Chapter 309 – Hyeon Won (4)

The black hat worn by Slaughter Chivalry did not budge at all. With its wide, long brim like a bamboo hat, there was not even the slightest movement, which was evidence of his agitation.

His crouched posture at the corner of the bed was peculiar.

Hyeon Won-chang, who glanced down at him, smiled faintly.

“I understand. It’s a mystical skill that’s hard to imagine in the countryside.”

“…This is the most surprising thing since our main house was destroyed.”

He seemed both dumbfounded and incredulous.

Slaughter Chivalry is a person overflowing with confidence in everything. He didn’t bother hiding his surprised expression.

In this moment, as he glanced up at Hyeon Won-chang’s hand, various emotions were revealed. Shock, bewilderment, faint envy and jealousy…

“What on earth is this? There’s no way you could have comprehended the structure of the spell’s true energy in such a short time.”

Haha.

Hyeon Won-chang just laughed. Slaughter Chivalry’s brow furrowed.

“I heard rumors that an auspicious martial art had appeared in Desolate Fortress. But for you, of all people, to have entered the realm of dharma power martial arts or Taoist Three Clarity Force? I’d sooner believe that your mouth was sealed shut for seven days and nights. No, that’s not right. It’s the same as Lazy Flame’s vow of silence. I simply can’t believe it.”

“Such harsh words?”

“Your martial arts must be extraordinary. You’ve clearly benefited tremendously from joining Desolate Fortress. Meanwhile, this elder brother of yours is merely the minor sect leader of a rural martial arts school who has never even toured the martial world, as you said.”

“Well, it’s absolutely true that my martial arts are extraordinary. Indeed.”

Hyeon Won-chang lowered the corners of his mouth and changed the subject.

“More importantly, haven’t you woven together the scattered branch families into a respectable sect? The Kim Family Slaughter Sect. I don’t understand why you’re still just a minor sect leader. Looking at your achievements, you’ve already surpassed father.”

“There’s more than one or two families that serve as gatekeepers for the Heavenly Demon’s Tomb. To be recognized as the sect leader, you need to pass the tests of several core branch families, but how can it truly be an assassin sect if the Slaughter Sect’s location is known? The scroll you unrolled contains the safe houses of three branch families and the secret passwords to call them.”

“I’m not interested in that. What about my restriction?”

Hyeon Won-chang quickly cut him off and asked. At the same time, a cunning smile formed on Slaughter Chivalry’s lips, which were visible below his jaw.

“Seon-hwi. You were the only remaining direct descendant. The sect leader and family head of the Kim family gains recognition from the branch families and lifts one restriction at a time. When you pass the tests of all the branch families, you become the sect leader that very day.”

“I am Hyeon Won-chang of Radiant Demon Wing. You don’t truly want that either, brother.”

“Well. Regardless of what the family elders say, at least know that the previous family head treated you as a son.”

“I never even called him father, so what…”

With those words, Hyeon Won-chang closed his mouth.

He tried to sense his companions’ presence with his mind, which felt hazy as if in a dream. He detected familiar energy waves from outside the inner chamber.

It was martial arts that immediately drew his attention away from family matters that had been buried since long ago.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

The Luminous Wheel Technique.

It was a mystical skill. This was true of the martial art itself, not just those who cultivated it. Even without containing spiritual energy, it was called a transcendent martial art.

Just as Myriad Heavens Flower Rain was known as a peerless mystical secret skill.

[Internal energy is natural energy that has been refined and absorbed into the body. Natural energy refers to the energy that exists naturally outside the bodies of practitioners without any artificial intervention. Energy is a moving force, and the essence of force lies in all actions that encompass direction. Action is… you should know well enough.]

This was the introduction of the Luminous Wheel Technique. It was even more difficult because it was explained in simple terms.

While explaining the most basic fundamentals, it would casually mention strange internal energy flows.

In reality, most members of Radiant Demon Wing did not easily master the Luminous Wheel Technique.

This was because the repetitive and rambling explanations were chaotically entangled on the border between consideration and arrogance.

The members of Radiant Demon Wing made painstaking efforts when the squad leader wasn’t watching. Even this was only possible because there were no ordinary talents among them.

The masters of Desolate Fortress were originally diligent, but after learning the Luminous Wheel Technique, morning form practice became absolutely essential.

It was fortunate enough that it was a martial art that linked the Radiant Demon Technique and Lightning Genius’s martial lineage.

