Chapter 386: The Divine Sword Corps (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 386: The Divine Sword Corps (2)
A concussive shockwave exploded beneath Jeong Yeon-shin's feet. Channeling Brilliant River through his legs, his knee strike launched forward with blinding speed.
Snapping back to her senses, the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect crossed her hands over her abdomen.
Internal energy materialized into the talons of a bird of prey, crossing to scatter golden afterimages. A split second later, Jeong Yeon-shin's knee soared upward—as if shattering space itself—and slammed directly into her guard.
BOOM!
The surrounding earth ripped open, blasting grayish-white stone dust in all directions.
For a fleeting moment, the finely crushed dust gathered in the air, attempting to skewer him from all sides, but it was instantly swallowed by the shockwave of their clash.
"Don't you feel anything? It should have grown a bit thicker by now," Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly asked.
The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect furrowed her brow. It was her first visible reaction. Perhaps this life-and-death duel wasn't unfolding quite as she had planned.
"Your shockwaves do not accumulate within my body," she said. "They dissolve the moment they touch me."
She was referring to the accumulation of Fa Jin. Normally, repeatedly enduring strikes loaded with the Internal Heavy Hand Technique would leave a person's insides in ruins, the opponent's shockwaves stacking within their acupoints.
But this did not apply to the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect. Through her Heaven-Ruling Dragon-Slaying Art, she had absorbed the very nature of the flood dragon.
Jeong Yeon-shin nodded slowly. It was a gesture loaded with meaning. An old story told by his father, Jeong Pan-ak, flashed through his mind.
—Reversal at the Extremes. When a person's hardships and adversities reach their absolute limit, a reversal is bound to occur. Yet, your mother's... my wife's life ended in such agony that it made the ancient idiom ring hollow. It was entirely, solely because of you... and I had wanted nothing more than to bring her happiness.
The principle of Reversal at the Extremes. It would serve as the decisive key to hunting down the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect today.
"If you abuse your body like that, you'll ruin it," she warned. Her crossed arms still blocked Jeong Yeon-shin's knee. This was a stark departure from her previous approach, where she had focused entirely on the offensive.
The greatest expert in Sichuan had deployed a proper defensive stance. This carried immense weight—even though, at this very moment, Jeong Yeon-shin's leg bone was twisted completely out of its socket.
The blue flames enveloping the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect crackled, scattering feathers of sparks. Her Body Protection Qi had grown incredibly dense.
A cold smile played on Jeong Yeon-shin's lips.
"As long as my heart remains intact, does anything else matter?"
"I am worried you might strain your heart as well."
"Your concern is misplaced."
Crack!
The dislocated joint below his knee twisted violently back into place. His internal energy bound his muscles, forcing the broken bone to realign.
His mother's mental image, woven into his True Qi, had remained by his side throughout today's battle.
"A dynamic art..."
The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect's eyes widened slightly. While the internal energy manipulation of peerless masters always bordered on the miraculous, the sheer resilience and constant self-repair of the Commander of the Demonlight Wing's body was exceptionally striking.
His inability to instantly regenerate torn flesh was a trivial limitation compared to his overwhelming martial prowess.
"You created it yourself, didn't you? How did you formulate the mnemonic?"
"You need only think of your deceased parents."
The conversation between these two peerless masters, both obsessed with the martial path, was strangely serene. Jeong Yeon-shin spoke again, addressing the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect as she seemed to ponder his words. It was a fair exchange; since he had shared something precious, he expected an answer in return.
"Is your Unified Martial Transcendence split in two?"
"...Unified Martial Transcendence is time itself. It cannot be split in two. Though you wouldn't understand."
The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect replied, her bare shoulder exposed where her sleeve had been sliced away. Keeping her in his sights, Jeong Yeon-shin expanded his perception.
An endlessly blue plateau, mountain ridges, and caves forged from her immense True Qi and sorcery surrounded them. Brilliant blue sunlight poured down, despite the fact that it should have been evening in the outside world.
"Why did you design your Unified Martial Transcendence to target humans instead of the flood dragon?"
"Because the mortal world is a noisy place. There were far too many times I had to unleash the power meant for the dragon upon strong humans instead."
Perhaps she had recalled an unpleasant memory.
