Chapter 287 – Lotus (6)

The main road stretching outside the estate was tinged with excitement.

It was an era of survival of the fittest. The lives of common people diverged based on who emerged as the strong during times of famine.

The hands of superhuman martial artists were incredibly large. The scale of exploitation differed.

Among martial artists with vastly different tactical gaps, who would act as the foremost figure?

The martial arts tournament encompassing all of vast Shanxi Province carried immense significance. Even more so within the estate.

Countless people came and went.

An enormous dining table spread out in a U-shape under the sunlight in the banquet hall.

“They say the Iron Soul Divine Blade of the Gui family is unparalleled.”

“The martial foundation of Pingyang Prefecture is the Gongya family. Do you know how beautiful the eldest daughter and second son are? Their appearances are unmatched in the streets. Surely their martial arts must be the same.”

“You dare discuss Shanxi’s young martial artists without mentioning Slaughter Chivalry? Don’t make me laugh. How many evildoers have fallen to his Blazing Moon Sword Technique! Reciting poetry over corpses, there’s no other Yama who understands refinement like him.”

“The young masters and misses of the Gao Sword Sect, Shou Yue Gate, and Azure Sky Clan are not to be underestimated either. Are there only one or two in Shanxi who have honed their practical martial arts to the extreme?”

Sects recognized as prestigious families gathered, whether their energy was pure or irregular.

The colors of martial robes were diverse.

As they conversed while carrying meticulously maintained weapons, the composure unique to those who reigned as the strong in chaotic times of famine emanated from them.

“What does it matter how the tournament turns out? It may not be the time to leisurely ponder the direction of a martial arts tournament. I hear the blood demons nearby have started showing themselves like wild boars facing a forest fire.”

“They’re not Blood Flame Cult Swordsmasters, just rabble. They’re no real threat. I beheaded one on my way here. He didn’t even have the mindset for blood absorption and plunder. He was paralyzed with fear.”

“Was your sword energy that exceptional?”

“Well…”

The atmosphere was closer to a feast at a noble house. Since a family called a prestigious house was hosting the banquet, it could indeed be considered as such.

The vast estate grounds were filled with people. Even with only renowned sects and martial artists admitted, it was so. The world was this vast.

“Gongya Jeong.”

“…Gui Yitai.”

It was an open space where colorful awnings were spread to block the sunlight.

Gongya Jeong adjusted the red sash tied at her waist. More precisely, she touched the scabbard wrapped in the sash with her fingertips.

It was because someone who unconsciously demanded drawing swords had approached nearby. Gui Yitai of the Shanxi Gui family.

“Your aura is still imposing. I’d think you cultivated Formless Sword Energy.”

He spoke while twitching the scar on his nose bridge. His manner of speech was crude.

His appearance was not.

He wore a voluminous yellow fur coat. His eye level looked down on Gongya Jeong, who was tall herself.

With a large yet agile body honed as a bandit, his flushed face bore abundant expressions. He had the air of one who feared nothing in the world.

It was fitting. He was said to have inherited the essence of the outlaw martial lineage.

The Shanxi Gui family was created by martial bandits who wished to operate in the open.

Few in Shanxi did not know of Thundering Sky Mad Blade Gui Yitai. Whether for his arrogant nature or merciless methods.

Gui Yitai, who had been looking down on Gongya Jeong, smiled.

“I heard you chased away a matchmaker. Isn’t that discourteous for a prestigious family? One that even hires tutors to recite literature for generations.”

“The discourtesy was from your family. To speak of marriage to the heir of our lineage.”

Eldest daughter Gongya Jeong did not even meet his gaze.

She exchanged words coldly, like the winter air brightly touching her face. As the banquet host, she was busy surveying her surroundings.

Gui Yitai fondled the blade sheath at his waist.

“How is a message to consider it harassment? Go see a monk with high dharma power. He’ll say your head is full of demon armies. You act noble but are desperate to protect your interests. How can your capacity grow?”

Gongya Jeong did not answer. She recalled the Sect Leader Geom’s advice.

—If you’re in a position where you can’t lose, you shouldn’t engage in combat until you’ve aligned your breathing and grip while observing your opponent. A fight is an amalgamation of variables. Before I refined my internal energy breathing, I couldn’t confidently claim certain victory against even a single poppy addict at all times. It would be even more so in the realm of the low-skilled.

Gui Yitai had suddenly approached and spoken to her.

She was not at her best now. She must not give any pretext for a fight.

‘Sect Leader Geom.’

She looked towards a table under an awning. A youthful-faced young man drawing gazes from those around him.

With an appearance that somewhat distanced one from reality, he revealed naive knowledge while glancing at the young martial artists nearby.

He seemed to be looking at the heroes participating in the martial arts tournament with curiosity.

