Jung Yeonshin held the divine sword, Yurei, in his hand. It had returned as smoothly as flowing water from the abdomen of the Golden Wings Sect's leader.
Above, Cloud Circling Peak looked small from the sky.
The two halted.
Fwoosh.
The Golden Wings Sect's leader, her entire body wreathed in a bluish flame, slightly inclined her head toward Jung Yeonshin.
From her slight nod, flames scattered like feathers bursting from her nape. She resembled the incarnation of the golden-winged bird that devours dragons.
Rather than auspicious, she exuded an extreme sense of transcendence.
"That was a little sharp."
A clear voice softly resonated.
Jung Yeonshin glanced at the narrow abdomen of the Golden Wings Sect's leader.
It flickered through the azure flames.
On the golden-yellow front of her robe, a faint bloodstain had seeped through. A trace of his sword. It seemed her skin had only slightly torn. That was all.
'An absurd level of defensive energy.'
The speed and intensity of her internal energy barrier, its ability to absorb and dissipate force, were overwhelming. No previous opponent could compare.
Swoosh.
The greatest master of Sichuan extended her hand.
It was aimed at the center of Jung Yeonshin's forehead. From the tips of her white fingers, golden ripples spread outward.
The same energy wave that had earlier frozen Jung Yeonshin in place like a statue.
The raging wind that had fiercely lifted their garments just moments ago died down in an instant.
A blue light flashed in Jung Yeonshin's eyes.
'Judgment Qilin, Mnemonic Verse Modification.'
From his grip on the sword, pale and crimson energy waves overlapped like a rising tide, extending outward in a fierce sword strike.
Moonlight Harmony Technique and Demon Blood Roaring Art.
Not a simultaneous execution. He had continuously alternated between them in brief moments.
The veins on the back of his hand pulsed.
Yurei, wreathed in red and white currents, surged high against the golden ripples.
Fwoosh!
The golden waves scattered left and right like foam.
For the second time, her divine technique that locked down internal energy movement and restricted an opponent's body had been shattered.
Yet, the Golden Wings Sect's leader's beautiful face remained expressionless. Amid the returning storm, only her short black hair rippled upward.
She parted her lips.
It was as fast as if she had employed the Lip Synchronization Technique.
"Seam Resonance."
Her resplendent voice overlapped in multiple layers. It felt as if several of her were speaking at once. A chant, characteristic of sorcery martial arts.
Not even a blink had passed since their last exchange, yet from her palm, a massive golden light swelled into the shape of a ring.
Semi-transparent, yet immensely dense.
In an instant, it expanded like a tidal wave, engulfing Jung Yeonshin.
At that moment, the energy flowing through his entire body halted completely.
'It's different.'
Jung Yeonshin realized.
With the short incantation, "Seam Resonance", the Golden Wings Sect's leader's presence had changed.
She now seemed faint, as if her body straddled another world.
Was this how it felt when a ghost manifested? It was similar to what he had once sensed from the Zhuge Clan's leader.
Sorcery martial arts, Heaven-Flipping Dragon Cleave.
It seemed to be a state that made sealing techniques even stronger and faster. A lethal application of the Dragon-Slaying Art.
Unlike the Zhuge Clan's leader, she had prepared no formations, rituals, or sacred tools.
Whoosh!
The Golden Wings Sect's leader's face filled his vision.
Void Stepping.
She kicked off the air to close the distance between them.
In a single instant, she was upon him.
Her palm, enshrouded in dazzling golden light, pressed forward toward the space in front of Jung Yeonshin's abdomen.
A golden radiance tore up and down like lightning, flashing violently.
She struck without making contact. A force-impact strike.
Kwaaaaaang—!
A hazy shockwave swept through the sky.
Jung Yeonshin's body was driven straight down into the ground.
The impact against the earth was so violent that his back bounced up with a loud thud.
With the Iron Bridge Technique, he naturally righted himself.
Blood trickled between his lips.
Even so, he had not let go of Yurei's sword energy. A faint tremor spread around where his feet touched the ground.
