Chapter 429 – Grandmaster (3)

The death of the Peng Family Head was an accidental occurrence. A sudden life-and-death duel that erupted in completely unprepared circumstances. It was no situation for formalities.

The formal sparring of the Mount Hua Agreement was different.

It took place precisely at the appointed time. And it was exceedingly grand, thanks to the support of many wealthy lay disciples of the Nine Great Sects.

At the center of Green Jade Sword Manor.

There existed a vast sparring ground. It was a yellowish-red brick platform that appeared like marble, thanks to the meticulous work of austere swordsmen who had shaped its edges.

Around its perimeter, five or six layers of viewing platforms and canopies formed a large circle, and beyond them, the manor’s tall, pure white walls vigorously reflected the sunlight.

All around.

Every place where human eyes could reach was crowded with people.

It was truly a sea of humanity. Some were saying this was the largest-scale sparring conference in nearly fifty years.

“Wudang’s Palm Pheonix…!”

“Shaolin’s Eighteen Arhats!”

“Aren’t those monks the Four Diamond Kings…? I never expected to see the Six Precepts in my lifetime….”

“Over there, the swordsmen of Diancang Sect!”

“Six Kings Martial Lineage! The Six Kings Martial Lineage has arrived too!”

Each person displayed an excited demeanor, and their gestures were even tinged with anticipation.

All manner of renowned figures from the righteous martial world had gathered. Those who had entered the manor as participants continually made a fuss like spectators.

Their numbers reached several hundred. Some whispered among themselves while glancing at Jeong Yeon-shin seated in the viewing area opposite the sparring ground.

The gazes directed at the newly appointed Purple Rank were laden with fear, doubt, and reverence.

It was literally a sea of people.

A place filled only with illustrious martial artists.

It should have been a space impossible to control, but when a young Taoist suddenly sat down in the seat of honor on the platform, fluttering his white Taoist robe, the atmosphere settled heavily.

The presence of High Sword of Wudang gently pressed down on the righteous martial world.

“Everyone, please be silent.”

High Sword said.

He flashed a wrinkled smile like an old man toward Jeong Yeon-shin seated to his right. It seemed to be due to the incident with the Peng Family Head.

But that was all. High Sword was a figure of the same generation as the Tyrant Hero, a martial god who had experienced the tumultuous martial world for decades.

He did not separately blame the newly appointed Purple Rank. He simply turned his gaze toward the person seated to his left, who stood as the leader of the Peng Family.

“Is the Peng Family prepared?”

“Yes.”

Peng Family Blade Marquis nodded slightly.

Her limbs remained elongated, as long as Jeong Yeon-shin’s. The miraculous divine power of the Heavenly Indian Yoga Technique was prominently displayed.

Sitting in the midst of renowned martial figures with her lengthened legs casually crossed, her demeanor didn’t seem awkward at all.

No one specifically criticized Peng Family Blade Marquis’s conduct. The martial artists seated around her merely showed somewhat uncomfortable expressions.

As the future head of the Peng Family, having lost her father—even if it was a justified life-and-death duel—these were conditions sufficient to turn the viewing area under the canopy into the inner chambers of the Peng Family.

This was a place where the noble could resolve their grievances.

“We’re not late, I see.”

The voice came from behind Jeong Yeon-shin, one step up.

A thick yet clear fragrance wafted strongly. It accompanied the rustling sound of a robe settling down.

The plum blossom scent originating from the true energy of divine skill and the extremely faint presence of an immortal’s lightness technique. Without even turning around, one could tell who it was.

“Excellent. Will the Sect Leader of Mount Hua also participate in witnessing this match?”

“Yes, gladly.”

Perhaps because it was an official occasion? Unlike private settings, there was a certain formality.

Jeong Yeon-shin put the conversation between High Sword and Lu Xian in the background. The absolute powers of the martial world coming to watch a contest between martial lineages was a secondary issue.

His somewhat tense gaze now fell upon the young martial artist who had stepped onto the sparring ground. A White Rank warrior named Ma Woong, from the Desolate Ma Family.

As a second-generation disciple who once sided with Ma Se-in’s mother, he had tried to destroy his own dantian the moment he realized his mistake upon seeing the Tyrant Hero who had undergone rejuvenation.

Jeong Yeon-shin had stopped him. He had heard that Ma Woong was Ma Se-in’s bodyguard and a brotherly figure. At that time, he had thought of his deceased eldest brother and second brother, Jeong Jung-san.

He didn’t want to deprive Ma Se-in of the familial warmth he himself had never known.

‘They say he’s learned the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique.’

Now it was said that on the wall of Ma Woong’s quarters hung a picture of a magpie bridge formed by crows and magpies. Along with a kite bearing the pattern of a hawk. It was the oral formula of the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique.

