Chapter 440: The Sunset Flag (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 440: The Sunset Flag (2)
Xiangyang, located in Huguang Province, was a frequent staging ground for the 17th Unit of the Divine Sword Corps. Naturally, it had grown into a massive metropolis.
It was no exaggeration to say that its scale, public order, and the wealth of its citizens ranked among the very best in the world.
So much so that, at this very moment, the strange light emitted by lanterns crafted from an extremely rare material seemed almost ordinary.
Their purple hue was strikingly vivid.
It was not a color that could be produced by mere paper or cloth; it was a rare, precious shade, clearly achieved by wrapping the lanterns in exceptionally fine, thinly spun silk.
At first, there was only a single lantern.
It flickered like a lone firefly within Xiangyang’s towering fortress walls. Among the Desolate Fortress group looking down from the hill, not a single person failed to spot it.
Furthermore, none of the martial artists present were old enough to have witnessed a Purple Rank promotion ceremony in the Desolate Fortress before.
For most of them, life consisted of a grueling routine: returning from missions, spending days treating their internal injuries, and then heading back out into the various parts of the world once more.
"This feels entirely different from a war or a great sect clash..."
"It doesn't have that kind of energy. There's no military aura of a battlefield, nor any smoke."
The experts of the Demonlight Wing muttered among themselves.
There was not a single ordinary soul in their ranks; everyone's sense of Qi was incredibly sharp.
Soon, with a clatter, the carriage wheels began to roll once more. However, no one relaxed as they descended the well-paved mountain path.
Most of them drew their weapons without letting a single metallic clink escape. They were currently escorting the new Purple Rank, who had been severely wounded after fighting and defeating the Diancang Sect Leader.
Faced with this anomaly, they had no choice but to prepare for battle.
Fsssh—
They descended slowly, radiating a sharp tension, while Jeong Yeon-shin sat upright inside the carriage, remaining completely silent.
He merely listened to the voices ringing louder and louder in his ears. Some were familiar, but most belonged to strangers.
[He has arrived!]
[He has graced us with his presence!]
[I see him.]
[They say he has just arrived!]
The voices followed one after another, as urgent as if they were preparing for war. Like echoes in an endless canyon, they spread far and wide. Most were transmitted via telepathy, with only a few spoken whispers occasionally mixed in.
In reality, the entirety of Xiangyang was uncannily quiet. Only Jeong Yeon-shin's ears, capable of intercepting telepathy, were filled with the deafening clamor.
By the time the group passed through the wide-open city gates, those silent, urgent voices had flooded the city, moving faster than the group's footsteps.
This was despite the fact that the wide official road stretching past the gates, and even the marketplaces on either side, were virtually deserted.
Jeong Yeon-shin deliberately chose to say nothing. He still remembered his previous triumphal return in the palanquin. The Demonlight Wing needed to experience this surprise for themselves.
"Oh..."
Shin So-bin let out a soft exclamation of awe.
Before anyone realized it, she had opened the carriage window and poked her head out, her back turned to Jeong Yeon-shin.
The back of her head, previously shrouded in the dark of night, began to be dyed in a faint sunset glow.
The sun had set long ago.
It was a night where even the faintest trace of twilight was hard to find.
What was dyeing the surroundings in a soft purple radiance—as if grabbing the darkened edge of the western sky and pulling the sunset back—were the purple lanterns rising to occupy every corner of the city.
There were so many that it was impossible to count. It was as if the entire world had been submerged in a western sunset.
Sring—
The smooth sound of swords being sheathed echoed out. The group escorting Jeong Yeon-shin had put away their weapons.
At the same time, with a loud crack, the entire front of the carriage broke away. It was a strike from Shin So-bin's hand blade.
The carriage had been transformed into something resembling an open palanquin, with the only difference being that it was drawn by a swift horse instead of humans.
Shin So-bin kicked away her seat with a loud bang and hopped down from the carriage.
The interior was now completely exposed.
Sitting alone, Jeong Yeon-shin looked around, the scene reflecting in his pitch-black eyes. Once, after the Jeong Family Manor was destroyed, a boy carrying nothing but a single sword had blindly made his way up to Xiangyang, looking around in bewilderment.
Soon after, that young swordsman had joined forces with a young man wearing a hero's headband and headed toward the Desolate Fortress. The official road, steeped in the passage of those years, was now overlaid with a pale purple light.
