Chapter 262 – Ascension (12)

Sunlight shattered transparently.

“…”

The snowy ridge was silently tumultuous.

A radiant energy, like dawn, rippled from all directions, stemming from the sword plunged before the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s feet, its halo filling the surroundings.

The mist of light rising to the “Desolate” character on his shoulder was subtle yet divine.

The silence of the surrounding martial artists was far from calm.

It felt as if the myriad emotions of those standing on two feet seeped into the air. Their expressions reflected it.

While some shut their mouths silently, it was hard to sense hostility from those who raised their eyebrows or parted their lips in a daze.

It was mere confusion. Groans and gasps of shock spilled forth.

“Desolate Fortress, the Radiant Demon Wing Leader…!”

“The one who dominated the Martial Alliance Opening Tournament?”

“What is this… a giant out of nowhere…”

The man leaning in the palanquin did not become the first focus of attention.

It could not be helped.

A supreme master had emerged from Desolate Fortress, a gateway to the martial world’s military might. One of only seventeen treasure swords had manifested before everyone’s eyes.

A black-robed commander of Desolate Fortress. To those even azure masters feared and struggled against, he was akin to Yama, the King of Hell.

“A black robe… truly? His age is too…”

“They say the Ming Cult’s young leader survived touring the Thirteen Evil Sects at that age.”

“Hold off. The rumors of this era’s Radiant Demon Wing Leader are no less.”

“True words. A strongman who vanquished the Thirteen Evil Sect’s core supreme masters in Sichuan. He even defeated the Sword Saint Cheon Ju. All in a single year.”

“We need not worry greatly, then? I swear I have never harmed the common folk…”

“Junior brothers! Snap out of it! We are facing a Desolate Fortress black robe! Back, get back! Retreat!”

The panic was brief.

Reactions grew clearer. They varied vastly depending on one’s faction and inherited martial lineage.

Warriors of the orthodox white path showed shock and some reluctance, but it mostly stopped there.

Those of the righteous-evil divide and the evil outer path were different.

Whether feigning calm or displaying near-terror, they retreated all the same.

Over a hundred stepped on snow clumps. How many steps they took back mattered little. It was not a laughable sight.

They instantly believed the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s identity. Their discernment and perception were sharp.

It meant they were all masters of that caliber.

Those fearing Desolate Fortress’s execution. Those worthy of being slain by the Desolate Fortress Divine Sword Squad.

“A bountiful harvest of villains.”

Jeong Yeon-shin murmured calmly.

When a commander received a mission, information on the martial artists roaming the area came first.

The Desolate Fortress General Office compiled a book to be read once and burned. It contained all sorts of details.

Descriptions of appearance, martial lineage affiliations, signature techniques, and even known associates among nearby martial artists.

It was not deep knowledge. Just local-level intelligence. It was based on reports sent from nearby government offices.

Yet that alone fueled the ominous rumors about Desolate Fortress commanders.

If a revered and powerful supreme master emerged from the Hao Sect, they would be no different from the black robes of Desolate Fortress’s Divine Sword Squad.

To the evil outer path and black path warriors, it had to be so.

A stranger greeting them as if familiar, yet in truth, it was like Yama extending his golden lasso after already passing judgment in his heart.

“I… I will descend the mountain.”

“Quietly… let us go together.”

Many who had gathered with a menacing air lifted their heels backward. They descended slowly, wary of Jeong Yeon-shin.

Prioritizing survival over the thousand-year Polygonum. The crowd that had seemed to form an encirclement dispersed entirely.

About a hundred remained. Those not of the evil outer path and the Thirteen Evil Sect’s members. Tension seeped from their glances at the Radiant Demon Wing Leader while eyeing each other.

The isolated Mount Taibai ridge entered a new phase.

Jeong Yeon-shin paid no mind to those fleeing. Without Radiant Demon Wings, pursuing even the insignificant was impractical. A black robe’s duty was to focus on the most critical task.

