Chapter 494: The Brightfolk Tree (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 494: The Brightfolk Tree (6)
This was back when he first set out on his journey through the Jianghu toward Hangzhou.
He had slain the Three Arts Great Seats of Taemo Mountain Fortress, reorganized the Divine Sword Corps alongside the Chief Steward's Office, and crossed from Xiangyang to Hangzhou after a two-day battle of nerves with the King of Fathomless Light.
All of that had taken less than seven days and nights. He had repeatedly flown at full speed atop Lingering Thunder, pausing only to meditate and regulate his breathing.
Since even that monumental journey had taken a mere three days, traveling from the eastern village of the World Tree to its very center today took only a brief moment.
Rustle.
Jeong Yeon-shin touched down lightly upon the earth.
The snow-white Lingering Thunder flew over of its own accord, tapped the hilt of the Songmun Ancient Sword, and slid smoothly into its scabbard.
Lately, sheathing the blade had been accompanied by an unnecessary movement—a minor flaw that had become a recent source of concern for him. If such an error occurred during a fierce battle where a fraction of an inch determined life or death, it would be disastrous.
'There is no problem with the Fan Dragon Lotus Art...' he thought, stroking the hilt of Lingering Thunder a couple of times.
"An outsider...? Where did you come from?"
A startled voice rang out from ahead.
Ancient trees blocked the path like an endlessly high fence. Roughly fifteen swordsmen—seemingly the city's gatekeepers—stood tall on the thick branches, looking down at Jeong Yeon-shin.
Like all Brightfolk, they possessed human-like features, though their eyes flashed with a deep, radiant blue light. It was a sight he would see countless times in the future.
"I am the Flash Art of the Desolate Fortress. As a Purple Rank, I represent our fortress," Jeong Yeon-shin spoke calmly, his bearing immensely dignified.
He had nothing to hide. He had absolutely no intention of sneaking into the domain where the true body of the World Tree resided. Once he uncovered the truth, he would have to speak openly with the experts here anyway. Knowing the shortcut was enough.
— Why scale a wall like a common thief?
Those were the words his maternal uncle, Ma Jin, had once spoken when Yeon-shin intruded upon the Mount Hua Agreement martial arts tournament. Even Jeong Yeon-shin, who frequently worried about his and his maternal grandfather's volatile temperaments, had inwardly marveled at the sentiment. There were times when Ma Jin, the Naraka Reaper, actually made sense.
"He's not lying. The Flash Art... does anyone know him?"
"I'll go ask the merchants from the outside. Wait here."
"Coming from the Desolate Fortress makes no sense... It's not time for their visit yet. Is the city lacking something?"
"No. We don't need anything."
"He doesn't look like he's starving, so why don't we just kick him out? No, how did he even get in here in the first place?"
"He looks quite strong, but I can't sense anything from him. Is he hiding his energy? Something is strange..."
"He's a Purple Rank. Just like Shin Cheon-hwa."
"Come to think of it, those are the same clothes as Ma Hyeong-mong. This is no ordinary matter. Report to the Elder's Council immediately!"
The Brightfolk swordsmen standing in the trees didn't bother to lower their voices. Thanks to their immense accumulated Qi, their casual words naturally carried deep internal energy.
Jeong Yeon-shin didn't sense any particular hostility from them.
'That is simply...'
It was like welcoming a guest while lounging in a living room they had been comfortable in for hundreds of years. Whether they openly discussed kicking him out or blatantly evaluated his strength, it wasn't born from deliberate rudeness. The name Ma Hyeong-mong—which referred to his maternal grandfather—also felt natural in this context.
At the same time, another thought crossed his mind:
'They are strong.'
The density of their energy waves was incredibly thick. Even though a few of them had already vanished behind the trees, the sensation brushing against his skin remained as sharp as a drawn thread. The invisible Sword Qi each of them had cultivated over many years, combined with their vast accumulated Qi, had reached the stage of mastery. And these were merely the first gatekeepers at the city's entrance.
A peerless guard.
It was exactly as he had heard from Jong-yeon, the village elder.
If even the warriors guarding the central city were such experts, it went without saying that the four great protectors of the World Tree were close to being absolute masters.
Naturally, Jeong Yeon-shin's doubts only deepened.
Why?
Why were they so leisurely and carefree?
From Cheon So-so, the Immortal Wood Spirit, who was constantly running around to protect the earth's energy; to Bukgung-a, the Wish-Fulfilling Spring, who actively sought out deadly situations; to the other martial units of the Divine Sword Corps, who fought to maintain order in the perilous forest of blades that was the Jianghu—not a single one of them had the luxury of leisure.
It was only natural for the defenders of the World Tree to be powerful. But if one included the protectors—figures even Jeong Yeon-shin could hardly look down upon—their military strength was overwhelmingly abundant.
What had they been doing all this time while the warriors of the Divine Sword Corps were bleeding and dying far from home?
