Chapter 417 – Heavenly Silk Robe (2)

A rough roar echoed.

Kwakwakwak—!

Jeong Yeon-shin shot up through the roof of the golden palace. At this moment, he was holding a reed that was the same color as the tile fragments that were shattering and scattering.

Thanks to the Fan Dragon Treading Lotus Technique, the reed had been imbued with the principle of the Mind-controlling sword. Just holding it made sword flight possible.

Because it carried the weight of an adult, it couldn’t match the speed of the Ten Li Gentle Light lightness skill, but following Jeong Yeon-shin’s mental imagery, it floated through the void at a height monkeys couldn’t reach.

Saaaa—

The Forbidden City.

As the wind blowing toward the center of the country spread moonlight through the dark night air, and the reed containing the Luminous Wheel Energy emitted a humming resonance like a sword.

Jeong Yeon-shin raised the reed high like he was taking an upper sword stance and surveyed below.

Following his line of sight, golden halls stretched endlessly.

The rows of palaces forming vast rectangles wherever the eye could see. But nowhere in that imposing yet refined cluster could he sense the divine sword Remaining Thunder.

He should be feeling the warm sensation of the Tang siblings’ spirituality.

Just like when the doors of the Hall of Supreme Harmony closed and his range of energy sense narrowed as if it were a lie.

Befitting the imperial family that must always be prepared for treason, a profound formation had been laid.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes narrowed.

‘It will be difficult to find and go there in a short time.’

What was the Crown Prince planning? The Forbidden City, said to house thousands of palace people, was incredibly quiet.

While countless human presences could be felt, they all seemed to be following some order to remain silent.

Even though the roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony had been destroyed.

By this point, one couldn’t help but wonder. What did the Crown Prince truly want?

Perhaps he wanted Jeong Yeon-shin to cause a commotion? With the spirit and conviction befitting Desolate Fortress’ purple-rank.

‘Is this a test?’

But that wasn’t his immediate concern.

Whak!

Jeong Yeon-shin, who had extended the reed forward, shot straight ahead.

The posture of unity of sword and person. At this moment, his sword flight was heading toward the marketplace of Beijing beyond the Forbidden City.

***

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Translated by Nine Heavens!

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***

The Peng family.

Among the Eight Great Clans, it was the closest to Beijing, and their family martial arts were blade techniques.

In the country, they were also called the ancestral house of blade arts. This was because they had produced countless military officials with their rare and peerless blade techniques.

Though the imperial martial arts that ruled the world were said to be among the most profound in the world, not all imperial guards could learn the Golden Immortal Eight Methods.

That’s why the Peng family’s divine skill and learning were famous in military circles, especially in Beijing.

Some of the family’s masters were even invited to the Forbidden City to serve as martial arts instructors.

Thanks to this, the Peng family was able to establish their main residence in the south of North Zhili, which surrounds Beijing.

Naturally, they wielded tremendous influence.

They built walls like fortifications on land directly ruled by the imperial family, and when those practicing martial arts behind those walls let out battle cries, no one dared to interfere.

“…Do you think the prestige of the main family applies to you as well? Someone like the Yu Ling Leader shouldn’t just show up like this. You must know what kind of place the Ming imperial family is.”

“That might be true for a perfect imperial family. But how could the Zhu family, which has poured such powerful forces into the north and practically abandoned the martial world’s security to Desolate Fortress, come after me?”

The man wearing a conical hat laughed. He revealed only his lower face with his neatly trimmed black beard.

Across a curtain strung with precious jade beads, the Peng family head and the Yu Ling Leader faced each other.

But the shadow of the Peng family head visible through the curtain didn’t move at all.

He seemed extremely wary of the Yu Ling Leader, showing no signs of movement.

He merely spoke with a voice that was both dignified and seemingly sharp.

“If you truly didn’t fear the imperial family, you would be in Beijing by now. Since things haven’t been going your way lately, you’ve come to the main family to request a private meeting, haven’t you?”

“As expected of the Peng family head. The spirit that helped push the Divine Sword Group Leader into a dragnet hasn’t gone anywhere. You still seem to have some composure?”

“You…”

“I thought your entire family would be trembling by now… but when I glanced at your family members as I entered, some even greeted me without knowing who I was, thinking I was a guest of the family head. Seeing the neat energy paths characteristic of a renowned family, I couldn’t help but admire your skill. To keep the Divine Sword Group Leader’s matter strictly confidential. How does it feel to carry a secret that will eventually be revealed like a thunderclap bomb?”

“Silence. Wasn’t the failure of the dragnet entirely your fault? It’s amusing to see you trying to intimidate me with something you couldn’t accomplish…”

Suddenly the curtain shook. The lantern light illuminating the dim room also went out with a whoosh.

