Chapter 376 – Sacrificial Ceremony (6)

Jeong Yeon-shin’s manner of speech was monotonous.

It wasn’t just the flatness of his tone. His face remained expressionless even as he spoke. His lips moved minimally.

Because he was sincere.

“The main force of the Divine Sword Group. A squad leader under the Group Leader…”

The genial expression on the Ten Perfections Sect Leader’s face faded. With a slight frown, he muttered almost to himself:

“I’ve never met a sane person among those wearing black robes with the ‘Desolate’ character, but you’re exceptionally outrageous.”

“That’s how a traitor would see it.”

“……”

Meanwhile, some in the crowd surrounding the two men repeated Jeong Yeon-shin’s words verbatim.

Masters who had cultivated the Perception Path and possessed keen hearing passed along the word “monkey” repeatedly.

Some commoners who heard this through multiple sources exclaimed in wonder. That young lord truly despises the Sima Evil Path—

“I said I wanted to see your martial arts, not that I would conform to the unwritten rules of the martial world.”

Jeong Yeon-shin added while caressing the hilt of Remaining Thunder.

“Even if you descend, the duel continues.”

Words that broke the conventions of the martial world. Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t care.

Wasn’t it strange for a constable from a government office to follow the customs of black path scoundrels?

The same applied even if the opponent was a leader of the Thirteen Evil Sects.

Even if each individual was transcendentally powerful enough to rival the sect leaders of the Nine Great Sects, they were ultimately inferior to ruffians who would be conscripted as soldiers after being registered in military households. That’s what Jeong Yeon-shin thought.

“Heh.”

Suddenly, the corners of the Ten Perfections Sect Leader’s mouth curled upward.

“Monkeys, it’s fine because we’re monkeys…?”

He muttered to himself before gesturing backward with his hand.

Kuguung!

Brief vibrations overlapped repeatedly, shaking the ground. It came from among the disciples standing behind the Ten Perfections Sect Leader.

They planted twelve large wooden chests into the ground and then retreated far back. Their movements were orderly, as if choreographed like a martial form.

“I’m curious. Whether the youngster from the imperial capital has accumulated combat experience comparable to the Ten Thousand Forms.”

A mystical wave arose with a woong— sound from the Ten Perfections Sect Leader’s body as he stood with his back to the chests.

The moment Jeong Yeon-shin sensed an aura that seemed to exist at the boundary between sword intent and void absorption, all the wooden chests behind the Ten Perfections Sect Leader burst open.

Kwajijik!

Weapons rising into the air through the wooden fragments.

The eighteen types of weapons said to be used on the northern front.

A staff with a large hook instead of a handle called a hook staff, a halberd with an axe blade attached below the spear tip, a nine-section whip that rattled as it moved, a crescent-bladed spear with moon-shaped blades on both sides of the spear tip, a shield engraved with spiral patterns, and more.

Divine energy flowed from the surface of every short and long weapon. The sight of them floating and brilliantly reflecting sunlight.

The master of the Thirteen Evil Sects had brought them out. Even mechanism weapons inevitably contained spirituality.

Woooong—

The divine weapons lined up behind the Ten Perfections Sect Leader.

The retired peerless master flashed a fierce gaze.

The temperament of a great general hardened by the battlefield. Now he was an absolute being standing tall in the martial world that grew increasingly powerful with the passage of time.

“Let’s compare.”

The crowd that had been noisily chattering fell silent. The air seemed to tighten with tension, not just on the hill but throughout the mountainside.

Swang—!

When the Ten Perfections Sect Leader drew his sword from his waist and reached back with his other hand to grab the handle of a silver nine-section whip,

Jeong Yeon-shin was already holding Remaining Thunder.

The Ten Perfections Sect Leader let out an exclamation of admiration—”Hooh”—at the sword draw that had left its scabbard as naturally as flowing water, but Jeong Yeon-shin, with his senses heightened, didn’t even move his eyes.

He recognized his opponent as a powerful mystical being.

‘Heavenly Completion…’

His crown was hot.

It wasn’t just because of the Mind-controlling sword he had used earlier. It was because the Ten Perfections Sect Leader’s martial arts, commanding divine weapons, were emitting spirituality.

Like Jeong Yeon-shin’s Fan Dragon Treading Lotus Technique, the Ten Perfections Sect Leader’s Ten Thousand Forms Primal Origin Technique seemed to contain secret skills for manipulating the upper dantian.

A lofty energy wave was keeping the weapons afloat. So they could be withdrawn into his hands at any time.

Ten Thousand Weapons Heavenly Lord, Ten Thousand Weapons Emperor, the Ten Perfections Sect Leader.

He had cultivated the true energy of the Ten Thousand Forms Primal Origin Technique to the extreme and refined a divine skill and he was called Zeng Jian-wu.

