Chapter 191 – Bond (6)

The young Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s growth hadn’t been smooth. The Hao Clan Leader’s speculation spilled forth.

Suddenly.

The sounds around the pavilion encircling the liquor table vanished.

It was as if frost had settled on Baek Seo-gun’s upright form. It was an energy wave that imposed silence.

A gust of cold autumn wind blew sharply. It aimlessly scattered the ends of her gray hair around her nape before fading away.

A state where power melded with mind and body. She unconsciously revealed the full presence of Henan’s Sword Venerable.

“What did you say?”

Baek Seo-gun quietly countered. The smile on her lips had utterly disappeared.

She began recalling the time she drank with Jeong Pan Yue’s son at Sevenfold Gorge. What had been said?

“For the son of a great landowner, it doesn’t seem he grew up smoothly. I didn’t hear much, but…”

The Hao Clan Leader subtly adjusted his collar and continued.

“If a third-rate martial family owned vast land and wielded authority, managing the local magistrate and soothing the people’s hearts would’ve been essential. Even for a bountiful harvest. Work harder since you’ve eaten and drunk well… You know this too, don’t you? The Jeong Family head supposedly held feasts often. Whether it was Jeong Dae-myeong or Jeong Pan Yue, that flamboyant noble took the head’s seat and flaunted his influence with banquets.”

Young Master Jeong Dae-myeong had been a figure with near-superstitious stubbornness since childhood.

He’d said using people without reward brought bad luck. Baek Seo-gun, too, had benefited as a servant. It likely wasn’t different outside.

“So?”

She slightly parted her lips.

The Hao Clan Leader wasn’t particularly intimidated. He, too, was the master of a faction with a unique temperament unmatched in the martial world.

His calm demeanor carried the air of a gallant hero.

“Jeong Pan Yue’s first and second sons strutted about as Xinye County’s sole noble family, but the third was never there. In his short life, he never attended even once, they say. He was occasionally seen wandering the village alone. Unlike the other direct heirs, he seemed utterly dejected. Even that stopped at some point, and he shut himself away.”

“…”

“Jeong Pan Yue sought his toddling granddaughter so fervently, yet he never spoke a word about his third son. The testimonies of Xinye’s people align. When some commoners at the feasts asked after the third’s well-being, he’d drive them out, claiming they disrupted customs. After that, no one sought Jeong Yeon-shin… Well, that’s the story.”

“You might’ve misunderstood. Though the Jeong Family is a third-rate martial house, it’s not without a lineage. In Xinye, they held sway comparable to the magistrate, so how could mere commoners know the family’s private affairs?”

“Mind if I curse a bit?”

The Hao Clan Leader narrowed his eyes and spoke roughly, like a back-alley thug. The Hao Clan was a faction that took in and protected the Central Plains’ underclass as its disciples.

Even facing a friend, he didn’t temper his words despite her being the Sword Venerable.

Baek Seo-gun, who’d been gazing down thoughtfully with lowered lashes, raised her head.

“What?”

“Being a Sword Venerable doesn’t mean everything, does it?”

The Hao Clan Leader continued slowly.

“Of course, it’s natural not to know exactly. You’re not wrong. It’s the private family matter of a somewhat prominent house. But when it comes to gathering and refining rumors scattered across the martial world, the Hao Clan’s skill surpasses even the Beggars’ Sect—unless it’s orthodox sect business. Are you doubting my faction’s capabilities now?”

“…”

Rustle.

Baek Seo-gun’s white sleeve brushed the liquor table as it rose.

She stood silently. The Hao Clan Leader looked up at her steadily.

“You haven’t touched a single drink. Where are you off to?”

“I’ll find out myself. You said there were more surviving direct kin before.”

She murmured quietly.

The Hao Clan Leader nodded readily.

“Jeong Pan Yue’s second son and granddaughter joined the Zhongnan Sect. The Jeong Family’s steward built a massive trade guild in Kaifeng… The other workers probably aren’t your concern.”

“I’ll head to Mount Zhongnan. Since it’s Shaanxi, it’s close enough to see the young noble too.”

