Chapter 4: Calamity of Clan Extermination (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 4: Calamity of Clan Extermination (3)
This time, he didn't head to the training ground.
Instead, he retreated to his own room—a place where no one would disturb him—and sat down cross-legged.
This was different from practicing the Dynamic Cultivation Art.
A Heart Cultivation Art required sitting in absolute quiet to absorb energy; it had to be done in a place completely free from external distractions.
'If someone disturbs me and my Qi and blood twist, I'll die.'
Qi Deviation. He thought of his family members, who were endlessly careless when it came to him.
It was a highly valid concern. He had no desire to die young from tangled energy and blocked acupoints.
Taking a deep breath, he cleared away the unpleasant thoughts that had briefly surfaced. Jeong Yeon-shin slowly emptied his mind of stray thoughts and sank deep into his inner self.
He already possessed profound insight into the principles of Heart Cultivation Arts, including the circulation of True Qi through the Small and Great Heavenly Cycles.
'Let's apply the functions of the Jeong Family Dynamic Art to my True Qi.'
First, he had to use breathing techniques to refine the natural energy drawn in with every breath.
Most martial lineages, including the Jeong Family Manor and the Zhongnan Sect, made Natural Qi their own through circulation. The power that completely adapted and settled within a practitioner's body was what they called Internal Energy, or True Qi.
Jeong Yeon-shin sought to strengthen True Qi with True Qi itself, just as his physical body had grown strong by absorbing Internal Energy.
The training he began in the morning continued until the sun finally sank behind the mountains.
"...Huh? This is strange," Jeong Yeon-shin muttered with a dazed expression. He uncrossed his legs lightly, feeling as though he had only just sat down.
'Why is my Baihui Point open so wide?'
Initially, he wanted to investigate what kind of power highly dense True Qi could unleash. It hadn't gone well.
The True Qi accumulated in his Dantian already seemed to act as a single, unified entity, refusing to overlap or compress further.
He wondered if his theory was wrong, but if so, it couldn't explain the powerful aura of First Elder Yeo Il-shin.
But all of that training was pushed to the back of his mind now.
'I've only been refining my body with the Jeong Family Dynamic Art for a year, but...'
Because he had plunged so obsessively into a single form of training, a full year had passed since he last examined his own internal state. In the meantime, the amount of energy passing through his head had grown even more massive.
'I knew it was only accumulating for me, but still...'
Jeong Yeon-shin muttered blankly, "Am I going to die at this rate?"
Since the Baihui Point was an acupoint that led directly to the Dantian in the head, the energy in the Upper Dantian needed to be kept within reasonable limits. He was terrified that his brain might fry, leaving him a drooling idiot only to be found as a corpse later on.
Comparing the difference in his condition, it seemed he had less than five years left before he lost consciousness entirely.
The sudden realization of his remaining lifespan felt incredibly surreal.
'I'm going to die? Me?'
He stood up and grabbed the doorknob with a trembling hand. Perhaps getting some fresh air would spark a clue to a solution.
Rattle.
The moment he opened the door, his body froze.
Jeong Yeon-shin couldn't move. Along with the night breeze, a thick, cloying stench of blood rushed over him.
He grabbed his sword first. He had once watched hunters slaughtering and deboning game. It was a similar smell, yet even as he left his room and passed the training ground, not a single corpse was in sight.
Such an overwhelming scent of blood without any bodies was impossible—unless it was the work of the Blood Arts of the Heterodox Sects, something he had only ever heard of in rumors.
"..."
Silence enveloped the night sky. The estate was terrifyingly quiet.
Jeong Yeon-shin walked slowly. An intuition that something terrible had already occurred gripped his mind. It felt like wading into a pitch-black swamp.
'Ah.'
By the time he reached the garden of the main house, he saw it.
A massacre.
The common saying in the Jianghu about blood flowing like a river was an exaggeration. Instead, the blood was absorbed by the earth or dripped slowly over the wooden thresholds of the detached houses.
Everywhere, the lifeless bodies of his family members lay slumped.
Identical sword marks were carved into their chests, as if someone had been practicing a sword form on them. They all lay perfectly still, as if they had never been alive to begin with.
He couldn't tell if he had been so deep in his State of Selflessness that he hadn't heard the commotion, or if the assailants' martial prowess was so overwhelming that there had been barely any resistance.
Thud!
A loud noise finally echoed from outside the manor.
It seemed formidable masters were clashing beyond the main gate. Amidst the ringing of swords infused with Internal Energy and the dull thuds of heavy blows, Jeong Yeon-shin walked toward the main house.
Ten people who looked like the culprits were sitting around carelessly. Only when the boy approached within three zhang did one of them turn his head.
