Chapter 47: Encounter
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 47: Encounter
By the next morning, all preparations for the mission were complete. Jeong Yeon-shin received a travel pack containing various supplies, dry rations, and travel funds.
As the sole Blue-Ranked Warrior on the team, he was in charge.
In addition, the characters embroidered on their Desolate Fortress martial uniforms had been covered with pieces of silk. The needlework was surprisingly exquisite.
“You’ll be dealing with prestigious noble families. While this is a dangerous mission, you won’t be in disguise,” Ma Jin explained.
Do Yu-won, who had come from the Chief Steward's Office, nodded in agreement.
“The official martial uniforms of the Desolate Fortress are woven with threads from a spirit beast called the Heavenly Silkworm. It’s an incredibly valuable material, so a single thread is woven vertically over each vital spot. It will buy you a split second against a horizontal slash or a thrust.”
“Adding iron plates would be easily spotted by experts and would only draw unnecessary attention.”
“No! How could you cover this up?! This is everything to Young Hero Jeong and me!” Heonwon Chang feigned outrage.
With his left hand, he stroked the character ‘Hwang’ on his own uniform, then used his right to caress the same character below Jeong Yeon-shin’s shoulder.
The gesture was incredibly bizarre. Jeong Yeon-shin took a small step back.
Heonwon Chang pouted slightly. “Wasn’t the Mount Hua Sect incident enough? I find this hard to accept. The Desolate Fortress is my identity now!”
“Silence, Divine Hero.”
At Ma Jin's calm command, Baek Mi-ryeo stepped forward. Only then did Heonwon Chang shrink back, muttering incomprehensible complaints under his breath as he retreated. His junior, Shin So-bin, simply shook her head.
“Isn’t he supposed to be on the same level as Senior Flash Art? Can we even pull off a stealth mission with him?”
“Young Hero Heonwon is different from how he appears. Your worries are likely unfounded.”
“I hope so. This is my first mission, and we’ll have to coordinate our movements. I only caught a brief glimpse of your martial arts during the promotion ceremony, Senior. I wonder if you can display the strength your reputation suggests out in the wider world.”
Shin So-bin’s lips curled into a bold smile.
Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t particularly care. He only hoped she wouldn’t drag him down.
Becoming a Blue Rank wasn't the end. He had heard that the next rank, Black, came with the status of a Unit Commander. The gap between the Blue and Black Ranks was said to be even more vast than the one between White and Blue.
I’ve taken a step forward. From now on, failure is not an option.
The anxiety from their failure to subdue the Seventh Apostle of the Blood Flame Cult resurfaced. He never wanted to experience that again. That was why it didn't matter whether the Hwangbo Clan’s Young Master possessed the Solar Divine Pulse or not.
He would simply continue to accumulate achievements. Jeong Yeon-shin clasped his hands in a martial salute to Ma Jin.
“I will see you later.”
“Right. The moment you complete your mission, we will clash with the Hwangbo Clan. I’ll see you then,” Ma Jin said with a nod. After a brief silence, he spoke again, the scar near his lips twitching awkwardly.
“...Missions can fail. Prioritize your own safety.”
Jeong Yeon-shin knew those words came not from the Commander of the Demonlight Wing, but from his uncle. He bowed silently.
Ma Jin was different from his maternal grandfather, Ma Yeon-jeok. Jeong Yeon-shin couldn't bring himself to completely push away the man who was constantly trying to reach out to him, driven by pure guilt.
Jeong Yeon-shin shifted his gaze slightly. “Don’t overexert yourself either, Commander. I heard the Hwangbo Clan Head is one of the top experts in Shandong.”
“This isn’t a duel; it’s a war. We will launch a coordinated attack,” Ma Jin replied with a faint smile.
Shaking his head as if disappointed by the answer, Jeong Yeon-shin mounted the brown steed beside him. Feeling the saddle firmly support his weight, he lightly patted the horse's neck.
When he lived at the Jeong Family Manor, he had envisioned having a lifelong companion like a legendary thousand-mile steed. Reality was different. The Desolate Fortress was a place where horses were constantly swapped out, making it hard to grow attached.
“Take good care of me until the next post station,” Jeong Yeon-shin whispered, leaning forward. As several seniors from the Demonlight Wing saw them off, he took up the reins.
Heonwon Chang and Shin So-bin rode up to join him on either side.
“Out into the wider world once more! It always gets my heart racing,” Heonwon Chang said with a grin.
Jeong Yeon-shin glanced at Shin So-bin, who was giving Heonwon Chang a skeptical look, and flicked his reins.
It was his first mission as a Blue-robed Warrior of the Desolate Fortress.
