Chapter 314 – Hyeon Won (9)

A situation pushed to the extreme.

Seventh Apostle had clearly shouted “Grandfather!”

There was context in their earlier conversation. For a moment, anyone would inevitably think of the Tyrant Hero.

Even the mighty Profound Martial Alliance Leader was no exception. Even if her words were lies.

“……”

His massive shadow faltered. The absolute energy waves emanating from the Profound Martial Alliance Leader likewise paused.

It was a matter that required him to greatly focus his consciousness outward for a moment. The absolute being had his internal energy breathing disrupted for about one-hundredth of the time.

This was what Seventh Apostle, with her ruby-like eye flashing crimson behind her pitch-black eye patch, had intended. For her, it was an enormously significant gap.

Whoosh!

The source of the energy wave that had rounded the snow field was beneath her feet. An unprecedented energy wave had struck. The light snowfall violently whipped around with her jet-black hair.

It was like facing a calamity. She had created an opening in this life-or-death crisis with the Profound Martial Alliance Leader at close range.

Seventh Apostle’s upper dantian burned hot.

Simultaneously, her time slowed. The cold winter air wrapped around her limbs with a heavy weight. Even breathing became difficult.

She didn’t care.

She thought of burning away the habits of Blood Shadow Rakshasa Hand through mental cultivation.

A mental image of completely abandoning the Rakshasa Hand she had learned when taking her first steps. It was for survival here. She needed the principles of higher-dimensional martial arts rather than familiar habits.

Seventh Apostle recalled a certain image. It was a treasure that now existed only in her mind, having been burned away.

A human body diagram.

It was a body that had become an immortal symbol in her mind because it was too dazzling to behold. The bones, blood pathways, muscles, and small vessels were all the epitome of martial artistry, close to art.

Her extraordinary senses dipped into the bloodstream of the body in her mind and gently caressed the acupoints. Like stroking the hair of a beloved.

‘Precious one.’

Haa—

Seventh Apostle’s breath became hazily white. The blood on her lips began to evaporate like fine threads. Extreme overload was placed on all the blood pathways and small vessels throughout her body.

Her internal organs felt stiff. It was because she was forcibly imitating someone else’s body with her extreme innate talent for body control.

Something she had never dared attempt, considering it sacrilegious.

Breathing as Jeong Yeon-shin.

Circulating true energy as Jeong Yeon-shin.

Gradually, the fine hairs on her nape stood up.

It felt as if light sprouts were blooming in her mind. A thrilling chill ran up her spine.

Even though the similarity would be less than ten percent, she felt this way. There was no other reason.

She was simply overjoyed at the sensation of being embraced by her precious one, just deliriously elated.

Crunch.

She pushed off the snowy ground with her foot.

Her body, in a state of unity of essence, energy, and spirit, easily accommodated the arrow-like speed of her thoughts.

It took just a moment to fully conceive an escape route from the supreme master known as the Profound Martial Alliance Leader, and to expel the true energy propulsive force from her protective meridians through the Yongquan acupoint on her sole.

She had already soared into the air.

The icy atmosphere was no longer cold. Rather, it was extremely hot. As if the wind had been warmed by her heated body.

Rustle—

The red sleeves on both arms fluttered magnificently.

Reddish lightness skill energy waves spread from the hems of her clothes on her limbs and back. It was the Graceful Body Method, a secret technique of Blood Flame Cult nobles.

Seventh Apostle deliberately strained her eyes. Hundreds of lines etched in her field of vision scratched through the air as they passed.

Even to her own perception, it was incredibly fast. It was hard to believe this was a lightness skill deployed so suddenly.

‘I can become… even faster from here.’

Breathing as Jeong Yeon-shin meant breathing through martial arts, and moving true energy while thinking of Jeong Yeon-shin meant thinking through martial arts.

Seventh Apostle’s lips formed a red arc. It wasn’t carelessness about the situation.

Immersing herself in the world of light where her precious one swam. Even just dipping her toes would be good.

If she could soak her body even slightly in the time he experienced, if she could become a little more ecstatic through that.

Exchange Ash True Blood Technique.

This was the energy racing through all the acupoints in her body now.

It was a divine skill that her young precious one had tailored as her own martial art, ultimately left incomplete but perfected by herself.

Her crown, where she felt unity with her precious one, trembled softly. She desperately wanted to see that plump yet beautiful face.

‘Can I shake him off?’

She wondered, sensing the heavy energy waves of the Profound Martial Alliance Leader in the air below her feet.