A being who had launched a fatal counterattack even when ambushed by the Blood Flame Cult Leader.

‘Here I go.’

Jeong Yeon-shin stepped forward.

Though it was midday without a sunset, a purple light seemed to flicker at his heel. Not from some hidden formation of a rain dragon, but from the ceaselessly turning center of the world.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s form became blurry.

Thud!

In the next moment, he was planting his long leg into the ground right in front of the Ten Perfections Sect Leader. His night-black robe hem fluttered amid fragments of faint white light.

He had closed the distance with the Ten Li Gentle Light lightness skill.

Tremendous recoil struck his waist and legs. But it was only momentary.

He twisted the true energy and muscles from the Mingmen acupoint near his lumbar spine and pushed all that force through his right hand. Simultaneously, a form that had naturally unfolded like lightning appeared.

Thunder Annihilation Sword Style, Judgment Qilin.

He raised Remaining Thunder and struck downward.

Jjeoeoeoeong—!

An explosion erupted. As a semi-transparent shockwave fiercely clawed the ground and spread outward, heat flowed from the armor of the Ten Perfections Sect Leader, who had belatedly extended his sword to block the first strike.

It was because he had hastily drawn up his internal energy in an instant. Without Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown reaching its extreme, even reacting would have been impossible against such a swift sword.

“This is surprising…”

While cold sweat that had formed on the Ten Perfections Sect Leader’s forehead dissipated into white smoke,

Jeong Yeon-shin, who had crossed swords with him, glanced at the blade of Remaining Thunder slightly covering his face. It was entangled with a nine-section iron whip.

The nine-section whip.

The Ten Perfections Sect Leader had extended it simultaneously with thrusting his sword earlier.

He had seen the whip blocking the scabbard before Judgment Qilin could reach its peak power.

And the sight of the nine-section whip wrapping around the sword like a small serpent, suppressing the sword energy shockwave.

Such a form was unprecedented. It was extremely refined.

“It’s become unusable.”

With just one strike— the Ten Perfections Sect Leader clicked his tongue and released the nine-section whip. The gold plating on its handle had been completely stripped away.

Simultaneously, a small axe was drawn into his hand. While still keeping his sword pressed against Jeong Yeon-shin’s.

It was axe technique next.

Swak!

With terrifyingly swift speed, he chopped at Jeong Yeon-shin’s side.

A desolate grayish light spreading from the axe came first, followed by the sound. The force felt was tremendous.

The chain of forms had reached mastery.

There seemed to be no fixed routines. The intention to simply kill the opponent was evident.

Jeong Yeon-shin spread his left hand wide and pressed it against the opponent’s abdomen.

‘He’s surrounded himself with protective energy.’

He felt a flow as intense as a waterfall. It was an invisible internal energy barrier. The man had confidence in it.

Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t care. As soon as he recalled the incantation of the Brilliant River, spiral currents surged from his palm.

True energy operation that summoned a compressed typhoon. With bone transformation and Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, the dam restraining his talent had collapsed. It manifested simultaneously with his thought.

Kwaaaaaaang—!

An ear-splitting roar.

Heavy vibrations spread across the wide hill. The ground that had been supporting their feet sank in a large circle, and soil and sand, along with shredded undergrowth, shot upward like a reverse waterfall.

A human figure was violently thrown back through the dust.

It was the Ten Perfections Sect Leader.

“A martial lineage more suited to killing people than the martial arts of my sect…!”

He waved both hands with an astonished expression. In place of the sword and axe that had been flung far away, a crescent blade and shield flew to the Ten Perfections Sect Leader’s hands.

“Your mouth is still working.”

Jeong Yeon-shin swung Remaining Thunder widely once to shake off the nine-section whip.

The array of weapons that his opponent continuously replenished was irritating.

Though not as free-flowing as the Mind-controlling sword, they clearly floated in the air following the Ten Perfections Sect Leader’s mental imagery.

Even when the Brilliant River had erupted just now, they had scattered in all directions without breaking. Targeting them one by one would mean turning his back to the Ten Perfections Sect Leader.

A peerless master of the eighteen types of weapons.

His method of blocking the Brilliant River was unexpected from the start. Sensing he was too late, he had surrounded the axe blade that met the palm technique shockwave with an internal energy barrier.

Then he had released his strength and relaxed his body while diverting the force with the principle of reflection. As if he were a Taoist from Wudang Sect famous for Taiji Fist.

The sight of him surrendering to the shockwave that was difficult to resist was impressive.

A master versed in all principles. This was why he could act as the ruler of Sichuan even after having his energy absorbed by the Blood Flame Cult Leader.

‘To think he would show me so much.’

Jeong Yeon-shin inwardly admired him.