"Who are you?" asked a man with two swords crossed on his back.
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke briefly. "The third son of this house."
No reply came. The man stood up and strode toward him.
He didn't even seem to have any intention of drawing his swords. He simply approached and swung his hand down in a chop packed with Internal Energy.
As Jeong Yeon-shin read the flow of that wind-whipping energy, a sky-blue flash sparked in his eyes.
Smack!
The sequence of grabbing the wrist, sliding down to the back of the hand, and snapping it was as natural as flowing water. He executed a Grappling Technique he had never even formally learned.
The energy of the Jeong Family Dynamic Art—a method of circulating True Qi that bolstered both his physical body and internal power as he moved—filled his entire being.
His grip was an iron vise; no matter how hard the enemy struggled, it would not loosen.
He squeezed.
Crack!
A loud crunch of bone was accompanied by a sharp scream.
The others, who hadn't even spared him a glance, turned their heads all at once. Their eyes widened in unison.
"Let go!"
"You bastard!"
Now they look like the classless bastards of the Heterodox Sects, Jeong Yeon-shin thought.
When he readily let go, the dual-wielding warrior glared at him. His face was a twisted mask of agony and fury. It was only natural, given that he had just been overpowered by a boy barely half his size.
The warrior clenched his large, uninjured hand into a fist. His face flushed bright red, and with a roar, he thrust his arm forward.
He seemed to have lost the rationality to draw his swords, but his momentum was fearsome. It was no ordinary fist technique. For a split second, his fist seemed to swell to the size of a pot lid.
Once again, a sky-blue flash flickered in Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes.
'The head.'
The trajectory was obvious. The energy of the Jeong Family Dynamic Art, fully activated throughout his body while executing the Grappling Technique, surged to fill his entire frame.
At the same time, an enlightenment he had never achieved before pierced his mind.
Intent. It was intent.
When the intent that guides Internal Energy grows powerful enough, the True Qi within the body can accomplish anything. It completely submits to the one who commands it.
Hummmm!
Jeong Yeon-shin's intent to move his True Qi materialized. The vivid mental image naturally transformed into a set of words, embedding itself deep within his mind.
The core essence of the martial art, known as a mnemonic, blazed like a sun throughout his body.
The Scripture of Initial Overcoming.
The name, which had surfaced without any conscious deliberation, defined the identity of this martial art.
The Scripture of Initial Overcoming. True to its name, it was a method of circulating True Qi that shattered one's current limits.
The True Qi that had been filling his right foot and left hand rushed into his right hand and left foot. The overlapping energies multiplied in density.
His left foot stomped, shattering the ground with unprecedented force. Moonlight flickered on the tip of his iron sword, drawn in an instant according to the Fast Sword mnemonic.
Slash!
The blade caught the necks of the dual-wielding warrior and the two men rushing in alongside him.
It felt as though his body was not his own. Three heads were swept away all at once.
Judging by the shock frozen on their faces, their eyes had managed to track the speed of his sword. But what did it matter how fiercely those airborne heads glared at him now?
Swish!
With his upper body twisted, he spun like a snowflake caught in the wind, driving deeper into their ranks.
A red-haired woman approaching from behind the decapitated men gasped. By the time she raised her left arm, which held a crescent wheel, a cold steel blade had already pierced her throat.
As the boy pulled his sword back without hesitation, her corpse collapsed before him.
His breathing was no different from before he had drawn his weapon.
It was an extreme situation. The shock of his first kill was naturally compartmentalized somewhere deep in his mind. His physical body, tempered by the Dynamic Cultivation Art, felt stronger and more stable than anyone else's in this place.
"You..." A lean warrior who had been watching grimaced.
A hulking man placed a hand on the lean warrior's shoulder and stood up.
"He's dedicated his life to the Fast Sword. He won't have any other tricks up his sleeve. He's just a young, well-trained fast-swordsman. Those guys were only caught off guard because they panicked."
He had the build of a massive beast, but eyes as clever and sharp as a fox's.
The man's words weren't entirely correct. However, Jeong Yeon-shin instinctively knew that his own cards were indeed spent.
"Even so, it's impressive. Truly remarkable. How can someone of your age achieve this?"
"Blood Flame Cult?" the boy asked, thinking of the red-haired woman sprawling at his feet. He spoke only because he couldn't take his eyes off the hulking man.
"No. I am of the Hegemon Sword Sect."
"You're of the Hegemon Sword Sect? Then is she indeed from the Blood Flame Cult?"
"Yes."
"What are two factions of the Thirteen Heavens plotting in a place like Xinye County?"
"None of your business."
