A fellow disciple of Mount Hua Sect blinked.
Jung Yeonshin's lips twitched slightly. He could clearly see the forest scenery spread out above Yoo Hyun's head.
Other than the crude village and the sparse green forest, nothing obstructed his view. It was a difference in eye level that marked the gap between an adult and a boy.
The fist that Yoo Hyun had extended in his noble Plum Blossom Fist wavered awkwardly.
Soon, the young Taoist's shoulders twitched slightly. He hesitated, unsure whether to point his finger at Jung Yeonshin or not.
"You… It's you, isn't it?"
"When will you grow?"
"The fact that you're making me feel hot under the collar proves it! This is ridiculous!"
It was a reunion with one of his few close friends.
Yoo Hyun's dumbfounded expression stirred an odd emotion within Jung Yeonshin.
Somewhat satisfied yet amused, he also felt the stark contrast between himself and Yoo Hyun, who would one day live out his natural lifespan as the leader of Mount Hua Sect.
It was an inferiority complex that had taken root like an old, withered tree.
Jung Yeonshin gazed down at his friend without showing any particular expression. In any case, just a glance was enough to tease Yoo Hyun.
They say those who work with ink will be stained black. These days, living like the Lazy Flame Dragon and enjoying the moment was no longer difficult.
"You've become a Plum Blossom Swordsman."
Jung Yeonshin spoke. The moment he sensed Yoo Hyun's presence, he had subtly revealed a trace of his Radiant Wheel Energy.
Ordinary sensory perception would not have picked it up, but it was befitting of a Mount Hua elite, far more refined than the mere white warriors of Desolate Fortress.
"How did you already go through rebirth…? It is rebirth, right?"
"Yes."
"…Let's confirm one last thing. Do you remember the day we first met and sparred? You lost to me in just five forms."
"You must have trained your footwork on the bed for a long time. Back then, you fell in three—"
Jung Yeonshin's words were cut off.
Yoo Hyun, who had approached with sturdier legs than before, suddenly began tapping Jung Yeonshin's arm and shoulder with his fist in encouragement.
His expression was far from serene. His entire face showed an exaggerated look of shock.
"Here, here. What's with this extensor digitorum? Did you implant some kind of divine beast's sinew? And what about your radius? Why is it so hard? With this kind of body, if you channel your internal energy and swing a sword, just how strong would your sword force be…"
[NOTE - The extensor digitorum is a muscle in the forearm that extends the fingers. It's also known as the extensor digitorum communis. ]
"Don't touch me."
Jung Yeonshin took a step back, his expression turning serious. So that's what he was doing.
Yoo Hyun smirked and glanced at his waist.
The radiant silver sword aura of the Divine Sword Yurei stood out wherever it was. Yoo Hyun muttered, "What is that…?"
"…Anyway, you've really become a big shot. A grandmaster from Wudang descended, you know. He was traveling with us when he suddenly sensed Yeoryung Sect's leader and the Martial Dragon Association's leader. Then, out of nowhere, his body split into two and vanished. It was that Nascent Spirit ability I'd only heard about."
Yoo Hyun was rambling on when—
Swish—
Before he knew it, one of the four Plum Blossom Swordsmen gracefully descended and grabbed Yoo Hyun by the scruff of his neck, reprimanding him to maintain decorum and proper conduct.
The other three clasped their hands together in a respectful greeting toward Jung Yeonshin. The plum blossom patterns embroidered at the edges of their white sleeves drifted down gently with their garments.
A stern-faced woman stepped forward.
"Our junior has acted discourteously. This humble one is Yoo Hyang, a first-generation disciple under the sect leader's lineage in Mount Hua. You may consider me the representative of this party."
She seemed to be Yoo Hyun's senior sister.
Jung Yeonshin returned the greeting with a clasped fist and subtly surveyed his surroundings.
The village had always seemed hastily put together, but now it was even more desolate than before.
A completely collapsed inn, campfires reduced to faint embers, and dozens of wounded martial artists groaning as they lay scattered.
Among them, a shaggy-haired youth who supposedly wasn't a direct disciple of Yeoryung was also present.
"Huff… Huff…"
"My arm, my arm…!"
It was the work of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen. This had happened while Jung Yeonshin was briefly catching up with Yoo Hyun.
Before, there hadn't been any noise interrupting their conversation. That was because Mount Hua's Hidden Fragrance Drift, their movement technique, was near the level of a supreme art.
