Chapter 522 – Honoured One of the South

Jeong Yeon-shin was not lazy in learning. Even by his own assessment, his growth had been steep in both martial arts and character.

When he had been in the same place as three seniors who had used the Enter the Divine Sword as their main weapon, he had heard what the virtues of a Divine Sword Group Leader were.

Not wasting mental energy on trivial matters was first and foremost.

They said to put only the jianghu situation that the Grand Administrator laid out into his head, and to store other matters like Desolate Fortress’s household affairs or the flow of Beijing politics in a single sword.

A Divine Sword Group Leader was the embodiment of all under heaven’s people’s livelihood, and if one established martial arts alone purely, supply problems and scheming would naturally subside—that was the story.

‘That makes sense.’

Looking at the scene unfolding below the roof, he had no choice but to be convinced.

“You… how are you here…!”

Prince Qing Zhu Tae-il’s face, which he had seen in Hangzhou, was covered with dark twilight. The dignity that had originally been dignified yet noble seemed to have been sucked into the setting sunset.

That was how he looked pointing at Shin Cheon-hwa standing in the void at this moment. His finger was trembling slightly.

Suddenly Shin Cheon-hwa slightly turned her head toward Jeong Yeon-shin.

[The man who sent me matchmakers.]

“Ah.”

Jeong Yeon-shin glanced at the crown of Prince Qing’s head and let out a dry exclamation.

Because of the cap with silk wings rising above the back of his head, he couldn’t see the traces of his maternal grandfather’s palm technique.

While he regretted that he couldn’t compare achievements with his maternal grandfather’s youth, he reached out his arm toward the black swallow flying toward him from the void.

Though faint, it was definitely felt. The familiar blood scent was spreading from those small wingbeats.

‘What is this?’

[Introductions seem necessary. I once used the courtesy name Cheon-hwa with the surname Shin. Those Zhu gathered there would know my identity well.]

“Divine Sword Group Leader… of the former generation…”

“There was another Divine Sword Group Leader… ? Desolate Fortress… what kind of group is it…?”

Gasps and mutterings about demon-subduing battles flowed out from various places. But Jeong Yeon-shin no longer looked at them. It had been a matter sufficient with the former Divine Sword Group Leader from the beginning.

[You came at a very appropriate time. Shall we first establish an agreement for wartime requisition?]

He felt Shin Cheon-hwa’s presence approaching the guests. She was ready to strike without hesitation. Immediately after, cracking sounds came from the jawbones of several who had opened their mouths hostilely.

Fist winds that shot up from below without any particular warning had shattered their lower jaws.

[Though supplies are endless no matter how much you take and take, this is nominally the nation’s sword. For the next ten years, there should be no worry about empty rice bowls. Always a bulwark that sheds blood for you all.]

“……”

Those who fell silent in the earthen stone prison that had sprouted like stalactites in a deep cave.

[Moving Prince Qing’s manor to the main fortress, creating an auxiliary group composed of wandering warriors in southern Zhili… all plausible. Of course, Lightning Genius’s marriage should be left to my junior himself. And…]

The process where Shin Cheon-hwa shattered the guests’ loftiness like breaking martial arts and took what the main fortress needed flowed like water.

It would be thanks to her unrestrained eloquence and momentum, and overwhelming martial prowess and status.

Meanwhile, Jeong Yeon-shin stopped feeling their presence and lowered his gaze again.

“……”

The sight of a bird that had somehow perched on his arm extending one foot. A familiar child. It was definitely Cheong Myeong’s swallow.

A spirit creature that conveyed news of the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader. A note was tied to the briefly extended leg.

Why was it?

His hand hesitated to reach out.

The letter was written in blood. Though it had clearly been dried once with internal energy to prevent the letters from smudging, the blood scent was thick.

After staring at it for one breath, Jeong Yeon-shin unfolded the small letter as the former Radiant Demon Wing Leader. Two characters immediately caught his eye.

Whether he had wasted a few characters on another surface earlier, the ends of the strokes were somewhat faint.

—Safe.

Jeong Yeon-shin knew the minor gestures and habits embedded in the bodies of all Radiant Demon Wing warriors. He also immediately recognized that the writing in the letter was the handwriting of white warrior Eung Han-so.

Though he usually had no great presence, it was the writing of a senior who had taken care of various supplies not only for Jeong Yeon-shin and Hyeon Won-chang but also when Lazy Flame Dragon had just entered.

—Your robes don’t fit again? This time you’ll even have to change your undergarments. Very stylish as a warrior, Yeon-shin…

Eung Han-so’s character was plain and honest.