It was the aftermath of the force-impact strike he had just endured. Even though he had dispersed much of its power into the earth, it had left him in this state.
His abdomen throbbed. It felt as if his muscles had been ripped apart and twisted in all directions.
The fascia had ruptured.
At least his internal organs, which had been momentarily crushed, had returned to normal. A testament to the Jung Clan Movement Arts at their peak.
Cloud Circling Peak.
They had returned to the hill where the duel tournament had begun.
The scene had changed.
The crowd filling the mountain slopes was now scattered in places. Even the monks of the Emei Sect were gone.
As Jung Yeonshin stitched his torn abdominal fascia together with his energy, he looked ahead.
Step.
The Golden Wings Sect's leader landed lightly, her gaze meeting his.
Her eyes, melted gold.
At some point, her pupils had turned golden, carrying an unspoken demand for surrender.
No one among the crowd dared to speak.
It was different from when the Ten Perfection Sect's leader had been present.
This was the presence of the greatest master of Sichuan, standing among her people.
"I can forgive you once. Become the net."
The Golden Wings Sect's leader spoke softly.
It was the same as before.
She sought to entangle the Flood Dragon with the Full Sky Flower Rain formation.
She spoke as if people did not exist in her mind. Only the image of a dragon filled her thoughts.
Jung Yeonshin slowly opened his mouth.
"A technique that seals the movement of internal energy. Is it martial arts?"
"It's sorcery martial arts."
She replied calmly.
Her tone bore no wariness.
It wasn't just absolute confidence, Jung Yeonshin now recognized that she was rather skilled at provocation.
"Why do you need Full Sky Flower Rain instead of using it directly on the Flood Dragon?"
"Sorcery doesn't work on it."
The Golden Wings Sect's leader responded indifferently.
Jung Yeonshin inwardly nodded.
For a mythical beast at the pinnacle of supernatural might, techniques that manipulated natural energy had no effect.
Only refined internal energy techniques, derived from the complete absorption of power through internal energy circulation, could injure it.
Something to keep in mind when facing the purple-colored world.
"You once said my Full Sky Flower Rain lacked depth."
"In terms of capturing people, yes. But a dragon is too large—strength matters more."
"What is the reason for capturing the Flood Dragon?"
"Because it is the natural order. Why do you ask? Thinking of joining?"
The Golden Wings Sect's leader asked with a faint lilt in her voice.
Somehow, her lips had found the side of a cracked flask that bore the mark of Jung Yeonshin's sword.
As if she intended to lap up the liquor beaded on its surface.
Step.
Jung Yeonshin silently took a step forward, his gaze locked on her.
Her presence remained as indistinct as mist or a ghost.
Despite displaying utter self-sufficiency, she maintained the state of "Seam Resonance", ensuring she could suppress him at any moment.
"The Dragon-Slaying Art has two forms. Against people, you incorporate the mystical aspects of sorcery martial arts. Against beasts, you rely purely on overwhelming force."
Jung Yeonshin spoke, his gaze clear.
The Golden Wings Sect's leader nodded.
"Yeah. Those two are Heaven-Flipping Dragon Cleave."
"My martial arts pursue short duels. Right now, I lack the means for prolonged combat."
"I suspected as much. Why tell me?"
"The martial world values appearances."
Jung Yeonshin recalled the Tang siblings as he spoke. At this moment, the stability of the common people was secondary.
His enemy and the Twin Poisons of Dragon and Phoenix.
He had taken up Yurei as a martial artist seeking vengeance.
That was why he had spoken of Lightning Genius' martial lineage.
A formality, unique to the martial world. Had she sensed his intent to kill?
The Golden Wings Sect's leader furrowed her brows.
"If you die, Full Sky Flower Rain… What about the Tang siblings? Are they well? Or should I recruit the Tang Clan's leader?"
No answer came.
Jung Yeonshin's figure warped and vanished from the spot.
Clang—!
The divine sword Yurei descended before her eyes. White dust rose in waves from the earth.
A pale shockwave spread, shaking the ground violently.
It had begun.
Their hands and feet collided. Yurei's sword light flickered ceaselessly.
