Huh—
The village gatekeeper belatedly let out a gasp.
In his eyes, which had been pushed to the brink of death, appeared the figure of an extraordinarily handsome young man surrounded by a very faint smoke.
It was something difficult for any martial artist to imagine.
Protective energy is an internal energy technique integrated with a martial artist's body, not merely a piece of clothing.
It's a technique that even the caster finds difficult to put on others. The very notion of it being stolen was meaningless.
Unless one was born with a sense that could thoroughly measure the flow of energy and an indescribable mastery over internal energy.
"You… who are you?"
One of the most noble within the vast Golden Wing Sect.
The Dragon Spirit Divine Fist's reaction could only be one of shock. His first move had gone awry, and though he should rightfully launch his second technique, it was natural for him to freeze in place.
Jeong Yeon-shin furrowed his brow slightly without answering.
While mending like fabric the structure of the protective energy surrounding his entire body like faint smoke, the defensive energy that even now constantly tried to dissipate, with his own energy.
It was an extremely important matter.
In this way, he examined what flaws such low-quality protective energy possessed.
A true energy structure focused on maximizing the impact of offensive techniques rather than absorbing strikes. While the surface was quite solidly condensed, the energy filling the interior of the protective energy moved about actively.
'It writhes cumbersomely.'
Wan Yang's energy was strange. Having cultivated dragon-slaying techniques, the true energy itself had an expansive quality.
Using the natural energy dwelling in this mystical place as a driving force, it endlessly tried to spread outward, with a temperament completely different from the internal energy of the Tang siblings. As if it were an internal martial art originally created in this environment.
'In any case, it will be difficult to use again.'
Jeong Yeon-shin thought.
The technique of stripping off and wearing the opponent's protective energy.
If attempted in a life-or-death battle between peerless masters where supreme techniques fly about, there's a high chance of instant death from a counterattack. Unless the opponent is a foolish monkey, it would be difficult to use again.
"You strange b*st*rd… how could this…!"
Wan Yang's eyes trembled slightly as he faced Jeong Yeon-shin at close range.
It was close combat distance.
If Jeong Yeon-shin had immediately struck again, he would have suffered a fatal wound without a chance to resist. Humiliation seeped from his quivering eyes.
Moreover, Wan Yang seemed to have gained some certainty.
"Are you truly Tang Man-yan? I've never heard of such unorthodox teachings being passed down in the Tang family martial lineage."
Though it might not seem so to Jeong Yeon-shin, those who have reached the level of supreme masters are without exception geniuses of the world.
Though pride, temperament, various circumstances, and environments often cloud their wisdom, they fundamentally possess sharp discernment.
Wan Yang was no different.
"Come to think of it, what the Sect Leader said about your Myriad Heavens Flower Rain…"
He muttered to himself.
The Golden Wing Sect's guardian had pierced through to the core of the Lightning Genius martial lineage.
The quality and temperament of unconsciously adapting one's martial arts to the situation rather than trusting in one's techniques and overcoming crises no matter what situation arises. It would inevitably come across as alien to any martial artist.
Jeong Yeon-shin felt bitter. He had already been criticized about the depth of his Myriad Heavens Flower Rain by the Golden Wing Sect Leader.
But he didn't show it. Just as he always had in the Jeong family estate when he was young.
The one with an enraged expression was Wan Yang. He seemed to feel as much anger as he had been shocked by Jeong Yeon-shin's internal energy manipulation.
From the beginning, he was someone who greatly admired the Golden Wing Sect Leader, even acting as her attendant. He was faithful to the emotions before him rather than considering the deeper situation.
"So you dared to deceive the Sect Leader. Come to think of it, after the great spell was cast… the fact that only you three were with me wasn't an ordinary situation. It must have been your doing!"
His soliloquy turned into urging. Wan Yang straightened his posture and glared at Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes.
"Who are you? For what purpose did you impersonate a member of the Tang bloodline? Judging by your strange qualities, the Myriad Heavens Flower Rain you showed then must not have been the orthodox technique of the Tang family, but merely a miscellaneous skill born of your trickery."
"Does it matter?"
Jeong Yeon-shin calmly retorted to the enraged Wan Yang. Given that he was face to face with the Dragon Spirit Divine Fist who had brought great terror to the clans of this mystical place, his indifferent expression and conduct were close to provocation.
The gate guards standing awkwardly in front and behind the two men held their breath.
"Insolent fool! Just because you gained an advantage with one move, do you think you're the Tang Clan Leader of three generations ago…?"
"Your Golden Wing Sect."
Jeong Yeon-shin, who had been listening silently, parted his lips.