Radiant Demon Wing knew how Jeong Yeon-shin regarded them. Naturally, they wouldn’t lie about their own safety.

‘Brother Han-so… why a blood letter?’

And why was the letter so short? These were people who always asked how much longer his limbs had grown each time.

Was there no leisure to even take out brush and ink from their bundles?

What situation had they found themselves in?

Just then, Cheon So-so beside him glanced at the letter and parted her lips. She had somehow let go of Jeong Yeon-shin’s sleeve.

“Trust them.”

“Pardon?”

“The Radiant Demon Wing kids are belligerent, but they wouldn’t presumptuously try to gauge a purple’s ability and safety. If they had needed support, they naturally would have written honestly. It’s a situation they can handle themselves. At least for now.”

A clear voice like dawn breeze brushed his ear. As always an even tone, and for her it was unusually long talk.

Jeong Yeon-shin was silent for a moment before nodding his head.

He wouldn’t intervene in everything. That was the conduct of a Divine Sword Group Leader. It was right to wait for news that Radiant Demon Wing would someday convey.

Jeong Yeon-shin flipped the letter over on the spot and wrote a reply. He had pierced the skin of his index finger with briefly manifested internal energy.

—Six Directions Forbidden.

It meant not to act rashly and to preserve their lives first. Though Cheon So-so stared down at his neat regular script, Jeong Yeon-shin pretended not to notice with the virtue of modesty.

He had no mind to boast about handwriting obtained through beatings in childhood.

‘Still, I should send support.’

After sending Cheong Myeong’s swallow flying again, Jeong Yeon-shin glanced below the roof.

Shin Cheon-hwa, who had somehow brought along one of the main fortress’s attendants, was standing with her hands clasped behind her back making a joint petition.

It was the sight of forcing the guests to affix their seals to a blank booklet that the attendant held open, and it didn’t look very dignified.

Even so, it was necessary work. It had to be accepted as a senior’s sacrifice.

“Please write the contents first.”

[Where is there time for that? I’ll write everything myself.]

“No matter what, this is ridiculous…!”

[Those who claim to think of the nation, discussing a purple’s marriage in a main fortress that just fought a war makes sense?]

After briefly taking in that scene, Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly kicked the roof. There was much to handle on behalf of the Group Leader.

Whoosh!

The dust that had accumulated on the roof was pushed away by gentle light clusters. He left only one word to Cheon So-so and disappeared from his position.

“Please assemble the black seniors to the Wish for Peace Sword Hall.”

For the first time, it opens.

The Desolate Fortress leadership meeting presided over by Jeong Yeon-shin.

The Wish for Peace Sword Hall encompassing not only the former and current Divine Sword Squad Leaders, Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader and Law Enforcement Squad Leader, but also Forest Treading Squad Leader, Ultimate Martial Hall Leader, Azure Sky Squad Leader and even the temporary Obeying Heaven Wing Leader.

It was also a place where Desolate Fortress’s Divine Sword Group would be reborn much more aggressively than before.

* * *

A road where bloodstains still beaded here and there.

All sorts of guests wrote their names on the joint petition and either returned as they were or were chased to their originally assigned quarters in Desolate Fortress.

Among them, those who had uttered even one question couldn’t return with their bodies intact. The Zhu suffered deep internal injuries, while other guests suffered visible external wounds.

Each with shame they had never imagined would befall them.

It would be difficult to touch all of Desolate Fortress in retaliation.

But they could petition Beijing about the figure called the former Divine Sword Group Leader.

Those voices would certainly not be quiet either. They each moved their steps with similar expressions.

“What in the world is that sorcery…?”

“There was another purple? This must be handled with utmost urgency…!”

“Let’s go to Beijing. We had to stop by once anyway.”

But to Grand Administrator Lim Jin-myeong, it didn’t matter at all.

He expressed gratitude to a figure who would soon disappear.

“Thanks to you, we escaped crisis.”

[Supplies are indeed a big problem. Anyway, chaotic times are chaotic times. For the Grand Administrator of the main fortress to speak of crisis over mere post-war cleanup.]

“I mean your stepping forward on Lord Jeong’s behalf.”

[Hmm.]

What kind of strike would he have shown with that character?

Since it was such times, unbearable adverse winds might have blown. Shin Cheon-hwa, who nodded with a strange expression, opened her mouth again.

[It will be harder. With those kings acting that way.]

“True Zhu masters are not in this land. They’ve either gone north or met their end there… all one of the two.”