Her brow furrowing suddenly, the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect spread her arms wide.
BOOM!
Blasting through the swirling dust, Jeong Yeon-shin was thrown back dozens of feet before planting his feet firmly on the ground. Even though he had forced the bone back into place, his knee was still broken.
A dull ache radiated up from his foot through his leg, but his immediate focus was on discerning the truth behind her words.
Human sacrifices and the theft of Dharma treasures. These were the deeds of the Golden Wing Sect—acts committed solely to unravel the formation laid down by the flood dragon.
'It must be true that she has only one Unified Martial Transcendence.'
The spirituality dwelling beneath his Baihui Point whispered the same.
This is enough. There is nothing left to hold me back.
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect's face loomed large in an instant. It was her Dragon Slaying Scale-Treading Movement Technique, a movement art akin to the earth-shrinking technique over short distances.
A fragrance like wine wafted over, and three-pronged claws of brilliant gold sprouted from each of her hands. They elongated like sword blades, warping the very air around them.
Rumble!
The ground beneath them surged. It was a cataclysmic tremor that amplified the force of her stomp while simultaneously throwing Jeong Yeon-shin off balance.
Manipulating space at will through her Unified Martial Transcendence, she carved six golden streaks of light into the air. In a fraction of a second, her claw technique unleashed a flurry of variations, twisting along dozens of trajectories to target every inch of Jeong Yeon-shin's body.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
The Divine Sword: Lingering Thunder in Jeong Yeon-shin's hand clashed against the onslaught.
Dozens of overlapping shockwaves erupted from every direction. His black robe, woven from heavenly silkworm thread, was shredded to pieces.
The sensation of tattered fabric scraping against his skin came with a wave of sharp pain.
[You all denounce me as a member of the heterodox sects.]
"..."
[Yet it is I who has been protecting you. You have no idea how many strange, violent, chaotic, and supernatural entities have descended upon this land since the founding of the empire, do you? The flood dragon is the absolute pinnacle of those monsters.]
Her voice echoed from all directions, mimicking the Six Harmonies Sound Transmission. The earth trembled, and the surrounding foliage and boulders erupted with waves of internal power.
The domain of Unified Martial Transcendence she had forged was resonating with her.
For the first time, he sensed true emotion in her. It was as if she were performing a final rite for an equal who was about to die. Jeong Yeon-shin felt as though the entire world had turned against him.
Whirrrr— BOOM!
Every single one of her strikes began to tear through the fabric of time. The force of her shockwaves was truly explosive.
Perhaps their repeated clashes had made her realize the sheer depth of Jeong Yeon-shin's talent and the power of the Jeong Family Dynamic Art. She seemed determined to hold nothing back.
Every single strike was a deadly ultimate technique. The flashing streaks of golden light resembled the bars of a thunder prison.
The terrifying onslaught hemmed him in, tearing at his flesh. He could not parry them cleanly.
It was entirely different from before. The number of exchanged moves multiplied in the blink of an eye.
One hundred and twenty moves, one hundred and fifty, two hundred... Her movements were as swift as a golden wing bird transformed into pure light. She gave Jeong Yeon-shin no time to formulate a counter-strategy.
Splat— Slash!
Droplets of blood, caught in the translucent ripples of force, sprayed repeatedly into the air.
That was, until Jeong Yeon-shin's voice suddenly echoed from all directions.
[Are you not one of those very monsters yourself?]
[What...?]
The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect's eyes widened. Jeong Yeon-shin, reflected in her golden pupils, was clearly not moving his lips.
[You sacrificed the Commander of the Heaven-Aligned Wing and other warriors of the Desolate Fortress alive to your sorcery formation, and you destroyed the homes of innocent commoners just to unearth Dharma treasures. You have committed countless atrocities over the years. And yet, when you finally unraveled the formation, the flood dragon had already vanished.]
The ground spoke. The uprooted trees and shattered boulders echoed his words. Even the distant cave hummed with the resonance of Jeong Yeon-shin's voice.
Just as she had done, he was speaking through his surroundings. Her hands froze.
"..."
[Even if your excuse is for the greater good, you still deserve to die.]
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke, lowering his sword.
His state was dire.
