Chapter 216 – Flash (3)

‘Black-rank seniors…?’

Jeong Yeon-shin activated the Luminous Wheel in his heart.

Immediately, a faint surge of Luminous Wheel Technique rose upward.

It passed through his solar plexus, thickening the internal energy at the Wind Pool acupoint where the meridians behind his head and below his ears converged.

The surrounding blood vessels sharpened his nerves. It was a sensory refinement of hearing.

The sounds entering his ears grew louder.

Even so, the black-ranks’ conversation remained faint. Only by intensifying the Luminous Wheel Technique further could he catch their voices.

It seemed they had erected an energy barrier right after Forest-Treading Leader’s shout.

Xiahou Wei-zhen had infused energy into his yell only once.

Thereafter, it was his natural voice. Within the Leaders’ energy curtain, no one but Jeong Yeon-shin could hear it.

The pure function of Luminous Wheel Technique faintly transmitted a girl’s voice.

“…You lunatic! What do you do if you blurt out the secret manual’s name?”

Few in the martial world could reprimand Forest-Treading Leader so.

It was unmistakably Divine Sword Deputy Leader Yue Shou-lin’s voice. She appeared to be running alongside Xiahou Wei-zhen. A gruff question followed.

“What is the problem?”

“I know you are not dim-witted, so why act like this? The name itself is the issue. As if anyone could doubt it’s Jeong Yeon-shin’s work, it’s practically taunting the righteous martial lineages.”

“It is a very well-chosen name.”

“Does it not instantly reveal what manual it is? Anyone could guess with a little thought. If you had any sense, you big oaf, are you truly mad?”

“I simply dislike hiding it. Something like this should be widely known. Maintaining dignity and being overly cautious are very different. Should we silence ourselves out of fear of external factions’ strength? That would truly be conduct unbecoming of a black-rank.”

“You have lost your mind. Do you know what will happen to headquarters if it’s exposed? Stop gaping like a bear and look like a noble clansman! Is mastery of ocular techniques all you think matters?”

“We can handle it. Divine Sword Group is strong.”

“Even if dozens of purple-ranks and scores of black-ranks come charging? You know it’s that kind of matter, do you not? You just returned from observing the Martial Alliance, yet you are still full of hot air. This affair will not end on the scale of the Alliance, I wager.”

“Set aside the Nine Sects for now. But you overestimate family heads. Dozens of purple-ranks, you say.”

“Instead of pointless bickering, read the context. Am I wrong? If you could take on any of the Eight Great Families’ heads alone and manage a solo kill, I would concede. With that bulk, could you do now what you could not in decades? And it’s not just grand factions to consider. What about supreme masters unrivaled in the martial world without a sect?”

“If Divine Sword Group’s seventeen squads united as one…”

“Even with three purple-ranks, controlling the martial world was taxing. And to begin with, you should make feasible claims. If headquarters abandoned the martial world’s populace, would that still be Desolate Fortress?”

“…”

“There’s no greater fool. You devour fox-like cunning with pride, I say. If you die on a mission, it will be for no other reason, truly.”

“I have a contingency. This should not be kept solely among black-ranks. Rather, boosting headquarters’ overall strength would…”

“What good is growing stronger only against righteous factions while risking rumors spreading? Would the Thirteen Evil Sects just grovel like dogs? Keeping it to black-ranks is a hundred times wiser. No, more than that—look at this fifty-move fool arguing back at every word! Spouting it without discussion is the mad behavior I mean!”

“Where in Wish for Peace Sword Hall would a black-rank take my words seriously? They would have dismissed it the moment I spoke. By the way, fifty moves? That differs greatly from my recollection.”

“What?”

“Did I not stretch to at least sixty moves?”

A snort rang out simultaneously.

“Is your short-breathed heart technique a boast? With such inefficient strikes, you are the inferior one!”

“Since it has already happened, let us stop. Forest-Treading Leader was rash. There will be repercussions, it seems. Perhaps it is fortunate it’s late at night.”

The arguing voices drew closer.

By the time Law Enforcement Squad Leader Woon So-yu’s crystalline voice sounded last, three figures entered his sight.

Directly opposite Radiant Demon Wing pavilion’s main gate.

