Chapter 243 – Eye-Opening (7)

A Silent Mountain Range

The mountain range lay in stillness.

A breeze swept through the foliage. Among the towering peaks of the gorge, one gentle hill stood out.

Verdant blades of grass stretched haphazardly, swaying lightly. Despite the breath of winter, they retained their green hue.

“…”

So many posters had been plastered around. No one could claim ignorance.

—A group that subdued the seven great sects has challenged Tyrant Sword Sect.

This was no ordinary notice. It targeted the elder overseer of Tyrant Sword Sect with precision.

The soft yet bold mention of her parents left countless mouths agape. Some turned away in haste.

Voices spilled from every corner.

Most spoke of a loss of fear.

Heaven Beyond Heaven.

That’s what they called the uppermost echelon of the martial world, including Tyrant Sword Sect. A sky beyond the sky.

No one dared touch the papers.

The grand city of Xi’an was abuzz.

Countless eyes turned toward this peak.

“The one who swept away the seven sect leaders in a single stroke.”

“How can they face Ghost White Divine Sword? She’s not even human.”

Spectators abounded.

Every peak hid presences like ambushes of an army. Amid the lush yet lifelessly rusting pine needles, all manner of people concealed themselves.

This differed from when the seven great sects fell. Martial artists flooded in from every direction.

The hope that witnessing this might be a rare opportunity, the anticipation of seeing Yeo So-hyang—once renowned alongside Zhongnan Sword Immortal as a sword deity—in person…

The strike of a supreme martial artist was something one might not see in a lifetime.

“There, there she is!”

“Waaah!”

The moment a black dot appeared in the sky, a faint cheer erupted. From those unplundered by the evil factions.

At last, the tyrannical deity descended. All eyes fixed on the heavens.

A piercing wail grew louder, slicing through the air like a ghostly cry. It was as if a divine general from the celestial realm had arrived.

The sound, plunging from the vast sky, was overwhelming from the start.

‘Noisy.’

Standing alone on the hill, Jeong Yeon-shin circulated the Luminous Wheel in his heart.

Energy stirred from his wrists, and his black sleeves billowed widely.

With a sharp hiss, silver threads shot from both hands. Along with the delicate sensation at his wrists, they coiled around pine trees within a thirty-foot radius.

These were thread sword strands, spoils of war, numbering dozens. They twisted together, tightening firmly.

It was as if he’d crafted a zither from nature itself.

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader leapt gracefully onto the golden threads. A strange resonance pulsed beneath his feet.

A clear ding.

A harmony of inner energy. The Luminous Wheel’s power, fully infused, reverberated through each strand. A deep, pure sound spread across the forest.

The gazes fixed upward gradually shifted down to Jeong Yeon-shin. Unfazed by the sunlight, he tilted his head back.

He lacked awareness that he was creating a rare, mystical scene.

He simply took it in.

He saw her.

A figure descending from the sky, standing atop a single treasured sword.

An old woman with ears sharp as sword tips. Her presence was unbelievably keen.

Colorless, ruinous sword qi enveloped her entire body, the energy radiating from her making the air groan.

A hissing sound, like a snake’s cry, rang out ceaselessly. It was clear how she earned the title “Ghost White.”

Her left sleeve fluttered empty, yet her aura remained unshaken. The typical distorted balance of a one-armed swordsman was absent.

Though her Hand Yang Ming Large Intestine Meridian had been severed by Zhongnan Sword Immortal, diminishing her strength.

She lived up to Tyrant Sword Sect’s name. Her entire being seemed to have transformed into a divine blade.

“Child, that writing.”

The old woman moved her wrinkled lips while standing on her sword.

“Did you write it?”

She didn’t fully descend. She hovered about nine feet above. The sword beneath her felt like a throne.

Looking down at Jeong Yeon-shin with hands clasped behind her, her aged experience shone through, paired with long-accumulated arrogance.

Jeong Yeon-shin sensed it.

She had once stepped into the purple realm.

Nothing else made sense. Even with supposedly waning skills, she exuded an overpowering presence.

The sword qi sprouting from Yeo So-hyang’s body naturally reached even Jeong Yeon-shin’s breath.

It flickered sharply, relentlessly probing the protective qi around his face from the moment she descended.

“I dictated it, and it was written. Isn’t every word true?”

Jeong Yeon-shin replied casually, harboring no great expectations. Noble martial artists excelled at discerning truth with their vision.

Cheong Myeong was like that. The elder overseer of Tyrant Sword Sect would be no different. He only felt uneasy that Hyeon Won-chang had used his pseudonym so literally on the posters.

Ghost White Divine Sword Yeo So-hyang’s eyes flared with anger.

“A lie. Yet…”

Suddenly, the sword she stood on flashed upward into her hand. Sword Control.

