Chapter 325 – Heaven Shaking (4)

Silence flowed.

He spoke of gifts while standing before the corpses of the masters raised by the young Murong family head.

The words of Lotus Nezha inevitably carried great weight.

At this moment, the young master in black robes with a travel pack casually slung over one shoulder and a sword at his waist was the one who had killed Zhuge Clan Leader who had tried to rule Shanxi.

In Shanxi, where there were no major factions, he would exert more influence than any sect leader.

He was a figure before whom even the future master of the Slaughter Sect had to choose his words carefully. This was true even if Kim Jon-hwi held the admiration of Shanxi’s common people in his hand.

“…A gift, you say.”

Slaughter Chivalry slowly opened his mouth.

“Rather, it is this sect that should offer gifts to the Radiant Demon Wing Leader. That would be proper.”

“…?”

“For forging Seon-hwi into an excellent assassin? It’s a debt of the Kim family. An enormously large one…”

Kim Jon-hwi spoke with a tone tinged with laughter.

“My resentment was great. During the chaos at the Heavenly Demon’s Tomb, I was still young, so all I could do was resent the elders who couldn’t protect Seon-hwi from the Murong family’s schemes. Since the foolish elder brother couldn’t complete his task, the Radiant Demon Wing Leader took it on… I don’t know how to express my gratitude. If I could, I’d like to offer you our family treasures. There’s no bloodline left who can use them anyway.”

His voice resonated gently. It was a pleasant voice. His words flowed smoothly like water.

The Kim family’s debt.

When viewed from another perspective, it was a statement with profound implications.

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader had mentioned a gift in return for raising his right arm, but Slaughter Chivalry was saying they were the ones who should give something.

It sounded as if Hyeon Won-chang’s roots and identity were closer to the Slaughter Sect than to Radiant Demon Wing.

Was he trying to reclaim the Great Tongue Sword from Radiant Demon Wing with polite words?

‘If he crosses the line any further, I’ll have to tell him to draw his sword.’

Jeong Yeon-shin stared blankly at the man in the black hat before him.

Though he hadn’t introduced himself, Jeong Yeon-shin knew who he was. His jawline resembled Hyeon Won-chang’s.

The clearly defined jawline, as if drawn with bold brushstrokes, was almost identical. The gleam in his eyes beneath the round brim of his black hat reminded him of Azure Qilin Namgung Se-jin.

His energy was clear. Despite being someone who killed people.

As the man in the black hat met his gaze, he suddenly smiled.

“I would accept any side of our copper coin that you might choose as correct. Well, I wouldn’t dare to draw my sword anyway.”

Beyond the matter of Hyeon Won-chang’s allegiance, there was a sense of great goodwill. His casual mention of the sect’s traditions reflected this as well.

The custom of having assassination targets, those who threatened the Heavenly Demon’s Tomb, guess the front and back of a copper coin.

It was said to mean that the omnipotence of the first Heavenly Demon who had gone to the distant Peach Blossom Land beyond the sky was contained even in the most insignificant coin.

That’s all that was known to those unfamiliar with the doctrine.

It was then that Hyeon Won-chang subtly stepped forward from the side.

“He’s my cousin brother whom I parted from as a child. His courtesy name is Slaughter Chivalry, his name is Kim Jon-hwi.”

Jeong Yeon-shin nodded slightly. His assumptions were correct. Hyeon Won-chang’s blood-related brother, a man with the qualities of a hero similar to Namgung Se-jin.

He decided to be patient just this once.

He hoped that Hyeon Won-chang would find peace whenever he thought of his family. He hoped it would be different from the Jeong family.

This was why he wanted the Desolate Divine Hero to resolve whatever grudges he had at this moment and return.

“Oh my, I’ve been distracted. Keeping honored guests standing… Since this is the first time we’re opening to outsiders, I hesitated without recognizing the favor.”

Slaughter Chivalry, who laughed somewhat awkwardly, extended his hand toward the inside of the cave. It was a somewhat exaggerated gesture.

“Welcome to the Blazing Moon Slaughter Sect, successor to the Kim Family Slaughter Sect.”

***

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Translated by Nine Heavens!

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***

They descended a long path. It seemed to take about half an hour.

The surroundings were pitch black. There was not a single point of light in the darkness, but a gentle breeze could be felt as if blowing from far away.

Jeong Yeon-shin walked alongside Hyeon Won-chang, following Slaughter Chivalry’s guidance. This was the martial lineage of assassins.

