Chapter 239 – Eye-Opening (3)

The slaughter by the radiant sword squad had ceased.

The shoulders of the twenty-eight warriors standing on the plain rose and fell gently. It had been a large-scale battle. They had left hundreds of evil faction members crippled or dead.

Even after displaying overwhelming movement techniques, their need to catch their breath did not seem out of place.

The sleeves of the fist technique masters had turned pitch black, while blood dripped steadily from the sword tips of the swordsmen, staining the ground with soft splatters.

Radiant Arts Bond was a divine technique with clear strengths and weaknesses. Its overpowering breakthrough power came at a cost.

Such was the law of the martial world. Only by expending vast amounts of inner energy could miracles be wrought.

Yet its effectiveness was undeniable.

This scene—the carnage of a faction facing life-and-death battle—proved it.

“Guh…”

“Ugh…”

The bushes and soil were dyed dark red. The stench of blood carried on the cold wind, spreading in all directions.

Flesh torn by energy bursts, bodies shattered by waves, corpses cleaved in two, and the defeated gasping in agony as faint traces of inner energy sustained their lives…

“Is this… a dream?”

“My heart… feels lighter.”

“All that bravado.”

Even the sturdy folk of Shaanxi’s Xi’an could not stomach the sight. Even those with considerable courage turned away.

Fortunately, there was somewhere else to look. In faction’s life and death battles, the climax was said to be the duel between leaders.

The plain of Great Moon Gorge was no exception.

“Only the sect leaders remain!”

“Goodness, how will this end…”

“Sword Demon Sect Leader went down, right? A upheaval’s coming to Xi’an!”

“Their combined attack will be different. Isn’t it a strength beyond our grasp?”

“They brought heavenly masters like that. Won’t they show something incredible against Xi’an’s top three?”

More spectators than the dead evil faction warriors craned their necks downward. Many were gaunt from hunger.

For once, life sparked on their lifeless, parched faces. A sadistic thrill.

“Please… please…”

Some prayed as if offering devotion at a shrine. They wished for the evil sect leaders’ deaths as if a savior had descended.

Hands and heads gripping rocks turned toward the boy swordsman clad in a blood-stained robe.

Xi’an’s seven great sect leaders versus an unidentified supreme master.

As hundreds of gazes focused, the cliffs flanking the gorge grew silent.

The mountain range, stretching as if to touch Guanzhong Plain’s horizon, glowed with vivid green, while the slightly lowered sunlight spread white.

A dreamlike, verdant stillness. It clashed with both the carnage and the standoff.

This created an eerie atmosphere.

Until a man with a broadsword on his back spoke from the seven sect leaders’ side.

“You will not take more than ten breaths?”

His appearance was unconventional.

He bared his upper body. As if flaunting external martial prowess. A scar rose from his abs, skipping his neck, and reached his cheek.

A horrific sword wound. How was he alive? The blazing heat of his inner energy felt almost paradoxical.

Great Wind Blade Freak Bu Jo-wi.

Sect Leader of Heaven-Soaring Blade Sect.

Counted among Xi’an’s strongest bladesmen. His fame crossed righteous and evil factions alike. His blade techniques were said to rival Mount Zhongnan’s precision. A master of Heaven-Soaring Blade Sect’s Middle Heaven Blade.

Famous for claiming he feared no immortals of the Nine Sects. Having seen Sword Demon Sect Leader fall, his square face burned with fighting spirit.

“No matter how much you…”

His deep voice rumbled.

At that moment, the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader took a step. Grass crunched softly. Wind stirred where his foot pressed the ground. A luminous wheel aura flared from his Yongquan point, bursting into propulsion.

A heavy thud!

His heel dug in fully. Even confining the energy wave within, his inner energy flowed effortlessly.

His mastery of inner energy grew sharper daily. An unconscious expansion of his upper dantian energy field’s capacity.

A fiery surge!

Jeong Yeon-shin narrowed his eyes. A fierce recoil hit. Strong winds brushed his hair and robes, felt even through his fingers.

