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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Read only at Novelbyu.com
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Chapter 328 – Grandson
And then footsteps echoed. A short, crisp sound.
A man with a noticeably sturdy build descended onto the mountain peak.
The fierce momentum with which he had descended was nowhere to be seen. He had absorbed the impact of his fall with his internal energy manipulation.
As only his pink sleeve hem fluttered widely, he stepped down as casually as if he were out for a stroll.
Thud.
The silence he created seemed to take on a tangible form. It spread down to the ridge below like an invisible swamp.
At the foot of the slope connected to the peak.
The aftermath of his footstep came as a fierce wind. Blood, flesh, and bone fragments mixed with stone fragments rolled about. Down, further down.
Few of the martial forces had survived.
The sound of horse hooves that couldn't even utter cries occasionally struck the ground. The pitter-patter echoed emptily.
The mounted martial artists, with swords in one hand and reins tightly gripped in the other, were silent.
The solemn expressions had vanished from dozens of faces. It was literally a state of shock. Their expressions had completely changed.
Not only had the sword formation collapsed, but even their charge had stopped. They had no choice.
They stood beside the corpses of their slaughtered comrades. Surviving at this moment was close to heavenly fortune.
This was not something the Thirteen Evil Sects should experience. It could be called a surreal sight.
"..."
The enforced silence was deep. None among them could open their mouths. That was true for the mounted martial artists.
The absolute being who stood straight at their head was different.
"Who are you?"
The master of the Profound Martial Alliance. Military King Martial Emperor Goon Wei-hu.
The Profound Martial Alliance Leader's fur coat, woven from pure white fur, fluttered violently. He had been floating about an inch off the ground with void treading skill.
Even as the ground beneath his feet sank in a circle with a dull sound, his body remained nobly afloat.
Boom—
The ground shook. It wasn't the recoil from the intruder's strike, but the aftermath rising from the ground that had suddenly sunk upon receiving Goon Wei-hu's energy waves.
The impact didn't end with a single blow. The energy waves of the Profound Martial Alliance's Martial Brilliance Technique, which had reached the extreme, were said to trigger even landslides.
It was a terrifying divine presence. Anger and the explosion of true energy occurred simultaneously, with his internal energy manipulation reaching the stage of manifesting mental imagery.
Yet he didn't act rashly or launch a counterattack. This was due to his temperament that valued certain victory, befitting one called the King of the martial world.
The Profound Martial Alliance Leader remained as he always was, even when facing an unexpected presence. Analyzing the opponent came first.
As the remaining forces of the Profound Martial Alliance behind him finally exhaled long breaths.
"I asked for your identity."
The Profound Martial Alliance Leader's interrogation continued.
It was a stern voice. He showed no sign of recognizing the one who had suddenly appeared.
This wasn't strange.
Though the names of the extraordinarily powerful leaders of major factions in the world were often mentioned in the same breath by connoisseurs, it was rare for them to be acquainted with each other.
This was because they were busy tending to their own cultivation and sect affairs, and because the world was vast. This was especially true if sect leaders had changed and decades had passed.
The man in the pink robe opened his mouth.
"The manner of speech of this young one is amusing."
Words directed at none other than the Profound Martial Alliance Leader.
"Wait there."
It was outrageous. Both his words and conduct were so. Though he had descended with an expression full of rage, after flicking his hand once, he didn't even spare a glance.
His innate temperament was evident in the way he turned his eyes toward the clearing at the top of the peak.
His priorities were clear. His temperament was so stubborn it could be perceived as arrogant.
But then.
"Yeon-shin."
The man's voice softened.
"I can see you've achieved a level of accomplishment that makes you almost unrecognizable. Your energy waves remind me of hundred-times refined steel. It must be due to your own secret techniques. I'm very curious."
"How…?"
Jeong Yeon-shin briefly closed and opened his eyes. He stood at the top of the slope.
He couldn't help it, even with Star Radiance Great Sword Lord Murong Jung-rak holding his sword lowered right beside him.
Was it because the tension had momentarily dissipated? No, the Murong family head was also displaying a notable peculiarity, just like the Profound Martial Alliance Leader.
The Murong family's foremost swordsman, who had begun to be called a peerless master in his middle age like Goon Wei-hu, looked down at the intruder with a blank stare.
