Chapter 418 – Heavenly Silk Robe (3)

The Imperial Guard Deputy Commander’s eyes widened.

At this moment, only two things were reflected in his eyes: the leather shoes of the young man standing on the reed and the black trouser hem flowing down like ebony.

This was because the Deputy Commander was looking up from beneath the massive body of the human-faced spider. Wasn’t he on the verge of death, impaled by the spider’s legs?

Nevertheless, he recognized who it was. This was because he had assessed the intruder’s physique with the imperial secret eye technique.

Desolate Fortress’ Radiant Demon Wing Leader. At this moment, he looked not like the imperial sword but like an immortal who might emerge from the Nine Great Sects in the mountains. His bearing was like that.

‘Mind-controlling sword, Sword-Riding Technique, Internal Weight Technique, Void Step, Flying over grass…!’

[TL Note- Flying over grass was translated as Grass-soaring flight in chapter 225]

The techniques that Lotus Nezha had unleashed in a single flow as he struck down toward the human-faced spider.

To the eyes of the Deputy Commander, who was born into a fairly common noble clan and had learned the imperial eye technique, these traces were visible. The spectacle of supreme techniques that Lotus Nezha had poured out as a single move.

He had launched the reed imbued with powerful energy using the Mind-controlling sword technique to embed it in the human-faced spider’s eye, then immediately burst forth with the Internal Weight Technique to drive shockwaves into the mystical creature’s skull.

Afterward, the sight of him lightly stepping on the reed with his supreme movement technique evoked the tale of Bodhidharma crossing the river on a single reed.

He was standing firm to prevent the human-faced spider from doing anything about the reed embedded in its eye.

A continuous flow that only some immortals from the Nine Sects who use martial arts for cultivating the Way might demonstrate. Without profound orthodox internal energy, such wonders couldn’t be performed with a mere reed.

Even then, the mystical quality would need to reach its extreme. Tyrannical or ordinary mental imagery would not only fail to strengthen the reed but would crush it.

‘How could anyone speak of treason regarding such a person?’

The Deputy Commander thought amid the chaos.

The Beijing he protected was a city where the influence of Taoist sects like Wudang and Mount Hua was far greater than that of Desolate Fortress.

While the capital had no need for the Divine Sword Group for its security, countless Beijing nobles were deeply immersed in Taoism, which Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, had revered.

Most studied Confucianism as the foundation of the country while cultivating their minds with Taoist meditation techniques.

Naturally, they could only admire those who had deeply mastered orthodox martial arts.

The immortals of the Nine Sects, like the legendary sword immortal Lü Dongbin who was said to fly on his sword, were examples of this.

The divine presence of Lotus Nezha Lightning Genius was no different.

At least, that’s how it appeared to the Deputy Commander. That was why he was now blankly looking up at Jeong Yeon-shin.

“Why are you standing still? We must evacuate the common people.”

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s words fell.

By now, the human-faced spider was noticeably trembling not only in its two front legs raised high but also in the six legs firmly planted on the ground.

The leg hair undulating like heat haze along the thickness comparable to the pillars of a decent palace hall.

It was impossible to tell whether this was the return of light before death or if it was gathering energy for one last rampage.

The Deputy Commander immediately turned around.

And then he paused.

This was because he saw countless people lined up along the ruined path.

The family members and servants of Beijing’s powerful figures, and the high officials themselves, had stopped fleeing and were standing with their heads blankly raised.

They were taking in both the Radiant Demon Wing Leader and the human-faced spider at once. The extraordinary temperament characteristic of Beijing people had completely vanished from their faces.

“What are you all doing?!”

The Deputy Commander shouted at his subordinates. This was because the behavior of the Imperial Guard military officials was no different from that of the common people.

Did they think the battle was already over? No matter how powerful the Lotus Nezha from the north might be, his opponent was an incomprehensible terror that had briefly plunged Beijing into fear.

It was then.

Kuguung—

Suddenly, a fierce resonance arose.

It came from behind. When the Deputy Commander turned around, he saw the human-faced spider, which had twisted its massive face to the side, sprawled in place.

Its head was bizarrely tilted, mouth wide open. In front of it, the Radiant Demon Wing Leader was standing on the ground, lifting the reed with his hand.

It was certain that the human-faced spider’s lifeline had been cut. It was truly anticlimactic.

‘My concern was unfounded. They say the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader is a master of short decisive battles…!’

Beijing is a place where rumors spread quickly. He knew that the Radiant Demon Wing Leader had defeated opponents of higher rank than himself multiple times.

If that was true in one-on-one life-or-death duels, what more could be said about the effectiveness of a surprise attack? The Deputy Commander slowly raised both hands together.

As an official, he was making a martial salute to a martial artist.

“Thank you. This could have turned into a bloodbath… The Imperial Guard has incurred a debt to you that will be difficult to repay.”

“Was there only one?”

