A battlefield of experience had been prepared for the grandson, who was now clad in a purple long robe, had obtained the rank of Divine Sword Order's leader, become the master of Transcendent Sword, and now had to accumulate great merit.
For a moment, it was as if a typhoon had descended.
The conduit of upper dantian's power collided with Ma Yeonjeok, yet the true shockwave emanated from Jung Yeonshin.
The violent gale that tore through the air was immense, as if it sought to rend space itself.
Hwaaak—!
The spirituality of the upper dantian instantly transformed into a fierce storm. It was entirely different from internal energy, but like an energy wave, it surged outward in all directions.
The yellowish dirt of the open ground was overturned, and a thick cloud of dust rose like an explosion of thunderous force.
The formless passage crumpled inward, shattering to pieces as it struck Ma Yeonjeok's head.
Amidst all of this, for just a fleeting moment, an overwhelming presence surged from Lightning Genius, Lightning Genius of the Radiant Demon Squad.
It was as if an invisible dragon had suddenly coiled into a spiral. A vast shadow briefly draped over the mountain peaks before vanishing.
In an instant, an indescribable sense of release swept through Jung Yeonshin's body, a feeling as though his innate senses and the internal energy within him had achieved perfect unity.
But it was brief. It unraveled almost immediately.
Even so, it was enough to extinguish the sword light that had filled Jung Yeonshin's vision.
The Murong Clan's leader, with his immense internal energy control, had withdrawn the Meteor Sword Style. Only fragments of his sword aura, mixing white and colorless streaks, fluttered through the air.
It was said that supreme swordsmen existed in a state akin to Mind-Sword Unity, where their subconscious thoughts directly translated into lightning-fast sword strikes.
With no limits, their bodies moved at the speed of their intent. Among some of the most terrifying supreme masters, there were even rumors that they could kill with their energy waves the moment they willed it. The reverse was also true, if their thoughts faltered for even a second, their sword strikes would cease.
At the moment when Murong Clan's leader, Star-Radiance Grand Sword Lord, hesitated in his thoughts, his sword strike was also withdrawn.
Thus, Jung Yeonshin was left unharmed. He stood motionless, gazing downward, his long black hair flowing past his shoulders.
"..."
Murong Zhongrak gazed at the Radiant Demon Squad's leader in silence.
Then, he flicked his sword once in place.
Swak!
"A curious technique."
He spoke.
"It is exquisite. I heard of a sect that conquered Hangzhou with mere posturing martial arts, did you model your technique after that rumor?"
The Murong Clan's leader had halted his sword strike.
Anyone who witnessed his prior actions could tell, he had restrained himself out of caution against a counterattack. This was unlike him, the leader of one of the Eight Great Clans, whose every sword technique was meant to sever the strings of life with the force of natural law.
It was a rarity, an incident worthy of being called an anomaly. For a brief moment, the Radiant Demon Squad's leader's change in spirituality had reached a level almost unfathomable.
The Fan Dragon Lotus Binding Technique, which had collided with Ma Yeonjeok and dissipated, seemed different from reality. Rather than appearing as a decisive secret art, it had come across as a mere technique to disrupt offensive momentum.
Since it was a spiritual ability utilizing the upper dantian, it had no energy wave, perhaps it had been mistaken for a type of spell martial arts.
'Spell martial arts… It may not be all that different.'
Jung Yeonshin lowered his Beiming and contemplated.
Regardless, he had failed. The Fan Dragon Lotus Binding Technique had not worked on his grandfather. Something powerful enveloped his entire body, rejecting the illusory dragon forged by his will.
At that moment, Jung Yeonshin sensed something, a certain realm.
It reminded him of something the Lord of Desolate Fortress had once mentioned when feeding him a fragment of the World Tree's fruit.
The realm of the Divine Sword Order's leader.
'Where am I in comparison?'
As Jung Yeonshin locked eyes with Murong Clan's leader's deep, sword-imbued gaze, he sought to grasp the unknown that lay beyond.
Perhaps because he had briefly resonated with his grandfather's spirituality, the distance felt both impossibly vast yet strangely close.
And then—
From the sloping path below.
