Chapter 576 – Contest (9)

Radiant Taiji.

It was the mental imagery that Jeong Yeon-shin had created.

Something he made after losing to the Dark Heaven Emperor and Heaven Conquering Sect Leader, originating from the traces of Taoist Zhang Sanfeng that he had discovered together with Young Heavenly Demon Invincible.

The flood dragon that had died drawing a taiji while pierced by the old Pine Gate Ancient Sword. Now it was carved as a massive circle in Jeong Yeon-shin’s upper energy center.

With the mental imagery of unifying everything given to him.

‘Looked at differently…’

Radiant Taiji was a cradle that bound together his relationships that had transformed into martial arts. In other words, it should properly be called a type of vessel.

Just as he had first unified Ultimate Thunder and Fan Dragon Flower Treading Technique at Hangzhou. The ‘Enter the Dao Transcend Together that resulted from it was certainly a technique at the level of Transcendent Martial Art.

True to its name. A broad taiji.

Mental imagery that made the young purple rank into one of the Five Swords under Heaven.

The Divine Thief who had been facing Jeong Yeon-shin until now took a single step back with smooth backward steps.

Rustle—

Even if Radiant Taiji was absent from her experience, it would be natural. The mental command characteristic of Transcendent Martial Art had just resonated from Jeong Yeon-shin.

At the same moment, if she hadn’t prepared a life-saving ultimate technique of similar caliber, evasion had to come first.

‘I’ll definitely hit.’

Jeong Yeon-shin turned his toes toward the Divine Thief.

It was already within the peerless realm where instants stretched like eons. The two’s upper energy centers had been transcendentally overheated for a long time, sensing the present endlessly long.

In this sluggish present, as if fallen into a swamp of time.

Suddenly the Divine Thief’s body scattered like flower petals fluttering in a gentle breeze.

The divine art that made her invincible manifested once again.

Now that Divine Beggar Zhu Guang had lost his legs, it was truly the world’s greatest lightness skill in both name and reality—Heaven-Severing Connection Technique.

The Divine Thief moved away exactly as much as Jeong Yeon-shin had advanced. The direction was a side position where it would be difficult for him to deliver a strike.

Jeong Yeon-shin, who was already activating Radiant Taiji, had to decide.

Whether to release his ultimate technique right here, or advance to a more certain position while enduring the burden that weighed heavily on his body at this moment.

There was no hesitation.

Jeong Yeon-shin turned his toes once more in the endlessly stretched time. He had engaged in full frontal battle with movements against the ‘fastest under heaven.’

‘There’s no retreat, so it’s a life-saving ultimate technique. If I miss here, I’ll die to the counterattack.’

He suppressed the ultimate energy trying to burst out along with the internal power rumbling inside his body.

Had she sensed that sign?

The Divine Thief’s dreamlike gaze held the slightest surprise. Simultaneously, her stride also widened by another level.

Her backward steps that had seemed to toy with Jeong Yeon-shin from the start began crossing more than ten zhang in a single step.

Following her, dust rose like silk in trailing streams and fluttered long. Of course, Jeong Yeon-shin immediately followed.

Whooooooooosh—!

The atmosphere being sucked in madly along two streaming trajectories.

Their pursuit battle met a strange situation.

The Divine Thief gracefully tumbling here and there while simultaneously aiming for the absolute evasion of Heaven-Severing Connection Technique and deadly counterattacks.

Jeong Yeon-shin further increasing his speed with the momentum to immediately reach his comrades if she didn’t collide head-on.

Kwakwakwakwakwakwak!

The plain overturned to both sides like a tsunami along the route of their lightness skill sprint, and the two divine forms began to entangle as if they might touch while Radiant Taiji was activated.

While paying attention to each other’s internal energy breathing as well as the small writhing of muscles and the sound of heartbeats.

If the Divine Thief allowed Jeong Yeon-shin to predict her next direction even once, she would immediately face the life-saving ultimate technique created by Radiant Taiji.

All directions were noisy with such endless sprinting and minute movements.

But their inner selves were quiet.

The aspect was different from before. With sword blades at each other’s throats, they had completely staked their lives. Simultaneously, the Divine Thief could no longer carelessly touch Jeong Yeon-shin’s hands and feet.

With some unknown technique already loaded in Jeong Yeon-shin’s body like battlefield artillery.

Since she didn’t know what life-saving ultimate technique would burst out at what moment.

But even while cleverly protecting herself at close range, she never fell away.

The Divine Thief under heaven, King of Dream Demon Body, the new fastest under heaven—an existence with many names like Jeong Yeon-shin—was persistent despite her dignity.

Hwaaaaaaaaak!

Enough to palely seep into the gale and dance confusingly through Jeong Yeon-shin’s vision.

‘This must be how important it is.’

Jeong Yeon-shin newly recognized the half book in his bosom. The Zhongnan Sword Immortal’s sword manual. A secret transmission that had changed even the attitudes of northern absolute masters like Literary Star and the Divine Thief.

Whatever could be done with it in the future, the two halves of the torn sword manual must not come together completely.

