Chapter 362 – Ten Perfections (3)

The divine sword passed down by the Tang siblings.

It was truly close to being a part of his body.

As soon as Jeong Yeon-shin grasped the sword hilt, he felt that he could wield the absorption and emission techniques of the Myriad Heavens Flower Rain as a weapon.

The extreme state of unity between body and sword led the harmony occurring in his palm to the sword blade, allowing him to deploy the Myriad Heavens Flower Rain he had honed through actual combat with the Mind-controlling sword.

The Silent Divine Sword of the Tyrant Sword Sect Leader.

The Thunder-Inviting Heaven-Shaking Sword of Namgung First Sword.

The Dog-Beating Staff of Beggar Sect Leader Ju Gwang-sin-gae.

The Fire-Controlling Grand Demon Bow of the Dark Night Palace Leader.

Each symbolizes the authority and martial power of the absolute pinnacle of the martial world.

Among them, the Divine Sword Group Leader’s Entering Divine Sword and the Desolate Fortress Lord’s Entering Extinction Sword reign as terrors of the martial world despite rarely being drawn.

It was said that the sect leader’s weapons of major factions widely known throughout the world were divine weapons no less than ordinary dharma implements.

While some were used only as supreme symbols like the Green Jade Buddha Staff of the Shaolin Abbot, others were divine weapons that could bring out the extreme of Twelve Star martial arts of peerless masters.

Even the shattered Flowing Star Sword exuded a fiercer aura when wielded by the Murong family head.

But at this moment, Jeong Yeon-shin envied nothing.

The vast wilderness overturned with yellow clay.

On the land where only the wind blew quietly, disturbing dust and clothes, he held his sword down and reflected on what had just happened. It was a process of consolidating his realization.

‘So this is possible.’

Just now.

While deflecting Ghost Cry Hegemon King’s Dragon Manifestation Heaven-Shaking Cannon with his sword, he simultaneously raised the sword wind of the Myriad Heavens Flower Rain.

While capturing in his eyes the forty-five variations the enemy had shown in an instant, he had covered the surrounding dandelion seeds with Luminous Wheel Energy and sent them flying.

Ghost Cry Hegemon King had been substituting her shattered bones and organs with true energy from Jeong Yeon-shin’s earlier Sword.

It meant she didn’t even have the leeway to put up a layer of protective energy while deflecting the technique of returning to the origin. Inevitably, she had to suffer a fatal wound.

“To deploy the world’s Myriad Heavens Flower Rain with just a sword and dandelion…”

Peng Yu-lan looked at Jeong Yeon-shin with eyes losing focus.

Her red sleeve hem, now close to rags, fluttered at her feet. It no longer looked like the groom’s official robe for an auspicious day.

She slightly raised her head.

“It’s quite poetic. The Golden Wing Sect Leader would be pleased with you.”

An unfathomable emotion was buried in her final words. Some love and hate could be felt.

“To think I created the Dragon Manifestation Heaven-Shaking Cannon, only for it to be discarded without even being compared to the Heaven-Overturning Dragon-Slaying Technique…”

Peng Yu-lan muttered bitterly.

She mentioned one of the three great techniques of Sichuan’s foremost figure. Judging by her words and actions, she must have harbored no ordinary obsession.

Jeong Yeon-shin had captured in his eyes the years of Ghost Cry Hegemon King imbued in the Dragon Manifestation Heaven-Shaking Cannon earlier.

This meant he could extend his sympathy to Peng Yu-lan.

I have inherited your martial arts, the Golden Wing Sect Leader will surely see fragments of the Dragon Manifestation Heaven-Shaking Cannon… He could have offered comfort like righteous path martial artists would exchange.

But he didn’t do so.

He had lived long enough and even undergone his coming-of-age ceremony.

Naturally, his worldly knowledge was no less than that of ordinary adults, so he had long since stopped feeling any particular emotion from figures like Peng Yu-lan.

“Old monster. You said you harmed the Obeying Heaven Wing Leader of the main fortress.”

“Old monster…?”

“Is that true?”

Jeong Yeon-shin asked.

Peng Yu-lan’s gaze slowly came down from the void.

“How cruel. I’m about to depart, so why not focus on me?”

“Don’t spout nonsense.”

Jeong Yeon-shin said.

Earlier, as soon as he encountered Ghost Cry Hegemon King, he had extremely activated his upper dantian. So that he could discern the truth from her words and actions.

The moment Ghost Cry Hegemon King said she had killed Obeying Heaven Wing Leader Ha Do-woon, she was clearly sincere.

Nevertheless, Jeong Yeon-shin had to press the issue again.

—I’m teaching etiquette to my junior. If there are other squad leaders who want to step forward, please tell me in advance.

The senior who had shown signs of disliking the young Radiant Demon Wing Leader at the time, yet fully acknowledged Jeong Yeon-shin’s achievements, martial arts, and potential.

‘People die so easily.’

Even those around me.

Jeong Yeon-shin forcefully suppressed his anger.

The same emptiness he felt when the Jeong family estate suffered annihilation washed over him.