Soon after, the conical hat of the Yu Ling Leader bobbed up and down in the darkness. It was a movement stemming from laughter.

“How frightening. Are you planning to commit murder?”

“I could if I wanted to.”

“Of course, I admit that someone who once rivaled the now-deceased Namgung family head could try. But wouldn’t it be better to diminish Desolate Fortress’ power first? I’m not trying to provoke you. I’m merely pointing out facts.”

“Every word you speak is sophistry, making my ears dizzy.”

Even as the Peng family head growled, the Yu Ling Leader’s conical hat didn’t move. He merely let his smooth voice flow.

“I hear the Divine Sword Group Leader and the Radiant Demon Wing Leader have arrived in Beijing together, and it seems the reaction in Beijing isn’t very favorable. A few military officials from your renowned Peng family could add fuel to that fire. Beijing is a place moved by rumors and justification rather than force. At the very least, we could keep those two’s feet tied to Beijing. With luck, we might even be able to indefinitely delay the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s purple-rank promotion.”

“By what means?”

“Isn’t your son-in-law the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard? Additionally, I know that many of the military officials taught by the Peng family’s masters over the years hold key positions.”

“It’s a meaningless proposal. The moment an attempt to assassinate the Divine Sword Group Leader reaches the Emperor’s ears, our main family will face annihilation.”

“Perhaps that’s because the Peng family has been feeding off Beijing’s scraps. If you personally move this family’s location, the problem would be solved. The Zhu family’s masters are bogged down in the north, and the farthest the Emperor can personally travel is to Shaolin in Henan. That monster hasn’t gone far in decades. Even when powerful martial warlords were active in the provinces.”

“……”

“It seems you can’t accept it, despite being a renowned family. So, in the end, do you plan to compete in the ‘World’s Finest Martial Competition’ under the Peng family name and reach an agreement with Desolate Fortress? In the form of settling old grudges?”

“There is no other way. If we lose, we’ll face annihilation.”

It was right after the majority of the Nine Sects who had made the Mount Hua Agreement had sent out their invitations throughout the martial world.

A life-or-death martial competition not uncommon in the martial world. It was said that whoever dominated this particular faction war could make one request each to Desolate Fortress and the Nine Sects, and those requests would carry enough weight to move purple-rank ranks and sect leaders respectively.

“It’s certainly a proposal the Peng family can’t refuse.”

The Yu Ling Leader’s conical hat tilted slightly to the side. He continued.

“But isn’t a life-or-death match too brutal for something organized by the Nine Sects? It seems clearly aimed at the Peng family. The Nine Sects don’t want bloodshed, and Desolate Fortress has already faced significant backlash for its indiscriminate strikes… It seems they want to eliminate you with minimal bloodshed, in a manner consistent with the martial world’s principles.”

“I know.”

“Well, that’s your business.”

Swish.

The Yu Ling Leader, who had turned around, slightly turned his head. The shadow beyond the curtain still hadn’t moved at all.

“So, you won’t cooperate regarding the Radiant Demon Wing Leader? Truly?”

“My son is in Beijing. I’ve already delegated all authority to him, so he’ll observe the Radiant Demon Wing Leader himself and act accordingly. If given time, he can do anything.”

“Ah, Peng Family Blade Lord.”

The Yu Ling Leader let out a soft exclamation.

“He was a child with good skills. I’m somewhat looking forward to it.”

***

Something had gone terribly wrong.

That’s what the Imperial Guard Deputy Commander thought.

—A mystical creature with ominous movements has entered. Ensure the common people aren’t harmed, and maintain a defensive posture. It doesn’t matter if several halls are destroyed. If it seems like there will be great damage, inform the imperial family without delay.

The orders received from the Crown Prince were extremely concise, but quite difficult to follow properly.

The identity of the mystical creature that had invaded Beijing was already revealed.

Once it had decided to begin hunting, even the most mysterious mystical creature couldn’t hide its massive body.

Human-faced spider.

It was literally a monster with extraordinary power. He hadn’t known there were beasts capable of expanding and contracting their bodies.

A creature that could freely alternate between the size of a human head and a hall, its elusive movements easily surpassed the protective techniques of even decent supreme masters.

“Quickly flee! Not that way! That way, go out that way!”

“Don’t dawdle!”

It was atop ruins.

Amid the collapsed halls raising gray dust, military officials and silk-clothed commoners chaotically ran across the top. Their movements were more desperate than busy.

A dense fear was evident in their presences. Every one of them was like that.

