divine Spear of the Desolate Fortress is empty-handed! Now is our chance, kegh—!"
"Those who've mastered Yang Strong Qi Gong, get over there! The Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit Bingbaek is running wild!"
Splat! Rumble—!
Translucent waves of shockwaves clashed endlessly. Amid the deafening roars, shattered fragments of metal and viscera flew through the air, mingled with sprays of blood.
Even seasoned martial artists were not immune to the madness of group combat, especially those belonging to the unorthodox sects. Since the Net of Heaven and Earth had originally gathered to face three peerless experts, countless masters were waiting just behind the crumbling front lines, their blades flashing.
They’ll be fine.
Jeong Yeon-shin stood in the middle of the fierce battlefield.
He felt the powerful auras of his seniors against his skin as he coated the blade of the Divine Sword: Lingering Thunder with a long, sunset-colored glow.
—Can you handle it? Just hold on a little longer. With Yeouirang, Thread Annihilation, and me, the three of us…
A girl's voice tickled his ear. Without taking his eyes from his opponent, Yeon-shin channeled his internal energy into his throat.
—Senior Ak.
—Yes?
—I am fine. You must stay safe.
He said what he had always wished he could say to his grandmother.
Perhaps she was touched, as Ak Su-rim’s reply was delayed by a moment’s pause.
Yeon-shin paid it no mind. His gaze was fixed on the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect, who had now turned to face him completely.
She spoke slowly. "Your Sword Sphere is quite dense. It feels slightly larger than before."
"Come," Yeon-shin said.
His seniors had cleared the way. There was no reason to give her time to analyze him—unless he was the one doing the analyzing.
Rustle.
The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect nodded and took a step forward. "I was getting tired of you, too," she muttered quietly.
Then, her lips parted.
"[Seizing Life.]"
It claws at one's life thread. What does that mean?
Whoosh—
As the mantra echoed, a faint golden ripple swept across the ground, like waves forming on the shore of an invisible lake.
"..."
Yeon-shin felt the Natural Qi around him surge, forming a massive hemispherical dome.
It was sorcery martial arts again, but the scale was on an entirely different level. Its function seemed to be as well.
Hummmmm—!
The dim glow of the sunset vanished. In an instant, day turned to night. It took only a split second for the world in all directions to be dyed a deep indigo.
It was a miracle akin to the creation of heaven and earth.
Under the suddenly blue sky, the battlefield disappeared without a trace. In its place, forests, trees, and rocks appeared as if painted into existence by an artist's brush. Along the distant mountain ridges, a massive cave opened its pitch-black maw.
It was a landscape similar to what he had seen in the Flood Dragon's formation. The surrounding crowd had been completely erased.
In the end, only the two of them remained.
Clang!
The moment the sorcery martial art activated, Yeon-shin had closed the distance, but his sword strike was blocked by the arm of the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect.
Before he knew it, blue flame-like flowers had bloomed from her elbow to her fingertips, scattering deep blue feathers. It was an incredibly fast Body Protection Qi.
Above her orange sleeves, which rustled with a soft luster, the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect’s immaculate eyelashes lifted slightly.
"I painted the homeland of my prey," she said.
Yeon-shin knew instinctively. They hadn't teleported; they were merely severed from their surroundings for a moment.
Was this what it would look like if one were to spread an Invisible Sword—said to be forged from internal energy and mental imagery—impossibly wide to overlay it onto space itself?
Not only the illusions of the bushes and rocks, but the very ground beneath his feet now flowed with the True Qi of the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect. It was a peerless technique of profound, indescribable principles.
There was no other explanation.
"Is this Unified Martial Transcendence?" Yeon-shin asked, staring down at her.
He was still exerting force on the hilt of Lingering Thunder, but her arm didn't budge in the slightest. It felt like pushing against a solid wall.
She hadn't been this strong before.
This was the Unified Martial Transcendence of the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect, whose martial arts and sorcery had both reached the Peerless Realm. As soon as this domain, like a formation barrier, unfolded, her power had changed with it.
Perhaps that was why she could afford to be so leisurely.
"I deceived providence to make you a dragon. Here, you are the Flood Dragon."
Her quiet voice carried a hint of pride.
In Yeon-shin's experience, peerless experts were often dying to show off their martial attainments to anyone capable of appreciating their techniques. They were the type who loved discussing the path of the sword to reach the Limitless. The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect was no different.
The Heaven-Ruling Dragon-Slaying Art was a divine ultimate technique designed to hunt Flood Dragons. Since she had implanted the nature of a dragon into Yeon-shin through this mysterious domain, she could afford to indulge in a few words. She had reduced him to mere prey.
Yeon-shin spoke slowly. Today, with his black-ranked seniors watching, he had to take a step toward the true purple rank. Broadening one's horizons in the Peerless Realm through a few words with a master was a fated encounter in itself.
"You said you deceived providence. I heard the Lord of Heaven's Bane, one of the Thirteen Heavens, is a swordsman who cuts through reason. Would your Unified Martial Transcendence and his swordplay be at odds?"
"I've never seen it."
Perhaps he had touched a nerve, for her reply was low and firm. Yeon-shin filed that possibility away.
He quickly sidestepped using the mnemonic of the Radiant Wing Step.
Boom—!
An immense pressure brushed past his cheek—the aftermath of her punch. The force displaced the very air, carving a trench shaped like a giant feather into the ground. A few strands of Yeon-shin's hair were caught in the terrifying suction and scattered.
Through the gap, her gaze seemed to imply his hair was inappropriately long.
Flash!