* * *
Simply covering the emblem of the Desolate Fortress made it feel as though he had entered a completely different world. Perhaps it was because he had to lead the group without any seniors. He felt a strange sense of emptiness, not unlike what Heonwon Chang had complained about.
The symbol that had commanded respect or fear from the masses was gone.
I’ve heard that experts of the Desolate Fortress are sometimes treated with contempt in the martial world.
Since he hadn’t experienced it yet, the reality of it felt distant.
Their destination was Huizhou in Southern Zhili. A post road led from Xiangyang to Huizhou, though it took a slight detour. Unlike previous missions where they had to give the horses long periods of rest, this was different. The group rode at a breakneck pace.
As expected of a direct descendant of a prestigious family, Shin So-bin was highly skilled in horsemanship. Riding for extended periods was a challenge of its own, but it posed no obstacle to her.
Heonwon Chang also rode exceptionally well, remarking that wandering the martial world was best enjoyed after a mission was complete.
Twenty days passed. Jeong Yeon-shin did not possess enough internal energy to traverse the distance between cities using lightness skills, and neither did the two White-Ranked warriors. They had no choice but to rely on their horses.
Nothing of note happened until they neared Huizhou, despite rumors that bandits of the Green Forest and pirates of the Water Channel Fortress were everywhere. Heonwon Chang had claimed he’d encountered countless bandits when traveling from Shanxi to Xiangyang for the entrance exam, making Jeong Yeon-shin wonder if it had all been a bluff.
I’m starting to get a feel for it.
During the journey, Jeong Yeon-shin practiced his Sword Song, his goal being to gradually transition it into the realm of Sound Arts. At the same time, he was deconstructing the mnemonics of the Moon Spirit Harmony Art. It seemed he would be able to create a new Heart Cultivation Art before the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering concluded.
Huuuuuuum…
They had reached a point where the official road to Huizhou came into view. Beneath an exceptionally large ginkgo tree by the roadside, the Northern Light Sword resting across Jeong Yeon-shin's lap vibrated. He didn’t have his Desolate Fortress Sword; since he had to hide his affiliation, he had left it with Cheong-myeong.
Amplifying the Sword Ring has become easier.
Infusing internal energy into a sword to prevent it from breaking was a common technique, at least among experts. Jeong Yeon-shin took it a step further.
He perceived the very essence of sound. Utilizing the subtle principles of the Scripture of Initial Overcoming, he split his True Qi into two strands and channeled them into the blade. As the finely vibrating waves of energy grew more intense, the sound amplified.
HUUUUUUUM!
The wonders of True Qi were truly marvelous. An extremely delicate control, challenging even for his innate senses, produced an unprecedented resonance. He could control the pitch of the sound. If he infused this spreading melody with outward-projecting True Qi, it would become a Sound Art.
Ultimately, the power of this martial art will be determined by my internal energy.
But there were other problems. Sound Arts were said to be a profound field of martial study. With his shallow years of training, Jeong Yeon-shin's Sword Song could not easily distinguish between ally and foe. He thought of Heonwon Chang and Shin So-bin. Sending a telepathic transmission telling them to protect their ears with internal energy right before unleashing the attack? It would be wonderful if every battle allowed for such leisure.
Even so, he felt a great sense of achievement. It would be highly effective in one-versus-many battles.
“You called that the Sword Song, right? It certainly draws a lot of attention.”
It was Shin So-bin, dressed in white. Her pitch-black eyes sparkled with interest. She approached with soft, rustling steps, resting her hands on her knees as she bent forward. Her long, tied-back hair cascaded down with a glossy sheen.
Jeong Yeon-shin wondered why she grew her hair so long when she wasn’t even a top-tier expert yet. It seemed like an easy target to grab in close-quarters combat.
“My apologies,” Jeong Yeon-shin said, brushing the thought aside.
Huizhou was an incredibly large city, a bustling hub where merchant groups carrying high-quality tea leaves, silver, and other goods constantly traveled. The official road, being relatively safe, was no exception. Many passersby on the opposite side glanced in their direction.
“I quite like the sound! It has a nice elegance to it,” Heonwon Chang grinned as he chewed on his dry rations. Perhaps because the character on his uniform was covered, he seemed strangely pleased to be receiving attention.
Just then, a group of people slowly approached them.
“It seems they’re attending the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. How brazen.”
“Making his sword ring in broad daylight when there’s no fight? What is that if not showing off his meager skills?”
The speakers were a young man and woman of extraordinary bearing. They wore luxurious yellow silk martial robes, but Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes were first drawn to the swords hanging at their waists. They were martial artists, clearly from no ordinary family.
One was a young man wearing a Hero's Headband like Heonwon Chang, and the other was a woman with slightly upturned eyes. Both appeared to be around twenty, their faces still retaining a hint of youth. Behind them followed a group of what appeared to be retainers.
