Chapter 172 – Implementation (8)

The stench of over 120 corpses filled West Peak Road like a fog.

They were all souls who had drawn weapons before dying. Some had been capturing prisoners.

They hadn’t discriminated between children, women, and men. All were helpless commoners.

The boy’s black robe had darkened further. Blood had seeped in with each battle.

THUD!

The Young Radiant Demon Wing Leader stabbed his sword into the ground. He had just finished another fight. The gazes on him varied.

Along with fearful looks, there was also reverence and gratitude. The prisoners rescued from their hands kept bowing deeply.

“Thank you, thank you…!”

A woman in shabby hemp clothes grabbed Jeong Yeon-shin’s hand.

The boy’s blood-stained hand was covered by her dirt-covered palm.

“Return home safely. They won’t attack again,” Jeong Yeon-shin said.

A small smile formed on the elderly woman’s face. Consideration creased at her lips.

It was a smile worn while leaving behind dead relatives and a devastated homeland. Though unlearned, she had deep wisdom.

She wanted to show only a good face to the young hero who had saved her life.

“May fortune be with you, warrior.”

Jeong Yeon-shin blankly watched the woman’s retreating figure. His mother would have been that age if alive.

He hoped all her life’s misfortunes had gathered in this incident. May she have peace from now on.

“Isn’t your attitude too different?”

Step.

Yue Yu-lin, who approached, asked bluntly.

Jeong Yeon-shin briefly turned his gaze toward her. The precious daughter of a prestigious family wore a strange expression.

A face whose thoughts were hard to guess. The boy didn’t bother trying to understand her feelings.

The fact that Azure Qilin Namgung Se-jin had died by his hands wouldn’t change.

Spear Phoenix Yue Yu-lin.

One of the Nine Dragons Nine Phoenixes said to possess outstanding martial power and appearance. The young niece of Divine Spear Yue Shou-lin.

The boy turned his head again.

She was someone who hated him. While he understood her, he had no desire to try winning her favor.

His life wasn’t leisurely enough to waste effort on things he couldn’t change.

Rather, his interest went to Fan Dragon Zhuge Xian. He was someone with much to learn from.

“About thirty should remain,” Zhuge Xian said while sitting in the center of the camp. He had perched on a smoothly cut horizontal rock.

It was an unnatural chair. Everyone assumed it was a stone seat created by Swimming Heaven Sword Ghost’s sword strike.

Such sword work was impossible without being an extremely prestigious swordsman.

A Go board sat in front of the stone seat. It too seemed to have been left by Sword Ghost.

Enjoying games in the center of the Heart Martial Alliance’s strict camp? It wasn’t possible unless one was an elder-level master.

The black and white stones were intertwined.

The battles so far had been at the camp’s outskirts, so it remained untouched.

“You said you’re the Zhuge family’s Young Master,” the boy said.

“These days I’m known as the direct descendant of the Alliance’s power. Since they say the Zhuge clan head is effectively the orthodox path’s number one…” Zhuge Xian greeted the boy while showing his palm. It came with a somewhat self-deprecating smile.

The three who had spent two nights together weren’t awkward exchanging words.

“Is it true what they say about Sword Star being a figurehead?”

“Though his martial power and reputation are high, he has no other connections. He was perfect for the Alliance Leader position. Since the clan heads are in a state of combining and splitting apart, the figurehead they put forward had to be someone without power. There are clan heads who led that effort… but I’d rather not discuss it.”

Zhuge Xian, who had answered indirectly, changed the subject. He seemed to greatly fear his father.

“The remaining forces should all return today or tomorrow. Fortunately, we’ve greatly reduced their strength. We were lucky. To have cut down this many before facing Swimming Heaven Sword Ghost…”

It was true. Of 150 men, over 120 corpses had been cleared.

Though many had died in two days, Zhuge Xian and Yue Yu-lin’s expressions hadn’t particularly changed.

This was the meaning of eliminating demonic path practitioners. Orthodox martial artists could be ruthless toward demonic path outsiders.

“Does he really use Sword Control?” the boy asked while sitting across from him. He meant Swimming Heaven Sword Ghost.

While Yue Yu-lin raised her eyebrows at being completely ignored, a faint smile formed at Zhuge Xian’s lips.