Yeon-shin’s body blurred, reappearing in a dash using the Ten-Mile Light Grace. The white-shining blade of Lingering Thunder swept in a straight line toward her flank.
In that instant, a harsh, grinding sensation shot up his arm, a massive vibration traveling from the hilt to his palm. Blue sparks flew from her Body Protection Qi, blurring his vision.
Too shallow.
The moment he passed her, she swayed slightly, her hand reaching through the empty air to chase him.
Thud!
A massive golden light erupted against his black-robed back. A dull thwack echoed as a wave of True Qi spread in concentric circles from the point of impact. Immediately after, the shockwave split into three prongs like the claws of a raptor, tearing through his flesh.
Yeon-shin swallowed a groan. As stinging pain flooded his mind, he analyzed the feel of the air, the sensation of the ground, and the force that had ripped through his back. The area of impact was large, the damage so severe that he couldn't immediately use the Jeong Family Dynamic Art to stitch his tendons and acupoints back together.
Flutter!
Just then, the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect spun and flew toward him, her orange sleeves spreading wide like wings. It was the Dragon Slaying Scale-Treading Movement Technique. She closed the distance in an instant.
A kick whipped toward him, spinning with a lightning-fast Silk-Reeling Power. Her leg filled his vision.
He reached out and struck back.
Claaaaang—!
Ugh.
A shockwave as hot as fire seeped into his bones. The clashing foot and back of his hand locked in a contest of strength. Even though he had countered with the direct shockwave of the Infinite Flower of Time Hand: Advancing Thunder, his body was still pushed slightly aside.
The recoil from her kick was immense. Behind him, the sand of the domain rose up and crashed down like a tidal wave.
Crash!
At that moment, the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect caught the descending blade of Lingering Thunder with both hands. The blue flames shimmering across her body dispersed even his faint sword wind.
"Your heart... is incredible. You possess something equivalent to a dragon's inner core."
Her golden eyes swept over Yeon-shin's chest.
Standing with one leg still raised, she looked utterly arrogant—the very nature of the Golden Winged Bird that devoured dragons. Her gaze was chillingly calm, the very image of a predator staring at its quarry.
"You are certainly right," Yeon-shin said.
"Hmm?"
"Your Heaven-Ruling Dragon-Slaying Art is treating me as a Flood Dragon. The force of your strikes is incomparable to before... because your Unified Martial Transcendence is closer to a mysterious formation. So this is how it works."
"It is a martial art designed to shatter the scales of a lizard," she said, as if stating the obvious.
Immediately after she spoke, a golden mist bloomed from her body against the backdrop of the meadow. Having retracted their leg and sword, the two blurred once more, their figures clashing and intertwining.
Clang-clank-clang! Boom!
The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect freely unleashed a storm of fists, palms, kicks, and claws. Yeon-shin drew dozens of trajectories, unleashing the Lightning-Flash Sword Ridge Style and the Infinite Flower of Time Hand.
Sword and hand clashed like comets as their figures crossed paths endlessly. Whenever their waves of internal power collided head-on, distant rocks shattered and soared into the air.
More than twenty exchanges passed in the blink of an eye.
Hummmm—
Suddenly, a glow shaped like the massive claws of a raptor enveloped her hands—a weapon materialized from golden internal energy. She, who had been blocking Lingering Thunder with her bare body, now swung those claws in wide arcs, and Yeon-shin's robe began to tear.
Rumble!
The mere aftermath of a single strike left sharp scars gouged into the earth. This was true for both his sword and her claws. Not a single patch of ground remained intact.
With every exchange, cuts opened across Yeon-shin's body, dripping blood.
His Wind God Movement Technique was half a breath slower than her Dragon Slaying Scale-Treading Movement Technique. Her repeated kicks cut off his Ten-Mile Light Grace, forcing him into a close-quarters battle. This was a critical disadvantage, as Yeon-shin needed to execute a long form to generate a shockwave capable of countering her Heaven-Overturning Dragon-Slaying Formula.
Yet, surprise was gradually pooling in the eyes of the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect.
Her Unified Martial Transcendence was a martial art that overturned the surrounding area with profound internal energy and twisted providence with incredibly complex spell formations. It was a technique that temporarily implanted the nature of a dragon into an opponent's body—an ability that defied common sense by any standard. Unleashing it would force her to recuperate for a month.
But how…?
Her Heaven-Ruling Dragon-Slaying Art had definitely recognized Yeon-shin as a Flood Dragon. Not only did she overwhelm him in strength and speed, but even her short, snapping strikes completely unraveled his shockwaves to land directly on his body. Every single one of her forms was a perfect counter. The battle should have been decided long ago.
He’s adapting to the counters.
Jeong Yeon-shin, Commander of the Demonlight Wing.
Thud! Rumble—!
Even as his body shook violently from glancing blows from her claw shockwaves and kicks, he was learning how to fight an incompatible martial art. Though covered in wounds, his momentum never faltered. It was goosebump-inducing to watch him finely adjust the True Qi structure of his shockwaves every time their strikes clashed.
By the time they reached over a hundred exchanges, his annoyingly sharp blade finally managed, with great difficulty, to slice through the fabric of her shoulder.
And at last.
Rumble—!
The moment the Commander of the Demonlight Wing detonated his famous Brilliant River through the Yongquan Point on the sole of his foot, driving his knee upward like a bolt of lightning.
The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect found herself staring blankly at his beautiful, blood-streaked face.
As if on the verge of receiving some profound enlightenment, his alluring, blood-colored lips curled into a faint smile.
It was the madness of a peerless genius walking the path of martial arts.