Chapter 516 – Sunset (7)

Blood spurted up in vain brushstrokes, scattering in all directions.

In that brief moment, the red heat haze that bloomed from Seventh Apostle’s body slammed all those blood droplets down to the floor in unison. So that not a single drop of blood would touch her skin.

“Disgusting.”

She muttered.

Meanwhile, Lim Jin-myeong gazed strangely at the blood demon who despised others’ blood like vermin, then respectfully sent a mental transmission to Heaven-Reaching Bow Spirit.

—It’s over now. Thank you.

There was no answer from her.

Only Lim Jin-myeong’s other field of vision, connected to the white swallow, shook once. Thus Heaven-Reaching Bow Spirit, who had stroked White Swallow’s head with her fingertips, suddenly seeped into the air.

Extremely swift body movement technique.

Perhaps because she had put all her strength into one strike. It was possible to guess the direction because her body swayed minutely.

Eastern side of Desolate Fortress. The direction from which Dream Human Moon had infiltrated, and also where World Tree’s Golden Thunder was currently sleeping heavily while snoring.

Thus Heaven-Reaching Bow Spirit would immediately gather her belongings and return straight away. At a speed that the Administrative Office’s eye techniques could hardly catch.

If an absolute master like her ran without rest, she would arrive at her original nest in three days.

World Tree.

It was certain she still couldn’t be away from her position for long.

“Well, it is the tree that supports all under heaven…”

Lim Jin-myeong muttered low as if exhaling a sigh along with his speculation. The muscles throughout his body that had been contracted since encountering Yu Ling Leader at close range were only now beginning to relax.

He knows many things.

Information that even today’s purple masters don’t have in mind, he had stored at least partially in his head. Naturally, he also understood World Tree’s circumstances and the general characteristics of its Four Great Protectors.

‘In any case, now…’

The Desolate Fortress Annihilation Great War was over.

News of their great victory would soon begin to shake the world. The vast martial jianghu would also refrain from rash actions except for a few unusual sects.

At least for the time being.

But Lim Jin-myeong did not smile. Even if admiration, emotion, and fresh shock about Jeong Yeon-shin were whirling in one corner of his heart at this moment, it was difficult to show it.

Because now they had to begin post-war cleanup.

It didn’t matter how many jianghu scoundrels had died. The main castle warriors who had lost their lives today were the truly important matter. There weren’t just one or two of them either.

‘No matter how much sword wielders fight…’

There are still unchangingly many common people who need care in this harsh land.

And Desolate Fortress had clearly been weakened.

They had to recover from the damage and be reborn anew. While reorganizing the structure under the Divine Sword Group, the survivors had to become stronger by upholding the work of the reduced personnel.

The Acting Divine Sword Group Leader should naturally be at the forefront of all such tasks.

Lim Jin-myeong stopped looking down at his Four Treasures of the Study and asked Seventh Apostle.

“Is your energy regulation definitely finished? I can still feel the Fortress Lord’s energy from you, but I can’t fathom her intentions at all.”

“How would I know?”

Seventh Apostle asked back blankly.

At this point, she too was a headache for the Grand Administrator.

Wuung.

The traces of Transcendent Martial Art that Yu Ling Leader had left behind still surrounded the vicinity like glass.

Only a few scholars felt some abnormality with their sensitive energy sense and glanced back at the Administrative Office’s head seat once each.

The single move containing an absolute master’s life was that tenacious, but now it was gradually crumbling down. Like the life of Yu Ling Leader, who had lived deceiving all under heaven without particular failure.

Saaaa—

Soon the proper scene would enter the eyes of the Administrative Office scholars.

Lim Jin-myeong organized his thoughts while seated and began listening earnestly to the words of his subordinates who had met the end of the war.

“…The west is also cleaned up.”

“From the beginning, there were no wandering martial artists who could handle the main castle’s Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader and Law Enforcement Squad Leader.”

“Enemy survivors?”

“None on the west side. Between the iron craftsmen and the affiliated families all gathered there…”

Voices that had gained much more leisure.

This was after news had already been conveyed that Dream Human Moon in the east had been completely annihilated by Ma Family Head Ma Jin, Azure Sky Squad swordsmen, and some Obeying Heaven Wing warriors, with only two exceptions.

The Administrative Office had continuously watched the battlefields closing in from all directions. Many of them could only now begin to relax their tension.

