Chapter 495: The Brightfolk Tree (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 495: The Brightfolk Tree (7)
The Elder's Council of the World Tree.
Suddenly, particles of green light seeped out from beneath the threshold.
A soft halo illuminated the surroundings. Instantly, the skin of those filling the hall appeared even paler, and the shadows cast over the woman's face were completely swept away.
She was the First Elder of the clan.
Compared to the typical features of the Brightfolk, her cheeks were somewhat sunken. It was a look that contrasted with her gently downturned eyes, making her appear tense and obstinate.
Only the gentle swaying of her dark green Heavenly Silkworm silk robes—personally bestowed upon her by Emperor Geonreung in the distant past—softened her sharp demeanor.
"It is a declaration of war," she muttered.
The words uttered by the Wilderness Sunfall of the Desolate Fortress were unmistakably just that, even if he had maintained a brief sense of formality.
Beside the First Elder, Master Golden Thunder clapped his hands, his eyes widening. "Ah! Is that how it is? He certainly has a nice voice, though."
"How utterly arrogant...! Entering this land without permission, speaking of the National Sword, and discussing the world with a mere blade..."
A swordsman, who had risen from his seat mid-report to the First Elder, flashed a blue light from his eyes. In an instant, an invisible wind whipped up around his entire body.
Whoosh!
But it was short-lived. The Brightfolk swordsman's violently fluttering robes fell still as if by magic. Master Golden Thunder had placed a hand on his shoulder.
He was a man known to have attained Taoist enlightenment after receiving a great lesson from Zhang Sanfeng. He was the very definition of wu-wei—effortless action.
At this moment, his face was as pale as a bolt of lightning, utterly indifferent to the affairs of the world. It was completely devoid of human emotion.
"Do not be restless," he said in a low voice. It was as if lightning flickered within his tone. Master Golden Thunder narrowed his eyes and slowly continued. "The Root Wood is right here. He is not someone you are qualified to discuss."
"...My apologies."
Startled, the swordsman bowed his head. Immediately after, Master Golden Thunder suddenly grinned and patted his shoulder.
"I wonder if I can leave my post. Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal... Since the fiery First Elder came out and Lord Yongji, the wealthy landowner, went in, it should be my turn next."
"The grandson of Ma Yeon-jeok has walked right in. We must prioritize the bloodline of the Nightmare before us," the First Elder said quietly.
Master Golden Thunder shook his head. "I don't know about that. The energy our Tree is consuming is growing by leaps and bounds. At this rate, the world might just collapse..."
"Thunderclap."
"Yes, yes." Master Golden Thunder lightly shrugged at the First Elder's use of his other name. "Let's go see his face."
Crackle.
As he turned toward the exit, streaks of lightning flickered along his sleeves.
* * *
When he was staying in Beijing, Yong Hee-myung had offered him a piece of advice, half-jokingly.
— The Commanders of the Divine Sword Corps have historically been masters of both the pen and the sword. They were skilled in both verbal sparring and swordplay. If they were pushed back in one, they would overwhelm with the other... Your maternal grandfather was usually like that. In any case, Flash Art, if you want to take the Sword of Divine Attainment from me, you must let the whole world know that your tongue is undefeated. The power of the Desolate Fortress stems from the hearts of the people, and those hearts sway back and forth depending on the movement of tongues and brushes.
Jeong Yeon-shin had taken it seriously.
One could lose in a life-and-death duel. That was because the fortune of that day had to be left to the heavens. But if one was pushed back when contesting justification, they could hardly be called a martial artist of the main fortress. They could not claim to wield the most righteous sword in the world.
Asking the World with a Sword.
Having concluded his thoughts with those words, Jeong Yeon-shin stood still for a long time.
This was after he had entered the city of the Brightfolk. He did not move, even as the surrounding encirclement grew so thick it obscured the scenery.
A land without day or night.
Though he had stood blankly for quite a while, it felt as if time had not passed at all. Just like the long, drawn-out lifespan of the Brightfolk.
Slide.
Resting his arm on Lingering Thunder, he slightly lowered his eyelids.
Particles of green light, whose nature he still could not fathom, shattered one by one against the back of his hand. He felt no distinct sensation. The surroundings were simply illuminated in a pale green glow.
More of the people here need to gather.
The reason he had uttered those crude song lyrics earlier was to maintain the dignity of the main fortress's Purple Rank. He must not act like the heterodox sects. His conduct and speech had to be entirely different. As someone who must always uphold the dignity of the Desolate Fortress, he could not bring shame upon his seniors.