'What madness.'
The moment the corners of Jeong Yeon-shin's mouth hardened, the Brightfolk experts reacted.
Possessing highly developed Mind's Eyes from birth, they caught the subtle shift instantly. Twisting their feet against the branches, they vanished from their spots and reappeared surrounding Jeong Yeon-shin. It was a profound body protection technique bordering on Transposition.
Thud! Whoosh!
The violent backdraft from ten warriors executing their movement techniques simultaneously devastated the surroundings. Shattered mounds of dirt and rock fragments scattered in all directions, obscuring Jeong Yeon-shin's vision.
Beyond the dust cloud, the three remaining guards on the wooden watchtower were already drawing the great bows from their backs and nocking arrows. A faint, glowing current of energy flowed along the bowstrings, which looked as tough as iron bars even at a glance.
A heavy vibration emanated from their surging internal power.
They had reached a realm where they could infuse their bows with the subtlety of a Qi-Filled Sword, much like renowned swordsmen coating their blades with deep internal energy. If they ventured out into the Jianghu, they would surely win great fame.
Vroooom—!
Their force put even the Dark Night Hall of the Thirteen Heavens to shame, and their razor-sharp vigilance rivaled that of the Heaven-Piercing Bow Spirit.
"If you send word to the leader of this city right now," Jeong Yeon-shin said, his lips curling slightly, "I will not make a move."
He spoke in a low, calm voice. However, this was a crowd that reacted intensely to the slightest shift in expression. There were likely few experts here willing to take the warning of a Desolate Fortress Purple Rank at face value. Jeong Yeon-shin had already expected as much.
Action before words.
It was the philosophy that best suited the people of the Jianghu. Why would the Brightfolk be any different?
Whoosh!
Four of them charged first, their heavy steps completely silent. Using footwork that closed the distance in an instant, they drew their swords in one fluid motion. Though the angles of their draws differed, a consistent, underlying order connected them. The sequence of movements was flawlessly clean and uniformly elegant—an undeniably superior sword art.
'The Underwood Linked-Astral Divine Sword.'
It was exactly as Elder Jong-yeon had described. Four blades seeped into the wind from all directions. It was a martial art that completely concealed the presence of invisible Sword Qi, pushing the speed of the drawing strike to its absolute limit.
Boom, boom, boom, boom—!
The moment the blades touched Jeong Yeon-shin, they shattered into three pieces each with a deafening roar.
At the exact instant of collision, the swords snapped in half. From that point, a repulsive force surged outward like a tidal wave, snapping the upward-flying fragments in half once more.
Swept up in the tempestuous aftermath, the Brightfolk swordsmen were violently thrown back the way they came. They tumbled across the ground, coughing up gouts of blood.
A heavy vibration sliced through the air. It was as if they had sprinted headlong into an impenetrable iron wall. There was no way those who had lived their entire lives in leisure could cut through the calluses of the Tang siblings.
Step.
Now enveloped in a faint shroud of light, Jeong Yeon-shin took a step forward. Though the swordsmen clutching their broken blades groaned at his feet, none were worthy of his gaze.
Suddenly, with a thunderous crack, three streaks of light shot diagonally through the air. The archery experts on the distant branches had released their bowstrings.
The timing was exquisite, creating a deadly staggered assault. The three arrowheads moved so rapidly they seemed to swell to the size of bowls the moment they entered his field of vision. The surrounding air shimmered like a sweltering summer day, proving these were no ordinary strong bows.
In response, Jeong Yeon-shin spun twice in quick succession, his long sleeves fluttering like a dancer's robes.
During his first rotation, he snatched two of the arrows with bare hands and hurled them straight back. Still having time to spare, he caught the third arrow in his palm and instantly infused it with the Fan Dragon Lotus Art. It all happened in a literal instant.
Thwack—!
The first two returned arrows pierced straight through the original owners' flanks, shattering their body protection Qi. Having absorbed the linear, explosive force of Fa Jin straight to their bones, the archers were swept away toward the city beyond the wooden barrier, their mouths agape in shock.
By then, the final arrow had already vanished from Jeong Yeon-shin's grasp.
The sole remaining archer was blown backward with a crash the exact moment he frantically tried to nock another shot. Meanwhile, the arrow guided by Sword Kinesis shot back toward Jeong Yeon-shin in a zigzag pattern, sweeping through the remaining Brightfolk swordsmen like a destructive beam of light.
Naturally, it was accompanied by a series of brutal collisions.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The explosive sounds of body protection Qi shattering echoed through the forest.
As the thread-like trajectory blurred into afterimages, the Brightfolk swordsmen collapsed, each having only managed to draw their blades halfway. Amidst the fallen, Jeong Yeon-shin's purple robes fluttered wildly in the wind.
Thud!
