Chapter 647 – Big Dipper Hundred Stars (10)

An unexpected storm descended upon the tranquil mountain path. It was the rebound from Profound Martial Alliance Leader’s shoulder, where Non-Tension Radiant Brilliant Art was constantly activated, colliding with Heaven Steel Light Armor.

The hardened earth crust flipped in succession and shot up in all eight directions, and the entire mountain slope shook briefly in an earthquake.

Rumble—

Shock waves rippling through the atmosphere.

Even Divine Sword Squad members had to strive to maintain balance in place.

But their eyes were quickly sweeping all eight directions. They had quickly engaged in situation assessment, because they had experienced even worse things in the demon realm.

The truly noisy ones were the uninvited guests.

The mountain path thick with dust.

“What is this…!”

“Above! It’s above!”

These were jianghu people who had been on the verge of clashing with Divine Sword Squad earlier. It was when their panicked voices were crying out.

[Why are you…!]

Military King Martial Emperor Gun Wi-hu’s will explosively spreading out. That alone caused dirt and stone fragments to pour down with rustling sounds.

Shock spread like dust throughout the mountain slopes. Not only toward Gun Wi-hu who had stopped after creating long furrows to the edges of the slope paths, but also toward the human shadow that had collided with him.

“Profound Martial Alliance Leader…!”

“It’s Military King Martial Emperor! Disciples, stand back!”

Jianghu people who had suddenly found themselves close to a one-armed peerless master retreated like arrows. Military King Martial Emperor’s achievement, said to have greatly awakened recently, was an enormous topic in the world.

“Don’t stay within Profound Martial Alliance Leader’s range! You’ll be drawn in!”

“Senior brother, I understand Non-Tension Radiant Brilliant Art is a blunt technique of single-point focus. It’s different from Wandering Star’s Absorption Formula, so what…”

“The one who lost an arm showed world-opening movements! How deep would that internal energy cultivation be?”

Meanwhile, right behind Zhong Heaven Child Jeong Hye.

‘Well now, they even assess peerless masters’ martial arts?’

The second youngest in Divine Sword Squad after Shin So-bin, Divine Sword Anticipation Yeon So-ha, silently surveyed the feast of uninvited guests unfolding before his eyes.

While belatedly using finger wind to press acupoints on the startled child’s shoulder who had sensed his presence.

“Don’t be too tense. Most of them are inferior to your uncle’s breath.”

At the same time, he sent sound transmission spreading like spider webs to Divine Sword Squad members. It was a technique no young blue rank couldn’t perform.

—Profound Martial Alliance Leader is one thing, but the lineup around him also seems problematic. Hard to believe even seeing with my eyes?

Hyeon Won-chang’s immediate reply returned.

—Is there another familiar face among the uninvited guests?

Great Tongue Sword Desolate Divine Hero had been engaged in subtle psychological warfare with Yeon So-ha knowingly or unknowingly, but with even Profound Martial Alliance Leader appearing, his tone was serious.

Yeon So-ha was the same.

—There’s the former Spear King I saw in Taiyuan when I was a kid, and also Kaifeng Qing Family’s head. They’re all old men who were considered dead in jianghu… Especially Kaifeng Qing Family head, that is, the old man riding alone in a palanquin over there, was said to never come outside his estate. Because he’s wealthier than kings.

Suddenly Oh Wol-hyang interjected.

—I also see Heaven Pivot Sword Curtain guys who are said to have gathered northern river assassins as soon as Slaughter Sect collapsed. Wait, are those beggars also from Beggar Sect?

—Not one of them is easy. All came here just to grave rob.

Yeon So-ha thought along with deliberately peaceful words.

‘Still, it’s fortunate. They’re not the type to unite as one.’

Alliances are fearsome things.

Jianghu’s vastness is like dozens of nations gathered together, and even if Desolate Fortress was the world’s greatest sect, it couldn’t evenly handle the Central Plains’ size.

That’s why deaths of Divine Sword Group warriors were called common affairs of war.