***

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Translated by Nine Heavens!

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***

Two figures alighted in a dim place.

It was beneath a conifer with abundant leaves. Despite being daytime, the shade was deep. Their conversation was equally so.

“I apologize. We couldn’t find them.”

“Their trail has vanished? You’re saying three masters from the Murong family’s Radiant Squad have suddenly disappeared?”

“Yes.”

“It wasn’t even a significant matter, just the trivial task of tracking traces of some assassin rabble.”

“I wonder if they encountered an invincible master…”

“Invincible? Such a person no longer exists in Shanxi. It’s confirmed that Divine Sword Squad Vice Leader, Radiant Demon Wing Leader, and Blood Guardian Squad Leader are all in a state where they cannot exert their full power for the time being. Unless they consume Shaolin’s treasures, recovery will be difficult in the near future. Since they exchanged blows with Zhuge Clan Leader.”

“Could additional support have come from Desolate Fortress?”

“They’re a force incapable of single-point concentration. Even three black-ranks would have been an enormous group. Desolate Fortress is out of the question.”

“But the Radiant Squad Leader and other high-ranking personnel have disappeared. What should we do? Their traces vanished near the Gongya family estate…”

“…First, tell the others not to act rashly. The martial forces supporting the Profound Martial Alliance Leader’s daughter are on the move. Our Murong family must not clash with them. That would only benefit Shaolin.”

“Yes. I heard the martial force numbers over a hundred.”

“There are reports that more have arrived. Those Profound Martial Alliance b*st*rds use their relationship with the imperial family like a precious sword. Never engage in combat.”

“I’ll convey that.”

“What I’m about to say is more important. Gather all our family members who were spread throughout Shanxi to Taiyuan. Tell them to prepare means to conceal their identities. Human skin masks, disguises… anything will do.”

“Are you speaking of war?”

“It’s a dragnet. Do you understand how crucially important the family head considers this matter?”

“What do you intend to do afterward…?”

“Overwhelm with force and withdraw. The family head said the final formula for the Celestial Demon Armor is in the Slaughter Sect. We just need to get our hands on that one thing.”

“Are Slaughter Chivalry and Great Tongue Sword truly descendants of the Kim Family Slaughter Sect that guarded the Heavenly Demon’s Tomb? I understand that the methods of the Blazing Moon Slaughter Sect have been proven different from the annihilated Slaughter Sect.”

“The family head remembered.”

The slightly larger superior continued speaking.

“That fellow Hyeon Won-chang was a boy who escaped from our main house. He was a prisoner brought from the Slaughter Sect to extract medicinal energy. He endured severe torture remarkably well…”

***

An estate standing tall on a high hill.

It was inside a wall overlooking a small rural village.

One girl and three men faced the estate’s household members. A middle-aged man in yellow robes at the front of the estate’s people wore an expression of disbelief.

“…I can tell from your energy waves. You really have come from the main house.”

His tone was grave.

Slaughter Chivalry’s laughter echoed softly.

With a black hat on his head, only his lower face was visible. A sense of refinement emanated from his deeply set lips.

“This must be disconcerting. Hasn’t a specter from a past you’ve forgotten for over a decade suddenly appeared? Oh my, I realize I haven’t even apologized for the intrusion.”

“Forgotten? Never. With the sect’s karma collapsed, I merely continued living. How could we oppose the Murong family and Taimao Mountain Fortress who pushed aside the main sect and took the Heavenly Demon’s Tomb? Did your main sect not surrender either?”

“The branch leader is quite glib. Despite hearing of this humble Kim’s rising fame, you never sought out the main house. You left traces of assassination using methods that branch factions would recognize, if not the two major factions.”

Anyone would recognize it as mockery.

The face of the middle-aged man with lynx-like features twisted slightly.

The atmosphere between them was unpleasant. The chilly wind sweeping across the front yard was no different from the wariness directed at each other.

Liu Family Estate.

The landlord family of the village had received four uninvited guests. They had no choice. Each of the uninvited guests was extraordinary.

Even the beautiful girl standing in the middle was like that. The white hem of her clothes fluttered slightly by itself.

She was surrounded by energy waves too powerful to encounter in ordinary regional martial circles. She possessed martial prowess capable of single-handedly annihilating a minor sect.

“Am I some kind of candy?”

She bluntly spat out. Along with a comment to mind their eyes.

Half a dozen boys who had been staring blankly at the girl ducked their heads with a start.