[Right, Qian-ling died?]

“…Yes.”

[He didn’t live out his natural lifespan. He was one who would sit on the imperial throne forever… I can’t guess what the reason was.]

“He did what was necessary. After the former generation passed away, a Fighting God appeared who unified more than half of that chaotic and vast north. Moreover, all sorts of strange supernatural forces are frequently rampaging inside the nation.”

[Are they proof of that?]

Suddenly Shin Cheon-hwa pointed to one side of the road.

The guests who had been scattering earlier. Strong people from various fields who would be difficult to see anywhere else had somehow stopped walking.

Rustle.

A sound like stepping on clouds rang out.

“……”

A group of about twenty people wearing white clothes walked, gently pushing through the gaps between the guests.

Had they waited for the commotion to subside? There were guests with strong pride who wouldn’t clear the way, yet not a single one was blocked.

Movement techniques that didn’t brush even the opponent’s garment edges.

It was to the degree that even a kind of cleanliness oozed out. Even though they were covered in strange green blood and had torn flesh stuck to various parts of their bodies.

“Cloud Yang Immortal Sword, Clear Lake Sect Master, Forget Calamity Palm, Mountain Hermit…”

Lim Jin-myeong continued speaking quietly.

“…Wudang lay disciples.”

Those who had inherited the true transmission of Wudang, renowned as the world’s greatest sword sect throughout ancient and modern times, but who had not become Taoists because they had intentions in the secular world. They were also those who had not learned peerless martial arts like Taiji Wisdom Sword and Ten-Stage Brocade.

[Wudang indeed. Still an awkward temperament to converse with.]

Shin Cheon-hwa slightly shrugged her shoulders.

[You handle it. I need to share parting sentiments with my junior.]

Whoosh!

Suddenly her form stretched like a mirage toward the distant rooftop. She had completely disappeared in the blink of an eye, of course.

Lim Jin-myeong politely put both hands together toward that direction before turning around. The Wudang martial lineage was before his eyes.

Zhang Sanfeng’s successors.

Would the Lightning Genius martial lineage become like this if worn down over long years?

The leader was some elderly man. His voice was low as he introduced himself as the master of the Wudang lay sect Clear Lake Sect.

“For some reason, newly born Human-Faced Spiders, Gu Huo Birds, Forget-Year Golden Turtles, and Flying Centipedes tried to cross over to Xiangyang. We inform you that there is no threat now.”

All sorts of spirit creatures’ names flowed from his mouth.

That wasn’t the end. Before the assembly could even react, the Clear Lake Sect Master brought up what was clearly his original business.

“Also, we wish to escort Lightning Genius Lord Jeong to our main mountain’s Sword Release Ground. This is clearly Wudang Sect’s will, and we inform you that a designated disciple sent down from the main mountain has headed directly to your leadership meeting hall.”

Lim Jin-myeong immediately questioned back.

“Though I know Clear Lake Sect Master’s reputation is high, whose permission did you receive to roam the main fortress like your own home?”

It was the Desolate Fortress Grand Administrator’s question. Though anyone would have no choice but to feel piercing momentum, the Clear Lake Sect Master’s face was just peaceful.

“If compared to Desolate Fortress, it would be like the head of a Squad Leader who suddenly died being placed on Mount Wudang. I dare not represent Wudang, but… anyway, I apologize for the rudeness. Please understand.”

It was a smooth yet calm tone. It was a metaphor referring to Taoist High Sword, and sincerity permeated the words mentioning rudeness and understanding.

For the first time.

Lim Jin-myeong opened his mouth then closed it.

A long silence followed.

The first to speak was the Clear Lake Sect Master.

“So even if a master from our main mountain intrudes into some important gathering, don’t take it as a serious matter. Lord Jeong’s energy sense will encompass this entire castle, and without him, it would be difficult for anyone to harm anybody… there will be no major conflict between our main mountain and Desolate Fortress. This is not due to pure martial prowess but the characteristics of the divine technique he has learned. The Taiji Wisdom Sword.”

“……”

Lim Jin-myeong did not answer.

The Divine Sword Group Squad Leaders who would now be gathering at the Wish for Peace Sword Hall.

‘As many as eight.’

Except for the assembly order that Yong Hye-myeong had once activated, it was unprecedented personnel.

Among them were figures who needed special attention.

Desolate Divine Spear, who was eyeing opportunities to reclaim her position, Divine Blood Demon, whose eyes were bloodshot with intent to leave anywhere, and White Qilin, whose head had become strange after experiencing consecutive failures and losses.