Chapter 291 – Lotus (10)

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader of this era had never experienced brotherly love.

His two older brothers encouraged the children of Shin Ya-hyeon to bully him.

They persuaded them that as long as it didn’t become widely known in the village and tarnish the Jeong family’s reputation, even the family head would turn a blind eye.

They were right. That’s exactly what happened.

Whenever his peers who hadn’t learned martial arts secretly provoked or ostracized him, Jeong Yeon-shin avoided confrontation.

Even a third-rate martial family was still part of the martial world. He had heard many rumors, albeit crudely, that great heroes of the martial world don’t use their martial arts to bully common people.

His mother was also a martial artist, so he couldn’t use the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique to fight with villagers. Let alone protect them from demonic cultivators.

His brothers mocked him. They called him weak. Unlike someone who had devoured his own mother, he lacked spirit, they said.

Now it was a distant memory. Yet simultaneously an indelible fact.

The swing he couldn’t ride on Dragon Boat Festival due to being ostracized remained in his heart even after reaching the black rank of Desolate Fortress.

He realized anew while stepping on Fan Dragon Zhuge Xian’s fan:

“Even if you have to discard a stone, you must seize the initiative. This ‘initiative’ also means ‘important significance’. It’s a teaching to clearly distinguish between what has low value and high value. Azure Qilin discarded the shell of being the young sect master of the Namgung family and chose to be the martial artist Namgung Se-jin. In the end, he went as a lofty swordsman.”

He learned Go from him and laid the foundation for the Thunder-Annihilation Sword Style.

He stepped on his White Crane Fan to slice through the bones and flesh of Ghost Soul Divine Sword, the culprit behind the Jeong family’s annihilation.

It was a kindness he had never received even from his direct blood relatives.

While most of the Martial Alliance shunned the Radiant Demon Wing Leader, Zhuge Xian taught Go and life principles to Jeong Yeon-shin, who had defeated his friend Azure Qilin.

He was a great hero. Just like Namgung Se-jin.

Among the heroes he had befriended outside of Desolate Fortress, he thought that if he had a proper older brother, he would be like Fan Dragon.

He rightfully felt affection for him.

That’s why he feels a sense of loss at this moment.

He recalled the emotions he felt upon seeing the corpses of servants during the Jeong family’s annihilation. It happened unintentionally.

To Jeong Yeon-shin, Fan Dragon was the embodiment of unconditional chivalry.

‘Rest in peace.’

The swing rope that had been hanging in his heart snapped. It was from the moment he recognized Zhuge Xian’s sudden death.

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader decided to deviate from the predetermined mission route. Using his discretion as a black rank under the Divine Sword Group.

“…Block the Transcendence City sect disciples if they appear. You can reveal your identities at any time. Also, other than Hwangbo ruffian, don’t confront the Yan Family’s First Fist.”

Jeong Yeon-shin ordered as he lowered his hand that had been stretched towards the sky. His tone was dry.

Whoosh―

It was right after filling the sky with the energy waves of the Luminous Wheel that Transcends Law Technique. He utilized the principles of Flame River invented by Lazy Flame Dragon.

Fragments of faint radiance were disappearing as if buried in the moonlight. Shimmering white and blue like a crane’s feathers.

“You use it quite well. And you said it was crude.”

Poppy Addict tried to lighten the mood with a teasing tone, but Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t smile. He saw Lazy Flame Dragon change his expression.

He’s someone who lost one of his few friends to his ruffian-like behavior. The squad leader shouldn’t receive consolation from his subordinates.

“Go to the annex. Don’t exchange more than ten moves with the Yan Family’s First Fist. The First Fist’s protective energy was solid. Aim for a single strike with your Blazing Yang energy, but pretend to attack while actually defending, then fleeing is the best option.”

“Even if we meet, would escape be possible?”

“I know your internal energy has deepened. Didn’t you refine it at the Heaven’s Pillar Sect?”

“Your sharp insight is still the same, but why does it feel so cold, as if the squad leader’s eyes have turned inside out?”

Lazy Flame Dragon spoke casually. At this moment, he wasn’t chewing on poppies.

Scorching Divine Meridian.

He was referring to the Blazing Yang power that surges as death approaches.

Even Hwangbo ruffian, who inherently has difficulty achieving unity of essence, energy, and spirit, surpasses even Blue-Eyed Demon in energy accumulation, being the best in Radiant Demon Wing.

As the young master of the Hwangbo family, he had a martial arts tendency that wasn’t biased towards either side.

He was deeply versed in energy rushing, which relies most heavily on internal energy, so if he was willing to endure internal injuries, he could boast of lightness techniques even before supreme masters.

When Blue-Eyed Demon wasn’t around, he was close to being the action team leader.

“The martial world is a place where dying away from home is common.”

“Indeed.”

