Chapter 463: The Five Great Swords of the World
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 463: The Five Great Swords of the World
Jeong Yeon-shin took a step back. The Seventh Apostle, her skin as pale as frost, mirrored his movement, the nape of her neck receding by the exact same distance.
He had activated his Sword Song, letting its melody spread far and wide like the Six Harmonies Sound Transmission.
"..."
At some point, the wide, shadowed clearing had fallen into absolute silence.
Even the Heaven-Smiling Invincible, who was always chattering by his side, fell quiet. Her figure, hands clasped behind her back, gradually faded away.
Jeong Yeon-shin paid it no mind.
Sough.
Carried by a gentle breeze, stray maple leaves drifted down from an unknown source, piling softly over the swaying shadows of the trees.
Thus, the silence between the Taemo Mountain Fortress and Heaven's Bane was tinged with red.
The Thirteen Heavens of the Unorthodox Factions still ruled Hangzhou, holding their ground even amidst prominent great sects like the Desolate Fortress, Mount Hua, and Qingcheng. The figures surrounding the clearing at this moment were their elite experts. Though their levels of achievement varied, every single one of them had long since used their internal energy to knock upon the gates of their Upper Dantians.
Naturally, they were capable of sensing—even if only faintly—the intent embedded within the sword's melody.
But Jeong Yeon-shin was not speaking to them. The cry of the Divine Sword: Lingering Thunder had surged through space toward an entirely different target.
Come.
With a mere thought, he called to Lingering Thunder, which hovered beside him.
Wuuung.
Perhaps because he had not used the Sword Song as an offensive form, the milk-white divine sword—its blade completely free of any cracks—returned in a graceful curve.
Then, as if by chance, it lightly tapped the hilt of the Songmun Ancient Sword fastened to Jeong Yeon-shin's belt before sliding smoothly into its sheath.
Thus, two swords now rested at his waist.
Rustle.
The Seventh Apostle turned toward him, her pitch-black hair brushing against the clear autumn wind. Having moved of her own accord, was she perhaps startled by her own actions?
The black eye patch running diagonally across her face twitched, and a crimson light flickered in her uncovered red eye.
Her lips parted slowly.
"I..."
"They're coming."
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke, his head turned to the side. Before his words could even fully register, the Seventh Apostle shifted her gaze in the same direction.
Sshk!
A faint, whitish thread was etched into the air. It looked as if space itself were tearing open.
The dust floating over the dark yellow earth was suddenly sucked toward that vertical line.
At the same time, a figure emerged from the crevice like smoke.
He held a sword loosely pointed downward, white steam billowing from its surface. Just how wondrous was the structure of True Qi infused with his internal power? The blade, deeply suffused with a red glow, hissed continuously.
It sounded like white-hot iron being plunged into cold water.
It was a phenomenon that defied common sense. The term "Outer Path" suited him perfectly.
"This isn't an easy trick, but I managed to pull it off today."
The voice belonged to a middle-aged man, sounding like someone you could run into in any ordinary village.
"I had quite a bit of trouble shaking off the Mount Hua Sect Leader, whose eyes were practically rolling back in his head... but what else could I do? In all my not-so-short life, this is the first time I've seen a junior display such magnificent audacity."
His tone was exceedingly calm.
Slide.
Jeong Yeon-shin placed a hand on the hilt of Lingering Thunder. Parts of his upper body tingled. Every single one of those phantom sensations came from the sword wounds he had received here in Hangzhou, symbolizing the first defeat he had ever experienced in actual combat.
"The Lord of Heaven's Bane..."
A low murmur came from a stone-still figure standing far back from the clearing. He had the appearance of a youthful young man.
He was riding in a palanquin, escorted by dozens of sorcerers who all had their hair tied up. Without a doubt, he was the head of the Taemo Mountain Fortress.
The sudden manifestation of the Lord of Heaven's Bane was an astonishing sight, even to those who practiced sorcery martial arts.
Void Displacement through swordplay...?