Yet, Jeong Yeon-shin's stance was somewhat detached from the noble clan. This was evident from the hundred-odd experts silently surrounding him.
"……"
They looked somewhat bewildered. None of them seemed to accept his words. Although there was no one who failed to understand Yeon-shin's poetic verse about the difference between the outside world and this place, their collective attitude was simply: Why is that a problem?
At this moment, that exact response was written plainly on each of their faces. They did not even bother to hide their expressions.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly nodded and spoke. "I am saying that I will draw my sword."
"...I do not understand. Our city has nothing to do with your world."
A person stepped forward. She was a figure of grand stature, perfectly fitting the great bow slung across her back. She looked straight at Jeong Yeon-shin, her eyes shimmering with the light of pale-green internal energy.
"Your grandfather had his own reasons for what he did. Of course, he also caused incidents that were difficult for us to tolerate, but he never challenged such fundamental matters. Your words and actions are nothing more than a senseless outrage."
"A senseless outrage?" When Jeong Yeon-shin asked back in a low voice, she nodded.
"We each have our own righteousness. It is to protect the land we belong to while fulfilling our respective duties. For you, it is your country and its commoners; for us, it is this World Tree."
"……"
"The worlds we have lived in are so fundamentally different, and yet you know nothing. Naturally, you have no right to dictate the affairs of our clan."
The Brightfolk expert with the great bow calmly concluded. Following her, several others began to chime in. Rather than aggressively pushing him, it felt as though they were layering their own melodious verses over hers.
"Do not cross the line any further."
"Your melody failed to convince us."
"Even if you are the sword of a nation, you cannot face the Four Great Protectors of the world's clans alone..."
"There is no need to apologize. Mistakes born of ignorance are like puddles in the dusk. Anyone can step into them unawares, so it is fortunate that your sword remains in its sheath."
Each of their voices possessed a subtle rhythm and melody. Even the refined scholars of Hangzhou reciting poetry could not compare to them.
Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly recalled the boy who had spoken so openly and without secrets. His attitude toward the village elder, Jong-yeon, naturally became respectful.
It was then.
"Cheon-hwa! I heard you became the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps? How on earth did you convince the Emperor to let someone with your temper wield the Sword of Divine Attainment..."
The youthful voice of a young man descended along with a golden light, landing right in front of Jeong Yeon-shin.
Hum.
A flashing light source that brightly illuminated the vicinity took the shape of a human, transforming into a young man clad entirely in gold. Soon after, whispers of "Master Golden Thunder" rippled through the crowd.
"Huh? You're not Shin Cheon-hwa." The young man who appeared in this manner jerked his upper body back the moment he saw Jeong Yeon-shin, a look of genuine surprise on his face. "Who is this kid?"
"Protector, that is..." The Brightfolk expert who had previously told Jeong Yeon-shin he lacked the right parted her lips toward the young man. It was the unique telepathy of the Brightfolk, aligning their voices with the wind.
Jeong Yeon-shin guessed the identity of the intruder. To be precise, thanks to what he had heard from the elder, Jong-yeon, he knew exactly what kind of person Master Golden Thunder was.
One of the four pillars of the World Tree.
He was said to be a peerless expert who had attained great enlightenment through the martial teachings bestowed by Perfected Zhang Sanfeng.
Crackle, crackle—
The lightning qi permeating the young man's entire body pricked at Jeong Yeon-shin's skin. It felt as though some invisible domain had unfolded. It was incredibly mysterious.
Though he did not know why, he had an immediate intuition that he would not be able to freely wield metal within Master Golden Thunder's combat interval. An image formed in his mind of his sword path warping uncontrollably.
This was the insight of his Upper Dantian.
A person capable of halving even the formidable power of Sword Control. He was indeed worthy of being called an old monster who had guarded the World Tree for a long time. Of course, from Master Golden Thunder's perspective, Jeong Yeon-shin would just look like a rising star who had appeared out of nowhere.
I must seal the Lightning-Flash Sword Ridge Style. I should face him with illusory steel-type martial arts like Ultimate Lightning, along with fist and leg techniques and the Body Protection Scripture...
Just as Jeong Yeon-shin was lowering his hand from the hilt of Lingering Thunder, Master Golden Thunder slapped his own forehead.
"Ah, right! The grandson of the Nightmare!"
"The Nightmare?"