His robe was completely shredded. Blood trickled down his defined abdominal muscles, and the hem of his black trousers was stained dark with blood.
Yet, he did not care.
They had exchanged enough blows. It was time to bring this to an end.
He half-closed his eyes, even with a formidable enemy standing right before him.
He had previously observed the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect from up close when she activated the flood dragon's formation. Her manipulation of Natural Qi was entirely different from that of the Jegal Clan Leader. It was far more intuitive, faster, and she commanded the spiritual energy with absolute freedom.
He had known instinctively that it would harmonize with her martial arts. Since their clash was inevitable, he had to devise a way to break it.
That was why he had behaved so passively for several days after entering the flood dragon's formation. Even as he focused on refining the mnemonic for his Body Protection Qi, his thoughts had been on her.
'Simply countering her wouldn't be enough.'
Her martial arts mastery was at the absolute peak of the Purple Rank. She was virtually flawless as a martial artist.
It was impossible to tear down her vast, towering wall of martial arts with just a few counter-techniques. He had to truly ascend. This was not a battle to be won by a quick trick; it was time to deepen his own martial path.
And so, he seized control of her Unified Martial Transcendence, which had been relentlessly pressing down on him.
[Let me ask you one thing.]
[How did you...?]
[You claimed your internal energy could suppress all auspicious things in the world.]
[...]
[Would you dare say the same in front of Bodhidharma or Perfected Zhang Sanfeng?]
[What?]
[Planting the nature of the dragon within me was your greatest mistake.]
Hummm—
Jeong Yeon-shin spun his halo. Something responded instantly. It was the sacred essence that perfected the nature of both divine arts and divine weaponry—his spirituality.
The nature of the flood dragon, which the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect had personally refined and implanted in him, cried out within his Law-Transcending Halo Qi.
Once it entered his body, it became entirely his. Even if it was a fleeting spirituality destined to fade, it belonged to him now.
Just after her Unified Martial Transcendence had unfolded, Jeong Yeon-shin had suddenly recalled his father's drunken ramblings about the Reversal at the Extremes.
What would happen if the spirituality of the flood dragon was added to his Law-Transcending Halo Qi? Auspicious energy combined with an auspicious spirituality. It would push the physical properties to their absolute limit.
Furthermore, he knew the Divine Blood Ultimate Demon, Jin Myeong-jo, whose mastery of internal energy was so absolute that he appeared entirely ordinary. It was a state where no energy waves were emitted—the realm known in the Jianghu as the Return to Simplicity.
Reversal at the Extremes and the Return to Simplicity.
They pointed to a single truth:
—So utterly divine that it leaves no trace.
When they first began exchanging blows, he had drawn the flood dragon's spirituality into his halo, merging them for a brief moment. Yet, she had sensed nothing. Even as he secretly seeded his True Qi into the earth with every strike he made, she had failed to react.
Just like the Blood Flame Cultists who had failed to realize their own formation was being saturated with Dharma power, she remained oblivious.
Jeong Yeon-shin finally unleashed his Law-Transcending Halo Qi in its entirety.
[This must have been what Bodhidharma's Dharma power felt like.]
Hummmmm—!
Beneath his feet, faint ripples of white light began to expand in concentric circles. It looked as though a pure white tide had materialized upon the earth.
The waves of internal power expanded in massive concentric circles, sweeping past the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect's feet without losing their shape. It was as transparent as the breath of the Buddha, entirely unconstrained.
"...!"
As her eyes widened in shock, Jeong Yeon-shin detonated the energy he had seeded throughout her sorcery barrier.
Rumble!
Violent tremors surged right up to their feet.
He did not understand the exact principles behind her Unified Martial Transcendence. It was imbued with a mental image and centuries of experience that far eclipsed those of the Ghost-Howling Hegemon, the former Peng Clan Leader.
But that did not matter.
It was enough to read the foundation of the sorcery formation through his sense of Qi and shatter every single node acting as its axis. This would prevent her from reclaiming the massive amount of energy she had poured into her Unified Martial Transcendence.
BOOM! Crash!
The illusory landscape began to disintegrate. In the distance, the cave that had yawned open like a giant mouth collapsed into a heap of rubble, and the towering trees snapped and crashed to the ground.
