Chapter 828 – Side Story – Was the Spring Walk Pleasant?

A world made of flower petals.

All Hydrangea Flowers.

Pale violet petals, bluish blossoms… Evidence of spring that Yelu Zhen had cultivated for six years and Jeong Yeon-shin had made fall in an instant.

Those countless petals stopped just before hitting the stone floor. Because Jeong Yeon-shin’s time had frozen.

I Tread was a simple Transcendent Martial Art. A state where he could unleash all martial arts in one move. The martial extreme forged from a life with a death sentence.

In a life spent fleeing, when one slowed their steps just slightly, many things seemed to slow enough to reach.

……

The wide-open ceiling.

Clusters of light were slowly descending through the gaps between flowers. Sunlight shimmering like falling petals. The only existence in all creation that could race with Jeong Yeon-shin at this moment.

He thought within the briefly stopped flower rain.

‘The weather is nice.’

It would be very bright outside, but Yelu Zhen’s cavern wasn’t dim either.

—Wooooooooong!

Because the bright blue light stream of Southern Splendor Vast Taiji had long since wrapped around the cavern.

It was also the trigger for the Transcendent Martial Art I Tread.

To the Divine Sword Group masters, it must have seemed like the Lord’s welcoming greeting. The speed of Radiant Art Bond’s strikes would have explosively increased after six years.

Suddenly some woman’s grand intent rang out.

[The one who cut the summoning.]

Jeong Yeon-shin felt it. That there had been an immense dash before that resonance spread. The intent had caught up to I Tread’s time.

His eyes met the black-haired woman’s.

It was the Sword Master.

Unlike Jeong Yeon-shin’s common sense, her short black hair didn’t signify inferior skill. Ends ragged like flames. Her life must have been the same shape.

Battlefield martial arts and a constitution destined for early death.

Thus she must have actually died young.

Jeong Yeon-shin had already discerned with upper dantian insight. The sword Sword Master held truly caused functions like jiangshi studies, and it had given her another short-lived life.

[Though you shouldn’t have.]

At Jeong Yeon-shin’s intent, Sword Master smiled faintly. She looked very young. A face that seemed not even to have reached twenty. Perhaps nineteen years old.

Yet her intent was solemn.

[Thanks to you, I’ve awakened.]

Jeong Yeon-shin also knew.

Originally Sword Master had been under Tower Master and the sacred sword dharma treasure’s control. Her mind, which had suddenly accelerated like a ray of light, had shattered that and emerged.

The result of unconsciously responding to I Tread.

The qualities of early death syndrome. Moreover, her martial attainment even rivaled Jeong Yeon-shin from his own peer years.

‘The enemy nation’s hero from the land Tower Master belongs to….’

Within the stopped flower rain.

She was capable enough to exchange intent with Jeong Yeon-shin, though a breath slower.

[I met Wudang Sect Leader.]

Was this her original nature? Sword Master’s intent continued gently.

[Fortunately you’re safe, but his words were correct.]

Jeong Yeon-shin listened silently before asking.

[What did the Taoist say?]

[Even if all lands formed an alliance, surpassing Desolate Fortress where you are… would be difficult…]

Her words fragmented finely. At a point where the flower rain hadn’t fallen even an inch. It couldn’t help but be difficult to exchange intent at the same speed as Jeong Yeon-shin.

Jeong Yeon-shin smiled at the word ‘alliance.’

[Even such attempts.]

The flower clusters filling the cavern dyed with soft light. The surrounding glows were all illusory body-protecting energy barriers.

[Should not exist.]

[……!]

Whoosh!

The Hydrangea Flower petals began tilting in all directions. The directions where Desolate Fortress masters engaged with their respective opponents.

I Tread’s spacetime had tremendous recoil. If he struck properly, one move would be the limit. Because it was Transcendent Martial Art that originally assumed certain hit and certain kill in one-on-one situations.

‘Then.’

He just needed to fill the cavern with one move. That’s why it was Myriad Heavens. Thick-blowing fragrance. Flower rain that dyed the sky.

That was when it happened.

[This sword is immortal.]

Sword Master conveyed her intent. Dazzling sword light rippled from her long sword. Simultaneously Sword Master’s heel rose minutely. A height less than an inch, but it was movement following the Hydrangea Flower petals.

Jeong Yeon-shin lamented.

[So it’s called the sacred sword dharma treasure.]

Not just a simple blade. It was correct that a nation’s spiritual nature had taken the form of a sword. How many transcendent functions were embedded within?

Sword Master said.

[It’s a sword that gauges what must be struck on its own. Even if defeated here, it will return after making other groups powerful. Though it would only be annoying to you… what about lands without you?]

[Should I imprison that sword in the main fortress’s thunder prison?]

[If someone like you had existed in our land….]

[Weren’t you there?]

He asked quietly, but Sword Master only smiled her habitual faint smile.

Jeong Yeon-shin projected himself onto her expression. Though difficult to imagine, himself at the same age betrayed by the Ming Imperial Family and Desolate Fortress was there.

He spoke what he’d always thought.