It was a direct transcription of the passage where Jeong Yeon-shin had envied the Qixi kite-flying among his brothers. Similar to how Wudang disciples always kept the Taiji symbol close.

Aside from Jeong Yeon-shin’s bed breaking on the night he heard those words from Ma Se-in, Ma Woong was a warrior who had faithfully mastered the condensed version of the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique in his own way.

But his opponent was not favorable.

“I am Peng Jun. Due to my mastery of our family’s secret Five Tiger Severing Gate Blade, various martial brothers of the Way have bestowed upon me the title of Great Tiger Blade.”

A man wearing a yellow martial uniform and carrying a blade bowed with a cupped fist salute toward Ma Woong. There was discipline in his gesture of raising both hands to chest level, but respect was not evident.

Rather, there was a sense of hostility. Despite his mannerisms not deviating an inch from the propriety of a prestigious family.

He was said to be a rather famous second-generation disciple.

He appeared to be three or four years older than Ma Woong, with imposing features and a robust physique.

Already spreading formless energy waves with his entire body, those power fluctuations faintly colored the floor of the sparring ground.

“Ma Woong. I have learned the simplified version of the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique.”

Ma Woong barely managed a perfunctory cupped fist salute before immediately drawing the sword from his waist. Only that movement was concise and picturesque.

Jeong Yeon-shin, watching Ma Woong from the platform, inwardly clicked his tongue. Without him or Ma Se-in, there seemed to be little future for the external family’s etiquette.

‘Well, when the upper stream is close to a waterfall…’

As he recalled Tyrant Hero Ma Yeon-jeok and Harbinger of Death Ma Jin.

Beside him, High Sword spoke.

[Desolate Fortress and the Peng Family… Since Purple Rank Radiant Demon Wing Leader has already defeated the late Peng Family Head, today’s sparring will take place over three matches. The two people standing on the sparring ground may now begin.]… A voice that resounded widely.

Tremendous internal energy was imbued in that voice. It was incomparably superior to the internal energy speech of the Peng Family Head.

Jeong Yeon-shin recognized that High Sword’s internal energy cultivation was clearly superior to his own, but at this moment, his concern was directed toward Ma Woong standing below the platform.

It was because the Peng Family pebble called Small Cat Blade was emitting killing intent.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s brows furrowed.

‘Unrefined energy… Has he been fed elixirs?’

The energy accumulation of the Peng Family miscreant was overwhelming Ma Woong.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

It was decided in an instant.

Peng Jun was victorious. He had overwhelmed the Lightning Genius Martial Lineage, recently renowned for swift, decisive battles, with even faster blade techniques.

Ma Woong was helplessly pushed back by the shadows of the Five Tiger Severing Gate Blade technique and fell outside the sparring ground.

That was fortunate.

Because the intent had been to kill. Although Peng Jun never dared to look up at his mortal enemy Jeong Yeon-shin, he drove Ma Woong relentlessly as if trying to vent on his opponent the resentment for losing their family head.

The blade energy was extremely fierce. Had Peng Family Blade Marquis not flicked her finger at the right moment, he might have jumped down from the sparring ground to plunge his blade.

‘He would have made excuses about being carried away by the excitement afterward, I’m sure…’

Peng Ye, glancing at Jeong Yeon-shin, inwardly shook her head. The family’s blade warriors shouldn’t be allowed to run wild at will.

After the incident against the Divine Sword Group Leader’s Heavenly Net, a bloodbath had nearly occurred, but the Nine Great Sects had mediated to create this occasion. She already surmised the truth.

‘We just need to win. There’s no need to further agitate them.’

Peng Ye gestured toward the Peng Family contingent occupying one side of the training ground. It meant to prepare a blade warrior corresponding to Desolate Fortress’s Blue Rank.

Meanwhile, Peng Jun and Ma Woong, who had bowed with cupped fists toward the leadership viewing area where she, High Sword, Jeong Yeon-shin, and Lu Xian were seated, descended from the sparring ground.

Ma Woong’s expression was stained with devastation.

[I declare one victory for the Peng Family.]

High Sword’s youthful voice resonated deeply. Green Jade Sword Manor was instantly filled with cheers.

Regardless of the grudge between the two great factions, the crowd had broadened their horizons through the techniques of promising second-generation disciples.

‘That’s it.’

Peng Ye tightly curled her long fingers.

The balance between Desolate Fortress and the Peng Family had been equalized. The monster of Purple Rank killing the family head and their family’s second-generation disciple defeating a White Rank were no different. This is the Mount Hua Agreement sparring conference.

The crowd’s reaction was favorable.

“The history accumulated by prestigious great sects bears fruit in the hands of second-generation disciples. Though the Lightning Genius Martial Lineage is famous for its swift techniques, isn’t the ferocity of the Five Tiger Severing Gate Blade well-established even in the imperial court?”