Each lightness skill bore distinct traits.

A fierce surge erupted.

Yue Shou-lin kicked the ground briskly, while Woon So-yu’s steps were silent and elastic.

In contrast, Xiahou Wei-zhen’s lightness skill felt awkwardly light.

To a master’s eye, it might seem clumsy. He appeared to be training under Jeong Yeon-shin’s guidance.

All three moved slower than their prowess suggested. Being at headquarters, they refrained from full speed.

Even so, they were black-ranks. The moment their forms registered, they closed in swiftly.

Radiant Demon Wing’s blue-ranks, on guard, retreated behind Jeong Yeon-shin toward the gate.

Cheong Myeong and Baek Mi-ryeo’s blue robes brushed their Leader’s shoulders.

Feng Lan and Luo Yi-qian, arrivals from Blood Guardian Squad, inadvertently joined Radiant Demon Wing.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

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***

In that span, the three Leaders arrived.

A strong gust swept through. Jeong Yeon-shin’s hair fluttered slightly backward.

“I greet my seniors.”

Jeong Yeon-shin offered a simple clasped-fist salute. He observed the seniors’ faces.

Earlier, Xiahou Wei-zhen had mentioned Comprehensive Breaking Guide.

A meeting at Wish for Peace Sword Hall had occurred, and it seemed the secret manual he had painstakingly written was unveiled.

He grew curious about their purpose. Was the document’s content lacking?

‘Come to think of it… I dismantled Shandong Yue Clan’s lightness skill too.’

Yue Ye-rim came to mind. As Azure Qilin’s betrothed, she had apologized to Jeong Yeon-shin at their parting.

She was Divine Sword Deputy Leader’s niece, she said. Some dismantling methods might apply to Yue Shou-lin’s martial arts—how would she take it?

Then.

A soft step sounded.

Yue Shou-lin, landing before him, smiled brightly.

“Our Jeong Yeon-shin’s features grow sharper by the day, do they not? Your limbs keep stretching without pause—you’d better master spacing firmly, kid. A supreme master’s sense of distance is their lifeline, you know? A hair’s breadth alters a strike’s effect.”

“I appreciate the advice.”

“As if you did not already know.”

As she waved lightly.

A massive shadow loomed over Yue Shou-lin’s crown.

In the moonlit evening, Xiahou Wei-zhen’s stature stood out. Even his shadow seemed immensely robust.

A seven-foot titan. Known as Desolate Fortress’s mightiest wall.

To civilians, he was a divine general descending when fortune aligned.

His presence matched his moniker, Thousand Fists Dragon Vassal. His years as a black-rank reportedly far exceeded Yue Shou-lin’s.

“How can you see and think like that?”

He asked abruptly. Jeong Yeon-shin replied briefly.

“Pardon?”

“You do not seem to have trained in ocular secret arts, yet your perception and ideas astonish me. At your age, with those hands, to create such a thing. It’s a finesse even I, versed in noble clan ocular techniques, do not possess.”

“You overpraise me.”

“I skimmed only the first few pages and came here. So, first…”

A whoosh sounded.

A colorless ripple spread from Xiahou Wei-zhen mid-sentence.

It brushed Jeong Yeon-shin’s face once before passing. A faint barrier unfurled. It was energy materialization.

He extended energy to craft a hemispheric soundproof shield. Ordinary internal mastery could not achieve this.

The energy’s control was equally so. It evidenced a state of essence, energy, and spirit unity.

“Let us go inside first. We Leaders have matters to discuss…”

“Breaking Guide? What is…”

External sounds faded. Radiant Demon Wing blue-ranks’ voices mingled with them.

Soon, it sealed completely.

Radiant Demon Wing Leader, Law Enforcement Squad Leader, Forest-Treading Leader, Divine Sword Deputy Leader.

Xiahou Wei-zhen’s barrier enclosed only the four black-ranks.

A boundary separating noble black-rank warriors from others. The humming attested to a noble clansman’s profound internal energy.

Even Jeong Yeon-shin’s current Luminous Wheel Technique reserves fell short of this realm.

It was befitting a noble clansman. The years of energy breathing differed.

‘If I spun the Luminous Wheel ceaselessly for a year, would I catch up? It’s truly daunting.’