At her words, the Hao Clan Leader’s lips twitched.

“You just called the Radiant Demon Wing Leader a noble? The Sword Venerable of the martial world…”

Baek Seo-gun didn’t reply. The skin beneath her neat brows trembled slightly.

It was a bond worth that much. After long years, he’d awakened Jeong Pan Yue’s teachings for her.

What the Radiant Demon Wing Leader, Lightning Genius, had drawn against her sword-controlling aura was a blade that reaped fate.

The Swimming Heaven Sword Ghost acknowledged Jeong Yeon-shin through both blood and martial prowess. The once-lofty servant had embraced a forgotten past.

But what if the boy hadn’t received the love he deserved at home?

‘Me, my words…’

The proud words she’d spoken to Jeong Pan Yue’s son echoed in her mind. Her once-clear thoughts, honed by the sword, crumbled.

Something felt like it was bluntly slicing through her mind. Baek Seo-gun thought. This damn…

Suddenly, the Hao Clan Leader raised an eyebrow.

“More than that, Mount Zhongnan? You’re planning to stir up a major incident. Don’t you know how much presence the Heart Martial Alliance’s sword ghost has among the orthodox sects? Know yourself, unless you’re aiming to start a faction war…”

“Snatching a couple of insignificant underlings is child’s play for me. Don’t make a fuss.”

Her voice was low.

That day, Baek Seo-gun set out. She dismissed her subordinates who’d accompany her, carrying only a single sword at her waist.

On a quiet official road, supreme lightness technique blossomed. The Sword Venerable’s form vanished as if dissolving.

* * *

When the Yan Family’s First Fist evaluated the Radiant Demon Wing Leader.

Yan Hwa-ryeon didn’t lower her voice. Her words toward the young Radiant Demon Wing Leader rang out fully.

She critiqued the boy’s martial arts, advised him as if concerned for the new Desolate Fortress Leader’s future, and invited him as a senior to step into melee range.

It was rhetoric that indirectly belittled Lightning Genius, the Radiant Demon Wing Leader.

Perhaps it was a directive from the Martial Alliance’s leadership, already in ruin. Forty-five elite masters had fallen to the young Leader in succession.

The Martial Alliance’s Opening Tournament had effectively collapsed. Preserving face fully was no longer possible.

Their only option was to have at least one person decisively defeat the Radiant Demon Wing Leader.

Unlike Lightning Genius, who’d unleashed the ultimate moves of the Eternal Blossom Fist, the Yan Family’s First Fist had only parried. Only the fifth exchange differed slightly.

Among the onlookers, those who’d mastered eye techniques or had exceptional perception noticed the Radiant Demon Wing Leader had taken a loss.

Each face bore its own mix of emotions.

“You’ll see differently? Your gleam is intriguing. Come at me.”

Valor Fist Lord Yan Hwa-ryeon’s clear voice distinguished disadvantage from advantage. Yet the Desolate Divine Hero’s voice rang louder.

“The Alliance’s masters are indeed something else. This Hyeon Won-chang is impressed.”

The energy woven into the voice spread naturally. It echoed across all directions from the spectator seats, even making Yan Hwa-ryeon glance at Hyeon Won-chang for a moment.

Hyeon Won-chang continued with feigned nonchalance. He appeared to address someone beside him who’d claimed to admire Yan Hwa-ryeon.

“Isn’t her spirited demeanor past forty truly inspiring? Facing a boy just out of his teens, no less. As expected of the righteous great factions’ Alliance, they treat even those with vast age gaps as equals. Such transparent valor. It’s unconventional yet worthy of emulation, so the name Martial Alliance isn’t wasted. Isn’t that so?”

“It seems that way…”

A middle-aged man replied offhandedly, then shut his mouth. He seemed to grasp the implication suddenly. Hyeon Won-chang smiled and patted his shoulder.

His earlier cheering for Yan Hwa-ryeon had been unbecoming of a Desolate Fortress master, but now he looked relieved.

Across the way, Lazy Flame Dragon raised a corner of his mouth as if exasperated.

