Chapter 385 – Divine Sword Group

The Ten Perfections Sect Leader had been killed.

Along with his earlier defeat by the Radiant Demon Wing Leader, this was an event that would shake the martial world.

But there was no dramatic reversal in the battle situation. The battlefield was vast, but that was secondary. There were simply too many people involved.

Bang! Bang! Clang!

Blades scattering fierce blue light. The hundreds of weapons wielded by the dragnet formed countless sword forests like the Blade Mountain Hell of the netherworld.

They were all masters who had cultivated movement techniques that easily surpassed human height, so the forms rushing toward the Divine Sword Group squad leaders encompassed not just all directions but even the void itself.

The ground-shaking explosions and whistling wind sounds were everywhere. Along with sound transmissions that crossed like nets without pause.

—Looking southwest from Lightning Genius… see those Ten Perfections Sect armor-wearers forming a sword formation? Oh my, is that Structured Body Transmission? They must have lost their minds, but I should cut off their necks before anything troublesome emerges.

[TL Note- This Structured Body Transmission refers to the martial arts concept of using proper body structure and alignment to efficiently transfer force from the ground through the body to the point of application. It emphasizes how the entire body frame works as an integrated unit to generate and transmit power, rather than relying solely on localized muscle strength.]

—The Burning Abyss Squad Leader is close.

—I’m going now.

Countless robe hems fiercely brushed against each other in both the ground and the void.

Shock and killing intent intermingled. While some screamed as their necks were pierced or limbs severed by the squad leaders’ hands, behind them came angry shouts from those who pushed their half-dead comrades forward.

“Form the Wheel Formation and we’ll win! Don’t discriminate between acupoint strikes and blade cuts! Cut their hamstrings and push them off the cliff…!”

“They’re human too! They’re not peerless masters!”

“That’s right, they’re just elite leaders of outdated orthodox sects gathered together, about a dozen of them.”

“Why are you trying to lower morale!”

The reason the dragnet on the hill was desperately pushing toward the Divine Sword Group squad leaders at this moment.

It was because Desolate Fortress’s methods were widely known. They had annihilated the Hwangbo family under the pretext of exploiting the common people, awakening vigilance throughout the martial world.

Though it happened in Shandong near the northern part of the country, it was now an old enough story to have spread to Sichuan.

If they couldn’t win, they would be annihilated.

“Desolate Divine Spear has empty hands! Strike now, cough…!”

“Those who’ve cultivated Yang Internal Energy, go that way! The Immortal Tree Spirit Leader’s ice energy is rampaging!”

Splash! Rumble—!

Semi-transparent waves of energy collided endlessly, and fragments of shattered metal mixed with blood flew into the air.

Even martial artists aren’t free from the madness of group battles. This is especially true for those in the Sima Evil Path.

After all, the dragnet had originally gathered to face three peerless masters, so there were countless masters behind the front lines flashing their blades.

‘It will be fine.’

Jeong Yeon-shin stood in the midst of the fierce battlefield.

While feeling the powerful energy waves of his seniors on his skin, he was coating the blade of Remaining Thunder with long sunset light.

—Can you handle this? Just hold on a little longer. With Wish-fulfilling Spring, Annihilation Team, and me…

A young woman’s voice tickled his ear. Jeong Yeon-shin concentrated energy in his Adam’s apple without taking his eyes off what was before him.

—Senior Yue.

—Yes?

—I’m fine, so you must maintain your strength.

He had said what he wanted to tell his grandmother.

Was she moved? Yue Shou-lin’s response was briefly cut off.

Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t mind. The Golden Wing Sect Leader, who had now completely turned to face him, filled his vision.

She slowly opened her mouth.

“Your sword circle is quite dense. It feels a bit longer than before.”

“Come in.”

Jeong Yeon-shin said.

His seniors had made space for him. There was no reason to give her time to analyze him. Not unless he was the one doing the analyzing.

Rustle.

The Golden Wing Sect Leader nodded and took a step forward. It was accompanied by a small mutter to herself. I was getting tired of you too.

Then she moved her lips.

[Relying on Life.]

Scratching at one’s lifeline. What could it means?

Woong—

Along with the incantation that echoed like multiple layers, a faint golden ripple swept across the ground. Like waves on an invisible lake.

“…!”

Jeong Yeon-shin felt natural qi violently undulating in a large hemisphere surrounding them.

It was spell martial arts again, but the scale was different. The ability seemed different too.

Woooooong!

The dim light of sunset was swept away. In an instant, day and night reversed. It took only a moment for everything to be dyed deep blue.

