Chapter 252 – Ascension (2)

[TL Note- In previous chapter, Mount Hua Sect Leader’s name was tl as Lu Xia. It has been changed to Lu Xian. Xian means Immortal in chinese.]

It was a pinnacle moment.

The air wrapped around his right arm’s skin like soft down. It felt like dancing with a sword in a dream.

Not directed at Shaanxi’s top demon.

He didn’t perceive Wei Ke-xiang as a person. To him, the man was merely an obstacle blocking the path to his niece.

No matter how powerful the opponent, it was the same. He was tired of the martial world’s great evils toying with his mother’s home and cherished kin as they pleased.

As a black-rank of Desolate Fortress, it was time to proclaim invincibility.

His vision wasn’t clear. Only Shaanxi’s top demon’s form registered faintly. The painkiller’s effect was potent.

‘It’s fine.’

He simply swung his sword along the thread-like gleam that flickered thinly in his mind. He extended his hand so the light’s path and his sword’s trajectory aligned as one.

It felt as though the grip on his sword hilt was being pushed forward on its own. The talent bursting from Jeong Yeon-shin’s entire being drove it so.

A life-saving ultimate technique. The exclusive domain of renowned sects, breaking through extreme situations.

A sword path of lightning.

Radiant Sword Like Phosphorus.

[TL Note- Like a lightsaber.]

Buzz!

The profound meaning of the sword form flowed naturally from the crown of his head to his fingertips. It was the imagery of unhindered, free-flowing thunder.

‘Bend it once downward from the center, then slash upward again…’

As the Northern Light Sword traced a dazzling arc, that dreamlike glow overlaid the blade like will-o’-the-wisp.

[TL Note- Will-o’-the-wisp, also known as ignis fatuus (Latin for “foolish fire”), is a mysterious atmospheric ghost light seen by travelers at night, particularly over bogs, swamps, or marshes. It appears as a small flame or ball of light that seems to flicker like a lamp.]

The fourth technique of the Thunder-Annihilation Sword Technique. It wavered carelessly, like a drunken hand gesture.

At its end.

A groan from Shaanxi’s top demon.

“Urgh…!”

As the lightning-patterned trajectory flickered and faded, the illusory world shattered. His vision cleared around the sword’s tip. Blood splashed first, bursting large before his eyes.

The strike had pushed past the black sword’s defensive stance. A red line was drawn across Shaanxi’s top demon’s chest. A long, horizontal sword mark.

Above and below it, dark bloodstains spread. The trace of sword power that had even shattered protective energy roared through.

The Luminous Wheel Technique imbued in the blade had finally pierced the demon’s body, yielding a truly fearsome result.

“A half-dead… b*st*rd…!”

Shaanxi’s top demon Wei Ke-xiang staggered back a step. His lips twisted. The yellow robes, once puffed up with immense inner energy, lost their strength and sagged. A wretched sight.

Huff—

Jeong Yeon-shin trapped an inhale in his body, barely supporting his legs. The flower’s effect was only pain relief. Fundamentally, he had to exert strength throughout his body to maintain balance.

The sword hilt in his grip burned hot. The Thunder-Annihilation Sword Technique’s Radiant Sword Like Phosphorus was a counterstrike.

The longer his and his enemy’s rhythms intertwined deeply, the more lethally this single cut disrupted the battlefield.

A blade of sensory mastery. A sword that fully drew out his innate qualities. Unlike the second technique, Nine Verdant Rivers, which required energy accumulation in peak condition, this seized the moment.

Even a decent genius might call it sheer luck to unleash and end it in a fluke.

It stemmed from his body but bordered on coincidence. Normally, a sensation briefly manifested like this was hard to reclaim.

That’s why martial artists of renowned sects often immersed themselves in meditation.

Lightning Genius was different.

‘With the imagery of striking lightning from a clear sky…’

He memorized every flow of true energy coursing through him and the subtle muscle movements, turning them into a technique.

He even recalled the sensation freed from control in that fleeting instant. For him, letting a once-attained insight slip away was unthinkable.

The fourth ultimate technique of the Thunder-Annihilation Sword Technique was fully forged.

His combat versatility expanded. Jeong Yeon-shin took another step toward becoming a complete warrior.

“…”

Amidst this, silence reigned. The movements of those fighting or watching around him ceased.

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s battered state and the disparity in might had implicitly shaped expectations.

That he’d lose and die to Shaanxi’s top demon. Even Wei Ke-xiang himself had acted boldly with that assumption, only to be struck by the life-saving counter technique. A sword path no one foresaw.

Only the Radiant Demon Wing masters whispered among themselves. Some pushed through the encirclement, others stood guard.

