Chapter 331 – Grandson (4)
The energy waves of the Heavenly Demon Armor immediately subsided. This was because the Murong family head quickly withdrew them after sensing the strange atmosphere between grandfather and grandson.
He seemed particularly uncomfortable with Jeong Yeon-shin's transparent gaze.
"..."
Many eyes were fixed on the barren clearing at the peak.
Dozens of Slaughter Sect members who had been posing as dignitaries in the great city of Taiyuan, the Radiant Demon Wing disciples, and the former Divine Sword Group Leader.
All observed the Radiant Demon Wing Leader and the Murong family head with their own distinct expressions.
Anxiety, shock, doubt—all these emotions flowed into Jeong Yeon-shin's upper dantian. The crowd harbored all sorts of feelings.
Hanging from the cliffs spread to the left and right, standing far away in one corner of the clearing, halfway up the slope…
'I must overcome this.'
Jeong Yeon-shin paid no attention to the Murong family head's demeanor.
His right hand holding the Northern Light Divine Sword felt feverish. The Luminous Wheel in his heart, which had begun to rotate slowly, was the same.
He was irritated by the words that this clan leader had directed at the Divine Hero. He had babbled about how they should have extracted all of Hyeon Won-chang's meridians and vessels.
"How crude," Jeong Yeon-shin said to the Eight Clan Leader's face.
"At your age, not knowing what shame is."
He had spoken without thinking.
As the pink robe hem in the distance on the side slope flinched, Jeong Yeon-shin faced the Murong family head with flashing blue eyes.
Before his eyes, semi-transparent colorless petals kept disappearing and reappearing.
This was because he was controlling the activation of Ultimate Thunder. It was to maintain it longer.
At the same time, he was gauging the sword domain of the Star Radiance Great Sword Lord.
The formless energy waves cutting his skin, the constantly vibrating flow of the atmosphere, the balance of the Murong family head standing on his sturdy legs, and the grip technique holding the sword were all creating an invisible realm.
To Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes, a space made of countless trajectories was visible.
It had been spreading around Murong Jung-rak, covering a radius of over thirty zhang for some time. It seemed to declare that he had reached perfection as a swordsman.
Everyone in the martial world knew of the Murong family head.
Jeong Yeon-shin recalled the martial arts he had accumulated.
'How effective will they be against him?'
It had already begun. The confrontation with the Eight Clan Leader.
"Your eye technique is quite extraordinary," Murong Jung-rak said, meeting Jeong Yeon-shin's bluish gaze.
Like a true martial aristocrat, he wore an enigmatic smile as he adjusted his sword grip, the shape of the energy waves subtly changing with each movement of his fingers.
The current flowing between his thumb and index finger, opaque at times, would take on a swift quality then become heavy. It was completely at his command.
He seemed to be testing Jeong Yeon-shin's discernment. It was impossible to tell how many sword technique principles he had mastered.
"Liaoning is harsh land," Murong Jung-rak said.
"Unlike comfortable territories like Huguang. It's an extremely severe place. The swordsmen forming the mountain forest of swords have inherited the northern temperament, making it a land difficult to handle for those who have never lost their country."
He spoke as if exchanging letters. It was directed at Jeong Yeon-shin.
He meant that the sword of a flowery Huguang land could not withstand the temperament of Liaoning where he was born and raised.
His attention was focused on Ma Yeon-jeok. He was merely provoking Jeong Yeon-shin while assessing the powerful figure. Anyone could see that.
The Murong family.
A martial clan established east of the Liao River. They claimed descent from the Murong Xianbei clan. They were descendants of the royal family of Yan, a kingdom that had perished before the noble families of the Ming Dynasty had even appeared.
Their Flowing Star Sword, imbued with their resentment, was known as the roughest among the divine sword techniques of the Eight Great Clans.
Jeong Yeon-shin tilted his head slightly to the side.
"Isn't that an ancient fallen nation?"
"…The conduct of those without roots is all the same. Even if you were born with the bloodline of Desolate Fortress's Ma family, you're not much different."
Murong Jung-rak raised his sword. The hem of his white robe lifted slightly.
A strong wind swept in.
