Chapter 495 – Noble Clans’ Tree (7)

World Tree Council of Elders.

Suddenly, particles of green radiance quietly rise from beneath one side’s threshold.

Light clusters that gently illuminate the surroundings. Soon the skin of those filling the hall became even whiter, and the shadows that had been cast on the woman’s face completely disappeared.

The First Elder of the clans.

Compared to the features common to noble clans, she possessed somewhat sunken cheeks.

It was an impression that contrasted with her gently downcast eyes, making her appear lacking in leisure and harsh.

Only the sleeves of deep green silk garments personally bestowed by Emperor Qian-ling in the distant past softly swaying could offset her sharp impression.

“A declaration of war.”

She muttered.

What Desolate Day Extinction had recited was clearly that. It even possessed proper formality, albeit briefly.

Golden Thunder beside the First Elder clapped his hands with round eyes, exclaiming “Ah!”

“Does it work that way? His voice was nice though?”

“Truly outrageous…! To enter this land without permission and speak of being the nation’s sword, of discussing the world with blade…”

The swordsman who had been making his report to the First Elder rose from his seat with blue light flashing in his eyes. In an instant, invisible wind arose from his entire body.

Whoosh!

It was only momentary. The noble clan swordsman’s garment hems fluttered roughly then became quiet again like a lie. It was because Golden Thunder had placed his hand on his shoulder.

A figure said to have learned greatly from Zhang Sanfeng and gained Taoist enlightenment. The phrase “non-action naturalness” made literal.

At this moment his face was only pale white like lightning indifferent to worldly affairs.

No human expression existed.

“Don’t be rash.”

A low voice. As if thunder resonated from within the sound itself. Golden Thunder, who had narrowed his eyes, slowly continued.

“The Root Wood is here. He’s not a friend you can discuss either.”

“…My apologies.”

The startled swordsman bowed his head. Soon Golden Thunder, who had suddenly smiled broadly, patted his shoulder.

“Can I leave this place? Fire generates earth, earth generates metal… Since the hot-tempered First Elder came out and that earth-rich Lord Dragon Finger went in, I’m next up.”

“The grandson of Ma Yeon-jeok has come of his own accord. We must prioritize the blood of the nightmare that has appeared before our eyes.”

The First Elder spoke quietly. Golden Thunder shook his head back and forth.

“I wonder about that. Our tree’s appetite for vitality has been growing tremendously, so if we’re careless the world might completely collapse…”

“Thunder Wall.”

“Yes, yes.”

Golden Thunder shrugged his shoulders lightly at the First Elder calling him by a different name.

“Shall I go see his face?”

Crackle.

Soon lightning streaks flickered along the sleeves of him who had turned toward the outside.

* * *

When staying in Beijing, Yong Hye-myeong had once given advice like a joke.

—The Divine Sword Group Leaders have traditionally been skilled in both civil and military affairs. Good at both verbal sparring and sword fighting. When one side was pushed back, they would overwhelm with the other… mainly your maternal grandfather did that. Anyway, if you want to take the Enter the Divine Sword from me, you must make known to all under heaven that your mouth is undefeated. Desolate Fortress’s power comes from popular sentiment, and that popular sentiment tilts this way and that according to tongue and brush movements.

Jeong Yeon-shin had taken it seriously.

One could lose in life-and-death duels. Because one must leave that day’s fortune to heaven’s will.

But if one falls behind when competing with someone over justification, that’s hard to call a true warrior. It cannot be called the most upright sword under heaven.

“Facing my sword, I question the world.”

Having concluded his words thus, Jeong Yeon-shin remained still for quite a while.

It was after entering the noble clans’ city. He didn’t move even when the encirclement became thick enough to obscure the surrounding scenery.

A land without day or night.

Even though he had stood dumbly for quite a long time, it seemed as if time hadn’t passed. Like the endlessly long years of the noble clans.

Swish.

He rested his arm on Remaining Thunder while slightly lowering his eyelids.

The green radiance whose nature he still couldn’t guess was crumbling grain by grain across the back of his hand. He felt no particular sensation.

The surroundings were simply brightly green.

‘More people from this place must come.’

The reason he had earlier spat out crude song verses. It was to maintain the dignity befitting the purple of this fortress.

