Chapter 251 – Ascension

Those words were drawn from a hellish battlefield. He had said that killing Radiant Demon Wing masters would make Jeong Yeon-shin’s face worth seeing, and so it was.

As Yu Ling’s masters, who had ruled the martial world with silent terror, fell to the ground or retreated, the Radiant Demon Wing Leader threw Wei Ke-xiang’s words back at him.

What about Yu Ling, with dozens slaughtered by Myriad Heavens Flower Rain?

Wei Ke-xiang laughed, shaking his yellow sleeves grandly.

“That bandage, that wavering energy. Your internal and external injuries must be severe. Are you drunk? They say the Beggar Sect’s Divine Beggar wields Drunken Fist, but I didn’t know your swordsmanship’s aftereffect reached that level. Seeing Myriad Heavens Flower Rain, you must be Lightning Genius, the Radiant Demon Wing Leader, and these are your Radiant Demon Wing. Here for Jeong Hye? A big fish has taken the bait!”

His words were arrogant and disjointed. Less a conversation, more the ramblings of a madman whose reason had been warped by demonic martial arts.

Yet his words struck at the core. Yu Ling’s insight was rooted in its intelligence network.

Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t respond.

Step.

He walked silently toward Shaanxi’s top demon. The manor’s dirt ground made a hard sound.

His vision was gradually blurring. The pain relief’s potency even conjured faint hallucinations.

He was relieved to have cleared the chaos with Myriad Heavens Flower Rain.

‘The pain’s gone now. Not something I’d take again, but… this will do.’

The path was open, and no one blocked him.

“The squad leader’s finally here.”

“Why are his eyes like that?”

“Right now, could it be…?”

The Radiant Demon Wing masters who had retreated from Wei Ke-xiang groaned.

Most were Jeong Yeon-shin’s seniors. Their keen eyes, unmatched by other warriors, took in the young squad leader.

They noticed his unstable divine technique breathing, slightly constricted pupils, and the faintly twisted lips that seemed almost bewitching.

Not just Baek Mi-ryeo, Hyeon Won-chang, and Cheong Myeong—everyone did.

“We should’ve buried that Hwangbo wastrel sooner…!”

“Shouldn’t we stop him?”

“No. To deal with the top demon, the squad leader has to draw his sword. It’s a position he can’t back down from. Escaping Shaanxi’s top demon with retreat footwork is impossible.”

“Didn’t you see the squad leader’s injuries? Even at full strength, that demonic beast of the evil path is hard to handle—how can he now…?”

Jeong Yeon-shin consciously ignored them.

Even as he grew intoxicated by the drug amplified by the Luminous Wheel Technique, he couldn’t casually face their worried expressions.

He just thought calmly. Weren’t they the ones making him worry?

‘They don’t know how scary a black-rank can be.’

No, they must have come knowing Wei Ke-xiang’s might. They simply valued the squad leader losing his niece over their own fates.

He felt deeply grateful. Enough to think he’d teach them the Radiant Arts Technique thoroughly after rescuing Jeong Hye.

***

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Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

Swish.

Jeong Yeon-shin stood ten paces from Shaanxi’s top demon.

Even with the man’s aura diminished, a strange pressure approached. A supreme master who had perfectly united internal energy and will—the Three Flowers Gathering at Crown.

The presence pressing against his skin was exceptional. It wasn’t like the Pure Demon Hand of Pure Demon Sect, crushed to death by Dharma’s Response in the City of Renowned Craftsmen.

[TL Note- In ch 219, i mentioned that Pure Demon Alliance was Dragon-slaying alliance. After checking it twice, it turns out that Dragon-slaying alliance is a completely different faction from Pure Demon Alliance. I apologize for the mix up. So, Ten Perfections Sect merged with  Dragon-slaying alliance to form Golden Wing Sect.]

Was it because he inherited the Central Plains’ martial lineage rather than Xinjiang’s? The temperament of a battle-hardened, practical demonic art was palpable.