From the beginning, it was thought that the disappearance of the Chief Commander and the mystical creature were not unrelated, and that suspicion turned out to be true.

Impossible to face.

The shell-like exterior was the first problem. The powerful foot energy of the Golden Immortal Eight Methods couldn’t properly penetrate the spider’s legs.

One Imperial Guard who had managed to leap onto the human-faced spider’s body by luck was torn in half immediately after embedding his internal weight technique.

The human-faced spider just smiled bizarrely as if it had protective energy inside its body as well.

And then it disappeared.

It seemed to have adopted a strategy of striking from different directions.

The creature, chillingly, appeared to possess human-like cunning, and rarely gave the masters a chance to gather. Even when some did gather, they were outnumbered.

The human-faced spider was like an abyss even to those who had mastered extraordinary martial arts. It couldn’t be measured with eye techniques.

The absence of the powerful figures who had gone north for the campaign was also significant.

The Chief Eunuch and other imperial masters were needed. All the patrol forces would need to return before they could attempt to exterminate it.

‘But why…?’

The Deputy Commander fell into doubt as he guarded the backs of those fleeing.

It had been a long time since he had sent a messenger to the imperial family. Why weren’t they coming? Even though this was the outskirts of the outer city wall surrounding Beijing, enough time had passed for communication to reach them.

The Deputy Commander’s eyes widened as he carefully scanned in all directions.

“Jian Yu…!”

The name of a military official sprawled in a distant alley with only his head visible.

Judging by his breathing, he seemed to have been subdued rather than killed, but the problem was that he was the person the Deputy Commander had sent as a messenger.

There was someone interfering with the extermination of the human-faced spider. What were they trying to see?

It was then.

“Ahhhh…!”

“What are you doing in a daze! Look, look over there!”

Screams that were almost shrieks. The high-status people of Beijing were berating the Deputy Commander.

They had spotted something extremely unnatural while frantically trying to evacuate amid the chaos.

Sasasasasa!

The sound of thick hair endlessly brushing against the ground. Something dark was rapidly approaching.

A form silhouetted against the moonlight, the size of a house, made the night air even thicker.

Eight legs covered with whitish hair left endless afterimages as they moved continuously.

It was returning after turning the surrounding area into a wasteland. With the face of a large middle-aged man, showing its teeth by stretching its mouth to the extreme.

“Take the Golden Protection Formation!”

The Deputy Commander shouted roughly.

A heavy wave of energy was felt from behind him. The energy waves of his subordinates, each holding spears and swords upright.

But even a formation designed to hunt mystical creatures by the imperial family was useless without powerful figures to deploy it.

‘Why is no one…!’

The Deputy Commander fell into despair.

The human-faced spider’s bizarre face had already grown closer. Its approach was incredibly swift.

It had already raised its two front legs high, yet even with its remaining six legs, it left afterimages like a transformed immortal.

“It’s coming!”

The moment the two legs plunged down from the void.

Bang! Bang!… The powerful foot energy of the Imperial Guard masters erupted. The ground shattered and rose violently, marking the impact of the collision.

Everyone was flung back as if bounced. If they hadn’t taken the formation, blood would have spurted from the impact points.

They had withstood one strike. But that was all. The difference between masters and non-masters typically lies not in the power of the first strike but in the existence of continuous combinations.

Taking the life of someone whose posture has been broken in a single strike is not difficult, at least for a master.

It would be the same for the human-faced spider.

Whak—!

The Deputy Commander’s body spun like a whirlwind. Along with evasion, the bluish leg that brushed past his nose was more like the main beam of a hall.

A size that would make anyone’s spirit falter. Though he had luckily avoided the second strike, facing it alone was impossible.

The limit came at the third strike. Another of the spider’s legs began to plunge down. It was so swift that not even the sound of tearing through the air could be heard.

Looking up, the Deputy Commander’s eyes reflected the face of the human-faced spider, rattling its head and laughing.

As darkness was about to descend upon his vision.

Suddenly, a whitish light formed on the face of the human-faced spider that had been blocking the moonlight.

—…?

Something rapidly filling the massive eyes.

That sword-like elongated object was leaving a white tail as it crossed the void. It was truly just for an instant.

It raced in a straight line across the pitch-black night sky, gradually illuminating more widely, and then embedded itself directly into the human-faced spider’s eye.

Kwaaaang—!

Only after the strike landed did the roar sound.

Dozens of layers of shockwaves spread in concentric circles following the tail end of the reed that was as splendid as a precious sword with tassels.

Soon after, a cracking sound rang out from the human-faced spider’s skull.

Sapak.

A young man in a black robe descended onto that reed. The faint moonlight flowed down his pitch-black hair.