"Then why bother answering my questions?"
"Because it's a waste. A martial artist as well-refined as you at your age is rare. Besides, it's amusing to hear a brat raised in the countryside talk as if he's experienced the very heart of the Murim." The man laughed hoarsely.
"A waste?" A sneer formed on the boy's lips. "You must be afraid of my maternal family, you classless, heterodox bastard."
Jeong Yeon-shin took a gamble, masking his wildly pounding heart with an expression of supreme arrogance.
If the bastard held back, he would surely win. He had suspected as much the moment the dual-wielding warrior used a hand-blade instead of drawing his swords during their first clash. They were trying to capture him alive.
"...You crazy brat," the man growled. It sounded like the low rumble of a wild beast rising from the deepest depths of his throat.
Combined with his savage aura, it was enough to give anyone goosebumps, but Jeong Yeon-shin forced himself to maintain a calm composure.
"You bastards can't kill me. No matter what I do, it'll be the same."
The one who backed down would be devoured in one way or another.
Crash!
The sound came from the main gate. Along with a deafening roar, shattered pieces of the gate flew in all directions. The man tumbling in amidst the debris looked familiar.
It was the Zhongnan Sect master who had arrived with Yeo Il-shin. His once-immaculate martial robes were torn to shreds, and fresh blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
'They said his title was the Cliff-Severing Sword. For a master of his caliber to be reduced to this...?'
Thud! Thud!
Startled, the boy turned his head.
The thunderous sounds of immense forces colliding drew closer, and soon, they crashed through the walls and into the estate.
Boom!
Yeo Il-shin and another Zhongnan Sect master were thrown in first.
They were in a state of utter ruin that the members of the Jeong Family Manor could never have imagined. They fared no better than the Cliff-Severing Sword.
The sight of Yeo Il-shin—who had seemed like someone not of this mortal world—with the upper part of her left ear sliced off was truly shocking.
'I thought she was a sword immortal soaring in the heavens.'
Step.
A massive shadow approached with long strides. It was clearly a human figure.
The heavy waves of energy radiating from him felt surreal, as if declaring that the center of the world was right here. He dragged a massive greatsword, and from its tip, an aura that evoked the very concept of death billowed outward.
Just facing him sent shivers down the spine.
It wasn't just because of his energy waves. Nor was it merely a matter of his martial arts realm. He was shrouded in something far beyond mere Internal Energy—something completely incomprehensible to Yeon-shin at his current level.
Jeong Yeon-shin was reminded of an unstoppable landslide.
'Who on earth is that?'
A terrifying energy writhed and coiled around the middle-aged man.
The Sword Qi of an absolute master.
Soon, his gaze swept past the hulking beast of a man confronting Jeong Yeon-shin and landed on the boy, casting a shadow that seemed to erode the very space around them.
Just realizing that the man's gaze was directed at him made Yeon-shin feel dizzy.
"Lord!"
The man who had been speaking with Jeong Yeon-shin immediately prostrated himself.
'Lord? The Lord of the Hegemon Sword Sect came here himself?'
The ruler of one of the factions of the Thirteen Heavens of the Wicked Way, an entity capable of rivaling even the Nine Sects.
If so, this overwhelming presence made sense. It explained both his spirit, which seemed capable of freezing everything in its tracks, and the sight of the Zhongnan Sect's First Elder being wounded despite fighting alongside others.
If anything, it inspired awe for the Zhongnan masters who had managed to exchange blows with such a monster for so long.
In that moment, everyone stood frozen.
Tap, tap.
Jeong Yeon-shin moved alone. He began to run.
Pushing the Jeong Family Dynamic Art to its absolute limit, he repeatedly kicked off the ground. Toward the man prostrated before the Lord of the Hegemon Sword Sect. Toward the fearsome warrior with whom he had just been testing his mettle.
"W-What?" The man stammered in confusion as the eyes of everyone present locked onto the boy.
The Lord of the Hegemon Sword Sect did not move.
Was he waiting to see what the boy would do? Jeong Yeon-shin didn't care; he threw himself forward with all his might.
Whoosh!
The air rushing past his ears sounded like a roaring waterfall. A sharp flash of his sword drew a perfectly straight line in the wake of his sprint.
Thrust!
The cold steel blade plunged into the back of the beast-like man who was frantically trying to stand.
With a dull squelch, the man—pierced clean through from his back to his abdomen—collapsed once more.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly stood up straight. Stepping on the dead man's back with one foot, he looked straight at the Lord of the Hegemon Sword Sect.
"Even now."
A faint, sapphire-blue lightning sparked in the boy's eyes.
"Can you really kill me?"