Chapter 392 – Carpet

Dark Night Palace.

A rare major faction in the world.

It was formed by faded members of noble clans. They competed to be the most secretive in the world.

Their archery technique, secretly performed through mystical martial arts, was said to be more lethal than any assassin’s strike.

In reality, they sustained themselves through assassination. They were a faction that had mastered killing people for payment from the wealthy.

They inevitably had many enemies. Using the secret techniques of renowned clans skilled in creating hiding places, they concealed their faction, never revealing their main headquarters throughout the long years.

It was said that even the Hao Sect and Beggar Sect didn’t know its location.

This meant that its very location was like a legend in the martial world. There were countless stories born from reverence and fear.

That they periodically moved south from the Ice Palace of the Northern Sea, that they must be hiding by burrowing into the stump of the World Tree located in Beijing…

“Are you saying that Dark Night Palace was in our city?”

“Impossible.”

“Who are these people… shouldn’t we run away first rather than standing here?”

While the common people hiding behind walls or windows whispered among themselves.

Jeong Yeon-shin slightly lowered his eyebrows.

As he continuously pushed the Luminous Wheel Energy rising from his heart into the sword blade, the surrounding air began to ripple gently.

The vibration of energy emanating from the blade created a humming resonance. Sword Song. It was an ultimate technique he had created, inspired by the Crown Prince of this country.

He didn’t activate it immediately.

This was the great city of Guizhou. Even though it was the outskirts where no city walls had been built, there were many common people.

What lay before him was a barren field, but with clusters of civilian houses behind him, he couldn’t simply unleash the Sword Song. He needed time to regulate his energy.

‘Only forward… it will take a bit longer.’

Determining the direction of a wide-area ultimate technique.

It wasn’t easy. A form originally refers to a predetermined path with methods of true energy operation aligned to it.

The Sword Song, which contained the subtleties of yin energy, fundamentally possessed a form that didn’t distinguish between friend and foe. Determining the direction of yin energy afterward was no different from completely restructuring the Sword Song’s incantation.

‘Be silent.’

Jeong Yeon-shin mentally commanded the sword.

The activation itself was completely different from before when it had strained his Baihui acupoint.

After bone transformation and Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown had elevated him to the realm of peerless masters, he had physically absorbed the years of absolute beings who had lived through generations.

Martial arts was in his hands.

Keeeeeing—!

At this moment, the flow of true energy rippling from the blade began to be completely controlled beneath his grip.

Each segment of vibration originating from that movement flowed out strictly following Jeong Yeon-shin’s mental imagery. Like the sound of a flute gently undulating up and down.

Annihilation Team Leader Shin Hwang observed Jeong Yeon-shin from nearby.

“He’s completely contained the energy waves within the sword blade.”

An indescribable sentiment flashed in his eyes as he stood with his arms folded. This was because he had discerned the technique where the energy wave’s direction was converging to one place, as if adding variations.

He had seen Jeong Yeon-shin’s Sword Song during the mission to annihilate the Hwangbo family. It was the moment when Lightning Genius, who had just become Blue-rank, had dared to request a solo mission to demonstrate his abilities.

‘It’s definitely different.’

There was a difference like that between roughly patched mud and smooth porcelain. That’s how it was in terms of internal energy operation. He thought.

This future Purple-rank was unrivaled in single-strike explosive martial arts and true energy guidance. If the surrounding Black-ranks provided proper support, they would witness a tremendous spectacle.

“How elegant.”

“Well, with looks like his, even playing a grass flute would…”

It was Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader Cheon So-so and Heavenly Dragon Squad Leader Wei Zhi-ji. The sight of them quietly stepping back with their fellow squad leaders.

Yue Shou-lin, who had been smiling warmly nearby, was grabbed by the nape and pulled back by Beigong Ya.

The senior Black-ranks observed. Their attitude showed they didn’t care what their junior of equal rank was doing.

They simply watched Jeong Yeon-shin’s every move intently. Whether openly or secretly pretending not to.

It was then.

A middle-aged man stepped forward from among the spectators.

“Please don’t create unnecessary tension. Outsiders are drawing too much attention. The situation is already volatile with insufficient grain, so why are you drawing swords and acting like a circus troupe here?”

