Sect Leader Hall. The hall where the Golden Wing Sect Leader resides.
The warrior who had guided Jeong Yeon-shin to the Sect Leader Hall had already retreated far behind.
Generally, Sima Evil Path sects tend to be more hierarchical than the righteous path martial sects, and this place seemed no different.
There was a sense of treating the sect leader, who had transcended human limits, as some kind of divine spirit.
—It would be better to keep your appearance neat.
The sound transmission sent by the warrior buzzed in Jeong Yeon-shin's ear. Despite having said earlier to just follow instructions, she seemed to have developed concerns.
Understandable.
How often would a guest who had properly mastered internal energy techniques be asked to serve the sect leader?
It made no sense for a martial artist who had achieved a certain level of internal energy cultivation to enter as a mere attendant.
At least Jeong Yeon-shin had never heard of such a thing. This arrangement was only possible because the one being served was Sichuan's foremost figure.
From the beginning, one shouldn't expect proper etiquette from wandering swordsmen who had settled after roaming the martial world.
This meant that the Golden Wing Sect Leader's temperament was far removed from worldly customs.
—You don't seem to understand, but the person waiting before you now is the most… in the world.
"I'll manage."
Jeong Yeon-shin ignored the warrior's words and headed toward the hall.
Thud.
As soon as he crossed the threshold, the warrior's sound transmission was cut off.
Whether she had stopped speaking on her own, or whether it was due to the energy permeating the Golden Wing Sect Leader's residence, was unclear.
One thing was certain.
The warrior's casual mention of the imperial sword form, a peerless divine skill, was not greatly exaggerated.
Swoosh.
His martial attire was tightening.
In an instant, the contours of his forearms became visible. It was as if he were getting soaked in invisible water.
The pressure coming from all directions exceeded ordinary levels.
'Dragon-Slaying Heaven-Treading Technique.'
Natural qi was moving around in all directions with distinct power. He had heard that the aftermath of embryonic breathing was strong, but this was a marvel difficult for even internal energy masters to achieve intentionally.
Moreover, it wasn't emitting energy but creating pressure through inhalation alone.
'The opposite of Luminous Wheel Energy… can I counter with different energy?'
He could feel the faint, mist-like energy that had been scanning his body dissipate along with the pressure of embryonic breathing.
The Golden Wing Sect Leader's exploration had disappeared. It seemed she hadn't sensed anything special. Jeong Yeon-shin slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding.
The presence of the Golden Wing Sect Leader, imbued in the faint energy, was truly tremendous. If he hadn't learned from Jin Myeong-jo and approached Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, he would have been completely exposed.
'She's superior to the Pure Demon Alliance Leader and Ten Perfections Sect Leader. That's certain.'
They said she was a peerless master interested only in monstrous beings with incredible power, and even from just fragments of energy waves, comparison was possible.
The only Sichuan peerless masters Jeong Yeon-shin hadn't experienced were the sect leaders of the Qincheng Sect and Emei Sect.
"A newcomer. Come here."
A man with clean features poked his head out from the front room, somewhat distant from the inner chamber which was the source of the pressure, and beckoned with his hand. His energy waves were ordinary.
But for Jeong Yeon-shin, who had been part of Desolate Fortress, "ordinary" meant that his skills were quite outstanding in the secular world.
As soon as he brought Jeong Yeon-shin into the room, the man introduced himself.
"I'm Wan Yang. A rather famous idler. I've been enjoying the pleasure of serving the Sect Leader alone in this vast sect…"
"I'm Man Yan."
Jeong Yeon-shin answered briefly. A pseudonym adding the character for "Man" (meaning Full in chinese and Yan means smoke) to the middle of his name. It meant a properly grown adult.
"Full of smoke? A fitting name for a wanderer. Anyway, last night when the warriors who bring in guests were making a fuss, I was skeptical, but it's true that my successor has arrived. They even mentioned Song Yu and Pan Yue, so I thought they were mocking me. I wondered why someone with such outstanding appearance would come to eat the sword's rice."
Wan Yang, who had become Jeong Yeon-shin's predecessor, laughed as he spoke.
Jeong Yeon-shin showed discomfort with his eyebrows. It was because of the mention of Pan Yue.
Wan Yang clapped his hands.
"Yes, yes, you must be tired of hearing it. Our Sect Leader is like you. She doesn't much care for hollow words, meaningless compliments about appearance. Just remember this one thing: follow instructions. You'll use the end room in the separate building across the way as your quarters."
"Is that all I need to know?"
"You're impatient. First, I'll show you where the wine cellar is. You should also know all the furnishings here. You need to become friendly with the cooks too… Only after mastering the basics can you meet the Sect Leader. Just because you got in here easily doesn't mean everything will be easy, right? Listen carefully, first…"
Wan Yang's story seemed light on the surface but had strangely chilling aspects.
Jeong Yeon-shin kept his mouth shut and just nodded once in a while.
And so.
The unremarkable teachings at the heart of the Golden Wing Sect continued.