A transformation comparable to the creation of heaven and earth.

Under the blue-dyed sky, the battlefield vanished without a trace, and like a painter’s brushstrokes, forests, trees, and rocks suddenly appeared to fill the surroundings.

In the distant mountain range, a massive cave opened its pitch-black mouth wide.

A landscape similar to what he had seen in the rain dragon’s formation. The surrounding crowd had been completely erased.

Finally, only two people remained.

Bang!

The sword strike Jeong Yeon-shin had launched while closing the distance the moment the spell martial arts activated was blocked by the Golden Wing Sect Leader’s arm.

Blue flames were already flowing from her elbow to fingertips, scattering blue feathers. It was an incredibly swift protective energy.

The Golden Wing Sect Leader’s eyelashes, which reflected orange luster as they flowed down her orange sleeve hem without a speck of dust, rose slightly toward Jeong Yeon-shin.

“I’ve drawn the homeland of my prey.”

She said.

Jeong Yeon-shin sensed it. This wasn’t a spatial movement but a temporary isolation from the surroundings.

What would happen if you spread the formless sword, which is woven with energy and mental imagery, incredibly wide and covered the space with it?

Natural qi was flowing from the Golden Wing Sect Leader through the illusions of vegetation and rocks, and even the ground. An extraordinary divine skill whose principles were difficult to articulate.

Nothing else.

“Transcendent Martial Art?”

Jeong Yeon-shin said as he looked down at her while still gripping Remaining Thunder.

Though he was still pressing down with the sword’s energy, the Golden Wing Sect Leader’s arm didn’t move at all. It was like pushing against a wall.

This wasn’t how it had been before.

The Golden Wing Sect Leader’s Transcendent Martial Art. As soon as the spell barrier-like space unfolded, her strength had changed too.

Was that why she seemed more relaxed?

“I’ve deceived the natural order to make you a dragon. Here, you are the rain dragon.”

There was pride in her small voice.

From Jeong Yeon-shin’s experience, most peerless masters were desperate to show off their martial arts to those who could understand them.

Those who reach martial extremity most enjoy discussing swords. The Golden Wing Sect Leader wasn’t much different… The Dragon-Slaying Heaven-Treading Technique was said to be a divine skill for hunting rain dragons.

If she had now placed dragon qualities in Jeong Yeon-shin through this mystical realm, she could afford to be leisurely. Because she had completely reduced him to prey.

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly opened his mouth. On the day when many Black-rank seniors had arrived, he must truly advance to purple. Expanding his knowledge of the realm of transcendence through a few words was a kind of opportunity.

“You just said you deceived the natural order. I heard the Tyrant Sword Sect Leader is a swordsman who cuts through principles. Are your Transcendent Martial Art and his swordsmanship opposites?”

“I’ve never seen it.”

Had he touched a nerve? Her answer came back low and firm. Jeong Yeon-shin stored the possibility in his mind.

As he quickly stepped to the side using the Radiant Wing Step.

Kwaaaang—!

Tremendous pressure brushed his cheek. The aftermath of the Golden Wing Sect Leader’s punch.

The energy from her fist surface pushed the entire atmosphere away while simultaneously carving massive feather-like furrows deep into the ground.

The terrifying suction pulled several strands of Jeong Yeon-shin’s hair.

Through the gap, the Golden Wing Sect Leader’s gaze seemed to say: Your hair is inappropriately long.

Splat!

Jeong Yeon-shin’s body distorted in place. The rush of the Ten Li Gentle Light lightness skill. The white-glowing blade of Remaining Thunder traced a straight line along her side.

In that moment, a rough scraping sensation along with tremendous vibration penetrated from the sword handle to his grip.

Blue sparks from her protective energy scattered in all directions, disrupting his vision.

‘Shallow.’

In the moment Jeong Yeon-shin completely passed her, the Golden Wing Sect Leader’s hand, which had tilted slightly to the side, reached out to touch the void behind him.

Bang!

A massive golden light blazed on his back covered by the black robe. The sound of “puhwak—” rang out from the energy waves that spread in concentric circles from that moment.

The energy wave had split into three streams like a raptor’s talons and burst his flesh.

Jeong Yeon-shin swallowed his groan. While sharp pain raced through his mind, he recalled the sensation of the air touching his skin, the feel of the ground beneath his feet, and the energy wave that had torn through his back.

The impact area was large. It was difficult to immediately stitch the tendons and acupoints with the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique.

Rustle!