The crowd, swept up in fervor and chattering noisily, fell briefly silent.

Hyeon Won-chang.

He subtly shifted how people viewed the sparring stage. The young Leader’s age had faded amid repeated victories.

Reflecting anew, it became clear something rare in the martial world had transpired. Anyone would realize it.

After the Alliance’s core masters lost consecutively to a boy not yet twenty, a figure likely to become the next Yan Family head provoked the young Radiant Demon Wing Leader.

It not only elevated the boy but also upheld the Desolate Fortress’s honor. Even when a dozen more black-rank supreme masters might remain.

The Desolate Fortress headquarters’ intent had aligned perfectly. The thousand warriors here would spread rumors across the martial world.

In this moment, the Desolate Fortress Alliance capped the mission Jeong Yeon-shin had received. Heedless of anyone’s gaze.

Even a loss here would be a win.

Should he triumph in this spar, the victory’s ripples wouldn’t stop at Hanzhong.

Even the Zhuge Family Head, seated in the command tent, couldn’t easily obstruct it.

“My ramblings went on too long. Leader, get started already.”

Hyeon Won-chang adjusted his hero’s headband slightly, feigning distraction.

“You’ve got a capable subordinate.”

Yan Hwa-ryeon spoke to Jeong Yeon-shin. As if seeing through the subtext of Hyeon Won-chang’s words, her voice carried a faint admiration.

It contrasted with the many Alliance elders under the awning, staring blankly at Hyeon Won-chang.

Bound by necessity yet free from trivialities.

That was a martial world figure’s bearing.

She narrowed her eyes and parted her lips.

“Five exchanges will suffice. I’ll yield the first move.”

It was the face she’d worn lifting a cup at the tavern. She swung her right arm, extending from her orange sleeveless robe, in a wide arc.

It seemed a casual warm-up, yet a single motion birthed a transparent energy wave, distorting the air.

Her acupoints seemed fully loosened. It was a prelude to unleashing full power.

“Two moves.”

The boy opened his mouth slowly.

“You’ll fall within two techniques.”

“What?”

Yan Hwa-ryeon’s brow narrowed. It didn’t seem like empty words to her.

It was a dialogue between supreme masters who’d clashed directly. They read each other’s intent through breath, heartbeat, subtle hand movements, and facial muscle shifts.

In the ascended realm, heightened senses revealed much.

You were too complacent. Facing this Leader.

Words Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t bother voicing.

***
Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z
***

Step.

He took a step. He didn’t invoke movement techniques. He ceaselessly circulated the Luminous Wheel Technique through the three meridians of his face.

Each time the energy passed the Pupils acupoint outside his eyes, a gleam reached his pupils.

A faint white light flowed from the boy’s eyes.

It wasn’t an eye technique. It fell far short of the mastery worthy of pure martial acclaim.

‘Seeing’ was said to be far more complex and intricate than breathing techniques. Eye techniques deemed ultimate skills were rare.

They existed only in certain families or orthodox sects with histories predating the Ming Dynasty. The boy had only grasped a small hint when facing Zhuge Qing-ya.

Now, he merely sent energy through his eyes and let it return to his pupils.

He imbued the Luminous Wheel Technique with the emission and absorption principles of the Myriad Flower Rain. Jeong Yeon-shin’s signature precise energy control touched with a texture thinner than smoke.

It was an act of analyzing Yan Hwa-ryeon’s energy structure.

‘Her protective energy’s internal rules are consistent.’

He checked only her solar plexus, abdomen, and shoulder area. There was no need to scan her whole body.

She might notice, and pinpointing strike points sufficed.

Whoosh!

Yan Hwa-ryeon’s form filled his vision. As he took one step, she closed a three-pace gap. She seemed rattled by his words.

She spread her arms wide in the exaggerated Central Plains style, as if yielding the first move, but energy waves surged from her dual palms.

The moment a blow landed, a joint-locking counter seemed poised to fly. The air grew heavy.

Tap.

The boy’s index and middle fingers touched her solar plexus. Their bodies were nearly pressed together.