As Jeong Yeon-shin stared silently, Wei Ke-xiang’s smile deepened.

“Desolate Fortress black-rank, the imperial hounds oppressing the martial world. Such arrogance.”

At Shaanxi’s top demon’s words, the Radiant Demon Wing Leader tilted his head slightly.

“Don’t you live off the Shaanxi Province built by the state? You don’t till fields, build homes, or manage foreign threats and public order. Far from contributing to society, you drain the costs of maintaining civilian order. You constantly destroy property and disrupt the system. For mere high-powered thugs to speak of oppressing the martial world has always been laughable… Aren’t you ashamed?”

“…”

“Why not live in the wild instead? You’re no different from a leech.”

His tone was calm. The content was unprecedentedly scathing.

Even for a demon of the evil factions, this was said to a figure exalted by rank and might.

As Baek Mi-ryeo suddenly stepped on Hyeon Won-chang’s foot in the distance, Wei Ke-xiang, gazing at Jeong Yeon-shin, slowly opened his mouth.

“…I once beheaded a few officials who annoyed me. A month later, the squad leader of the Blazing Abyss Squad came looking for me. Alone. He said he was enough by himself, but his intent was obvious. He feared his subordinates’ heads rolling, just like you.”

“Blazing Abyss Squad?”

Jeong Yeon-shin snapped back to clarity and questioned.

Like Radiant Demon Wing, they were part of Desolate Fortress’s Divine Sword Group.

A martial squad wielding the movement technique supreme art ‘Unobstructed Eternal Body’ as their specialty. The current Blazing Abyss Leader was famed as a master of lightness skill.

The wrinkles around Wei Ke-xiang’s eyes deepened with amusement.

“He prattled about civilian life and died by my hand. Now he is a former squad leader. A man with remarkable agility, but he was in far better shape than you. We got intel from Sichuan that your inner energy borders on sorcery, but I hope you’re not banking on that arrogance. Unless Yu Ling misjudged a hundred times over.”

The corner of Jeong Yeon-shin’s mouth lifted.

“A kidnapping demon of the evil path cares about appearances? Talk of full strength or whatever—pathetic.”

“…There’s no fault in your words. I hate hearing it. Die.”

Crack!

Wei Ke-xiang’s yellow sleeve stiffened as he gripped his sword. He infused it with potent demonic energy.

A supreme master near the level of a mountain deity, he’d been chatting outside the battle’s flow, yet with a mere change of heart, he forged a near-perfect sword stance.

He cared not for the dignity of a martial world senior. He wouldn’t yield the first move.

“…”

Tension rose. The taut air seemed to press down on the surroundings.

An invisible thread trembled between them. The sword-drawing paths of supreme masters facing a life-or-death duel.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s vision wavered ceaselessly. Timing his draw was no easy feat.

The drug’s effect.

Still, this was right. It dulled the pain, letting him move properly.

Jeong Yeon-shin stared at him steadily and adjusted his grip on the Northern Light Sword.

He aligned the Laogong point in his palm with the sword handle’s center, then raised his index and middle fingers slightly higher.

A grip unfamiliar even to himself. Yet it didn’t feel awkward.

‘I saw it from afar.’

He had devised a counter sword form before even clashing blades.

He had heard countless tales of Shaanxi’s top demon’s murderous deeds and glimpsed his earlier fight with Radiant Demon Wing. That was enough. He restructured the energy flow of his sword grip.

The flower of true energy blooming in his upper dantian didn’t wither. Even as the pain relief dulled his senses.

‘His strikes were heavy swords. His energy moved in the form of illusory swords. A sword art that separates strikes and sword energy.’

Jeong Yeon-shin’s thoughts defined the technique’s nature. It was the moment Wei Ke-xiang, sword lowered, lumbered forward crudely.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, a sense of unease arose, familiar to those who’d long observed Lightning Genius. Something both unsettling and awe-inspiring to martial artists.

