Chapter 436 – Conclusion

The absolute masters of the righteous martial world looked up toward the back of the viewing stands.

A figure with an immensely broad back, completely obscuring the entire sun, stood towering above them.

Even without any particular movement, as they gazed down, an aura of arrogance seemed to emanate from them.

The silent, intense sunlight of the summer day seemed to distort and tilt around this person.

It was a sight as if space itself were warped, caused by the force field of power enveloping the enigmatic figure. They had contained their presence and energy wave solely with the strength of their internal energy.

Ordinary eye techniques could not properly peer into this field. It was even difficult to perceive it at all.

Within the venue, only the sect leaders of the Nine Great Sects and Taoist High Sword stood as exceptions.

Thus, the crowd filling the viewing stands was preoccupied with searching for the whereabouts of Jeong Yeon-shin and the Sword Empress, who had completely shattered the sparring platform and vanished.

Only a very small minority paid attention to the movements of the righteous faction’s top masters.

“How can such a return to origin be possible…”

The sect leader of Qincheng Sect, Taoist Two Walls, let out a low groan. His long ears twitched slightly.

A crack appeared on the handsome face that had maintained a consistently cold expression until witnessing Jeong Yeon-shin’s single strike sword form.

Originally, “return to origin” refers to a supreme state where one appears ordinary after reaching the highest level of mastery.

-It’s been said that over twenty days have passed.

This enigmatic figure was different. They appeared utterly domineering.

They simply did not permit those of lesser stature to behold their form. It was a profoundly strange form of return to simplicity. It could even be called transcendence.

-I’ll say it again since some of you old folks might have grown deaf with age. My grandson is losing precious time due to the petty agreements of you old men. You must end this farce with Jin Xuan-chan.

The voice transmission repeatedly broke decorum.

No matter who this person was, they could not be more discourteous than this.

Furrowing his brow, Taoist Two Walls slowly opened his mouth.

Even the extraordinary level of this enigmatic figure’s cultivation could not silence the words of a sect leader of the Nine Great Sects. He sought to inquire about their background first.

“I have never heard of someone like you in the martial world. My knowledge may be limited, so I respectfully ask for your sect and name.”

-Who is this fellow?

A serious counterquestion came in response. It was not the answer Taoist Two Walls had hoped for.

It seemed as though the question was directed at the other sect leaders. Only then did he sense something peculiar and glance around.

Lady Lu Xian, belonging to the younger generation among them, merely raised one eyebrow slightly, appearing unaware of the enigmatic figure’s identity.

In contrast, Venerable Cypress Flame, the sect leader of Emei, was different. A rare expression of shock lingered in the wrinkled eyes of the nun who claimed dominance over Sichuan.

“Cypress Flame…?”

Taoist Two Walls hurriedly turned his head to the opposite side.

Two figures caught his eye. For a moment, he doubted his own vision.

Taoist High Sword, as always, maintained the mysterious appearance of a youthful Taoist boy, incessantly moving his lips, repeating the same mouth shape over and over.

It cannot be… It cannot be… It was not the recitation of a Taoist incantation like the Primordial Insight Mantra.

-Bald monk, why is there no answer? Your mouth seems perfectly intact.

Abbot Beomheo, seated in midair in a lotus position like the Buddha himself, merely gazed silently at the enigmatic figure.

After a long pause, the one-eyed, armless Shaolin Abbot slowly opened his mouth.

“I’m unsure whether to call this a virtuous act or an increase in worldly attachments. It seems my own training is lacking.”

-Every matter has its proper order. First, I must witness my grandson’s accomplishment. Only after that will I deal with the likes of you.

The enigmatic figure’s form dispersed in place. Simultaneously, the absolute masters of the righteous faction vanished from their spots as if following suit, dissolving into the air.

Their movements seemed to bore through space itself with their respective protective techniques. In the end, nothing remained in the viewing stands of the righteous faction’s leadership.

Only a few wisps of heat haze rose into the air.