“We can’t know. Though it’s true Sword Ghost is famous as an undefeated swordsman in Henan and his activities are relatively exposed… even the Beggar Sect’s agents couldn’t analyze his sword techniques. It’s unfortunate there are only abundant rumors about it being like light. There’s an unconfirmed story that he once boasted any black rank of Desolate Fortress could be handled with one sword.”

“…Famous as undefeated? I heard he was an elder.”

“It means he’s lived as a supreme master for many years. Since it indicates he’s that extraordinary a master, it’s worth noting. The internal energy he’s cultivated must not be the rapidly declining kind of the demonic path. He’ll be terrifyingly strong, but just knowing we face a veteran swordsman provides some preparation, doesn’t it? Especially for masters like you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean thousand-year talents. Though the scale of their vessels differs, I had two around me. Lazy Flame Dragon and Azure Qilin.”

“…You’re the same age, right?”

“Yes. We three… the Young Masters of Zhuge, Namgung, and Hwangbo are the same age. Since it’s rare and quite interesting, we exchanged greetings from afar. Meeting at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, sending letters and such.”

Zhuge Xian, who had been quietly taking in the Go board, lightly dusted his iron fan. The pure white ribs spread wide.

The crane engraved on the surface slightly covered his lips.

“Ah, moves very faithful to the Ten Rules of Go. Never… deviating from principles. Seems he played both black and white stones himself… Swimming Heaven Sword Ghost might unexpectedly be a rigid person.”

He suddenly muttered to himself before speaking up.

The Ten Rules of Go. They were the commonly known ten secrets of Go.

He had started talking about himself but switched to giving advice about Sword Ghost. Zhuge Xian was unusual too.

Though his words and actions were orderly, he was hard to grasp.

“Did you know? The saying that life is contained in Go isn’t completely wrong. Even the temperaments of talents can be expressed through the Ten Rules. Whether Lazy Flame Dragon or Azure Qilin.” Zhuge Xian spoke in a calm tone.

Suddenly.

Jeong Yeon-shin felt a certain lightning. A thrill flashed in his mind.

Though faint, something close to inspiration lingered in his thoughts. A precious sword arose in his mental image.

The boy slowly parted his lips.

“Tell me more.”

The smile visible above Zhuge Xian’s fan deepened.

“First, I’d ask you not to tell Lazy Flame Dragon. I wasn’t very close with him. Since he avoids debauchery.”

“Then?”

“We were forced to associate because Azure Qilin maintained exchanges with us all, but to describe Lazy Flame Dragon, the principle of ‘Enter Territory Slowly’ would suit him. Though he seems hot-tempered, he maintains boundaries and is relaxed. You could say he knows when to advance and retreat. He’s extremely skilled at judging situations.”

“That’s not helpful. What about the other one?”

Jeong Yeon-shin mercilessly moved past the topic. Zhuge Xian, who had been staring blankly at the boy, suddenly asked.

“How did Azure Qilin meet his end? We need to know his final moments to discuss his true character.”

No particular intention showed in his expression. Only a startled presence was felt from behind. It seemed to be Yue Yu-lin.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

Azure Qilin Namgung Se-jin.

Since entering the Martial Alliance as Radiant Demon Wing Leader, the boy had been constantly troubled by him.

Wherever he went, Namgung Se-jin’s name was heard. It was no less bothersome than the knee pain that visited nightly.

Jeong Yeon-shin was human too. Very occasionally, it was tiresome. The orthodox martial artists who hated him. The guilt of sending a good person to the afterlife.

Though it was a fair life-and-death duel as martial artists, the fact of killing a hero pained him to the bone.

He just didn’t show it. It wasn’t by choice.

The boy spoke with deliberate calmness.

“He yelled at his family members who tried to do something to me. Told them not to tarnish his death.”

“…He passed away with the attitude of ‘Sacrifice Stones to Take the Initiative’.”

Zhuge Xian nodded.

“It’s the principle that you must take the initiative even at the cost of sacrificing a stone, where ‘initiative’ also means ‘important meaning’. It’s a teaching to clearly distinguish between what has low and high value. Azure Qilin discarded the shell of being the Namgung Young Master and chose being the martial artist Namgung Se-jin. He went as a noble swordsman at the end.”