The arrow guided by Sword Kinesis embedded itself into the earth at his feet. Its neatly crafted fletching trembled, but the vibration was quickly drowned out by the sound of Jeong Yeon-shin's advancing steps.
One move per person. That was all it took.
"Why... why would someone like you go this far...?"
One of them had remained conscious—a swordswoman with pitch-black hair trailing down to the ground, her long ears fully exposed. Jeong Yeon-shin glanced at her and slowly continued walking toward the city.
"Is this land generous even to those who strike first?" he asked, not bothering to meet her eyes again. "In the outside world, drawing your blade is something you must risk your life to do."
The swordswoman could not answer. Jeong Yeon-shin nodded slowly.
"I won't try to rationalize it otherwise."
"..."
"This is indeed my own folly."
Jeong Yeon-shin did not stop walking.
Elder Jong-yeon had mentioned that even the city's gatekeepers were remarkably powerful within the World Tree's domain. It stemmed from the simple principle that those who guard the gates must be strong. Though they paled in comparison to the absolute protectors, their martial arts were undeniably profound.
'They are all strong.'
Jeong Yeon-shin did not let his guard down.
He had been greatly humbled by the Perfected Ancient Sword and the Great Hangzhou Rebellion. By repeatedly facing the Heaven-Smiling Invincible—who was like a broken mirror to him—he had finally accepted the inferiority complex he had long buried deep inside.
He no longer thought of the monkey.
The world was vast, full of those whose Heavenly Mandate was far superior to his own and the Heaven-Smiling Invincible's. Even Shin So-bin, who would eventually become the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, would live a long life akin to the Monkey King when compared to the two of them.
Step.
The low groan of the Brightfolk swordswoman was swallowed by the steady rhythm of Jeong Yeon-shin's footsteps.
*
It was a tranquil city.
Green particles of energy floated gently through the air like fireflies. While thatched houses with massive leaves for roofs lined one side, white, streamlined tiled manors spread out in all directions, forming a massive circular formation.
People dressed in ornate court attire moved gracefully across the rooftops, looking like true immortals.
This was the stronghold of the World Tree clan.
Naturally, news traveled fast. The intrusion of a Desolate Fortress Purple Rank was quickly made known. Even the pavilion of the Elder's Council, located deep within the city center, echoed with clear, resonant voices.
"The main gate has collapsed?"
The voice was laced with profound surprise. It came from a figure who stepped forward, parting a long, dense beaded curtain. The room lacked light, leaving only the silhouette of their body visible. Yet, in stark contrast to their smoothly curved, muscular physique, both of their cheeks were extremely gaunt.
This was the deepest sanctum of the Elder's Council.
Just beyond that beaded curtain lay the true body of the World Tree. It was, in both name and reality, the most important place in the entire world.
A subordinate kneeling on one knee before the gaunt figure spoke up.
"It took but a brief moment for the gatekeepers to be defeated. They were completely helpless, even though the intruder never used more than two moves... He will arrive in the city center soon. Council Head, I believe it is best for you to take refuge until the Four Great Protectors arrive."
"And leave our Root Wood behind?"
"Even if he is Ma Yeon-jeok's grandson, he will not be able to approach the World Tree. The Heaven-Piercing Bow Spirit once noted that despite his fierce temperament, he is a man who clearly distinguishes between public and private matters."
"Even so, he has absolutely no sense of propriety. Even a warrior marching to the battlefield would first make the enemy nation understand his reason for drawing his blade. How can he commit such an outrage without stating any justification...?"
The Council Head's murmur seeped quietly into the darkness.
It was then.
Suddenly, the dark room was illuminated by a blinding flash of golden lightning.
A youthful man clad in garments woven from arcs of electricity stepped inside. It was Master Golden Thunder of the World Tree. The face of the kneeling subordinate instantly brightened.
"Well, you know... once someone reaches the Purple Rank, they tend to have a bit of a temper. He probably just doesn't know any better," Master Golden Thunder said slowly. "If he grew up under Ma Yeon-jeok, he wouldn't have the eloquence to formally declare war anyway."
"Still, this is his master's hometown. He won't rashly violate this sacred place. I'll go reason with him."
There was no particular decorum in his words or actions. He vaguely mixed formal honorifics with casual speech, making it hard to tell if his tone was entirely sane or simply dreamlike.
Yet, his presence preserved the quiet, serene atmosphere of the room. It brought with it a profound sense of security.
It was then.
— While the world is in darkness.
A young man's words spread effortlessly through the Six Harmonies Sound Transmission.
It was a voice that not only echoed throughout the entire city but even pierced the deepest sanctum of the Elder's Council. In an instant, all three people—including Master Golden Thunder—fell completely silent.
"..."
— As the sword of the nation, I look upon this place.
— Rejoicing together in this pleasant land.
— Yet there is no companion to share words with...
The young man calmly recited his song-like poetic verses, his tone shifting into something utterly chilling as he delivered the final line.
— I asked my sword about the world.