"The Sect Leader enjoys wine. Perhaps because she always faces the killing intent of spirit beasts head-on, she tends to let the intoxication flow freely rather than suppressing it with energy. Be careful not to frown at the scent of wine."
This wasn't particularly insignificant information to Jeong Yeon-shin. He truly learned something new.
That the Dragon-Slaying Heaven-Treading Technique used wine energy as much as the Beggar Sect's Drunken Fist.
"She never lets her hair grow past her neck. It's not out of concern for close combat, but rather… some spirit beasts can manipulate the power of mental imagery like a grip, so if robes or hair are long… I don't need to explain further, do I? But she doesn't prefer a disheveled appearance either. You should learn how to groom hair."
Wan Yang was, in his own way, a key figure in the sect. He was well-connected. He seemed to be on friendly terms with everyone from the warriors who selected guests to the cooks who prepared food.
He was someone who enjoyed all sorts of privileges, sharing the same hall with the sect's absolute ruler and living and eating there.
"When you enter the Sect Leader's bedchamber and office, look around thoroughly and remember everything clearly. Not even a small item's position should differ from usual. Balance, beauty. If there's a martial art to serving the Sect Leader, these two would be the core principles. Like your face."
"You just said she enjoys being intoxicated…"
"Would a peerless master's senses be disturbed by mere intoxication?"
Throughout this, Jeong Yeon-shin had been battling his impatience.
Whenever he grew anxious about the condition of Obeying Heaven Squad Leader, Forest-Treading Squad Leader, Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader, and their subordinates, he held himself back. All while drinking in the information Wan Yang was dropping like sweet nectar.
The Golden Wing Sect Leader is an absolute ruler of life and death.
Neither a righteous figure who discusses what is right, nor a hegemonistic master who submits to martial arts and power.
She cannot be handled through coercion and violent confrontation… The only options left were negotiation or infiltration, and the former wasn't a viable choice.
If three Desolate Fortress squads were trapped in the rain dragon's formation, the Golden Wing Sect already held hostages against Jeong Yeon-shin.
Two days passed.
He learned and observed the qualities of an attendant from Wan Yang while devising methods to defeat the Golden Wing Sect Leader.
With proper preparation, the environment allowed for an attack at any time. The security around the sect leader was surprisingly lax, allowing entry to the inner chamber even without using protective techniques.
'There are no guard warriors near the Sect Leader Hall at all.'
It seemed to be a deliberate statement. That there was no master on Sichuan soil who could threaten her.
"Today is an important meeting day. Normally, attendants like us wouldn't accompany her to such gatherings, but she told me to fill the back seats with you. We need to escort the Sect Leader to the Golden Wing Hall."
Wan Yang said. This was after he had called Jeong Yeon-shin to the separate building outside the Sect Leader Hall.
It was a day with bright sunlight wrapping the ridge. He glanced at Jeong Yeon-shin, who was surrounded by a dreamlike white light, and marveled anew.
"They say the Sect Leader's eye technique can see through walls… I wonder if she had already seen your face before entering the state of cultivation meditation. I'm needlessly jealous."
The breath in his voice was thicker than usual. There was a slightly chilly feeling in his final words. Yet his lips formed a seemingly kind smile.
'What's this?'
This was unexpected for Jeong Yeon-shin, who had been viewing the Golden Wing Sect disciples as mere objects.
He didn't even feel triviality. The martial world that the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader inhabited was too elevated to experience such petty conflicts. Even while undercover.
"This didn't seem like a sect that indulges in personal remarks."
Jeong Yeon-shin said. Wan Yang's smile deepened.
"I've been debating whether to say this… about your subtly arrogant attitude. Before you meet the Sect Leader, I should…"
Jeong Yeon-shin didn't listen further and moved toward the Sect Leader Hall. What a sight.
"What kind of behavior is this? Hey!"
He had immediately made an enemy of Wan Yang. It was fine to do so. Because from today, he would be able to stand by the Golden Wing Sect Leader.
***
***
After the duel where the Tang Clan Leader was defeated by the Golden Wing Sect Leader without even being able to make a move, the morale of the Golden Wing Sect disciples was soaring to the heavens.
It wasn't because they had newly realized their sect leader's power. It was because the Myriad Heavens Flower Rain that would seal the rain dragon's movements was about to fall into their hands.
Golden Wing Hall of the Golden Wing Sect.
It's the largest hall in an already massive compound.
The interior is also impressive, with carvings of the golden-winged bird devouring dragons surrounding the hall in various forms. Between the gaps, dust particles holding light clusters flowed slowly.
Jeong Yeon-shin took his place beside a stone statue of a bird breaking a cintamani with its beak. It was right behind the Golden Wing Sect Leader's stone seat.
'It's just as Wan Yang described.'
A woman with a small build wearing a golden-red robe.
Semi-transparent energy waves rippled from her black hair that came down just enough to slightly cover the nape of her neck, and the sweet aroma of fragrant snow wine spread from the jade gourd bottle in her hand.
A strange transcendence emanated from her slowly rising and falling upper body.
They said she had mastered embryonic breathing, and indeed, she didn't stop her energy circulation even while attending to official business. She was truly obsessed with capturing dragons.