"Congratulations on your grand achievement."
Plum Blossom Swordsman Yoo Hyang spoke. Her demeanor differed from the immortals of the Nine Great Sects whom Jung Yeonshin had encountered before.
Had the feats he accumulated begun spreading across the world? A faint trace of astonishment, unable to be fully concealed, flickered in her eyes.
"I once felt your energy at the Murim Alliance. My junior's keen perception and sensitivity to internal energy are among the finest even among the sect leader's disciples, so you must indeed be the Radiant Demon Squad's leader himself."
That was why the Plum Blossom Swordsmen had left Yoo Hyun alone.
Jung Yeonshin responded with a simple nod of acknowledgment. It was not mere courtesy.
The depth of the Jung Clan's profound arts was bound to reveal itself in subtle ways, regardless of a practitioner's achievements.
"Hmm…"
The rigid expressions of Mount Hua's top experts softened slightly.
It had only been a few years since one of the twenty-four Plum Blossom Swordsmen had fought Radiant Demon Ma Jin's squad to a standstill.
Standing before the very leader of the ever-rising Radiant Demon Squad of this era was an overwhelming matter even for the swordsmen of the Nine Great Sects.
'This young man, reminiscent of the old Ban-ak, is actually the boy who shook the Murim Alliance…'
Yoo Hyang got straight to the point.
"The message that you activated the Pact of Mount Hua was safely delivered to the sect leader. Our presence here is your answer."
Jung Yeonshin thought of the Starlight Sword Diety, Yulha Nangnang, a being of great virtue and humility. So, she had refused.
'Someone like her could indeed transcend worldly ambitions.'
The memory remained vivid. The transcendent sword strike of Violet Dawn that split the heavens and earth.
Jung Yeonshin deeply acknowledged her unparalleled mastery, but it did not put his heart at ease.
How should he track the Divine Sword Order's leader? There must be more villages like this one.
"You… right now…"
Yoo Hyun, who had unknowingly come to stand beside him, pouted and looked up at him.
Yoo Hyang nodded.
"The promise made by the predecessors must naturally be upheld. There will soon be an internal contest to determine whom we will send. Unlike Desolate Fortress, the Nine Great Sects have no rigid hierarchy, so we must decide whether selection will be based on allocation or seniority."
"Ah."
"In the midst of that, word spread that you had been designated as the Divine Sword Order's leader as the purple rank, which caused some controversy. However, our sect has chosen to acknowledge it. One of the two legendary weapons of the fallen chivalry, the Transcendent Sword, has been inherited by the Divine Sword Order's leader, after all."
The grandeur of the towering Mount Hua was both magnificent and unwavering.
Even though they must have realized that Jung Yeonshin had maneuvered them as pieces on a chessboard, they displayed remarkable magnanimity.
They had dispatched elite swordsmen to help him find the opposing faction's leader in the martial duel.
'The Nine Great Sects truly are orthodox.'
Jung Yeonshin suddenly understood his grandfather's wisdom. If one, like his younger self, merely sympathized with the powerless commoners, then everything else could be achieved through dominant martial arts.
At that moment, there was a rustling sound.
Yoo Hyang pulled out a piece of paper from her sleeve.
"Take a look at this. Perhaps because their objective has not yet been swiftly achieved, we have gathered quite a few clues."
It was yellowish paper, dyed with pagoda tree flower extract. It depicted a route stretching from northern Henan through Southern Zhili and looping around Huguang, marked with a series of round dots.
Jung Yeonshin and Yoo Hyun's eyes widened.
"Huh? Senior sister, when did you even make that?"
"Silence."
Yoo Hyang glanced at Jung Yeonshin.
Map-making was a serious crime forbidden by the imperial family. It was not something to proudly display before a high-ranking official from Desolate Fortress.
Jung Yeonshin was unbothered. His long index finger pointed at the pagoda tree paper.
"A formation descending from the northeast…"
"That is the problem. Their battle formation. With this humble one's limited knowledge, I have never encountered one of this scale before. Breaking its pillars or tearing it apart entirely is difficult. To dismantle something this vast in a short time and probe its interior, not just one but several of our sect's Sword Masters would need to be present…"
Yoo Hyang spoke of the impossible.
The Heavenly Sage of Mount Hua, a swordsman who had mastered Dark Fragrance Drifting Blossoms, was said to have no more than five equals in all of Shaanxi.
