Chapter 404: Peerless Realm (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 404: Peerless Realm (4)
"First form?"
Namgung Mu-jin’s lips slowly twisted into a sneer.
"Seeking poetic sentiment in a place like this? I thought your temperament differed from Unit Commander Yong's, but looking at you now, I see it doesn't."
His voice was bleak. Soon after, a sound like a pulsing heartbeat echoed once more. The shadow of the great sword that swallowed the two of them expanded with a heavy whoosh.
"Commander of the Demonlight Wing... You tore apart the magic formation here to save the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps. You have my thanks. It was about to become a nuisance anyway."
"..."
Jeong Yeon-shin stood silently, looking up. Immediately, an invisible wave of internal power swept down, scraping against his eyelids.
Wooong— Wooooong—
An endless tide of energy radiated from a single, colorless sword suspended in midair.
A heavy gale continuously whipped across Jeong Yeon-shin's face as an invisible weight pressed down on his shoulders. It seemed to be the subtle truth of the Imperial Sword Form.
It was, quite literally, a transcendent harmony.
The invisible great sword kicked up dust from the ground by its mere existence. Spanning nearly fifteen jang in length, it looked like a weapon fit for a heavenly god.
"No matter how many times I think about it," Jeong Yeon-shin slowly continued, "the title of 'the greatest' does not suit you. If this were a poetry exam, you wouldn't even place second, let alone pass as the top scholar."
"Are you saying there are two above me in my clan?" Namgung Mu-jin curled the corners of his mouth. "Arrogant. I do not know what kind of experience allows you to repeatedly speak of my clan's sword, but we shall see if you can still say the same after we clash our sword spheres again."
He spoke in a raspy voice that sounded like it was scraping his throat. It was a statement of great significance.
Namgung Mu-jin had previously estimated the reach of Jeong Yeon-shin's sword strikes to be thirty paces.
Against peerless experts, that was by no means a short distance. However, if one were to walk the length of the invisible sword that this bastard had just summoned, it would take far more steps than that.
Suddenly, the man's thick eyelids lowered at an angle.
At the same time—
Whoosh—
The tip of the massive invisible sword instantly tilted diagonally.
It aimed straight at Jeong Yeon-shin. With just that tiny movement, an explosive gale erupted, violently whipping through Jeong Yeon-shin's long hair.
It clearly defied common sense.
The reaction speed of the invisible sword was completely disproportionate to its massive size. It was safe to say it moved as fluidly as a normal sword.
"The Eye-Controlled Sword...!"
Yeon So-ha's startled voice echoed from behind.
Jeong Yeon-shin had been thinking the exact same thing. The realm of Sword Control where one wields the sword with a mere glance. If so, he had to re-evaluate Namgung Mu-jin's sword sphere.
At least a hundred paces...
Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes flashed a brilliant blue.
Why hadn't the bastard attacked immediately? It must be because he was keeping a counter-stance in mind.
He had witnessed just how swift Jeong Yeon-shin's Sword Control and Lightness Skill were. The same went for the Lord of the Dark Night Hall, who was likely aiming his bow from behind.
He had to carefully plan the sequence of his forms.
This was a confrontation between peerless experts, both possessing lethal ultimate techniques. It was no different from contemplating moves over a Go board.
He had to closely observe his opponent's internal energy, breathing, and physical balance, striking with the perfect form at the precise moment.
"What on earth is all that? How can an invisible sword be that... And what is that unsettling beam of light? The one connected to the Commander of the Demonlight Wing's back!"
"A Life-Saving Herb. It means those who call themselves peerless experts have no other tricks left to use against a junior far younger than them."
The voice of the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps rang out calmly.
He seemed to have no intention of lending Jeong Yeon-shin a hand.
Whether he was managing his internal injuries with the same resolute determination he had shown when issuing the Black Rank mobilization order, or whether he simply trusted his junior completely, was hard to tell.
"They call it a Life-Saving Herb, but isn't it actually Unified Martial Transcendence? They're performing sorcery-like feats with martial arts!"
"Only by being placed in such a situation does one truly deserve the Purple Rank of our main fortress. So-ha, I am actually proud of that young man. In any case, time is on our side."
"...Why is that?"
"Because this land will soon cease to be a battlefield and become the Wish-for-Peace One Sword Hall. Just holding out is a winning trade for us."
The meeting place for the leadership of the Desolate Fortress's Divine Sword Corps.
A name widely renowned throughout the Jianghu slipped from the lips of the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps. It was a deliberate act, intended to provoke the opponent into acting rashly with a single phrase.
Namgung Mu-jin furrowed his brow. Even knowing the intention, he couldn't help but be swayed.