He did not hesitate to enter the six sect leaders’ domain. Bu Jo-wi’s twisted face loomed larger rapidly.

The man reacted fast. Drawing the broadsword from his back, he swung downward.

The air split around, grass flattening to the sides. A blade wave roared. It charged, shattering bushes and soil.

A deafening boom!

To wield such a large technique, reaction speed had to match rapid swordplay. As a master of heavy weapons, he seemed to have honed his senses keenly.

The translucent, blazing wave reached Jeong Yeon-shin’s face in an instant. The blade wind alone could rend bricks.

‘Not easy.’

Jeong Yeon-shin thought. The evil faction’s nature struck his skin.

How many evil sect leaders shared nourishing foods, elixirs, or peerless techniques with disciples? Very few.

Especially for a faction like Xi’an’s seven greats. Their leaders’ authority was said to touch the heavens. A structure where the head had to be overwhelmingly powerful.

Anyone not utterly naive would know this. It showed in the blade wave he faced.

It came as a translucent, honed slash. Fiercely cleaving space.

A sharp whistle!

Jeong Yeon-shin felt his bangs shift across his forehead. His vision warped right before him. Staring straight, he raised his left hand.

The luminous wheel energy at his elbow split in two, racing up like light. As he touched the blade wave, fierce winds split through his fingers.

The recoil was immense. Despite cloaking his hand in energy, his palm skin felt pushed back.

It aided in weaving clashing energies. He adjusted by feel.

‘Should I use Brilliant River differently?’

Jeong Yeon-shin’s lips sank slightly.

Bu Jo-wi’s eyes widened a fraction.

Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s advance did not stop. He surged forward from that first leap. Sword lowered, he parted the blade wave with his other hand.

Amid sunlight flickering from the energy’s wake, his expressionless, refined face peeked through. Chilling.

“Ki So-seul!”

Bu Jo-wi shouted urgently. The name of Severing Edge Pavilion’s leader, a master of strange weapons. Another of Xi’an’s seven great sect leaders.

A high-pitched ring!

Suddenly, sharp beams flashed ahead. Like an untimely downpour. They sliced space in all directions, linking grass to sky.

A web to block Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s charge. Like an oversized spiderweb, but with a metallic texture, sealing all fronts.

Clearly thrust downward from the front, yet angles bounced up and down. As if spiderwebs stood everywhere. Remarkably sturdy.

A single move of genius. A blend of sorcery and martial arts?

Jeong Yeon-shin halted. A strand nearly grazed his chin.

Tilting his head slightly, he glanced past Bu Jo-wi. A woman in sky-blue silk stretched both hands.

Glowing threads flowed from her wide sleeves. Dozens at a glance.

The rumored thread sword. Special iron sliced into threads, wielded as a weapon.

‘I’ve heard of it.’

Sharp Thread Ghost Severance Ki So-seul. A former zither player who gained a fateful encounter and founded a faction.

Also evil. All Xi’an’s pleasure houses were under her grip. She ordered her men to abduct sleeping commoners from inns, indebting them to brothels.

A hedonist alongside Heaven-Soaring Blade Sect Leader Bu Jo-wi.

Their eyes met.

Finely dressed, she exuded a ghostly aura. Her twisted smile did too. A silent laugh dripping with eeriness.

Such was the martial world.

Did all famed evil faction leaders possess such vivid presence?

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

“His protective aura is a weakness.”

From behind Bu Jo-wi.

“Not as potent as his other skills. The framework is shallow. No, not truly shallow—just less deep compared to his other methods. It doesn’t suit him.”

Reverend Remaining Earth Sect Leader Wei Ri-hwa spoke. Her venomous eyes glinted with sword-like sharpness.

She aimed to maximize the observation technique gifted by Yu Ling’s lord.

“His pause at Ki So-seul’s Severing Ghost Threads proves it. With Yu Ling’s secret threads, I suspect he excels at crafting arts suited to himself. His protective aura is likely underdeveloped. He prioritized refining other unique skills. To kill him, now’s the time.”