The aged young man paid no attention.
"I heard rumors that Zhuge's head flew off at your sword. When I read documents containing that fellow's words and conduct, I was extremely heated, but the parts about you served as my pillow for days and nights. I'm glad you're safe. This old man has received an undeserved blessing in his later years."
He spoke in an elderly manner with a young voice. Looking only at the Radiant Demon Wing Leader.
It was different from how he had addressed the Profound Martial Alliance Leader. Extremely kind words and conduct. Like telling a long story to a grandchild.
'Ah.'
The Radiant Demon Wing Leader, who hadn't backed down even when facing the peerless master Star Radiance Great Sword Lord, seemed momentarily at a loss for words, his lips moving slightly as he adjusted his grip on the Northern Light Divine Sword.
Desolate Fortress occasionally reminds him of his solitude. Because it makes him realize he's not alone. In his truly lonely childhood, he didn't know what emptiness and loneliness were.
Suddenly, a house with swings and kites flashed through his mind. It wasn't the Jeong family estate, nor the Ma family mansion, but somewhere else.
At this moment, there wasn't much he could say aloud.
The words that struggled to form in his throat came out in a voice no different from usual once they passed his lips.
"…Have you been well?"
"Of course. You're the same as ever. That's also this old man's fault…"
The man's words conveyed two meanings. He was simultaneously referring to the remarkably strengthened body and the attitude that never showed signs of hardship.
It was embarrassingly sentimental. It was conduct difficult for the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader to accept, instead only awakening his tempestuous temperament.
***
***
Jeong Yeon-shin didn't want to see his maternal grandfather's worried expression. Anyone of his age would feel the same.
So he changed the subject. Murong family head and Profound Martial Alliance Leader. He wanted to focus entirely on this land that had become a rare danger zone in the world.
"I must face the Star Radiance Great Sword Lord. Even if I cannot behead him…"
"Do as you wish."
Tyrant Hero Ma Yeon-jeok, with his hands behind his back, nodded. His cold impression was displaced by an awkwardly affectionate smile.
"You must eventually go to broader places."
His maternal grandfather said. With the Murong family head and Profound Martial Alliance Leader above and below him.
At the same time, Jeong Yeon-shin's eyelids lowered slightly… He felt a strange sensation. The wilderness was transforming into Desolate Fortress's marble training ground.
Even without hearing it with his ears, his grandfather's intentions reached him. When else would he encounter such an opportunity if not now? The old man would watch over him, so he could focus on improving his martial arts… It came to him in his heart.
Had his crown resonated with his grandfather's upper dantian?
Whoosh—
A gust of wind swept past his feet. The air touching his skin was different from before.
A somewhat lukewarm feeling. The faint spring energy occasionally visible in the whitish dust truly made it feel like the end of winter.
The mounted masters who were looking up at the peak from the slope below with the Profound Martial Alliance Leader.
The white-robed swordsman from Liaoning, Murong Jung-rak, standing motionless in the clearing at the peak with his sword lowered.
Tyrant Hero Ma Yeon-jeok, standing in the center, had stopped everything.
Hwook.
Suddenly, as the late winter sandstorm subsided.
The place that was about to become a battlefield for martial artists transformed into a kind of dueling ground.
The surroundings entered a strange standoff. Military King Martial Emperor Goon Wei-hu kept his mouth shut and fixed his gaze only on the intruder, while the Profound Martial Alliance's mounted masters dismounted and stood in a row behind their master.
The sound of trampling the flesh of their comrades, conduct suggesting they would step into death at the command… It was the spirit befitting a major faction of the Thirteen Evil Sects.
Rustle.
Jeong Yeon-shin turned toward Murong Jung-rak. The sound of his feet brushing against stone fragments was no longer as desolate as before.
"Who are you?"
The Murong family's peerless swordsman, standing with his back straight, asked.
Star Radiance Great Sword Lord was also a monster of incredible power.
The blue lightning flashing in his two eyes demonstrated his discernment.
He seemed to have seen through Tyrant Hero Ma Yeon-jeok's temperament despite him barely speaking a few words, and also appeared to have penetrated the strangeness of the naturally flowing archaic speech of the man who had suddenly appeared.
Given a little more time, he would have more than guessed Tyrant Hero Ma Yeon-jeok's identity. The same would be true for the Profound Martial Alliance Leader.
