Chapter 384 – Under Heaven (8)

The sect leader of the Sword Veneration Sect closed his mouth and retreated. Only the desolate sound of his stumbling backward steps echoed.

He no longer displayed the imposing attitude he had when demanding a declaration from Jeong Yeon-shin earlier.

Not only the hundreds of masters comprising the dragnet, but even the crowds on the nearby mountainsides fell into deep silence.

Yunhui Peak is the highest summit in the area.

The large flags made for ceremonial purposes would naturally be visible to everyone.

As would the figures who had suddenly descended on the edge of the hill and were now slowly walking forward.

Their identities.

The impact their gathering would have on the state of affairs in the world.

Messenger birds should rightfully be flying from sects, merchant guilds, escort agencies and the like at this very moment.

Just as when the duel between the Radiant Demon Wing Leader and Ten Perfections Sect Leader had concluded earlier. However, no one dared to move rashly. Or rather, they were unable to.

Whistle—

A young man in a black robe whistled. It was as he passed by the Divine Sword Group’s Heavenly Dragon Squad flag.

His sharp jawline that gave the impression of a handsome man at a glance brushed past the characters for “Heavenly Dragon”.

“The energy waves were insane… Our junior I’ve never even met was already handling three Thirteen Evil Sects leaders. My apologies.”

He said.

“At a glance, this isn’t a level of martial arts you can evaluate. In any case, the behavior of these martial riffraff is the same even in Sichuan.”

A middle-aged man also wearing a long black robe retorted. He was walking while planting the Supreme Martial Hall flag behind him.

A metallic sound kept coming from one of his legs. It seemed he was wearing an artificial limb that would be difficult to wear without tremendous internal energy cultivation.

“Has Supreme Martial Brother’s conduct become more dignified? I heard your Squad was promoted to a Hall.”

“It’s just that the numbers increased.”

“Brother has always been skilled at teaching. There will be a good match with the Lightning Genius martial lineage. These days they say it’s either Lightning Genius or Supreme Martial in the main fortress.”

This was not idle chatter.

Saaaa—

The vegetation that had been motionless, trapped in the massive energy barrier, began to sway here and there. As if a gentle breeze had blown from within.

It was because the words of the two men had scattered invisible currents of internal energy.

A technique to push away the dragnet’s energy waves and gain complete freedom of movement. It was like a swordsman spreading his energy waves to create a domain for swift swordsmanship right before drawing his blade.

[You bastards, Divine Sword Group? How could this……]

The first to open his mouth was the Ten Perfections Sect Leader. It was a situation where the sect leader of a major faction had suffered a miserable defeat, and now he was facing something else no one could have predicted.

For a moment, the two split bodies on either side flickered hazily. It was a face that had completely lost its composure.

[Has the Divine Sword Group Leader gone mad…!]

“Oh? Great General, have you been well? It’s been about nine years, hasn’t it? I saw you last when you were Blue-rank at the Forbidden City and now here…”

The Heavenly Dragon Squad Leader grinned.

His gaze was different. He was strangely scanning the Ten Perfections Sect Leader’s entire body.

“Huh…? Your Covering Heaven Divine Armor is completely shattered! Wasn’t that armor something you risked your life to steal from a divine warrior beyond the Great Wall? You were so pleased, saying you had one more lifeline, but it seems the Radiant Demon Wing Leader made you use it once today.”

[A lowly creature who couldn’t even meet my eyes in the North……]

“You deploy that refined Form Transposition and end up with just three bodies! With the Covering Heaven Divine Armor in that state, it must be hard to even move, yet you were putting on airs with that big talk in front of our youngest at the main fortress? You must have been relying on the dragnet and the Golden Wing Sect Leader.”

The more he spoke, the less inflection there was in his tone.

Even his polite speech naturally changed to informal speech, and gradually an aura that made the nearby dragnet masters step back began to flow from his black robe.

Along with the dust that began to form circles at his feet.

The expression of the Heavenly Dragon Squad Leader, known as a living ghost in the northern martial world.

A cold anger was evident. It had been there from the moment he started speaking playfully.

The faces of some senior members of the Seventeen who had been making eye contact with Jeong Yeon-shin until now were the same.

“……”

Yue Shou-lin, who had silently tilted a long silver spear behind her back.

Woon So-yu, the Law Enforcement Squad Leader, who was drawing her sword between the long black robe hems.

Boom—

As Forest-Treading Squad Leader Xiahou Wei-jin clenched his massive fist, raising colorless waves to gather foot energy, Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader Cheon So-so was faintly spreading rainbow-colored chill like fine silk.

They did not open their mouths.

It was as if they were saying the matter at hand comes first. It was the characteristic temperament of Desolate Fortress.

