Chapter 518 – Sunset (9)

At the moment when the three Divine Sword Group Leaders were closely examining the protective energy Precious Radiance Star Heaven.

Jeong Yeon-shin prepared for a great shock.

Even with moderation in his hands, this was one move from Tyrant Hero.

He should consider it as if Divine Monk Beomheo, who had been powerful enough to disappear with a flood dragon alone, was deploying his full-bodied Hundred Steps Divine Fist right before his face with an intact body.

Perhaps due to the nature of tyrannical martial arts, it might be somewhat more than that.

Thud—

A shallow resonant sound arose from his abdomen that met Ma Yeon-jeok’s hand.

The blue-tinted tension that had permeated the entire space disappeared as if being sucked into that sound. At first glance, it seemed to be concentrated at the point of impact.

However, bewilderment was evident on Jeong Yeon-shin’s face. There had been no particular shock.

Ma Yeon-jeok had merely touched the center of his abdominal muscles like an internal energy healing technique. Then he nodded to himself and praised Jeong Yeon-shin’s protective energy cultivation.

“There’s nothing much to examine deeply. It’s an internal energy barrier that could overwhelm even Northern Force Primordial Desert and Heavenly Silk Steel Armor.”

“…Both are martial arts I’m hearing for the first time.”

Jeong Yeon-shin did not particularly reveal strange feelings to his dignified great-grandfather.

The expression of disdain from Shin Cheon-hwa beside him was sufficient. A reaction as clear as family affection. On one side, Yong Hye-myeong had already rolled up his sleeves.

“Considering the former senior’s age, there’s nothing particularly strange about it. His energy must be declining.”

Flutter!

The sleeve edges of the one and only Divine Sword Group Leader of the era flew up from the recoil.

Neat scholar-style clothing with somewhat faded purple hems. The color had become paler than when he had seen it in the life-and-death duel with the Namgung Family. It was otherwise a trace of chaotic times.

“Great Rainbow Palm. Eight-star power should suffice.”

While striding forward, rainbow light flickered and died in Yong Hye-myeong’s arms with a hum, and the next moment Jeong Yeon-shin captured the sight of the Group Leader’s hand turning pale white before disappearing and appearing in front of his abdomen.

The peerless palm technique of the current Enter the Divine Sword master.

It was Yong Hye-myeong’s exclusive martial art. They said anyone in the jianghu martial world would bow in respect if hit directly by it once.

Whether they fell sprawling in death or their posture collapsed from being unable to handle the palm force.

The moment that palm touched Jeong Yeon-shin’s belly, the ground rippled like waves. Literally, the earth shot up from various places.

The roar came after that.

Kwaaaaaaaaang—!!

Jeong Yeon-shin’s mind was dyed pure white.

It was because a terrifyingly tremendous shock that he had never felt before struck right in the center of his abdomen.

It felt as if a flood dragon’s maw with sword-and-blade-proof teeth was crushing his entire belly.

It was martial arts with clear profound mysteries.

The intention was to thoroughly break the balance of his entire body.

It was truly vicious. How many people under heaven could maintain their dignity after being hit by such palm technique?

‘The prestige of the main fortress…!’

Jeong Yeon-shin had to fill all the acupoints throughout his body with Luminous Wheel Technique. Since it wasn’t right to pour power only into the blood vessels of his legs, it was better to support the meridians with his upper body including his waist as well.

To avoid being bounced far away with a disheveled appearance, he had to endure with his whole body.

They had said they were testing protective energy.

He couldn’t let the attack force flow away here. That would be the same as being defeated by Yong Hye-myeong once again.

The reason Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes had to flash with white light at this moment lay there.

‘I will take the Enter the Divine Sword. Without fail in the near future.’

He endured that moment like an eternity.

Until the palm force subsided.

Kwagagagagak!

His legs carved deep furrows in the ground as they were pushed back, then stopped at a certain point.

Simultaneously, the dust clouds that had been hazily coloring the vicinity due to the palm technique’s aftermath were roughly scattered with a whoosh.

It was palm wind arising from Ma Yeon-jeok’s gesture.

“That was excessive. Do you want to die?”

However, Yong Hye-myeong did not respond to the former Divine Sword Group Leader’s scolding. He merely stared down at his own palm that had unleashed the palm technique.