If Ha Do-woon had truly died, he should at least recover the body. It was only right to leave significant traces of his life.

“Where is Senior Ha’s body?”

He asked.

“You truly… have no interest… in me at all.”

Peng Yu-lan said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Even at this moment, her breath was growing fainter. A face showing detachment unbefitting Ghost Cry Hegemon King.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s brow furrowed.

“If you don’t answer properly, I’ll spread it widely outside the formation.”

“What… are you talking about? Everything is fleeting. I will now cross the Sanzu River…”

“I’ll go around saying the former Peng family head’s technique was pathetic. That it was merely a one-strike wonder.”

“What?”

“The Golden Wing Sect Leader will hear it first. Once I leave here, it’ll be Sichuan.”

Jeong Yeon-shin said quietly.

Immediately, the smile disappeared from Peng Yu-lan’s face.

Originally, short decisive battles between masters shouldn’t be disparaged as one-strike wonders, but depending on how it’s heard, there can be a huge difference in connotation.

This is especially true for martial artists who cherish their personal honor terribly.

Peng Yu-lan sighed softly with increasingly broken breaths.

“The price for taking the Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader from you and Desolate Fortress is great. I’ve lost my lifelong pride…”

“Underling, answer properly.”

“…Obeying Heaven Wing Leader Ha Do-woon left no corpse.”

Suddenly, Peng Yu-lan spoke with a clear voice. Was it a dying radiance? A colorless flame flickered in her pupils as she looked at Jeong Yeon-shin.

“What?”

“Unlike you, he had to endure the Dragon Manifestation Heaven-Shaking Cannon with his whole body.”

“……”

“His bones and flesh were torn to pieces, leaving nothing to gather. If you want to blame someone, resent the Golden Wing Sect Leader who used him as a human sacrifice.”

Peng Yu-lan concluded calmly.

She showed no more regret on her face that was losing color.

She had killed the Obeying Heaven Wing Leader and even seduced the Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader.

She left no failures among them.

It was equivalent to thoroughly mocking the seventeen divine swords of the Divine Sword Group said to support the world. For a martial artist who had enjoyed all sorts of pleasures, it was an unparalleled end… “……”

As Jeong Yeon-shin silently adjusted his grip on the sword hilt.

Behind him.

An urgent expression crossed the face of Wind Lord Li Shi-ming, who had been exchanging blows with Forest-Treading Squad Leader Xiahou Wei-jin.

With one leg broken, he had been barely deflecting Xiahou Wei-jin’s massive fists, but as soon as Peng Yu-lan’s words that sounded like last words ended, he suddenly turned his body backward and made a great leap.

It was toward the cliff where the wedding ceremony had originally been taking place.

Kwang!

The ground split in all directions.

Li Shi-ming was a master of footwork. The strength in his legs, cultivated throughout his life, was tremendous.

The moment he planted his feet on the ground while turning his back to the Forest-Treading Squad Leader’s fist, a long straight line was etched in the void. He had instantly covered a great distance.

At the end of that line stood Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader Cheon So-so, alone and dazed.

Though her expression couldn’t be seen due to the reddish face veil that had come down, she had been standing there blankly since the commotion caused by Jeong Yeon-shin began.

Kwak—

Wind Lord immediately grabbed both her shoulders.

“Cheon So-so…! Cheon So-so! Listen to my command! Your husband is in danger!”

The martial artists of Immortal Tree Spirit taken hostage.

The spell martial arts that placed restrictions on the mind.

Ghost Cry Hegemon King’s hedonism that seduced people regardless of gender.

Ice Soul Cheon So-so had completely turned her back on Desolate Fortress.

Nothing that the Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader possessed was her own anymore. Not just her body and mind, but even the World Tree sapling nestled in her bosom.

‘Peng can live!’

A madness flickered in Li Shi-ming’s eyes. The wind martial arts he had pursued all his life couldn’t be completed without Peng Yu-lan. She had to be there.

[You b*st*rd! Where are you running to—!]

Even as the bald one was rushing toward his back at a terrifying speed, Wind Lord glared into the Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader’s eyes and quickly transmitted through oral technique.

“Consume the sapling! Let the power of creation reach your husband fully! Then everything will…”

“…Disgrace to the clan.”

Cheon So-so’s voice rang out softly. Her lips could be seen moving beneath the veil.

“How foolish.”

“What?”

“You really thought so. That a squad leader of Desolate Fortress’s Divine Sword Group was bewitched by a single woman. Even after seeing that Lightning Genius…”

“How did…!”

Li Shi-ming’s eyes widened.

The Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader should never have been able to speak so clearly and articulately like this. She shouldn’t have been in that state.

How could she maintain a clear mind? When she had even spent the night before the wedding with Ghost Cry Hegemon King.

She should have been following orders obediently with her mind in disarray.

How much effort had it taken to control a single Black-rank of Desolate Fortress at will?

The Secret Realm Peng Family had poured out almost all the ritual implements they had accumulated in the formation over the years. It would have been incomparably cheaper to just kill her outright.

“Why do you think the color signifying a squad leader of the main fortress is black?”