To Gongya Jeong, Geom Woon-bi was the mysterious one.

‘He seems to be from another world.’

As a martial artist, she admired the Sky-Jade Sect Leader. The strange nostalgia, affection, and solitude emanating from his sword dance under the moonlight would be hard to forget.

His generosity in unhesitatingly teaching a secret technique to cultivate for ten years was also remarkable. Perhaps it was due to his appearance. He came across as a noble spiritual being.

Despite the status gap between an heir of a prestigious house and a wandering swordsman, he was difficult to approach.

“Hey, what are you looking at? Hm?”

A thick voice cut through her thoughts.

Thundering Sky Mad Blade Gui Yitai. A rival of the same age, different from Slaughter Chivalry.

Shanxi’s deficiencies grew due to people like Gui Yitai.

They acted as disciples of prestigious families in public settings like this, but outside they fully exercised their survival instincts to steal the precious food of commoners.

Due to their elusive lightness skills, it was not easy to identify them. Because of the difficulty in obtaining proof, only those in the know whispered about it.

The martial world was gradually becoming more barbaric.

For the young master of the Shanxi Gui family, who inherited outlaw secret techniques, it was as if the world was his.

With a status allowing arrogance anywhere, an explosive temperament, and powerful martial arts. He was one who saw himself as the center of the world.

Seeing the newcomer with a dreamlike figure and black hair flowing to his shoulders from afar, he slightly twisted his thick lips upward.

“What a strange fellow. No wonder he caught the Gongya eldest daughter’s eye. Is he a plaything?”

Thud… His large fur coat passed by, blocking Gongya Jeong’s right field of vision.

She did not stop him.

She hoped Geom Woon-bi would become acquainted with Shanxi’s notables. He was too precious to die as a wandering swordsman in a temporary residence.

It was closer to a hidden benefactor. If the outlaw Gui family tried to suppress the Sect Leader Geom with their authority, she intended to be his backing.

“Send Shaoxing wine that way.”

Gongya Jeong ordered the servant behind her, pointing towards Sky-Jade Sect Leader Geom Woon-bi’s vicinity.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

Rustle.

A dark sleeve brushed against the table. Eyes gathered at the sound of fabric sliding.

It was a gathering of many with keen hearing. Maintaining composure among martial artists who had cultivated their senses was not easy.

‘What is there to see.’

Jeong Yeon-shin silently gripped his cup.

Many approached with interest. Most fixed their gazes on his face. He had not experienced this when wearing clothes embroidered with the character “Desolate”.

Lowering his status and martial prowess, he found the world harsher than expected. He wondered what he would be doing if he hadn’t entered Desolate Fortress.

Suddenly, the pure blood cloth in his buried luggage came to mind. As did the smoothly smiling face of the Seventh Apostle.

He shook his head inwardly. It was far from his temperament. Very far.

‘I might have become Sword Dragon’s disciple. At Mount Zhongnan.’

Jeong Yeon-shin focused on sensing the presences around him while fiddling with his wine cup.

‘The man constantly eating meat on the right is the First Sword of Gao Sword Sect. The woman drinking to the left front is the young sect leader of Shou Yue Sect. The Jin something-or-other renowned as a rising star in the Azure Sky Clan is stroking his sword by the back side door. The large figure approaching from afar is Gui something-or-other of the Shanxi Gui family. And also…’

He identified the targets one by one. It felt like being an assassin.

He had learned about them in advance through Gongya Jeong. They were said to exploit the common people through all sorts of methods.

Regularly stealing harvested grain was commonplace, and they would mysteriously embezzle food prepared by commoners for taxes, forcing them to pay twice.

However, it was merely circumstantial evidence. Martial artists who had cultivated survival techniques never left traces.

Even the Gongya family could only guess at the villains based on the testimonies of powerless commoners.

An era where might made right. The reality of the martial world in times of famine.

“They say the Hundred and Eight Arhat Formation was deployed again at Mount Song. It was a cloudy day, but I hear the clouds parted greatly. The pilgrims at Dengfeng County all prostrated themselves on the spot, so it must be true. They say they saw the Buddha’s palm.”

“Did the Emperor descend again?”

“Who knows. The world is in turmoil. It might have been some monster repelled by Shaolin monks.”

“Have you heard the rumor that the Divine Sword Group Leader swept away ten of the Dark Night Palace’s bow firing platforms?”

“That’s from another world. I recently acquired a Taoist immortal painting by an artist called Tang Yin. When I hung it on the wall, the air became refreshing… It was indeed a masterpiece. In terms of martial arts, it’s like a painting left by a peerless master of the Heart Sword.”

[TL Note- Tang Yin (1470–1524), also known by his courtesy name Tang Bohu, was a renowned Chinese painter, calligrapher, poet, and scholar of the Ming dynasty.]

