Chapter 402: Peerless Realm (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 402: Peerless Realm (2)
Jeong Yeon-shin glanced down at the bent arrow in his hand.
The metallic shaft was pitch-black, as if coated in ink. It was a remarkably heavy iron arrow.
Having traveled an immense distance, a reddish glow shimmered along its length. Blocked by the shroud of his Body Protection Qi, however, it failed to transmit its intense heat, merely giving off a thick plume of white steam.
The aftermath was significant.
Sssss—
The very atmosphere around them boiled, shimmering transparently. This was the terrifying effect of the Ten-Mile One Kill.
Originally, it was a secret technique where multiple archery masters concentrated their internal energy for over ten days using the Thunder Flower Bow Formation to strike a target ten miles away with a single arrow.
Just because the Lord of the Dark Night Hall had unleashed it alone, in an instant, from twice that distance, didn't mean its shockwave was any weaker. If anything, it was slightly more powerful.
Thud.
The arrow clattered to the ground.
As Jeong Yeon-shin discarded it, the starlight in his left hand faded away with a soft whoosh.
His Body Protection Qi was forged from the calluses of the Tang Clan siblings. It was not something that could be easily broken.
Jeong Yeon-shin quietly murmured to himself. Return.
Immediately, a sound like grinding sand echoed.
The radiance enveloping his entire body scattered like glowing foam before reforming into a wheel of light in his heart.
Yong Hee-myung's laughter rang out.
"That is an excellent Body Protection Qi."
"Phew..."
Had he instinctively tried to block it with his own body? Yeon So-ha, who had approached with hesitant steps before anyone noticed, stroked his own chest in relief.
When his eyes met Jeong Yeon-shin's, his awkward smile was comical.
"After all, it makes more sense for Unit Commander Jeong to survive than me."
It was a ridiculous worry. Yeon So-ha glanced at the discarded arrow with a look of dread.
The Divine Sword Corps of the Desolate Fortress.
They were bound by a bond that lay somewhere between martial brothers and comrades-in-arms.
Because the foundation of their faction straddled the line between the government and the martial world—a concept found nowhere else—they felt a sense of kinship even with those they had never met. This was especially true because, outside the main fortress, they were strangers wherever they went.
"Step back," Jeong Yeon-shin said.
"Yes, sir!"
Yeon So-ha retreated with a polite bow. A scoff of disbelief came from the side. It was Yong Hee-myung, the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps.
"You rascal, So-ha. Try being that polite to me for once."
"I just received a life-saving grace from him. And unlike you, Commander, he seems to be a man of true substance."
"What?"
"You're the one who said you have to align yourself with the right people to rise to a high position."
Though they bantered, the atmosphere was far from light.
They were busy measuring the distance between one another. This was undoubtedly true for both the Lord of the Dark Night Hall, who remained invisible, and the Sword Howling Emperor, Namgung Mu-jin, who now held his pure white sword with half-closed eyes.
Bow and sword.
In terms of coordination, a combined attack of the two was supreme. Since both were peerless experts, there was no chance of a missed strike.
"Since you've exchanged a blow, he must be drawing closer," the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps said. "I mean that archer from the Dark Night Hall. He must have realized that to land an arrow on a martial artist of your caliber, even an expert like him cannot afford to keep too much distance. He is exceptionally sharp."
"Yes," Jeong Yeon-shin replied briefly, pondering the Commander's words.
For the world-renowned Commander of the Divine Sword Corps to speak of the Lord of the Dark Night Hall's sharp wits meant something.
It meant that in terms of eye techniques, he was considered one of the foremost even among peerless experts. It made sense, given that he was a monster capable of landing a Ten-Mile One Kill from twenty miles away.
Hmm.
Just then, the archer's presence vanished. Had he mastered a stealth technique bordering on a divine ultimate technique? It seemed nothing would be felt until he drew close.
Swoosh.
Namgung Mu-jin, who had been casually waving his sword tip in front of them, curled the corners of his mouth upward.
A translucent barrier wavered around him, resembling condensed lightning.
"Commander Yong's words are not entirely wrong. Too great a distance only dissipates the shockwave of an archery strike. However, that is not all," he spoke slowly.
"The Lord of the Dark Night Hall once suffered a bitter defeat at Commander Yong's hands. Just before Commander Yong donned that purple silk robe of yours, to be precise. A peerless archer nearly lost an arm; how could he easily draw close?"
A sneer played on his lips. It seemed that although they moved together, they did not share a deep bond.
