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Translated by Heavenly Cat
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Chapter 334 – Grandson (7)
How long had it been since he entered the martial world?
'About two years…?'
Jeong Yeon-shin couldn't calculate precisely.
This was also about examining his remaining lifespan, which would inevitably bring up things he had been consciously suppressing.
Things he wanted to do in his twenties, the type of house he would build if he established a family, his body's strange reactions to the Seventh Apostle's touch or when evaluating Shin So-bin's martial arts, the peculiar temperament that occasionally broke through his innate humility… Things that made the approach of death more frightening or newly reminded him of it.
Once, a comrade from the Azure Sky Squad who had fought alongside him in Sichuan said that the Temporary Squad Leader's actions were like lightness skill crossing the wilderness.
He also recalled the compliment from a scribe of the Administration Office. That one of the Three Black Pillars would become the future Divine Sword Group Leader, and the next would inevitably be the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader.
He said his footsteps were drawing a straight line in the shape of a divine sword. Because a talent of a thousand years was running forward like someone who couldn't afford to look anywhere but ahead.
Jeong Yeon-shin didn't think so.
He was simply afraid to look back. He was reluctant to confirm how much time had passed and how he had walked it.
Wondering if there might have been another best path in the time that had passed. The martial world was too harsh and difficult a place.
The life-or-death duel he had fought alone against the Star Radiance Great Sword Lord.
It was terrifying. He wasn't confident he would win if they fought again. Though only people from Liaoning might include Murong Jung-rak's name when listing the world's top ten masters.
But Star Radiance Great Sword Lord was clearly a peerless master with a renowned title throughout the world.
A figure who could substitute for an army alone. Even the fact that the battle had ended in something close to a draw should be considered heavenly fortune.
The Flowing Star Sword that had pierced his abdomen contained terrifying sword power. The sword techniques of a peerless swordsman transcend common principles.
The energy waves that had extended from the thrusting sword tip had long since seeped into his body.
All sorts of marvels were contained in a single sword strike, and the incredibly powerful weight-increasing technique was one of them. The Jeong Family Dynamic Technique was close to a means of making a corpse look presentable.
Death.
The last thing he remembered was his vision darkening as he collapsed weakly.
Lying collapsed beside the Murong family head who had closed his eyes. The feeling of his consciousness sinking into a dim quagmire. Would the moment of exhausting the heavenly lifespan given to the Baihui acupoint be like this too?
Many faces came to mind.
His niece and second brother, the revered Desolate Fortress Lord, the people of the main fortress who were brothers-in-arms exchanging lives, those he had formed friendships with in the martial world, the Seventh Apostle who had saved Jeong Yeon-shin and thereby saved his uncle and dozens of Desolate Fortress comrades…
As he sank into the abyss, Jeong Yeon-shin thought: I need to repay them.
At this moment, the only things he could grasp like straws were his feelings and memories of them.
As death darkened his consciousness, Jeong Yeon-shin felt grateful. This fear was not a terror that would end in emptiness.
'In the end, even you filled my journey in the martial world…'
The spirituality residing in the Luminous Wheel of his heart was fading into the distance. The wheel forged in the image of Bodhidharma was losing its light.
Suddenly, a crimson eye filled with madness flashed through his mind. The eye that had looked only at him, which along with the Desolate Fortress Lord had the greatest influence on him, suddenly appeared and then faded along with his consciousness.
Jeong Yeon-shin also knew about kindness that couldn't be repaid. She too might develop a detached resignation. That wouldn't be particularly pleasant.
'Namgung Young Master.'
Finally, he addressed Azure Qilin. Saying that he had wanted to become like him.
I'm still too short-limbed for that. Jeong Yeon-shin, deliberately ignoring his own demise, smiled.
Slowly.
His consciousness embraced a numb colorlessness. Eventually, he felt nothing at all. Just as he had always imagined his end would be.
Then suddenly.
Thump—
Even when a wick made of true energy was inserted into his chest, he couldn't escape from the abyss.
Even as a warm energy filled his twelve meridians and three hundred sixty-five acupoints and penetrated into his bones, he remained deeply asleep.
