Chapter 406 – Peerless Realm (6)

Jeong Yeon-shin focused his gaze.

It was because of the forest wind fiercely brushing against his face. The purple robe attached to both his shoulders somehow managed not to fall off, only fluttering widely.

On the white line mysteriously crossing through the void.

Jeong Yeon-shin was running along it like an acrobat on a tightrope. Lightness skill faster than ever before. It was even gradually accelerating.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoooosh—!

The air crumpled beneath his feet.

His stride was enormously wide.

Wherever his soles touched, ripples spread as if stepping on water, and the circular shockwaves that arose immediately fell far behind him.

Lightness skill Ten Li Gentle Light.

As he ran along the beam of the Shooting Moon Single Path, his vision was completely blurred.

This was because it was a speed he could hardly reach under normal circumstances. Even with the Lowly Revelation Technique activated, the forest scenery wasn’t clearly visible.

‘I was lucky.’

It was the same as when he faced Namgung Mu-jin.

Just as he had used the Dark Night Palace Leader’s Transcendent Martial Art to break Namgung Mu-jin’s Transcendent Martial Art, at this moment, the propulsive energy waves beneath his feet were also being powered by the Dark Night Palace Leader’s Transcendent Martial Art.

“Something’s coming. Wait… is that a person?”

“Above! No, behind!”

“Void treading…?”

“It’s an enemy!”

A commotion erupted beneath his feet.

The masters forming the dragnet. Those who suddenly turned their heads toward Jeong Yeon-shin, who appeared to be running through the void, were gradually increasing in number.

There were quite a few who tried to throw weapons like spears or daggers before giving up.

This was because Jeong Yeon-shin had already disappeared into the distance the moment he appeared in their vision.

‘There are many of them. Is this Mount Huaguo?’

Jeong Yeon-shin freshly felt the vastness of the anti-Divine Sword Group Leader dragnet.

The scenery below was faintly yet continuously brushing past his eyes.

Martial artists who had used concealment techniques to hide in ambush on seemingly empty paths, a dozen or so swordsmen sitting cross-legged in a formation with swords placed on their knees, ronin pretending to be common people in crudely built villages.

Every place his eyes touched was teeming with people.

They said this dragnet was personally overseen by one individual.

‘Yu Ling Leader…’

A peerless master said to possess extremely sinister skills.

How many others in the martial world could mobilize such power?

The Yu Ling Leader was someone who rarely drew his sword unless victory was certain. There wasn’t even a portrait depicting his appearance.

They said the High Sword of Wudang had set out in pursuit, but it seemed unlikely he would be caught.

Capturing a peerless master who had chosen to hide or flee was nearly impossible.

Even Venerable Cypress Flame of Emei, whose martial depth Jeong Yeon-shin couldn’t gauge at a glance, had ultimately failed to capture the Pure Demon Alliance Leader.

Similarly, the Qingcheng Sect Leader had quickly abandoned the pursuit to protect civilian homes, only to encounter the Golden Wing Sect Leader after descending from Yunhui Peak.

A peerless master focused on escape was truly an elusive existence.

The Dark Night Palace Leader was the same.

The world’s finest archer had ceased supporting Namgung Mu-jin at some point. It was probably to conserve energy.

A temperament that unconditionally prioritized self-preservation. Since he had likely already been contemplating escape at that time, the only clue for tracking him was the trace of the Transcendent Martial Art that Jeong Yeon-shin was now treading upon.

Screeeech—!

It came from above Jeong Yeon-shin’s head. The cry of some bird echoed loudly, creating a reverberating sound. It felt extremely hostile toward him.

Jeong Yeon-shin recognized the bird’s identity without even looking up.

The grotesque bird that had guided Jeong Yeon-shin to this land through the Young Palace Leader of Dark Night Palace. A very famous mystical creature that was even revered as a sacred animal by the faded noble clans.

‘Dangerous.’

Jeong Yeon-shin drew the fragments of the Luminous Wheel from his heart to his skin. The moment his entire body was enveloped in a faint cluster of light.

Bang—!

His right shoulder was violently jerked back.

It was because he had been hit by an arrow that had suddenly struck. The impact that arose from his shoulder traveled down to his chest. Even though he had clearly defended with protective energy.

Meanwhile, as the arrow that had failed to penetrate his internal energy barrier bounced off beyond his shoulder.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes sharpened. He was still running along the faintly glowing thread of the Shooting Moon Single Path.

‘Dark Night Palace Leader!’

The arrow had been imbued with highly refined internal weight technique.

This was a skill that would earn recognition as a master even when deployed through fist techniques, yet the black arrowhead just now had very naturally bypassed the protective energy and detonated the energy.

It had properly reached its target.

He had entered the Dark Night Palace Leader’s medium-range combat zone. Normally, the energy imbued in an arrow would greatly dissipate as it traveled a long distance, but that wasn’t the case just now.