It was admonishing in tone. His voice was also deep and dignified.

He was wearing a luxurious orange robe over a body that looked as if it had been lightly coated with ash.

At his waist hung a sword scabbard decorated with jade, which at a glance testified to his uncommon status.

“Judge Sword! I heard you went on a trading journey all the way to Guangxi… and sure enough, you’ve returned safely. Truly living up to your reputation.”

“I wonder how much profit he made…”

“Thieves will be prowling again at midnight. Searching for Judge Sword’s well-hidden treasury.”

Many among the city people recognized him. Some spectators even let out low exclamations.

Figures with the character “Judge” in their aliases are often widely respected despite being meddlesome. It meant he was someone who had established himself in his own right.

Judge Sword’s shoulders straightened. It was accompanied by a feigned modest cough.

“Dark Night Palace lurking in our city? I don’t know which black path faction you’re from, but if you’re planning to settle here under the pretext of the Thirteen Evil Sects and drain the common people’s blood, you’re gravely mistaken.”

His voice was greatly amplified by quite profound internal energy. It was enough to swallow even the sound emanating from Jeong Yeon-shin’s sword.

“Even if you truly possess the Desolate Fortress token that allows you to inspect any place in the world, it’s still a problem. It’s a known fact that Desolate Fortress has abandoned the common people, so why are you trying to stir up a peaceful city and overturn the surroundings! And to mention the terrifying Dark Night Palace! How much chaos are you planning to cause!”

Voices of agreement rang out from various places.

Judge Sword felt renewed gratitude toward Yu Ling.

The Black-ranks of Desolate Fortress were elusive figures. Almost no common person would immediately recognize that a squad leader had completely separated from the Divine Sword Group’s martial forces.

The power of the Thirteen Evil Sects’ Yu Ling was significant. They had secretly spread the word widely.

Look for Black-robed martial artists if a group with the “Desolate” character on their shoulders passes by, they said, claiming that Desolate Fortress had abandoned the people’s livelihood for selfish reasons.

Rumors fostering distrust were slowly filling the vast world.

It was a time of famine.

When people were even blaming heaven for their plight, there was no reason to view kindly those who deserved to be hated… It was right to say they had been given a pretext. It could be called the backlash to the squad leaders’ gathering.

“This is a land barely enduring famine. Yet outsiders suddenly arrive, draw swords, and perform bizarre techniques? The martial world of Guizhou, as well as the common people, the officials, and I, Judge Sword, will be watching you closely. Come here and let’s talk.”

Judge Sword said while showing a pouch of salt he had brought as evidence of his trading journey.

It was broad daylight in a public place.

The attention of the crowd quickly becomes power. This was especially true for a local martial artist who had lived in Guizhou for a long time.

But the Black-ranks paid him no attention. They only watched Jeong Yeon-shin, who was holding his sword down. Each with their arms folded or standing straight.

“It wasn’t trading but plundering. The blood smell seeping from his sword scabbard is unusual…”

As Burning Abyss Squad Leader Yu Jeong-myeong tapped the ground with his long legs while muttering, the Supreme Martial Hall Leader beside him smiled faintly.

“He’s a minion of Dark Night Palace. Seeing how anxious he is, it seems Squad Leader Cheon was right. Let’s just watch Squad Leader Jeong’s form demonstration. I wonder what will emerge.”

Judge Sword, who had tried to give the crowd a justification to reject the outsiders with a few words, hesitated on the spot.

Despite possessing the hands of a swordsman who had trained for many years, he couldn’t hastily draw his sword.

As soon as he heard the tall nobleman’s monologue, he became certain that the opposing group was extraordinary.

The reason he didn’t have a separate treasury despite frequently going on “trading journeys.” It was because Judge Sword was a supply agent for Dark Night Palace.

‘Squad Leaders. Could they really be from Desolate Fortress? Are the supreme masters of the Divine Sword Group’s squad leaders truly gathered here…?’

A resolute expression crossed his face. It was the determination of a clan member. He was prepared to die here. He had to stop the youngest among them from attempting whatever he was trying.

Somehow, they were standing precisely at the life gate of the Nine Provinces Imperial Glory Formation that concealed Dark Night Palace.