A darkly burned appearance. Sparks occasionally flew up from the atmosphere around his hand.

These were traces of receiving back the vibrations of absolute power.

A strange smile was carved on the lips of Yong Hye-myeong, who had been lowering his head.

“…Having experienced it properly myself, this has no attack force to speak of.”

You made it according to your own nature. He muttered.

The evaluation of the current Enter the Divine Sword master was both calm and sharp. But Jeong Yeon-shin boldly dismissed his words.

Ancient sages said not to listen to the words of those without benevolence. Yong Hye-myeong’s palm technique was perfect for humiliating opponents. Just like its master’s temperament.

The world would witness a better Divine Sword Group Leader. Jeong Yeon-shin was calmly convinced.

Meanwhile, Shin Cheon-hwa was stroking her chin.

[Interesting.]

Had she used eye technique? Eyes with flickering black lightning. Jeong Yeon-shin felt some kind of vastness in her black pupils.

[The martial art’s function is concentrated on rebound force. It’s aggressively beyond anything I’ve seen, but because of that, it has dull aspects. It won’t properly react to skillful techniques. Of course, it would be perfect for striking back force-only attacks…]

She slowly concluded her words.

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly had something come to mind.

Hangzhou, a life-and-death duel with swords.

His left arm that had naturally shot up and fallen from his body.

He hadn’t properly handled the Heaven Conquering Sect Leader’s ultimate technique. He had to have countless cuts carved all over his body.

Even if he returned to that time and fought the life-and-death duel again, it would be the same. He might even lose.

That was the world.

But Shin Cheon-hwa’s thoughts seemed different.

[A Divine Sword Group Leader is a rank that must not be defeated in any situation. Naturally, you must be proficient in all aspects. Since we’ve found the parts to fill, it’s right for your protective energy to advance in all directions like movement techniques too.]

“…I agree.”

[I’ll teach you several key formulas. First, I want to suggest a form of binding true energy like rope, but of course you must maintain the temperament of your protective energy. So in other words, a method of pre-arranging power like constellations inside the blood vessels, borrowing the mysteries of Six Harmonies…]

Her words continued like flowing water, and Jeong Yeon-shin immediately understood all the advice on the spot and manifested it outside his body.

It was natural that his own thoughts and interpretations were added in that process. Mystical spiritual muttering leaked out of his mouth.

“Speaking of Harmony reminds me of Heavenly Stem Harmony. If we interpret the unity of yin and yang here as collision rather than harmony, it would share the same vein as my Brilliant River martial art… Ah, your insight is remarkable. If we implement the repulsive force of such extreme natures, the protective energy would react to any attack. I don’t think anyone would put their hand in unextinguishable lightning either, indeed, the former senior was truly a widely learned and knowledgeable person…”

Eventually, even such soliloquy stopped.

Slightly lowered eyelids. He had sunk into his interior. While leaving behind monologue that went in the complete opposite direction from what Shin Cheon-hwa had intended, like mist.

Her eyes met with Ma Yeon-jeok’s.

[A friend well-versed in courtesy and propriety. Did he completely inherit your bloodline?]

“Half of it.”

Ma Yeon-jeok grumbled so quietly it was barely audible.

“…This should be enough.”

Yong Hye-myeong, who had become expressionless again at some point, brought some large rock and began carving it with his bare hands, while.

Ma Yeon-jeok and Shin Cheon-hwa conversed, paying no attention to such eccentricities of their juniors.

“I thought it was all futile. Even when accumulating all sorts of miscellaneous dharma treasures in the main fortress’s underground… And until I directly witnessed you as a specter.”

[How much wealth can the main fortress mobilize? The desolate family’s tremendous resources were added to my achievements. There was truly nothing that couldn’t be done. Something like leaving behind an original spirit for a long time.]

“Even so, it’s a ghost that won’t appear again.”

[Do you find it regrettable?]

“You’re overestimating yourself.”

[I’m developing some lingering attachment.]

“……”

All directions were filled with abyss-like twilight, but above the heads of the four people connected to the Divine Sword Group’s Enter the Divine Sword, an invisible sun was floating.

Very naturally, a short yet long time passed.

Jeong Yeon-shin opening his eyes again, Yong Hye-myeong who had carved some chair from rock, Ma Yeon-jeok and Shin Cheon-hwa whose words and actions might discuss absolute independence yet didn’t leave their side.