"A fully whole Commander of the Divine Sword Corps was nothing short of a supernatural entity. Even the Golden Wing of Sichuan was busy avoiding the Hegemon Hero and Commander Yong. Of course, she—who ruled as the number one of Sichuan for a long time despite that—was also a rare absolute master under heaven..."
Namgung Mu-jin's tone was peculiar. It was fitting for a direct descendant of the foremost local aristocrat of Southern Zhili, a clan often referred to as a military faction.
His voice, flowing like a low melody, mocked his opponent with elegance.
"I have heard much of your terrifying feats. I hear you slew the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect. Naturally, you must know well what kind of wonders her internal energy could perform."
"..."
Jeong Yeon-shin did not reply.
He felt a sudden appreciation for the ways of the Jianghu's absolute peak. Peerless experts, who rarely encountered equals, tended to become talkative when they met someone who could understand them.
And they always observed their opponent with an eye technique.
"Just like that, the man standing beside you is a transcendent being who surpassed his lineage through his own martial arts. Though born with the energy of a flood dragon, he was never pushed back by the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect. And the Lord of the Dark Night Hall, unable to forget the memories of years past, merely shoots his Ten-Mile One Kill from afar instead of unleashing his full power."
Namgung Mu-jin's words did not truly register with him.
Though he appeared to be a polite junior silently listening to an elder, Jeong Yeon-shin was merely staring at the body of the man once called the greatest swordsman of the Eight Great Families.
Just as Namgung Mu-jin was fiercely scanning his body even while prattling on.
"Yet the current Commander of the Divine Sword Corps is utterly ruined, unable to refuse his junior's help. Can you take his place?"
A man who maintained a facade of dignity while doing whatever it took to survive and seek the martial apex. The rumors seemed true. The Sword Howling Emperor was a martial artist who walked the line between the orthodox and unorthodox paths.
He uses a heavy sword, Jeong Yeon-shin thought.
The man's blue martial uniform stretched wide across his broad shoulders. His right arm, which held the sword, was exceptionally thick, yet it conveyed a sense of agility that belied its muscle.
This was because the wave of energy flowing from the Xiabai point on his upper arm down to the Neiguan point above his wrist was as light as the wind. He seemed to have mastered a sword style that was both heavy and unerringly precise.
A strike from a peerless swordsman who had trained in the heavy sword would never miss.
It was a terrifying reality.
"In any case, thank you for giving us certainty. No matter how much I swung my sword, the blade wouldn't bite, leaving me wondering if I was forcing something that simply wasn't meant to be," Namgung Mu-jin said. His words were a mix of mockery and sincerity.
"Now, the Lord of the Dark Night Hall will gladly draw near and unleash his Sun-Phoenix Radiance-Chasing Archery. I am curious to see how much of our combined attack your lofty Body Protection Qi can withstand."
"Thick-skinned. 'Earth Dragon Association' would suit you better."
Jeong Yeon-shin casually brought up earthworms. It was a jab at the Martial Dragon Association.
Namgung Mu-jin burst into laughter and adjusted his grip on his sword.
"Call it what you will. As of today, the Jianghu will be liberated from the Sword of Divine Attainment of the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps."
Rumble—
His vision vibrated slightly up and down. The ground shook from the starting stance alone. It was the precursor to the Imperial Sword Form.
"Your shockwave is crude. The Azure Qilin's was more elegant," Jeong Yeon-shin said, circulating the Halo Qi gathered in his heart on a grand scale.
The energy filled the fine meridians of his entire body with a soft texture. This was how the starting stances of peerless experts who had survived countless battles felt.
They prepared their offensive forms before engaging in a fierce battle where even drawing a single breath would be difficult.
Unless it was the Unified Martial Transcendence, Namgung's First Sword was nothing special.
He was not an opponent against whom victory would be hard to grasp without employing complete Dharma Power. Jeong Yeon-shin felt he could clash with him using his own raw skill alone.
Lingering Thunder, which had cooled down before he knew it, seemed to whisper against his palm, declaring that this man's caliber could not even begin to compare to the Azure Qilin's.
"So-ha, fall back further!" Yong Hee-myung shouted.
He could not openly focus on circulating his energy. The risk of Qi deviation was too high. He was in a situation where two peerless experts could strike at him at any moment.
He had to secretly seek recovery using the spark of the dynamic art that Jeong Yeon-shin had planted within him.
"Do not interfere, Commander," Jeong Yeon-shin requested calmly. He meant for him to focus on circulating his energy.
Perhaps taking it as childish bravado, Namgung Mu-jin smiled with his eyes and took a heavy step forward.
In the next instant, he was swinging his sword right in front of Jeong Yeon-shin's face.