Among the martial people gathered in current Qinling Mountain Range, there were few who could handle Divine Sword Squad members. It could be compared to a sand castle.

‘But.’

No matter how strong a person’s hands, they can only hold a handful of sand. This was the principle Desolate Fortress warriors had always fought against.

It was why they couldn’t relax even with a demon realm giant standing in front of them.

“Hard to believe…”

A voice that rose quietly from below the slope. It was also the heaviest presence throughout the nearby mountain slopes.

Military King Martial Emperor Gun Wi-hu. The current Profound Martial Alliance Leader.

An impression seemingly full of confidence in himself, with features reaching the extreme of gravitas as much as his thick eyebrows. He also seemed to have surveyed all circumstances in that brief moment.

He asked.

“Those who shouldn’t be together are standing side by side. What’s the reason?”

His right sleeve was fluttering lonelily like a flag. Completely empty.

Only one human shadow was permitted to converse.

“Alliance Leader Gun, it’s been a long time.”

A voice flowing from thick dust on the slope above. Gun Wi-hu’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s not the original Deductive Destruction. I mean your Heaven Steel Light Armor.”

At the same time.

Tap, tap tap—

The color of dark red protective energy began changing in the dust. An internal energy barrier that originally blazed fiercely like karmic fire, then gradually killed its momentum with quiet dark blue color.

Along with a gentle smile.

“My protective arts were recently broken, so I was making changes… Since I couldn’t kill the Alliance Leader in one exchange just now, I wonder if this direction is wrong.”

Absurd words flowed out matter-of-factly.

Though peerless masters were said to never settle in place, except for a very few strongmen famous for short decisive battles, no one could speak so to Profound Martial Alliance Leader.

“……”

But the nearby mountain path had become quiet in a different sense. Not only had Zhong Heaven Child Jeong Hye, who should have crumbled like roadside pebbles, survived, but also because of Literary Star who was completely revealed as soon as shock waves and dust cleared.

The mountain path leading directly to Zhongnan Sect.

He was looking down at Gun Wi-hu from a height close to nine feet. With arms and legs thick as iron towers, every muscle fiber pulsing as if alive.

Jianghu people stirred.

“…Truly Yao tribe.”

“Crazy.”

“Didn’t he just protect Zhong Heaven Child? A Yao tribe member protecting a Zhongnan disciple.”

“The character Desolate…! Aren’t they also Divine Sword Group?”

The extreme of confusion.

That’s what demon realm jianghu people were.

The eternal burden Central Plains martial world had been passing to the nation. Monsters known to eat people. At the same time, clearly foreign forces with whom communication was impossible and coexistence impossible.

Undoubtedly public enemies of jianghu.

Last year, the world’s Northern Blade had gained even Central Plains unorthodox path’s wariness by annihilating Myriad Upper Road Stronghold among the Thirteen Evil Sects.

Then two old men turned toward a side path.

“Since I cannot engage in combined attack with Gun Wi-hu… I’ll have to invade Mount Hua.”

“Let’s go together. This path seems to have bad earth energy.”

The former Spear King with tall stature carrying a long spear was first, and Kaifeng Qing Family head who had been sitting alone in a four-person palanquin followed him.

Nearby jianghu people naturally made way with faces of disbelief and shock.

“Anyway, it’s truly shocking. Who would believe if we told the gossip-mongers below this mountain?”

“I’m different. Unlike Spear King, I’m not of a status to dominate jianghu alone.”

The two old men left only aged voices while disappearing to the mountain slope’s side. It was clearly turning direction, yet old freedom still seeped through.

Yeon So-ha, who had been watching that scene intently, asked Literary Star.

“Don’t we need to chase them? They said they’d spread rumors.”

“Unless it’s Sword Heaven, Divine Thief, or Divine Beggar Zhu Guang, they’re hard to chase. Above all, the shed-shell Profound Martial Alliance Leader has graced us with his presence.”

It was the giant’s reply.

Suddenly Yeon So-ha’s eyes widened.

‘This monster seems to be not moving from his spot to protect Jeong Hye…?’