The Desolate Fortress's Wish-for-Peace One Sword Hall. The weight carried by those who had held the entire Jianghu at bay since the founding of the nation was beyond imagination. It was incomparable to any combined attack formation.
Yellow sparks of lightning crackled in his eyes. It was the unique gaze of the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art.
"Though your generation and status are both inferior to mine, I shall cast aside my shame and take the first move."
"Unbelievable. Acting all dignified when you're ganging up on him," Yeon So-ha chimed in from behind, craning his neck.
While Yong Hee-myung gently quieted him down, Namgung Mu-jin glanced at the one doing the scolding and unleashed a heavy wave of invisible energy.
At that exact moment, Jeong Yeon-shin vanished from his spot.
Kwaaaaang—!
The invisible great sword slammed diagonally into the ground.
Its colorless body, exploding like lightning, triggered a massive tremor. The storm generated by the shockwave tore the dust to shreds.
Above it all.
Jeong Yeon-shin was running along the blade of the great sword. It was a sprint of Lightness Skill so rapid that his figure blurred.
Ten-Mile Light Grace.
The soles of his feet did not directly touch the invisible sword. He could not afford to waste his Body Protection Qi on a blade where such extremely tyrannical energy was concentrated.
He merely treated the waves of internal power constantly radiating from the blade as blades of grass, stepping across the energy waves using the subtle principles of Grass-Gliding.
Doong—! Doooong—!
A sound like the beating of drums echoed out.
Circular ripples were left behind with every step. This was because, while evading, he unleashed the Myriad Blossoms Rain through the Yongquan Points on the soles of his feet.
The fierce release formula of the divine ultimate technique pierced down through the blade of the invisible sword.
"...!"
Fragments of True Qi rained down like hail toward Namgung Mu-jin. They were the debris of the invisible great sword, swept up by the Myriad Blossoms Rain.
The sight of each fragment refracting the sunlight into rainbows as they fell was terrifyingly beautiful.
A realm of perfect offense and defense.
Not only his evasion, but even his approach was equivalent to an offensive form.
Namgung Mu-jin's eyes narrowed. The youthful man facing him in this life-and-death duel was truly worthy of the Desolate Fortress's Purple Rank.
Namgung Mu-jin swung the Heavenly Sword, which he had stolen from his clan, in a wide arc above his head.
Tjejejejeong—!
The air split along the blade like crashing waves. The fragments of the invisible sword that rained down upon it erupted with explosive sounds reminiscent of Thunderbolt Bombs.
This bastard's senses... He is a born fighter, Namgung Mu-jin thought.
Was the Northern God of War of yesteryear like this? The thought that countless warriors of the Thirteen Heavens had harbored upon seeing the Commander of the Demonlight Wing now crossed his mind as well.
This bastard is a sprout of the World Tree that must be cut down at all costs.
It was then.
Kwaaaaang—!
Suddenly, Jeong Yeon-shin's shadow, which had been flickering atop the invisible great sword, was blasted far away.
In that spot...
A long, faint haze of light, like an unspooled thread, dispersed into the air. It was undoubtedly the archery strike of the Lord of the Dark Night Hall.
Shooting the Moon.
A Unified Martial Transcendence that never missed.
Quite literally, it did not miss. It was said that even the top ten movement technique masters in the Jianghu would find it difficult to evade more than a few times.
— Close in. It is not enough.
A raspy voice echoed in Namgung Mu-jin's ear. It was the Lord of the Dark Night Hall.
Namgung Mu-jin did not voice any doubt. The moment the arrow of Shooting the Moon struck, he had witnessed the same haze of light that the Commander of the Demonlight Wing had displayed when catching the Ten-Mile One Kill earlier.
With that level of Body Protection Qi, he could withstand the archery strikes of Shooting the Moon a few more times.
— Are you still connected?
— This is a martial art meant to annihilate the Desolate Fortress. I can shoot twenty more times.
— That makes two of us.
Replying via telepathy, Namgung Mu-jin widened his eyes.
Kugoong—
Responding instantly, the invisible great sword raised its massive body, spewing the dust clinging to its blade in steam-like plumes.
Unified Martial Transcendence: Dark Night Piercing Moonlight.
The origin of its name was no different from Shooting the Moon—it meant piercing the moon.
It signified that under the night cast by the sword, the moonlight had nowhere to go. It was an ultimate technique likewise aimed at the Lord of the Desolate Fortress.
The invisible great sword rotated, following Namgung Mu-jin's gaze.
And it stopped at a single point.
Jeong Yeon-shin was standing five jang away. He was beneath the shadow near the tip of the invisible great sword. He hadn't been flung very far after all.
Only the ground beneath his feet was hollowed out like a massive crater.
"How is he so unscathed?"