[I need to regulate my energy. Buy me some time.]

The three Ten Perfections Sect Leaders quietly disappeared into gaps in the crowd. It was an extremely refined movement technique. The energy waves that had already been faint no longer flowed out at all.

Peerless masters can regulate their internal injuries with just a few breaths even in the midst of fierce battles. It’s possible to engage in energy cultivation while standing without needing to sit in meditation.

The masters forming the dragnet flashed colorless eye light.

“They can’t all be squad leaders of the Divine Sword Group! Desolate Fortress isn’t that kind of faction!”

“That’s right. Changing clothes is nothing special for a master, is it?”

“But their energy…”

“Attack! Clear out the outer edges first!”

The sound of drawing weapons rang out noisily. The numbers easily reached several hundred. Energy waves that rose hazily like white fog instantly enveloped the entire hill of Yunhui Peak.

It was the energy of the dragnet formed by the Thirteen Evil Sects and their subordinate sects, along with all sorts of ronin.

Rumble—

The sunset light that had been coloring the sky began to distort.

It looked as if the air was rippling from the heat like on a summer day. An imposing aura that seemed capable of slaying anyone in the world.

The squad leaders of the Divine Sword Group each took different stances.

“Ten Perfections Sect, Pure Demon Alliance, Golden Wing Sect, and even the Tyrant Sword… They were all gathered here. This works out well.”

“Don’t forget those acting on Yu Ling’s instructions. In any case, be mindful that the armor of the Ten Perfections Sect elites has the ability to block internal weight techniques.”

“Leave those who learned swordsmanship from the Tyrant Sword to me. I was in Shaanxi for a month and the sword paths are clear in my mind.”

“Is that really necessary…? If you stop by the main fortress, you can peruse the Compendium of Annihilation of Evil Sects.”

“Annihilation what? What’s that?”

Boom——!

Powerful waves of primal energy repeatedly exploded around each of the flags surrounding the dragnet. The collision had finally begun.

The Sima Evil Path masters of the dragnet turned their backs on Jeong Yeon-shin trapped inside the encirclement. They had no choice for now.

The squad leaders of Desolate Fortress had deployed their ultimate techniques from the start. Single-strike techniques with explosive power.

It was martial arts that forcibly drew even the gazes that had still been focused on Jeong Yeon-shin, such was their overwhelming presence.

“Heaven Spirit.”

Whoosh!

As soon as the Azure Sky Squad Leader pressed the flat of his long sword with his slender left hand, sixteen streams of blue sword energy shot up in a circular formation around him.

The sword technique of the Azure Sky Sword Scripture. Pillars of light that pierced upward from between the legs of the enemy masters flickered like lightning. Only after the sound of flesh being torn apart raced by did screams of death throes ring out.

The Burning Abyss Squad Leader with ears as sharp as sword tips performed a somersault while kicking the air. It was the movement technique of Unhindered Endless Body.

The air compressed and crumpled from his kicks. As if performing the Shaolin Hundred Step Divine Fist with his legs, the enemies who had approached his feet burst apart along with their weapons, raising a bloody storm.

Clang clang clang—!

It wasn’t just the two of them. The ranks of the dragnet were instantly crushed at every spot where a flag had been planted.

Yunhui Peak shook unsteadily, spewing out piles of dirt from the repeated shockwaves. It was to a degree that belied the vast size of the peak.

“That’s right! They’re all Black-rank, aren’t they! Their faces all look the part!”

“What’s going on…!”

“Fall back! Fall back! More need to come from behind! And from the sides too!”

There was no support between them.

The hand techniques of the squad leaders who had begun their attacks were merciless.

Waves of energy that shattered bones and burst flesh drew concentric circles in the air. Over a dozen Black-ranks were entering while surrounding hundreds.

While revealing a state of unity of essence, energy and spirit, even their casual remarks were used as exhalations of internal energy breathing.

Even the Heavenly Dragon Squad Leader and Supreme Martial Hall Leader, who were meeting Jeong Yeon-shin for the first time, were the same.

“In this formation, the rumors we heard below must be true? Just looking at the sorry state of that coward from the North, but still.”

“To think he faced three Thirteen Evil Sects leaders repeatedly on his own……”

“They say he stepped forward right before the Tang family was about to collapse. He disregarded his life to care for the common people. At this point, regardless of seniority, he’s qualified to be the next Group Leader… Where are you going!”

Boom!

The encirclement of Black-ranks that was difficult to take in at a glance.

The storm did not cease. Amidst the trees and vegetation being violently uprooted, the surroundings gradually became hazy from the overturned earth.

Jeong Yeon-shin blankly stared at that scene for a moment.

