Chapter 274 – Martial Might (2)

The Desolate Fortress party followed Cheong Bo-hwa into the fortress of foliage. Only Jeong Yeon-shin walked beside her.

After scrutinizing him with the noble clan’s eye technique for a while, she tacitly permitted him the place at her side.

“They might soon send us away, but regardless, you are welcome.”

Heaven’s Pillar Sect.

A sect and a village, it was said.

As secretly rumored, it was vast.

The sprawling mountain range seemed entirely claimed by the sect, imbued with a divine aura across its boundless expanse.

Even the leaves, vividly green and rustling in midwinter, suggested as much. A dreamlike texture permeated the air.

Had they not been high-ranking figures of Desolate Fortress, setting foot here would have been difficult.

‘A sorcery formation.’

Jeong Yeon-shin felt the mystical energy against his skin as he scanned it with his eyes. The mountain breeze, spreading wide, enveloped the surroundings in a translucent shroud.

The leaves of ancient trees around them fluttered faintly, a spectacle unto itself.

It resembled the Twofold Blood Spirit Formation that concealed the Blood Flame Sect’s headquarters.

Denser than what he sensed at the mountain’s entrance. Finding this place would be near impossible.

Even the Beggar’s Union and Hao Sect likely failed to gather intelligence on Heaven’s Pillar Sect.

He parted his lips slowly.

“They say Dark Night Palace is digging up this mountain. Is that true?”

“It has always been so. Our bad blood with them stretches back to ancient ancestors. They are beings temperamentally incompatible with us. They ought to be called a dark clan, not a noble one.”

Cheong Bo-hwa, leader of Heaven’s Pillar Sect, answered. She walked as if floating above the air, stepping on blade tips.

She did not glance back once at her great-grandson Cheong Myeong, who followed behind.

Cheong Myeong, unperturbed, clasped his hands behind his head.

Beneath the slightly drooping blue sleeve, the sinewy veins of a seasoned swordsman pulsed vividly.

“A sparring match to compare unique martial arts… Only the squad leader could inspire such trust. Since we are here, we should cross to the lake’s far side. I wonder if our youngsters can manage it.”

Shin So-bin fluttered her slender eyelashes up and down.

“Beyond the lake? Why?”

“My little brother lies there. Cheong Su, they call him. The opposite of our squad leader—lively. Though his deep affection is quite similar.”

“Huh? I never heard Senior Demon Sword had a sibling.”

“It is a grave. About ten years ago. He went scouting and fell to Dark Night Palace’s archery technique. Ten Li One Kill, a skill whose origin is hard to trace. Too swift, like a flash, no one could catch it.”

“Ah.”

Shin So-bin closed her mouth.

Jeong Yeon-shin, walking ahead, feigned calm as he spoke.

“Who was the culprit? A supreme master, surely.”

“I should not have mentioned it. Our squad leader’s eyes are sharpening… Seems they have not caught him yet.”

Cheong Myeong refrained from elaborating. He glanced at his great-grandmother Cheong Bo-hwa’s back and fell silent.

A clan matter, not easily pressed for answers.

Perhaps the moniker Blue-Eyed Demon Sword stemmed from relentless strikes to avenge his brother.

Since Desolate Fortress’s blue-robed masters could frequently take solo missions and rewards, he might have roamed the martial world, honing his skills to face Dark Night Palace’s elite assassins.

A glimpse into the inner world of a senior swordsman once seen only as enigmatic.

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly intuited. This recuperation would not be smooth. His loosened blood vessels and muscles felt heavier still.

“Leader Cheong, I am curious why you did not seek Desolate Fortress’s aid.”

He asked.

The noble clan elder, who had been listening silently, spoke.

“Receive help from those who rendered pure bloodlines meaningless? That cannot be. Our ties with Desolate Fortress can only fade further. Finding traces of our clan in them grows ever harder.”

Cheong Bo-hwa’s voice resembled a lament-laden song. It carried weight as she continued.

“The Fortress Leader no longer creates new martial arts, and clans rooted in foreign lands refine old Han techniques rather than forge anew. The ancient skills that ravaged powerless clans during the dynasty’s founding, I mean.”

“You place great meaning in martial arts.”

To Jeong Yeon-shin, it was an unfamiliar temperament. To him, martial arts were merely a means to prolong life.

Even if his innate upper dantian let him enjoy martial studies, the essence remained unforgettable. It had to be.