Jeong Yeon-shin stared at the blind man in the bamboo hat, lost in thought.
Step.
Unhesitating footsteps pressed down on the earth.
It was the Lord of Heaven's Bane.
He pulled the bamboo hat from his back up onto his head and smiled faintly.
The wide brim cast a shadow that concealed his cataract-clouded eyes, leaving only his curved lips standing out in the silence.
"Do not disappoint me. If you meddle in things that are none of your business like last time, I will have no choice but to face not only you, but all the swordsmen of the Desolate Fortress again. By that, I mean I will refuse to associate with you as a fellow swordsman."
"..."
"I assume no more words are needed beyond this."
The Lord of Heaven's Bane spoke, spinning his sword once.
He didn't cast so much as a glance at the swordsmen of Heaven's Bane positioned on one side of the encirclement. His body was entirely oriented toward Jeong Yeon-shin.
He didn't even seem to care about the Seventh Apostle, who would be a lethal force if she joined the fray.
Was he trying to assist the Lord of Heaven's Bane? The young man at the center of the Taemo Mountain Fortress sorcerers suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Deploy the formation!"
Crackle!
In an instant, streaks of blue lightning spread like a net from the Taemo Mountain Fortress camp.
The lightning linked each individual sorcerer together, much like a formation that resonated internal energy to boost morale. Searing heat surged in all directions.
Cho Il-seo's words did not stop there.
"The will of heaven has descended upon this land of Hangzhou! A member of the Brightfolk, possessing medical arts as miraculous as our fortress's sorcery martial arts, resides in West Lake! Right now, that person does not know their place and only administers medicine to those they fancy... but if we put forward the name of the Master of Taemo Mountain Fortress, even the Divine Doctor of the world will have no choice! You only need to avoid death! A grand reward awaits anyone who contributes to the premature death of the Wilderness Sunfall...!"
Swoosh.
The head of the leading sorcerer was suddenly seized by a pale hand. In the next instant, with a sickening crack, his head was ripped upward along with his long spine, as effortlessly as if it were a dream.
"What an ugly neck."
A smooth voice spoke.
Having glided through the air like a bat before anyone could even react, the Seventh Apostle now stood holding the severed head of the Taemo Mountain Fortress expert.
What kind of Fa Jin force had she employed? A blood-red mist, steeped in a sinister aura, rose and suppressed the streaks of blue lightning.
It was a fog of True Qi, accompanied by tremendous martial talent. The crimson mist filled the air, preventing the lightning sparks generated by the sorcerers from splashing toward the village just beyond the clearing.
Only then did the blood finally spray out with a wet splat, drenching her.
"..."
The Seventh Apostle's red eyes were incredibly clear. There was even a hint of amusement swirling within them. She tossed the severed head at her feet and flashed a blood-red smile.
Though it was the result of an incredibly tangled web of power dynamics, this was the first time Jeong Yeon-shin and the Seventh Apostle were aligned in this manner.
She would handle the troublesome pests.
Now, he could put them completely out of his mind.
As long as the village is safe.
Jeong Yeon-shin redirected even the last shred of his sense of Qi—previously extended toward the enemy forces—entirely onto the Lord of Heaven's Bane. In an instant, a bizarre pressure washed over him. It felt as if sharp needles were slicing through his entire body.
Even now, his opponent's level of martial arts was so profoundly high that its true nature could only be felt by sharpening every single one of his senses to the absolute limit.
There was no mistake.
The blind man before him was someone who could be discussed as the Greatest Sword Under Heaven, even when looking across the vast expanse of the entire Jianghu. Along with the Wudang Sect Leader, the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps, and the Lord of the Hegemon Sword Sect, he was one of the top five swordsmen in the world. Jeong Yeon-shin had already keenly felt his own shortcomings when he clashed with him back in Zhejiang.
This battle would be a massive turning point.
He would absolutely rescue his senior sister and disciple, Baek Mi-ryeo, and return alive. Then, before this winter passed, he would formally challenge the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps, Yong Hee-myung.