But she did not finish her words.
Rumble—
Suddenly, a muffled thunderclap resounded from above. It was as if distant thunder had struck.
"What…!"
As the Plum Blossom Swordsmen simultaneously turned their heads, Jung Yeonshin, who had activated Heaven-Piercing Sight, saw far beyond the forest without obstruction.
The translucent figures of his senior warriors became visible.
The spear of Ak Surim tore through a semi-transparent barrier like a sheet of paper and pressed forward, the Iron-Legged squad leader shattered an enormous tree with his prosthetic steel leg, Xiahou Wei-Jin drove his massive fist into the ground, sending cracks racing across the dirt, and above them, Supreme Demon of Sacred Blood stood with his hands behind his back, pressing down on a dome-shaped barrier.
A path was opening. It was as if a carpet was unfurling before his eyes.
* * *
The Divine Sword Order's leader, Yong Hee-myung, was born in Chenzhou, Huguang Province, yet had no known clan or lineage. The world knew him as such.
A man of unknown origins.
It was a common slur against the current Divine Sword Order's leader.
It was not entirely unwarranted. His past had been uncovered without a shred of false rumor.
Countless demonic factions, rogue warriors, and even powerful sects had scoured Chenzhou to uncover his weaknesses or miraculous opportunities.
Ever since he inherited the Transcendent Sword, his hometown had become a bustling hub, and the village folk suffered greatly. This was a fate shared by all past Divine Sword Order's leaders.
Yong Hee-myung was no exception.
Rumor had it that when he was discovered as an infant, he was lying atop fragments of an eggshell.
The villagers who raised him revered him as a divine being.
In lakeside taverns, where Yong Hee-myung would sip his drink, a few reckless storytellers, disregarding their own lives, would ask impudent questions. Did you truly hatch from an egg, with no parents?
Each time, Yong Hee-myung would smile ambiguously and say, "I am human."
It became a phrase that naturally left his lips.
From a young age, he was exceptionally strong. His appearance was scholarly, yet his strength rivaled that of a great champion.
Boundless internal energy constantly surged like a tidal wave from his heart and lower dantian.
When he played on swings or flew kites with the village children, he would always snap the ropes or strings. Everyone assured him it was fine.
But no one ever met his gaze at an equal height, and when he saw the children off as they returned home, he was always left alone in the setting sun.
The rumors were true.
His home was a Guan Yu shrine. Yong Hee-myung was revered alongside the statue of Guan Yu as a guardian of the village's prosperity.
— Are you the ghost that feeds off Guan Yu's offerings?
[NOTE - Guan Yu is a historical and legendary figure from the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period of China.]
One day, a man clad in a purple robe suddenly appeared, looking down at him with a sarcastic smirk.
— I am not a ghost, but a man.
The young Yong Hee-myung replied to Ma Yeonjeok, the Tyrant Hero. At the time, he never imagined he would later think the exact opposite.
The Divine Sword Order's leader had to be an unparalleled, superhuman existence. If one wished to protect the people of the martial world merely with a name, in a land where all manner of monsters and demons roamed freely—
'Yes, to them, I must be a ghost, not a man.'
Just like the boy who once lived with the statue of Guan Yu in the shrine.
Yong Hee-myung slightly tilted his head. Memories of his childhood flashed through his mind like a lantern.
Kwaaaah—!
A pale storm wind swept past his ears. It was the perfected blade wind of the King-Style Sword Arts. A stinging pain spread along the nape of his neck.
"Your blade has some bite to it."
Yong Hee-myung remarked nonchalantly.
It was of little use. Behind him, six towering trees, slashed by the sword wind, crashed down with a deafening roar.
A thick cloud of dust surged. A wisp of dirt sluggishly crawled up his bare foot.
The entire area had been turned to wasteland.
The once-lush forest was now a flattened plain, and the corpses of hundreds, each severed in half, were gradually swallowed by the rising dust.
Yet, the purple robe of the Divine Sword Order's leader fluttered mockingly.
Only the young man in a blue martial robe, coughing up blood at his side, stood as proof of the overwhelming difference in strength.
It was the outcome of a battle that had lasted over a thousand exchanges.
Namgoong First Sword, who had been watching in silence, suddenly gestured toward someone.
A gaunt middle-aged man stiffened his posture and stammered as he spoke.
