Only then.
With a thud, a cloud of dust rose.
In an instant, four headless corpses lay scattered.
The dry wind, which had been blowing intermittently, mixed with the yellowish-brown tempest that surged over their bodies.
The swirling currents spun in dozens of directions as if flashing faint, jagged teeth.
The wilderness emptied into silence. Until the Radiant Demon Squad's leader lowered his hand.
Clang.
Four swords fell helplessly onto the dirt ground. As if they had never been instruments of divine skill, they lay limply, covered in dust.
Only the scholar standing alone seized his sword, staring at the leader of the Radiant Demon Squad with an expression of disbelief.
"...."
The members of the Trade Group froze. They were completely rigid.
Instead of shouting in alarm, the guards only exchanged hushed whispers.
Their voices trembled. What was that? A sword control technique? No, isn't there something more serious? The Divine Sword Order, that Radiant Demon Squad's leader…? Insane, insane…!
Even the merchant who had been humming a tune fell into silence, his sharp, calculating eyes moving quickly.
His gaze swept over the intruders, filled with astonishment, then gradually turned to despair.
"…Who are you?"
Suddenly, a girl clad in black robes stepped out of the dust cloud.
She stood beside Radiant Demon Squad's leader, staring at him intently. Her short black hair, hanging down over her face, swayed slightly with her exaggerated breathing.
She looked terribly mischievous. The playfulness on her face was plain to see.
"I sensed a Dark Current Squad kid, but why did you suddenly get so fast? That wasn't ordinary movement skill. I was sweating trying to keep up with you, you know?"
"Your breathing is uneven."
"I was too caught up watching your back. Your footwork, the flow of it, was just so beautiful, you know?"
Her eyes curved in delight, and her tone fluctuated dramatically, overly exaggerated.
Radiant Demon Squad's leader, Jung Yeonshin, deliberately refused to turn toward her. It felt as if he were performing tricks for a grandmother he had never met.
A senior who lived recklessly in daily life, with a youthful face. She had once called him a rival.
'It's a relief that Senior Jin is here.'
There were three clad in black from Desolate Fortress. That alone was enough to be called an invincible force, yet since he had never experienced them as companions, it didn't feel real.
Especially with one of them being the infamous eccentric, Desolate Divine Spear, it felt even more surreal.
They needed someone to keep them grounded.
Fortunately, the Supreme Demon of Sacred Blood was present. Among the many clad in black he had seen, Senior Jin was the most reliable.
A warrior of complete refinement, flawless as if woven without a single stitch. Even the sight before his eyes proved that much.
"Mo Junpyung of the Damgeuk Trade Group greets the esteemed figures of Desolate Fortress."
The merchant raised both hands in a formal bow.
Swish.
His flowing yellow sleeves slid down smoothly, his posture imbued with grace.
As if he had never dared to tarnish the dignity of Desolate Fortress, his voice, too, had been carefully adjusted.
He thoroughly concealed his previous intentions, to hand over the Dark Current Squad's white-robed warrior to the Zhuge Clan's leader.
"I acknowledge that I have no excuse in this situation. Thus, I seek a transaction."
Merchants of troubled times were said to be masters of survival.
To amass wealth in famine and gather warriors, one needed to possess a fierce and bold nature.
Mo Junpyung was a merchant handpicked by the Zhuge Clan's leader from Shaanxi. He had no intention of surrendering his life so easily.
Mo Junpyung spoke again, his gaze imploring as he looked at Jung Yeonshin's youthful face.
"It seems you are aware of the events in Shaanxi. You could use me to lure out the Zhuge Clan's leader instead. The government offices in Shaanxi are gradually losing their power. It is no longer the bureaucratic land you once stood on."
His voice rang out clearly, pleasant to the ear.
As Jung Yeonshin and Ak Surim stared at him, the cold sweat beading on his smooth forehead thickened. Despite the faint smile at the corners of his lips, fear of the overwhelming presence before him seeped through.
More intense than ever before.
"However, if I were to assist you, before the Zhuge Clan's leader could emerge—"
The man who had once held the world in his grasp continued speaking. He had already realized that one foot had stepped into the River of Three Crossings.
His voice, like a song, strung syllables together, as if desperately fleeing from death.
It was an instant.
He seemed unaware of the shadow that passed over him.
Neither the servants nor the guards, who stood around under the canopy, noticed either.
Tighten.
A pale hand with five white fingers clamped onto the merchant's crown. The veins stood out, a stark blue against his unusually pallid skin.
The air above the back of that hand was eerily still, yet until the moment that chilling grip sank in, no one reacted.
Only Mo Junpyung, eyes widening to the point of tearing, tensed his neck muscles.
His head was yanked upward.
Crunch— Splatter!
Flesh tore violently. Bright crimson blood spurted upward in a vivid stream. The merchant's words dissolved into a muffled rain of gore.
