A hazy whirlwind of energy.
It reached the sky, quite literally. The hemispherical space created by Surpassing Limits Martial Arts had not actually touched the azure heavens.
At this moment, the dragon's ascent, formed of fragmented protective energy, was carving cracks into the ceiling.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—!
Fragments of the Radiant Wheel flickered faintly along the surface of the vortex, appearing and disappearing repeatedly.
It was accompanied by a noise as if boulders were shattering. Cracks gradually spread through the space, which was formed through spell martial arts.
Trapped within the whirlwind was Sichuan's greatest martial artist.
Suspended forcefully in midair, the gourd that had been hanging from her waist had long since shattered into pieces.
"This… this is…!"
The golden feather-shaped protective energy was continuously shredded by the whirlwind. Amid the gaps of the storm, composed of faint beams of light, blood seeped out.
Until now, the Golden Wings Sect's leader had habitually performed Void-Stepping and Aerial Maneuvering Techniques.
Simply being lifted into the air did not restrict her movements. Normally, that was the case.
[They say that Sichuan's Full Sky Flower Rain can even trap a Flood Dragon. A mere human would be no different.]
Jung Yeonshin spoke.
His Protective Energy Technique was based on Full Sky Flower Rain. Though seemingly chaotic, it followed his thoughts.
Even the whirlwind of Celestial Dawn could be considered a form of swordplay. This was due to the profound mysteries of sword techniques being added to it.
"...!"
The Golden Wings Sect's leader could not counterattack. She could only writhe in midair.
When she tried to move her wrist, her entire elbow was lifted along with it.
When she attempted to release energy through the Yongcheon acupoint on her soles, the suddenly intensifying blade wind slanted against her knees and thighs, pushing her away.
The fierce currents swirling around were incredibly complex. It was entirely different from when the two had first met at Golden Wings Sect.
The blade winds twisted and curved numerous times in midair. Every trajectory was a changing variation. The flow of time, which had not existed before, was now embedded within it.
"Ah… ah...!"
[Die now.]
The Radiant Demon Squad's leader quietly looked up at her.
He had completely discerned every movement of her muscles. He immediately perceived and countered even the power waves arising from her blood pathways.
He had mastered the human body. He even possessed an ancient, transcendental sense.
Their energy levels were now equal.
The opposing natures of their inner forces had become meaningless.
Fragments of protective energy, with their repulsive force pushed to the extreme.
The senses of Jung Yeonshin, who controlled all those light fragments with Fan Dragon Lotus Binding Technique, and the opponent's movements, thoroughly analyzed over the course of two hundred exchanges.
The Golden Wings Sect's leader was an expert in close-quarters combat and ranged attacks. Even Surpassing Limits Martial Arts was a technique that assisted close-range strikes.
Even at the beginning of the fight, he had been helplessly sent flying by the sword techniques.
Now, the completed form of Full Sky Flower Rain approached her lethally. She was no different from the Flood Dragon.
A bird cannot escape a storm. Defense was impossible.
Kiaaaaaak—!
Her scream resembled the cry of a raptor. The echoes resounded in all directions, overwhelmingly loud. It was as if she were screaming with her entire body rather than just her mouth.
Jung Yeonshin stood still, maintaining Celestial Dawn.
'Just a little more.'
The sensation of his upper dantian burning like fire was rather proof that Celestial Dawn was a technique that could reach transcendental masters.
The dizziness was nothing. Even though the Golden Wings Sect's leader appeared in multiples, he could endure it.
At last.
The semi-transparent whirlwind let out a shattering sound at the ceiling of formation, and in its place, it scattered into hundreds of streaks of wind.
The vortex, unraveled into countless strands, pushed away the surrounding dust before vanishing.
Saaaah—
A subtle radiance returned and seeped into Jung Yeonshin's body.
He lowered his eyelids for a moment.
The fragments of light gathered again in his heart, forming a radiance wheel. The power was no longer the same as before.
He had consumed a great amount of energy, but it was something he could recover from with proper breath control and meditation.
'Defeating Sichuan's greatest master, an Overcomer, was a light price to pay.'
Jung Yeonshin thought calmly. When he focused his gaze, his vision became noticeably clearer.
On the barren land, stripped of even a single blade of grass or tree fragment, lay a tattered figure covered in dust.
It was the Golden Wings Sect's leader.
Between the tattered fragments of her clothing, blood glistened in place of flesh. The sight, gleaming in a deep crimson, was gruesome.
The ground beneath her grew darker with spreading pools of red.
Haa...
A faint breath could be felt.
It was internal energy breathing. Though barely, she was still generating power waves, seemingly having entered a state of breath control meditation.