Wei Ke-xiang’s advancing lips twisted.

“Those eyes rile my spirit!”

Boom!

He shouted archaically and kicked the ground. Instantly, a black wave spread outward.

It rippled in an expanding circle. Even the demonic energy in his step was tangible.

Roar—!

It surged ahead of his form. An energy wave like the flames of hell incarnate flooded forth. A black inferno.

They said Shaanxi’s top demon could melt a fortress wall with a single step. It must be the famed Heavenly Tomb Demon Technique’s Sovereign Rule.

Jeong Yeon-shin raised his knee, channeling the Luminous Wheel Technique into the Yongquan point on his sole.

Step.

Auspicious ripples surged from his foot. Colorless waves spread outward, pushing aside the advancing black flames like an army.

Radiant Wing Step. Like his foe, he pierced the momentum with one stride. The demonic energy couldn’t withstand the Luminous Wheel Technique and unraveled.

A supreme master of black-rank versus Desolate Fortress’s black-rank squad leader. Thus began a rare life-or-death duel.

Whoosh!

The clash of energies birthed a fierce wind. Jeong Yeon-shin’s black hair billowed long behind him.

As the manor’s masters began watching the fight, the Radiant Demon Wing Leader swung the Northern Light Sword, his settling hair at his back.

In an instant, an intangible force wrapped around the blade with leaves exploded like a storm. The energy wave of Judgement Qilin.

Boom!

It wasn’t an attack but a defensive move. Extinguishing the black flames revealed Shaanxi’s top demon swinging his sword right before him.

A monstrous force crashed from the clashing blade.

It differed from when he fought Radiant Demon Wing. No tangible energy flowed out.

Only the sword power, poised to overwhelm Jeong Yeon-shin’s blade, was overwhelmingly solid.

Beyond the crossed blades, Wei Ke-xiang met his gaze and smirked. A seasoned smile.

‘He’s pressed his inner energy into the blade and body. Right after testing energy compatibility with the clash of Sovereign Rule and Radiant Wing Step.’

Jeong Yeon-shin saw through it instantly. Shaanxi’s top demon had recognized the energy counter and adapted immediately.

Rather than waste inner energy pointlessly, he’d crush him with movement technique and sword skill.

A madman indeed. Even under the Luminous Wheel Technique’s sorcery-like energy, he raised his lips.

A sadistic smile seeped through.

Buzz!

Jeong Yeon-shin ceased the power struggle and let the Luminous Wheel Technique flow through his blade. A move from the Internal Heavy Hand Technique.

It could tear apart the foe’s meridians the moment it penetrated.

Wei Ke-xiang let out a grunt.

“Hmph.”

Instantly, the force pushing the Northern Light Sword scattered. He’d released his black-dyed demonic sword.

Then his blurred form reappeared at Jeong Yeon-shin’s side.

Sovereign Rule’s footwork. A resonant sword hum rose from the lowered black blade. It came again—an upward slash.

Crash—!

The fierce impact jolted Jeong Yeon-shin’s grip as he parried with Judgement Qilin. Wei Ke-xiang’s sword power.

The strength focused in one strike was immense. The inner energy that should’ve become sword energy was concentrated in the strike.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s thoughts raced like lightning.

‘His movement is fast and sharp. His gap-piercing strikes are more practical than anything I’ve faced. Seasoned. A complete warrior. He can handle any situation.’

Unless from the Elf Clan, an old man’s age meant a veteran of the martial world. The decline of vigor after mastering evil faction arts varied by person.

His foe was a mid-tier supreme master of the evil path, still in full command of his power.

He wouldn’t easily yield his neck to sorcery-based martial arts, grinning as he struck again.

Clang clang clang!

Afterimages of the black sword danced wildly. Each thrust was a heavy strike, shaking Jeong Yeon-shin’s grip.

Incredibly flashy. He displayed transcendent swordsmanship without expelling inner energy to fragment sword aura.

White and black trajectories intertwined.