They seemed to immediately sense the nobility ingrained in Shin So-bin’s conduct. And that it would be difficult to gain her favor under normal circumstances.

The women of the estate who had been frantically staring at the two handsome men also averted their eyes.

That was the presence of the least skilled person among the uninvited guests.

“Won-chang, is this really the right place? This young master thought you were raised more nobly.”

“I said it’s a branch faction. And there’s something wrong with saying I was raised nobly. There’s only one place in my entire life that truly treated me with respect.”

“Just listen to that sharp tongue.”

Lazy Flame Dragon snickered and leisurely looked around as if appraising the surroundings. Meanwhile, Hyeon Won-chang was stroking the sword at his waist while slightly bowing his head.

A single formula from the Liu Family Estate would be the key to partially lifting his restriction.

To follow the ever-advancing Jeong Yeon-shin, he needed to be at least not far behind Lazy Flame Dragon.

Young men wearing only thin silk robes as if they had lost their minds in late winter.

‘How could the partially destroyed Kim Family Slaughter Sect have such people…?’

The Liu Family Estate head felt extreme bewilderment.

He didn’t want to disturb his family’s peace. Most of the family members from the Liu Family Estate seemed to feel similarly.

They had hidden their identity as an important branch of the Kim Family Slaughter Sect, and after “the chaos at the Heavenly Demon’s Tomb,” they had continued living without contact with the main house.

They knew what this group from the main sect wanted.

The “Gatekeeper Secret Technique” distributed among the branch factions.

It had now become the core formula of the Liu Family Estate’s martial arts. Something they absolutely could not give up.

It was something they wouldn’t surrender even if the master of the Pure Demon Alliance, the largest group that split from Ming Cult, came, or if “Yelü Zhen,” the orthodox successor of Xinjiang’s Ming Cult, demanded it.

“At first, you must have been wary of the Murong family and Taimao Mountain Fortress.”

Slaughter Chivalry, who had been staring intently at the Liu Family Estate head, slowly opened his mouth.

“You would have been willing to cooperate with the main sect. Even when some elders of the now-deceased main house were selling their predecessors to the Murong family.”

“……”

“Then you were deceived by time. Following the ceaselessly flowing years, you developed a desire to become independent as a branch faction. Isn’t that right?”

“The Liu clan is not such an unprincipled lineage.”

The Liu Family Estate head said. Simultaneously, Slaughter Chivalry clapped his hands.

“I’ve misspoken. I’ve arbitrarily judged the branch faction’s spirit. After the test of the predecessor is complete, I will certainly bow and apologize to the branch leader. Without fail.”

“Test…?”

The word flowed out like a sigh. Slaughter Chivalry slightly stepped forward and urged an answer.

“You must have something prepared for generations. Test the predecessor according to the Slaughter Sect’s laws.”

Silence fell for a moment.

The Liu Family Estate head bit his lower lip tightly.

“…You have brought outsiders to the sect. I cannot conduct sacred matters here.”

“Are you really going to be like this?”

Just as Slaughter Chivalry’s lips twisted slightly.

[Of course! A b*st*rd with the blood of a lowborn claiming to unlock the sect leader’s power! This must be reconsidered!]

An aged voice rang out loudly, accompanied by powerful energy waves.

Dust rose from various spots on the ground. It was because fragments of profound internal energy had scattered in all directions.

Shin So-bin frowned deeply. An old man she had encountered in the Kim Family Slaughter Sect was descending from above.

One who had consistently looked unfavorably at Hyeon Won-chang.

He was said to be a high-ranking elder in the Slaughter Sect. There were also rumors that he posed as a renowned elderly scholar in public.

He had previously scolded Hyeon Won-chang, saying that he was trying to snatch away Slaughter Chivalry’s merit of gathering the destroyed and divided Slaughter Sect with just the bloodline of being a direct descendant.

It seemed he had followed them to interfere with their work.

[The demons of Radiant Demon Wing with no roots are truly coveting our sect!]

The moment the old man, magnificently fluttering his pitch-black long robe, landed with a thud in the center.

Bang!

He fell flat on his stomach.

The old man simply collapsed. For a moment, the surrounding air wavered unsteadily… Lazy Flame Dragon had somehow approached the side of the Slaughter Sect elder and struck his back with an elbow. The shockwave that spread in an instant was tremendously powerful.

“What a worthless thing…”

Lazy Flame Dragon muttered with shadowed eyes.