Rustle.
The common people hesitantly stepped into his field of vision.
These were the subjects who had lived for generations on the land where the Desolate Fortress was established. Every single one of them held a lantern wrapped in purple silk.
"..."
It was a truly surreal sight. No one spoke, as if they were standing on a boundary between dream and reality.
The crowd, enveloped in absolute silence, consisted of men and women of all ages and social statuses. They simply stared at Jeong Yeon-shin while holding their lanterns, without uttering a single word.
There were not even any words of congratulations for the joyous occasion.
Only the intermittent crying of a baby could be heard from a distant house, accompanied by the sound of water flowing beneath a bridge on one side of the city.
Ah.
Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly realized.
Rising to the Purple Rank was not something for him to be personally congratulated on. The birth of the highest authority in the Desolate Fortress was a momentous event that reduced even an individual's own emotions to mere trivialities.
In a world where martial arts monsters trampled over reason and law with their lightness skills, this was the reality.
He recalled his grandfather's letter anew.
The meaning, role, and symbolism of the Purple Rank. The images of Yong Hee-myung and Ma Yeon-jeok, who had galloped through the Jianghu as if order itself belonged to them, became vivid in his mind.
The path he had taken merely to preserve his own life was now stretching out to encompass the entire world.
They are...
Rumble, rumble.
As the carriage passed them, the commoners held out their lanterns instead of their hands.
The procession advanced along the official road toward the main fortress of the Desolate Fortress.
No matter which street Jeong Yeon-shin and his companions passed, the exact same sight unfolded.
From the grand estates of high-ranking officials residing in Xiangyang, to the residences of wealthy merchants who had amassed such fortunes that they built grand manors rather than mere houses, to the escort agencies that never lost their cargo even in troubled times thanks to learning a thing or two from the Blue Ranks of the Desolate Fortress, all the way down to the rows of commoners' houses, both large and small.
No words of praise were heard.
Only the purple lanterns were raised. It was a reverence that did not need to be put into words.
The safest land in the world was paying him homage.
* * *
The Inner Castle of the Desolate Fortress.
Two people stood atop a towering spire.
One was a middle-aged man with a scholarly air but a bushy, bandit-like beard. The other was an elderly man of grand stature wearing a purple robe. They were the Grand Steward of the Desolate Fortress and the Elder Council Head, respectively.
Grand Steward Im Jin-myeong, gazing down at the sunset-like glow blanketing the city, slowly spoke.
"I never expected to witness such a magnificent sight again so soon. I thought I'd have to gain a few more wrinkles around my eyes before seeing this..."
"I wonder how many years it has been since the Yong clan's boy," the Elder Council Head mused.
"Did you also receive the same tribute, Elder Council Head?"
"It has already been over forty years. It was neither as dense as that, nor as quiet. Times were good back then. Above all, the famine was less severe. It wasn't an age of chaos."
"I wonder what the new Purple Rank is feeling right now."
"Honorifics have truly become natural to you."
"I never spoke down to him, even when he was a White Rank. Is he not the Lord's very first disciple?"
"Watch your mouth. What about the imperial family?"
"It felt as though she only reluctantly gave teachings to those of the Ju clan. Of course, I wouldn't dare fathom all of her intentions, but even at a glance, it was quite different. Did she not receive daily reports on his actions from the time he was a fifteen-year-old boy until he turned seventeen? I believe even the original manuscript of the Jeong Family Dynamic Art is still in the Lord's possession. Though it has been a long time since I last saw her..."
"Did I not tell you I do not wish to hear about that divine ultimate technique? It only reminds me of that old man who, having rejuvenated thanks to his wonderful grandson, is always busy teasing this old man whenever he comes to the main fortress," Elder Council Head Shin Byeok concluded calmly.
Grand Steward Im Jin-myeong chuckled softly. His eyes followed the procession gradually approaching the Inner Castle along the wide official road.
The corners of his sharp, fierce eyes softened.
"The people's conduct is indeed extraordinary. It seems we are truly in an age of chaos."
"I do have some concerns."
"What might those be?"
"The rulers. Since ancient times, those who became Purple Ranks of the main fortress have always been followed by highly political maneuvers. Those who wish to align themselves with them, and those who hide their identities to undermine the dignity of the Purple Rank through all sorts of schemes..."
"Weren't those of the latter group completely wiped out? Ever since the former Head Eunuch met his end."