"As a senior of the Jianghu, I waited to yield the first move to you, but at this rate, everyone you called will arrive. The crazed Mount Hua Sect Leader is troublesome enough... but Abbot Beomheo of Shaolin is someone even I find rather uncomfortable to deal with."
So, I shall make my move—
The Lord of Heaven's Bane's amused voice dissolved into the wind of his sword.
Closing the distance to Jeong Yeon-shin in a single stride, he slashed upward.
Jeong Yeon-shin instantly drew Lingering Thunder and brought it down. That single sequence of drawing his sword acted simultaneously as a defensive form and a counterattacking strike.
Clangggg!
His body flew backward like a cannonball.
He was completely overpowered in terms of sword force. The strike from the Lord of Heaven's Bane was brutally heavy.
It was the absolute mastery of the core, fundamental principles of sword arts—swinging the blade with absolute strength and speed. For a brief moment, his temperament was even reminiscent of the Hegemon Hero.
As expected.
Jeong Yeon-shin realized that without activating the Ultimate Lightning, this fight would be impossible.
Whoosh!
The wind violently brushed past his ears. The force packed into the strike of the First Sword of the Outer Paths pushed Jeong Yeon-shin all the way up to a distant mountain ridge.
Before he knew it, he could see the mouth of the Lord of Heaven's Bane, who now looked incredibly small in the distance. The blind man in the bamboo hat was muttering, "You held back on purpose." He seemed to have noticed Jeong Yeon-shin's intention.
Immediately after, the Lord of Heaven's Bane caught up to him in midair with a single, sweeping step.
"It seems your return from the brink of death was in vain."
Rumble!
By then, Jeong Yeon-shin's body was already becoming the pistil of a giant, colorless lotus.
A single, massive blossom bloomed—the pinnacle of the Brilliant River martial art, which filled his body's fine meridians and acupoints with violent internal power like roaring thunder. A low, vibrating hum spread from the energy that formed transparent petals.
At that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin entered a world where he could feel every single strand of the wind. It was a realm where peerless experts unleashed all the martial arts they possessed in a single move.
First.
Stretching his leg out in the dizzying heights of the sky, the top of Jeong Yeon-shin's foot hooked around the back of the Lord of Heaven's Bane's neck. Like a sickle harvesting grain.
The Night Shame Leg Technique.
It was called "Night Shame" because it signified a shameful night. It was a martial art his body had spontaneously created every time dusk fell, ever since he had offended the Perfected Ancient Sword.
Swoosh—
Jeong Yeon-shin's upper body tilted backward. Immediately after, his leg, bent like a whip, hurled the Lord of Heaven's Bane by his neck down toward the ground. A translucent wave of force erupted from his smoothly curved toes.
Boom!
The body of the Lord of Heaven's Bane plummeted vertically.
In an instant, the mountain ridge shook violently, spewing a thick cloud of dust as several trees collapsed with a loud crash.
Soon, a calm voice rang out.
"The connection between your forms has become astonishingly natural."
"I intended to break your neck," Jeong Yeon-shin replied as he descended into the mountains, gripping Lingering Thunder.
It was a forest where all eight directions were filled with desolate branches. The battlefield had completely shifted.
Within it, the blind man holding his sword was smiling. As if he hadn't just been hurled to the ground but had landed perfectly, there was not a speck of dust on his dark blue robes, let alone his bamboo hat.
Yet, Jeong Yeon-shin's composure did not waver.
Though it is invisible.
The Body Protection Qi of the First Sword of the Outer Paths was incredibly solid. It was as if he had woven an internal energy barrier capable of withstanding even his own sword strikes.
He was, quite literally, a perfected peerless swordsman.
If one suffered a sword wound from him, it would be impossible to heal on the spot, and it was incredibly difficult to inflict a fatal blow on him, even with striking or grappling techniques.
Since he was someone who had mastered an immense variety of sword arts to the stage of great completion, he could not be overwhelmed by sheer technique either. He could even cleave through space with a single strike.