Only the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique arose on its own. Along with the changes occurring in his body due to the miraculous ability.
—Mother?
His unconscious began to dream. Forgetting the current situation entirely.
—No, it's the Fortress Lord.
The feeling of caressing his body through martial arts.
It was soft and warm. It reminded him of the gentle touch of the Desolate Fortress Lord who had always given gentle teachings.
His wandering unconscious pushed away the thought that it might be his maternal grandfather. That would be extremely awkward.
Thump— Thump—
His heart pounded like a drum.
The blood vessels and muscles throughout his body writhed as if boiling. The circulating currents that seemed intent on kneading his entire body like clay felt somewhat arrogant.
It was trying to transform his body at will. With a flow close to a mystical miracle.
It was indeed a dream.
It felt as if it would recreate not only all the muscles and acupoints in his body, but even his bones. Though his physique was already woven to the extreme, the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique was heating his entire body as if to surpass even the achievement of great completion.
To reach beyond this, one would have to create something from nothing, yet it was white-hot like his upper dantian.
—Is it possible? The Fortress Lord is indeed…
It first touched the meridians of the Great Heavenly Circuit that divide the upper body in two.
Was it seeking its own best solution? Just as the current, independent of the will in his mind, was first tightly constricting the ligaments of his spine.
—I apologize. That doesn't seem right.
The flow changed after Jeong Yeon-shin spoke carefully.
It was an incredibly easy thing.
The movement of the ligaments stopped. The thousand-year talent had confined the bone-transformation under his own control.
True energy and flesh could not defy his will. As always.
—The Thunder Annihilation Sword Style and Eternal Blossom Fist are powerful and swift martial arts. A straight-line penetration is good for ending fights quickly, but it's regrettable that it's difficult to mix in variations. If the muscle bundles of the psoas major are made thicker and more elastic, it will be easier to add variations. The radius of the wrist also needs to be stronger.
It is shaped according to his will. It moves as requested. Such an intuition came in his dreamlike consciousness.
Jeong Yeon-shin found it enjoyable. It was like engaging in a childhood game that had been difficult to even dream of in the Jeong family estate.
Together with the Desolate Fortress Lord who resided in his mind as the incarnation of martial extremity. In his dream, he treated the body-making like building a sand castle.
He had been skilled at playing alone since childhood…
—The Yongquan acupoint is better when it's wider. The Ten Li Gentle Light is a lightness skill I created, but it's a fairly decent work. It might be an eye-pleasing sight for the Fortress Lord, and if you're willing to see it, the fruit… You say the propulsive force of the energy waves is too strong? Please don't worry about that. How could someone who cannot control their own body be called human?
—The length of the limbs determines the interval. I hope my height will grow as much as possible. Tall enough to have a higher eye level than anyone in the world, like the giant Pangu from the Classic of Mountains and Seas… What? Why not…
There are no concealments in the unconscious of a dream. Reverence transformed into familiarity.
—Cartilage. Yes, cartilage is important… It should be as strong as diamond, with energy constantly residing there so it never wears down. It's not difficult. By weaving threads of true energy between the joint bones like this, making the ligaments connect like heavenly silkworm thread…
—Thinking of counterattack techniques, the elasticity of the entire body's bones and muscles should be as strong as possible. I'll shape it along the jueyin meridian from inside the body. It's not difficult. The problem is strengthening and extending the bones, but if this is possible, it doesn't matter how much energy it takes.
—…This is a body I can control at will. If the body truly becomes this strong, Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown would be easy.
The upper and lower body were completely woven according to his will.
The Jeong Family Dynamic Technique in his dream was truly incredible. A body ideally suited for deploying unique martial arts had been created.
Regardless of the depth of his cultivation, in terms of physical body alone, it seemed he would not be inferior to any peerless master.
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke with difficulty.
—Raising this flow to the head would still be difficult, wouldn't it…?
It is said that what resides in the human skull is a microcosm containing all things. Since ancient times, it has been called the dwelling place of the divine because it is unknowable and spiritual.