“That’s a flawed statement. Isn’t Ma Woong also a second-generation disciple of the Desolate Ma Family? Although a collateral branch…”

“Desolate Fortress isn’t the issue. If we consider individuals, Radiant Demon Wing Leader would contend for the world’s finest of the next generation alongside Yelu Zhen. This sparring simply revealed… the limitations of a new martial lineage.”

“As expected of the Five Tiger Severing Gate Blade…!”

The Peng Family is an aristocratic family from the Northern Capital Region.

Even with the death of the family head, their influence doesn’t simply vanish.

When they display a manner befitting their reputation, the heroes of the martial world are bound to applaud.

This is what Peng Ye aims for. Minimizing the backlash from the affairs set in motion by the deceased family head. Today, she will once again announce the presence of the Peng Family.

Her intention was to make the martial world newly recognize that the Peng noble clan had been a pillar of the martial world for hundreds of years, and to make the martial world awkwardly accept the anger of Desolate Fortress, which would inevitably remain forever as outsiders to the martial world.

[Next.]

Soon, others ascended to the sparring ground.

A middle-aged man who strikingly resembled Peng Jun, and a one-eyed swordsman of the elf clan wearing a blue hood.

Giant Strength Brilliant Blade Peng Moon-il, Peng Jun’s father, and Blue-Eyed Demon Sword Cheong Myeong of Radiant Demon Wing.

As Peng Moon-il silently unfastened his blade case with an air of indifference to his son’s victory, Cheong Myeong merely nodded his head toward the seat of honor with a faint smile on his lips.

‘Radiant Demon Wing’s Demon Sword…’

Peng Ye slightly furrowed her brow. She had a bad feeling.

[Begin.]

Blade light and sword light surged skyward, emitting a blue radiance.

 Their exchange also didn’t take long. This was because Cheong Myeong drew dozens of streams of blood while tracing a large circle around Peng Moon-il as an axis.

It was like a sword dance. Those movements were surprisingly swift and ethereal.

Rotating sword strikes of the Whirling Mirror that trapped the opponent, with movements like lightly treading through a forest.

There was no sense of crisis whatsoever.

The movement technique Wind Body. It was said to be the lightness skill of the Lightning Genius Martial Lineage.

[Desolate Fortress has claimed two victories. The two may now descend.]

Peng Family blade warriors supported the bloodied and unconscious Peng Moon-il as they descended.

In contrast, Cheong Myeong sheathed his sword picturesquely and leisurely disappeared into the crowd. Leaving behind bloodstains with each step.

It was truly like a storm.

It was hard to tell how time had passed.

The martial arts of the Lightning Genius Martial Lineage, as if being chased by something, and the blade techniques of the Peng Family, seeking to suppress that status with history. The two rounds of sparring literally passed like lightning.

“……”

The venue fell quiet.

The remaining match.

If Desolate Fortress wins, they claim a complete victory at three to one. If the Peng Family wins, it ends in a draw.

Suddenly, the sound of cicadas filled the venue. The sunlight fell heavily, and the bright midday air shimmered turbulently.

Amid such ceaseless movements of nature that stood out particularly.

Peng Ye slowly rose from her seat.

‘…A draw is possible.’

Swish.

The moment she moved her foot slightly in place, she was already standing on the sparring ground. She had openly demonstrated her achievement in lightness technique.

She then drew both blades that had been crossed and tied behind her back and thrust them into the ground.

Thud!

“The Peng Family!”

Peng Ye shouted with a raw voice.

“Is a family that twice blocked the advance of the Khitan tribe who broke through the Northern Army. Our ancestors suffered damage tantamount to familial extermination in that process. We even lost the previous family head while standing against the invasion of the Mount Tian’s Demonic Cult. All of this happened within the past two hundred years. As such, our family had no leisure to privately subject the common people to forced labor, and therefore, we honed our blades entirely for this land and the martial world!”

The accomplishments of the Peng Family were briefly listed. It was the customary self-praise often recited before sparring matches where family honor was at stake.

But at this moment, there was a powerful spirit in Peng Ye’s voice as it scraped through the air.

In contrast, her gaze remained cool. She was not intoxicated by her own words. Only the Peng Family blade warriors and some in the crowd were swept up by those words.

“I wish to showcase the martial arts I have thus honed to the martial brothers of the world here today.”

Boom!

“Let Desolate Fortress speak!”

Peng Ye, drawing her two blades with a gesture as magnificent as a great general, shouted toward Jeong Yeon-shin.

“Who will receive my blade techniques!”

The momentum was tremendous. The crowd surrounding the sparring ground began to roar with thunderous cheers. It was a deafening sound that made the sparring ground tremble.

The gazes of some in the audience, well-versed in rumors, turned to one side.

