Techniques for handling armor are rare.
It's no exaggeration to say that there are only three widely known martial lineages in the world.
The Yao tribe of the North, the military forces opposing them, and the Ten Perfections Sect of Sichuan.
Martial artists enjoy the order created by the country while shamelessly carrying blades without any particular qualification, but wearing armor privately is close to treason, incomparable to merely carrying swords.
This is why the Ten Perfections Sect is called one of the Thirteen Evil Sects.
With a retired great general who had been responsible for one axis of the northern front as its leader, they cleverly circumvented the country's laws through his connections, skills, and the geographical advantage of isolated Sichuan.
The armor martial arts personally systematized by the peerless master Ten Perfections Sect Leader emerged in this way.
As the main martial art that enabled the Ten Perfections Sect to threaten Sichuan's two ancient sects and the Tang family, and to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Pure Demon Alliance.
"..."
Silence continued.
Tang family, Ten Perfections Sect, Qingcheng Sect, Emei Sect, Pure Demon Alliance.
It was a gathering of masters renowned even in Sichuan's harsh martial world. None had failed to cultivate eye techniques.
Everyone present saw the same thing.
The sight of the Loyalty Connecting Heaven Technique of the Ten Perfections Sect, famous for eighteen skills beyond the eighteen types of weapons and over a dozen martial arts, colliding with the black-robed young man and self-destructing.
Thud—
The blood, flesh, and iron fragments that had shot high into the sky with the violent explosion stuck to the ground one after another.
The gloomy traces of Bright Star of Engraved Vermilion Jeong Chu-gon. The vanguard of the Ten Perfections Sect had departed for the netherworld first, true to his position.
Amidst this.
The handsome young man in a black robe didn't even glance at the remains of the corpse and stared indifferently at the Ten Perfections Sect Leader.
While wrapped in a seemingly bluish light around his entire body.
It was an unbelievable sight.
Not only to Crimson Cloud Dragon of Qingcheng Sect, who had shouted Bright Star's identity from the distant gate, but also to the Ten Perfections Sect Leader who had been staring at Jeong Yeon-shin, concerned about what might happen to his vanguard commander.
"Chu-gon."
The Ten Perfections Sect Leader, facing Jeong Yeon-shin, muttered. Sunlight rippled slightly over the eyes of the peerless master who had traversed countless battlefields.
In the Ten Perfections Sect of Sichuan, masters who share the same surname as the sect leader are typically both his subordinates and disciples.
This means that most of those representing the sect have been long-time comrades. Bright Star of Engraved Vermilion Jeong Chu-gon had also followed the Ten Perfections Sect Leader from the North.
"…You've created an impressive internal energy armor."
The Ten Perfections Sect Leader said slowly.
The energy waves that had been fiercely clawing at the ground beneath his feet suddenly subsided.
Simultaneously, the luster disappeared from his silver armor, and an eerily heavy silence began to fill the surroundings.
He had completely stored within his body the overwhelmingly powerful energy waves.
Jeong Yeon-shin slightly lowered his eyelids.
'He hasn't withdrawn his true energy.'
His upper dantian detected an enormously heavy sensation.
It seemed he had withdrawn the energy formation of wide-area martial arts suitable for chaotic battles and adopted true energy operation fitting for a one-on-one life-or-death duel.
This revealed why he remained an absolute being in the world even after having his energy absorbed by the Blood Flame Cult Leader.
The Ten Perfections Sect Leader opened his mouth expressionlessly.
"Besides the Golden Wing Sect Leader, who else in the world would deceive others with such martial prowess? At best, perhaps the gray-eared ones of Dark Night Palace, or the inferior divine warriors of the North."
"That's quite a few."
"Radiant Demon Wing Leader Jeong Yeon-shin. So you weren't lying."
"Your tongue is long."
"Originally, I didn't believe your words. Having seen your face with baby fat still intact before…"
"..."
"But looking at you again now, it seems you've undergone bone transformation."
Who else at that age could have done this to Chu-gon— The Ten Perfections Sect Leader continued as if talking to himself.
"Guang and Zhu-xia also met their end at your hands."
Sword Scorpion Demon Du Gu-gwang and Moon-Gazing Light Halberd Lu Zhu-xia.".
They were supreme masters of the Ten Perfections Sect. Jeong Yeon-shin remembered them.
As enemies who had killed many Radiant Demon Wing martial artists before he created the Luminous Wheel Technique.
