Chapter 367 – Peerless Master (2)

Silk robe hems brushed against the grass leaves. A sound that stood out in the silence.

The rising talents were examining the traces left by the Nine Sects’ martial arts when they suddenly doubted their ears.

Even those who had been glaring at the Five Heroes of Passion Protection turned their heads.

“The Radiant Demon Wing Leader of Desolate Fortress…?”

“I saw Lightning Genius at the Hangzhou Martial Alliance conference, but that man has a different build.”

“He was much younger.”

“Is there no one else to tell such lies to besides the two venerable elders of Qingcheng and Emei…?”

The group of rising talents accompanying the Nine Sects’ masters.

All twelve of them had properly learned and mastered internal energy breathing.

This meant they had accumulated stable sensory cultivation. Incomparable to wandering swordsmen without even a decent sect.

They maintained their energy sense while focusing on other matters. They had the skill to do so, and had always needed to in the chaotic battlefields they had traversed.

Naturally, they were examining every move of the black-robed young man with their senses.

An uncomfortable atmosphere was inevitable.

The two venerable elders of the Nine Sects should not be disrespected. Disrespecting Divine Nun Zi Wei and Taoist Master Qing Yin would harm the dignity of those who had been positioned as representatives of the group.

“Fellow Taoists, please be patient. This benefactor’s energy is extraordinary, so we shouldn’t dismiss his words as mere falsehoods.”

“I agree.”

Those who would lead the Nine Sects in the future.

Golden Staff Divine Woman of Emei Sect and Crimson Cloud Dragon of Qingcheng Sect didn’t react angrily to the black-robed young man’s speech and conduct.

After verbally restraining their group, they examined Jeong Yeon-shin from behind their elders with profound and calm expressions.

“Radiant Demon Wing Leader?”

Taoist Master Qing Yin, with his back to Crimson Cloud Dragon, repeated Jeong Yeon-shin’s words. His eyes were filled with doubt.

“Can you take responsibility for those words?”

Taoist Master Qing Yin asked.

He had sensed a faint yet powerful energy wave when Jeong Yeon-shin had deployed his movement technique earlier. His words and manner couldn’t help but be cautious.

“Must I?”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s head tilted slightly to the side. He thought: Is there any need to engage in lengthy conversation? It’s not like we’ll be traveling together.

Sensing this attitude, the middle-aged Buddhist nun who had been crudely striking the ground with her iron staff earlier joined her palms and spoke.

“It’s a karmic connection from another life. They say even brushing sleeves while walking is a connection, yet it seems the benefactor has no particular business with us.”

“Our sleeves didn’t brush.”

Just as Jeong Yeon-shin casually replied.

“The Dragon Phoenix Twin Poisons of the Tang family…? What is this!”

“There’s no life energy! They’ve already passed away…!”

A commotion arose from behind. The Sichuan rising talents who had been led by the Nine Sects figures like nursemaids.

They had recognized the Tang siblings that Jeong Yeon-shin had laid down from a distance. Some, having cultivated eye techniques, even mentioned life energy.

“I knew it! Pretending to be a Desolate Fortress martial artist from somewhere!”

“He could really be the Radiant Demon Wing Leader. It wouldn’t be the first or last time the imperial sword has taken a martial artist’s head!”

The sound of footsteps rang out. The presences moved extremely quickly, seemingly using lightness skill to retrieve the bodies of the Dragon Phoenix Twin Poisons.

Jeong Yeon-shin thought: This won’t do.

With chaos seemingly descending upon the world, these people who would fall to a monkey’s chopsticks couldn’t possibly safely escort the Dragon Phoenix Twin Poisons’ bodies back to the Tang family.

“Stop.”

He said without looking back.

The rising talents immediately responded.

“I don’t know by what right you speak this way, but even if what you just said is true, we cannot comply.”

“Entrust direct descendants of the Eight Great Clans to a Desolate Fortress martial artist?”

“You should be the one questioned first. You might have harmed them here.”

Those rushing toward the Tang siblings with large strides.