Cheong Bo-hwa laughed lowly.

“Moreover, is Desolate Fortress not sorely lacking in hands? With the Divine Sword Group Leader in that state, one can guess their situation. The once-mighty seventeen squads of the Divine Sword Group must be waning. They sent their leader here to recover swiftly, did they not? And you as well.”

She suddenly glanced at the young squad leader.

Her eyes, deep beyond measure, shone from an elderly frame walking tall despite her great height.

Her formidable power flickered in her gaze, yet it did not feel merely domineering. The head of an ancient noble sect was like an old tree.

Jeong Yeon-shin saw a scarred typhoon in her blue eyes. A vortex torn asunder.

‘Ordinary perfection will not satisfy those eyes.’

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader mused. Could the martial arts he had crafted surpass Heaven’s Pillar Sect’s standards?

Amid the lively presences of Shin So-bin and Hyeon Won-chang walking behind, he faced the dual tasks of recovery and Dark Night Palace.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

“Your Grace, Heaven’s Pillar Sect has opened its doors once.”

“Did you trace the ley lines?”

“Yes. We believe it can be located soon.”

“Ready the Heavenly Thunder Bow Corps. We will strike those who emerge again.”

“Your Grace, we risk Desolate Fortress’s notice.”

“Famine, chaos. Their intelligence weakens most in such times.”

“…My concerns were excessive.”

“Indeed. Why could they wield the Divine Sword Group’s seventeen squads so effortlessly until now? They used channels beyond beggars and riffraff—official networks. Government offices and relays spanning the realm.”

“…”

“But in famine, officials cannot remain upright against local factions’ threats and bribes. Honest, uncorrupted officials emerge only in prosperous times. Lately, Desolate Fortress is no better than a blind swordsman. They know this, hence they brandish their seventeen treasured blades like fools. All bulk, no substance.”

“Heaven’s Pillar Sect typically opens only to Desolate Fortress. Perhaps the battered Divine Sword Group Leader was escorted there. A squad leader-rank figure might have accompanied him…”

“You think of the Radiant Demon Wing Leader.”

“Then we must approach more covertly. Many supreme masters have fallen to the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader. In Sichuan and Shaanxi, they commonly call him a prodigy beyond his years.”

“I heard. One who crafts his own mystic martial arts. Ghost Soul Divine Sword and Shaanxi’s Top Demon perished, unable to overcome his opposing energies.”

“We must also consider where Yu Long’s Lesser Lord died. He slew the former Chief Protector and Water King Sect Leader in one place. He paraded his triumphs in Xiangyang… Given his record, his arrogance seems more virtue than flaw.”

“Form the Thunder Blossom Bow Array. Gather power for over ten days, and I will wield that energy to unleash Ten Li One Kill.”

***

The midday sun blazed.

Sunlight seeped quietly into the vast garden, a verdant space encircled by ancient trees like a fortress wall.

“…”

Silence reigned. Despite the many present, it persisted.

Some thirty warriors of Heaven’s Pillar Sect.

Not one lacked mastery.

Men and women, young and old, stood atop soaring branches with arms crossed or hands clasped behind, while boys and girls leaned diagonally against tree trunks far above, requiring a craned neck to see…

Their silken robes, varied in hue, suggested advanced sericulture, and each bore ears sharp as divine blades.

Their wind-like aura was striking. Their hems fluttered ceaselessly.

None spoke a word.

As if fully grasping the situation, they merely gazed down at the Desolate Fortress party.

Only the gurgling of valley streams and the breeze caressing wildflowers stood out distinctly.

“Lower it and come here.”

Jeong Yeon-shin said.

Lazy Flame Dragon, as if waiting, set down the Divine Sword Group Leader’s palanquin and approached, joined by Hyeon Won-chang, who had held the rear.

Even then, faint snores persisted. The purple-rank swordsman, vying for the realm’s pinnacle, rested in peace alone.

“He really trusts the squad leader.”

Shin So-bin whispered, pressing her shoulder to Jeong Yeon-shin’s elbow.

Her braid’s tip tickled his forearm, but rather than flinch, he felt envy. The stormy days of youth had not yet reached So-bin.

‘Youth must be nice.’

Jeong Yeon-shin, counting his two-plus years of life left, spoke.

“So-bin. You are first.”

Her clear eyes flinched and looked up at him.