For a moment, the scattered droplets of blood silenced the wilderness.
The severed head, dragged carelessly up, was tossed away like worthless trash.
Swoosh.
The figure who had wiped his arm clean tucked his hand back into his robes. His art was the brutally refined Protective Energy Technique and Golden Flow Hand.
A tall man, lean yet wrapped in black robes, whose presence and aura resembled a bat folding its wings.
"Desolate Fortress does not negotiate with enemies."
The Supreme Demon of Sacred Blood, Jin Myungjo, spoke smoothly, his voice chilling.
* * *
Even the guards of the Damgeuk Trade Group were slaughtered.
The Supreme Blood Leader's hands knew no mercy.
Everyone was massacred except for the merchant's closest aide, who knelt nearby.
He even casually checked the vital points of those who had discarded their swords and kneeled, as if confirming their deaths without a second thought.
Like a blade honed in frost.
The commanding presence of a grand general, whose distinction between ally and enemy was crystal clear. Jung Yeonshin understood it as such.
"It seems Senior Jin alone has soiled his hands. I should have lent a hand as well."
He spoke.
The Supreme Blood Leader shook his head slightly, wiping his spotless hands with a cloth, as if cleansing something tainted.
"A meaningless thought. No warrior clad in black would ask the youngest of the First Sword Hall to do such a thing."
His voice had no fluctuations in tone.
Jung Yeonshin was impressed.
"I learn a senior's duty from you, Blood Preservation Squad's leader. When younger generations join, I will show them the same conduct."
"…Good."
Even his reticence carried an air of grace. His mastery of suppressing energy to the extreme was equally remarkable.
The Supreme Demon of Sacred Blood displayed the realm of Returning to Simplicity in his daily life.
A state where all immense martial energy was concealed.
Not a single strand of his aura intertwined with Jung Yeonshin's. Thus, it was impossible to gauge his limits.
The white-robed scholar beside him gazed at Jung Yeonshin curiously.
It was the same look he always received when showcasing his martial prowess, such as during ranking examinations.
The scholar-warrior spoke.
"My name is Han Jin. In the Gongya Clan, I go by the name Go Jin. I owe my life to you all."
His respectful bow was impeccably refined. Even the rustling of his robes sounded neat.
His scholar's disguise suited him well; he could easily be a tutor for the eldest daughter of a prestigious clan.
Jung Yeonshin shook his head.
"You survived because you sent the carrier pigeons regularly and on time. You saved those four lives yourself."
"I shall report to the local magistrate to verify my identity. How should I explain it?"
"The General Affairs Bureau has already taken care of it."
Ak Surim, who had been chuckling, clasped her hands behind her back.
Amid the thick scent of blood, she casually shrugged her small shoulders.
"We have to keep the 'Desolate' character hidden until we behead the Zhuge Clan's leader. The three clad in black don't officially exist anywhere. And we have to keep an eye on the First Fist of the Eun Clan and the possible connection to the Thirteen Celestial Demons."
It had already been discussed. She continued.
"From now on, Lightning Genius is the young sect leader of Mystic Heaven Sect, named Geom Un-bi. Teacher Go encountered bandits on his way to take the imperial exam, disposed of them with a single move, and formed a bond, staying in contact ever since."
"I understand. I greet the Sect Leader."
Han Jin of the Dark Current Squad, Go Jin of the Gongya Clan, raised his fist in a formal salute once more.
His impeccable demeanor made even his brazen attitude appear dignified. A peculiar individual.
As Jung Yeonshin nodded somewhat absentmindedly, Ak Surim spoke.
"Lightning Genius, you're going to stay secluded in the Gongya Clan. Try not to show yourself unless absolutely necessary, just focus on ensuring the Young Lady wins. Blood Leader and I will move around widely to keep watch on the surroundings. When on joint missions, the youngest should get the most comfortable bed, after all."
"The issue is whether the Gongya Clan will accept a wild wanderer like Geom Un-bi…"
Just as Jung Yeonshin trailed off, Ak Surim softly reached out and toyed with the ends of his hair.
The sound of her fingers rubbing against his black strands was playful. When the present Radiant Demon Squad's leader grimaced and moved away, her lips curled into a sly smile.
"You're a black-clad worthy of recognition by anyone. Within missions, you can move as you please."
"Did you say as I please?"
"Yep! Our Lightning Genius, do as you like. The other black-clad often change escort missions into extermination missions against the other side. If there's nothing worth protecting, why bother? Of course, they still get reprimanded… but it doesn't really do much. Everyone just accepts it. That's the nature of the black-clad."
"I have decided to model myself after Senior Blood Leader Jin. That will not happen."
Jung Yeonshin's tone was serious. Ak Surim's lips twitched slightly.