Since it had already entered his bosom, it was rightfully his to protect. Someday he would return it to his niece Hye-ah and Wei Zhi-myohwa.

He would lose nothing.

He had resolved to have everything after experiencing the Great War of the Desolate Fortress. The great cause and people’s livelihood, the safety of his comrades—he intended not to lose any of them.

The same was true now as he raced toward the mountain rising in the middle of the plain while competing with the Divine Thief over the gap of a single strike.

Fortunately, Jeong Yeon-shin was not alone.

—Seven squad leaders will be blocking Literary Star. By the time you receive this message, support may have reached them. But the Divine Thief will be clinging to you with peerless realm lightness skill. From the main fortress General Administration’s speculation on the power of her movements, to catch her would require the perfect Beggar Sect Leader Divine Beggar Zhu Guang and supreme masters at the level of the main fortress’s three black ranks simultaneously. The combination of extreme speed, one-strike killing power, and Heaven Silk Steel Armor is that troublesome. But…

The advice of new Nether Stream Squad Leader Yun So-hyeon.

It continued calmly amid the scenery distorted in all directions by Jeong Yeon-shin’s sprint.

—Here’s the most important part. Just as the Divine Thief draws natural energy from this territory called Clear Light Plain and towers of corpses, you have the Desolate Fortress.

‘You’re there too, Senior.’

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly thought. Would new Nether Stream Squad Leader Yun senior also like Five Cloud Mountain Grassland Wine? To repay this current reliability, the world’s finest liquor would have to accompany them.

—If you successfully reach the battlefield where the Radiant Sword Squad and Resonance Spirit fight… you’ll be able to act as a Northern King even with your identity revealed. Perhaps you might be called Northern Emperor as the counterpoint to the Southern Emperor. You’ll certainly experience mysterious abilities. This is also a result obtained from the General Administration scholars’ deep research into Radiant Art Bond…

Before long, Jeong Yeon-shin and the Divine Thief’s pale divine forms were meeting the towering peaks amid their tremendous psychological warfare.

The shadow cast on the ground was endlessly huge and thick. It was literally a great mountain.

Ice Breathing Mountain.

According to Yun So-hyeon’s report, it was the end of the battlefield laid out in a straight line from Yeoktru Castle. It was also the edge of the long plain.

Beyond there was the scene of carnage where Upright Star Army, Shame Extreme Army, and the Radiant Sword Squad and Resonance Spirit under the Divine Sword Group were entangled. Only now could he sense the countless human presences and tremendous shock waves.

How was the battle situation flowing?

Now the internal power consumption of Southern Splendor Radiant Taiji spread broadly toward distant places was gradually becoming burdensome.

The luminous wheel’s rotation speed was gradually slowing, so he had to end the fight here somehow.

To discuss the north with the insightful Nether Stream Squad Leader and various seniors.

‘First I have to win this war. Only then can a bridgehead for Divine Sword Group assembly be established.’

Yun So-hyeon’s view would be the same.

Perhaps she had sent Earth King Word Crossing Technique transmissions in advance from atop Ice Breathing Mountain and was now engaging in a death struggle with Upright Star and Shame Extreme armies.

Jeong Yeon-shin began racing straight up the cliff of the stone mountain without stopping. Together with the Divine Thief who orbited around him like a star using him as the night sky.

“Will something change by climbing there? Won’t you embrace my dream…?”

[Shut up.]

Kurururururung!

The propulsive shock waves of Ten Li Gentle Light soared like a comet trailing a faint tail. Misty light clusters were carved on the cliff. Movement faster than any void-treading steps.

In contrast, the Divine Thief’s lightness skill left no traces. With her hands even leisurely clasped behind her back, she simply glided up the cliff.

While her wide sleeves rippled gracefully with the sunlight.

Jeong Yeon-shin had already activated Radiant Taiji on top of Southern Splendor Radiant Taiji. He didn’t have the energy to call Remaining Thunder for sword riding flight.

“Your running is too noisy. If you expend so much strength, sleeping will become uncomfortable.”

The Divine Thief’s whisper rang in his ears as if tickling his soul. A voice that became increasingly dreamlike as the time they faced each other lengthened.

It was certainly dangerous.

But what Jeong Yeon-shin truly listened to was Nether Stream Squad Leader Yun So-hyeon’s writing clearly carved in his mind.

—I’ll tell you about variables. There were those approaching the target battlefield. You’ll remember the Heavenly Classic Martial Arts Examination that the new Ming emperor opened. The world’s greatest martial competition held at Zhongnan Mountain. Many of the jianghu masters who attended there have come up to the north, and some were chased by Yeoktru Castle Army.

The information volume of Earth King Word Crossing Technique was vast.

As befitted a divine secret technique that could write the Thousand Character Classic several times over in an instant with a single thought.

Meanwhile, bewilderment briefly crossed Jeong Yeon-shin’s face. It was just after he had driven back the Divine Thief in front with a show of force while climbing over the edge of the cliff.

‘What…?’

Yeoktru Castle Army was the army under Northern King Yelu stationed at Yeoktru Castle, martial forces with Demon Contempt Blade in command.