A pure white trajectory crushed the air. A straight shockwave of a sword strike surged toward Jeong Yeon-shin.
Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes narrowed.
Claaang—!
The moment he parried with Lingering Thunder, fragments of explosive force scattered like sparks. At the point of impact, a flower of lightning bloomed and vanished.
A monstrous force traveled all the way to his palm, despite his attempt to deflect as much of it as possible.
It was a sword force that felt as if the man had circulated the Imperial Sword Form through his grand heavenly cycle dozens of times while prattling on. He seemed to have concentrated his internal energy into a single blade rather than letting its momentum disperse in all directions.
"Can you withstand it?" Namgung Mu-jin asked in a low voice.
His face was close. White steam escaped from his mouth.
It was not moisture, but dense internal energy; he had pushed his entire body's power to its absolute limit, belying his relaxed demeanor.
As Jeong Yeon-shin stared back with clear eyes, the man's mustache twitched upward.
Heavy sword.
It referred to an unwavering, steadfast sword momentum.
If he relaxed the grip of his palm here, his body would be sliced in two before he could even be blown back.
Jeong Yeon-shin recalled three terms: Quchi, Chize, and Shaohai. They were the acupoints of the arm joints.
At that moment, a heavy weight pressed down on his legs. Suddenly, a colorless cloud rose from beneath the ground and wrapped around his feet.
The Imperial Sword Form at its absolute peak. It was a peerless realm where true qi was materialized.
Namgung Mu-jin's eyes gleamed white. His upper dantian was filled to the brim with internal energy. Though he did not even open his mouth, a voice flowed out with extreme speed.
[I hear you prefer short, decisive battles. We, too, are quite fond of brief exchanges.]
He was different from ordinary experts. Perhaps because he had deeply refined the Imperial Sword Form, his intent vibrated the surroundings like the Six Harmonies Sound Transmission.
He had used the time to deeply analyze Jeong Yeon-shin's body, balance, energy wave, and posture.
Countering.
It was not the exclusive domain of the Desolate Fortress's Flash Art. It was a skill permitted to all martial artists under heaven.
The authority of geniuses who could predict the next move with just a tiny gesture or energy wave, staying one step ahead through meticulous calculation.
A sound pierced through the air with a heavy whoosh.
It was above Namgung Mu-jin's crown. A faint vortex rapidly took the shape of a sword.
The Invisible Sword.
It spewed streams of heavy wind. The mere aftermath felt as if it would tear skin apart.
From behind, another arrow was rushing in. A sensation as sharp as a beam of light pierced straight through Jeong Yeon-shin's sense of qi. It was the Sun-Phoenix Radiance-Chasing Archery.
Even as he fragmented the moment into slow-motion instants, the arrow of the Lord of the Dark Night Hall was exceptionally fast. He seemed to have channeled the entirety of the power capable of driving the Ten-Mile One Kill into his archery technique.
It was a combined attack of peerless experts.
He was surrounded on all sides. This was the reason the man had stalled for so long to counter a junior he was meeting for the first time. He had anticipated every form.
A faint, milky-white current bound Jeong Yeon-shin's limbs like shackles. It was an extremely practical application of true qi.
[Farewell.]
Just as Namgung Mu-jin muttered this...
[Why did you condense it so much?]
Something invisible flared up and swallowed his intent whole. It was the spirituality of the upper dantian.
It was like a booming voice drowning out a quiet whisper. It was incomparably denser than Namgung Mu-jin's.
[This is not the orthodox Imperial Sword Form.]
[……?!]
Jeong Yeon-shin did not seek an answer. Suddenly, Namgung Mu-jin's eyes reflected the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps standing in the distance with his arms crossed. That man, even in this state...?
At the same time, dust rose behind Jeong Yeon-shin's back.
The ground had already been overturned by the fierce battle. There were countless fine grains of sand, and it took only an instant for them to swell in size as they absorbed the mnemonic of the Myriad Blossoms Rain.
There was no comparison in speed. This was a technique imbued with over a hundred and several decades of history.
Rumble—
A whirlwind as massive as a dragon's torso cast a dark shadow over the earth. This occurred before the extremely fast-spinning Invisible Sword could even be fully formed.
[This makes it easy to pierce.]
Jeong Yeon-shin's intent vibrated.
Namgung Mu-jin's face was reflected in his pitch-black pupils. An abyss, pooled like a deep well, resided there.
[You shouldn't have done that,] Jeong Yeon-shin quietly muttered.
In the next moment, the yellow-brown dragon ascent rising from behind plunged into the vortex of the Invisible Sword, tearing every stream of wind to shreds as it swept past.