“Does this squad have something to say?”

He gazed steadily past the Water King Sect Leader’s shoulder at the youth leaning in the palanquin.

The noble raised his lips slightly. As if amused, like watching the most gripping part of a drama.

The source of the sorcery. The one who spoke of a scheme targeting Jeong Yeon-shin.

There was a reason he knew the situation. The Lowly Revelation Technique pierced their erected barriers, even catching the swift movements of their lips.

The speed of close combat techniques meant nothing before eyes that observed the people’s lives. He read every word the man uttered.

“A sprout, indeed.”

The noble moved his lips.

“A sprout of the heavenly tree, it seems. Impressive.”

He raised his lips further as he finished speaking from afar.

Lowering his torso and dangling a hand over the palanquin’s armrest, his posture seemed somewhat frivolous. It appeared intentional.

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader parted his lips slowly.

“That posture is bad for your lumbar… With such conduct, you will never reach the realm of ascension. A novice should not train their body like that.”

“…”

Jeong Yeon-shin remained calm throughout. He was now a young warrior seasoned by many battles.

He did not fall for every provocation just because he was ignorant of riling others. He was no child.

Then it happened.

“Hey there.”

A thick voice resounded.

It flowed from the mouth of the man standing right before him. Water King Sect Leader Wei Shi-he.

He furrowed his brow while drawing up a formidable energy wave with his entire body, exuding a presence fit to be the centerpiece of the Thirteen Evil Sect’s scheme.

It was as if declaring that great figures did not emerge solely from major factions in the martial world.

“I watched quietly, and your arrogance is excessive. Where are you looking, Radiant Demon Wing Leader?”

“Step back.”

Jeong Yeon-shin said as if muttering. It was directed at Jang Sun-il and the Bei Gong siblings behind him.

Unlike Jang Sun-il, who showed outright alarm, Bei Gong-lin and Bei Gong-hui’s breathing was remarkably steady.

Was it because they came from the Ice Palace of the distant frozen land? They could not be ignorant of Desolate Fortress, yet their reaction was merely that it made sense. Befitting noble aristocrats.

Bei Gong-lin’s voice tickled his ear.

“We will look after the guide boy.”

“Focus on unleashing your martial prowess, companion. It looks like a crisis, but we have no intent to abandon you.”

Bei Gong-hui’s words. Their mindset differed from Central Plains folk.

The trust born from a trivial campfire was sturdier than Jeong Yeon-shin had thought. Their bond might be as valuable as the thousand-year Polygonum.

The Ice Palace noble siblings retreated slowly with Jang Sun-il.

“Thank you.”

After a brief expression of gratitude, Jeong Yeon-shin stepped forward.

***

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Translated by Nine Heavens!

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***

At the same time, Water King Sect Leader Wei Shi-he shook his arms widely once.

From the orange, single-colored sleeves, a vibrant energy wave spread colorlessly. It was a power fluctuation filling the silence with intense ripples.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s blue-tinged eyes scanned him.

‘His inner energy temperament is not biased to one side. His power is fundamentally deep. With his stance and whole-body muscles so tightly knit, he might excel in prolonged battles.’

The conclusion was clear.

A strongman whose overall martial prowess was solid, unaffected by internal energy matchups.

A selection tailored to counter the Radiant Demon Wing Leader Lightning Genius.

They targeted Jeong Yeon-shin, who shone in short decisive battles with rapidly amassed force. Nor was he weak against dharma martial arts. It was a meticulous arrangement.

‘I will win.’

The issue lay elsewhere. This was not a duel to the death between two alone. They would not dig a trap and insist on one-on-one.

Jeong Yeon-shin grasped the hilt of the Northern Light Sword embedded in the ground and slowly drew it up.

“Come.”

The moment he spoke.

Boom!

It was not just Wei Shi-he who charged.

“Strike!”

“Kill him here!”