“…Did you see?”

“The squad leader’s condition?”

“No, that sword technique. Hard to believe… but it’s a relief.”

“That sword-crazed fool, get some salve!”

At the center, Shaanxi’s top demon clutched his chest, staggering. The blood pouring through his fingers was immense.

Even at a glance, his injuries rivaled Jeong Yeon-shin’s. He, who had strutted as a warlord of Yu Ling’s Shaanxi branch.

“How could…?”

“Lord Wei…!”

Dozens of Yu Ling warriors could no longer hold back Radiant Demon Wing.

The Mount Hua Sect Leader, abruptly entering the fray’s end, stood elegantly at their flank, sapping their will to fight.

She gazed steadily at the Radiant Demon Wing Leader, her white, slender chin slightly raised like a plum blossom.

Standing atop rigid grass tips, her pink robe trailing, she exuded a sense detached from the battlefield.

The mystical movement technique of Transcendent Flight, imbued with the transcendence of a peerless master.

“The Mount Hua Sect Leader… Did she chase Radiant Demon Wing from the Radiant Arts Squad?”

“She must’ve descended to investigate the rising evil factions and stumbled upon us…”

“This is bad. It’s over. We need to find a gap and get some of us out.”

Brilliant Jade Sword God Lady Lu Xian was a figure of utmost caution among Shaanxi’s evil factions. Her beauty, like a painting, was to them the portrait of a death god.

The absolute ruler of Shaanxi’s vast lands, encompassing even Xi’an. In the nearby martial world, none but the Tyrant Sword Sect Leader could cross swords with her.

Undefeatable.

The formation surrounding the Radiant Demon Wing Leader and Shaanxi’s top demon crumbled futilely.

“Squad Leader! Squad Leader!”

“It’s done! Mission accomplished! The squad leader won!”

Radiant Demon Wing masters tried to rush toward their leader. Until then, Jeong Yeon-shin and Wei Ke-xiang still glared at each other.

Both gripped their swords low, bodies stained red, balance faltering as they staggered.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s exhales broke intermittently from his lips.

The black cloak draped over the crimson bandages on his upper body swayed with his chest’s movements.

“…”

A single trajectory decided life and death.

The focus of supreme masters immersed in their swords was terrifying. They seemed oblivious even to the Mount Hua Sect Leader’s presence.

Then.

Cough—!

Wei Ke-xiang spat blood. Dark blood gushed down his chin. The Radiant Demon Wing masters froze.

Not a normal sight. Blood typically took time to darken.

Even struck by the Internal Heavy Hand Technique, one didn’t immediately spew dead blood. It had to be the aftermath of clashing energies.

Shaanxi’s top demon twisted his lips with effort.

“Martial arts and victory… You’re gifted in both. A mistake of the heavens.”

He’d fully infused sorcery into that fleeting strike. It wasn’t just the sword path he’d focused on. A talent that turned one effective blow into a fatal wound.

Wei Ke-xiang thought. Was the Radiant Demon Wing Leader destined as his end the moment he mastered demonic arts?

He chuckled, trembling.

“A defeated martial artist’s worth depends on their foe. Your status, age, and might make you nobler than the Elf Clan. The world must seem laughable to you. I sincerely hope you don’t meet an early end in the martial world.”

“…There’s some truth in your dying words. Yes, the heavens erred.”

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader replied slowly.

At the same time, Wei Ke-xiang’s smile deepened.

“I see the charm of the evil factions in you.”

He said.

“Arrogant prince of Desolate Fortress. Your nature suits domination.”

Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t answer.

Silently, he raised his right hand gripping the Northern Light Sword diagonally.

Swish—!

Shaanxi’s top demon kept his eyes open until the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s sword filled his pupils with white light.

He stared straight at the unhesitating trajectory. In an instant, the white sword gleam wavered beneath Wei Ke-xiang’s chin.

‘Finally.’

Jeong Yeon-shin felt it clearly through his extended grip. He’d severed the neck completely. The sensation of tearing through residual protective energy was vivid.

Thud.

The head fell among the grass.

A brief silence fell. Yu Ling’s warriors still couldn’t move.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

Rustle—

A dry winter breeze swept through the shattered grass.

As cool air settled over the surroundings, turned to ruins by the supreme masters’ energy waves, the demonic supreme master’s body thudded onto the frozen dirt.

Boom.

That was the turning point.

Radiant Demon Wing masters could finally check on Jeong Yeon-shin. The reverse wind of his movement technique pushed away the surrounding dust.

“We shouldn’t have stirred this up!”