It seemed it would have been much easier to catch the Ten Li Instant Kill shot from far away.

‘Again…!’

Jeong Yeon-shin lowered his posture.

Simultaneously, an arrow brushed past his ear.

In that moment, an explosive sound like artillery fire whoooong— tore through the atmosphere, and Jeong Yeon-shin’s sideburns were pulled up as if sucked into its trajectory.

It was purely luck.

The Dark Night Palace Leader’s arrows had become even faster, and with the speed of the Ten Li Gentle Light added, it was nearly miraculous to avoid a single strike.

‘I must protect my head.’

The opponent possessed archery skills that could ignore even divine-level protective energy.

If he took a hit near his ear from the internal weight technique of a peerless master, it would be difficult to maintain balance for a while.

Jeong Yeon-shin was not yet the foremost swordsman in the martial world.

But the Dark Night Palace Leader was universally acknowledged as the World’s Finest Bow. That’s what the martial world called him.

Therefore.

Crack.

The toe of Jeong Yeon-shin’s foot, which had been treading on the faint thread, twisted slightly outward.

Immediately, a heavy weight settled into his thigh.

Considering his speed, it was an action that made no sense, but his bundle of tendons was strong enough to withstand even such a movement. That’s how his bone transformation had been structured from the beginning.

It was possible to overcome the weakness of the Lightning Genius martial lineage’s straightforward trajectories with variations. This was possible because he was born with a transparent temperament like that of a gentleman, though he had never properly used variations until now.

‘Now…!’

A transparent shockwave erupted from the front of his ankle where the Earth Rushing acupoint was located.

Splat!

His form, which had been shooting forward in a straight line, became blurry.

Immediately, a black arrow passed through his body, which had dispersed like mist. The air was violently torn in that instant.

And then… Jeong Yeon-shin, who had somehow reappeared, had a gleam of interest in his eyes.

‘This is the Burning Abyss Squad’s variation…’

He had allocated some of the propulsive energy waves that he normally used only for acceleration. The principle wasn’t difficult. He had simply lowered his body and rotated.

By briefly reducing his speed and then regaining it to sprint rapidly, the entire process had occurred in an instant.

How would it have appeared to his opponent?

The Dark Night Palace Leader was said to possess eye techniques befitting his title as the World’s Finest Bow.

He must still be clearly seeing this side. If Jeong Yeon-shin were the Dark Night Palace Leader, he would be extremely irritated.

A hint of satisfaction crossed the youthful young man’s eyes.

In truth, he had been hit by the Dark Night Palace Leader’s arrows more than by Namgung Mu-jin’s sword.

Was it the difference between a second-in-command of the Thirteen Evil Sects and a leader of the Thirteen Evil Sects? From the moment the Dark Night Palace Leader had begun to flee, a subtle anger had been rising in Jeong Yeon-shin’s chest.

Today, by whatever means necessary, he would slay the World’s Finest Bow under the banner of Desolate Fortress’ Divine Sword Group.

‘With righteous cause.’

Swaaaang—!

Three black arrows came flying at once.

It was such a fierce archery technique that it left three colorless trails in the void, but there was only one sound—bang—from Jeong Yeon-shin’s body, which had once again dispersed into a hazy afterimage.

An arrow falling with its tip crushed.

The two arrows that had narrowly brushed past both sides of his body moved away with tremendous explosive force.

Jeong Yeon-shin exhaled a long breath. The impact that filled his split abdominal muscles like lightning and shook his internal organs. The bow energy waves were growing stronger with each shot.

Even though the Dark Night Palace Leader’s energy must have been greatly depleted by the Transcendent Martial Art.

The distance had narrowed. That was certain.

‘I’m almost there.’

Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t stop his lightness skill sprint.

He advanced continuously, repeatedly blurring and becoming clear as if using the legendary earth-shrinking technique. He had completely adapted to the Shooting Moon Single Path’s white line, which was transcendent in itself.

How long had he been running like that?

Even though it was a season with long days, twilight had already fallen. When the reddish glow of sunset was overlaid on his long fluttering purple robe hem.

After enduring thirteen of the sixty-seven arrows with his body, Jeong Yeon-shin’s gaze had become extremely sharp.

In the distance.

He could see someone’s back, albeit very small.

The moment Jeong Yeon-shin recognized him, the distance rapidly closed.

A figure treading on tree branches as if they were level ground. With faded white hair and a long black robe fluttering, he carried an antique red sandalwood chest on his back and held a large bow in his hand, which was quite impressive.

Fire-Quelling Grand Demon Bow.

The shape of the red wooden bow slightly curved diagonally. Though it appeared simple at a glance, it was the symbol of the World’s Finest Bowman. It was as famous as the Dog-Beating Staff of the Beggar Sect Leader, whose sect had a long history.

—Remarkable.

A rough, low voice reached Jeong Yeon-shin’s ear.

Their gazes met.

