Chapter 269 – The Master of the Martial Book (6)

“Desolate Fortress…! The Desolate Fortress martial force! Golden Hero! This will not do!”

“What kind of martial art is that! I have never heard of it, the Blue-Eyed Demon Sword!”

“Young Master! You must take cover… Ugh…!”

Radiant waves rippling across a wide area sprayed blood. The twenty masters of Radiant Arts Bond surrounding the net of heaven and earth unleashed energy waves that swept the vicinity.

Limbs soared and necks flew. The snow’s white deepened momentarily before staining red, repeating the cycle.

Clang! Splat!

The gazes of the jackal pack that had eyed Jeong Yeon-shin covetously shattered entirely. Now, only panic and pained screams filled the mountain air.

The faces of the Radiant Demon Wing masters grew sharp. An unprecedented strength fueled them.

Baek Mi-ryeo, who sliced ten rogues in one stroke and approached, was no different.

She glared at Jeong Yeon-shin with intense anger, her already sharp eyes advancing like a treasured sword.

Jeong Yeon-shin thought. She is upset because I came out silently.

“I have something to say, but first… may I pose as the Squad Leader’s sister?”

“You are my sister. It has always been so.”

“Oh.”

Baek Mi-ryeo’s eyelashes twitched. The tension at the corner of her mouth seemed to ease slightly. Had she lost her words momentarily? He did not know why.

‘She will not scold me. That is a relief.’

A low chuckle suddenly flowed from Jeong Yeon-shin’s back.

“Youngest Squad Leader… a heartwarming sight.”

“Sect Leader.”

Jeong Yeon-shin glanced over his shoulder. Lu Xian’s long hair tickled his ear.

“Your breathing has deepened.”

“I have passed the crisis. Thanks to your staunching of my blood. And thanks to my breathing with the Violet Dawn Divine Technique.”

“That is good to hear.”

“I sense the energy waves of the disciples I hastily left behind. Unlike you, I am not a leader much loved, so I must return soon to face their reprimands. If there is anything left unsaid, let us share it now.”

Jeong Yeon-shin did not decline.

“May I ask how you were pushed back so badly?”

“Bold of you. Did it look that way?”

Lu Xian laughed.

“If I had truly been defeated so helplessly, would that man have left quietly?”

A light voice carried a heavy question. Jeong Yeon-shin agreed with silence.

What did the Tyrant Sword Sect Leader think as he lived?

“You must ponder his intentions carefully. But before that… when your martial arts deepen further and you face him as a true rival, remember this. You must not try to overpower him with sheer force. You will be overwhelmed instead. You need a unique approach.”

“…I understand what you mean.”

“Right now, he is likely limping back home on his right leg. His right side is crippled. He suffered greatly from the Dark Fragrance Immovable Flower. In my lifetime, I have never accumulated so much energy in an opponent’s body. Had I stacked it for one more breath… I would have blown that immobile brute’s head off.”

“Your words have grown rough, Sect Leader.”

“Have we not grown close? Sharing life itself, what bond could surpass this? Come to Mount Hua anytime. I will serve you tea infused with danshen.”

As they chatted, the surrounding presence faded.

A cloudy breeze brought the silence of the plateau. The Radiant Arts Bond’s group combat efficiency shone through.

Only cold snowflakes and corpses remained where the vortex of radiance had swept. The Radiant Demon Wing spared not even those fleeing. It was the temperament of a military sect.

“Squad Leader! What is with your condition again?”

“Sorry about that. Had the poppy rant been my last, it would have been regrettable. Someone who will live more prosperously than this young master.”

“Are you perhaps taking revenge on us? We knelt and apologized for the Shaanxi’s Top Demon affair…”

As they approached Jeong Yeon-shin one by one.

“The energy waves of the Dark Fragrance Mark are rising from below. Before that…”

Lu Xian raised both hands to clasp Jeong Yeon-shin’s right hand. A warm sensation enveloped his hand’s back and palm. He flinched briefly.

“Thank you truly, Lightning Genius Jeong Yeon-shin.”

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

The chaos on Mount Taibai became widely discussed.

In Shaanxi’s martial world, the topic persisted for four days without fading.

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s prowess stirred debate in parts of Shaanxi. Despite many witnessing Lightning Genius firsthand, arguments over its authenticity raged.

It began after the identities of the supreme masters simultaneously felled on Mount Taibai were revealed.

Hearing their ages, anyone would doubt it. The outcome of the life-and-death duel bordered on miraculous.

Thus, the overwhelming might of Desolate Fortress’s youngest squad leader drew as much attention as the clash between the Tyrant Sword Sect Leader and the Mount Hua Sect Leader.

Few disagreed that the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader was immensely powerful.

Such talk flowed atop silent rafters.

