"Desolate Fortress is a haven for heroes."
The Young Sect Leader said with one corner of their mouth raised beneath the silver mask.
"But in the eyes of martial artists, there are no greater fools. With such martial prowess, rushing into what is clearly a death trap – if that's not stupidity, what is it? Even just becoming a Blue-rank would allow one to act as a king in any regional martial world."
In any village.
They continued speaking, wrapped in streams of pitch-black flames like a curtain around their entire body.
A mythical appearance. The black flames that flickered magnificently around his body contrasted with his entirely white clothing, looking almost like ceremonial robes worn for a precious event.
"Receiving just a few taels of silver as a monthly salary while using such powerful martial arts for heroic deeds? Even frequently clashing with major sects. Many die because of it."
"I don't understand your intent."
Jeong Yeon-shin, who had spread a colorless lotus beneath his feet, was gripping the upper part of the Flowing Star Sword's scabbard at his waist. He had already entered a combat stance.
He had chosen Ultimate Thunder rather than Fan Dragon Treading Lotus Technique, so he needed to gain the upper hand within the time his martial arts could be maintained.
Fortunately, the energy of Ultimate Thunder that raced through his acupoints as if tearing them apart no longer burdened Jeong Yeon-shin as it had before.
The bone transformation he had conceived with the mental image of the Desolate Fortress Lord had greatly extended the duration of Ultimate Thunder.
However.
'I can't read anything.'
This was why he couldn't draw his sword readily.
It was an extremely unfamiliar situation.
He had always lived in a world where he could foresee the trajectory of strikes aimed at vital points, the internal energy breathing that would guide the battle, and the directions of footwork movements. But now, facing Yelü Zhen, the entire world was silent.
The Ming Cult's Young Sect Leader.
They accurately understood the implications of their own energy waves, breaths, and extremely subtle habits.
By thoroughly controlling everything, they revealed no information. Their innate perceptive ability and control over internal energy were truly tremendous.
'If I rush in carelessly, I'll be caught by a counterattack.'
But the Young Sect Leader seemed to feel a similar sensation to Jeong Yeon-shin.
The dark blue pupils visible through the eye holes of the silver mask revealed slight bewilderment as they scanned Jeong Yeon-shin's entire body.
"…In any case, unless one is as strange as Namgung First Sword, it's unlikely for a Desolate Fortress martial artist who encounters a peerless master in the martial world to survive. Even then, it's only because he gained insight into developing the emperor sword form from Blue Eye Demon Sword's sword wind… They say that until then, Namgung Clan Leader's emperor sword was considered superior among the Namgung direct lineage."
Meanwhile, their demeanor as they clenched and unclenched their hand wrapped in black currents seemed extremely relaxed at a glance.
"It's better to focus on visible incidents rather than hopeless endeavors. If even the squad leaders of Desolate Fortress, with their reliable subordinates, cannot return on their own, it must be a death trap for anyone. Why do you think Blue Eye Demon Sword's anecdote is so widely known? Because such incidents are extremely rare."
Even as they spoke at length, the black flame ceremonial robe surrounding the Young Sect Leader's body was incredibly rough and magnificent.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly ran his thumb along the scabbard of the Flowing Star Sword in his grasp. And he thought.
'He is not taking the first move.'
A pressure like ice water cutting into his nape. The opponent must feel what he feels.
He hadn't expected such an unremarkable fact to be so terrifying.
'I must draw before self-destruction.'
If nothing is visible, then I should extend my sword even if nothing can be read. He rotated the Luminous Wheel in his heart even more fiercely.
The colorless lotus spread beneath his legs began to shake violently.
Oh?
It was the Young Sect Leader.
An immediate reaction. Yelü Zhen, who had raised the black flames even larger, flashed his ominously dark blue eyes.
It was a gaze that had been flickering like lightning since the moment they sensed the dharma power of the Luminous Wheel Technique.
"So, what I'm saying is that we two, unique in the world, should rightfully turn our eyes to other matters. First, while tearing into a wild boar…"
Their tone carried solemn dignity, but it didn't match the content uttered by their lips. Apart from the dizziness imbued in the words "unique in the world."
'Is this provocation?'
Jeong Yeon-shin ignored it and took a true step.
He is a martial artist.
There was no surer means of seizing the initiative in conversation than comparing martial prowess.
His martial world had always been like this. Moreover, this was a matter concerning the well-being of his fellow squad leaders.
Boom!
As soon as he stamped the ground with his right foot, the Seventh Apostle beside him took a step back. It seemed she also had no intention of joining forces.
Whether due to her martial arts-obsessed temperament, or out of consideration for the Grandmaster's dignity, was unclear. Whatever the reason, it was what Jeong Yeon-shin desired as well.
'Thunder Annihilation Sword Style.'
He drew the Flowing Star Sword and thrust it forward. As always, the first move was Judgment Qilin.
The fierce wind arising from his full-body foot energy pushed back the travel pack hanging below his shoulders, heavily pressing against his lower back, and the trajectory of the white blade that began at his waist raced forward, tearing through the atmosphere.