Her words were rapid. A fight premised on voice transmission. Masters swinging hands like light could speak just as fast.

Like Desolate Fortress warriors. Those trained in voice transmission spoke quicker than their strikes. Comprehension matched.

Jeong Yeon-shin let it slide. He noted only Yu Ling’s intelligence network.

He widened his forward view. Severing Ghost Threads, she called it. Ki So-seul’s thread swords encircled all directions.

A chilling edge flowed. Ordinary protective auras could not withstand it. His movement was restricted.

‘How do they move?’

The question arose.

A low roar!

From the left, white robes billowed long. Radiant Moon Sect Leader Baek Mu-ryang closed the distance like an immortal’s teleportation.

White beard fluttering, he thrust a palm. A strange rumble pulsed from the formless energy at its center.

A sound never heard before. It pierced his ears, whitening his mind.

A piercing screech!

The essence of Radiant Moon Tyrant Technique. A wicked art tormenting foes in myriad ways. Truly sinister.

Simultaneously, the thread web parted sideways on its own. Clearly Ki So-seul’s doing.

Allowing allies’ paths while restricting foes. The threads moved swiftly. Expanding and contracting as if alive.

A storm brewed from the right. Bu Jo-wi struck again.

As Bu Jo-wi’s figure loomed, swinging his broadsword wide, Middle Heaven Blade’s heavy wave slipped cunningly through the thread web’s gaps.

The friction of rending air was deafening. Before it reached, Jeong Yeon-shin’s robes fluttered violently backward.

A thunderous roar!

Attacks came from both sides.

Jeong Yeon-shin fixed his gaze beyond Wei Ri-hwa’s shoulder.

A massive woman. Her build rivaled Bu Jo-wi’s. Beneath red sleeves, she clasped huge hands at her waist.

The swirling energy flow from her feet was immense. As if carving the ground.

Dust spiraled upward like a dragon. Faint tremors rippled.

Time-Sun Mountain-Crushing Fist Kang Mu-jeong.

Sect Leader of Xi’an’s Great Command Mighty Earthquake Sect.

Her tale was famed.

Born to a herb gatherer, she consumed a thousand-year ginseng. Its spiritual energy made her the mightiest in inner strength among the seven greats.

Rumors claimed her signature move, Earthshaking Thunder Wave, could shatter a small peak if fully unleashed.

She could not rise to supreme mastery due to inability to release such force instantly in one-on-one life and death duel. An evil faction member repeatedly courted by military factions.

‘They’ve formed a solid formation.’

In that brief moment, Jeong Yeon-shin thought.

Kang Mu-jeong prepared a decisive blow from the rear, while Frigid Demon Sword Wei Ri-hwa sought openings with Yu Ling’s observation.

Ki So-seul’s thread web sealed all directions as Baek Mu-ryang and Bu Jo-wi struck gaps.

The sequence converged into Kang Mu-jeong’s Earthshaking Thunder Wave.

The flow of linked techniques unfolded in Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes. He deflected Baek Mu-ryang’s wrinkled palm from the left.

He had intended to shatter the wrist in one blow, but the man cautiously withdrew force.

Bu Jo-wi’s blade technique from the right was similar. A single slash of Judgement Qilin broke it hollowly.

Instead, Northern Light Sword’s tip caught in the thread web. He could not move briefly.

Ki So-seul, far off, smiled smoothly.

“Caught some iron beasts, mixed their silk with mystic iron, and spun it out. Even Sword Saint couldn’t cut it.”

Sword Demon Sect Leader fell futilely. He could not trade many moves.

These prepared sect leaders were different. They moved for a combined assault.

Conserving themselves, their every technique bore the intent to drag down their foe. As if the martial world demanded such a formation to slay a supreme master.

“Ah.”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s lips twitched upward faintly. Like tracing gold with a blade, he shifted Northern Light Sword, lightly flicking a thread.

A gesture tinged with the odd curiosity of youth.

“Seven exchanges left?”

He murmured slowly.

Then, with his phantom-force-imbued left hand, he seized a thread strand.