* * *

“Slightly lacking.”

Jeong Yeon-shin thought to himself.

His opponent was a sect leader of the Nine Great Sects.

Moreover, she was a contemporary of his maternal grandfather, Ma Yeon-jeok, and temporarily wielded a body surpassing her prime.

Her experience and the depth of her internal energy perfectly complemented the thousand-year martial arts she had mastered. It could be said she had built a fortress with time itself.

Jeong Yeon-shin did not think he could secure victory over the Sword Empress with a single strike. If he could inflict significant damage with his first move, that alone would be sufficient.

Kwaaaaaa-!

A blade wind swallowed the surroundings like a storm.

He could see nothing but his opponent.

They had already torn through the area below the viewing stands like a cavern and shattered over a dozen walls in succession.

It seemed they had nearly destroyed all the walls of the vast Green Jade Sword Manor.

And now, the moment had come.

Kwaduk.

A crack spread across the widest and thickest outer wall. The Sword Empress’s back was pressed against the stone barrier. It was forced upon her.

Jeong Yeon-shin, maintaining the stance of charging forward with his sword extended long, pushed the Sword Empress against it.

At some point, she had gripped the tip of her sword with her other hand, using both hands to block the point of Remaining Thunder.

Her sword was no longer mere metal.

As she was relentlessly pushed back, the blade body that had ultimately shattered was replaced by a bluish energy extending from the sword’s base, taking the form of a blade long ago.

Its texture was incredibly hard.

“Sword Aura.”

It was as if starlight had been woven into the shape of a sword and densely compressed. Most martial artists, even if their skill permitted it, would not use such a technique.

Masters who had reached a high level of internal energy could achieve feats surpassing sword aura simply by infusing their blade with true energy through the technique of energy-imbued sword.

But for the Sword Empress, such common sense was irrelevant.

Her internal energy was on a different level.

“It’s not a form to be used recklessly.”

Heavenly Cascade.

Among the five forms now comprising the Thunder Annihilation Sword Style, alongside Azure Flame Solar Eclipse, it was the sword technique that consumed the most energy.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s gaze grew resolute. A tingling sensation crept up his entire body.

He thought to himself, should he press forward a bit more?

Kuluk.

Suddenly, the Sword Empress coughed up blood.

With a heavy cough, the blood that gushed out splashed onto her sword aura and immediately evaporated with a faint white smoke, hissing as it disappeared.

This was because, unlike her left hand supporting the blue sword surface, her body was not imbued with protective energy at that moment.

Diancang’s secret technique, Radiant Sun Celestial Shield.

The intangible internal energy barrier enveloping the Sword Empress’s entire body was as sturdy as her sword aura. It would likely require seven layers of Brilliant River to break through it.

There was also a method to deliver a tremendous internal shock, but at this point, landing an effective strike had become difficult.

“…Remarkable. Truly remarkable.”

Her voice was rough due to the lingering cough. With blood staining her lips, the Sword Empress locked eyes with Jeong Yeon-shin.

It was a somewhat eerie sight. She was no longer being pushed back in the struggle of strength to block the sword tip.

They were at close range.

Stone debris fell from the cracked wall behind her. Tuk, tuk… sounds that disturbed the silence.

The breaths of the two unparalleled swordmasters mingled slowly.

Their internal energy breathing was incredibly clear and prolonged. This was because the Sword Empress, who had been helplessly struck by the initial blow, was gradually reclaiming her own rhythm.

Her mastery of internal energy techniques far surpassed ordinary imagination, and as an absolute master of orthodox martial arts that shone brighter with age, her endurance reached the heavens. She evoked the image of a divine sword.

Jeong Yeon-shin felt a slight sense of intimidation.

In the midst of this, the Sword Empress slowly parted her lips.

“What is the name of this form?”

“It’s called Heavenly Cascade.”

“A moment felt like an eternity. Did you create it?”

“Yes.”

At Jeong Yeon-shin’s calm response, the Sword Empress’s unwrinkled forehead lifted slightly. Even her hair, disheveled and covering down to her neck, trembled faintly.