A sword flier incapable of wielding controlled swordsmanship was unthinkable.

Held in one hand, it floated steadily, as if its center of gravity had shifted to the hilt. Yeo So-hyang’s lips trembled as she clung to it gracefully.

“You bear responsibility too.”

In an instant, the energy condensed in the sword formed another blade.

It wrapped around her weapon.

A deep hum resounded.

The treasured sword in her wrinkled hand roared fiercely. Alongside an intangible greatsword that formed in moments, it slashed sideways—toward another peak crowded with onlookers.

Jeong Yeon-shin realized it. One of the three ultimate techniques Zhuge Xian had described was manifesting.

Loyal-Shattering Desolation Sword Technique—Shattering Thunder.

The air ahead warped.

A thunderous roar erupted.

Yeo So-hyang’s compressed sword energy exploded outward. A straight-line slash. The colorless arc seared through the air, striking midway up the peak.

The surface rocks cracked and sheared off. An intangible wave surged massively.

In that moment.

The peak, home to over a hundred souls, was cleaved in two. Thick dust rose with an unreal texture.

The enormous cut surface began sliding down and sideways. Boulders tumbled alongside rock debris.

A deafening rumble shook the earth.

Screams filled the air. Laden with shock and terror, they rang out in varied tones. Cries squeezed from throats.

Irresistible.

It was akin to a natural disaster.

People tore at the foliage, plummeting off cliffs. Those clinging to tree trunks fell with the severed peak.

Chaos reigned. A dull thud echoed from the distant ground. A single strike twisted countless lives.

It happened in a fleeting instant. Swift as lightning.

“Those who rushed here, nodding at a scrap of paper insulting the sect leader. Worse than jackals, mere insects.”

Ghost White Divine Sword Yeo So-hyang spoke. Her aged voice settled calmly.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

Just before the slash, Jeong Yeon-shin’s thread swords had grazed her footing. A masterful evasion. She’d risen higher in midair.

The treasured sword in her grip returned beneath her feet. An utterly mystical sight.

“First, I’ll slaughter all the riffraff. Child, executing you…”

She stood atop the blade with lofty grace. Her gaze down at Jeong Yeon-shin was frigid.

The look of a supreme master who’d lived atop the world for ages. Even the slow parting of her lips carried weight.

“…will happen slowly, very slowly.”

“Shut up, you old hag.”

Jeong Yeon-shin swiftly scanned his surroundings with his senses.

His Radiant Demon Wing comrades, spread out as scouts, were tasked with identifying strong foes.

He had feared Tyrant Sword Sect’s elites might rush in. Only the Radiant Demon Team, Wei Ji Myo-hwa, Zhuge Xian, and Lazy Flame Dragon waited nearby in disguise.

Fortunately, they weren’t caught in that last strike. Their ambush spots were on other peaks.

‘No.’

Fortunate? Hardly.

Jeong Yeon-shin witnessed a massacre.

Civilians and martial artists alike were swept away. No small number either. Yeo So-hyang had killed over a hundred.

With her sword-flight ability, far from the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s strike range.

A wailing wind sounded.

Even now.

Yeo So-hyang, riding her sword, moved farther. Toward the opposite peak, it seemed.

She has already been beyond all his techniques’ reach, and now it was as if she’d shifted to another realm.

This defied the behavioral patterns Zhuge Xian had described.

She was closer to a madwoman. Tyrant Sword Sect’s elder overseer had lost her mind.

With a swift strike Jeong Yeon-shin couldn’t fully track, she unleashed a rare slash on the populace. The surroundings erupted into chaos.

Crowds fled in all directions. Among clusters of civilians shielding their heads, he spotted the stunned faces of his Radiant Demon Wing comrades.

‘I have to stop her.’

Strength filled Jeong Yeon-shin’s gaze.

Rage boiled in his chest. The Luminous Wheel in his heart seared hotly.

Killing shouldn’t be this casual. Civilian lives belonged outside the martial world.

Jeong Yeon-shin had swung his sword to claim the Fruit of Heaven’s Sight. To extend his single thread of life.

Yet how many threads were now perishing across that cliff? Each one bearing a weight equal to his own.

Another rumble echoed.

Another peak sliced diagonally and fell. Beyond his reach from here.

‘Can I handle her?’

Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes darkened.

He and Zhuge Xian had meticulously analyzed Yeo So-hyang’s strength.

Her left arm lost in Zhongnan Sect’s faction war, her tyrant skills weakening daily, her prowess fading from its prime with age… They’d thought she wasn’t as formidable as her fame suggested.

But facing her changed that. The feeling was different.

He couldn’t fully track her strike. Tyrant Sword. A blade seeking supremacy among evil factions. Her energy release and slash speed were astonishingly quick.