Outdoors.

A dark morning at the foot of a towering cliff.

As the air, which had become somewhat fresher, gently flowed to indicate the time of day, Lazy Flame Dragon, who was casually waving his hands in place, smirked.

In fact, he had mastered the Luminous Wheel Technique most easily among the members of Radiant Demon Wing.

“Our squad leader still doesn’t know, does he? He thinks he’s created a perfect secret manual that’s even easy to self-study.”

His sunken eyes stood out beneath his long, drooping bangs.

He had an appearance that no one would consider a genius of the world, but somehow his relaxed energy gave off the air of a young noble.

“It’s certainly a mystical skill… Ha!”

Shin So-bin’s straight punch, which shot out in a straight line, burst the air with a “pang” sound. It was the Advancing Thunder of the Eternal Blossom Fist.

Her hair and sleeves fluttered like silk, harmonizing with the powerful energy waves.

However, Lazy Flame Dragon merely glanced at her once before continuing what he was saying.

“He’s truly devoted. Showing respect to the squad leader while treating him like the youngest… It’s dizzying all over again. Radiant Demon Wing was famous for being a group of demons.”

“A ruffian wouldn’t understand family love.”

“It’s really strange, isn’t it? This young master is clearly a blue-rank of Desolate Fortress, but why does it still feel like I’m wearing nameless rags? The hierarchy in Radiant Demon Wing definitely needs to be adjusted.”

“Of course. The way Senior Hwangbo treats the squad leader is the same.”

“There must be a tongue technique among Radiant Demon Wing’s unique martial arts. This is probably something only I don’t know about. Won-chang, am I right?”

“It’s Hyeon Won-chang.”

Hyeon Won-chang walked out of the dark hall.

Crunch.

The light footsteps characteristic of an assassin pushed away the morning air.

This was after hearing the news of Zhuge Clan Leader’s death, which had thrown all of Shanxi into turmoil.

It was time to take the first test following the map drawn on the scroll. To become Jeong Yeon-shin’s protective energy for Radiant Demon Wing.

Slaughter Chivalry, Hyeon Won-chang, Lazy Flame Dragon, and Shin So-bin.

They moved together.

***

People also referred to Shanxi as Jin for short. This was because it was the land of the ancient state of Jin.

Taiyuan was the capital of Shanxi Province and the former capital of Jin. As the birthplace of civilization and martial arts that arose from the Yellow River, it was a large city with deep history.

The land itself is vast.

All sorts of mysteries, martial lineages, and untold aspects of history live and breathe here… In this city where tens of thousands of people live, countless groups move busily in both the light and shadows.

That’s why the sight of dozens of birds soaring from a distant mountainside didn’t attract anyone’s attention.

A forest overlooking the vast city at a glance.

Crunch.

A woman in a red robe with hair hanging down like black ebony stood firmly on a tall tree branch.

Her face was pale white, with a single red eye gleaming ominously, and at the end of her gaze fixed downward was an old-fashioned inn.

Seventh Apostle parted her lips.

“Those things, can I kill them?”

“You’re still using that disgusting way of speaking. Why are you asking me?”

A figure standing on a floating sword in one corner of the thicket replied. It was Sword Venerable Baek Seo-gun, with an imposing aura and graying hair.

She made a face of disgust and didn’t even give Seventh Apostle a glance.

She just silently stared at the inn beyond the city walls, nearly a hundred zhang away.

Seventh Apostle’s lips formed a smooth arc.

“Because you deserve respect.”

That was all. She didn’t say anything more.

The leaves, which had started to show hints of green here and there, shimmered beneath their feet.

Baek Seo-gun also didn’t bother to ask more or try to understand. The world of evil path martial artists is a world of madmen.

The martial artists who inhabit it are each obsessed with their own values.

Among them, if you mention the Crimson Blood Body of the Jeok family, in a corner of the highest echelons of the martial world, she was known as a little monster whose eyes had gone mad for seeing the martial extreme.

When that girl rose to the rank of apostle, no one was surprised. It was because she was of a different kind.

Saaaa—

As a cold wind swept through the thicket like a wave, Baek Seo-gun quietly gazed at the entrance of the distant inn.

‘He said it was the Tai Ancestral Hall.’

If she had been hostile to Jeong Yeon-shin, she would have immediately drawn her sword to behead her, but if her mad obsession touched on Lightning Genius’s martial talent, there was no better guard.