Jeong Yeon-shin replied briefly. His eyelids were slightly lowered.

“Don’t be swayed by the deaths of acquaintances. At any moment, over half of Radiant Demon Wing could be wiped out. The martial world the squad leader is involved in will inevitably become more treacherous as you become stronger.”

“I’ve already experienced it. In Sichuan.”

“I know that, but I’m saying this because it’s hard to get used to. Unless you’re quite twisted in nature, everyone feels that way. But seeing that Zhuge guy like this, I’m worried about what will happen after I die. He might live a boring life with his interesting qualities. His insides are surprisingly soft too.”

“Shut up and hide. Come out when I signal.”

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly turned around. The hem of his plain long robe that fit his body lightly brushed against his calf.

The imposing aura of the aristocrats approaching from beyond the threshold was severe.

They seemed to have taken the Brilliant River—Flame River as a show of force by a powerful intruder. It looked like they might deploy sword formations at any moment.

He paid no heed.

Step.

He took a step forward, leaving behind Zhuge Xian’s corpse and the sobbing Zhuge Qing-ya.

Hyeon Won-chang, who had been silently watching Jeong Yeon-shin, opens his mouth. He seemed to have briefly erased his deadpan expression after experiencing a major event.

“I don’t know what he’s going to do. The squad leader is becoming an adult. I’ve never seen him like this before.”

“Me neither. Not the squad leader, nor this guy.”

Lazy Flame Dragon’s dry breath flowed from the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s back to Fan Dragon’s corpse.

The fan gripped by Fan Dragon remained stiff and unmoving.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

It was an artistically splendid interior.

The faint scent of ink and paper didn’t easily fade. It was like that even though the room was large enough to serve as a training ground for dozens of people.

A Go board sculpted from gold-inlaid marble with luster flowing to the edges of the lines, paintings and calligraphy adorned with high-quality paint and ink decorated the walls. Anyone would feel the refinement.

“The Zhuge Clan Leader doesn’t seem like an expelled member.”

A middle-aged man with an angular face said. He had been looking around while seated in an antique black wooden chair.

He soon straightened his gaze forward.

There was a figure seated opposite him… He wore a shiny black hat on his head, with semi-transparent silk flowing down from under the round, wide brim, creating an air of mystery.

His upturned jawline without a single wrinkle was the same.

It was fitting for the seat of honor in such an elegant room. It was close to being the finishing touch of the interior.

“An expelled member.”

The lips of the man showing only the lower half of his face curved into an arc.

“The patriarch of this Zhuge martial lineage has driven out worthless family members from his sect. I am the Zhuge clan, and my gestures open new horizons for the Gathering Infinite Wind Flow. Where and whom am I expelling? If you’re going to speak worthless words, turn back.”

“That cannot be. Our main family must recover the Yan Family Fist Treasure.”

“Again the same words. I said it’s impossible.”

“Strictly speaking, this isn’t a matter for you to permit or not. It’s our family’s issue. Where is Yan Hwa-ryeon?”

“It’s a matter concerning my companion and the future Transcendence City sect I will establish. You must know this for certain. Unless the Yan family comes under our sect, all proposals are useless. Don’t even dream of hoping for Hwa-ryeon’s annotated version.”

It was a voice as smooth as flowing water.

Crack.

The middle-aged man from the Yan family tightly clenched his large fist. Rough, transparent energy waves flickered over the contours of muscles rising from the back of his hand up his forearm.

Mountain-Crushing Fist Yan Tae-gwang. He was a fist master counted among the best even in the Yan family, one of the Eight Great Clans.

He was a master worthy of serving as an envoy to meet a peerless master.

“…We have conceded enough. The vast lands in Hebei, and the escort commissions for the Hyeha Merchant Group. Haven’t we sent messages multiple times?”

“It’s not enough. How can you measure the value of transcendent martial arts with such things? You must have heard rumors that even the famous elder monks of Shaolin, who had been in seclusion for hundreds of years, have stirred. As chaotic times approach, they covet the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s dharma power.”

“You even belittle the deeply cultivated Shaolin monks to strike at our family…! This is absurd!”

His voice gradually rose. It was a conversation that had been secretly going back and forth for a long time.

The Zhuge Clan Leader’s smile deepened. It was as if he was deliberately provoking anger.

“You should consider it an honor to be compared to Shaolin. Aren’t all of your five stars alike in their foolishness and worthlessness? I saw through it from the moment you entrusted the status of the next family head and the family’s revival to my companion. The Yan family bloodline is generally quick-tempered and unable to reflect on themselves.”

“This b*st*rd, truly!”

Yan Tae-gwang, the noble aristocrat of one of the Eight Clans, stood up abruptly.

Crash―!

With just that, the long and thick table between the two men was torn apart as if hit by a racing earthquake.

