Chapter 394: Carpet (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 394: Carpet (3)
Shockwaves rippled through the air in rapid succession.
Hummmm—
Pinned firmly beneath the uninvited guest's foot, the ink-black arrow trembled violently. Pressed down from above, it could not advance a single inch.
Waves of internal power rippled outward in dark, concentric circles.
It was a bizarre sight.
The Young Lord of the Dark Night Hall had released his bowstring the exact instant he sensed the intruder's presence.
The Dark Night lineage's Sun-Phoenix Radiance-Chasing Archery was an orthodox martial art that allowed no shortcuts to mastery—a stark contrast to the tyrannical arts of the Thirteen Heavens.
As an art of immense patience, firing even a single arrow was an incredibly sophisticated technique in its own right.
How did he move like that...?
The Young Lord's eyes swept over the uninvited guest.
The intruder had predicted not only the target of the attack but also the exact moment of impact.
The fact that the arrow lay trapped beneath his foot, rather than embedded in his body or leg, proved that the opponent's Body Protection Scripture had worked a bizarre miracle in a split second.
Had his movements somehow warped time itself?
The Young Lord shook his head inwardly. This man was neither the Shaolin Abbot nor the Lord of Heaven's Bane.
Having seen those who had attained supreme status through martial arts in his youth, he knew the difference. He could sense that this uninvited guest was far younger.
Right then, the arrow pinned beneath the young man's foot flinched violently in midair. It slowly tilted vertically before plunging straight down, piercing the marble floor.
Boom!
The fletching, adorned with ornate feathers, vibrated wildly.
In that instant, the royal descendant of the Faded Clan had a stark realization. The uninvited guest hadn't just blocked the attack; he had briefly trapped the arrow beneath the wave of internal power from his leg to savor the shockwave of the strike like a fine dish.
It was as if he had used his sense of Qi to thoroughly analyze the structure and subtle principles of the force loaded into the shaft.
What kind of assessment had he just made?
A strange chill ran down the Young Lord's spine. He spoke slowly.
"There is no need to stand on ceremony when facing the destruction of one's sect."
"..."
The young man, having landed soundlessly, looked around without offering a reply.
Sunlight filtering through the thick dust cast a dreamlike glow over his features. It matched his earlier movements—a face that blurred the boundary between dream and reality.
The Young Lord fell silent for a moment. This was not the face he had envisioned before releasing his arrow.
Just then, a subordinate loading a bow beside him shouted in a low voice.
"Do you not know in whose presence you stand?! No matter how hostile our sects may be, anyone with a shred of etiquette would not behave this way! Do you not realize you are acting like a classless ruffian?!"
The Dark Night Hall was a great sect that served the direct lineage of the Faded Clan, making the Young Lord's right-hand man the equivalent of a trusted royal confidant.
His position required him to be well-versed in both literary and martial arts, frequently conveying his lord's words to the outside world.
He was also a master of sorcery martial arts that lent weight to his speech—a technique designed to force anyone who heard him to pause and reflect.
This was meant to buy time for the Young Lord to notch another arrow in case he was flustered.
Just as the subordinate finished speaking and turned to give the Young Lord a subtle wink—
Crack!
The Young Lord's bow snapped in half. It happened the exact instant a gust of finger wind shot from the distant guest's index finger. The subordinate stared blankly at the wooden splinters rising like dust.
It was a terrifying display of self-conviction. He left no room for doubt in his actions, exuding an extremely tyrannical disposition.
Either way, it carried immense weight—whether he was fully aware of his own insolence, or simply did not care at all.
High-level sorcery martial arts that target the mind won't easily work on him...!
His martial prowess alone was a massive problem.
The finger wind that had just shattered the bow was truly like a flash of light. There was an insurmountable gap in the speed at which they could manifest their internal energy.
The Young Lord shook his head at his subordinate.
"I sense an incredibly rare, peerless eye technique. We are already within his sight. Do not make a move rashly."
"That bird," Jeong Yeon-shin, who had been watching them quietly, finally spoke. "Is it the Ominous Bird?"
The bird perched on the Young Lord's shoulder fluttered its wings, sending a few gray feathers drifting down.
It looked like a small crane, save for the color of its plumage.
"Ah." A faint smile played on the Young Lord's lips. "So this little one was your goal."
"I heard it's used to send letters to the Lord of the Dark Night Hall."
Jeong Yeon-shin's clear gaze locked onto the Young Lord. It was a look that brooked no arguments, rendering questions like 'Do you think I'll just hand it over?' entirely meaningless.
The Young Lord stared back as if looking down at an inferior, but inwardly, he swallowed a groan.
He is clearly a swordsman, yet...
He could not even fathom the span of the opponent's sword sphere. The range of his techniques seemed capable of reaching not just the grandmaster's chair behind him, but far beyond the pavilion itself.
It was immeasurable.