Jung Yeonshin unconsciously thought of the leader of Ten Perfection Sect, a man who had survived death twice at the hands of both him and the Blood Flame Cult's leader.
Peerless masters were all, without exception, imbued with an overwhelming force of innate energy. They were not so different from the immortal nobles of the Blood Flame Cult.
'The head.'
Step.
He moved his heavy legs forward, activating the Jung Clan Movement Arts to stabilize his body. The ragged, wheezing breaths grew gradually closer.
The body of the Golden Wings Sect's leader trembled.
"Don't… come. Go away…"
He did not reply.
The moment he stopped near her, the dust swirling around his feet suddenly scattered to both sides.
At the same time, the flow of natural energy that had been gathering toward her nose was abruptly severed.
A step that pierced through momentum. It was Splendid Wings Step.
Her eyes wavered. As if it had always been so, her pupils were still dyed in gold.
"You disrupted my breathing, with footwork…?"
"I thought facing you would allow me to complete up to Eight Steps."
Jung Yeonshin spoke. Though unraveling counters in reverse was an enjoyable task, it did not contribute to the improvement of his footwork.
It wasn't a significant disappointment. There were plenty of touchstones. Once he left this place, he would become the storm that swept across the entire martial world. He had to anticipate the challenges of other peerless masters.
"At least I was able to refine Celestial Dawn. Your protective energy was quite formidable, wasn't it?"
"That wasn't, protective energy… not at all…"
A statement of defeat. Jung Yeonshin only spoke what he intended to.
"Since Circling Clouds Peak required such power, there shouldn't be much strength left for the demonic faction in Sichuan, right? The influence Yeoryeong and the Tyrant Sword Tribe can exert outside their lands must be limited."
"I don't… know about every single thing…"
The Golden Wings Sect's leader, lying face down, lips cracked red, barely moved her mouth. Soon, she lifted her head slightly, locking eyes with Jung Yeonshin.
"How, did you do it…?"
At last.
The full attention of Sichuan's greatest master, one who had always gazed down upon the world, was entirely on Jung Yeonshin.
The madmen who built his martial prowess by comprehending the principles of all things through annihilation. The distinctive, deranged gaze of a peerless master.
"What?"
"The technique just now… it wasn't just Full Sky Flower Rain. A release mnemonic, Astral energy, swordplay beyond form, distinct paths in each fragment… A human dantian shouldn't be able to handle that. Was Wudang trying to hunt me, by teaching you Dual-Intent Heart Technique…?"
Wudang's Dual-Intent Heart Technique. A supreme martial art that allowed one to divide their thoughts into multiple streams.
Jung Yeonshin had once pondered about it before.
Whether he could simultaneously execute Ultimate Thunder and Fan Dragon Lotus Binding Technique, by triggering his full internal power into Radiant River.
Wooong—
As he intensified the Grand Circulation of his Jung Clan Movement Arts to further stabilize his body, he shook his head briefly.
"I simply developed a technique that overlays the mysteries of swordsmanship onto protective energy. It wasn't difficult to grasp the flow."
"…That's nonsense."
"They say that peerless masters unleash all the martial arts they've trained in their lifetime in a single moment. Your Surpassing Limits Martial Arts broadened my horizons by breaking conventional forms."
He had fused two unique martial arts into one.
Jung Yeonshin absentmindedly ran his thumb along the hilt of Yurei, deep in thought. Now that he had grasped the thread, he could advance further.
The golden light in her eyes faded.
"You're wrong. Surpassing Limits Martial Arts is not a technique, but a state of mind. Even if you breathe through the dantian, you can't just…"
"Is breathing difficult for you?"
"..."
In the now-quiet space, Jung Yeonshin refined his insight. The Golden Wings Sect's leader was recognized as the greatest in Sichuan.
Even in casual exchanges, her words carried profound insight and realization.
She reaffirmed even what he had already known, making him feel it anew. Her perspective on Surpassing Limits Martial Arts was worth keeping in mind.
'Not a technique, but a state of mind…'
Jung Yeonshin muttered inwardly and adjusted his grip on his sword.
"Earlier, you said you would go out into the Under Heaven. I've heard you don't move unless it concerns a spiritual beast. Where were you thinking of heading?"
"…The southern edge of this land."
"The Imugi of Hainan was already hunted by my grandfather."
Jung Yeonshin spoke, recalling his grandfather's face. It was a story he had overheard while discussing the purple rivers of Jianghu.
Perhaps she knew the former leader of the Divine Sword Order well. The Golden Wings Sect's leader flipped her words as easily as turning her palm.
"Then west."
"Why?"
"My home is there. A place with beautiful mountains."
She spoke. Jung Yeonshin slowly nodded.
"See it after death."
No reply came.