Someone who could draw out the full utility of his forms in any situation.

His skill was profound.

Time had permeated it. Suddenly, the Golden Wing Sect Leader’s words came to mind.

—Yours is merely technique.

What she had casually said after witnessing Jeong Yeon-shin’s Myriad Heavens Flower Rain.

—The Myriad Heavens Flower Rain is a form where a Tang family master unfolds all the poison techniques and assassination techniques cultivated throughout their lifetime like the Milky Way at once. It’s a martial art of years. A talent who accomplishes everything easily would find it hard to understand.

It resonated deeply. Even before the Ten Perfections Sect Leader had displayed the Ten Thousand Forms.

Unlike Ghost Cry Hegemon King who had acted as a king alone in the rain dragon’s formation, the Thirteen Evil Sects leaders continuously refined their martial arts through clashes with the world.

Jeong Yeon-shin unconsciously parted his lips.

“You must have lived with the attitude of someone in lifelong seclusion for cultivation.”

Those born with insignificant talents carve the traces of their lives with the Ten Thousand Forms. Naturally, extreme patience would be required.

This was different from Jeong Yeon-shin, who had only belatedly shown interest in the idea that other martial artists set aside separate training times.

“With a dull body, you must have felt the storms of the world more intensely.”

“Hmm?”

“You are remarkable, Sect Leader. You’ve endured much in living.”

Jeong Yeon-shin said.

After staring at him blankly for a moment, the Ten Perfections Sect Leader burst into hearty laughter.

“I’ve heard all sorts of insults on countless battlefields, but I’ve never encountered a youngster who employs such absurd provocation. I wonder if it would work on the Divine Warrior of the North.”

“Provocation…?”

“Raise your sword so you won’t regret it. Though all your forms have been surprising, looking carefully, I doubt you can handle my ultimate technique.”

“You mean the Ten Thousand Forms?”

The Ten Perfections Sect Leader answered with a silently raised corner of his mouth. Something truly worth seeing was coming. Jeong Yeon-shin felt a slight thrill.

The Ten Perfections Sect Leader opened his mouth.

“Open.”

His voice echoed like a reverberation. A quality that dreamlike unraveled the minds of listeners, mixed with spirituality.

This was a prerequisite for divine skill.

It’s said that martial arts that have reached the realm of enlightenment are difficult to distinguish from spell techniques.

As the Ten Perfections Sect Leader trudged toward Jeong Yeon-shin, his eighteen types of weapons spread out in a large circle.

They formed a shape surrounding the two men. The air split desolately.

Saaaa—

The bladed staff, crescent-bladed spear, large axe, halberd, hook, long staff, and others began to rotate like a spell formation and gradually narrowed their intervals.

“I never had anything particularly special as an ultimate technique.”

The Ten Perfections Sect Leader said with a genial smile.

“Since I mastered all skills to a level sufficient for killing people, there was no need to seek something grandiose to name as my life-saving ultimate technique.”

“Sufficient, you say?”

The Ten Perfections Sect Leader didn’t lose his smile even as Jeong Yeon-shin slightly tilted his head to the side. It was a smile tinged with killing intent from the start.

“So…”

He took a step.

“I decided to display all eighteen types of weapon skills at once. It was the rashness of my youth.”

Dwoong—

It was the sound that rang out when he lifted his foot. It was like beating a drum in a deep cave. Simultaneously, the Ten Perfections Sect Leader stopped.

Then another Ten Perfections Sect Leader segmented from that spot, took another step forward. His form appeared somewhat blurry.

“Sword.”

He spoke and stood in place. As he extended his hand, the sword that Jeong Yeon-shin had deflected flew to him and was caught.

“Saber.”

Another Ten Perfections Sect Leader split off and took a step. As he had said, a large saber was drawn into his hand.

The same scene continued. The sight of them calling out each of the eighteen types of weapons one by one and splitting off one by one. It was a divine technique. It was no different from the Ancient Sword True Person’s body-splitting technique.

As the crowd stirred as if they had witnessed the Jade Emperor, a faint delight gleamed in Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes.

It had finally come. Into the true realm of purple.

[This is Form Transposition.]

Eleven Ten Perfections Sect Leaders spoke simultaneously. They were slowly changing positions in the form of a circular formation.

An overwhelming sight that seemed beyond reality. It was different from the Form Transposition known to the world as the divine lightness skill.

The skill transformed into the Ten Thousand Forms of a peerless master was truly transcendent.

[And, this is…]

As another Ten Perfections Sect Leader was about to take a step, Jeong Yeon-shin moved ahead of him and grabbed the final weapon.

Beneath his feet, the propulsive energy waves of the Ten Li Gentle Light were breaking like starlight.

“Axe.”

He said.