A manor sparse with human presence.

“He is worthy of bearing fruit for the Desolate Fortress Leader. The current Radiant Demon Wing Leader is a thunderbolt of the ages that will shatter order.”

A soft, deliberate voice. A man clad entirely in black robes continued slowly.

He stood erect on the edge of an ornate roof, his face hidden save for a black-bearded jaw beneath a bamboo hat.

“Yes… this Yu Ling Lord misjudged Lightning Genius, and you were right. I admit my error. But the Mount Hua Sect Leader is different. Why not kill her? As you punished the Zhongnan and Qingcheng factions who aided Dali’s fall.”

Below, leaning diagonally against a porch pillar, the Tyrant Sword Sect Leader spoke.

“She is the only divine sword left in Shaanxi. Without Brilliant Jade, I would have to wander to find a peer. An inefficient task.”

“Did you not leave her gravely wounded?”

“Brilliant Jade breathes with the Violet Dawn Divine Technique.”

“I wish to speak of your bond with her. It was deep, was it not? Even from childhood.”

“Blame my nature.”

“Amusing words, you unpredictable fool. Did you not meditate for a hundred years with the Duan Family Time Transcendence Technique after losing to Zhongnan? Mad beyond measure. You must have lost much of your humanity. Even you likely struggle to fathom your own heart. Now, your sobriquet suits you more than your name. Tyrant Sword Mad Path, indeed. That reason and vengeance remain in you is surprising.”

“…”

“Brilliant Jade Sword God… not a chance that comes often. Mount Hua has sealed its gates, and Wudang’s High Sword has gone to protect them.”

“High Sword?”

“Too late, so abandon foolish thoughts. Since ancient times, a Nine Sects’ gate sealing has brought immense power accumulation. Practitioners once devoted to relief now hone a single martial art. When the gates reopen, plum blossoms will bloom fully. Could you withstand that day’s Brilliant Jade Sword God? With sword talent alone, she ranks among the top Nine Sects leaders.”

“A welcome prospect.”

“If you need a touchstone to embody your enlightenment, I could stand in for the Mount Hua Sect Leader. I am curious about the Duan Family Time Transcendence Technique the imperial court never claimed. A profound mental art that plunges consciousness into eternity in an instant… originally a Dali torture method, was it not?”

“You must not be my opponent. Unless it is someone deeply versed in orthodox swordsmanship…”

Suddenly, the Tyrant Sword Sect Leader spat black blood. Amid the vast dirt floor, only one spot was marble.

Dead blood dripped onto the square limestone. A somewhat eerie sight.

Above him, the Yu Ling Lord tilted his head upward.

“Look. No absolute master in the world has wielded Dark Fragrance Immovable Flower with the Internal Heavy Hand Technique. Even a supreme master would struggle to defeat the current Mount Hua Sect Leader unscathed, but your arrogance was excessive.”

“That is why I spared her. The Desolate Fortress Leader knows all principles of the world’s orthodox factions.”

“Will not Lightning Genius’s vessel shine brighter the larger it grows? With the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader so radiant, the Desolate Fortress Leader, noble in her own way, will inevitably decline. I have prepared to sever the Divine Sword Group’s seventeen squad leaders one by one. The moment your pursuit of perfection through your own means seems foolish, I will withdraw from the Tyrant Sword Sect and not tolerate your hubris.”

“You should reconsider the world tree’s chaotic divine might.”

The Tyrant Sword Sect Leader replied calmly, then vomited another gush of black blood.

Whoosh.

Soon, white steam rose from his lips. The Samadhi True Flames burned away the stench of blood.

“Jeong Family Estate, Lightning Genius…”

He murmured softly, out of nowhere. The Yu Ling Lord snorted.

“The current Radiant Demon Wing Leader, I mean. It seems he overcame a tough ordeal descending, nearly dying. Why not become his hidden protector? Serve a boy with world-shaking talent you lack.”

“Growing that way, he cannot hold the world tree’s spirit. I said he is a vessel that ends with death. I merely refrain from crushing his potential myself.”

“A jest, you stubbornly mad fool. I will take no further action against Lightning Genius now. Let him perish or survive as the vast martial world’s storms dictate. Focus on recuperation. Scattering the world’s earthly power further is difficult now. You have done enough… though a few impregnable places remain. Next is the Hebei Peng Family.”

“Go.”

A small yet deep voice expelled him. The Yu Ling Lord answered off-topic. I must select a new Young Lord.

Rustle.

The Tyrant Sword Sect Leader slowly sat cross-legged. He closed his eyes.

A steady breath flowed from his sharp nose, swept away fleetingly by the winter wind passing through the quiet manor.