"Hoooh."
A roguish swordsman let out a low exclamation.
His arms, which had been crossed, loosened slightly. Soon after, his gaze drifted upward, as if surveying his crown.
In that instant, a long, flowing pink sleeve rippled in the wind like the robes of an immortal. His internal energy stirred as if resonating with the moment.
It was the conduct of an absolute being.
"A most astonishing divine technique. And a truly exceptional spirit to accompany it."
Ma Yeonjeok burst into hearty laughter. His eyes gleamed with intense curiosity, just as his personality suggested.
"I had thought to seek out a flood dragon's inner core for your sake, but you've already reached such a level… Now I am eager to see how your divine arts manifest in real combat."
At the elevated clearing where Murong Clan's leader stood opposite him, Jung Yeonshin immediately sensed it—his grandfather, having savored the aftereffects of the technique, had seen through his secret art.
He had called the Fan Dragon Lotus Binding Technique, which creates identical conditions for both combatants, an outstanding spirit.
To hear such words from a former Divine Sword Order's leader, who had surpassed the pinnacle of martial skill, was an odd sensation.
"How irritating. Let's begin."
Murong Clan's leader suddenly strode forward. Not like some supernatural demon, but with his brows slightly furrowed, like an ordinary man.
Did he find his situation—being treated as mere spectacle—distasteful? It was an unfitting position for the leader of one of the Eight Great Clans.
His steps were bold and unhindered.
Thud.
Without regard for optimal distance, he closed in, as if proclaiming that the entire world was within his sword's dominion.
The pressure was immense, like a King-Style Sword Art, pressing in from all directions. A faint mirage of transparent waves trailed behind the supreme swordsman of the Murong Clan.
Without performing any particular motion, he cleared the space for his sword's domain. Whether it be Swift Sword, Illusory Sword, or any other technique, any attack executed within this zone would be swifter and freer.
The leader of the Murong Clan. The Greatest Sword in Liangdong.
Boom— Boom—
With each step, the ground quaked deeper. From the ruptured earth, threads of sword aura surged upward.
Even by simply clearing his sword's domain, the very space around them trembled. The Radiant Demon Squad's leader's long robe clung to his skin, tightening as if being pressed.
This was no duel of multiple combatants.
This was one-on-one, a battle between Star-Radiance Grand Sword Lord and Jung Yeonshin.
A conflict that would be watched by the entire martial world.
From beneath Jung Yeonshin's feet, a thunderous roar erupted.
Ultimate Thunder.
He could not hold back now.
'It's time to go.'
In Purple.
The stones and dirt beneath their feet scraped with a rough sound as the two figures, now blurred, clashed at the center.
Zzeooooong—!
In an instant, the impact of their colliding forces surged like a storm, rushing down the sloped path and even pushing against the hems of the mounted warriors' trousers.
"...!"
The military force of the Profound Martial Alliance.
The masters regularly sent northward like tributes couldn't conceal their astonished expressions. Some even raised their eyebrows in outright shock.
Such reactions were rare, especially in front of the Profound Martial Alliance's leader, their ruler in all but name.
Standing near her father, Gun Yurin ignored the reactions of the subordinates. She scratched her long, rough-textured black hair while fixating her gaze on Jung Yeonshin.
The same was true for Tian Po, the one-armed scholar beside her. His slightly open mouth made him look anything but refined.
The Lotus Nezha was crossing swords with Star-Radiance Grand Sword Lord.
Were they truly testing their internal energy? The shifting flow of the air, as if groaning under strain, rolled down the sloped path. It was an unbelievable sight.
With his black robes and ebon hair billowing wildly, he hardly seemed human. Even the somewhat childish moniker Lotus Nezha suddenly carried its full weight.
Whoever had coined it had captured something remarkable.
Even as he was continuously pushed back, a shift was occurring, one even the weaker martial artists could sense. It was a sight to behold.
'How old was he again? Is that really a person?'
Gun Yurin felt both awe and concern.
At the very front of the Profound Martial Alliance's formation, her father's fur-lined battle robe began to bristle.
Saaaah—
An overwhelming formless energy wave slowly crept up. Just a brush against it made her skin tingle.