As Jeong Yeon-shin marveled inwardly, Xiahou Wei-zhen gazed down at his junior with an odd expression.

“Let me start with Murong Clan’s Thirteen Heaven-Treading Sword Steps. The dismantling method was written very concisely.”

Heat tinged his deep voice.

Jeong Yeon-shin recalled Heaven-Treading Sword Leader from the Martial Alliance’s sect-opening tournament.

A swordsman with some grudge against Desolate Fortress. Representing Murong Clan, he had schemed to tarnish Jeong Yeon-shin’s reputation.

An absurd stunt. He fell to Jeong Yeon-shin’s swordplay finesse.

‘The sword art itself had mystique. Meeting again would not be so easy.’

As Jeong Yeon-shin pondered.

“That big guy nearly perished to Heaven-Treading Sword Formation once. They say he charged in alone to spare his men. Facing thirty Murong Clan Heaven-Treading Sword squad members—blue-rank caliber—single-handedly.”

Yue Shou-lin, lips curled, teased further.

“It’s a miracle he survived. Had he not lured Heaven-Treading Sword Leader elsewhere pointlessly, he’d have crossed to the afterlife. As you see, few of your seniors are sane. Probably just Law Enforcement Squad Leader and me?”

Jeong Yeon-shin lowered his lashes slightly, feigning deafness. He felt renewed gratitude for his grandfather’s steadfast demeanor.

“The essentials are fully detailed.”

Xiahou Wei-zhen spoke with a stern face.

“That is not untrue. The incantations are so. However, parts are hard to grasp without being the manual’s author. For instance, breaking Murong Clan’s characteristically sturdy sword stance… Did you not write to weave energy in a ‘redundant’ stroke at the contact point? Load three-tenths more force into the lower ‘desk’ stroke. That’s how it was written.”

“Heaven-Treading Sword’s stance was inherently insidious.”

Jeong Yeon-shin replied calmly.

“The energy form enveloping from arm to sword tip was peculiar, with distinct strength and weakness in its structure. To pierce it with a thrusting strike, the ‘redundant’ stroke fits. A pinpoint blow leaves it to chance. Stabbing a weak energy flow by luck is fine, but to stably lead a fight, that will not do. Adjusting the radiating energy wave in two strokes can seize victory.”

Slowly.

Xiahou Wei-zhen closed his mouth.

His thick brows twitched momentarily. The inscrutable expression typical of Desolate Fortress Leaders wavered.

It stood out with his bangs swept boldly back.

He did not respond at once. Neither did Yue Shou-lin or Woon So-yu.

It was a statement that anew instilled realization.

The author of a dismantling manual for orthodox martial lineages was indeed their junior.

Breaking Guide’s master. A new black-rank had brought a merit beyond martial prowess. It was no ordinary feat.

His accumulated achievements might not rival veteran Leaders.

Yet could another black-rank match this singular accomplishment besides Jeong Yeon-shin?

Remarkably admirable and impressive, yet at this point, he was no mere rookie but a rival.

They raced together toward the purple robe.

It would not be strange whoever reached it first. At this moment, all realized it.

Xiahou Wei-zhen spoke slowly.

“You should take on a major task next. A mission with two squads collaborating.”

Shock hid behind a feigned gruff mask, his voice hoarse as if strained.

To anyone, it was odd. Jeong Yeon-shin’s head tilted slightly. What? Why?

“Anyway, back to Thirteen Heaven-Treading Sword Steps.”

Xiahou Wei-zhen shifted the topic nonchalantly.

“I grasped your mention of energy structure and adding three-tenths to the lower stroke. But if sheer internal energy sufficed, a dismantling guide would not exist. Is not the key how to apply energy volume? Such omitted incantations cropped up here and there. Of course, I understand you have been busy with affairs.”

“Is that why you came?”

“Is it not important?”

“I did not consider it. Is it not basic energy control? The margins were too narrow for annotations. In real combat, doing what feels sufficient usually…”

Jeong Yeon-shin faced the shifting expressions of his three seniors.

Faces as if roused from sleep for a duel.

Would supreme masters struck with pillows look thus? His words trailed off at the sight.

‘Is there an issue?’