Namgung Mu-jin let out a low, groaning exclamation.
Jeong Yeon-shin, the Commander of the Demonlight Wing.
With a purple silk robe draped over his shoulders, his pitch-black sleeves hung down alongside his sword.
His long black hair and fluttering robes cut a magnificent figure. It was as if the sunlight was breaking down only for him.
"..."
Namgung Mu-jin felt an insurmountable wall. Such was the presence of the junior standing before him. It was not much different from the historical Purple Ranks of the Desolate Fortress he had seen and heard of.
Then—
"You claimed to seek the Limitless," Jeong Yeon-shin slowly parted his lips, "yet you cover the weakness of your own martial arts with another's archery."
His eyes traced the line connecting the empty air to his chest. A white line emitting a faint glow. It was a path formed of dense spirituality and a minute amount of internal energy.
It truly did not break, as if spun from moonlight itself. The Lord of the Dark Night Hall had loaded his arrows onto this white line to deliver unavoidable strikes to Jeong Yeon-shin. Its speed was even faster than the Ten-Mile One Kill.
It is because the distance has closed to within ten miles. The shockwave of the archery strike is not dissipating.
Jeong Yeon-shin thought, feeling a sharp pain in his flank.
This was his first time facing a combined attack from two peerless experts. It was exactly as he had initially thought. It was not easy.
It was said that slaying even a single leader of a great sect was enough to qualify for the Purple Rank.
Jeong Yeon-shin was well aware. His current skill was still inferior to that of the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps, Yong Hee-myung.
Unless he was in that state from before, when his achievement in Dharma Power had temporarily taken a leap forward within the Lord of the Golden Wing Sect's Unified Martial Transcendence.
Thud.
Suddenly, the ground shook with a heavy stomp. It was Namgung Mu-jin.
"A weakness in my martial arts?"
"You haven't properly committed to any direction. That Imperial Sword Form cannot keep up with my sect-exclusive sword art."
These words were spoken to one of the most renowned swordsmen in the vast Jianghu. His tone was calm, simply because he believed it to be the absolute truth.
There were not many left who could surpass Jeong Yeon-shin with a sword.
He intended to prove it here. Not to Namgung's Second Sword before him, but to the deceased Azure Qilin.
It was then.
Suddenly, his vision was dyed in white light. The single white line connected to his chest split into dozens of strands in an instant, enveloping his entire body.
Tjejejejeong—!
An impact traveled from his head, down his chest, and to his abdomen. The ground supporting his feet shook violently.
Arrows accompanied by a roaring hum rained down incessantly. The cloud-like explosions left his ears ringing.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaaaang—!
Pure white fragments repeatedly shattered and scattered before Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes. They were the shards of the Body Protection Qi that had enveloped his entire body.
Sparks flew continuously alongside a relentless, deafening roar.
"How long can you hold out?"
It was Namgung Mu-jin's voice.
The invisible great sword plunged straight down. It carried the momentum to cleave him in two. The shadow that had been darkening the surroundings grew even deeper.
Kugugugung—!
The air vibrated violently.
The Unified Martial Transcendence derived from the Imperial Sword Form was bound to be the pinnacle of the heavy sword. If he took a direct hit, his body might be crushed regardless of the rebounding force of his Body Protection Qi.
While enduring the bombardment of light beams, Jeong Yeon-shin raised Lingering Thunder above his head. A starting stance, pointing the tip of his sword toward the heavens.
He parted his lips, which were wrapped in a thin layer of Body Protection Qi, even though the exchange of blows was not yet complete.
"My turn."
Instantly, a heavy wind pressure erupted from his entire body. The beams of light occupying his body warped all at once and soared into the air.
Hwaaaaak—!
The white lines, having changed direction, pierced into the invisible great sword descending from the sky.
In that instant, the Lord of the Dark Night Hall's archery stopped. However, the beams of Shooting the Moon that had already been unleashed remained.
At that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin recalled the mnemonics of two sword forms in his mind.
Qilin's Judgment. Azure Flame First Form.
It was said that the art which penetrates all the martial arts one has learned over a long period of time at once is Unified Martial Transcendence. He had united his Body Protection Qi and Myriad Blossoms Rain to form the Bright Dawn. If so, what about his sword forms?
They are coming.
Meanwhile, he sensed the presence of fluttering flags approaching from all directions. The speed at which they rushed in was incredibly fast, which, for a change, put his mind at ease.
This battle, though slightly precarious, was a training ground from the very beginning.
Jeong Yeon-shin thought, This should be visible.
Wooong—
Lingering Thunder hummed.
A bluish wind gathered around the blade, piercing through the dark shadow of the sword in all directions. The brilliance of the clear sky descended upon the earth.