The Dark Night Palace Leader, with his ashen eye light, moved with fluttering afterimages like a moth’s wings.

He had already nocked an arrow to the Fire-Quelling Grand Demon Bow and twisted just his upper body. His arrow was aimed at Jeong Yeon-shin.

—Though you have arrived too quickly, would you believe me if I said this was a lure?

The Dark Night Palace Leader drew his bowstring.

A creaking sound reached Jeong Yeon-shin’s ears. It was no ordinary tension. The spiral vortex extending from the arrow’s fletching roughly scraped the ground.

Woong—

In that moment, the faint white line of the Shooting Moon Single Path that Jeong Yeon-shin had been treading on rippled once, then seeped into the arrowhead.

Jeong Yeon-shin, now forced to tread on tree branches.

The Dark Night Palace Leader seemed to be saying with his eyes: If you had been satisfied with slaying one person after withstanding the combined attack of two peerless masters, that would have been enough.

At this moment, Jeong Yeon-shin’s protective energy was extremely faint.

This was because he had pursued after fighting numerous battles. The next arrow might completely penetrate his body.

Under the tightly drawn air.

“……”

The lightness skill sprint of the two men ceased. They each descended onto separate tree branches, dozens of zhang apart.

Their gazes scanned each other through the vortex of the Dark Night Palace Leader’s arrow.

Peerless masters sizing each other up.

Both were far from their peak condition. Their weakened energy waves were so evident that they couldn’t hide them from each other.

“No major faction can remain intact after losing a martial artist of your caliber. Your death will be the beginning of Desolate Fortress’ annihilation.”

The Dark Night Palace Leader spoke in an archaic manner. It befitted someone who had lived for many years as a faded noble clansman.

The World’s Finest Bow, said to possess unparalleled concentration in the martial world.

The lack of emotion in his eyes suggested he had thoroughly assessed Jeong Yeon-shin’s energy-depleted state.

“Do you feel no shame? Engaging in a combined attack.”

When Jeong Yeon-shin quietly asked, the Dark Night Palace Leader’s lips formed a faint curve.

“It’s right to seek the battle of martial artists from the Heaven Conquering Sect Leader. For me, martial arts is merely a cornerstone to rebuild a fallen nation, so the honor of the martial world’s warriors is simply trivial. Your Desolate Fortress is no different. Does a constable discuss fairness when arresting a scoundrel? I have merely returned the same to you.”

“Black path scoundrel. You know yourself well.”

“…I pay my respects to your martial prowess that broke through my interference and slew Namgung First Sword. As a martial artist, I have lost.”

Then suddenly.

The Dark Night Palace Leader casually released his bowstring. With that simple gesture, the air made a tearing sound—jjaaaack.

The Thirteen Evil Sects leader’s ultimate move. He seemed determined to kill Jeong Yeon-shin. Even after releasing the bowstring, the Dark Night Palace Leader was already drawing the next arrow from the chest on his back.

All of this appeared in slow motion to Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes.

A life-or-death duel with a single exchange, an arrow rushing toward his brow…

‘Ah.’

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly realized that the Dark Night Palace Leader was as tense as he was. Neither had looked up because they were so focused on each other.

Suddenly.

There was a presence falling between them.

An intruder.

An extremely refined energy operation could be felt. Had they been preparing, watching for an opening? The energy waves that had been completely contained were instantly released, and in a flash, they were forged into the shape of a sword… A sinister vibration spread from the sword formed by the intruder’s internal energy, who was wearing a black robe.

It was rapidly approaching.

The rustle of garments was elegant.

Crack—

There was no time to hesitate.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s foot pushed away the tree branch. His form shot forward in a straight line amid the tree fragments shattered by the propulsive energy waves.

Screeeeeech!

The moment Jeong Yeon-shin, who had activated the Demonic Blood Circulation Technique, extended his arm upward, the Blood Guardian Squad’s supreme ultimate move, Dark Night Radiant Blood Demon Sword, was in his hand.

A dark red mist in the shape of a sword.

It happened while Jeong Yeon-shin’s form was distorted in the void. It was the support of Blood Extreme Demon Jin Myeong-jo. It had been precisely in his trajectory.

Jeong Yeon-shin struck through the space with a single sword move.

“…!”

A crimson line was etched in the void. A trajectory that horizontally cut through the black arrow and passed through the Dark Night Palace Leader’s neck, flashing as a single streak. The backwind that belatedly swept in knocked off the World’s Finest Bow’s head.

The thud sound was desolate.

The Dark Night Palace Leader’s head rolled on the dirt ground, then stared up at the sky with bulging eyes. His face was filled with shock and disbelief.

Soon after, his body, having lost balance, collapsed on top of it with a thump.

Saaaa—

Early summer exhales a dry breath.

The wind gradually becoming cool. As Jeong Yeon-shin descended to the ground, the purple hem of his robe fluttered behind him.