The sword strike that reached the Young Sect Leader's solar plexus in a straight line. Immediately after, the roar of the sword draw that followed like an explosion chased after the blade.
Kuung!
The Flowing Star Sword collided with the back of the Young Sect Leader's raised hand.
At the same time, Jeong Yeon-shin clearly saw it. The sight of the black flames surrounding the Young Sect Leader's hand being torn apart in all directions for an instant.
Kwaaang—!
Jeong Yeon-shin's body rose about half a zhang as if bouncing.
The sword protected by internal energy nearly shattered after just one exchange.
Black flame fragments bored into the blade, causing tremendous vibrations. The recoil accumulated up to his forearm was immediately enormous.
'It was true.'
The recent news that the Ming Cult's Young Sect Leader had single-handedly killed the master of the Thirteen Evil Sects, Pure Demon Alliance. It was certainly not an empty rumor. Jeong Yeon-shin was certain after this single exchange.
He, who had briefly floated in the air, swung down the Flowing Star Sword again without showing his surprise.
This was right after he had released the rebound that had made his entire body surge upward through muscles minutely adjusted in an instant.
Thunder Annihilation Sword Style, Nine Verdant River.
In that moment, the aftermath of power that spread from the sword with a whining sound shattered the surrounding trees like a storm.
Had he not expected a chain technique? The Young Sect Leader, who had raised his eyes toward the Flowing Star Sword rushing down at his crown, sent a mental image like sound transmission through their upper dantian. What an incredibly powerful technique.
And he extended the thick sleeve of his windproof robe forward… In the extremely slowed time divided into instants, where upper dantians resonated like tremors at the extreme.
Thump—
The Young Sect Leader's hand pulsed like a heartbeat with a semi-transparent resonance.
Suddenly, a blue light stream appeared before that palm, moving with a sizzling sound as if to burn the void, drawing a large circle, and in an instant, what appeared to be ancient characters and strange patterns filled its interior.
The speed of drawing the spell formation was abnormal.
As soon as internal energy manifested from the palm, some technique was completed. It felt almost as if a pre-made sheet of paper had been pulled out of thin air.
The casting was faster than any sword draw. It was a sight that shattered the commonly discussed limitations of spell martial arts.
'Extreme Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown? That's right, but there's more.'
Jeong Yeon-shin, immersed in the same mire of time as the Young Sect Leader, thought as he strongly swung down his sword.
Just as his martial arts had their own independent system, this must be a strength unique to the Young Sect Leader's personal martial arts.
Kiiing—
It took only an instant for the characters and patterns arranged in the blue light spell formation to begin rotating, intertwining with each other.
The streams of black flames that had somehow hidden behind it were sucked into the spell formation, colliding with themselves, and in that gap, blue lightning that had arisen shot up outside the formation with a thick body.
Crackle—!
Jeong Yeon-shin's eyelashes rose slightly. He too could think like a ray of light in the realm of instantaneous speed.
'That technique is…'
That's not the Sima Evil Path's energy that would be destroyed by dharma power, but lightning itself. The Young Sect Leader had transformed the demonic energy characteristic of the Heavenly Demon bloodline into natural qi in his own way.
Something they had done immediately after exchanging a single move with Jeong Yeon-shin. The title of world's greatest genius was truly fitting. The sight of blue lightning being drawn up toward the Flowing Star Sword in streams was truly terrifying.
A white light flashed in Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes.
Still floating in the air, maintaining the posture of swinging down his sword.
The Lowly Revelation Technique he had activated before exchanging moves began to thoroughly analyze the qualities of the lightning, transmitting information to his mind.
'It's possible.'
The Luminous Wheel Technique in his Baihui acupoint, faster than blood flow, created a spring of analysis and reverse calculation in his mind. Along with the roar of light clusters heard only in his head.
An insight close to instinct arose.
How could he receive that blue lightning without harm?
'The repulsive nature, the extremely minute differences in quality…'
He measured the nature and structure of the lightning approaching close enough to dazzle his eyes by sensation alone, fitting that raw insight into the hundreds of lines of incantations he had created so far.
Simultaneously, the Luminous Wheel energy that had raced down to the Yongquan acupoint in his foot following the verses of Ten Li Gentle Light and Radiant Wing Five Steps formed an extremely thin energy membrane in his leather shoes.
With a flow so strange that even Jeong Yeon-shin himself could hardly understand it rationally.
An irregular crackling sound spread from beneath his feet.
'This will do.'
In the next moment, Jeong Yeon-shin crossed the void, stepping on the lightning that had split into hundreds of streams. The slowed time returned to its normal speed.
The lightning that had been surging upward unhindered was crushed beneath his feet, bursting into blue light clusters with a sizzling sound.
Walking on lightning.
It wasn't even void treading. Gasps were released from various places around. They were Ming Cult masters who had been hiding with concealment techniques.
Jeong Yeon-shin, who had stepped on and suppressed the rising lightning streams in two steps, landed behind the Young Sect Leader. The Young Sect Leader, who glanced back at him, twisted up the corner of their mouth.