A cold sensation brushed Jeong Yeon-shin's face. This was different from the battle with Zhuge Liang.
Unlike that chaotic fight, he was now facing an Eight Clan Leader in a one-on-one life-or-death duel of swordsmanship.
This was why his right palm connected to the Northern Light Divine Sword was receiving more Luminous Wheel energy than usual.
'Thunder Annihilation Sword Style.'
Jeong Yeon-shin awakened the acupoints throughout his body.
His entire body's muscles repeatedly contracted and relaxed. It was a full-body foot energy grip technique that wasn't visible externally.
However, the Murong family head seemed to have noticed. The look in his eyes as he gazed at Jeong Yeon-shin had changed intensely.
The precious sword of the Murong family flashed with a fierce blue light.
He was coming straight in. That was his intuition.
Jeong Yeon-shin first pushed the ground with his right foot. A powerful wind rose from beneath his feet. Wind Body Technique. His figure was enveloped in the transparent wind blowing toward the peak.
In the moment he slightly lowered and raised his eyelids, the Murong family head's upper body filled his vision. He had closed the three-zhang distance in an instant. This was right after Jeong Yeon-shin had fully activated Ultimate Thunder.
Swoosh—!
A strong wind coiled around the blade of the Northern Light Divine Sword as he raised it. The mantra of Judgment Qilin turns even a carelessly extended sword strike into a swift sword.
A tyrannical momentum was fully contained in a single sword path. With the refinement reminiscent of Azure Qilin.
Clang!
The handle of Murong Jung-rak's sword struck down on the Northern Light Divine Sword.
It was an elegant defensive technique. It was like hammering with the sword grip.
***
***
For a brief moment, a heavy vibration spread in all directions, and a long shadow fell across Jeong Yeon-shin's face as he raised his eyebrows. It came with a deep voice.
"Black Star Hidden Advance."
It was a name quickly recited through oral technique.
Murong Jung-rak had spoken the name of the form. This was while everyone around knew the Murong family head's identity. It could only be described as mockery.
It was conduct meant to maintain his dignity while facing the Radiant Demon Wing Leader, who was far inferior in age and reputation.
The flow of the descending sword strike energy waves was tremendously fierce. It was enough to completely dishevel Jeong Yeon-shin's hair.
It was a single form that struck down with the sword grip while dropping the blade, but the Murong family head had generated extraordinary full-body foot energy with just a small arm movement.
Jeong Yeon-shin raised his sword in an upward slash while executing the second form of the Thunder Annihilation Sword Style. He did this while pulling his body back. The counter-technique Nine Verdant River sprouted from his thumb that firmly supported the sword energy.
Clang…! An enormous impact penetrated his grip. The opponent's sword energy tore through the flesh beneath his thumb and transmitted down to his feet. His leap stopped immediately.
The ground supporting his leather shoes sank with a rough sound. As Jeong Yeon-shin's eye level lowered, the lotus of Ultimate Thunder surrounding his body wavered semi-transparently once.
Through that gap, the Murong family head's words rang out.
"You withstand this well. It's like facing the Wish-fulfilling Spring Squad Leader."
The source of the voice was higher than Jeong Yeon-shin's crown. The voice that followed was the same.
"How about Grand Star Full Sword Rain?"
Before his words were even finished, Murong Jung-rak's second form was executed. In that moment, the sky rippled. This was because the energy waves spreading vastly from the sword transparently covered the void.
Unlike Jeong Yeon-shin who operated his entire body like a sword, the Murong family head used a single sword, mere metal, as a medium for internal energy techniques approaching the ultimate.
Flowing Star Sword Style, Grand Star Full Sword Rain.
Saaaa—
It was like paper sheets rubbing together in the void. An enormous sword intent was felt. Invisible swords were falling from the sky.
There were easily dozens of them. With each brief moment as they approached the ground, the energy waves amplified. It was enough to distort the sunlight in all eight directions for an instant.
The intention embedded in the form, the sword intent, was clear. It meant: since your movements seem decent, try to avoid this too.
It didn't approach like human study. The boundary between martial arts and spell techniques seemed blurred. It was clearly the realm of the transcendent.