They might be allies when Jeong Yeon-shin’s identity was revealed. However, now it was a situation where allies were being chased by allies.

—Notable figures include Peng Family Head Peng Yu of the Five Marvels of Resplendent Brilliance, Elder Council Head Azure Sword Lord Namgung Mu-hak of the Namgung family, and Mount Hua Acting Sect Leader Mount Hua Hidden Dragon Yu Hyeon. Also worth remembering are Tranquil Depth Gaze Zhuge Qing-ya serving as acting Zhuge family head, and Seven Fists Undaunted Yan Qi-bo, a figure from the Yan family of Jinzhou. Besides them, many sects have set foot on northern lands.

It was new information amid the urgency.

This would make Clear Light Plain here a jianghu of north-south unity.

—However, I cannot specify who among them is being chased by Yeoktru Castle Army. This is also due to my insufficient eye techniques. I could only obtain information that Elder Council Head Namgung intended to strongly take the role of rallying point for southern martial people, but that matter didn’t go well. He seemed to have intended to ascend to the position of new Martial Alliance Leader.

‘Yu Hyeon and Zhuge Qing-ya are there…?’

Jeong Yeon-shin stood tall atop the mountain peak and surveyed below.

There was a battlefield.

Not even the mountainside. At the root part extending in all directions from the broadly spread stone mountain. A scene of carnage unfolded in the clearing where pale limestone showed sporadically.

Dozens of Desolate Fortress warriors bursting grayish-white air currents like fireworks while surrounded by hundreds of mounted troops.

Lightning Genius Martial Lineage ultimate techniques pouring out ceaselessly inside the blue light spread in a vast circle.

It was literally like a wheel.

The mounted masters of overwhelming build were spinning fiercely like a wheel while driving in the Desolate Fortress warriors.

While making their opponents bloody, or while they themselves burst out completely with their war horses.

Blood spurted up sharply like spears in various places. The foundation of the stone mountain was also trembling faintly.

Shattered corpses were everywhere.

A chaotic scene where it was difficult to distinguish whether they were people, horses, or fragments of weapons.

It was a picture of hell.

On the other side, a pair of man and woman could be seen with their backs to the hazy horizon. Uniquely massive presences. The woman with a transparent body wearing black face veil was Shame Extreme King.

Beside her was also a handsome youth famous as a supreme master of Dream Demon Body. His epithet would be Shame Extreme Son-in-law.

They stood as if watching the mounted troops’ battle. They were extremely leisurely throughout, but the Shame Extreme Son-in-law occasionally glanced back and smiled mysteriously.

There, southern martial people were blocked by Shame Extreme Army arranged in a line. Like criminals awaiting execution.

“Beautiful ones activate Small Mist Phantom Formation. Strong swords don’t work on Heaven Silk Steel Armor, so exclude Giant Wind Method.”

Among them was Zhuge Qing-ya with mysterious white crane fan and black hair fluttering, grown to resemble Fan Dragon Zhuge Hyeon.

“Remarkable. Grip your sword properly.”

“Don’t you need help? It seems we’ll be caught even if we escape backward.”

Masters of the Namgung family whom he had seen before existed there.

“Heaven Silk Steel Armor also has breaking methods. One Hundred Eighty Hands Yan Family Divine Fist starts from now.”

A man reminiscent of Yan Family First Fist Yan Hwa-ryeon was leading family martial artists while erasing the look of death from their eyes…

It felt like the unique gentle breeze of the south was briefly touching. But Jeong Yeon-shin couldn’t fully sense it.

—Now for the final message.

Nether Stream Squad Leader Yun So-hyeon.

—Ice Breathing Mountain has its rock faces and fracture zones filled with the tyrannical internal power of northern Yao tribes. With your ring-breaking power, you could collapse the mountain and have strength left over. It’s worth using as a variable at any time. As I write this message, it’s early in the hour of the Monkey (3 PM), but regrettably I have no variables. The Southern Emperor and Northern Blade are right before my eyes. But…

Suddenly Jeong Yeon-shin felt as if the world had sunk into a swamp once more. Some intuition. At this moment, many things blurred on his skin.

‘Senior…?’

—Regardless of my life or death, you will not die.

That was all.

Earth King Word Crossing Technique was suddenly cut off. Without leaving even the slightest unnecessary remnant.

As Jeong Yeon-shin clearly sensed with his upper energy center, it was now early in the hour of the Rooster (5 PM).

“……”

A point flashed in the sky.

“Why did you suddenly stop?”

Below it was the Divine Thief who had revealed herself again like a dream, and at Jeong Yeon-shin’s distant feet existed the blue circle of Southern Splendor Radiant Taiji.

“Won’t you dance more…?”

[Enter the Dao Transcend Together.]

Something fell vertically.

No one under heaven had time to react.

A pure white divine sword that burst down from beyond the clouds with only a single layer of pale shock waves, pierced through the Divine Thief’s back without any roar and embedded in the mountain peak.

Her falling face-down at Jeong Yeon-shin’s feet was simultaneous.

Jeong Yeon-shin was shedding tears.