Thirteen Black-ranks from Desolate Fortress.

What couldn’t they accomplish?

Although Dark Night Palace’s Nine Provinces Imperial Glory Formation had once deflected even the heaven-splitting kick of Beggar Sect Leader Great Wild Divine Beggar, with thirteen sect leader-level figures from one faction, there was no telling what extraordinary breaking method might emerge.

‘That one is clearly circulating energy. If I can properly disturb even a single hair…’

Judge Sword’s eyes examined the side profile of the young man in the distance. A face that brought to mind the ancient tale of the handsome Pan Yue. If the rumors were true, he would be Radiant Demon Wing Leader Lightning Genius.

Since his energy sense was said to be more sensitive than even most renowned clans, extremely covert methods would be needed to interfere with his energy circulation even slightly.

Fortunately, Judge Sword had a spiritually imbued mystical object in his sleeve.

A feather of the Kidnapping Evil Bird that could find the Dark Night Palace Leader wherever he was in this land. In the hands of forcibly captured craftsmen from the Iron Clan, it had been transformed into hidden needles that rivaled the Tang family’s secret weapons.

‘Dark Night Needle Scattering Technique.’

A throwing martial art that strikes at medium distance without any trace. This was why he could pose as a legitimate disciple within Dark Night Palace despite not having learned archery.

The problem was the energy sense of Desolate Fortress’s Black-ranks. Could he move his fingers while deceiving the senses of supreme masters whose presence reached all under heaven? It was a matter to be left to heavenly fortune.

The odds weren’t impossible.

The mystical techniques of Dark Night Palace, which had continuously advanced, boasted extreme secrecy for the first strike.

The current Dark Night Palace Leader was acknowledged by all as the world’s foremost assassin, even in the present era where martial artists’ power had reached its peak.

Judge Sword subtly raised his arm.

“Won’t you respond! Are my words so trivial?!”

An extremely thin hidden needle naturally sprung from his sleeve. It moved as if seeping into the finger pointing toward Jeong Yeon-shin.

In that moment, a triumphant look flashed in Judge Sword’s eyes. It was a gaze tinged with a somewhat sublime feeling.

‘I will die here, but I will fulfill my heavenly mandate by serving as a warning to the Palace Leader…!’

Jjeojeojeong—

It was a sound that rang within Judge Sword’s body.

A sensation as hot as karmic fire spread from the Life Gate acupoint on his back throughout his entire body. No, it was simultaneously burning hot and extremely cold, as if incinerating his acupoints.

The only fact he properly recognized was that his entire body had frozen in an instant.

‘Ice energy!’

Judge Sword barely managed to move his eyeballs to the side. White breath was scattering beside his shoulder.

In the rapidly fading sensation, he vaguely felt the delicate presence of a woman.

Thanks to the powerful cold ice energy, he could guess even without seeing. It was Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader Cheon So-so.

“You’re an example.”

Her ethereal voice continued in a low whisper.

“The Radiant Demon Wing Leader is noble. Fallen ones like you shouldn’t touch him.”

It was a voice gradually growing smaller. Soon Judge Sword could hear nothing.

His vision became blurry as if covered in fog. He saw the image of the Radiant Demon Wing Leader extending his sword toward the Nine Provinces Imperial Glory Formation in the wasteland.

The sight of sunlight flowing down over his pitch-black hair was strangely detached from reality.

‘Not so… easily…’

Suddenly Judge Sword’s field of vision widened vertically.

A colorless ripple spread from the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s sword strike. It was as if it had touched the surface of a lake. The air shattered along the continuously arising concentric circles.

Transparent sunlight squeezed through the gaps, and suddenly began illuminating clusters of trees and pavilions that had appeared in the field.

“…!”

He had broken an ancient formation with a single sword strike.

Judge Sword couldn’t fathom its principle.

The cry that should have been shouted aloud only echoed in his mind. The resonance was directed toward one person. Words that the Palace Leader, more noble than any renowned clan in the world, would never hear.

Hide the Kidnapping Evil Bird meant for the Palace Leader first.

Flee quickly.

‘Even with the Ten Li Instant Kill prepared tenfold, you must never confront…’

He froze to death with his eyes wide open.