He was caught in a well-coordinated formation. There was not an ounce of negligence in facing the Radiant Demon Wing Leader. Dozens of surrounding figures closed in as a unit.

It was an encirclement of elite masters from the Tyrant Sword Sect, Blood Flame Sect, and Yu Ling. Terrifying energy waves sliced at Jeong Yeon-shin’s skin.

Bang!

He deflected the Water King Sect Leader’s fist with the back of his hand. A heavy shockwave erupted.

Surprise flashed in the man’s eyes. He could not immediately dissipate the aftermath of a strike imbued with the Luminous Wheel Technique.

The Water King Sect Leader took a short step back, revealing the cost of that move.

Swoosh!

At the same time, energy waves struck from eight directions.

A combined assault from the warriors, covering all angles to prevent follow-ups, thrusting with sword winds and metal weapons. The resonating hum vibrating the air was like a swarm of bees.

In an instant, Jeong Yeon-shin’s robes fluttered black. It was right after he pulled the Northern Light Sword inward and laid it horizontally.

A fierce wind surged from his body, pushing back the hazy incoming energy waves. Judgement Qilin. The momentum of the Wind Body and the Emperor Sword Form.

“Fall back!”

It was when the Water King Sect Leader shouted, kicking a foot backward.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s sword flickered silver like a strand of a whirlwind.

His form, spinning and returning in a flash, seemed to segment slowly. Afterimages. It was so fast the energy waves encircling him could not keep up.

Clang clang clang!

A swift sword several levels above shattered all the weapons in every direction. Those forcibly gripping handles reduced to stubs spat blood in droves.

They had taken the full brunt of the foot technique’s aftermath. Six of the eight fell in an instant.

Jeong Yeon-shin extended his left hand.

The falling weapon fragments halted midair. The prelude to Myriad Heavens Flower Rain.

“Rear guard!”

The Water King Sect Leader shouted.

The second line swiftly advanced. It resembled the tactics of military spearmen and shield bearers.

Warriors clad in denser, sturdier energy waves closed in. They seemed to wear thin armor beneath their martial robes.

Following Jeong Yeon-shin’s brief gesture, steel petals scattered in all directions.

Boom boom boom boom!

They embedded with dull thuds. The enemies faltered.

Were they ones who primarily cultivated protective energy? They did not die instantly to a wide-area technique unleashed without much preparation. Only pained faces showed slight bloodstains.

In that brief moment, Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes narrowed.

‘They know my fighting style.’

They came prepared. The Thirteen Evil Sect’s elites.

Whoosh!

Cutting through the air, the Water King Sect Leader struck downward with a hand chop.

A proper attack prepared while the front and rear lines held. The energy wave on his hand’s edge flared colorlessly, growing larger.

The Water King Sect’s Water King Phoenix Body Technique felt far stronger than the Administration Office’s description.

Of course. He was a vanguard pawn of the Thirteen Evil Sects.

Bang!

A hazy shockwave burst in all directions. It was from striking upward with his palm against the Water King Sect Leader’s chop mid-Brilliant River activation.

An immense recoil exploded, bending the man’s hand inward. The sensation of shattering bones transmitted directly.

“Argh!”

As Wei Shi-he’s brow twisted, spears and swords from all eight directions inevitably surged in menacingly.

Killing intent flowed from the faces of the Thirteen Evil Sects masters gripping spear shafts and sword handles.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes gleamed blue, darting side to side.

His blue pupils left faint afterimages as the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s black robe swayed like a dance. Right after piercing through all the paths, he spun with the Wind Body Movement Technique.

He smashed a passing spear shaft with his left hand, then with an even faster Judgment Qilin, sliced through the chests of two on his right in one stroke.

Slash!

The silver sword path’s afterimage lingered, stretching long. It was thick with the Luminous Wheel Technique.

‘Uncle will come soon.’

Jeong Yeon-shin thought of his niece Jeong Hye within the sword strike’s trajectory.