At that moment, the Golden Wing Sect Leader spun and flew toward him. Her orange sleeve hems spread wide like wings on both sides. Dragon-Slaying Heaven-Treading Technique. It took only an instant for the distance to close.

A kick rushing in with lightning-fast movement technique. The Golden Wing Sect Leader’s leg filled Jeong Yeon-shin’s vision.

He extended his hand outward and struck back.

Clang—!

‘Ugh.’

A burning shockwave flowed all the way to his bones. His hand and her foot began a test of strength.

Even though he had met it with the straight-line energy wave of the Eternal Blossom Fist’s Advancing Thunder, his body was pushed slightly to the side.

The recoil from her kick was tremendous. Behind him, the sand that decorated the Transcendent Martial Art realm rose like a wave and collapsed.

Bang!

In that moment, the Golden Wing Sect Leader caught the sword blade Jeong Yeon-shin had swung down with both hands. The blue flames that flickered across her entire body scattered even the whitish sword wind.

“Your heart… amazing. You have something as large as a dragon’s inner pill.”

Her golden eye light scanned Jeong Yeon-shin’s chest.

With one leg raised, her posture was graceful. The temperament of the golden pheasant that devours dragons. Her gaze was chillingly calm. There was no better example of a predator eyeing its prey.

“You’re definitely right.”

“Hm?”

“Your Dragon-Slaying Heaven-Treading Technique is treating me as a rain dragon. The energy is incomparable to before… Transcendent Martial Art is close to a mystical formation. This was possible too.”

“It’s a martial art that breaks the scales of mountain lizards (dragons).”

Right after the Golden Wing Sect Leader spoke as if it were obvious.

Golden mist rose from her body, and the forms of the two people, who had withdrawn their leg and sword, became hazily distorted and intermingled.

Clang! Boom!

The Golden Wing Sect Leader freely extended fist techniques, kick techniques, and claw techniques. Jeong Yeon-shin deployed the Thunder Annihilation Sword Style and Eternal Blossom Fist with both hands, drawing dozens of trajectories.

Sword and hand collided like comets, and the two forms continuously crossed paths.

When energy waves collided head-on, even distant rocks shattered into pieces and flew upward.

More than twenty exchanges passed in an instant.

Woong—

Suddenly, a massive light cluster shaped like a raptor’s talons covered both of the Golden Wing Sect Leader’s hands. It was internal energy weaponry made visible in golden light.

Each time she swung it widely after receiving Remaining Thunder with her bare hands, Jeong Yeon-shin’s robe began to tear.

Rumble!

The aftermath of a single strike carved sharp traces into the ground. Both their sword and talons did this. There was no intact earth left.

With each exchange, various parts of Jeong Yeon-shin’s body were torn open, bleeding.

The Wind Body Technique was half a breath slower than the Golden Wing Sect Leader’s Dragon-Slaying Heaven-Treading Technique, and her repeated kicks blocked even the Ten Li Gentle Light, shortening the battle’s range.

Even though Jeong Yeon-shin needed to take a longer trajectory to counter the Dragon-Piercing Heaven-Treading Form.

But in the Golden Wing Sect Leader’s eyes, surprise was gradually growing.

Her Transcendent Martial Art uses profound internal energy to overturn the nearby realm, and with an incredibly complex spell formula, it deceives the natural order.

A technique that temporarily places dragon qualities in the opponent’s body. It clearly transcended reason. Once deployed, it required a month of recovery.

‘But how…?’

Her Dragon-Slaying Heaven-Treading Technique was clearly recognizing Jeong Yeon-shin as a rain dragon.

She was overwhelming him in power and speed, and even her briefly extended energy completely unraveled his energy waves and embedded in his bare body.

All forms were essentially counters. The match should have been decided long ago.

‘He’s following the counter method.’

Radiant Demon Wing Leader Jeong Yeon-shin.

Bang! Rumble—!

Even as his body greatly shook from taking the impact of claw techniques and kick techniques, he continued to develop methods to counter martial arts that were his natural enemy.

Though covered in wounds, his momentum didn’t waver. With each strike that collided and brushed past, he subtly adjusted the structure of his energy waves, which was chilling.

By the time they had exchanged over a hundred forms, his sharp blade was somehow managing to cut through her sleeve hem.

And finally… Boom boom boom boom boom—!

When the Radiant Demon Wing Leader unleashed the Brilliant River by driving energy like lightning through his knee.

The Golden Wing Sect Leader blankly stared at his beautiful face.

As if encountering some kind of opportunity, his blood-red lips were curved in a faint smile.

It was the madness of a world-class genius walking the path of martial arts.