Her breath was felt on the bare shoulder of his black robe, missing one sleeve. It was deep and faint.

Was it because no notable energy wave arose? She permitted Jeong Yeon-shin’s touch with eyes flashing colorless brilliance.

Her gaze down at his collarbone approached like a chilling blade.

That was it.

Whoosh!

A fiery shockwave erupted from her hands. The air warped instantly. Was she aiming for an overwhelming victory?

The technique coiling around Jeong Yeon-shin’s arms like a serpent exceeded the realm of fist moves.

Amid the sensation of his collar being fiercely grazed, the boy sank into the realm of extreme speed.

The surroundings slowed. Even the feeling of her bare forearm climbing his black-sleeved right arm thread by thread followed suit.

It came with the buoyant texture unique to the Yan Family’s protective energy. His thoughts raced like a gale.

‘Ignorance. Carelessness.’

He’d completed his insight into her with that single step. The energy structure forming her protective aura was intricate.

It flowed in the irregular intersections of the Eight Trigrams. An exceptionally tight weave.

It was fine.

His upper dantian warmed his mind, glowing white-hot. He split a moment into a hundred. His consciousness seemed to seep into blinding light.

The boy slightly lowered his elbow while pressing her solar plexus.

He moved subtly, as if yielding softly to her bare-handed bind. With his gleaming mind, he calculated the Eight Trigrams logic of her energy barrier.

‘Later Heaven Eight Trigrams. Heaven, Lake, Earth. I need to strike within a tenth of my exhale… Now.’

There was no need to shatter her protective energy’s structure. Thanks to the Yan Family’s First Fist dragging out her chatter.

By aligning his energy with its pattern and injecting it, a single strand of her energy flow turned into an internal disruption technique.

The young Radiant Demon Wing Leader dragged the spar into the realm of sensation.

Swish.

Just before her hands could crush his arms, the boy rotated the Luminous Wheel Technique northwest, southwest, and west.

It was the instant their legs overlapped and arms entwined. Jeong Yeon-shin applied force to the sword fingers on her solar plexus.

A sharply honed shockwave seeped into her protective energy.

Heaven’s Cover, Jade Mechanism, Heaven’s Protrusion. Formless energy severed the acupoints and meridians around her solar plexus strand by strand.

“What…!”

Yan Hwa-ryeon’s gasp tickled his ear. The boy clearly felt her entire body’s energy waver.

Their bodies were folded together in close quarters. Ripples of disrupted energy flowed over the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s black robe.

The moment he silently added energy to the Luminous Wheel Technique in his sword fingers, Yan Hwa-ryeon’s whole musculature sank heavily. Her tendons contracted and relaxed chaotically.

Internal energy disruption. It had fully taken hold.

Slowly.

Jeong Yeon-shin laid her on the ground. Yan Hwa-ryeon’s eyes widened as she gasped for breath.

She seemed to realize only then what technique had struck her. Her slightly parted lips testified to a supreme master’s shock.

The boy looked down at her impassively, then slowly stepped away.

Step, step.

Walking toward Hyeon Won-chang’s banner, he inwardly sighed in relief. Had he fought with his core martial arts, he’d have lost.

Whether the cornered Alliance had ordered Yan Hwa-ryeon’s verbosity or her arrogance had grown after countering the Eternal Blossom Fist didn’t matter.

As long as his foes didn’t know his lifespan and constitution, this outcome would repeat.

“The Desolate Fortress accepted the challenge. Thus, this Radiant Demon Wing Leader entered your Alliance’s Opening Tournament.”

The boy spoke while walking.

“Now it’s settled, and the banner remains unbroken.”

He gripped the flagpole staked at the sparring stage’s edge with one hand. The cold steel sensation climbed his arm.

A refreshing chill seemed to cool even his upper dantian.

Whoosh!

He unleashed the Wind Body technique’s shockwaves with his whole body. A tempest spread through his jet-black robes.

“This, this Leader will take back.”

Kwaak!

The boy yanked the banner free with rough force.

In the heavy silence settling around the sparring stage, the white robe tied to the flagpole fluttered loudly.