He had experienced something similar before, from peerless swordsmen whose names were known to everyone in the world.
They were masters who possessed sword Qi that could cleave hills, peerless sword control, or body protection scriptures akin to the earth-shrinking art.
The Young Lord's martial attainment and talent were among the very best of his generation within the Thirteen Heavens' rising stars, but that meant little right now.
He felt that the moment he raised his hand to snap the Ominous Bird's neck, his own head would fly off—even though they were separated by a distance of at least seventy feet.
The royal descendant of the clan managed to speak with difficulty.
"Who are you?"
"Commander of the Demonlight Wing of the Desolate Fortress," Jeong Yeon-shin replied slowly.
The Young Lord's eyelids twitched slightly.
"Your martial prowess surpasses the rumors. Your spirit and character are also impressive."
"Your mastery of eye techniques is deep."
"To find pleasure in praise from a commoner... what a strange feeling. You came to take the Ominous Bird, I assume? If I hand it over willingly, will you withdraw?" the Young Lord asked.
Instantly, his confidant's head snapped toward him.
To deliver a letter directly to the Lord of the Dark Night Hall, they had to rely on the Ominous Bird. It was an incredibly precious spirit beast and a sacred relic of the Dark Night Hall.
Only those who possessed both the noble bloodline and the martial arts passed down exclusively to the direct line of the sect leader could tame it. Once tamed, the Ominous Bird possessed an uncanny instinct to find its masters wherever they were.
It was incomparable to mere messenger pigeons, which were prone to getting lost or becoming prey for raptors.
"The casualties among our disciples are heavy. Even now, a devastating aura shakes the earth. Still, I suppose I should be glad that because you share Brightfolk blood, you have spared the vegetation," the Young Lord spoke quietly. His confidant bowed his head.
"You are mistaken," Jeong Yeon-shin said.
He was currently sensing the spiritual connection linking the Ominous Bird to the Young Lord's mind.
Was this the legendary Gu poison? It was a secret art of the Brightfolk. He had a feeling that if he took the Young Lord's head right now, the Ominous Bird would die as well.
"Mistaken?"
"You are traitors who have committed rampant extortion. Even if you escape execution here, you cannot avoid arrest," Jeong Yeon-shin said.
He felt no sympathy for the Young Lord's words. He had seen countless starving people outside.
The famine plaguing the country was a natural disaster incomparable to the gathering of the Black Ranks, yet many martial sects—acting like armed local aristocrats—fattened themselves through plunder. The Dark Night Hall was no different.
"It finally feels real. The Desolate Fortress has truly reached our main hall."
The Young Lord slowly stroked his broken bow. His touch was remarkably elegant.
Rumble—
The roaring grew closer. A massive vibration continuously shook the grand hall.
Cataclysm had come to the Thirteen Heavens.
Twelve Black Ranks were out there, and this monstrous swordsman stood before him.
Jeong Yeon-shin was demanding surrender with an expressionless face. The pressure was immense. Finally, the Young Lord let the broken pieces of his bow clatter to the floor.
"Arrest me first, then."
* * *
The rumors spread like a tempest.
The Great Battle of Unhoe Peak in Sichuan. The aftermath of the battle's details and outcome was massive. Some suddenly found their names so famous that they became targets of the entire Jianghu.
The Flash Art lineage was the prime example.
"I told you it's already over! We're too late!" a girl in a white martial uniform cried out self-deprecatingly. Her long, braided hair swayed as she rode atop her steed.
It was the White Cat, Shin So-bin.
On the official road flanked by withered forests on both sides—
Heonwon Chang, wearing a blue hero's headband, shook his head from the front of the group.
"What can we do when our Commander's lightness skill is so fast? It's incomparable to us riding horses."
"It's because those worthless Blue and White Ranks dragged us down," a man sneered languidly. He had casually draped a deep blue robe over his shoulders like a nightgown.
It was the Lazy Flame Dragon of the Demonlight Wing. Faint shadows hung beneath his eyes.
Shin So-bin's eyes narrowed.
"What did you say?"
"Thanks to my accumulated Qi, this young master's lightness skill isn't far behind the Commander's. If I had set out first, I would have arrived long ago."
"Unbelievable. Do you think having a fast lightness skill is everything?"
"An amateur's tongue is always long."
"In the end, I would have been the first to meet the Commander anyway. The chief disciple of the Flash Art lineage would have moved far more diligently than a lazy bum who is both a drunkard and a poppy addict."
"Chief disciple...? Have you even entered the Flame River?"
"I don't care for collateral martial arts."
"How eloquent. The next Great Tongue Sword is right here."
Heonwon Chang didn't intervene, merely grinning. Jeong Yeon-shin's martial arts took the brief exchange of blows as its ultimate truth.
No matter what the greenhorn and the poppy addict babbled about, the one who wielded the Vast Art Formula with outstanding mastery had already been decided.