It was a sect that inevitably had many enemies. It made sense that they had established themselves in such a hidden place.

“Squad Leader, didn’t you have companions when entering the city gate? I seem to have seen two people. A young man and woman.”

A short, overlapping echo resounded in all directions.

It was Hyeon Won-chang’s voice.

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly opened his mouth. His eyes were glowing blue with the light of his eye technique.

He was thoroughly scanning the damp cave walls with the flow of energy waves emitted from his entire body, reconstructing them through his eyes.

“When the young Murong family head attacked, I saw them being flung away and taking shelter elsewhere…”

“So they’re not close acquaintances? May I ask about their identities?”

“It must be the Profound Martial Alliance Leader’s daughter, Crimson Phoenix Blade Goon Yu-rin.”

Slaughter Chivalry Kim Jon-hwi said.

The bluish light from the Radiant Demon Wing Leader illuminating his back seemed to bother him, as he kept twitching the deltoid muscle of his shoulder occasionally without daring to look back.

Just then, Hyeon Won-chang’s startled exclamation spread.

“The Profound Martial Alliance Leader’s child?!”

Slaughter Chivalry’s voice rang out like a melody, cutting through the echo that filled the cave.

“I’m certain. Unlike the old elders, this elder brother memorizes and collects appearances. Unlike the dead swordsmen who couldn’t even recognize the Lotus Nezha who shook Shanxi, our sect’s level of intelligence is second only to the Beggar Sect and Hall of Ten Thousand Flowers in Shanxi, yet I don’t understand why good people keep dying while wasting this. Just like martial artists intoxicated with their own power. The same goes for those old men who died away from home.”

“Squad Leader, you haven’t consumed poison or something? Where are those silver needles…?”

The sound of rummaging through his clothes made Slaughter Chivalry Kim Jon-hwi’s voice somewhat deflated. With a somewhat subdued expression, he opened a stone door that had suddenly appeared before them.

“We’ve arrived.”

Boom—

Clusters of torchlight flowing through a vertical straight line.

Immediately, an underground plaza was revealed. The scene unfolding in the deep cave was so vast it could be called a training ground.

The scent of ink was thick.

An extremely exotic scene unfolded.

Semi-transparent energy waves were continuously descending onto stone desks filling the underground, and black-robed martial artists sitting upright like the scribes of Desolate Fortress’s Administration Office were writing something with brushes.

They seemed to be continuously transcribing sound transmissions pouring from the ceiling.

Muttering voices continued like Buddhist chants.

They focused only on their tasks, regardless of whether Jeong Yeon-shin’s group entered or not. At a glance, they might appear to be out of their minds… “Forbidden City, Beijing’s departure ceremony… Three supreme masters of the imperial family setting out with ten thousand troops. Rumors that the Emperor personally created and bestowed martial arts to confront the Fighting God of the north…”

“Sichuan Province, the Golden Wing Sect Leader requesting a life-and-death duel with the Tang Family Head. Regarding the exchange of the key points of Myriad Heavens Flower Rain and the Dragon-Slaying Heaven-Turning Form…”

“The Pure Demon Alliance Leader was killed by the Ming Cult’s Young Sect Leader. It was a battle of a thousand exchanges where divine fire truly struck down, they say. Invincible Yelü Zhen declared in the center of the Pure Demon Alliance’s main hall that his spell martial arts are the highest grade techniques closest to the first Heavenly Demon. We will observe whether the remaining forces of Ming Cult fully absorb the Pure Demon Alliance. Due to strange harmonies, many cannot leave Xinjiang, so our sect will not wait for the next news…”

Could they be mixing the Thousand Li Hearing Technique with the Hundred Li Sound Transmission?

Part of a tightly woven information network was directly visible. Martial artists who had mastered communication martial arts to a certain level were spread out like relay stations, replacing carrier pigeons or horses.

It seemed like something only the Beggar Sect, mentioned alongside the Nine Great Sects, could accomplish, but the energy waves of sound transmission descending from the cave ceiling now demonstrated the depth of the Slaughter Sect’s capabilities.

It would be perceived as some transcendent scene by commoners unfamiliar with the world.

However, Jeong Yeon-shin was surprised by something else. His eyebrows rose involuntarily.

The news he heard immediately upon entering was all concerning. Among them, two or three pieces of information were directly related to him.