The hem of his yellow sleeveless garment fluttered violently. Colorless energy waves and protective energy rose simultaneously from Yan Tae-gwang’s body.

The room shook greatly as if a storm had entered.

“Aren’t you the b*st*rd who killed his own son with his own hands! A scoundrel who sold even his own flesh and blood, obsessed with martial arts and dignity! How dare you speak of family before me…”

“You lack the attitude to listen. You are not qualified to hear of the greater cause.”

The Zhuge Clan Leader muttered.

Rustle.

The sleeves of both his arms brushed slowly. He had folded his arms while holding a snow-white White Crane Fan. It was a posture that could hardly be seen as a martial arts stance.

At the same time.

Woong!

The energy waves that had been explosively spreading from Yan Tae-gwang’s entire body were sucked upwards and dragged away.

It was as if the Jade Emperor of Heaven had taken a breath. It was truly just for an instant.

The moment Yan Tae-gwang’s thick eyebrows rose in shock, the faintly rising energy condensed into a spherical shape in mid-air, then transformed into a thick pillar and struck down.

Whooosh!

It was engraved in a straight line like divine punishment.

From the crown of Yan Tae-gwang’s head down to below his crotch disappeared without a trace. A feeble sound of “thud” echoed.

His arms and legs, having lost their head and torso, sprawled on the ground without even spurting blood. The cross-section looked as if it had touched a different space altogether.

And then, belatedly.

The air in the room was sucked into the huge cylindrical, transparent atmosphere.

In that gust, the precious calligraphy and paintings decorating the surroundings were scattered messily.

Rustle―

The Zhuge Clan Leader covered his mouth with his widely spread fan. Even the gesture of raising his elbow was elegant.

The color of the snow-white long robe draped over his body became strangely vivid for a moment.

“I breathed the same air as such a fellow. How unpleasant.”

His manner of speech had changed.

Step.

It was from a gap in a secret door on one side of the room.

A muscular woman wearing a gray sleeveless martial outfit walks out.

Fist Martial Valor Yan Hwa-ryeon. The demeanor of a veteran supreme master emanated from her as she glanced at Yan Tae-gwang’s limbs with an expressionless face.

“My lord has finally done it. He was my fifth uncle.”

“Don’t reproach me so.”

The Zhuge Clan Leader smiled.

“He was someone who shouldn’t have heard of the greater cause. The Yan family will have no choice but to send another. Since Yan Mae was the only one to replace the Yan family head whose neck was broken by the Heart Martial Alliance Leader.”

“……”

“If you’re worried about the Martial Alliance, let me tell you it’s needless concern. The Tyrant Sword Sect Leader faced the Sword Star alone, they say. The Nine Sects barely dipped their toes in from the start, and most of the Eight Clans who had declared alliance have withdrawn… The current Martial Alliance is nothing more than a small coalition at the edge of Shaanxi. Without the Sword Star, it’s hard to call them a major faction, just a bunch of rabble without roots.”

As his long index finger brushed up the side of the fan, golden characters along his fingertips emitted a faint light.

The hand movement that seemed habitual contained the principles of mystical martial arts.

“It’s only natural. Because I’m not there.”

The Zhuge Clan Leader murmured softly. It was while dampening his absolute aura.

Yan Hwa-ryeon stared at him blankly for a while before parting her lips.

“Since you annihilated the Zhuge family’s pursuit squad, a base has been established in Shanxi as intended.”

“Now only Desolate Fortress remains. But they are busy plugging holes in the broken jar that is the Central Plains everywhere, so at most only a handful of powerful figures will come to congratulate the founding of Transcendence City sect. Through the Shanxi martial arts tournament.”

“Will you be able to avoid injury?”

“How could I lose to those who come to a prepared place?”

He said.

***

The dharma power of the Luminous Wheel Technique, which should have been warm, had changed from before…. It enveloped his entire body’s pitch-black robe hems with a mightiness closer to the law than Buddhist dharma.

Even without weaving proper protective energy, it was as if he had donned the iron armor of a celestial general.

That was his temperament. It formed a strange contrast with the huge physique of the Shanxi Gui family head who was actually wearing iron armor.

Behind him stood all sorts of aristocrats who had been staying at the Gongya family estate in a line, but he didn’t lose in presence even compared to that large group.

“Hmm.”

His gaze met that of a middle-aged man with fierce eyes. It was the father of Gui Yitai, who had clashed with Jeong Yeon-shin several times.

He was said to have been a great general who fought against northern nomadic tribes in his youth, and a rough dignity seemed to flow from his bearing and energy.

On a night where the dark air mingled with moonlight.

The Gui family head parted his thick lips.

“Sky-Jade Sect Leader Geom Woon-bi, was it? Astonishing age, and even more astounding martial prowess. I have a proposal…”

“The dust is obscuring my view.”

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader said, resting one hand on the sword at his waist.