Swish.
Jeong Yeon-shin placed the blade of the Northern Light Divine Sword against his left shoulder. It was a posture that covered his shoulder joint with the flat of the sword.
"Hmm?"
As Murong Jung-rak, who was holding his sword raised, uttered a questioning sound.
A subtle earthquake arose beneath Jeong Yeon-shin's feet. Then his body became blurred, and a trajectory of faint light was etched in a straight line through the air.
Murong Jung-rak's eyes widened. This was no ordinary lightness skill.
The Radiant Demon Wing Leader, who suddenly appeared before his face, rammed into him with the shoulder covered by the overlapping sword blade. It was a first strike as magnificent and intense as a comet.
Kwaaaang!
Murong Jung-rak's figure was flung from the cliff. This was right after an enormous shockwave erupted in a circle from where he had been standing.
The ground of the mountain peak was crushed. The rough sound of stone fragments being pulverized followed the traces of the two men.
The battlefield moved to the air.
The Murong family head, who had flipped his body in midair, stepped on the atmosphere with the marvel of void treading.
"That b*st*rd."
His eyes narrowed. The Radiant Demon Wing Leader, who had delivered an incredibly powerful strike, was continuously kicking off the side of the cliff as he rushed forward.
The faint light spreading from his toes dyed the wall pale. It was an auspicious sight, like drawing a constellation on the vast ridge.
Behind that.
Boom—
The edge of the peak where the two had been standing was completely shattered after being hit by Grand Star Full Sword Rain. The dry soil could not withstand the formless swords pouring down like rain.
As boulders fell with a roaring sound into the distance.
'I must not have seen wrong.'
The Murong family head thought. The issue was the form that the Radiant Demon Wing Leader had just executed.
It resembled the ancient method of the Martial Brilliance Technique. The life-controlling technique that the Profound Martial Alliance Leader had cultivated throughout his life had been manifested in the Radiant Demon Wing Leader's shoulder with the sword against it.
It was a method that aimed for the dual benefit of offense and defense as one.
If the Radiant Demon Wing Leader had been surrounded by some divine-level protective energy, he might have suffered unexpected internal injuries despite defending with his sword. It wouldn't have ended with just his body being pushed back as it had just now.
"I admit I underestimated you."
At that age, he's worthy of discussing martial arts with the Dragon Fist of the north, Wish-fulfilling Spring Squad Leader Beigong Ya. His talent might rival even the Invincible of the Ming Cult.
It meant he had the potential to grow into a transcendent martial artist who would take a position beside the Desolate Fortress Lord. And in a short time.
He was indeed a sprout that needed to be cut down.
He shouldn't hold back his strength while thinking about the martial artist presumed to be the Tyrant Hero. He must face him with full power. He was on the verge of completing the martial prowess that would restore the glory of Yan.
By beheading this young and brilliant sword talent, and crossing swords with the one who had torn off the Profound Martial Alliance Leader's arm, he could fully embody all the insights he had accumulated so far.
The Murong family head's jet-black eyebrows hardened into a straight line.
Flowing Star Sword. Casting Calamity Advancing Flash Thunder.
His figure, which had been treading the void, distorted in place. It had completely disappeared.
His eyes, which had been fixed on the Radiant Demon Wing Leader rushing along the cliff, transformed into a stream of dark blue light and extended at length. Then it stopped right before the Radiant Demon Wing Leader's face.
Jeong Yeon-shin, who had been running along the side of the cliff, planted a true step in that spot. His reaction speed was like a ray of light. The wall crumbled with a loud sound, and his long hair all flew back at once.
The propulsive energy waves generated by Murong Jung-rak, who had suddenly appeared before his eyes, were tremendous. The trajectory of the sword extending toward him was much faster than Jeong Yeon-shin's hand.
Kwaaaang!
His vision flashed white.
It was as if lightning had struck, and he could see nothing. If this was the case even with the Heaven-Connecting Technique activated, the Murong family head's vision must be the same.
However, only Jeong Yeon-shin seemed to feel the pain of his grip being torn apart. And the dull, empty sensation of the Northern Light Divine Sword's blade breaking in two in that instant…