The golden waves of the Dragon-Slaying Art, exuding overwhelming pressure, clashed with the sword strikes of Moonlight Harmony Technique and Demon Blood Roaring Art.
Within the golden mist, white and crimson threads unraveled into the air.
Clang! Boom!
It was different from before. This was no longer a brief exchange of strikes.
Jung Yeonshin unleashed every form of Sword Thunder Flash Art.
Even across a short distance, he closed the gap between himself and the Golden Wings Sect's leader in an instant using Judgment Qilin. Amidst the storm of force waves that lashed at his skin, he detonated the compressed power within his sword with the second technique, Nine Azure Rivers.
Whenever the Golden Wings Sect's leader's hands, cloaked in golden light, exploded with force waves like thunderbolts, he would counteract them with Radiant Sword Like Phosphorescence, a strike tracing chaotic trajectories born from the crimson blossoms of Lazy Flame Dragon, scattering the shockwaves.
Boom!
His vision shook.
It was the moment after a sudden golden ripple had swept over his body.
The Golden Wings Sect's leader's fist was embedded in his solar plexus, all of his momentum abruptly halted.
The shockwave that radiated in a circular pattern from her fist burrowed endlessly into the ground at their feet, making a deep, cracking sound.
Heaven-Flipping Dragon Cleave, in the state of Seam Resonance.
A supreme sealing technique, wielded at the speed of light.
Cough—
Jung Yeonshin spat blood.
For a moment, his hazy mind conjured the faces of the Tang siblings, then they vanished.
Along with the protective energy they had gifted him. He thought, Not yet.
"You… you take a beating well. Should I use my sword? Your swordplay is far more mysterious."
The Golden Wings Sect's leader muttered, her round eyes widening slightly.
At that moment, Jung Yeonshin slammed his left elbow onto her hand and let go of Yurei in his right.
"Sword Control? No."
Wuuuung—!
Along with her resplendent voice, golden light swept through the air once more.
Jung Yeonshin snatched Yurei back as it fell, spinning on the spot.
Clang!
Once again, Sword Thunder Flash Art. His grip was starting to tremble.
With each successive clash, the impact accumulated. The Golden Wings Sect's leader's every strike was monstrously powerful.
He instinctively knew—if he failed to channel the impact through his muscles the moment he was struck, that part of his body would rupture.
Fwoosh—!
At close range, the Golden Wings Sect's leader detonated another force-impact strike.
The flesh of Jung Yeonshin's right shoulder and left thigh burst open, spraying blood.
His wrist was beginning to disobey him.
It felt like his meridians were being torn apart. The battle itself was an infernal trial of endurance. Time had never been on his side.
It dulled his body and mind, wrapping them in a sluggish weight. He had no sense of how many moves had passed. Only his sharpened senses burned hot.
From Baihui Acupoint, his entire body turned stark white. Even the fine hairs on his skin brushed against the force waves, analyzing them down to the smallest detail.
How exactly was this internal energy seal being formed?
Was the Golden Wings Sect's leader's force-impact, said to break even the scales of the Flood Dragon, truly only this strong?
If he brought out the Transcending Law Radiant Wheel, how would it collide against Dragon-Slaying Art?
His vision blurred.
Only the arcs traced by her hands and feet remained vividly clear.
Each time he landed an extreme-speed step upon her back using Heaven-Piercing Dragon Scales Technique, Jung Yeonshin's blue eyes scanned the positions of her iliopsoas, knees, and the tip of her feet.
It was a habit.
The forms of every technique were slowly etching themselves into his unconscious mind.
A familiar state of selflessness was approaching. He saw no immediate path to victory. Only one thought grew sharper in his mind.
He wondered.
What would Bodhidharma and Zhang Sanfeng have done?
Great masters who wielded the Buddhist Dharma and Taoist Three Pure Forces in their lifetimes.
Would even they have no choice but to be defeated by a master of the Dragon-Slaying Art?
That can't be.
Then he had to contemplate. What is martial arts?
A seemingly trivial question crossed Jung Yeonshin's mind for the first time.
Something completely different from before now grazed his consciousness with a sharp sting.