Her sword power was monstrously strong. It recalled Heavenly Authority Dragon Strength God Ha Hou Wei-jin.

Her renown had long spread across the vast martial world. A supreme swordsman who cleaved mountain peaks.

A figure known to all across the Central Plains’ provinces.

Even with Luminous Wheel Technique’s favorable matchup, failing to read her moves rendered it useless. In his current state, he couldn’t win.

Soon, all thoughts converged into one.

—I’ll perfect it here.

Quickly. Now.

He’d use the time this arrogant Tyrant Sword Sect elder overseer had unwittingly given him.

‘Vision Technique…’

Jeong Yeon-shin’s talent stirred. A gift fed by his lifespan. It had always responded fiercely when truly needed.

He felt he could do it now. The wind brushing his skin felt different. A crisp omnipotence. A familiar yet strange sensation.

Just before closing his eyes.

A sky-blue gleam flashed in Jeong Yeon-shin’s pupils.

With a deep breath, his consciousness sank inward.

He delved deep. Reflected on what he’d seen.

At the alliance, he expanded his knowledge with the Comprehensive Breaking Guide to Orthodox Path. Experienced the body refined by Swimming Heaven Sword Ghost Baek Seo-gun.

Returning to his sect, he bonded with senior squad leaders. The world of martial arts was vast indeed.

He realized how varied physical techniques could be. Senior Blood Guardian Squad Leader Jin’s aid was especially pivotal.

He’d observed his maternal grandfather Ma Yeon-jeok’s body during his rejuvenation.

He compared it to the physique of the current Divine Sword Leader from his blue-rank days. He traced the energy flows of peerless masters beyond approach.

All of it was insight.

Now, Jeong Yeon-shin’s understanding was broad and deep.

‘Let’s establish the imagery to anchor this martial art.’

Absorb all that like lightning into his vision.

The resolve to fully read it all.

His heart pulsed.

In this extreme moment, Yeo So-hyang’s slash and his current emotions wove into inspiration.

A sharp, blue-edged stimulus pounded his crown. The wheel of light spun in his heart.

‘I must stop that old woman. Unless I thoroughly shatter every slash, even victory is defeat. I don’t need omnidirectional sight. I want a vision technique to absolutely govern what’s before me. One that can counter even masters a step above.’

The eyes of a Radiant Demon Wing Leader safeguarding the world’s people.

Luminous Wheel Energy began rising toward his head. Warm energy filled his minor meridians.

From his face to his eyes, the Four Whites, Bamboo Gathering, and Seal Hall acupoints heated with inner energy.

A dense wave of qi rippled from his face. A flow reweaving his nervous system.

A resonant hum sounded.

Blue energy began streaming from the slits of Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyelids.

He’d long structured his true qi with formulas. Now, it sufficed to sharply define the martial art’s outline.

He melded the floating insights into the formula. His innate talent turned to light in his mind, racing through his body.

The current Radiant Demon Wing Leader was a grandmaster. In moments, he molded fused formulas and intent, birthing a vision technique unseen in the world.

With the imagery of preemptively crushing all that offended his sight.

‘I’ll name this the Lowly Revelation Technique…’

His eyes burned. All flows converged toward the Crown acupoint.

‘And make it the eyes with which I see the world.’

The waves of Luminous Wheel Technique surged to his head.

A complete convergence.

A blinding flash.

His upper dantian flared blue.

His crown boiled as if struck by lightning. Amid blue sparks, a seamless flow wove together.

A fixed energy structure, endlessly cycling between optic nerves and the Crown acupoint. In that instant, without warning, a supreme vision technique was born.

Jeong Yeon-shin opened his eyes.

And spoke.

—Tyrant Sword Sect Leader cruelly slew my father. Perhaps because he lacked proper learning from his parents. Or maybe his nursemaid’s teachings were shoddy.

Laden with Luminous Wheel energy, his voice echoed outward.

He had borrowed Hyeon Won-chang’s method, and its effect was certain.

A fierce gust whipped Jeong Yeon-shin’s hair wildly. Ghost White Divine Sword Yeo So-hyang had returned atop her sword in an instant. Her sword-flight speed was truly fearsome.

As faint brown pine needles swirled around.

The old woman, hands clasped behind her, looked down at Jeong Yeon-shin.

“You hasten your death. Did you wish to fall in one stroke?”

Jeong Yeon-shin met her gaze calmly, resting a hand on Northern Light Sword’s silver hilt.

“Worry about your own karma. Won’t you soon fall to hell, you evil old monster?”

“…”

Yeo So-hyang’s lips twisted.

“Child, your tongue matches those strange eyes. What do you see now?”

“All of you.”

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s eyes blazed with sharp blue light.

[TL Note- Chilling dialogues from MC now.]