"That was already decades ago, and the world does not yet know of that fiery scoundrel's rejuvenation. Besides, we cannot allow the Northern Demonfolk to find out about that old man's rejuvenation and prepare for it."
"Mmh."
"To receive such tribute in these turbulent times? Even if the Emperor doesn't care, the Feudatory Kings around him might view this differently. I only hope the utility of this spontaneous ceremony exceeds the trouble it brings."
"How can one measure the utility of a ceremony? Surely no one will claim it is excessive?"
"Think about it. Among the Feudatory Kings—meaning all the imperial princes and regional kings of the world—how many have ever received such treatment? This is clearly a sight that far surpasses the prestige of the collateral branches of the Ju clan."
"Even so, the main fortress cannot force the people to restrain themselves. Is the prestige of a great sect that supports the livelihood of the world's people not just as important as their face?"
"You are right. However, I worry about the King of Fathomless Light. I only hope he does not do anything foolish."
"It is a joyous day. I will ponder such gloomy matters alone at the Chief Steward's Office."
As Im Jin-myeong joked in his deep, booming voice, the corners of Shin Byeok's wrinkled mouth twitched upward.
"How is the reorganization going?"
"We only need the new Purple Rank to stamp his seal. Of course, since we've only drawn up a preliminary framework, much of it will change depending on Lord Jeong's wishes..."
Lord Jeong.
This referred to Jeong Yeon-shin. The young grandmaster was no longer addressed by titles like "Young Master," "Young Hero," or "Great Hero." Within the main fortress, this change had already taken effect.
Although a new epithet had been coined for the new Purple Rank at the Green Jade Sword Manor—where the Mount Hua Agreement martial arts tournament took place—it had long since become a name that many whispered in hushed tones the moment it reached the Desolate Fortress.
"I hear you are reorganizing the Divine Sword Squad?"
"Many are currently recuperating, after all. That cannot be helped, and above all, the intentions of the Acting Commander of the Divine Sword Corps are what matter most."
"The new Purple Rank leading the Divine Sword Corps and the Divine Sword Squad... He must quickly accumulate appropriate merits to dismiss that fellow from the Yong clan. I wonder who is the leading candidate for the new Vice Commander of the Divine Sword Corps. He will need someone by his side to assist the young leader well, will he not?"
"The current Vice Commander of the Divine Sword Corps is desperately trying to hold onto his position. He has already visited the Chief Steward's Office several times. I hear he is currently learning how to cook a dish called Five-Rhyme Mountain Herb Dish. Apparently, it is Lord Jeong's favorite delicacy."
Shin Byeok muttered a brief, "Disqualified."
"Are there any other unusual matters?"
"Earlier, I received a letter from the Commander of the Bloodkeeper Unit regarding the new Vice Commander, but the content was so long that I haven't finished reading it yet."
It was then.
Just as Jeong Yeon-shin's group was approaching the main gate of the Desolate Fortress's Outer City in the distance.
Flutter—
A figure with fluttering white robes blocked their path.
It was a woman. She descended using an incredibly swift and elusive Body Protection Scripture, and her appearance was peculiar.
Holding a gourd in one hand, she wore a white Taoist robe embroidered with the signature pine tree of the Wudang Sect, draped over her like a formal court dress. Her snow-white robes trailed long behind her.
Her face was concealed by a translucent veil, but the light in her eyes was exceptionally dark and intense. Even from the spire, where they could only see her profile, her extraordinary presence was undeniable.
"Who is that?"
"Wudang's Long Staff... she is of the imperial family. I do not know her business here."
Wonder colored the voices of both Shin Byeok and Im Jin-myeong.
But that was all.
There was no other concern. This was because three figures had stepped up behind Long Staff, who was currently facing Jeong Yeon-shin's group.
These were individuals who had walked out from the main fortress of the Desolate Fortress. Three pitch-black robes dyed the night air with a deep darkness.
"At any rate, I shall take my leave first."
"Go ahead."
Tap.
The Grand Steward, who had been quietly watching the scene, leaped down from the spire. He headed in the exact opposite direction of the Outer City's main gate where Long Staff had appeared. He had to finish preparations to welcome the new Purple Rank.
"He likes Five-Rhyme Mountain Herb Dish...?"
The Grand Steward muttered to himself as he landed on the ground and headed deeper into the Inner Castle.