It was the ripple of internal energy flow. For unparalleled masters, internal energy moved instantly in accordance with their will.

“…Receiving a divine technique and unparalleled form unknown to the martial world is an honor. I sensed a strange sorrow in the sword form. It’s imbued with spirituality in a single strike.”

She continued slowly.

“I acknowledge it. You are a grandmaster who can discuss the fate of the martial world.”

Jeong Yeon-shin did not reply. He had only recently donned the purple robe. He wasn’t entirely sure what “discussing the fate of the martial world” precisely meant.

More tangible at this moment was the intangible pressure seeping from the Sword Empress’s entire being. The wall pressed against her back let out a kwaduk sound under the strain.

“However, the Mount Hua Agreement is a pact of my generation and those before me. I cannot be defeated by Tyrant Hero once again. Especially not by his bloodline… So, I will ask one thing.”

“What is it…?”

“I have clearly suffered a grave setback.”

Looking straight at Jeong Yeon-shin, the Sword Empress asked.

“Do you have another move prepared?”

At that instant, a deep resonant sound echoed.

The width of the sword aura blocking the tip of Remaining Thunder expanded in a split second.

Immediately, the Sword Empress twisted her wrist upward. In a flash, the blue-glowing sword surface flicked Remaining Thunder upward.

That small sword form stirred a translucent blade wind.

At that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin was already unleashing Brilliant River with his left hand.

Kwaaaaaaang!

At the midpoint between them.

Space distorted with the shockwave. The ground beneath them caved in circularly under the force of the energy wave that burst forth like a storm between the two.

The wall the Sword Empress had been pressed against not only collapsed but exploded backward, and fierce winds whipped up dust in all directions.

By then, the Sword Empress’s form had been flung back through the gap. She hadn’t fully neutralized the explosive energy of Brilliant River.

“She must have sustained significant internal injury from Heavenly Cascade.”

Jeong Yeon-shin immediately charged after her. Due to the intense sword wind, the palm technique had only struck shallowly. He needed to deliver a decisive blow.

It was at that moment.

Kung!

The Sword Empress planted her foot into the ground. The momentum of being flung back was transferred into her sword tip.

Sun-Piercing Sword Art. A chillingly immense true energy surged forth. It was the instant before the grandson of the Tyrant Hero reached her.

Suddenly, Jeong Yeon-shin felt an odd sensation. It was as if an arrow was aimed at his abdomen.

“Too late.”

The Sword Empress spoke.

A single streak of blue light was etched into the air.

A single thrust pierced halfway through one side of Jeong Yeon-shin’s abdomen before withdrawing. Blood sprayed out, yet there wasn’t even the sound of air being cleaved.

Only the sound of Jeong Yeon-shin staggering in midair and landing on the ground broke the silence. The thunderous roar of the sword strike erupted afterward.

By then, the Sword Empress had already drawn her sword back to her chest level, as if loading an arrow onto a bowstring. This time, the momentum was not calm.

Even though she had taken on the appearance of a youthful woman, her calloused grip, filled with scars, clutched the sword handle and vibrated fiercely.

The moment Jeong Yeon-shin, furrowing his brow, raised his sword from below with Judgement Qilin.

Kwaaaaaa-!

The long trajectory of sword aura ripped through the dust in a straight line. Another thrust pierced through the air. The atmosphere along the sword path trembled violently, creating a resonant hum.

It carried the subtlety of a heavy sword technique. Yet it was swifter than Judgement Qilin.

Jjeeeeong!

Jeong Yeon-shin’s right shoulder jolted backward. Immediately, streaks of blood sprayed into the air, following the blue afterimage of the sword aura that withdrew like lightning. His opponent was a sect leader of the Nine Great Sects.

The fact that his self-healing purple robe was repeatedly torn was insignificant. What mattered was that his form execution was interrupted before he could complete Judgement Qilin.

“So fast.”