“What is that chair?”

“It’s part of my training. Junior, don’t covet it.”

“By training, you mean…?”

“I intend to sit here and face the monsters and demons of this land. I can make my arm movements more diverse. My Dragon Rainbow Sword will become more complete too.”

“Why bother…?”

They mixed hands and feet, and shared swords.

[You have Strange Yellow Paper in your bosom. You realized the utility of dharma power early. No wonder it had a mystical smell.]

“There was someone who advised me on the method of creating dharma treasures.”

[Give it here. I can play some tricks.]

Many things were done centered on Jeong Yeon-shin. Only they existed in the extremely dark space.

Once in a while, sticky wind brushed the four people’s skin as if the abyss had stuck out its tongue, but no one paid attention.

The atmosphere was continuously torn darkly.

* * *

It was a vast river.

The distorted sun flowed within the wide waterway.

The afternoon sunlight that filled the Yangtze River like this was brightly illuminating the surroundings, and from the river water wrapped in such endlessly flowing radiance like an outer garment, dreamlike clusters of light were bursting forth.

Yangtze River basin.

A place called Constant Clarity because it has maintained clear light forever since the former Great Empress Dowager of ancient times and Zhang Sanfeng joined hands at the upstream of the river water.

“How did the main fortress fare?”

A girl in blue robes standing on the rocky shore spoke while receiving the fierce river wind with her whole body. It was a voice with distinct power in unusually clear pronunciation.

The one-eyed black-robed swordsman, Radiant Demon Wing Leader Cheong Myeong, answered roughly while standing alongside her.

“Lord Jeong would have handled it.”

“Even so, one person couldn’t block that entire wide battlefield. The fight would have been won somehow, but there must have been deaths among the main fortress warriors.”

“That’s inevitable. Regrettable but unavoidable.”

Cheong Myeong spoke indifferently.

However, blue-rank master Shin So-bin couldn’t properly rebut those words.

It was because an explosive projectile that suddenly shot up from the riverside had embedded beside them.

Thud—! Kwaaaaaaaaang!!

Just as the ground collapsed with a crunch and sharp fragments were about to scatter in all directions, the hand shadow of Shin So-bin, who extended her arm to the side, swelled like countless flower petals and pressed down the explosion as it was.

Kuuuung—

It was an applied technique of the Eternal Blossom Fist, Blossoming Fist. It was also a technique that Jeong Yeon-shin, who had once struggled with explosive projectiles during his blue rank days, had taught her.

Shin So-bin was the blue rank Jeong Yeon-shin.

At this moment, behind Cheong Myeong and Shin So-bin, Radiant Demon Wing warriors were standing in various postures.

“Blood Radiance Successor! Indeed the disciple of Desolate Day Extinction!”

A thick voice burst from the ship that had fired the projectile.

Myriad Upper Road Stronghold.

It was a major faction symbolizing chaotic times.

Swoooosh!

Ships had begun flowing into Changqing. A fleet of warships with pointed fronts and wide sails, each carrying two or more.

The scale easily exceeded thirty ships, creating tremendous intimidation, and their speed cutting through the waterway like sword blades was also fast.

The warships of water bandits newly called the Thirteen Evil Sects.

Multiple sailors emitted propulsive energy waves with both hands to boost the ships’ operation, and that overwhelming spectacle failed to catch the attention of the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader.

It was because of those who had suddenly appeared on the opposite side of the warships.

“That is…?”

Clearly about a hundred warhorses standing on the water surface. Each had a robust physique with clearly defined muscles from which hazy energy waves seeped out.

Human shadows sitting atop them, gripping crescent-blade sabers and axes while exposing their upper bodies.

They were using Level Crossing Water Treading with mounted martial arts.

The crowd of men and horses swayed like phantoms along with the gently rippling waves.

It was simultaneous that the sunlight spread on that river water also took on the red heat haze characteristic of sunset.

Radiant Demon Wing Leader Cheong Myeong’s mouth slowly opened.

“…Radiant Art Bond, activate.”

Instantly, the Radiant Demon Wing masters transformed into pale light. Simultaneously, the atmosphere rumbled.

Martial arts where no one in this place had failed to achieve great mastery.

It was the extreme Radiant Art Bond.