[I was lucky.]

[…It wouldn’t have been only luck.]

It was Sword Master’s answer, but her smile remained faintly visible or not. There was no fighting spirit anywhere.

Kurururung…

The sacred sword dharma treasure’s vibration as if about to rise toward Yelu Zhen any moment. Sword Master’s single-hand grip firmly suppressing it.

She said.

[Meeting you is good. The spirits show me my successful self. Just…]

Sword Master’s gaze lowered to her own grip. A look toward the sacred sword dharma treasure. She’d said it was an immortal divine sword. Then it must be another form of the shackles Yelu Zhen wore.

[What’s truly immortal are people’s grudges and debts.]

Jeong Yeon-shin continued calmly.

[If one can cut those, they’re first-rate. If they tangle together and engage in endless conflict, they’re third-rate… but some third-rate warriors frequently advance to first-rate. It seems losing much in jianghu makes it so.]

[……]

[You were brutal invaders, and I could have slaughtered you alone. I’ve already done so many times.]

He added slowly.

[I am no longer bound by such shackles.]

Petals suspended in all directions.

There were Hydrangea Flowers torn apart unable to withstand I Tread’s explosive force. Semi-transparent flower traces remained in the void, and beyond them Wish for Peace Sword Hall’s masters showed.

What rippled first was the flower mark reflecting Radiant Demon Wing Cheong Myeong. The sight of ash-gray hair wrapped in a headscarf, capturing the opponent’s form with one eye.

[Senior Blue Eye Demonic Sword.]

Jeong Yeon-shin’s introduction continued.

[He’s mastered Jeong Family Dynamic Technique and wields a free sword path, so there’s no martial art that could be called his counter. He’s the blade master who laid the foundation for my sword.]

[……?]

[Though they say his temperament is difficult to approach like a crisp blade wind, he’s the most affectionate among Wish for Peace Sword Hall’s seat lords.]

Rustle.

The position beside the opponent who’d been fighting evenly with Cheong Myeong crumbled. It was the flower mark that had been reflecting Baek Mi-ryeo, with dark demonic energy surrounding it like smoke.

She and her opponent were only faintly visible as silhouettes. Judging by momentum, she seemed to hold the advantage over her opponent.

[Senior Bewitching Sword Demon is a complex person. Though she was born in a demonic sect and learned Heavenly Demon Divine Art, she was easily tainted by chivalry. She most strictly taught me jianghu etiquette around age fifteen. Perhaps… she’ll continue to be so. She’s one of the people I’ll avoid a lot.]

Only then did Sword Master react.

[Embarrassingly, I cannot understand your words and actions. In this precious striking time, what is all that about?]

Jeong Yeon-shin smiled.

[I’m treating you uninvited guests as guests. When flowers flicker and fade, tour their traces with your gaze. Like them.]

Suddenly over ten petals gathered and bent the direction of sunlight.

Two people existed in the brightened spot.

Yue Shou-lin’s eyes were following the petals. So was the man called Commander who’d been facing her. Among them, Yue Shou-lin had even smiled faintly with her eyes.

[The main fortress’s Divine Sword Group Leader. No other words would be necessary.]

[Showing off martial power…?]

[Big Sister.]

Jeong Yeon-shin called out to Yelu Zhen in the void and asked.

[Isn’t viewing people among flowers what flower viewing is?]

There was no answer. Though she’d clearly perceived Jeong Yeon-shin’s I Tread, she deliberately didn’t put her consciousness into this domain.

Then Yelu Zhen had also shed her shackles. Because it meant she was enjoying this moment without any worries.

Rustle.

Another petal scattered.

That mark was caught between two sword paths. Hyeon Won-chang who kept retreating but ultimately gained his opponent’s back, and Namgung Hwa-shin who never moved like an emperor and endlessly wielded his blade from above.

[They’re my fellow initiates. Brother Hyeon is bold but his hand techniques are as resolute as an assassin’s… and Brother Namgung is a swordsman awakened from long delusion, so he’s the most fearsome as a blade wielder.]

[……]

[To add, no one in the world can take Brother Hyeon’s back. In assassination techniques, he’s Desolate Fortress’s best. Even more so when years pass and he wields twin swords.]

He’ll be bold then too.

As he finished speaking, the vicinity became both silent and noisy. Because the strong people present began perceiving the distant Transcendent Martial Art’s domain.

Because Jeong Yeon-shin had stimulated their entire bodies with Heart Sword.

‘They must fear.’

Jeong Yeon-shin, who’d stepped into I Tread’s domain, made them feel Desolate Fortress leadership’s martial power while discussing their martial arts and character with intent that was purely truth.

[Annihilating Team Leader Senior Shin Hwang. If there’s a mission that must absolutely succeed, there’s nowhere else to entrust it but with him.]

[Wish Fulfilling Spring Leader Senior Beigong Ya will someday challenge the Martial God.]

[That swordsman wielding a blade with irreversible regeneration functions is also powerful, but after a few breaths, he’ll cross the line of life and death to Senior Beigong’s killing moves.]