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s expression changed very subtly, but at first glance, he seemed somewhat perplexed. The corners of the Deputy Commander’s mouth rose faintly.

“You’ve seen Beijing’s shame. Embarrassingly, yes.”

“That’s fortunate.”

The Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s answer was simple. His following words were also brief.

“Then I can do this.”

Puhwak—!

As he swung the reed once, the human-faced spider’s dark rear end split open.

While white mucus poured out from the rear end that had spread wide open to the left and right, about four cocoons wrapped in white spider silk were revealed.

Only then did formless waves of energy spread outward. They were all originating from within the cocoons.

It appeared that people with deep internal energy were wrapped in the human-faced spider’s silk.

This sinister mystical creature had not eaten the masters in one bite but had intended to slowly absorb their energy like inner pills.

“This energy wave… Grand Commander?! Even the Minister of War…”

As soon as the Deputy Commander’s words fell, the Imperial Guard military officials moved.

They climbed onto the massive body of the human-faced spider, giving the Radiant Demon Wing Leader eye greetings from the side.

They quickly exposed the cocoons and began tearing apart their surfaces with both hands.

The energy waves of the Imperial Guard hand technique emitted a humming vibration. The Deputy Commander directed them while continuously glancing at the Radiant Demon Wing Leader.

He knew that Beijing had not been kind to him.

Yet someone who had been in the Forbidden City had flown over in one bound and slain the human-faced spider.

And then he showed no particular sentiment about it. As if he had routinely accomplished a task he had been handling all along.

‘Divine Sword Group…’

Lightning Genius Jeong Yeon-shin now represented them, and it would not be an exaggeration to say so. That would mean that the martial artists of Desolate Fortress were also racing throughout the world with the same expression and conduct as the Radiant Demon Wing Leader.

If that were the case, they could be called a group of chivalrous heroes. Had Beijing taken their efforts too much for granted?

“Deputy Commander! The Grand Commander is breathing!”

Through the gap in the torn spider silk, a middle-aged man’s slightly bruised face was revealed. The Deputy Commander, who had glanced at the Commander, silently received the moonlight pouring down.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

The incident was quickly resolved.

The Imperial Guard military officials took the lead in removing the spider silk from the cocoons, and the high officials inside fainted again after hearing that it was the Radiant Demon Wing Leader who had saved them.

All of them had merely been weakened in energy and had not died instantly.

Meanwhile, the military officials extracted the inner pill from the human-faced spider and presented it to Jeong Yeon-shin. They were experienced in this area.

“Is it over?”

“The Radiant Demon Wing Leader killed the human-faced spider with a single reed!”

“Don’t push!”

People began to surround the Radiant Demon Wing Leader with expressions suggesting they had witnessed a great spectacle, or perhaps feeling some shame or admiration.

But Jeong Yeon-shin was looking elsewhere.

At the left edge of the crowd.

There was a figure half-hidden at a corner of the wall turning into an alley, watching him.

The figure had extremely sharp eyes, not so much hostile toward Jeong Yeon-shin as suggesting someone who had cultivated a keen energy throughout their life.

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly parted his lips.

“What are you looking at?”

“…I wasn’t trying to pick a fight.”

The small figure said.

And then slowly revealed herself from behind the wall.

As if she had deliberately been concealing her energy waves like an assassin and only now released them, the surrounding people belatedly recoiled in terror and retreated in disarray.

It was a woman carrying three blades. One at her waist in an orange sash that smoothly wrapped her abdomen, and two crossed and tied on her back.

Her hair, braided in two strands, constantly struck against the handles of the two great blades. This was because the night wind was strong.

She appeared to be about twenty-six years old. Her sharply protruding eyes were striking.

“I’m from the Peng family. My courtesy name is Ling Lu, and my given name is Ye.”

Peng Ye. Night of the Peng family.

Jeong Yeon-shin had heard of her. This was because she was quite famous even among the Eight Great Clans.

The fact that there were more than a few people around who were repeating her name proved this.

She was famous for her alias, the Blade Marquis. Peng Family Blade Marquis. Recently, she had also been grouped with Jeong Yeon-shin, Invincible of the Ming Cult, and the Seventh Apostle as the “Five Outstanding Figures of the Ming Dynasty.”

This meant she possessed exceptionally outstanding martial arts at a young age.

‘She doesn’t seem as good as her.’

Jeong Yeon-shin inadvertently recalled the Seventh Apostle and then erased her from his mind. If he let his thoughts run free, there was no telling where they might lead.

[TL Note- Where it might lead? I wonder too.]

The red eyes that had lingered in his mind for a long time bothered him, so he first blurted out whatever came to mind.

“Strange name.”

“Yours is stranger.”

Peng Ye retorted casually. Meanwhile, her sharp eyes were thoroughly scanning Jeong Yeon-shin’s entire body.

It was a gaze Jeong Yeon-shin had experienced many times before.