Six Star Lord Literary Star.

Even if he pretended to be a deeply learned scholar, he was the most brutal existence in the demon realm. This was hard to believe even seeing it. It was so even until another one-armed person slyly emerged from behind Profound Martial Alliance Leader.

“Has Desolate Fortress Divine Sword Group joined hands with Yao tribe!”

Evil Demon Scholar Jeon Baek.

A master of Profound Martial Alliance whose name was quite well known.

He was said to have studied at Beijing Imperial Academy with privileged student status, and privileged students were especially high-status scholars among academy students. Profound Martial Alliance Leader seemed to want to maintain dignity in this lowly grave-robbing fight.

“I announce to fellow jianghu practitioners! Considering this situation, Desolate Fortress that went north was greatly defeated, and those Divine Sword Group remnants seem to have betrayed the Central Plains following northern Six Star Lords! It doesn’t seem like the time for jianghu people to be wary of each other!”

Jeon Baek extinguished the audience’s confusion with a few words.

Desolate Fortress and Yao tribe. Binding together beings who couldn’t be welcomed in the world’s martial world, thereby uniting even jianghu rabble like one alliance.

‘Then we’d really have to fight endlessly.’

A scene showing how current Central Plains was operating. Yeon So-ha’s eyes, already operating Radiant Art, were colored with difficulty.

“Completely going wild… Those Profound Martial Alliance guys seem to be founding a separate dynasty? Looks like they completely turned their backs on the Ming imperial house.”

“That’s the same for us.”

April Bow Ghost Wi Ye-ryeong was already drawing her bowstring toward Evil Demon Scholar Jeon Baek.

As light clusters characteristic of Radiant Art briefly formed on her great bow, an arrow instantly transformed into a hazy straight line and connected to Jeon Baek’s brow.

Belatedly, a bang explosion burst from her bowstring.

Kiiiiing—

It was blocked by Profound Martial Alliance Leader’s left hand like a lie, then scattered like powder from arrowhead to shaft. It had destroyed itself due to the mystery of tremendous short decisive battle.

Subsequently, the bow strike’s aftershock swept all directions, and the already overturned earth crust flipped again like sand swept by waves.

“Ugh!”

Jeon Baek retreated in terror.

Faint surprise also appeared in Gun Wi-hu’s eyes.

“…This is not the power of a mere blue rank. What happened in the demon realm?”

But Wi Ye-ryeong was looking at Literary Star.

“The main unit can provide protection. Now that you’re here, the Divine Sword Group cannot avoid those who wield brushes like swords or eloquent speakers’ tongues, so prove your worth here.”

It wasn’t just her.

Divine Sword Squad blue ranks had already distanced themselves far from Literary Star, and among them Yeon So-ha and Hyeon Won-chang naturally protected Jeong Hye. It was a formation following the slope’s incline from Divine Sword Squad to Literary Star to uninvited guests.

All jianghu people had encountered one Six Star Lord. Below, they were already in the midst of analyzing Literary Star.

“He’s certainly learned external arts of divine technique secret level. Don’t let yourself be caught in his grasp. You know the methods to break Desolate Fortress guys’ martial arts from long experience.”

“If it’s Six Star Lord, I heard his martial arts are like the world’s five swords… Would it be okay to go up like this?”

“Leave it to Military King Martial Emperor. Anyway, unless it’s Divine Beggar Zhu Guang, peerless masters can catch peerless masters…”

It was an instant.

From the midst of uninvited guests. Like a dream, a huge crater was created in the middle of the mountain ridge. A semicircular ground spanning one hundred zhang in diameter was formed. It seemed like a meteor had suddenly fallen.

The rebound occurred belatedly.

Various prestigious jianghu people standing on the ground, wanderers sitting leisurely on rocks, and even some noble clans looking down from bare treetops were all swept away by the storm of fist power.

A scene of all those targeting Zhongnan Mountain being hazily torn apart.

The side of the mountain path leading up to Zhongnan Mountain was carved away as is.

It was Literary Star’s single punch.