"Ah, still no sign of anything! This is the Sequential Formation that our leader poured his heart into!"
The Eccentric Venom Brewer, Chu Gu-jin.
One of the five strongest in Yeoryung Sect.
Despite his unimpressive appearance, he was known for achieving whatever he set his mind to with his high martial prowess and deceptive speech.
His mastery of stealth techniques and expanded sensory perception had never once failed to track the Divine Sword Order's leader.
It was the power of his Nine Provinces Expansive Divine Arts, cultivated to its zenith.
Heh, hehe.
He let out an eerie, twisted laugh. Perhaps because he believed he had earned the greatest merit in the Divine Sword Order's leader's capture.
The wounded blue rank warrior, Yeon So-ha, bit his lip as he coughed blood.
"A rat in human form…"
Meanwhile, Namgoong First Sword had no interest in a mere blue-robed warrior.
He spoke slowly, his gaze fixed on Yong Hee-myung.
"Desolate Fortress must trust you immensely, seeing as they haven't arrived despite your predicament."
Yong Hee-myung's lips curled upward.
"That is because my command is absolute. With a single word from the Divine Sword Order's leader, even the mountains and rivers bow. How could the esteemed warriors of my fortress be swayed by mere demonic schemes?"
He said with confidence.
In the distance, Chu Gu-jin let out a cackling laugh.
"A dead man speaks too much! If you obediently stretch out your neck, either the Arrow of Dark Night War or Namgoong's sword will swiftly separate your head from your body!"
His voice cawed like a crow, but his slitted eyes gleamed like sharp, blue sword light.
Chu Gu-jin was a central figure of Yeoryung Sect, orchestrating grand plans across the martial world and placing Namgoong First Sword and the leader of the Dark Night War in their respective positions.
His words alone had the power to cut off a man's breath.
"How tiresome."
The Divine Sword Order's leader muttered.
It was sincere. From the Peng Clan to this place, he had slain well over a thousand elite warriors. The Energy-Scattering Poison was beginning to creep toward his heart, disrupting his internal energy flow.
Given proper time to regulate his energy, it would be nothing. But the Heaven-Spanning Net, meticulously woven by Yeoryung's leader, had left him no room to even rest.
"Will the Divine Sword Order's leader of Desolate Fortress swim across the River of Three Crossings or cross it on a dignified boat, I wonder?"
Chu Gu-jin's twisted grin widened.
Namgoong First Sword angled his blade toward the sun.
"You seem well-rested. Let us cross blades again. This time, I shall unleash Surpassing Limits Martial Arts."
"Surpassing Limits? I thought the Namgoong Clan never had such a technique."
Yong Hee-myung furrowed his brows as he spoke. Namgoong First Sword shook his head and firmly grasped his family's treasured sword.
"That was before I attained true understanding. The Martial Dragon Association pursues the utmost perfection of the Infinite Martial Path. The swordsman of Desolate Fortress… Yes, that young man called Azure-Eyed Demonic Swordsman—watching his blade work allowed me to grasp the final missing piece of my enlightenment. I was so overjoyed that, for the first time ever, I spared a warrior of Desolate Fortress."
Thump—
A sudden reverberation echoed, like the beating of a heart. An unseen force began to fill the desolate forest.
"It is called Sword Night Coats the Moonlight."
Namgoong First Sword said quietly.
"Put this on and step back. It will serve as a solid protective energy barrier, at least once. Take it."
"You said it was fifty years too soon."
Yeon So-ha grumbled but subtly shifted his steps to the side.
Under normal circumstances, the Order's leader would have used Void Grasp to hand over the garment.
But now, it seemed he was in no condition to do so. Whether his internal energy circulation was not functioning properly, or he was preoccupied with keeping an eye on the leader of the Dark Night War and Namgoong First Sword, who were aiming their One Kill Every Ten Li at him from afar, was uncertain.
Indeed, throughout the chaotic battle, the arrows of the leader of the Dark Night War had fallen like bombardments.
It was then.
Suddenly, Chu Gu-jin's expression changed.
He was the central pillar of the Heaven-Spanning Net. Every formation, mechanism, and trap entrusted to him by the leader of Yeoryung Sect was within his sensory grasp through supreme arts.
"Lord Namgoong, Lord Namgoong…!"
"What is it?"
"Something… something is coming from ten li away…!"
"Ten li?"