Baek Seo-gun, whose position was ambiguous, had long decided not to break Lightning Genius’s shield. Because the Sword Venerable of Henan had to return to the Profound Martial Alliance soon.

“Why aren’t you going?”

“What?”

“Some worthless ones followed my precious Lightning Genius inside.”

“It’s not good for the outside world to see the Radiant Demon Wing Leader of Desolate Fortress together with me. And why are you here? Just secretly following Lightning Genius like a petty thief.”

“Lightning Genius hates me.”

It was a voice that sounded like mumbling. The calm end of her words trembled ever so slightly for a moment.

Rather than appearing dejected, it was more like the attitude of a child learning martial arts for the first time, reciting techniques in front of adults. She found her own appearance unfamiliar and frightening.

Baek Seo-gun was inwardly exasperated upon seeing that pitiful and small back of her head, but she didn’t show it.

Who could understand a blood demon who had been obsessed with martial arts since birth?

The two of them remained like that for a while.

Suddenly, until a massive shadow fell over their backs.

Whoosh!

Sunlight disappeared from the forest.

It came without any notice or energy waves.

Like a lightning bolt striking from a clear sky, it descended.

The one who had completely concealed his enormous presence, making it even more absolute, the one called the Military King Martial Emperor, the leader of the Profound Martial Alliance, manifested after a long time to find his one and only right arm. With a presence so transparent it sent chills down the spine.

“An unexpected company. What is the reason?”

Just before his voice, which sounded as if it had been scraped from the bottom of the earth, rang out, in the inn where the gazes of the two had been fixed, Jeong Yeon-shin was practicing mind-controlled sword against some group.

To navigate the treacherous martial world with an unwell body, he needed a skill of a different caliber.

***

Three people alighted on the old tile-covered wall.

It surrounded a plot of land divided into four directions with an extremely large main house and annex, outhouse, and small well. There were few people around as a major event had just occurred.

The site that had endured the fierce battle between Zhuge Clan Leader and Tamed Nezha. Originally, the energy waves of supreme masters were said to affect even nature itself.

The Gongya Family estate.

The atmosphere was desolate. Not even insects chirped in the surroundings.

Despite the bright sunlight of noon pouring down, there was a gloomy feeling that matched perfectly with the ruins before their eyes.

Among the three people looking down at this scene, the martial artist standing in the center opened his mouth. He was a middle-aged swordsman dressed in pitch-black martial robes.

“It was said that Radiant Demon Wing’s Great Tongue Sword follows the Radiant Demon Wing Leader. Unless it’s an extremely exceptional case, he should have revealed himself here as well. Find him.”

“Squad Leader, it seems Lightning Genius Jeong Yeon-shin’s martial prowess has exceeded our expectations. I’m concerned he may become a significant variable.”

“…Indeed, the incident with Zhuge Clan Leader is gradually being revealed as fact. However, Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s martial prowess was also confirmed at the Martial Alliance’s opening ceremony. Even if he achieved an unbelievable increase in martial prowess, there’s no way he could have survived facing Reborn Hidden Dragon Zhuge Liang unscathed. He must have severe internal and external injuries.”

“I understand. I will obey your orders.”

There was dignity in their bearing. Even in the movement of the two martial artists on either side preparing to stamp the ground, the grace of renowned families was evident.

Just as the energy waves of their highly refined protective techniques were about to create long wrinkles in their trouser hems with a “whoosh”—

“I sensed the messy energy of the Murong family, so I came to see.”

It was a voice that seemed to spew out seething power. Far removed from words like restraint or refinement.

“What…!”

The three people, unable to hide their shock at the sudden presence, whirled around.

And faced a man.

For a moment, they felt a brutish sensation as if a brand had touched their retinas.

The man’s appearance seemed to be forcibly etched into their eyes. It was clearly unintentional, yet that’s how it came across.

“The deceased…”

The black-robed middle-aged swordsman trailed off as he took in the intruder’s appearance.

His jet-black hair fell roughly in a short cut. His facial features were distinct and thick.

His body, which felt as solid as if covered in iron armor, exuded a quality reminiscent of a massive fortress throughout.

A transcendence that was difficult to measure with internal energy flowed in waves without filtration.

“This old man is ignorant of worldly affairs. Keep talking. Only about Lightning Genius.”

He spoke like an old man with a young face.

Thud.

Above his rough leather shoes.

The hem of his long robe shimmered with a pink hue.