"I wonder if news of the Commander has reached the main fortress. It's been about seven days since we heard of it, so the storm should be arriving in Xiangyang soon..."
"I wish I could split myself in two."
"Why?"
"Because I absolutely must see the Elder Council Head's face. I still can't quite believe it myself...!"
"Right now, fierce debates must be raging in the main fortress. While the gathering of the Black Ranks is incredibly satisfying, it is undoubtedly a crazy move."
Their journey did not stop.
Occasionally, their southward pace slowed, but only because experts possessing intelligence, keen eyes, and immense courage frequently challenged them.
"Desolate Fortress, Demonlight Wing?"
"What of it?"
"Judging by your appearance, you must be the scoundrel of the Hwangbo Clan. I have no business with you, so step aside."
"What?"
"Let the one who learned the Flash Art lineage step forward. I must personally witness the martial art that defeated the phoenix of the Golden Wing Sect."
It was the same right now.
The Lazy Flame Dragon's eyes curved into a faint smile. The dark shadows under his eyes deepened, making him look as if he might lie down in a coffin at any moment.
Yet, in stark contrast, a scorching energy rose from his entire body like a wildfire, making his robes flutter wildly.
"...I was not qualified. Forgive my rudeness."
The challenging swordsman, his face hidden beneath a bamboo hat, hastily clasped his hands in a martial salute and withdrew.
This had happened time and time again.
In a land so vast, all kinds of people existed. Even if they were well-informed of the rumors, few truly knew their own place.
It was also because their current team consisted of only three people. The mid-level experts of the Demonlight Wing, led by Cheong-myeong and Baek Mi-ryeo, had suddenly headed up to Beijing after receiving a letter from some Censor.
They had only departed after confirming Jeong Yeon-shin's safety.
Shin So-bin furrowed her brows.
"Why don't we chase them down and make an example of them? It's not just once or twice."
"Are you going to decapitate them?" an unfamiliar voice naturally chimed in.
"...!"
The group quickly looked up.
A handsome man with a jovial impression was casually perched on a tree branch, emitting absolutely no presence or aura.
Any discerning expert would have guessed it immediately. It was the realm of Return to Simplicity.
Surprise flashed across the faces of Shin So-bin and Heonwon Chang. It was not because of the man's unfathomable realm, but because of his face—his features bore a striking resemblance to the Lazy Flame Dragon.
The man laughed.
"I owe the Commander of the Demonlight Wing for his help with the Flood Dragon's formation. I see he has even raised juniors now. Truly remarkable."
"...Who are you?" the Lazy Flame Dragon asked blankly.
"I came to deliver a message from your Commander and to see my grandson's face... but it seems I've come to the wrong place," Hwangbo Gon, the King of Divine Wisdom, said.
* * *
Meanwhile, at the main headquarters of the Dark Night Hall.
The Commander of the Netherflow Unit had decided to remain in the gray forest to bind those who did not practice martial arts with ropes, preparing to hand them over to the government.
That was not all.
Many warriors were mobilized to evacuate the commoners of the Faded Clan, moving them in the opposite direction of the entrance.
However, they too were blocked by an invisible formation—one that had already withstood the Unit Commanders' techniques multiple times. It seemed as though the Dark Night Hall had poured all the power of the Dharma treasures typically possessed by great sects into it.
"Flash Art, do you want to try? Breaking through is only a matter of time, though."
"I will first try to sever the connection between the Ominous Bird and the Young Lord. The Commander's safety is our priority."
"I'll try going around for now."
Meanwhile, the Young Lord remained silent. With his eyes half-closed, he stubbornly endured even the Muscle-Splitting and Bone-Dislocating Technique inflicted by the Commander of the Dragon-Treading Unit.
Jeong Yeon-shin asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"Why go to such lengths?"
"A commoner would not understand," the Young Lord muttered calmly.
Just then—
In the forest where they stood after stepping outside the pavilion...
Whoosh—
Suddenly, the sky seemed to split to the left and right. Sunlight poured down in vast torrents. The invisible formation had been completely torn open from the outside.
"It seems this is indeed the Dark Night Hall."
"So it seems."
They were the voices of an elderly woman and a young man.
Two figures flew in with the brilliant sunlight at their backs. Their elegant Buddhist and Taoist robes fluttered in the wind.
They were some of the most revered figures in the Jianghu.
A heavy aura descended, enveloping the area. The eyes of several Black Ranks widened in shock.
"I was waiting for you to finish your recuperation... I did not expect you to leave so soon."
"We have considered the bloodline of the Hegemon Hero and your achievements in the Great Battle of Unhoe Peak. You are indeed the legitimate successor of the Mount Hua Agreement."
Emei and Qingcheng.
The leaders of the Nine Sects descended before Jeong Yeon-shin through Void Treading.