“I guessed as much. What should I show?”

“As you please.”

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader ordered.

With a shout, Shin So-bin strode forward boldly.

Sunlight rippled on her swaying braid, and a faint haze rose from her steps on the foliage. The precursor to Radiant Wing Steps.

She had inherited Jeong Yeon-shin’s orthodox martial lineage.

With innate sense, she wielded Lightning Genius’s individual techniques apt for each moment.

She used the Radiant Demon Technique’s piercing flaws only in decisive instants, knowing her instincts made it ideal for one-on-one life-or-death duels.

The Radiant Arts Bond, blending both aspects, she reserved for group combat. Such was her talent.

“The era of grandmasters has waned.”

Several figures emerged from Heaven’s Pillar Sect’s side. Cheong Bo-hwa stood at their center.

“Bodhidharma, Zhang Sanfeng, Heavenly Demon…”

She continued slowly.

“Those venerating the old mock and scorn the new. It has been so since the dynasty’s founding. With martial arts bearing their forebears’ will, they coveted our clan’s beauty. Men and women alike. Thus, we rejected old martial lineages and ceased adopting their culture. An ancient decision.”

“Many contradictions appear.”

Jeong Yeon-shin, standing still, pointed out calmly. Cheong Bo-hwa nodded.

“What remains is pride and martial might. Yet that too is our tradition. If we offend a grandmaster like you, let the martial arts born from your hands tear our horizons apart.”

Her wrinkled finger soon pointed far behind.

“That is the World Tree’s thickest trunk. Heaven’s Pillar. The divine pillar of the sky. Beneath it lies the lake you seek.”

Jeong Nan-song, Cheong Myeong’s former junior, had mentioned a ‘divine pillar.’

His words were no exaggeration.

Jeong Yeon-shin realized abruptly. A shock brightened his vision.

What he had mistaken for the sky was a verdant trunk, vast beyond measure, stretching endlessly.

It blanketed the entire valley now. Not brown, but a translucent, shimmering bark masquerading as the heavens.

“We will judge the martial arts, not the person. Their perfection.”

Cheong Bo-hwa stepped back a few paces.

Then Cheong Myeong’s former junior emerged. A man with long, dark green hair. The swordsman called Jeong Nan-song.

He did not look at Shin So-bin before him. His blue eyes fixed on Jeong Yeon-shin.

“I hear you are that exiled disciple’s superior.”

“Correct.”

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader replied, arms crossed. A cold glint flashed in Jeong Nan-song’s eyes.

“You bear a sword hard to wield. That Cheong Myeong is so sharp he cuts even bonds of loyalty. I trained long to one day break his blade, yet I still lack confidence.”

“I see.”

“I will gauge you through this girl’s martial arts. Unique skills often reflect much, so I can fathom your capacity and heart. Our clan’s eyes differ from you Han folk.”

“Even without that, I sense your martial arts are formidable. Your eye technique’s energy lattice is desperately woven, and the balance radiating from your Yongquan acupoints suggests a mind honed like a blade. A remarkable fixation. This squad leader’s horizons have widened.”

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke with a hint of admiration.

Thanks to his niece. He had awakened compassion for the slow-witted.

Naturally, he now saw the efforts of lesser talents, and this was akin to a monkey speaking.

To amass such training with such blunt energy control.

“Th-thank you.”

Jeong Nan-song stammered, tilting his head slightly.

A gentle breeze brushed the space ringed by noble clan masters. Perhaps a ripple born from the supreme master Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s humility.

In the slightly warmed atmosphere, preparations for the sparring began.

“Begin.”

Right after Heaven’s Pillar Sect’s leader spoke with a voice tinged with mirth.

Shin So-bin, glaring at Jeong Nan-song with narrowed eyes, assumed a fist stance. She stomped one foot down.

Boom!

A powerful stomp shook the leafy ground. As deep vibrations spread, grass blades whirled outward from her swinging arm.

Whoosh—!

The front warped. The force from one stomp surged through her fist, rending the air.

Her neatly braided hair unfurled, fluttering black. Jeong Nan-song had no time to raise his sword.

As his eyebrow arched, a white fist struck his solar plexus. With streaks of force raking the air white.

Bang!

Jeong Nan-song’s body flew back. Foliage shredded in the sharp, swirling wind.

A dull thud resounded as he sprawled, and silence seeped into the valley.

A single move decided it.