The moment Splendid Wings Step had severed her breath control, it was over. She had withstood Celestial Dawn with her entire body and failed to recover from the severe internal injuries in time.
The Golden Wings Sect's leader's complexion grew deathly pale. Death was approaching swiftly.
Jung Yeonshin asked.
"Why did you obsess over the Flood Dragon, even at the cost of harming innocent people and livelihoods?"
"Because that is my heavenly mandate."
It was the moment she spoke of the will bestowed by the heavens.
Hwaaak—!
Suddenly, a golden radiance flared up and spread to Jung Yeonshin's feet. It was a glow emanating from the body of the Golden Wings Sect's leader.
For an instant, the massive form of a bird flickered above her before vanishing.
"People, they cling to names… they desire the attention of those who come after them…"
She spoke. Within her gaze lay a dry, playful glint—the kind that occasionally surfaced when she drank.
"But there are those who wish to return to the heavens without leaving even a trace of themselves behind. Because they do not want to be tainted by your hands."
A phenomenon bordering on the miraculous unfolded before him.
Her body was turning into golden light, fading rapidly in a way that was strangely mystical.
A current of energy swept against the hem of Jung Yeonshin's robe like a passing breeze.
Was she truly not human but a supernatural being? It was said that spiritual creatures rarely left traces behind on the mortal plane, for human greed reached even corpses.
"I am not dying in defeat. I am transcending this world and ascending—"
Thud!
Abruptly, a colorless shockwave struck down from the void above.
"...!"
A translucent gust of wind pressed her down. In an instant, her body regained its solidity, and the golden radiance vanished entirely.
"I've already ruined one of your spells before, yet you insist on these cheap tricks."
Jung Yeonshin dusted off his hand and adjusted his grip on his sword's hilt. Since coming to Sichuan, he had encountered spell martial arts quite frequently.
As long as they weren't cast swiftly enough for battle, he had learned to suppress them with force techniques.
It was time to bring this journey to an end.
"Die now."
The Divine Sword, Yurei, transformed into a streak of chilling light.
A downward stroke of his sword cleaved through the Golden Wings Sect's leader's neck with a dull yet decisive slash. Though his strength had waned, it was enough to sever her head.
Thud.
Her face, frozen in shock, tumbled onto the ground.
At the same moment, the space above them began to fracture. As the domain of Surpassing Limits Martial Arts collapsed, the vast night sky was revealed.
Jung Yeonshin immediately shut his eyes.
Having dispersed the technique accumulated by the Golden Wings Sect's leader using his Jung Clan Movement Arts, he needed a brief moment to cycle his Radiant Wheel and store energy.
Outside lay the battlefield.
With the dissolution of Surpassing Limits Martial Arts, the Flood Dragon's spirit, which had once dwelled in his heart, was also vanishing.
'Remember the sensation of perfected spell power.'
While imprinting the feeling of the Radiant Wheel in his mind, he thought of his senior grandmasters.
Many of those gathered outside were the elite of the Great Sects.
Each was far stronger than common vagabonds, and their numbers reached the hundreds. Anyone facing them had to be prepared for death. How many grueling battles still lay ahead?
'I haven't healed my severe internal injuries yet.'
The aftermath of slaying Sichuan's greatest master was immense. His internal and external wounds were both grave.
His meridians were severed, his bones were cracked, and his injuries ran deep. The brief activation of the Jung Clan Movement Arts was merely a temporary fix.
Shaolin's Bright Pure Pill was no longer an option. The miraculous elixir of Tianzhu Sect had been used up during his Rebirth of Bones and Flesh.
The strange medicines granted to his squad's masters had long since been consumed in the Golden Wings Sect's leader's attacks.
Saaaah—
The night sky stretched wider.
Jung Yeonshin stood motionless, assessing his martial arts.
He could not use Sword Thunder Flash Art or Infinite Blossom Fist Strike. He needed techniques that minimized recoil and energy consumption.
'I'll use a hundred strikes with one hand and support it with sword techniques.'
He had drawn inspiration from the First Fist of the Eun Clan during a past battle.
Slowly.
The hemispherical domain completely dissolved.
The vast night sky spread above him. The scent of mountain grass, thick with iron, filled the air.
Beneath the densely twinkling stars. A field of corpses lay.
Weapons lay shattered and embedded throughout the landscape. Deep craters, as if struck multiple times by immense energy waves, marred the ground. The pooled blood emitted a foul stench.
It was a silent night.
Among the countless strewn bodies, the silhouettes of a dozen figures cast long shadows. Each turned their bodies or rose to their feet.
The soft starlight poured down upon their jet-black robes.
"..."
Jung Yeonshin silently met their gazes, standing over the two-halved corpse of the Golden Wings Sect's leader at his feet.