Though strange emotion filled his eyes, he concluded his words precisely.

“…”

Jeong Yeon-shin silently lowered his gaze. The Go board entered his view. A notably empty area of white stones compared to black caught his eye.

Sacrifice Stones to Take the Initiative. The principle of sacrificing several stones to take the initiative.

“Before.”

The boy slowly moved his lips.

“May I selfishly use what I gained from Azure Qilin?”

WHOOSH!

Around then, busy presences rose from all directions.

About thirty men.

Unlike those killed so far, powerful energy waves approached like a typhoon.

The remaining Heart Martial Alliance martial artists were surrounding them. They seemed to have noticed what had happened to their companions.

They had approached from afar before finally revealing their energy waves.

“Different from before! They said there were masters directly taught by Swimming Heaven Sword Ghost…!”

While Yue Yu-lin drew the spear from her back, silence briefly flowed.

Zhuge Xian quietly stared at the young Radiant Demon Wing Leader before him. He wasn’t quite sure what the genius was saying.

Only one fact resonated. The Zhuge family’s talent thought while looking at Jeong Yeon-shin.

That he was a boy who held martial artist Namgung Se-jin deeper in his heart than anyone.

Fan Dragon Zhuge Xian parted his lips.

“You said at the banquet. That he’d be your equal even at purple rank.”

“I did.”

“Taking a dead man as your rival…? That’s truly harsh. No matter what you achieve, since the gap between you two will remain constant, Azure Qilin would rather be pleased. Isn’t it that the higher your position rises, the higher his level rises too?”

Those words.

They could be called self-consolation. They were words to convince the boy living a short life.

Fan Dragon was truly of Military Advisor Zhuge’s bloodline. The image arose of Azure Qilin standing firm even with his side blown away.

He wanted to respect but not be bound. That’s how it was now.

The boy slowly stood from before the Go board.

That sight entered the eyes of the arriving Heart Martial Alliance martial artists. Unless insane, one couldn’t be so leisurely.

Had he been playing Go among the corpses?

The new Radiant Demon Wing Leader. His composure seemed mad enough to make one think he was insane.

“Sword Ghost’s enemy has struck first. It’s a considerable loss. How should we replenish them. With Desolate Fortress’s young black rank, who knows what might happen.”

A middle-aged man wearing black gloves on both hands stepped forward. Light gathered in his narrow eyes.

Hazy energy waves wrapped his whole body. He was no ordinary master.

The waves irregularly spreading from where he stood proved his internal energy’s depth.

“Was the harvest good?”

Jeong Yeon-shin asked while placing his hand on his sword. The presences of thirty men surrounding them in eight directions were very clear.

Blue rank level energy waves were scattered about. Not just one or two. It could be called a gathering of elite masters.

“What?”

The middle-aged man asked back. The boy’s lips rose slightly.

“Aren’t you farmers who harvest people? The lowest of farmers under heaven.”

“The child has quite the tongue.”

The man smiled slightly. His composure showed no wavering. He seemed to possess deep mental cultivation.

“I know well about you. A young supreme master who uses raw sword techniques and fist methods, operating strange internal energy. Our sect’s Young Master was greatly distressed after losing Sword Flower… I didn’t expect to repay the debt like this. How many nights has he gone without sleep? One? Or two?”

In that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin was recalling his eternal rival.

‘Let’s meet later.’

The boy inwardly spoke. I want to live a very long time.

Suddenly.

A sword manifested in his mind. The dam of enlightenment he had consciously blocked crumbled.

The barrier he had built to honor the deceased burned pure white.

WHOOSH!

He drew the Northern Light divine sword stabbed in the ground. Along with drawing from the earth, the boy raised his right hand.

A curve shimmering with dreamlike light brushed the air.

His stride was shoulder-width. His feet formed a narrow ‘八’ shape. Meanwhile, his right arm rose without hesitation.

It was a stance of pointing the sword at the sky.

Such a stance was rare in noble sword techniques.

It was a stance taken when a swordsman disregarded defense. It was the most aggressive form.

Upper stance.

The boy gripped his sword in the stance of Sacrificing a Stone to Gain the Initiative.