After the Lotus Nezha's petals had withered, this energy surged forth, now violent enough to lift the white fur mantle like a flag in the wind. The very ground beneath them seemed ready to split apart.
At that moment, Gun Yurin could voice the same thoughts as her father.
'That man is dangerous.'
It wasn't hard to guess. Given the imperial family's ties to the Profound Martial Alliance, everyone knew that harming the Radiant Demon Squad's leader here could lead to disastrous consequences.
However, Desolate Fortress was an obstruction to the Profound Martial Alliance at every turn. It was only natural that their factions clashed with the martial world's sects.
A calculation was being made.
In ten years, what would Lightning Genius become? If they severed the Radiant Demon Squad's leader's head today, how severe would the imperial punishment upon the Profound Martial Alliance be?
Her father was weighing the scales in his mind.
The current Profound Martial Alliance's leader, Monarch of Infinite Swords, Gun Wi-hoo, was an absolute grandmaster. If he willed it, he could plant his foot atop the mountain peaks in an instant. The moment a thought crossed his mind, it manifested into action.
No matter how formidable the interloper, at least one strike would reach the Radiant Demon Squad's leader, and that strike could be fatal for Jung Yeonshin, who was already struggling against Murong Clan's leader.
Swwik.
The moment her father's figure blurred, Gun Yurin's eyes wavered slightly.
She thought to herself, she had grown somewhat fond of him.
Hwaaak!
From the sloped path to the mountain peak, the air contracted as if enclosed within fortress walls. This was the wake of Profound Martial Alliance's leader, Gun Wi-hoo.
His Radiant Concealed Art was a divine technique, one that never allowed the enemy to evade.
It was the ultimate art of blunt techniques, even King-Style Sword Art was secondary to the sheer impact force of his strikes.
By weaving his internal energy with the natural force, he created a colossal gravitational pull, dragging his target toward him and colliding shoulders with them in a supreme martial execution.
His shoulder strikes, imbued with profound mysteries, had once shattered the internal energy barriers of hundreds of northern demon clansmen. In Henan, it was said that only the Shaolin Abbot could challenge him.
Kwooooooosh—!
A circular shockwave exploded in layers.
The few surviving trees were uprooted and flung away, while dust and debris surged like a tidal wave, engulfing the surroundings.
With her mastery of Life-Controlling Sight Art, Gun Yurin could clearly see her father's straight-line path, carved like a trench into the mountain peak. He was like an unstoppable comet.
The transparent, colorless internal energy barrier surrounding his body was unfathomably thick.
Radiant Divine Armor.
At a glance, it had more than ten layers.
It was as if he had prepared for an ultimate life-preserving battle, a stance that suggested even if he took a hit, it wouldn't matter.
He had determined that as long as the injury wasn't fatal, it was worth eliminating Lotus Nezha.
The Radiant Divine Armor was both a defensive aura and an offensive strike. Due to the nature of his ultimate techniques, Gun Wi-hoo's battle arts followed a highly traditional method, one where closing in on the target's proximity meant absolute destruction.
Now that he had reached striking distance, he could easily shatter Jung Yeonshin's spine.
Suddenly.
A hand, wrapped in shards of azure flame, seized the Profound Martial Alliance's leader's forearm.
It was a massive hand, large enough to completely grasp his thick arm.
It happened in a flash.
The transparent Radiant Divine Armor crumpled inward with an ear-piercing screech. From the unfamiliar hand, blue sparks scattered in all directions.
The jet-black eyebrows of Gun Wi-hoo twitched.
"You miscalculated."
A voice resonated beside him, floating in midair.
A man stood loftily, clad in a pink robe, his presence pressing down on the very atmosphere. His sheer power boiled beneath his words.
"You shouldn't have done that."
As Ma Yeonjeok twisted his waist, Gun Wi-hoo's arm was wrenched upward, so fast that not even the onlookers had time to react.
Veins bulged along Ma Yeonjeok's hand, suffused with a dragon's roar-like energy.
Riiip—!
With the sound of tearing flesh, Gun Wi-hoo's arm was ripped from his body.