In fact, Divine Nun Zi Wei and Taoist Master Qing Yin, who had properly sensed Jeong Yeon-shin’s martial prowess, merely remained in place, wary of him.

Golden Staff Divine Woman and Crimson Cloud Dragon, acclaimed as the finest rising talents, revealed troubled expressions, caught between the rising talents and the two elders.

It was then.

Jeong Yeon-shin said nothing more.

He simply stepped forward with an indifferent face.

A slow movement like taking a stroll. Was it an illusion? Faint starlight seemed to shine at his toes.

Behind the light was an afterimage. In an instant, Jeong Yeon-shin’s form became blurrily distorted. Simultaneously, the undergrowth that had been leaning toward him all bent their heads in the opposite direction at once.

Whoosh!

The eyes of the four people from the Nine Sects widened.

The sound of air being gently pushed aside brushed their ears, and before that, they realized Jeong Yeon-shin’s form had already passed them.

He was a master. And not just any master. Crimson Cloud Dragon quickly turned his head in the opposite direction. But the dull noise sounded faster than his gaze could move.

The sight of the rising talents who had reached out toward the Tang siblings’ bodies.

Among them, the first three were losing their balance and falling, the scene slowly burning into his eyes.

And the black-robed young man passing by them, scattering faint clusters of light.

With movements broken into segments like constellations, a faint white light was crumbling in long streaks from Jeong Yeon-shin’s fingertips like an illusion.

‘When did he…?!’

It was a divine skill.

Dancing through space in an instant. A realm of different caliber.

The energy waves rising from his hands scattered star-like radiance, brushing through the air, and as if some great spectacle had occurred, all the rising talents who had surrounded the siblings were flung in all directions, rolling on the ground.

After that dull sound rang out, silence spread.

Crimson Cloud Dragon couldn’t even see what form the young man’s technique had taken.

The seemingly simple movements and palm techniques were strangely impossible to engrave in his mind.

He immediately realized why.

‘Insane, primordial principles…!’

There were an incredible number of subtleties imbued in the trajectories.

Every muscle fiber’s movement and even the fragments of internal energy that sparked into the air like embers moved with some intention. Even though it was just an instant.

Crimson Cloud Dragon glanced to the side.

He saw Golden Staff Divine Woman with her lips slightly parted.

Her talent was no less than Crimson Cloud Dragon’s. She must have experienced the same sense of distance in that moment.

‘That martial prowess at that age. Former Peng family head? No, even she would struggle to match this. Besides the Young Sect Leader of Ming Cult, there’s no one else…’

Little Sword Queen, Golden Staff Divine Woman of Emei, Crimson Cloud Dragon of Qingcheng.

The three had formed friendships in childhood, and were all spoken of as talents who would lead the next wave of the nearby martial world until they hit a wall… Little Sword Queen when she encountered Radiant Demon Wing Leader of Desolate Fortress, and Golden Staff Divine Woman and Crimson Cloud Dragon in this moment.

As the eyes of the two Nine Sects rising talents sank with gravity.

Swish.

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly turned his body. Then the energy waves of the Luminous Wheel that had been dwelling in his hands completely disappeared.

“This is a divine sword made by the Dragon Phoenix Twin Poisons.”

He slowly placed his hand on the silver sword hilt at his waist.

“Do not interfere. My debt of gratitude comes first.”

The gazes of the Nine Sects martial artists, including those rising talents who hadn’t fainted, briefly turned to the sword hilt. Jeong Yeon-shin paid no attention and continued.

“Where is this place?”

“…The Stone Tranquil Road of Deyang.”

Divine Nun Zi Wei, who had been staring at him, abruptly answered.

The master-aunt of Golden Staff Divine Woman. After briefly scanning the iron staff she held, Jeong Yeon-shin inwardly shook his head but thought it fortunate.

If it’s Deyang, it’s not far from the Tang family.

There should be a fairly large village down the road. He could buy coffins and a cart there to transport the bodies.

He couldn’t continue carrying the siblings’ bodies. It wasn’t proper respect for the noble dead.