"Sure, sure. Anyway, the Zhuge Clan's leader will not appear in public. There's no reason to draw attention by revealing the clan's secret techniques. The Murim Alliance has begun to reorganize itself, after all."
"You mean the Murim Alliance?"
"Yeah. At the very least, they're not fools who'd hesitate to join forces just because the leader of Desolate Fortress exposed the weaknesses of the Eight Clan Heads. The rallying cry against Desolate Fortress has lost strength since the Sword Saint and the Zhuge Clan formed an alliance. Those who would have opposed striking down the Zhuge Clan's leader have long been cast out."
"That means he will have to keep a low profile."
"He'll likely send a quiet message to the verified winner of the martial competition, telling them where to meet. Establishing a new great sect is never an easy task."
"Is there a reason the General Affairs Bureau specifically chose the Gongya Clan's Young Lady?"
"First, because that's the only Shaanxi martial clan where the white-clad of the main headquarters have infiltrated. Second, because she's a strong candidate to win the martial competition."
"Her talent must be certain, then."
Jung Yeonshin recalled the monkey perched on the Taesa chair.
"Probably? There is a strong competitor, though. I heard he's hard to track down."
"Who is it?"
"The young leader of the Grand Moon Slaughter Sect. He's supposedly an extraordinary refined noble, but like all from that sect, he disappears without a trace most of the time. His title is 'Chivalrous Slayer.' They say he only kills warriors who oppress the common people."
"Because of the mission, we have to eliminate such a person."
The Radiant Demon Squad's leader took it for granted that the mission would succeed.
Anyone who had witnessed the Radiant Arts Secret wielded by Radiant Demon Squad's masters in their movement techniques would think the same. It was a natural confidence.
"Then… I'll go in alone. The signal will be detonating the Boreum Jade. I will send it infused with thick energy."
"Yep! Our Un-bi, do your best!"
"Fight well."
He parted ways with the seniors who had taken on reconnaissance. They would reunite at the decisive moment. To counter the gaze of a supreme master, it had to be done this way.
Ak Surim and Jin Myungjo each encouraged him in their own way before disappearing. The Supreme Demon of Sacred Blood, the Blood Preservation Squad's leader, moved especially fast.
Even to Jung Yeonshin, who had created the Ten Li Radiance Step, his speed seemed truly remarkable.
It was a Protective Energy Technique akin to the Seven Apostles, born from a noble bloodline.
"Let's go."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
Jung Yeonshin stepped toward Pyongyang Prefecture in Shaanxi Province.
Alongside him was an aide disguised as the Grand Young Lady's tutor.
For a while, he would have to assume the identity of Geom Un-bi, Sect Leader of Mystic Heaven Sect.
At least until the Zhuge Clan's leader was drawn out.
Crunch.
Behind them, the earth was stained black.
The corpses, steaming under the wilderness sunlight, exuded a haunting air.
As the once-bright blood seeped into the dirt, it darkened.
Like the ruthless ambition they had harbored.
* * *
Half a day later.
Jung Yeonshin arrived at the Gongya Clan estate in Shaanxi.
The grand, antiquated pavilions stood under the clear sunlight. The stately manor exuded an unexpected freshness.
Perhaps it was because the land was favorable.
Or perhaps the people of this household possessed exceptional energy.
"Who goes there?"
Two warriors, a man and a woman, stood guard at the gates.
They were clad in red martial robes that gleamed under the bright sun.
The man on the left gripped an exceptionally thick silver spear.
The woman on the right rested an enormous greatsword against the ground.
The elegant lines running from their shoulders down to their arms accentuated the well-trained musculature of their physiques.
An imposing aura radiated from their entire beings, their long black hair swaying slightly of its own accord.
The clan's discipline was strict.
They had clearly not neglected either internal or external martial arts.
Even the gatekeepers were at such a level.
It was a remarkable sight.
The might of the Gongya Clan was evident.
'I underestimated Hye-ah's words. One should always remain humble.'
Jung Yeonshin raised an eyebrow as he approached the gate.
He had abandoned expectations for anything outside Desolate Fortress, but it seemed he had been completely mistaken.
The Grand Young Lady must be an even greater master than these gatekeepers.
That was promising.
Highly encouraging, in fact.
"Oh!"
Beside him, Go Jin waved enthusiastically.
It seemed he was acquainted with the guards.
That meant they wouldn't have to waste time with unnecessary disputes.
With times as troubled as they were, noble clans had heightened their vigilance.
This was a good start.
"Grand Young Lady! Second Young Master! What brings you out here?"
He called out to the gatekeepers.
[T/L: Please support me AND read further chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans.]
[T/L: Subscribe for a membership on my Buy Me a Coffee page and receive 15 extra chapters upon joining, along with daily updates of one chapter: buymeacoffee.com/revengerscans ]
[Additional Info: If anyone is facing the issue of payment on Ko-Fi, please contact me on [email protected]]