“This… if it turns out like this…!”

“Cultivating a heart untainted by the martial world. The depth is different from you secular martial artists.”

Cheon So-so spoke softly.

It was just before losing Ghost Cry Hegemon King forever.

When Li Shi-ming, who had fallen into an uncontrollable panic, suddenly raised his head, he met the calm blue eyes beyond the reddish veil.

Ice Soul Cheon So-so.

Squad Leader of Desolate Fortress’s Immortal Tree Spirit.

Born with noble blood as precious as the Desolate Fortress Lord among renowned clans.

Because of this, she was able to draw out the power of the World Tree sapling, and for this reason, she had become the target of the Secret Realm Peng Family.

They, who had long since seized hegemony within the formation, tried to control her at will by giving her the World Tree sapling they possessed.

Cheon So-so, who had arrived here after being defeated by the Golden Wing Sect Leader, rather aimed for this point.

Because she knew the mystical power of the World Tree better than anyone else in the formation.

‘Preventing unauthorized intrusion, maintaining the habitat for people as it is…’

To avoid being swept up in the disappearing formation, to stop the formation’s disappearance, she had to embrace the sapling.

Even at the cost of having her mind clouded due to the powerful spirituality of that World Tree.

It was a time of endurance. She endured much. There were times when she truly almost lost her mind.

But it was the end.

The youngest of their group had arrived in this land, having grown unrecognizably.

Like some of the purples of the main fortress who would sweep away complex battle situations alone and create a new order.

She straightened her mind like a divine sword. While glancing at Jeong Yeon-shin, who was facing off against the Two Kings and Three Lords in the distance. The youngest of the Wish for Peace Sword Hall was looking at her.

“Karmic retribution.”

Cheon So-so briefly muttered words like self-encouragement.

She spoke of the price that the powerful figures from other realms, including Wind Lord, had to pay. The karma of taking Desolate Fortress’s Black-rank lightly.

A gleam flashed in her two eyes as if containing the frost of the northern sky. She too possessed divine skills.

It had been shown in the martial arts competition she had with Jeong Yeon-shin and his subordinates.

Huwook—

Cheon So-so’s jet-black hair suddenly rose along with the air that was rapidly growing chilly.

Immortal Tree Spirit, Coldest Sky Unflowing Ice Technique.

Wind Lord Li Shi-ming, who had been wearing a dazed expression, hurriedly applied force to his two hands gripping her shoulders.

Having given one knee to Xiahou Wei-jin, if he lost his balance here, it would be the end.

Cheon So-so didn’t care.

There were three Black-ranks manifested in this land. Among them, one had changed unrecognizably and even gained the qualifications of purple.

The Desolate Fortress here rightfully had to show an overwhelming sight.

Hwaaaak—!

A pure white wind swept in all eight directions with her at the center. With a crackling sound, the ground began to freeze instantly.

Soon after, beyond Li Shi-ming’s shoulder.

—Ha! So that’s how it was! To think I would lose in both martial arts and spirit to you two…?!

The terrifying sword strike of Radiant Demon Wing Leader Lightning Genius raced through the air like a ray of light, and for a moment, it was seen brushing past Ghost Cry Hegemon King’s neck without hesitation.

Perhaps sensing that unbelievable presence.

When Li Shi-ming unconsciously turned his head with an expression of shock, Cheon So-so’s hand blurred within the pure white frosty wind.

Jjeng—!

“Heuk…!”

It was an ice palm technique. It shattered Li Shi-ming’s solar plexus like candy and pierced through. He exhaled emptily and bared his gums like an evil spirit. An expression tinged with undisguisable despair.

“You…! Dogs of the imperial family…!”

Puhwak!

His greatly distorted head was completely shattered… Li Shi-ming’s fist, which had landed behind him. Wrapped in a fist energy shockwave as if compressing a typhoon, it ground away from the crown to the cervical vertebrae, splattering blood in all directions.

“Support has arrived, Lightning Genius.”

“I saw.”

Xiahou Wei-jin and Cheon So-so exchanged brief words.

At this moment, they were watching the scene of their junior’s body being surrounded by a formless, colorless lotus, with pure white dandelion seeds circling around it. An overwhelming aura was felt.

—Obeying Heaven Wing, Immortal Tree Spirit, Forest-Treading. If there are others involved in the deaths of Desolate Fortress martial artists, speak now.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s words ringing from afar were close to verbal abuse.

It wasn’t something to be uttered in a gathering where elders from the Hwangbo family, Beggar Sect, and Kunlun Sect were present, but due to his growl-like tone and overwhelming energy waves, it sounded like a declaration of war from a peerless master of a major faction.

Xiahou Wei-jin and Cheon So-so simultaneously stamped the ground toward their junior. They had no intention of stopping him, but merely planned to stand behind him.

Thud!

As the forms of the two people who had soared together were falling in a large parabolic arc, Divine Hand Hegemon King Hwangbo Gon’s troubled voice rapidly approached.

“…How about putting away that ominous blade first? The wine brewed with the tea leaves of this place is quite enjoyable…”