“To the Tang family…?”

Taoist Master Qing Yin asked.

Jeong Yeon-shin, who had roughly nodded, carefully picked up the siblings and tucked them under each side of his body.

The rising talents sprawled around watched the scene blankly.

Thud.

As he turned his back and began walking, the sunset light fell on the “Desolate” character on his shoulder.

Golden Staff Divine Woman and Crimson Cloud Dragon, watching Jeong Yeon-shin’s back from a distance, opened their mouths.

“Let’s follow him.”

“We should verify, shouldn’t we?”

The middle-aged elders sensed some mixture of divergence and passion in the voices of the two.

The competitive spirit that martial artists of the same age harbor toward their peers. Divine Nun Zi Wei and Taoist Master Qing Yin silently nodded.

They were sect elders.

They couldn’t blame their disciples for harboring unreasonable competitive spirit.

They needed to visit the Tang family anyway. Something major had happened.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

A manor with high walls stretching endlessly left and right.

Amidst the sunlight pouring down on the fortress-like walls symbolizing the rare power and wealth in Sichuan, thunderous sounds continuously echoed.

Along with the heavy sounds, the ground would overturn and rise high.

The Tang family.

The home of Sichuan’s foremost noble clan had long since become a battlefield due to the faction war.

“That area is empty!”

“Prepare for poison techniques! Don’t just focus on lightness skill, raise your protective energy to the extreme…!”

“The flank is breached! Block it!”

Countless martial artists were flying in all directions. Forms too numerous to count with one eye repeatedly collided and fell.

Amid this, the energy waves that occasionally collided strongly burst into heavy vibrations, and beneath them, fragments of shattered roof tiles poured down.

The Tang family manor was built with its back to a high cliff.

Su Yi-shu, a White-rank martial artist from Desolate Fortress’s Sichuan branch, was clinging like a spider to one side of the cliff overlooking the manor, sweating cold.

Though he had cultivated the Gecko Technique that would allow him to remain in this position for a day and a half without strain, his soul seemed to flee at the sight of the scale of the battlefield below.

Blade-like surging auras. The aftermath of foot energy that slightly pressed against the skin and rose.

There were even supreme masters moving at such incredible speeds that their bodies appeared faint as they traversed the manor.

Su Yi-shu swallowed hard. Sweat formed on his palms that connected his true energy to the wall.

‘Ten Perfections Sect, Pure Demon Alliance, Yu Ling, and even the subordinate sects that have surrendered to them… this is insane. The branch leader should have come personally…’

Though all sorts of sporadic battles have been occurring throughout the martial world recently, it was another matter entirely for a wing of the Eight Great Clans to be attacked on such a large scale.

This wasn’t just a fight between martial sects. Especially since it involved the Tang family.

The Sichuan Tang family was one of the few among the Eight Great Clans with good relations with Desolate Fortress, the reason being their role in maintaining order in Sichuan’s martial world.

A major faction that possessed great power yet didn’t engage in exploitation and cooperated appropriately with Desolate Fortress.

Such places as the Tang family were extremely rare among the martial sects of the martial world. Especially in Sichuan.

For Desolate Fortress, which was always short-handed, it was like sweet dew.

They absolutely must not fall, yet they seemed destined for annihilation soon. That’s how it appeared to Su Yi-shu.

“Go in! It’s safe to enter!”

“The poison mist has all been inhaled by those dead ones! No need to circulate energy unnecessarily!”

The main gate of the Tang family.

People entering by stepping over corpses with blue-tinged faces.

The Nine Poison Formation, said to turn the entrance of the Tang family into the netherworld, had long since exhausted its power after turning the martial artists of the Ten Perfections Sect’s subordinate sects into wandering souls.

The path leading to the wide front yard like a training ground was the same.

The mechanism formation of Silent Dragon Seeking Fear, made up of bundles of poison-coated long needles, had activated from beneath the ground and skewered dozens, yet the Sima Evil Path martial artists trampled over the corpses like shields and moved through the Tang family manor as if it were their own home.