“You’re overflowing with leisure. I’ll come see it soon. Our estate has become pungent with cow dung.”

“I heard you acquired a hundred cows during the famine? Do you have fodder to feed them?”

“Plenty.”

These were men and women who had lost interest upon hearing Sky-Jade Sect Leader Geom Woon-bi’s identity.

The gazes around were not focused solely on Jeong Yeon-shin. It was a banquet of prestigious families.

Many groups sat in closed circles, refusing approach. There was no place for a mere guest at a gathering of the greatly privileged.

It was that splendid of a drinking party.

Foods and famous wines from all regions were served.

There was the famous Osmanthus Chicken dish from Hangzhou, mapo tofu from Sichuan, and mushroom stir-fry unique to Shanxi, known for its vinegar.

The appetizing food aroma seemed to envelop the surroundings like a fog.

It was a delicacy that even the sword fragrance of Mount Hua Sect immortals could not overcome. Dozens laughed and chatted.

Contrary to Gongya Jeong’s wishes, Jeong Yeon-shin did not want to mingle with them. It was enough to confirm their faces, figures, energy, and names.

“You’re quite shy. It’s unsightly.”

A husky voice rang out above his head. The voice itself was extremely loud.

Jeong Yeon-shin raised his head without changing expression. It was someone he had sensed earlier.

The Gui something-or-other of the Shanxi Gui family. A man with a large build was looking down at him. The expression on his face was ominous.

“Your surname is Geom, you say? I’ve never heard of such a surname. It must be because your family line is lowly. With no roots, you’ve come to rely on the Gongya family. Then shouldn’t you be diligently wagging that pretty tongue of yours? The eldest daughter’s wish for you must be to entertain the guests.”

Some people whistled.

The scions of refined families just watched with deep eyes. It was the kind of provocation that often occurred when martial artists gathered.

“Roots…”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s head tilted slightly to the side.

“I heard you’re of bandit origin.”

“……”

This time, truly many gazes gathered.

Thundering Sky Mad Blade Gui Yitai was said to be a likely winner of the martial arts tournament, along with the Gongya young family head and Slaughter Chivalry.

He was said to have refined the Iron Soul Divine Blade, the crystallization of outlaw sword techniques, to the extreme.

He was famous for the anecdote of beheading over ten mounted bandits charging at him with a single stroke.

His gaze looking down was oppressive from the start. Eyes that seemed to have rarely looked up at people.

His intention to shame the Gongya family through Jeong Yeon-shin was evident.

Then.

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly raised his hand.

He extended it outward.

There was no drawing of swords. The air bent and broke hazily from the force imbued in his outstretched hand. It was to the side of Gui Yitai.

Blood spurted like vomit from the back of a blood demon who had been revealing himself as if fog taking form.

Splurt—!

“Argh!”

The distinctively crimson hair of the Blood Flame Cult’s Blood Swordmaster flared up.

His target, a servant carefully walking while carrying a food tray, fell back in great shock.

“Invisibility technique? Heighten your energy senses!”

“Blood Flame Cult! It’s an attack by the Blood Flame Cult!”

Chaos erupted in an instant. The sounds of weapons being drawn and shockwaves of internal energy exploded everywhere.

Blood Flame Cult martial artists whose sneak attack had been exposed poured in from all directions.

Clang! Swoosh!

The ground shook. The once peaceful air became stifling. Those who had cultivated swift sword techniques were the first to spurt blood and collapse, losing balance.

The situation became urgent in a flash… The Gongya estate was originally famous for its abundance, and they had wafted food aromas so strongly during a famine.

With rumors of a banquet for the martial arts tournament widely known, it was a situation ripe for targeting.

It was likely that starving blood demons who had fled from the Shanxi branch were eyeing it.

“The right! Block the right!”

“It’s a whip! He’s skilled in Whip Arts! Is there no master of protective energy?”

“There are five Blood Swordmasters…!”

As the masters immediately responded, many servants and attendants screamed.

Though the blood demons were said to be as disorganized as they were numerous, to commoners they were close to invincible monsters.

Sacrifices were inevitable.

At least until Jeong Yeon-shin moved.

He did not hesitate.

Step.

It was a step taken right after sweeping his gaze across the battlefield once.

The moment a faint halo of light rose like smoke from beneath his feet, a large, dim constellation was drawn in the banquet hall.

His figure, distorting the air, drew a long line that bent five times.

Clang—!

The Blood Swordmaster who managed to block the first strike with his blade was sent flying.

A tremendous roar swept through the banquet hall. He turned into a bloody pulp and was embedded in the wall as if hit by a massive cannon.

Within the faintly emerged constellation in broad daylight.

Crack! Splat!

Bodies shattered and blood exploded. Five shockwaves followed in rapid succession, as if they were one.