At some point, both swordsmen stopped stepping firmly. Shaanxi’s top demon’s side-stabbing Sovereign Rule footwork was completely countered.

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s senses wouldn’t permit the same trick. Each time he tried to retreat and vanish, Jeong Yeon-shin responded in two ways.

He either advanced with forward steps or preempted direction by turning his toes first. He bound Shaanxi’s top demon with overwhelming instinct.

Boom! Clang clang!

Their crossing and clashing movements blurred in the onlookers’ eyes.

Only the winter grass stems, endlessly shattering around them, fluttered vividly.

Jeong Yeon-shin applied optimal counters every moment. Movements that worked because neither could unleash full power.

He moved through flickering vision and the growing numbness of his skin, while Wei Ke-xiang couldn’t fully draw out his core techniques due to the Luminous Wheel Technique’s sorcery-like nature.

The crowd gradually fell silent.

With each exchange, Shaanxi’s top demon’s eyes darkened to a colorless sheen. A dense, gleaming killing intent.

‘Worthy of being called Heaven’s Seedling. You must die here.’

Spurt—!

The moment he resolved it, blood burst from the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s shoulder. The black sword’s tip, fluttering like a moth’s wing, grazed and rose, drawing blood.

Like his foe, bandages wrapped it, and the strike’s residual force stained the wound red.

Wei Ke-xiang, expressionless, unleashed the Heavenly Tomb Demon Technique’s Illusory Demon Sword again.

Lightning Genius, the Radiant Demon Wing Leader. A man already struggling to move, borrowing strange intoxication.

The unseen sorcery-based martial art stunned even him, but it wasn’t an upstart he couldn’t handle just because the Heavenly Tomb Demon Illusory Sword Aura was hard to use.

He moved his right hand gripping the black sword’s hilt. A chain of strikes. It writhed forward like a giant serpent.

Clang clang clang—! Slash!

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s abdomen and chest split. Not deep. He’d already stepped back half a pace, blue light flashing in his eyes.

The Illusory Demon Sword, deemed an absolute sword stance in parts of the martial world, kept missing. A worthy foe.

‘That body can’t handle a short burst of power or a prolonged hundreds-of-clashes endurance fight. His innate talent is downright insane. No wonder Ming Cult speaks of defying heaven. The skies are so unfair.’

Irritation creased Wei Ke-xiang’s eyes.

“Get out of the way!”

“Squad Leader! Squad Leader!”

“They’re pushing in! Tighten up!”

The surroundings grew chaotic. Seeing their squad leader’s disadvantage, Radiant Demon Wing warriors charged. Yu Ling masters encircled them, blocking.

Wei Ke-xiang focused solely on clashing with the Radiant Demon Wing Leader.

They were subordinates claiming to be the arms and legs of Desolate Fortress’s squad leader. Yu Ling’s Shaanxi branch underlings alone couldn’t handle Radiant Demon Wing.

But buying even a few seconds was enough. Striking the head of the Divine Sword Group’s martial squad was the priority.

Around then.

Jeong Yeon-shin narrowed his eyes. Half-open, like those of a monk in deep meditation.

He swung his sword, stepped back, and advanced again unconsciously. His body moved on its own.

‘Have I ever been this free?’

Normally, his body was always under his precise control. Every muscle fiber, every meridian.

More finely tuned than any puppet in a theater troupe. Born that way.

Now it was different.

Completely unbound.

“Lady Lu Xia! Mount Hua’s Brilliant Jade Sword God…!”

Even the surrounding clamor faded into the distance.

In his pain-drugged, hazy vision, a single line etched itself. A wild, erratic radiance.

Boundless talent glowed in the realm of sensation. Following the Luminous Wheel Technique’s mighty nature, he crushed the ground with both feet and swung his right hand long.

The moment the Northern Light Sword’s trajectory overlapped with the line in his sight.

Rumble—!

Every blood point in his body filled with thunder.

[TL Note- Are we finally getting the fourth sword form?]