'I let them go too easily.'
It was then that Jeong Yeon-shin freshly felt the shortcomings of short decisive battles.
"Come to think of it, a mere youngster from Desolate Fortress has cut off many of my limbs. How amusing."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Ten Perfections Sect Leader's hand showed segmented movements like a moth's wings fluttering from top to bottom.
Somehow, a drawn precious sword was in his grip. No sound of drawing had been heard at all.
'That is a martial art.'
Jeong Yeon-shin, who had placed his hand on the hilt of the unnamed divine sword, stared at the calmly settled eyes of the Ten Perfections Sect Leader.
Ten Perfections Sect Leader Zeng Jian-wu.
He had heard of him. It was said to be his martial arts similar to the Radiant Demon Technique of Radiant Demon Wing. He had made the method of handling his body into a single martial art incantation.
"Come."
The Ten Perfections Sect Leader said, slightly tilting the blade surface.
His manner, like a senior in the martial world addressing a junior, showed that as a Thirteen Evil Sects leader, he didn't acknowledge the Black-rank of Desolate Fortress as an equal.
Whatever his true feelings, it couldn't be helped. To maintain the prestige of a major faction, he had to do so.
The crowd stirred.
"Has the Flower Shadow King undergone transformation…?"
"The Sect Leader said so. It must be true."
"If that's the case, he wouldn't have come alone. He must have brought others with him…"
"I should go check the rear immediately."
"There are two Thirteen Evil Sects leaders here! No matter how powerful a Desolate Fortress Black-rank is, he's just bait!"
It was from the Ten Perfections Sect and Pure Demon Alliance side. The eyes of those glaring at Jeong Yeon-shin gleamed with tyrannical energy.
"Look at that sword!"
"Isn't that the trace of Transcendent forging? Only passed down to direct descendants."
"The luster is strange… is it true silver ore? That can only be obtained from the rain dragon's formation…"
"Flower Shadow King! It's him!"
"The young master and young lady must have crafted it."
"Stop him! Don't let him strike from behind!"
While the short masters of the Tang family grabbed their daggers, long needles, and flying daggers with greatly surprised expressions, shouts erupted from both sides to not let a single person escape.
Whoosh!
The air in the hall rippled semi-transparently.
It was a place where masters from the Thirteen Evil Sects, Eight Great Clans, and Nine Great Sects were confronting each other.
The air rippled with the energy waves of martial artists who had each cultivated different mind techniques, and just as the killing intent of the battlefield was about to explode again.
An elderly laughter heavily rang out. A sound of laughing with a heh-heh. The tremendous energy imbued in the voice completely suppressed all the energy waves in the hall.
It was demonic energy.
[The child's play is quite adorable. Let's see how you fare.]
Whoosh—!… The dust that had risen suddenly fell downward.
As the walls surrounding the manor shook precariously, the stone fragments rolling on the floor dug into the ground on their own.
Those who had been shouting turned their faces with changed expressions. Some even muttered like they were swallowing.
"Pure Demon Alliance Leader…!"
It was another peerless master. An old man with long flowing white beard as if he were an immortal.
Moreover, he was an absolute being of the demonic path that had split from the Ming Cult martial lineage. One never knows when he might change his words and strike from behind.
If the Ten Perfections Sect Leader and Pure Demon Alliance Leader joined forces, even Jeong Yeon-shin would have to be prepared for death.
He sensed the presence of the old man floating in the distant air without even turning his head.
From the beginning, he had been paying more attention to that side than to the Ten Perfections Sect Leader. Because of the young man clinging like a spider to the cliff at the end of the manor, being toyed with by the Pure Demon Alliance Leader.
'A White-rank martial artist from the main fortress.'
He had briefly met him when he was handing over the secret manual of the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique to his maternal grandfather, at the Qizhou branch in Sichuan. He couldn't leave him like that.
"You're taking a long time to draw your sword. I heard your martial lineage is known for keeping battles short."
Just as the Ten Perfections Sect Leader, who had made eye contact with him, muttered as if disappointed.
Jeong Yeon-shin rotated the wheel of light residing in his heart once. Along with this, the image of a sword was erected in his mind.
In a form sharper than ever since achieving bone transformation and Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.
'One move should be enough.'
With his indifferent face unchanged, he aimed the sword in his mind at the Ten Perfections Sect Leader.
"Hmm?"