"Did you think you could use Desolate Fortress martial artists for human sacrifice and get away with it?"
"What?"
As a hint of question appeared in Wan Yang's eyes, which had been flashing colorlessly with powerful energy, Jeong Yeon-shin leaned his upper body toward his ear and whispered.
"I am the Radiant Demon Wing Leader."
"…!"
The Dragon Spirit Divine Fist is a supreme master who has achieved Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.
His reaction was swift.
As Wan Yang widened his eyes and once again wrapped his entire body in protective energy.
Swish.
Jeong Yeon-shin immediately grabbed the back of his head with his left hand and pushed it down. There would be no more yielding of initiative.
As a whitish radiance characteristic of the Ten Li Gentle Light lightness skill flashed beneath the Yongquan acupoint of one foot, his knee that had sprung up using that as propulsive energy waves struck Wan Yang's face.
Kwang!
The roar sounded after the strike. The sound followed the technique belatedly.
In that moment, the shockwave of the knee strike that had spread in a semi-transparent circle even knocked down the gate guards standing nearby.
They couldn't get up. Because shockwaves continued to spread between Wan Yang and Jeong Yeon-shin.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaaang!
Wan Yang couldn't handle Jeong Yeon-shin's Eternal Blossom Fist after his bone transformation.
Once, twice, thrice, Wan Yang's face was crushed against the knee each time it rebounded upward from the knee strike.
Kwaaaang!
Though Wan Yang, who had tried to counterattack, continuously generated powerful energy waves in his arms and legs, the forms of the dragon-slaying technique that should have manifested were shattered each time before they could be completed.
This was because dozens of invisible threads extending from Jeong Yeon-shin's body continuously unraveled the expansive true energy. It was the marvel of the Mind Sword.
Ten more knee strikes followed like that.
Though Jeong Yeon-shin hadn't particularly named it, it was a martial art in itself.
A martial art of patience that finally exploded after enduring and enduring until reaching the destination. It also contained inspiration gained from the Thousand Li One Kill he had killed earlier.
'Only useless techniques keep increasing.'… Jeong Yeon-shin thought as he released Wan Yang's hair. What I need to achieve is Five Qi Returning to the Origin.
Blood seeped around the facial area of Wan Yang who had collapsed with a thud.
His protective energy had shattered, unable to withstand the accumulation of repeated energy waves. It was low-quality internal energy barrier.
"I'll let you live because I need you to return. Don't act rashly."
Jeong Yeon-shin said, glancing down at Wan Yang.
There was no answer. Only an extremely faint breathing sound could be heard.
"Are you…?"
The leader among the gate guards, who wore an expression of disbelief, asked. His tone was very cautious.
Distrust could be felt in his gaze as he alternately looked at Wan Yang who couldn't control his body and Jeong Yeon-shin who stood calmly.
Jeong Yeon-shin, who had restrained his uncharacteristic temper, was also lost in thought for a moment.
Not about their gazes, but about his own martial prowess which seemed to have become extremely powerful after bone transformation.
He thought: Have I too become able to glimpse purple?
It was then.
"Tang Man-yan, no, Radiant Demon Wing Leader…"
It came from below. It was Wan Yang's voice. An enormous obsession seeped through his irregular breaths, suggesting his internal energy breathing had been disrupted.
The reason why the Golden Wing Sect was called one of the Thirteen Evil Sects could also be felt.
"Cooperate with our sect. You can do it. If you fully join forces with us, we can surely capture the rain dragon…"
"Damn it all!"
Suddenly, the gate captain spat out a curse, overcome with anger.
"There is no rain dragon! Such a mystical creature beyond human limits no longer exists here! It's been gone for a long time!"
"What?"
"Such a monstrous divine being never stays in one place! It's a dragon precisely because it's an illusory existence that cannot be touched by human hands, do you think it has a habitat like some beast? Did you really think such an ethereal being could be captured by martial artists obsessed with their own stubbornness like you? That's truly an absurd miscalculation!"
"What, nonsense, are you, babbling. How dare you…"
"This place has long since become a hell where powerful figures from all over the world, with purposes like yours, check each other and spill blood seeking the inner pill of a mystical creature that has already disappeared."
The gate captain, who had suddenly glanced at Jeong Yeon-shin, spoke deliberately as if suppressing something.
"There are only humans here. Those who can't believe that, figures from the previous era, divide this narrow land calling themselves the Two Kings or Three Lords. Outside, there's the old Taoist of the Kunlun Sect said to have been annihilated, and the previous family heads of the Northern Peng family and Hwangbo family who entered earlier. All of them, mad like you, are staining this land with blood as it narrows, as if it will soon disappear after the rain dragon left."