'Grandfather said that surprise attacks are meaningless against exceptionally powerful purple-rank figures…'
Jeong Yeon-shin repeatedly considered and abandoned the idea of striking first. Even if he were extremely lucky and managed to inflict a fatal wound, it would be problematic.
The mission priorities were clear. He couldn't risk blocking the path to rescuing his companions by committing the taboo of attacking a sect leader.
—Yeon-shin. A peerless master who has achieved unity of essence, energy, and spirit and Five Qi Returning to the Origin can penetrate all the forms they've learned in a single move. Their drawing speed will be beyond your imagination.
'To properly gauge her, I need to see her face first.'
He hadn't seen the Golden Wing Sect Leader's front.
This was because while he was arguing with Wan Yang, who occasionally glanced at him, the Golden Wing Sect Leader had departed without waiting for them.
"The Sect Leader is in high spirits today as well."
A young man's clear voice filled the hall. Speech that elevated the sect leader's bearing and spirit rather than her appearance. His manner of speaking was extremely skillful.
He was a beggar.
He wore patched clothes, with a small gourd bottle and a gourd attached to his side. There were six knots on the string tied around his waist.
Though his appearance was extremely shabby, he didn't emit any particular stench. Despite sitting at the end of one of the two rows of seats extending from both sides of the main seat, his demeanor was relaxed.
He was someone familiar to Jeong Yeon-shin.
The Beggar Sect's Senior Beggar. Seen in the City of Renowned Craftsmen.
What was a successor of the righteous path, often grouped with the Nine Great Sects, doing at the Golden Wing Sect?
His expression was clearly different from the gloomy faces of the boy and girl sitting opposite him, the Poison Dragon and Poison Phoenix siblings. He appeared to be a guest, not a prisoner.
At that moment, the eyes of the Senior Beggar, who had been grinning at the Golden Wing Sect Leader's face, met Jeong Yeon-shin's.
The beggar's mouth formed a "whoa" of admiration. It wasn't particularly pleasant for Jeong Yeon-shin, who had been glancing at the Tang siblings without showing sympathy.
From creating the Luminous Wheel that Transcends Law Technique in Sichuan's City of Renowned Craftsmen to when his grandfather was in the same boat as the Blood Flame Cult Leader at the Tang family.
The Beggar Sect's Senior Beggar had always made Jeong Yeon-shin uncomfortable with his strange temperament.
It was the same now.
"A person befitting the Sect Leader's dignity is standing by. Is this your new attendant?"
"Get to the point."
As soon as a hoarse voice rang out, the dust in the hall rippled like an earthquake. An old man sitting at the front to the left of the Golden Wing Sect Leader. The energy in his voice was excessively heavy.
The Left Guardian of the Golden Wing Sect's Two Great Guardians.
Jeong Yeon-shin thought of the Forest-Treading Squad Leader. The quality and weight of their refined internal energy were very similar.
'Could Senior Xiahou have faced this man?'
Just as a blue light flashed in his eyes.
"Since we don't know when the Tang Clan Leader will wake up, and we each urgently need to deal with Sichuan's rain dragon, wouldn't it be better to release the Dragon Phoenix Twin Poisons for a while? I'll make sure you can see the Myriad Heavens Flower Rain, which is no less than the Poison King's technique."
Dragon Phoenix Twin Poisons was an alias referring collectively to the Tang family's genius siblings. The Left Guardian snorted.
"The beggar is using such a worthless trick. We can't send them away because the Tang children's talents are outstanding. What would make us release the Myriad Heavens Flower Rain? There are countless sects coveting that divine skill along with those two."
"Ah."
The Senior Beggar laughed.
"I'm not talking about enhancing the Dragon Phoenix Twin Poisons' achievements. I want to use their connection."
"Explain in detail."
"The Myriad Heavens Flower Rain of Tang Clan Leader Poison King was certainly magnificent. But he's a fallen figure now, isn't he? Currently, someone who can deploy an even more powerful Myriad Heavens Flower Rain is striding through the martial world."
"The Sichuan's Flower Shadow King…?"
The Sichuan alias of Radiant Demon Wing Leader Lightning Genius was mentioned. The hall, filled with dozens of dragon-hunting masters, fell silent. The corner of the Senior Beggar's mouth rose a bit more.
The eyes of the young Poison Phoenix and Poison Dragon also sharpened.
But with their acupoints sealed, they couldn't speak. Only the Senior Beggar's voice remained clear.
"There was a servant whom the late Tang family's Grand Patriarch used very secretly. I heard him speak about the Dragon Phoenix Twin Poisons' talents, and the Radiant Demon Wing Leader I've seen would never ignore…"
Thud thud thud—
The Senior Beggar's words stopped. Right after stone fragments fell from the ceiling of the hall.
A tremendous suction force arose.
Whoosh! Crack crack crack!
In an instant, all the dust in the hall was sucked toward the back of the main seat, and simultaneously, the ceiling, pulverized like soil caught in a typhoon, began to open widely to the left and right.
The Golden Wing Sect Leader turned her head back.