The black-robed youth sitting with his eyes closed and hands resting on his knees, White Qilin Namgung Hwa-shin.

Expectation rose on the faces of the crowd.

Few were unaware of the sparring between Lightning Genius and Azure Qilin. The rumor that Lightning Genius had created a sword technique to honor a worthy opponent at the Hanzhong Martial Alliance meeting was also very famous.

Judgment Qilin. The sword initiation blooming in the hands of White Qilin Namgung Hwa-shin, who couldn’t learn the Emperor Sword Form due to blood lineage limitations? It would be a sight that would make Dengfeng County buzz for quite some time.

“……”

But Namgung Hwa-shin did not rise. He merely sat in place with a grave face.

The Heaven-Subduing Sword, said to have been taken by Lotus Nezha from Namgung’s First Sword, was not at his waist. There was no sign of an aura resembling the Emperor Sword Form either.

Doubtful words began to flow from among the crowd.

“I really don’t understand what’s happening.”

“Ah…”

“I understand, but…”

“Illegitimate, renunciation, Desolate Fortress, Namgung Family, Azure Qilin. He’s dabbled in everything halfheartedly… but in the end, hasn’t overcome anything.”

It was a gathering of illustrious figures. No one sent any jeers. Some just clicked their tongues.

“So the Lightning Genius Martial Lineage… hasn’t risen to the rank of supreme masters yet?”

“How regrettable. We’ll have to wait about ten years. Or perhaps in just a year, Blue-Eyed Demon Sword might don the black robe.”

“In any case, it seems not now.”

“What happens in this case? Did Desolate Fortress intend to compete with just three people? They should send someone, anyone. After all, the Mount Hua Agreement is a clash between all divisions of the sects…”

Suddenly, Peng Ye stomped her foot with a thud. She consumed the commotion in the venue with an even greater impact sound.

“Does Desolate Fortress intend to render my blade draw in vain!”

An overwhelming spirit swept through the venue. Soon, the gaze of the audience moved toward the seat of honor. The place where the Purple Rank of Desolate Fortress sat with a composed expression.

At that moment.

CRASH!

It was from the side of the sparring ground. The wall of Green Jade Sword Manor completely collapsed.

The force behind the impact was so powerful that smoke rising from between the piles of stones collectively shot up into the sky.

“What…!”

Those who had been with their backs to the wall swiftly turned their bodies.

A pitch-black afterimage brushed past them. It was accompanied by an incredibly fierce wind.

The clothing of the crowd violently fluttered. It was as if they had been hit by a typhoon.

Whoosh!

It took but an instant for the figure who had thus intruded to reach the center of the sparring ground. A black-clad person looked down at Peng Ye from three steps in front of her.

“……”

His presence was weighty yet tyrannical.

Even his appearance was so. A face that would have been handsome was marred with scars, and from one sleeve, instead of human skin, blackish metal protruded, absorbing the sunlight.

“You are…?”

As bewilderment clouded Peng Ye’s eyes, who had been rebuking Desolate Fortress.

High Sword, sitting in the viewing area, wore a flustered expression. The aged immortal of Wudang seemed to know the intruder.

“If the crowd was the issue, you could have jumped over, so why break down the innocent wall?”

High Sword reprimanded. Only then did the black-clad person slowly open his mouth.

“I’m not the Gentleman of the Sunlit Clouds, so why would I climb walls?”

“What?”

“I was quite rushed. I couldn’t possibly allow the Peng Family an undeserved victory by default, could I? Young one, you may begin.”

That last remark.

It was directed at Peng Family Blade Marquis. Both his speech and demeanor were close to being utterly shameless.

It could be said to be only slightly less than the newly appointed Purple Rank when he had killed the Peng Family Head.

Peng Ye’s gaze sharpened.

“A retired has-been, not knowing your place…”

This was no longer a place for formalities. Blood vessels bulged on Peng Ye’s hands as she raised her two blades above her head.

It was accompanied by a piercing sound that tore through the atmosphere. Following her hands, two trajectories were etched like lightning.

One blade, two cuts. She intended to completely sever both shoulders of her opponent from close range.

Even the initial move spread a roaring sound like the cry of a tiger. Without even time to blink, the two blades struck downward.

In that instant.

The black-clad person’s two hands deflected the twin blades upward.

CLANG!

The angle of his hands was slanted. The explosive sound of the deflection was somehow suppressed. Subsequently, the eyes of the audience surrounding the sparring ground widened.

“…!”

Peng Family Blade Marquis’s twin blades, which had naturally risen, returned to her scabbards. It was as if he had sheathed the blades on her behalf.

It was an humiliation that would lead a blade warrior of peak skill to the abyss.

“Full-body energy emission. It’s the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique.”

The black-clad person briefly uttered.

[TL Note- and the wall breaking family tradition continues.]