Step.
Amidst the billowing dust, the two began to walk toward each other.
[Our strength is equalized now.]
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke, binding the dispersing spirituality of the flood dragon to his heart.
With every step he took, pure white ripples emanated from his heels in continuous waves.
Having expended an immense amount of internal energy on her Unified Martial Transcendence, the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect had lost her absolute elemental advantage. Now, the battle would be decided purely by martial skill.
Whoosh—
The wind rushed toward her. Natural Qi swirled around her in a hazy golden vortex. She was preparing an ultimate technique she had kept hidden until now.
Her flame-like Body Protection Qi began to glow a brilliant gold. If the mythical golden wing bird of legend were to take human form, it would surely look like this. Even a fleeting glance revealed that the sheer ferocity of her internal power defied all reason.
'If even a single strike connects, it will mean instant death.'
The time had come. Only one clash remained.
Having exchanged an unprecedented number of moves since his journey in the Jianghu began, Jeong Yeon-shin was now fully prepared to hunt down the golden wing bird of the martial world.
'No matter what sorcery she unleashes.'
Crack!
The halo within his heart shattered.
Shards of light spilled from his body like a cascading galaxy. Every acupoint and muscle in his body breathed in sync with the mnemonic of the Myriad Blossoms Rain, and a garment woven from pure starlight instantly draped over him.
Whoosh!
By then, the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect was already within arm's reach, bringing her hands down in a devastating strike.
The golden light enveloping her arms now resembled massive wings rather than claws. Space warped along the path of her hands.
Their eyes met.
There was no warmth in her golden gaze. It was a look that declared her strike was not something any human's Body Protection Qi could ever hope to withstand.
In the perception of peerless masters, a single instant was stretched out infinitely.
Jeong Yeon-shin glanced upward.
He saw the sky.
It was clear—a false azure sky. By now, the sun should have long set. The night sky should have been draped overhead.
Hummmmm—!
A dragon reared its head within his mind. Holding a fan in its jaws, it coiled around the starlight that draped over him like silk.
Upon his active Body Protection Qi, the Exquisite Shining Star Heaven, he overlaid the Fan Dragon Lotus Art. It took only a fraction of a second. A halo of light, flickering like the body of a dragon, burst forth in all directions.
"...!"
The Lord of the Golden Wing Sect, who had been lunging at him with terrifying speed, was suddenly lifted into the air, enveloped in starlight.
It was a flash of pure martial genius accompanying the technique. He had perceived her sense of balance as if it were his own, shattering it in an instant.
[You said my Myriad Blossoms Rain lacked the weight of years.]
At this moment, Jeong Yeon-shin's mental intent resonated far faster than any spoken words.
"You...?!"
Her lips contorted. Her voice cracked, reduced to a raw, physical cry—much like the world around them, which was beginning to shatter like porcelain.
Whoosh!
The currents of starlight surrounding them glowed with a brilliant, pale light. It was as if the constellations hidden behind the blue sky had been dragged down to the earth.
At the same time, the spirituality of the Unified Martial Transcendence he had seized allowed his mental image to manifest.
[Since you compared my children to the stars, and that inspiration took form as a robe for you... how about Bright Dawn?]
[It doesn't sound very good.]
It was his voice and the Tang Clan Leader's. A conversation they had shared once before.
The intent that formed the backbone of one's martial arts was, in the end, born of human memory.
And so, the offensive ultimate technique of the Exquisite Shining Star Heaven was named. No matter how deeply he pondered, the conclusion was always the same.
There were far too many nuisances in the Jianghu. The ultimate form of self-defense was to ensure no opponent remained to harm him.
[Bright Dawn.]
Jeong Yeon-shin muttered softly.
Bright Dawn. It was a whisper that dragged a sorcery he had never even studied into the domain of martial arts.
Rumble!
Shards of his Body Protection Qi swirled upward in a massive vortex, threatening to pierce the low sky of her Unified Martial Transcendence. Trapped within the storm, the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect's eyes widened in sheer horror.
"No...! This can't be!"
The moment the starlight surrounding them coalesced into the shape of an ascending flood dragon—
Flash!
A Dragon Ascent of pure starlight bridged heaven and earth in a single, blinding pillar of light.