"Was there such a person in Desolate Fortress? Besides that Ma fellow of the Divine Sword Group?"
The Murong family head asked casually while twisting his sword body this way and that. It meant his demeanor was the same as usual.
Was it due to his ingrained temperament? Though he was clearly at the greatest disadvantage in this three-way confrontation, he appeared relaxed despite being alone. It was befitting of an absolute being counted among the martial aristocrats of the martial world.
Jeong Yeon-shin didn't answer. He only felt the grip of the Northern Light Divine Sword, which had fully warmed up.
'It feels like the first time.'
The Radiant Demon Wing Leader until now.
Had not been relaxed. He had frequently been placed in unfavorable environments.
Since becoming a Black-rank, he had felt a responsibility as if he had become the master of a family. From an inferior position, he had only faced supreme masters much older than himself, and had to watch out for his companions while thinking of the future.
His given fate had demanded this. This was why the Lightning Genius lineage pursued extremely short decisive battles.
Now it was different. Completely different.
This was a real battle, yet he felt at ease.
His opponent was not a peerless master who had exhausted his energy and let his guard down like Zhuge Clan Leader, yet the air surrounding Jeong Yeon-shin flowed calmly.
He treated the Thirteen Evil Sects Leader standing at the foot of the slope as a spectator rather than an enemy. His mind was at peace. Even with one of the Eight Clan Leaders before him.
"An unexpected windfall pleases me."
Murong Jung-rak said.
"I came to obtain protective energy, but I'll also hone my sword skills before leaving."
"What?"
"It would be right to quickly behead you and then go to that fellow. Come on in."
Words and conduct that treated Jeong Yeon-shin as a mere stepping stone. They say none among the absolute beings of the martial world are not obsessed with martial arts.
Despite knowing he was inferior, his eagerness to exchange swords was directed at Tyrant Hero Ma Yeon-jeok.
He would absolutely not die. It seemed like the confidence of transcendent masters with profound cultivation. It emanated from his tone.
"I don't have the conditions to linger long with a child who hasn't fully grown. Use the martial arts that beheaded Zhuge Tian-shang as your first move."
"Are you stronger than the master of the Zhuge family?"
Jeong Yeon-shin slightly loosened the strength in his hand gripping the sword handle. Murong Jung-rak raised the corner of his mouth.
"What use is there in discussing the martial prowess of one who lived and died as a revived dragon? That fellow ultimately failed to rule Shanxi. From the beginning, he tried to act like Zhuge Liang by making Sword Star the Brilliant Emperor, but he couldn't even uncoil his formation before your scheme. Despite even holding the breaking method for the Yue Family Spear."
Woong.
A white light arose from the sword that the Murong family head had raised with one hand. It was as if the distant stars in the sky had been wrapped around the blade like silk. A transcendent quality spread from it.
"Victory and defeat in the martial world are the supreme matters of warfare. One who beheaded Zhuge Liang through joint attack and heavenly fortune should not be so arrogant."
Soon after, his sword became hazy.
He was finally making his move.
The Murong family's Flowing Star Sword transformed into a hazy pillar of light. In that moment, the surrounding air violently rippled like a semi-transparent blue wave.
The sword strike energy waves extending in a straight line were incredibly fast.
The moment of proof had come.
It was the moment when the world would know that not just a rising Black-rank, but a martial artist closest to the rank of Divine Sword Group Leader had appeared.
Woooong—
In Jeong Yeon-shin's mind, a dragon made of light ascended holding a fan in its mouth.
'Mystical Secret Technique.'
Fan Dragon Treading Lotus Technique.
The formless waves that had bloomed in his upper dantian rose fiercely. It was in the instant when the sword light of Murong Jung-rak, who was said to have pacified the vast land of Liaoning, flickered in his vision.
The mind of Lotus Nezha, unconcerned with this, walked through the realm of light.
The dragon, descending the slope of the side mountain peak like a ray of light.
The mystical energy of the Baihui acupoint roughly scratched the air as the dragon's mental image, and as it was fashioned into a passage that resonated with the spirituality of the upper dantian, it struck like lightning into the crown of Tyrant Hero Ma Yeon-jeok.
Boom!
With a roaring sound, a tremendous shockwave erupted.