He must have completed his Unified Martial Transcendence as well, Jeong Yeon-shin thought.
How should he conduct this fight to take that neck?
"That is a sword I haven't felt before."
The Lord of Heaven's Bane gestured with his chin toward Jeong Yeon-shin's waist. He behaved exactly as if he could actually see.
"Wait, that pine pattern is..."
"Your bamboo hat is annoying," Jeong Yeon-shin, who had been staring at him, suddenly interrupted.
"Hmm?"
"That vanity must restrict your movements."
"Ah, even Body Protection Qi cannot block the sunlight. To spin exciting tales of the Jianghu before a crowd, this smooth skin of mine is just as important as a silver tongue. You shouldn't waste your handsome features either..."
It was then.
The sound of a snapping branch echoed from afar. It came from behind Jeong Yeon-shin's shoulder.
"...?"
The senses of experts are like streams of water.
On an ordinary battlefield, they spread wide like the great ocean, but before an opponent who could threaten their lives, they pour all their sense of Qi onto the enemy like a concentrated, narrow waterfall.
They had to do so to precisely grasp the forms that clashed in the blink of an eye.
The higher their realm and the more threatening the opponent, the stronger this tendency became.
Because of this intense focus, herb gatherers carrying sacks and A-frames had been able to approach undetected. Hangzhou was known to be relatively less affected by the famine.
Since they could hardly expect any harvest from the fields, they searched this mountain and that for food, praying for the mercy of the Mountain God.
Given the vast population living in the great city, this was by no means an uncommon occurrence.
"We—we didn't see anything!"
"Run! Run quickly!"
Terrified at the sight of the two martial artists, the five or six peasants turned and fled.
Amusement flickered on the face of the Lord of Heaven's Bane. It was a situation similar to one in the past. It was a fitting moment for the First Sword of the Outer Paths to test his junior's growth.
"Your True Qi manipulation was flexible enough to remind me of the Perfected Ancient Sword."
Suddenly, the sword of the Lord of Heaven's Bane came down in a straight line. Its long trajectory drew a crescent moon.
In an instant, a colorless, undulating half-moon slash erupted along that sword path. It flew directly toward the peasants running away beside Jeong Yeon-shin.
"After all, isn't swordplay the most important thing?"
Rumble!
The air, split to both sides, collapsed in on itself.
It was a strike that crossed a distance of thirty paces before one could even blink. Its momentum was powerful enough to cleave a fortress wall built of thousand-year cold iron in half.
Jeong Yeon-shin had never seen such a long-range sword form before. It was clearly a renowned technique.
It might even be the Piercing Thrust Sword Sea, which was said to have been used decades ago to slay a demon that appeared in Fujian Province and claim its inner core.
Rustle.
Such naturally flowing speculations quickly faded from Jeong Yeon-shin's mind. With footwork lighter than ever before, he stepped in to face the sword strike's shockwave.
Only after he thrust his sword forward did the fallen leaves crush beneath his feet.
Lingering Thunder cried out.
The tip of his sword caught the energy that surged like a transparent tidal wave, drawing a large circle in the air and shedding a faint light.
Wuuung—
At a glance, it took the shape of an incredibly soft Taiji, but the speed at which the curved trajectory was completed was monstrously fast. No collision of shockwaves or impact occurred at all.
"Hmm...?"
In the brief moment the Lord of Heaven's Bane's eyebrows shot up, Jeong Yeon-shin slightly twisted the wrist holding his sword.
Instantly, the thunderous power of the Ultimate Lightning was added to the force he had just deflected. Lingering Thunder, which had somehow wrapped around the translucent slash of the Lord of Heaven's Bane, let out a low rumble.
Immediately after, Jeong Yeon-shin's arm holding Lingering Thunder blurred.
Rip!
In that split second, the bamboo hat of the Lord of Heaven's Bane—who had raised his sword once more—was torn to shreds.
"..."
The distance of thirty paces between them remained unchanged.