Namgoong First Sword tilted his head slightly. But Chu Gu-jin's gaze was not on him.
His typically flippant speech unconsciously grew solemn, and his heightened perception flared like a comet in response to an explosive surge of supernatural strength from afar.
Boom—
At first, it was faint. It sounded as if someone far away had playfully struck a drum.
Chu Gu-jin's mouth fell open. A dazed voice slipped out.
"Twelve Villages, Martial Dragon Association's Celestial Eight Souls Formation… penetrated… in a straight line…!"
"What did you just say?"
Namgoong First Sword's question came just as a larger roar echoed.
Boom—
"Fourteen Villages, Taemo Mountain Fortress' Heaven-Slaying Old Monster… slain…!"
Chu Gu-jin murmured as if spitting out the words.
Something was approaching at an astonishing speed. It was practically flying.
By then, even the supreme masters who had confined their senses to each other, even the heavily wounded Yeon So-ha, could feel the presence outside.
Boom— Kwa-kwakwakwa—!
The ground trembled violently. The thunderous sound that had begun from afar refused to cease. It shook the vision of everyone present, drawing closer at an alarming rate.
The intensity escalated. Chu Gu-jin said no more.
Not when the swirling tempest of sword energy at Fifteenth Village shredded the formations of eighteen sects under Yeoryung.
Not when a mysterious figure at Sixteenth Village leaped over the overlapping heavy artillery of the Ten Li Radiance Formation in a single bound.
Not even when the moment finally arrived—when the walls of the Seventeenth Village, surrounded by the explosive formations of Thunder Bombs, were entirely engulfed by a far more overwhelming vortex of palm force.
Rumble—!
The very earth quaked.
Chu Gu-jin swiftly turned his head.
A youthful warrior in a blue robe came into view. A mere fledgling, clutching the most precious purple robe of Desolate Fortress. His bewildered expression held an odd glimmer of expectation.
That was the future of Desolate Fortress.
No matter what variable arose, he had to die.
The current Divine Sword Order's leader would be dealt with by the supreme masters, one way or another.
Bang!
A cloud of dust exploded from behind Chu Gu-jin's heels. His form distorted as he lunged forward in an instant.
To one side, Namgoong First Sword lifted his treasured blade, responding in kind. His formless sword aura expanded, threatening to fill the sky.
Somewhere farther away, the leader of the Dark Night War was surely preparing to unleash the greatest One Kill Every Ten Li in all the world.
World-shaking swordmasters aimed their strikes at Yong Hee-myung.
"Put it on!"
The Divine Sword Order's leader shouted, so urgently that he used the Art of Lip Synchronization.
'That works too.'
Chu Gu-jin's eyes curved into crescent moons. A look of triumphant satisfaction.
Ripping apart the purple robes, the very symbol of Desolate Fortress' Divine Sword Order, with his own hands—
That, too, would be an accomplishment rarely seen in the martial world.
Activating a pale, robust protective energy barrier, he reached forward.
At the end of his movement, Yeon So-ha had not yet managed to fully don the purple garment.
Chu Gu-jin's fingers tensed, sharpened to a knife's edge.
He directed an exact, deadly energy strike toward Yeon So-ha's solar plexus.
'It's over…'
Just then.
A flash of light flickered in the air.
The relentless sunlight wavered, twisting strangely.
Chu Gu-jin, who had been streaking toward Yeon So-ha like an arrow, suddenly turned his eyes to the side.
A translucent barrier was rushing toward him.
It was the veil of the King-Style Sword Arts, deployed mere steps away by Namgoong First Sword.
It would serve as a more than adequate protective defense, surpassing most barriers.
Time fragmented endlessly into moments.
Relief spread across Chu Gu-jin's face. Then, light carved a vertical line across it. A resplendent silver streak.
"…?"
A deafening roar erupted beneath his feet.
The pressure was so overwhelming, it felt as if his ears were being gripped and shaken violently.
Beneath him, a silver sword stood vertically, impaled deep into the earth.
Hwaaaah—!
The recoil from the Sword Projection erupted, sending a violent gust soaring into the sky.
Chu Gu-jin's bisected body was flung upward, landing in a heap. His unfocused eyes caught a final image.
A long-haired young man was descending, landing gently on the ground.
The purple robe, caught in the rising wind, drifted down with a whisper and settled upon the shoulders of the black-robed youth.