The thought was linked to another, chasing the tail of his growing insight.
A hundred years of an ape's effort, a single year of human devotion.
Does time truly matter…?
Haa—
Just as he began to forget his inhalations and exhalations, the overwhelming impact tearing through his body jolted him back to awareness.
It was an explosion from the Golden Wings Sect's leader's palm techniques.
The thunderous vibrations surged through his sword, riding up his limbs.
"I'm done."
The Golden Wings Sect's leader spoke, stepping back.
A faint trace of bewilderment flickered through her golden eyes before vanishing.
"…What?"
"You've had enough of a beating. If you won't listen to me, don't come to Sichuan again."
The greatest master of Sichuan had spoken.
Jung Yeonshin tilted his head slightly.
Blood had soaked into his hair, now brushing past his shoulders.
Yet he felt no pain from his exposed bones.
There were tales of martial artists taking their own lives when their enlightenment was disrupted.
Jung Yeonshin never understood that. Even now, he didn't. His nature was that of lightning. Even his subconscious blazed with clarity.
He never missed a single clue, nor did he forget one. The surroundings were already falling into twilight.
Jung Yeonshin slowly parted his lips.
"One move."
"Hm?"
"Let's cross blades for one move. A duel to the death."
"No. Go fight that old Pure Demon instead. I'm sick of this."
Step.
The Golden Wings Sect's leader turned away.
The deeply gouged earth, carved as if by a giant's plow, was lightly stepped upon by her embroidered shoes.
Jung Yeonshin bit his lip unseen.
The Golden Wings Sect's leader's Heaven-Piercing Dragon Scales Technique was an absolute movement art.
She could use its propulsion waves to amplify her lightness technique.
In his current state, he couldn't keep up. Even if he used Ten Li Radiance Step, it would be the same.
"Let's not meet again."
Right after she spoke—
Rumble—
The air subtly trembled with military force. A collective aura.
The presence of an overwhelming number of martial forces lightly cut through the atmosphere.
An unmistakable killing intent. A will to slaughter every enemy gathered in these mountain slopes.
There were not just one or two, it had to be at least several hundred.
Heaven Spanning Net.
Among them, Jung Yeonshin recognized many of the energy waves he had encountered before.
The oppressive presence crushing the air belonged to the Tyrant Sword Tribe, the demonic energy spreading like countless blades was from the Pure Demon Alliance, the heavy military aura clanking with armor belonged to the Ten Perfection Sect, and the hunters freely displaying their presence with all sorts of exotic weaponry were from the Golden Wing Sect, but they were not alone.
Gathering such a force would have required mobilizing various sects of the martial world.
Among them were also numerous vagabonds, mercenaries selling their sword skills for food and a few copper coins.
The tournament that began as a simple martial contest had taken a drastic turn.
It was now shifting into a completely new phase.
[The Golden Wings Sect's leader's little game ended sooner than expected! While those baldies from Emei and Qingcheng are squabbling below, I suppose I'll take this chance to kill the Radiant Demon Squad's leader!]
At the Cloud Circling Peak.
It was as if Surpassing Limits Martial Arts had been activated—Ten Perfection Sect's leader had split into three figures, leading a vast number of warriors as they revealed themselves.
It was a martial army.
Most did not ascend in orderly lines. Instead, figures soared from all directions, landing and densely filling the surrounding area.
A massively concentrated wave of energy.
Jung Yeonshin saw the vegetation around him wither and cut itself apart under its oppressive force.
"..."
He was surrounded.
The Golden Wings Sect's leader had not yet left. She stood slightly turned, gazing silently at Jung Yeonshin.
The Ten Perfection Sect's leader picked up various weapons scattered around.
The Heaven Spanning Net, with elite warriors of the demonic faction, had taken position.
Chung Su Jin-in had suffered severe internal injuries at the hands of the Golden Wings Sect's leader.
Baek Yak had vanished, presumably in pursuit of the Pure Demon Alliance's leader.
It was a desperate crisis.
Jung Yeonshin had foreseen the possibility of such a situation arising.