He must not be like the Sima unorthodox path. His conduct and behavior must all be different. A status that must always elevate Desolate Fortress’s dignity. He couldn’t bring shame to various seniors.

However, Jeong Yeon-shin’s position was somewhat removed from the noble clans. Just looking at the hundred-plus masters who silently surrounded him proved that.

“……”

Somewhat bewildered expressions.

Not a single aspect showed understanding.

Though there wasn’t a person who couldn’t understand Jeong Yeon-shin’s verses about the outside and this place being different, the feeling was “how is that a problem?”

At this moment such answers emerged from each of their faces. They didn’t even bother to hide their expressions.

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly nodded and opened his mouth.

“I’m saying I will draw my sword.”

“…I don’t understand. Our city has nothing to do with your world.”

One person stepped forward. Befitting the great bow carried on her back, she was a person of imposing stature.

She looked straight at Jeong Yeon-shin with eyes where light green energy rippled.

“Your grandfather’s actions had their own reasons. Of course, he too caused incidents we find difficult to easily tolerate, but he didn’t confront such fundamental problems. Your words and actions are merely wickedness.”

“Wickedness?”

When Jeong Yeon-shin asked back lowly, she nodded.

“We each have our own chivalry. Protecting the land we belong to while fulfilling our respective duties. For you, that would be your nation and common people, and for us it’s this World Tree.”

“……”

“When the worlds we’ve lived in are so different, and you know nothing at all. Naturally you have no qualification to criticize our clan’s conduct.”

The noble clan master with a great bow on her shoulder concluded calmly.

Then several people began to support her words. Rather than roughly pressing him, it felt like each was adding their own crystalline song verses in layers.

“Don’t cross the line any further.”

“Your melody couldn’t convince us.”

“No matter how much you’re the sword of one nation, you couldn’t handle World Tree’s Four Great Protectors alone…”

“You needn’t apologize. Mistakes born from ignorance are like puddles in twilight. Anyone can commit them carelessly, so it’s fortunate that sword is still sheathed.”

Each voice carried rhythm and melody, however faintly. Even the Hangzhou people who recited poetry couldn’t match them.

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly thought of the boy who had openly told him so much. His attitude toward village elder Zhong Yuan inevitably became respectful.

That’s when it happened.

“Cheon-hwa! You became Divine Sword Group Leader? How did you persuade the Emperor to let you hold the Enter the Divine Sword with your temperament…”

A young youth’s voice descended with golden light.

Right before Jeong Yeon-shin.

Wuuung.

A light source that flashed and brightly illuminated the vicinity took human form, then transformed into a youth of entirely golden color. Soon whispers of “Golden Thunder” spread like waves around them.

“Huh? It’s not Shin Cheon-hwa.”

The youth who had appeared thus immediately jerked his upper body backward upon seeing Jeong Yeon-shin. Along with a greatly surprised expression.

“Who’s this kid?”

“Protector, that is…”

The noble clan master who had earlier told Jeong Yeon-shin he lacked qualifications moved her lips toward the youth. It was the sound transmission characteristic of noble clans that matched voices to the wind.

Jeong Yeon-shin guessed the intruder’s identity. Precisely, he knew what kind of person Golden Thunder was. Thanks to hearing from elder Zhong Yuan.

‘One of World Tree’s four pillars.’

A peerless master said to have gained great enlightenment through studies bestowed by Zhang Sanfeng.

Crackle, crackle—

The thunder energy dwelling throughout his body was stinging Jeong Yeon-shin’s skin. A feeling as if some invisible domain had unfolded. Very mystical.

For reasons unknown, intuition came that within Golden Thunder’s range right now, he couldn’t freely wield metal. The mental image of sword paths becoming distorted at will was drawn.

Upper dantian insight.

A figure who could even halve the mighty sword power of divine weapons. Befitting an old monster who had long protected World Tree.

Of course, from Golden Thunder’s perspective, Jeong Yeon-shin would rather appear as a newcomer who had suddenly emerged.

‘I’ll seal Thunder-Annihilation Sword Technique. Against environmental strong energy like Ultimate Thunder, I must clash with fist and foot techniques and body movement…’

It was when Jeong Yeon-shin was lowering his hand from Remaining Thunder’s hilt.

Golden Thunder smacked his own forehead.

“Right! The grandson of the nightmare!”