The most impressive sight was elsewhere.

[Even after decades of friendship, is the Tang Clan Leader still just preserving his position!]

An old man with flowing white beard like an immortal.

Wearing dark green gloves glistening with poison, he didn’t even glance at the Tang family martial artists surrounding him, but simply stood in place, occasionally flicking his fingers.

Each time, black smoke was etched in streams in the void. It was finger energy.

The greenish mist generated by the Tang family’s Ghost King Spirit poison formation would burn and disappear, and occasionally the bodies of Tang family martial artists caught in that strike would burst with a puhwak sound.

The realm of wielding tremendous power at will. It was a sight beyond the mortal world.

The new Pure Demon Alliance Leader.

The teacher of the previous Pure Demon Alliance Leader who had met her death after a thousand-exchange fierce battle with the Ming Cult’s Young Sect Leader.

Originally, he had retired from the front lines as an elder council leader due to the side effects of demonic arts, but rumors were widespread that he had reached the realm of demonic transcendence after hearing of his disciple’s death.

‘That old monster just won’t die. Even he alone is a calamity to the mortal world…’

Su Yi-shu carefully rolled his eyes. There was another subject of special concern below.

A man wearing thin white armor.

Like the new Pure Demon Alliance Leader, he was surrounded by Tang family martial artists, but at a glance, he didn’t appear to have cultivated martial arts… His energy was calm. Yet he was a peerless master who had refined more weapons to the extreme than anyone else in the world.

‘Ten Perfections Sect Leader…!’

Left Sword Right Blade. Each time he thrust into the void with the sword in his left hand and swung the great blade in his right, the air undulated violently.

The foot energy created by his weapons was powerful enough to cause earthquakes in space.

Eventually, it was enough to shatter the bodies of dozens of Tang family martial artists who had surrounded themselves with blue lightning using the Heaven Thunder Rainstorm Formation.

Kwakwakwakwakwang—!

The Taoists of Qingcheng Sect and the monks of Emei Sect retreated hesitantly. It was a moment of dramatic change in the front line that had been holding out for days with the support of the two Nine Sects.

‘The Tang family won’t be annihilated immediately.’

Su Yi-shu thought.

For some reason, Sichuan’s Sima Evil Path kept continuously choking the Tang family’s breath.

As if waiting for something. Otherwise, the Tang family would have been annihilated long ago.

‘Still, I should report immediately. How many formations have been broken…’

Tuk.

He tried not to make any sound as he pressed against the cliff wall.

“What are you?”

“Hup…!”

In that moment, Su Yi-shu’s breath stopped. His body froze in the Gecko Technique posture, clinging to the wall like a spider.

A cool sensation spread across his nape. He could barely move his eyeballs.

An old man standing on the void behind him.

His snow-white beard was neatly arranged down to below his sternum. Pure black sparks continuously flew over his navy blue long robe decorated with elaborate landscape paintings.

That appearance matched well with the atmosphere of the old man who was smiling brightly.

“Fairly well-refined energy, absurd espionage… are you Desolate Fortress’s lackey?”

The old Pure Demon Alliance Leader asked slowly. Black flames like abyssal fire blazed in his two eyes, giving the impression that he wasn’t particularly hiding his energy.

Su Yi-shu couldn’t answer.

He just trembled as the cold sweat on his nape felt like ice. The presence touching his skin was tremendous.

An opponent impossible to face. That’s why he was a peerless master.

Su Yi-shu inwardly cursed Zhang Ri-dao, the Desolate Fortress Qizhou branch leader, without pause.

No matter how many earth-shattering events had occurred, did you really have to send me to such a place?

The old Pure Demon Alliance Leader smiled.

His low voice was like Yama from the netherworld.

It was then.

Creeak—

The small sound of wheels rolling was unusually clear.

Near the distant main gate of the Tang family.

A young man wearing an antique black robe slowly crossed the threshold, pulling a very shabby cart behind him.

[TL Note- Hope JYS brought some extra caskets for the fools those are about to die.]