“How many wounds do you see? I swear I’ll watch my mouth from now on.”

“Can you move? Get on my back.”

Calloused hands hesitated repeatedly as they reached for their squad leader.

The severe gashes, exposing even Jeong Yeon-shin’s abdominal muscles, made it hard to believe he’d swung a sword. The skin visible through the tattered bandages was bright red. No one dared touch him rashly.

“Squad Leader, I’m sorry. We’ve… committed a grave mistake.”

Even Wei Ye-ryeong, the ever-calm Elf Clan archery master of the April Bow Ghost, clasped her hands in a bow of apology.

“No fuss.”

Jeong Yeon-shin faintly shook his head and waved them off with a small gesture.

He had to reach Hye-ah. Beyond ordering his comrades to search, he wanted to see her himself. Baek Mi-ryeo, who’d interrogated the Ghost White Divine Sword, said she was here. Locked somewhere.

He stepped forward slowly.

“Yeon-shin! Yeon-shin!”

A familiar voice suddenly rang from afar. It was Yu Hyeon of Mount Hua Sect, his friend who always seemed to be getting beaten up by someone whenever they met.

‘Mount Hua’s a major Shaanxi sect too. With the Radiant Arts Squad’s fame, did they follow after checking an inn?’

A trace of warmth flickered in his drooping eyes.

“Is it fine for this poor taoist to greet you now? I watched for quite a while.”

A clear, resonant voice cut in from right beside him. A terrifying movement technique.

Turning his head, a white, refined nose entered his view first. The absolute energy within her was palpable at his ear, so close.

“Your swordsmanship was truly fearsome.”

She spoke in a plain tone, slowly meeting the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s gaze.

“Dark Fragrance Drift, Lady Lu Xian.”

“The Sword God of Mount Hua should keep her distance…!”

Cheong Myeong and Baek Mi-ryeo muttered urgently as they rushed over, faces fraught with dismay. Even for Desolate Fortress’s martial squad, reacting instantly to a peerless master’s approach was tough.

Let alone the current Mount Hua Sect Leader, a Han absolute on par with the Elf Clan. She’d mastered the Violet Mist Divine Art’s extremes early and didn’t age, they said.

Only then did Jeong Yeon-shin fully register Lady Lu Xian.

“For your help… thank you.”

His words broke due to unsteady breathing.

Lady Lu Xian gave an ambiguous smile. Her upturned lips hinted at various traits. A laugh carrying the fresh mountain air yet tinged with Mount Hua’s ruggedness.

“This poor taoist did nothing. I was merely curious.”

“Speak.”

“The Sword Ghost of Heart Martial Alliance was watching you. Until I chased her off, her gaze was very clear. A poignant feeling flowed into my upper dantian…”

She asked with a smiling face.

“What’s your connection?”

“I don’t know.”

“Truly?”

“Yes. And… it’s not something a Desolate Fortress squad leader should report to the Mount Hua Sect Leader.”

“…”

The heavy silence that followed belonged to those around them.

A sect leader of the orthodox factions held a rank to rival Desolate Fortress’s purple-rank in the martial world. An absolute figure.

Without his ravaged body, the painkiller’s aftereffects, and worry for his niece, Jeong Yeon-shin’s words might’ve been more courteous.

Yet Mount Hua’s supreme master showed no anger.

She simply laughed.

“It’s not easy to casually meet the ilk of evil factions. Since I can’t predict what schemes they’ll weave into your future, this poor taoist wished to check for any corruption in advance. Whether you’re tainted. From the righteous martial world’s stance, trusting you fully isn’t simple. Desolate Fortress may care for the people, but in the martial world, it’s neither righteous nor evil.”

“My path is urgent.”

“Understand the stance of Mount Hua’s sect leader.”

She said, lightly waving her hand. A faintly playful gesture radiated a sunset glow. The prelude to her move silenced the surroundings. No one here could stop her.

Then.

Gasps rose from all around.

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader had grabbed her hand.

“You spoke of taint.”

He stirred true energy in his palm’s Laogong point. Though the flow of inner energy was clear, Lady Lu Xian only gazed at him.

Unfazed, as if taking a strike up close didn’t matter. But Jeong Yeon-shin merely infused his grip with the Luminous Wheel Technique.

Buzz.

“This junior must find his kin.”

Sorcery-like inner energy. A force no less than the Three Pure Forces of Taoism, deemed the most auspicious in the world, touched the Mount Hua Sect Leader’s hand.

At the same time, a white-tinged energy wave scattered in all directions like a visible wind.

“With this, I hope you’re satisfied.”

Abruptly releasing her hand, Jeong Yeon-shin trudged past her.