Before Heonwon Chang could say anything, Jeong Yeon-shin stood up.
“I was careless. Your words have given me much to reflect on.”
As he politely clasped his hands, the young man and woman adjusted their posture. They returned the salute in unison, as if they had been trained in etiquette for a long time. Though it seemed almost reflexive, their movements were highly disciplined.
“...You admit your mistake easily. That is not a bad thing to see.”
“Perhaps he was frightened when we showed our irritation and let our energy leak.”
Both of them possessed an arrogant yet refined air. They immediately brought the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering to mind. It was said that many rising stars of prestigious noble families would attend, and these two were likely among them.
“What is your name and sect?” the young man asked, tilting his chin up slightly.
It was said that even the world's prestigious families had all kinds of people, and the same went for their regard for etiquette. While there were humble individuals like the Sword Dragon, Wiji Myo-hwa, stories of arrogant rising stars from prestigious orthodox sects were not uncommon.
They seem to be from a martial clan, Jeong Yeon-shin thought. It made sense if they were local aristocrats who ruled like kings in their own territories. This was an era where large gatherings like the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering were infrequent. Having lived like royalty in their own small worlds, it was no wonder incidents like the Hwangbo Clan's forced labor occurred.
The young man raised an eyebrow slightly. “What are you thinking so deeply about? Speak without hiding anything.”
“I am Gu Gwa of the Pursuing Truth Sect.”
“The Pursuing Truth Sect? Never heard of it. A nobody with no pedigree,” the woman beside him spoke ruthlessly.
A faint trace of contempt appeared on both of their faces, and their tone shifted. The young man twitched his thick eyebrows and spoke.
“Indeed. As you can see, we are of the bloodline of a prestigious clan of the Righteous Path. Surely you have heard of the Hwangbo Clan? I know every orthodox sect attending the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. If your sect is one of those gray-area factions caught between the righteous and the wicked, I cannot let you off easily.”
“We must discipline you. Otherwise, you might waste your ability to produce a Sword Ring on trivial things,” the woman chimed in, stepping forward. She seemed highly accustomed to asserting her authority to satisfy her own ego.
“...”
To think they were from the Hwangbo Clan. Granted, Huizhou was just a bit further ahead, but Jeong Yeon-shin still found it hard to believe. It took him a moment to recall the portrait of the Young Master that Ma Jin had given him.
The face matched.
During the banquet celebrating his promotion to the Blue Rank, he had listened to Ma Jin's drunken ramblings about how his sister—Jeong Yeon-shin's mother—had left him and ended up marrying into the Jeong Family Manor in such an absurd way. He had said that fate in the martial world was like a sudden storm. Was this situation any different?
He felt the energy of Heonwon Chang and Shin So-bin, who were watching from behind, growing stronger. He had expected this mission to take a long time, but perhaps he could wrap it up quickly. He offered his silent thanks to Buddha and Yuanshi Tianzun.
There was no reason to hold back. His mission was to handle the Hwangbo Clan's Young Master and force the family to mobilize its full strength. He would have to draw his blade in the territory of the Righteous Faction anyway.
I just need to make sure I have a clear justification.
First, he lowered his clasped hands and spoke. His polite facade dropped, revealing his true nature.
“To speak of pedigree,” he began. “Though the reputation of the Hwangbo Clan is great, your attitude remains insolent even after hearing my sect's name. Is this the etiquette of the martial world? Your insults have tarnished my sect's honor. We have both pointed out each other's flaws. How else should martial artists settle this?”
“What...?”
Perhaps they had never experienced such defiance. In an instant, all expression vanished from the young man and woman's faces.
Sensing the presence of onlookers who had begun to gather, Jeong Yeon-shin continued in a clear, resonant voice.
“I was the first to show courtesy and apologize. Even in the face of your insolent behavior, I revealed my name and sect. Yet you hide behind the name of the Hwangbo Clan and call me a nobody with no pedigree? Would you be able to endure such treatment? I challenge you to a duel.”
“You certainly have a silver tongue,” the young man’s lips curled upward. He raised an arm, gesturing for the woman, whose delicate brow was furrowed in a frown, to step back. Veins bulged on his forearms, exposed beneath his sleeves. He had clearly trained his qi and blood to an extraordinary degree.
“Very well. I was already displeased that a gray-area sect was invited to the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. My title is—”
“I do not care to know. Come.”
Cutting him off, Jeong Yeon-shin slowly gripped the hilt of the Northern Light Sword. Suddenly, the image of Geomyehwa of the Deep Martial Alliance, his severed head flashing through his mind, came unbidden.