“Nightmare?”

It was when Jeong Yeon-shin muttered.

“What these guys said is all correct. Every word is right! Where does a worldly person get off telling us what to do?”

Suddenly Golden Thunder pointed at him.

“You, you can’t do this here! If you get any bigger, there won’t be any blankets left! With your level of talent, you could end up becoming a master of the art of kicking—”

“You people.”

Jeong Yeon-shin cut off those words. As if overlaying Remaining Thunder with a divine dragon holding a fan, he overlapped his body at this moment with the mental image of a great hero possessing the greatest tongue under heaven.

Instantly, auspicious energy arose from within his body and was carried in his voice.

“Planted World Tree in the heart of this nation.”

Step.

Taking one step forward narrowed the distance with Golden Thunder accordingly. Jeong Yeon-shin felt the domain of thunder and lightning tearing at his entire body while slowly continuing his words.

“Used the imperial army, Desolate Fortress, and the Nine Great Sects as natural barriers against the Sima unorthodox path, foreign forces, and monsters and demons seeking World Tree’s well-known fruit.”

“Hmm?”

“Moreover, the clothing you wear is imperial fabric. That luster and texture… I’ve seen it in the Forbidden City. Beijing nobles wore it around. They said it was easy to wash and possessed sword-proof efficacy. Silk garments that don’t fade even through long years.”

“Was that so?”

Golden Thunder showed his arm with an innocent face. Brilliant golden sleeves hung down long and ephemeral. But Jeong Yeon-shin’s words didn’t cease.

“Furthermore, the clusters of stone tile houses lined up here bear the touch of this nation’s iron craftsmen, and the Four Treasures of the Study you use, various delicacies, even the dried meat warriors eat can’t be made here. You don’t even raise livestock, saying it depletes earth energy. You originally knew. That anywhere national funds were involved, interference from the Administrative Office and Desolate Fortress was inevitable.”

The surroundings became quiet.

Only the grass blades that created wind by themselves rustled at their feet as they rubbed against each other.

Meanwhile, Jeong Yeon-shin was moving his lips while rotating the Luminous Wheel Technique in his body nine times.

“This city greatly enjoys life values derived from the nation’s hands and feet and common people’s tribute. Or is there some circumstance I don’t know about here too? That you fulfill tribute duties because it allows you to maintain such dignified appearances now, or secretly send out strong ones to support the outside world.”

“Huh…?”

Golden Thunder suddenly made a vacant sound. The noble clan assembly each kept their mouths shut without answering.

“You treat the power and sacrifice that preserves this land as affairs of another world, and not only don’t contribute even slightly to the nation but freely enjoy life’s foundation. I’ve often seen such people in the jianghu, and I called them Sima unorthodox path.”

Then Jeong Yeon-shin quietly asked.

“Are you people a little different?”

The silence deepened a bit more.

Green particles floating in the void gently drifted through the stillness, when suddenly some sparks jumped up golden in one corner of Jeong Yeon-shin’s vision.

“A little different?”

Golden Thunder was somehow standing side by side. With his waist straight and arms crossed. As natural as if he had been with Jeong Yeon-shin from the beginning.

“……”

There were no separate allies. It had suddenly become so.

Vast alarm spread across the faces of the noble clans who had been surrounding the vicinity. Their composure, which had been calm like old trees, suddenly shattered.

Jeong Yeon-shin was equally greatly surprised, but without showing it he slowly opened his mouth. While joining his right index and middle fingers to form a sword finger.

“My words have been long.”

Golden Thunder beside him grew serious.

“No, it wasn’t long. You can do more.”

“…This is a technique called Heavenly Cascade, and I reveal the trajectory in advance as courtesy to my master’s homeland. It can penetrate three li in one sword strike.”

“Huh?”

The moment Golden Thunder, who had been encouraging Jeong Yeon-shin, made a foolish exclamation.

“I must see World Tree’s true form directly.”

Jeong Yeon-shin became violently distorted in place like a beast’s claw marks. His body disappeared leaving only afterimages.

Soon the ground split in a straight line like a dream, and the ray of light that had crossed that instant struck the city’s most massive hall while belatedly bursting with muffled roars.

Kwaaaaaaaaang—!

The Noble Clan Council of Elders.

It was where World Tree’s main body was located.