The Baihui acupoint at the crown is a passage connecting the upper dantian to heaven. This means it is directly connected to the brain.
It cannot be artificially manipulated.
The contraction and expansion of meridians follows the pulse, and even the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique cannot regulate the brain like the three pulses. Not unless one wishes to immediately meet one's end.
That's why it was heavenly mandate. The lifespan determined by heaven.
The same was true for bone transformation. If he had faced it defenseless without controlling will from inside and outside, his upper dantian would have expanded just like his lower and middle dantians, which had now become wider.
It would inevitably have had some adverse effect on the Baihui acupoint.
'It's alright.'
Jeong Yeon-shin recited inwardly.
This was right after he had suddenly become aware of all the circumstances before and after. His consciousness was remarkably clear.
It was so bright and clear that he felt he could even enshrine the Fortress Lord in his mental cultivation space. Though he wouldn't be able to embody her divine presence.
'I'm alive.'
His heartbeat was stronger than ever before.
The Luminous Wheel had long since regained its brilliant light.
Hoo—
He suddenly smelled the faint scent of earth. Along with extreme pain that cut through his entire body.
It felt as if all his skin had been wide open. Transparent and cold.
The late winter air felt clearer than ever before. The inexplicable sense of unity felt throughout his body was also very unfamiliar.
It was difficult to open his eyes. His hands wouldn't move either.
Only the busy movements around him approached like thunder.
Jeong Yeon-shin closed his eyes for a moment and endured the recoil of the bone transformation. It seemed like dozens of breaths would be needed.
***
***
The corpse of the Murong family head lay on a hill without vegetation. The surrounding soil, which would have been yellowish, had long been covered with dark red bloodstains.
Blood continuously seeped from beneath the corpse of Star Radiance Great Sword Lord Murong Jung-rak.
It was a scene that lacked reality.
This was why people hanging from the surrounding cliffs or hiding their bodies behind rocks had been showing their shock for a long time.
None of the Slaughter Sect members who had been living as dignitaries in the great city of Taiyuan could pretend to be calm. Whether they were elderly scholars, great merchants, third-rate swordsmen, or renowned fist masters, they all wore their own expressions.
The Star Radiance Great Sword Lord had died in a one-on-one life-or-death duel.
It was clearly a defeat. This was because the breathing of the Radiant Demon Wing Leader lying right beside him was peaceful. It was a breath that would sound like thunder to assassins.
"It seems the young master of the Profound Martial Alliance has missed the Profound Martial Alliance Leader. Leading a martial force, heading straight here…"
One elder who had belatedly heard the news reacted intensely, then immediately closed his mouth again.
Those who had been secretly ruling Taiyuan had seen too many strange sights today. Even the long-cherished wish of their sect had been unexpectedly resolved.
Not by them, but by the precious sword of Desolate Fortress.
"..."
A strange sentiment played in the silence.
The body of the absolute being who had destroyed the Heavenly Demon's Tomb and plundered the Heavenly Demon's legacy was gradually growing cold.
The gathering at this peak consisted of martial artists who could substitute tactile sensation with energy perception.
They maintained silence while fully sensing the heat that the corpse of Liaodong's number one sword, Star Radiance Great Sword Lord, was losing.
The defeat of a peerless master is a sight difficult to witness even once in a lifetime.
Even more so if he was the enemy of one's sect.
At this moment, even if the four Desolate Fortress martial artists guarding the bedside of the Radiant Demon Wing Leader had not been present, the masters of the Slaughter Sect would have stood as protectors for Lotus Nezha Lightning Genius.
"Bone transformation…"
Slaughter Chivalry, glancing at his brother Hyeon Won-chang, muttered while pressing down his black hat.
It was after an incredible phenomenon had openly occurred beside the corpse of the peerless master, difficult to believe even while witnessing it.
Everyone had witnessed the transformation of the Radiant Demon Wing Leader. A marvelous and beautiful sight as if absorbing the soul of a person.
As time passed with the sunset spreading over the distant ridge, no one moved.
Until the boy who had killed the peerless master.
Opened his eyes in the form of a young man with long limbs.