“You know me. Have you come as an enemy?”

“No. That doesn’t make sense. Why would I cross swords with a monster who killed both the Zhuge Clan Head and the Murong Clan Head? I’m not a half-wit.”

“Then?”

“I wanted to see you once.”

“…?”

“Our family will also participate in the Mount Hua Agreement. It’s a favor bestowed by the Nine Sects, you could say. If things go well, our family head will face you… I thought I might as well see your body in advance to help our family head.”

“Isn’t the Peng family head your father?”

“I was never raised as his child. Even his position as family head is precarious now.”

Peng Ye muttered bitterly.

But that was none of Jeong Yeon-shin’s concern. Wasn’t the Peng family the one that had contributed to the formation of the dragnet by striking the Divine Sword Group Leader from behind?

Although he hadn’t yet properly heard the full story from Yong Hui-myeong, he certainly couldn’t treat her with goodwill.

Jeong Yeon-shin recalled Wudang’s High Sword’s request to do so in the martial competition, even if it meant spilling blood.

“…I’ll let you live for now. In the martial competition, your head will fly from my sword.”

“From you? Why? I’ll probably be facing someone of Black rank.”

Peng Ye tilted her head.

Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t answer. He just stared at her blankly. Someday, he would show her the hem of the black robe that had always been his pride, buried in the summer night.

A moment of silence passed.

“Hmm?”

“……”

“No way?”

There was nothing to say to an enemy. Jeong Yeon-shin ultimately did not answer. Soon, the Blade Marquis of the Peng family’s face turned somewhat pale.

***

The Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City.

Sunlight poured through the ceiling that had been pierced in a straight line.

Because the broken ceiling strangely formed a sword-like sharp void, the sunlight falling toward the great hall was also strangely sharp.

Like the air filling the Hall of Supreme Harmony at this moment.

“We acknowledge the Radiant Demon Wing Leader’s merit! We cannot do otherwise!”

“Then what is the problem?”

“Look there, look at that! He destroyed the ceiling of the Hall of Supreme Harmony right in front of His Highness the Crown Prince! How can we give the purple robe to someone so disrespectful! It’s as if we’ve demonstrated to the Forbidden City the danger of the Divine Sword Group’s Black-ranks who recently gathered without any particular report!”

“What nonsense. You have completely failed to grasp His Highness the Crown Prince’s intentions. If the Radiant Demon Wing Leader had not leaped out from there, that would have been when he proved unworthy of the purple rank. He prioritized the people’s livelihood over his own advancement. He deserves to wear the Heavenly Silk Robe.”

“He’s only seventeen years old! How can we carelessly give him such power without knowing how he will wield it?”

“Hasn’t he already completed all his missions as a Black-rank without failure? In terms of skill, he is already beyond Black-rank.”

The civil and military officials were divided into two sides in opposition.

It was different from before.

The Imperial Guard Commander and Deputy Commander, who stood closest to the highest seat, along with the Chief Ceremonial Eunuch, defended the Radiant Demon Wing Leader.

On the opposite side were the skinny scholars of the Hanlin Academy and some stubborn high officials from powerful families.

The discussion was not over.

In cases of matters equivalent to state affairs, the Emperor would not listen unless the ministers’ opinions were unanimous.

Even if many acknowledged the Radiant Demon Wing Leader, his promotion to purple rank could still be delayed.

“How messy.”

The Crown Prince, sprawled diagonally in his red metal chair, was staring blankly at the armrest.

The memorials to be presented to the Emperor were placed on the table in scroll form.

Suddenly, he picked up and unfolded one of them. Like when he occasionally suffered from madness and hurled abuse at his ministers, the Crown Prince dared to covet what belonged to his father, the Emperor.

There was no particular reason. The Radiant Demon Wing Leader had fulfilled his duty, while the Crown Prince was still in a position where he could do few things on his own.

Rustle—

“Your Highness!”

“No matter if you are serving as regent, His Majesty will soon return…!”

“Be quiet.”

The Crown Prince said. And then he completely unrolled the scroll marked “For His Majesty’s Personal Review, Acting Sect Leader of Wudang.”

The Crown Prince suddenly turned his gaze toward the table once more. The words written on the scrolls appeared again.

[Mount Hua Sect Leader Lu Xian], [Tang Clan Leader Yun Hwang], [Shaolin Abbot], [Emei Venerable Cypress], [Qingcheng Two Walls]…

And there was [Peng Family Wen-ji]. Great Blade Hegemon Peng Wen-ji. None other than the Peng family head.

“He has accumulated great virtue. He has transcended a mere chivalrous hero.”

The Crown Prince, widely known as the ruffian of the Forbidden City, expressed admiration, which was extremely rare for him in recent years. He couldn’t help it.

The names engraved on the memorials, if gathered, would create a martial world that even the imperial family could not disregard.

“Listen.”

He continued slowly.

“It would be best if you all shut up now.”