The rumor that the Golden Wing Sect Leader had requested a duel with the Tang Family Head was enough to shake the martial world, but the news about the Pure Demon Alliance Leader and the Ming Cult’s Young Sect Leader was even more significant.

‘The Young Sect Leader is not dead yet?’

It had been a long time since Forest-Treading Squad and Immortal Tree Spirit Squad had headed to Xinjiang, following Obeying Heaven Wing.

Had the rumors been conflicting? The territory of the Ming Dynasty is vast enough to expand anyone’s perception. This means that accurate news rarely arrives on time.

This is why martial artists who don’t know the face of Radiant Demon Wing Leader Jeong Yeon-shin are abundant. Often, documents that finally arrive contradict the actual facts.

The mission completion of the three martial forces could be considered in the same context.

It was highly possible that the death of the Pure Demon Alliance Leader came first, followed by news that the three squad leaders had killed the Ming Cult’s Young Sect Leader. Jeong Yeon-shin wanted to think so.

“It will be fine.”

Hyeon Won-chang patted his shoulder.

Just as the silent Jeong Yeon-shin was nodding silently.

Suddenly, a wide wall came into his view. Beyond the disciples of the Slaughter Sect who were transcribing news, there was a long trace etched on the cave wall like the tail of a comet.

No.

Looking closely, it was a stone pillar. It seemed as if they had carved out the wall with the traces and brought it here, attaching it with nails and chisels.

It was a fragment of work that would be difficult to imagine for those who hadn’t cultivated martial arts.

‘Sword marks…?’

A strange gleam crossed Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes.

“One of my disciples went to fetch the young master of the Hwangbo family and the heir of the Desolate Shin family. They’ll be here soon. Along with the proper elders of our sect. Oh? Ah…”

Slaughter Chivalry, who had approached with light footsteps, let out a strange exclamation.

“A swordsman of your caliber would naturally have your eyes drawn to it. For our sect, it’s merely a humiliation that must not be forgotten.”

“Humiliation, you say?”

“The sword marks of the Murong family head. The one who shattered the once-intact Heavenly Demon’s Tomb into pieces over a decade ago…”

Slaughter Chivalry Kim Jon-hwi trailed off. Even someone who seemed cheerful and likely to seek elegance in everything appeared to find it difficult to show light conduct in the face of the sect’s grudges.

“It contains our determination never to forget. There are more than ten elders who became idiots from practicing wall-facing meditation just to break this… Due to the stubborn nature of the elders, we’ve left it as is. If I become the sect leader, I intend to destroy it immediately…”

Jeong Yeon-shin wasn’t listening.

He stood motionless, facing the sword marks that must have been about three zhang long. Slaughter Chivalry’s words were fading from his ears.

Suddenly, blue light streams extending from his two eyes swept across the rough wall. It came with a cool breeze sweeping across the cave floor.

Lotus Nezha suddenly muttered.

“The grip was weakened.”

“What did you say…?”

“But how could a sword strike powerful enough to be called a meteor…”

It was then.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s voice was drowned out by the suddenly uttered words of the Slaughter Sect disciples. Urgency was evident in their otherwise flat tone.

“Blue Dagger reports detecting traces of the Blood Flame Cult’s unusual spell technique. Blood traces drawn in a straight line on the Fenzhou snow field have not disappeared for three days. Based on intelligence that an ominous beauty crossed the well village of Xinyang County, it is presumed to be the Seventh Apostle of Blood Flame Cult. With the additional note that her movements appeared very uncomfortable…”

“White Blade reports discovering traces of the Profound Martial Alliance Leader in the northern snow field of Fenzhou. The traces of the No-Expansion Brilliant Technique, which dug up a radius of a hundred zhang in a spiral, still remain. Since Profound Martial Alliance Leader Goon Wei-hu, unlike his noble status, personally interrogates even beggars from the Beggar Sect, all disciples in Shanxi should be instructed to retreat to safe houses. Martial forces of the Profound Martial Alliance are gathering from all directions.”

“Black Sword reports observing clouds split in half at the boundary between southern Taiyuan Prefecture and Yaozhou. It is believed to be the Flowing Star Sword and Void Treading Skill of the Murong family head. All disciples spread throughout Taiyuan should return within one hour. Urgent, this is urgent.”

And then.

Boom! Boooom! Boooooom—!

A heavy roar spread. Vibrations as if meteors were falling. Stone dust flowed down like small waterfalls from various parts of the walls.

The surroundings began to be enveloped in whitish dust in an instant.