Among them, some even spouted unnecessarily long jokes. They were mainly those who had been friendly with the main castle warriors who had died on the front lines.

“…It’s presumptuous to say, but one purple saved the wrists of the Administrative Office scholars. How many brush strokes were saved this time?”

“Not particularly so. Now more matchmakers will come flocking. Scholar Jeong’s age has become suitable for starting a family, hasn’t it? He’ll be eighteen tomorrow.”

“Come to think of it, there are marriage proposal communications for Lord Jeong here… Forbidden City, Prince Qiong’s manor, Yan Family, Ice Palace… Just the prominent names are this many. Collecting them one by one, it’s this much…”

“Burn them.”

“Even Lazy Flame Dragon? His skills as a secret agent are questionable. Seeing that even Ice Palace is included.”

A voice identical to Jeong Yeon-shin’s rang out midway, but only Lim Jin-myeong reacted to that voice.

“……”

He glanced dismissively at Seventh Apostle, who possessed innate talent for harmonizing body muscles and acupoints like Jeong Yeon-shin, then slowly rose from his seat.

While kicking away Yu Ling Leader’s corpse that had somehow sprawled there.

“Clean up this corpse first.”

With Lim Jin-myeong’s command to his subordinates.

Rustle.

Yu Ling Leader’s illusion scattered like dust, spreading his voice in all directions.

At the point when sunset heat haze began to mix sparsely into the colorless sunlight pouring from the open roof.

“From now on, the Administrative Office will begin post-war cleanup. Harvesting the heads of enemies is first.”

These were words announcing the end of the Desolate Great War.

* * *

Jeong Yeon-shin kicked the innocent ground.

Thud.

The ground was cold. His leather shoes had fairly thick soles, perfect for getting through winter, but the chill of this land mocked that and made his feet numb.

Even the ability of immunity to heat and cold gained through bone transformation was useless on this earth.

‘Beyond the gates…’

Jeong Yeon-shin glanced down at the ground pointlessly in front of his three seniors, then carefully raised his head.

A flood dragon’s body was positioned like a mountain.

A scene covered in very thick scales that looked jet-black, draped in whitish mist like an outer garment.

“Hmm.”

He had no intention of belittling the labors of his maternal grandfather and the Group Leader. They had been sacred. But the size of the flood dragon that he, Divine Monk Beomheo, and Lady Lu Xian had driven away had been much larger. Clearly different enough to be visible.

It was when Jeong Yeon-shin’s lips twitched minutely, seeming to rise but not quite.

The three purple seniors who had each been looking up at the sky slowly began to speak one by one. This was after they had confirmed without omission the appearance Jeong Yeon-shin had shown at the main castle’s main gate.

“You killed the b*st*rds who needed killing. Truly… admirable.”

It was praise from Ma Yeon-jeok, who had revealed himself beside Jeong Yeon-shin at some point. Jeong Yeon-shin quietly stepped aside just before his grandfather’s arm could drape over his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Yong Hye-myeong had nothing particular to say.

His face was also expressionless.

He had been watching Jeong Yeon-shin’s every move with a smile, but had become like this right after confirming the heads of Nether Stream Squad Leader and Burning Abyss Squad Leader.

Jeong Yeon-shin knows. The two deceased black seniors had been old colleagues of Divine Sword Group Leader Yong Hye-myeong.

This was Yong Hye-myeong, who hadn’t lost his smile even when driven to the brink of death.

What might his mood be like?

Conversely, Shin Cheon-hwa immediately turned her head to Jeong Yeon-shin and threw out instruction-like words.

[Your martial arts are outstanding, but you were a bit clumsy.]

“What about my grandson?”

[Shut up, brat.]

It was a response that felt somehow affectionate. She didn’t care about Ma Yeon-jeok’s question that had momentarily gripped the atmosphere tightly.

[There is no Transcendent Martial Art in the world that is not lethal. Since they’re techniques that absolute masters have thrown their entire lives into, swearing they’ll never be defeated, how could it be otherwise? That bandit-like yet scholar-like fellow was the same. You shouldn’t have met that head-on. The indiscriminate wide-area supreme techniques were the same. As a result, didn’t your energy hit rock bottom and you even had to receive help from the Administrative Office?]

Shin Cheon-hwa continued speaking slowly.