"..."
Silence flowed for a moment.
Wan Yang's words had completely ceased.
Jeong Yeon-shin paid no attention. His purpose had been singular from the beginning.
"I am Jeong Yeon-shin. I've come from a sect called Desolate Fortress."
He introduced himself as if speaking to an ignorant villager.
Someone who had lived long in a mystical place created by formations might not know of the world's greatest faction.
"Desolate Fortress?"
"Then that martial prowess is understandable…"
"Doesn't he look young? And he's not even from a long-eared clan."
"Jeong Yeon-shin! His name is Jeong Yeon-shin! He says he's from Desolate Fortress!"
There was a power unknown even to himself in Jeong Yeon-shin's features, which were entwined with strands of sunlight.
As soon as he stepped forward, the heavy atmosphere was dispelled.
The murmuring sounds gradually grew louder. From the gate guards standing on the stone wall to the dozens of villagers who had gathered below, looking up.
"Jeong Yeon-shin?"
"Are you our benefactor?"
Rustle.
The Tang siblings, who had been watching the exchange between powerful figures that had unfolded in an instant, climbed onto the fortress made of stone walls.
A blue light flashed in the eyes of Poison Phoenix and Poison Dragon, originating from their upper dantians, but the siblings who wore extremely surprised expressions couldn't ask Jeong Yeon-shin about his identity again.
—Is it truly junior?
It was a voice imbued with tremendous energy. Their ears rang.
Whoosh—!
From the center of the village to this outskirts.
An enormous figure crossed a distance of easily over a hundred and ten zhang with a single step. With a thud, he landed on top of the stone fortress in an instant. Dust rose in a cloud.
Was there no rebound from the landing?
A giant wearing a black long robe looked down at Jeong Yeon-shin.
"I heard reports that outsiders had manifested in various places. I was unsure because the energy felt familiar, but… you're not the Lightning Genius I know."
A voice as thick as his build. It was as if there was a cave inside his body.
His presence was truly tremendous. From his pointed ears and build no less than a pure-blooded clan member, to his face with a broad forehead revealed by casually swept back hair like a barbarian.
Forest-Treading Squad Leader.
Thousand Fists Dragon Vassal Xiahou Wei-jin.
A faint smile formed on Jeong Yeon-shin's lips.
***
***
Jeong Yeon-shin revealed the Luminous Wheel Technique.
He briefly showed the movements he had naively created after being deceived by Xiahou Wei-jin's joke that he hadn't known how to do it. While recalling the memory of that embarrassing past.
—The meridians in our bodies are quite mysterious. By coordinating true energy and muscles from afar, the energy that has come down to the plantar fascia can gain elasticity on its own. The twelve meridians are connected like that. I don't understand why you didn't do it this way. If there's a special reason in the system of martial arts you've cultivated…
—…I didn't know.
'I truly believed it was a senior's words.'
He had realized that many seniors were looking after their junior's dignity when he met the Blood Guardian Leader. Looking back now, it was also a good memory.
Jeong Yeon-shin entered the village along with the Tang siblings and the half-dead Wan Yang.
The villagers made of iron clan members welcomed him very warmly. Some even showed him gleaming silver metal pieces, not just crude iron.
"Please visit my shop! The sword you're carrying now looks like it will break soon! I can tell just by looking at the sword energy that it has endured terrifying impacts one after another!"
"Grandpa, they say that person is the Radiant Demon Wing Leader!"
"Ma Yeon-jeok finally saw his grandson? With that temperament, he was surely fated to die young…"
"He must be an incredibly powerful master too, right?"
"Doesn't anyone have other concerns? This mustn't reach the ears of the Two Kings and Three Lords…"
The entire village was heated. Because it was a blacksmith's workshop in all directions.
The smoke mixed with the clamorous sound of bellows rose to various parts of the sky. The sight of newly forged weapons with blue edges carelessly strewn on all sorts of racks was also mystical… Jeong Yeon-shin walked along the long dirt road and entered the village chief's hall. Following Xiahou Wei-jin, who rarely spoke to him.
"So."
A room large enough to easily accommodate the Forest-Treading Squad Leader's build.
Sitting on a golden throne that seemed too luxurious for a mere village chief's seat, Xiahou Wei-jin stared at Jeong Yeon-shin for a long while before slowly opening his mouth.
"Is the former Group Leader well? A very long time must have passed."
"My maternal grandfather is well."
"Is there perhaps any… senility or such?"
There was a strange hope in his casual question.
"Pardon?"
Jeong Yeon-shin, sitting across from him, asked in return.