"I've never seen someone like you before. There really was another."
"..."
Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer.
Originally, it was not uncommon for the ancient ancestors of the Nine Sects to create martial arts by observing the principles of all things and the forms of great nature.
Taiji Wisdom Sword, Purple Mist Divine Skill, Azure Cloud Red Mist Sword, Cloud Dragon Great Eight Forms, and other Taoist martial arts.
Above all, the Young Sect Leader seemed relaxed at this moment.
This must have been something the Ming Cult's Young Sect Leader had been doing for much longer than the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader.
Twisting the subtleties of martial arts, twisting them again, reverse-calculating, and creating fatal incantations against the enemy's martial arts again.
If Jeong Yeon-shin were to try walking on lightning again, the Young Sect Leader would make a fatal variation to that technique.
In the end, it was repetition.
Whose skill would be superior?
He wasn't sure yet. The current Radiant Demon Wing Leader decided not to hastily judge the Young Sect Leader, who must have lived three years longer than himself.
The method of drawing natural qi from demonic energy in that brief moment was that shocking.
He slowly parted his lips.
"I felt your upper dantian mental imagery. It was strongly connected. You'll have to be extremely careful if you want to deceive me."
"That's what I'm saying."
The Young Sect Leader smirked. It was a strangely self-deprecating smile.
"Now that we've had a round, shall we get to the main point? I don't know what the Desolate Fortress squad leaders who came this way are doing, or where they're lying… However…"
"Speak."
"It might be related to what the Golden Wing Sect is doing. If your companions weren't defeated by some peerless master they encountered on the road, they might be trapped in a world where a rain dragon dwells."
"The world of a rain dragon?"
"It's a kind of spell formation. Dragons are mythical creatures that spread formations throughout the world and hide their bodies in another world. To draw such a monstrous being down to our lower realm, one must sacrifice cultivators who have refined excellent energy…"
The Young Sect Leader slowly gestured with their chin toward Jeong Yeon-shin.
"The sect that possesses the most such individuals is Desolate Fortress. As I said earlier, these days there are no consequences either."
"..."
"Do you know that the Golden Wing Sect was originally an alliance? It's an incredibly large faction. The Ten Perfections Sect is likely to be involved as well. Though they say the Ten Perfections Sect Leader was defeated by the Blood Flame Cult Leader, he didn't die, being one of the Thirteen Evil Sects masters after all. A rain dragon's cintamani or inner pill would be more than enough for recovery."
[TL Note- Cintamani a mythical, wish-fulfilling jewel, often depicted as a pearl, symbolizing spiritual attainment and enlightenment.]
Even now, I have more than enough to subdue one of your Black-ranks— The Young Sect Leader, who had spoken in an archaic manner, spread both arms exaggeratedly.
"Won't you search for the truth with me? I've made quite a good plan. If you feel it's not right at any point, you can turn your sword on me."
Several days passed like that.
Jeong Yeon-shin arrived in Chengdu, Sichuan, with the Seventh Apostle by his side. The Ming Cult's Young Sect Leader was on one side.
The official road in the city that should have been crowded with people was quiet.
This was due to an enormous rumor that had spread.
Sichuan Tang Sect.
Golden Wing Sect.
Ten Perfections Sect…
"They say Myriad Heavens Flower Rain couldn't exert its power. It couldn't keep up with the Golden Wing Sect Leader's Dragon-Slaying Scale-Treading Body Technique…"
"Lower your voice. Do you think the Tang Sect is just a toothless tiger?"
"Facts are facts. It's not like we could understand even if we saw it with our own eyes anyway."
"It seems the Sima Evil Path will dominate Sichuan for a while… I wonder if Huguang will be a better place to live."
"Only the Tang twins are to be pitied now."
"Why don't you worry about your own granary instead."
The story was that three major factions had held a meeting in front of commoners, and Tang Clan Leader Poison King Tang Yun-huang had been miserably defeated by the Golden Wing Sect Leader.
It was a topic shaking the martial world.
They said the meeting continuing today at the Phoenix Perch Inn, known as Sichuan's finest inn, was a place to forcibly extract support from the Tang Sect before going to capture the rain dragon.
"Where are you going? We should first unpack at the inn…"
Jeong Yeon-shin ignored the Young Sect Leader's words and silently moved his feet.
Sichuan's Sima Evil Path.
What kind of people had they sacrificed as offerings to manifest the ancient rain dragon? Were they already dead and gone?
Thud.
The dust beneath his feet scattered desolately in all directions.
The invisible pressure characteristic of supreme masters began to layer with each step. An incredibly dense formless presence was blooming to a size that matched his body.
From the time he had increased his food intake following his grandfather's advice until now, the state of unity of essence, energy, and spirit that had been maintaining an incomplete state was just about to find a diamond-like stability.
"Uh…?"
"What's the matter?"
"Look, look there."
Passersby who had been walking on the road sensed his aura, turned around with a start, and whispered among themselves after catching sight of Jeong Yeon-shin.
He paid no attention and put strength into his legs.
Straight to the Phoenix Perch Inn. He had no patience to wait.