[Keep this in mind. A Divine Sword Group Leader is one who overwhelms even variables. You must always maintain composure.]

“I will do so.”

Jeong Yeon-shin answered plainly.

He had been thirsty for teachings and affection since childhood. If it was teaching born from a senior’s affection, he had no choice but to let it sink deep into his heart without thinking otherwise.

‘Everything you say is correct too.’

He had overexerted himself multiple times, unable to kill his killing intent.

If Jeong Yeon-shin continued to be unable to distinguish front from back, he might meet an end like a greenhorn new to the jianghu.

The lives of absolute masters were generally longer than Jeong Yeon-shin’s years, and their life-saving techniques were inevitably extraordinary. The Transcendent Martial Art that Gang of Demons Green Forest’s Zhi Jiang-xian had cultivated was actually like that too.

A technique that took and used the propulsive shock waves of the army he led as they were. If Zhi Jiang-xian’s martial forces had numbered in the thousands rather than five hundred, the results would have been different.

[However.]

She suddenly smiled slightly.

[Trusting the Administrative Office was also well done. You have the qualities to lead the main castle.]

An opinion completely opposite to Thirteen Evil Sect Leader Zhi Jiang-xian. Jeong Yeon-shin expressed his gratitude with a silent bow.

Meanwhile, Ma Yeon-jeok, who had been glaring at her with displeasure, shook his sleeve hem once greatly.

“So what do you want to do?”

Instantly.

Hwaaaaaak!

The flood dragon’s body, which had been casting a huge shadow like dusk, scattered into pieces. Sunlight entering darkly like dust through those gaps as they unraveled.

Everything was a strange place.

Yong Hye-myeong gestured with his chin toward Jeong Yeon-shin and spoke.

“If you die here, no corpse remains. Quite unusual and strange, isn’t it?”

[What do you mean what to do? Since the main castle has reached that state, we must do what’s immediately necessary.]

Thus Shin Cheon-hwa’s words, scolding Ma Yeon-jeok, continued.

[I’ve roughly grasped it. Two are bound beyond the gates, and one is performing the role of main castle purple in the human world. The other’s body is in this state, so practically speaking, it would be fair to say the main castle’s purple is just that friend alone.]

She brushed down her front lapel and asked.

[Then as seniors, we should make that junior a bit more complete, shouldn’t we?]

“Complete…?”

Jeong Yeon-shin unconsciously asked back.

The moment his eyes met Shin Cheon-hwa’s, her eye corners curved like a sharp curved blade.

[I’ll add our experience to your martial arts. All those born to families under the main castle receive such training from childhood, but looking at your conduct, I couldn’t see any trace of Ma family movements at all. No, there weren’t any martial principles from any family at all. Surely there must be some pathetic family circumstances.]

“……”

Immediately after, Jeong Yeon-shin witnessed his maternal grandfather’s mouth close for the first time, but he could pretend not to see it with his gentleman’s skills.

[I think you can gain two things for now.]

“I’m listening.”

[First, when you’re extremely unlucky and must face two or more absolute masters simultaneously… grasping how to fight in such cases. Second, greatly supplementing the parts that would have been difficult to separately teach to later generations due to your martial arts’ characteristic of emphasizing sensation. Especially the latter is something that long-established famous major sects like Shaolin, Wudang, and Mount Hua have eliminated as weaknesses through time…]

Suddenly Shin Cheon-hwa’s smile deepened.

[If there are four Divine Sword Group Leaders, it would last more than a thousand years and more. Therefore, you will become complete as a martial artist and also as a grandmaster in the future. You’ll be able to make the martial artists of your lineage much stronger. Ah, do you have some insight into teaching?]

“Yes.”

Jeong Yeon-shin answered confidently.

[Good. Let’s refine all your martial arts.]

Did he agree with her words? Before he knew it, Jeong Yeon-shin witnessed Yong Hye-myeong, who had approached him closely.

Still a face where it was difficult to guess his mood, but he was still the Divine Sword Group Leader. Even his maternal grandfather seemed to agree with the previous generation’s words.

“I have long wanted to transmit Harmonious Flower Divine Technique to you. Since I was just regulating my breathing, this is well-timed.”

Ma Yeon-jeok said.

Though it was dark all around, their presence was flickering like the sun.

The Acting Divine Sword Group Leader’s training began thus.