[I heard Desolate Ma Family Head memorized all the Four Books and Three Classics.]

Of course, the enemies were powerful.

Some one-armed swordsman received the most of the sacred sword dharma treasure’s functions and reached equal footing with three people.

Forest Treading Squad Leader Xiahou Wei-jin, Law Enforcement Squad Leader Woon So-yu, and Iron Demon Sping Leader Ji Gang-hyeon’s long and short limbs had long stopped while brushing through the void.

Even though they were three people who’d received Immortal Tree Spirit Leader Cheon So-so’s swallow and prepared.

There was even a man who roared while standing bound by Azure Sky Squad Leader Han Cheol-mok’s blue-tinged sword energy and Dragon Treading Squad Leader Wei Ji-geuk’s ropes.

But not a single flower illuminated the enemies.

Though they too must have had turbulent lives and great martial lineages, this was originally just the flower viewing that Jeong Yeon-shin and Yelu Zhen had agreed upon long ago.

Step.

Jeong Yeon-shin passed many people in one step.

The half-corpse hidden behind the large and small backs of Northern King Affectionate King and Resonance Spirit Leader Leader Nameless One, the giant whose massive fist was blocked by Ultimate Martial Hall Leader Jin Cheong-won’s prosthetic leg, the lion swallowed by Radiant Sword Squad Leader Hak So-seon’s blade shadows and Immortal Tree Leader Cheon So-so’s rainbow-colored cold energy along with its rider….

After flower clusters illuminated them each once and disappeared.

Jeong Yeon-shin faced Sword Master and asked.

[Was the spring walk pleasant?]

[Now.]

Sword Master smiled.

[The sword doesn’t cry.]

At her words, Jeong Yeon-shin was satisfied.

Because he felt he’d shown his lucky self well to herself who’d only had bad luck.

[It no longer seems like land to conquer.]

Jeong Yeon-shin, who answered thus, suddenly glanced at another transparent leaf. A petal that tilted toward one of the Form Shifting Void mirrors before disappearing. What was reflected beyond it was Literary Star.

Had he heard the news of failing the exam?

He’d hastily donned the peacock feather crown cap of a first-rank founding lord. Though he wore official robes resembling a civil official as much as possible, the sword hangers on the belt wrapping his waist were a general’s attire.

Black Return was issuing an imperial decree to General Literary Star.

Jeong Yeon-shin pretended not to see.

Coincidentally, he also saw a place to shift his gaze. For some reason, Desolate Fortress Jeok Family Head Blood King was unleashing explosive strikes against the opposing martial forces.

Jeong Yeon-shin, who quietly turned his eyes again, said to Tower Master at the cavern’s edge.

[The main fortress is the world’s best.]

Tower Master’s eyes also bore colorless divine energy. Eyes that could move like the absolute masters here.

But the old man’s eyes only held Yelu Zhen’s face throughout. Her who drew an expression fit for abundant flower petals.

It was also then that Myriad Heavens Flower Rain’s petals scratched all directions like a storm before disappearing. The light rays that ran through I Tread’s spacetime were accompanied by a distant shockwave like a flood dragon’s cry, tearing apart all sounds and energy waves.

……

Rather, on the silent stone floor, there were no foreign jianghu people. All of them along with their divine weapons were buried in the cavern walls. Not only the twelve who’d been discussed as Wish for Peace Sword Hall based on power and symbolism, but even the martial forces they’d led.

They were those who’d cultivated divine techniques… Their various intents were dyed with enormous awe. The feeling of indescribable density of fear shadowed on the walls.

Perhaps because there were no dead.

‘Good enough.’

Jeong Yeon-shin nodded, and finally Yelu Zhen began laughing loudly. She seemed satisfied that there was no Wind King’s scream.

It was when Desolate Fortress leadership also fell silent.

“Am I a bit late…?”

A Form Shifting Void mirror on a remote wall rippled, then suddenly spat out Lazy Flame Dragon. His footsteps coming over abruptly were leisurely.

The sight of carrying his son Hwangbo Gyeon-ryun  on his neck.

A faint burnt smell spread.

Lazy Flame Dragon’s upper dantian spirit, which had been smooth in all matters, had changed to be more powerful than ever at this moment.

To the extent that the sacred sword dharma treasure, which had already lost movement, fell completely silent. Instantly Sword Master regained her clear eye light, and the surrounding foreign jianghu people began pulling their bodies from the walls in shock.

“Tower Master, look at Sword Master!”

“We must prepare for great battle…!”

Step.

Jeong Yeon-shin turned his back on them.

Originally, there were no peaceful days in the dust-filled jianghu.

Each martial world had its own grudges and debts, and Jeong Yeon-shin had to handle something far more important than matters unrelated to him.

“I’ll buy the remaining flowers generously and use them for Lazy Flame Dragon’s promotion ceremony. Some will be made into honey….”

“You’ll buy them? My flowers that I grew?”

Yelu Zhen jumped down. Thick-blowing fragrance. The flower traces remaining in the sky. Jeong Yeon-shin looked at his own shadow and smiled.