It felt like he was drifting in a dream. Even though the Golden Wing Sect Leader he was facing was shifting her feet this way and that in confusion, no fear touched him.

Just like the day he learned the Radiant Demon Technique from his maternal uncle Ma Jin along with Hyeon Won-chang under the gentle sunlight, it was enough to simply focus on martial arts.

He slowly parted his lips amidst the roaring sounds.

“You.”

“Hm?”

The Golden Wing Sect Leader reacted immediately. As she quickly turned her small head to look at Jeong Yeon-shin, her eyes blazing with golden light still stood out.

That eye light.

Connoisseurs call it the eye technique of the Golden Pheasant. Since it wouldn’t miss even the form of an ascending rain dragon, how could a person’s martial arts escape her eyes?

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke calmly.

“We need to settle this before leaving.”

“You lost, didn’t you? Don’t be stubborn and admit it. Your rank and years are far below, after all.”

Rustle.

After giving a small retort, she turned her body. It seemed she had sensed something when exchanging hand techniques with Jeong Yeon-shin earlier. The conduct of the old woman who was said to have even witnessed the founding of the country was going against her age.

‘As if she’s not human.’

Jeong Yeon-shin thought as he rotated the Luminous Wheel in his heart.

One who moves only as her heart dictates, plundering dharma treasures and looking down on the country’s order that gets in her way.

She doesn’t have the temperament to take risks. She has as much boundless freedom as her peerless martial arts. Who could stop her?

“I’m going to the world. Let’s not meet again.”

It was when the Golden Wing Sect Leader was about to take a step.

Whoosh—!

A long silver light flickered.

A spear pierced straight through the encirclement.

The bodies of the dragnet masters caught in the trajectory of the throw all burst apart, and the silver spear embedded itself at the Golden Wing Sect Leader’s feet with a bang! The shaft then trembled finely like a moth’s wings.

It was Yue Shou-lin.

It seemed she had thrown without even looking. She immediately pulled the Divine Sword Group’s flag towards her with void absorption and began wielding the flagpole like a spear.

Was she also skilled in banner techniques? No master could withstand a single strike. Bones and flesh flew up amid the fluttering flag with rough sounds.

“……”

The Golden Wing Sect Leader could not take another step. It was because two massive gusts of wind crashed down like thunder, overlapping twice in succession.

Two enormous winds pressed down heavily on both sides. The vibration that raced along the ground in that moment was tremendous.

Rumble—

They were fist wind and palm wind.

Silent strikes that stabbed down like iron stakes. They originated from two people.

At this moment, Wish-fulfilling Spring Leader Beigong Ya, who was sweeping her long limbs explosively with a look of annoyance in her blue eyes as she scanned her surroundings, and Annihilation Team Leader Shin Hwang, who had descended again into the midst of the enemies with his thin body and wide sleeves fluttering.

The Three Black-ranks seemed relaxed even within the dragnet. This was despite the fact that the forces concentrated on them were particularly strong.

Sensory paths that encompass the overall situation and martial arts that cover even long distances. Their experience was different. At this moment, they were likely sensing even the movements of the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s fingers. Along with their junior’s intentions.

“This place is the world.”

Jeong Yeon-shin said.

He was thinking of a life-or-death duel in a one-on-one space with a single strike.

[Your words are correct! Where else in the world would there be such a battlefield besides the North!]

It rang out from afar.

It was the Ten Perfections Sect Leader. An existence that could be called the incarnation of future troubles. He seemed to have decided to escape from the chaotic battlefield.

Three identical forms leapt in different directions, but unlike before, even the split bodies were as clear as the real thing. That’s what he had made with a brief moment of energy regulation.

Splash!

[Radiant Demon Wing Leader! You will deeply regret setting foot in the martial world of the Thirteen Evil Sects! Your existence is a grave threat to the martial world…]

The three streams of voices ceased simultaneously.

The Divine Sword Group flag thrown by Yue Shou-lin tore through one split body and embedded itself in a rock on the other side with a thud. The opposite split body had its nape grabbed by the Annihilation Team Leader and was driven into the ground.

“Lightning Genius has already done everything. We’re just finishing up.”

“Hmm, he had become pathetically weak.”

As massive ripples arose on both sides.

The rope, the cotton rope lasso wielded by the Heavenly Dragon Squad Leader, wrapped around the real body of the Ten Perfections Sect Leader with a brilliantly shining body.

At the same time, as the Supreme Martial Hall Leader kicked his knee from the side with a bang and forced him to kneel, another figure appeared with black robe hems fluttering like a bat.

It was right behind the Ten Perfections Sect Leader. The Blood Protection Squad Leader Jin Myeong-jo was flashing blood-red eye light.

Splash—!

His pale hand crushed the Ten Perfections Sect Leader’s head.