As Jeong Yeon-shin muttered, Master Golden Thunder suddenly pointed a finger at him. "Everything they said is correct. Every single word is right! How dare a secular person tell us what to do?"
"You shouldn't act like this here! When you grow up, you'll be tossing and turning in bed, kicking your blankets in regret! With talent like yours, you might end up becoming an absolute master of kicking techniques...!"
"You all," Jeong Yeon-shin cut him off.
At this moment, he overlaid the mental image of the great hero with the greatest tongue in the world onto his own body, just as he had once overlaid the divine dragon holding a fan onto Lingering Thunder.
Instantly, an auspicious energy rose within his body and carried into his voice.
"...planted the World Tree in the very heart of this nation."
Step.
Taking a step forward, the distance between him and Master Golden Thunder narrowed. Even as he felt the domain of thunder and lightning slicing at his entire body, Jeong Yeon-shin slowly continued.
"And you used the Imperial Army, the Desolate Fortress, and the Nine Sects and One Gang as a natural shield against the invasions of heterodox sects, foreign forces, and the strange, violent, chaotic, and supernatural beings seeking the renowned fruit of the World Tree."
"Hmm?"
"Even the clothes you wear are fabrics of the imperial court. That luster and texture... I have seen them in the Forbidden City. The nobles of Beijing wear them. Garments of Heavenly Silkworm silk, easy to wash and invulnerable to blades. I heard their color does not fade even over long years."
"Is that so?" Master Golden Thunder raised his arm with an innocent look. His brilliant golden sleeves hung down uselessly long. But Jeong Yeon-shin did not stop speaking.
"Furthermore, the cluster of stone-tiled houses lined up here was built by the hands of this nation's Ironfolk artisans. The Four Treasures of the Study you use, your various side dishes, and even the dried meat eaten by your martial artists cannot be made here. You do not even raise livestock, claiming it depletes the earth's energy. Most importantly, you must also know this: wherever even a fraction of the nation's money is involved, the interference of the Censorate and the Desolate Fortress is inevitable."
The surroundings fell silent.
Only the blades of grass, generating their own wind, rustled and rubbed against each other at his feet. Meanwhile, Jeong Yeon-shin rotated the Law-Transcending Halo Qi within his body nine times as he parted his lips.
"This city thoroughly enjoys the price of lives paid through the labor of the nation and the tributes of the commoners. Or is there some circumstance here that I am unaware of? Perhaps you pay tribute in return for being allowed to maintain such a dignified existence, or you secretly send out powerful figures to aid the outside world?"
"Huh...?" Master Golden Thunder let out a dazed sound. The gathered Brightfolk kept their mouths shut, offering no reply.
"You dismiss the power and sacrifice that preserve this land as matters of another world. Far from contributing even slightly to the nation, you enjoy the very foundation of your lives for free. I have seen many such people in the Jianghu, and I have always called them the heterodox sects." Then, Jeong Yeon-shin quietly asked, "Are you all any different?"
The silence deepened further.
While the green particles floating in the air drifted gently through the quiet, a golden spark suddenly flared up in a corner of Jeong Yeon-shin's vision.
"Are we any different?"
Before he knew it, Master Golden Thunder was standing right beside him. He stood with his back straight and arms crossed, looking as natural as if he had been standing with Jeong Yeon-shin from the very beginning.
"……"
He was the perfect ally. It had suddenly turned out that way.
A massive wave of shock spread across the faces of the surrounding Brightfolk. Their composure, which had been as tranquil as an ancient tree, was completely shattered.
Jeong Yeon-shin was equally surprised, but he did not show it. He slowly opened his mouth, bringing his right index and middle fingers together to form a Sword Secret Finger.
"I have spoken for too long."
Master Golden Thunder, standing beside him, turned serious. "No, it wasn't long at all. You can say more."
"...This is a technique called Sky Torrent. Out of respect for my master's homeland, I shall declare its range in advance. A single strike can pierce through three li."
"Huh?"
The moment Master Golden Thunder let out a dumbfounded exclamation, stopping mid-encouragement, Jeong Yeon-shin spoke.
"I must see the reality of the World Tree with my own eyes."
Jeong Yeon-shin's figure violently distorted, blurring like the swipe of a wild beast's claw. His body vanished, leaving only an afterimage.
Immediately after, the ground split in a straight line as if in a dream. The streak of light traversed the distance in an instant, striking the largest pavilion in the city. A moment later, a deafening roar finally caught up.
KABOOM—!
The Brightfolk Elder's Council.
It was the place where the True Body of the World Tree resided.