In that moment, a snow-white sword energy rose like a wave from the Ten Perfections Sect Leader's grip.
Extreme reaction speed. His body moved automatically the moment he judged an attack was coming.
The sword energy tearing the air in place made a sound like a stack of paper being roughly torn.
This was what Jeong Yeon-shin had aimed for. Because he had mastered the Radiant Demon Technique, similar to the Zeng Jian-wu's, to the extreme.
'Fan Dragon.'
In a flash, he erased the sword in his mind and raised a fan, overlaying it onto the sword at his waist.
Simultaneously, with a boom—! sound, a ray of light rose from the scabbard and pierced the void in a straight line.
Fan Dragon Treading Lotus Technique, Mind-controlling sword.
Jjeojeong—!
A circular shockwave burst in the void, drawing a single massive ripple.
As the heat haze originating from the energy waves of the masters in the hall was pushed away in all directions, a tidal wave-like vibration swept the ground with a kuguung sound.
Through that gap, the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's form rapidly descended. A speed close to falling. He couldn't withstand the recoil with void absorption.
The expression of the demonic path absolute being who treated everything as amusement was not his usual one; undisguised surprise was evident on his wrinkled face as he looked at Jeong Yeon-shin.
Thud—
"They said you were of the Tyrant Hero's bloodline."
The old man who had landed on the ground narrowed his brow.
And so.
A scene that made the more than a hundred people in the hall hold their breath was created.
Ten Perfections Sect Leader, Pure Demon Alliance Leader, and Sichuan's Flower Shadow King.
A situation where ninety-nine out of a hundred martial artists would predict the miserable defeat of the Flower Shadow King.
It was a burden even for Jeong Yeon-shin. Because once he began exchanging techniques with them, he would inevitably be unable to protect the cart with the Tang siblings.
That's why he revealed his martial prowess.
Since each would value their own life extremely, he made them calculate that there was nothing to gain by crossing hands with Jeong Yeon-shin in this situation.
Even a Thirteen Evil Sects leader is fundamentally a martial artist of the Sima Evil Path. If they hadn't pursued personal advancement, they wouldn't have become Thirteen Evil Sects leaders.
The Pure Demon Alliance Leader revealed his yellowed teeth.
"Desolate Fortress has raised a monster. A child my disciple should have killed long ago."
"No, that one grew up alone. I heard it from the Golden Wing Sect Leader."
It was the Ten Perfections Sect Leader's reply. The Pure Demon Alliance Leader shook his head casually as if to say what does it matter.
"It's quite a sight to see someone of that age facing this old man. This has become very troublesome."
The Tang family they had invaded.
It's a clan with a very long history.
Great clans with long histories typically harbor mysteries accumulated over the ages.
From the entrance of the Tang family to the inner courtyard, the Nine Poison Formation, Silent Dragon Seeking Fear, Ghost King Spirit, and Heaven Thunder Rainstorm Formation made of all sorts of poisons, dharma treasures, and hidden weapons were such examples.
The final defensive formation of Sichuan's Tang family, difficult even for peerless masters to handle easily.
The mechanism formations of the clan known as the world's finest in poison techniques, medical techniques, and blacksmithing were unparalleled.
This was why the Ten Perfections Sect Leader and Pure Demon Alliance Leader, who were now looking at Jeong Yeon-shin, couldn't easily make a move.
Not in a state of full readiness.
When dealing with inferiors, there's no need to consider this.
But not now.
The two peerless masters had somehow abandoned their transcendent attitude of treating all things in the world as insignificant.
"What do you intend to do?"
The Ten Perfections Sect Leader asked as he sheathed the sword he had brandished alone prematurely.
As if he had never been angered by the death of his subordinate. The conduct of Sima Evil Path peerless masters was amazingly flexible like that.
The Pure Demon Alliance Leader, who had glanced at this behavior, gave a hearty laugh and then gestured with his chin toward Jeong Yeon-shin.
"Child, even if you're quite powerful, you can't handle both of us. Surely you don't think we'll take turns crossing hands with you."
"How shabby."
Jeong Yeon-shin calmly replied and slightly spread both hands downward.
Somehow, the divine sword of the Tang siblings was floating behind his back, emitting a fierce sword light.
Despite not particularly emitting energy waves, an overwhelming quality flowed from his entire body. With the transcendence characteristic of peerless masters.
He slowly parted his lips.
"You may attack together."
"..."
The crowd was left speechless.