In the chaotic Sichuan, he had prioritized above all else the opportunity to behead three of the Thirteen Celestial Demon Lords.
A large-scale faction war would have given him no chance of victory.
And he could not abandon the Tang Clan, which was already in a dire situation.
[Even if you leave, you must cut that man's throat. If you let him live here, who knows what kind of disaster he will bring in the future?]
The Ten Perfection Sect's leaders spoke.
Jung Yeonshin's gaze swept over them, one by one.
"Responding to a duel challenge with the Heaven Spanning Net… You've abandoned all pretense of honor."
[We must weigh the importance of matters. A child is just a child.]
"You've mastered the Turtle Breath Technique impressively. Do you know the Desolate Sacred Warrior? He would be your match. Unlike you, he wouldn't play dead."
[…]
The Ten Perfection Sect's leader remained silent.
Meanwhile, the cool hues of twilight deepened over Cloud Circling Peak.
The energy waves forming the encirclement had grown impossibly dense. It was enough to form an invisible wall of energy.
At some point, even the wind had stopped blowing. Only silence remained.
"Dark Flame King. I am the leader of the Revered Sword Sect, a sect I founded after learning the sword from the Tyrant Sword Tribe."
A swordsman with a scar on his cheek stepped forward.
"As a squad leader under the Divine Sword Order, I command you to declare that you will no longer interfere in the Sichuan martial world."
"Bring me an official decree stamped with a government seal, and I'll consider it."
Jung Yeonshin replied slowly, standing still.
'Could it be…?'
Even as hundreds of piercing gazes scanned his body, he sensed something strange. His heartbeat was loud. Each thud resounded powerfully.
For the first time in his life, an immense exhilaration welled up within him.
It was the first time he could not believe his own senses.
'Is this real?'
Asking himself was pointless. They were coming. From the distance.
A rush of familiar energy signatures mixed with unfamiliar presences tore through the space, surging toward him with ruthless speed.
Had they all departed from the same place at once? How was such a thing possible?
"The great famine has long covered the world. The time has come to cast off the oppression of Desolate Fortress. The covenant of non-interference… The martial world shall begin severing the fingers of the Divine Sword Order, one by one—"
At that moment.
On the outer edge of the encirclement.
Boom!
A massive banner plunged diagonally into the ground.
For an instant, the blue fabric fluttered wildly, rebounding with tremendous force.
Six characters were inscribed upon it.
The brushstrokes at the tips of each character felt so light they might take flight.
Divine Sword Order, Scorching Abyss Squad.
"Divine Sword Order, Scorching Abyss Squad…?"
A warrior of the Heaven Spanning Net muttered blankly.
It was the most renowned martial squad under Desolate Fortress, known for its unparalleled mastery of protective energy techniques.
Immediately after—
Boom! Boom—!
Blood Preservation Squad.
Supreme Martial Squad.
Dust surged upward in an inverted waterfall of force.
It was as if the Heaven Spanning Net itself was being surrounded in turn.
One by one, or all at once, banners slammed into the ground.
Each impact sent powerful waves of internal energy coursing through the battlefield.
The encirclement froze in place, utterly silent. Yet, Cloud Circling Peak continued to tremble.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Kugu-gung—!
Divine Sword Squad.
Dark Current Squad.
Ruyi Spring Squad.
Dragon-Stepping Squad.
Law and Order Squad.
Forest Striding Squad.
Immortal Spirit Wood Squad.
Heavenly Squad.
Annihilation Squad…
The biting stillness was relentlessly shattered.
Yet not a single expert spoke. They only looked around in stunned silence. As if these banners were something far greater than divine weapons.
And then—
Kwaaaaaang—!
A banner slammed into the ground beside Jung Yeonshin.
Its pole shook violently under the impact.
The dim, orange light of the setting sun cast its glow over the words inscribed on the fabric:
Divine Sword Order, Radiant Demon Squad.
Jung Yeonshin raised his head.
Beyond the flurry of banners in the wind, an overwhelming convergence of energy waves overlapped like a surging tidal wave.
Figures walking with their backs to the sunset.
Dark sleeves billowed from all directions.