Jeong Yeon-shin suppressed the pain with his will, his eyes flashing with a sharp blue light.

There was no time to be newly astonished or to calculate strategies. At this moment, the Sword Empress’s relentless strikes surged toward him.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s form dispersed in place.

Kwaaaaaak-!

A single strike pierced through the space where he had been and advanced forward. The colorless, radiant gleam in the Sword Empress’s eyes shifted sideways like a swift sword.

Jeong Yeon-shin, evading with a whirlwind, swung his sword while still in rotation. The word “fast” was an understatement.

Thunder Annihilation Sword Style, Nine Verdant Rivers. The sword strike’s energy wave, charged with fierce vibration, tore through the Sword Empress’s waist sash as it passed.

Had she not retreated a single step in that instant, it would have ripped through her abdominal muscles entirely.

That was the beginning.

Hwoong! Jjejejeong! Kwaaaaang!

The two continued a sequence of evasion and collision. Their afterimages overlapped and pierced through each other repeatedly.

Each time the blue gleam of sword aura flashed, the pure white trajectory of Remaining Thunder either coiled around it, suppressed it, or fiercely repelled it.

The maxim of the Three Impossibilities Sword, claiming three things were impossible, did not apply to Jeong Yeon-shin, who had created his own divine techniques. Nor did the Sword Empress seem to find this strange.

They simply added more sword scars to each other’s bodies.

Each time, the ground shook. The air was filled with dozens of layers of translucent ripples. Before one shockwave could fade, another wave from a sword form erupted.

“Refreshing.”

Jeong Yeon-shin thought absently.

He could see the opponent’s sword tip. The point created by the Sword Empress’s thrust was clearly captured.

In the past, he would have sought a method to counter it.

Not now. Though his entire body was now drenched in blood, Jeong Yeon-shin advanced without hesitation, fueled by the exhilaration born from the supreme state of martial arts.

With accumulated battle experience and innate instinct, he discerned the moment to deliver the final strike. The difference was immense.

“This is the spot.”

He recalled the night sky under which he had washed the Tang Family twins. Bathing in the blue sword light with his entire body, he whispered inwardly, “Come to me now.”

Soon, a faint white cluster of starlight enveloped his entire form.

The moment the Sword Empress, wielding her sword before him, vanished like a mirage, and reappeared at his side, planting her foot to unleash the final form of the Sun-Piercing Sword Art, Hou Yi Shoots the Sun , simultaneously.

Jjeeeeeeong-!

A tremendous explosion erupted from Jeong Yeon-shin’s side. His protective energy shattered into fragments, spewing shards of light.

Yet, Jeong Yeon-shin’s flesh was not pierced. It was as if invisible hands had blocked the sword tip once.

As the Sword Empress’s eyebrows lifted while extending her sword.

Jeong Yeon-shin broke through the scattering shards of radiant light and surged into her embrace.

Using a footwork he had once devised after deep contemplation in bed, he pushed the inside of the Sword Empress’s leg outward.

At the moment his protective energy shattered, the force of eight-layered Brilliant River shone brilliantly from his left hand, and with a fiercely trembling left palm, Jeong Yeon-shin gripped the center of the Sword Empress’s abdominal muscles.

Finally.

“…!”

In an instant, the force exploded. It was accompanied by a vibration beyond the realm of audible sound.

The ground sank as if struck by a meteor, and the Sword Empress flew back a great distance through the explosion before crashing into a massive boulder with a kwaang.

Her protective energy was completely shattered.

Amidst the unbearable shock jarring her internals, the Diancang sect leader’s eyes briefly lost focus.

Yet, she did not close her eyes. Or rather, she couldn’t.

As the conclusion of the fierce sparring match came swiftly, someone emerged.

The pink robe of a man approaching Jeong Yeon-shin tickled her field of vision.

In addition to the shock born from an unbelievable defeat, it was a sight that evoked yet another astonishment.

In the end.

Even as she lost consciousness, the Sword Empress could not close her eyes.