***

“Hearing the details, Yu Ling and the Blood Flame Sect must be fuming. They finally cornered the squad leader with a joint attack, only for the Tyrant Sword Sect Leader to slip away.”

“Your family, squad leader… is it not like that incident back then? I cannot guess the reason.”

“That is why peerless masters are called eccentrics. Even the purple-ranks of our fortrees…”

The Divine Sword Group Radiant Demon Wing returned to a secular faction in Xi’an, Zhongnan.

The Shao Bai Sect of Jang Gi-il, one of Xi’an’s Seven Great Sect Leaders, bore a plaque in a notably large hall cluster even among Shaanxi’s major cities.

Deep within the manor stood a small pavilion. It sat beside a clear, rippling lake.

“A fine view.”

“Hm, does it not match my age?”

“Perhaps because the squad leader has grown tall? Curious. The limbs alone could pass for father and daughter.”

Radiant Demon Wing masters sat scattered across the roof, porch, and floor.

Sunlight reflected off the lakeside glimmered white. The mood was light.

Jeong Hye, having taken a decoction of thousand-year ginseng, regained consciousness. The long journey through Shaanxi had concluded.

While the Radiant Demon Wing and Jeong Yeon-shin threw Shaanxi into chaos, Yu Ling’s Seven-Fingered Ghost Sword, posing as a fake sect leader at the White Sun Sect, was felled by Blood Guardian squad leader Jin Myeong-jo.

Jin Myeong-jo did not show himself. He sent only a message, apologizing for failing to properly block the Tyrant Sword Sect Leader.

He added he was too ashamed to face his junior and would send a spirit herb.

[I endured five hundred seventy-nine moves and fell from Noble Tail Peak’s cliff. Lost consciousness then. It was not nineteen moves, truly embarrassing. Glad you are safe.]

[I am learning much from Blood Extreme Demon Senior Jin. As a novice, I marveled at your prowess. I will take your noble conduct and training as an example. Thank you for your protection and guidance.]

After sending a reply, Jeong Yeon-shin checked on his niece. From a distance, comrades watched him.

“No, a bit lighter.”

“Like this?”

Jeong Hye replied in a youthful voice, moving her round cheeks.

Jeong Yeon-shin knelt on one knee to meet her eye level. A faintly smiling face reflected in her bright eyes.

He grasped the shoulders of her black robe, sized for her small frame, and gently infused the Dharma Luminous Wheel Technique.

“From the lower dantian to the Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian, it must form a ceaseless circle. Then your body will feel warmer. The true energy turns motherly.”

“Mom…?”

“…No, like Great Hero Sword Dragon.”

“Aunt Wei Ji! Yes! I like Aunt best!”

Jeong Hye answered spiritedly, her eyes reddening. Jeong Yeon-shin gently patted her head.

“If you softly touch the lower dantian’s Qihai acupoint with an Aunt-like feeling, the true energy sweeping through Hye’s body returns to the Mingmen acupoint on your back. During that, your bones and muscles strengthen, and your acupoints toughen. Understand?”

“Yes!”

“Good. That ceaseless motion makes it a dynamic technique. You must guide the true energy thinking of Aunt for it to work.”

“I know the Lesser Circulation! But Mingmen is hard… Grandpa Sword Immortal helped me.”

Jeong Hye’s small head drooped.

She rubbed the ground with tiny silk shoes, and the awkward uncle newly felt her loss. She lost too much at such a young age.

Jeong Yeon-shin added gentle strength to the hand on her shoulder.

“Even a young monkey could do this. Some dull martial artists might not, but Hye will be fine. Let’s take it slow. It will be fun.”

Jeong Hye did not answer for a moment.

Her large eyes briefly rolled downward.

“Uncle.”

“Yes?”

“Strange.”

“The incantation? Did you think of another view? Say anything.”

“Your words got bad. Strange… not surprised.”

“What?”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes widened then.

Tweet—

Suddenly, a swallow crossing the sky dropped a bamboo tube on its own. A familiar spirit creature from the general affairs office.

Perhaps raised by the same noble clan, it shared a temperament with the white swallow Jeong Yeon-shin sent to Jin Myeong-jo.

He snatched the letter and tore open the seal.

Swish.

Neat cursive script unfurled. Whether an official document or personal letter was unclear.

[Divine Sword Group Leader of our fortress raided alone the meeting hall of Leader of the Martial Dragon Association and Leader of the Dark Night Palace. It happened right after Divine Sword Squad  members were struck by Dark Night Palace’s archery martial arts. The Squad Leader inflicted critical wounds on both Thirteen Evil Sect leaders and returned back. He collapsed. Escort to a recuperation site needed.

Come rest. You are the only sane one. I miss you, our Lightning Genius.

—Acting Divine Sword Group Leader, Divine Sword Vice-squad leader Yue Shou-lin.]