Jung Yeonshin opened his mouth.
"Stop right there."
The voice imbued with the Transcending Law Radiant Wheel technique brushed through the forest naturally.
Though spoken quietly, it spread far and wide. The chirping of the nearby insects instantly faded into silence.
Even if a bit of energy circulation and adjustment was necessary, his presence did not diminish. Let alone when compared to the breath of a Flood Dragon, these opponents were nothing.
"…!"
The warriors who had been charging toward Jung Yeonshin flinched and abruptly changed direction, veering away in retreat.
"Damn it!"
"I told you! I said something was off!"
None of them stopped their frantic sprint.
Instead, they spurred on their Lightness Techniques even more, as if the spiritual essence imbued in the Radiant Wheel technique was weighing down on them.
It was fair to say they had recognized the difference in class, just as Jung Yeonshin had once felt an insurmountable wall between himself and the Divine Sword Order's squad leaders, including his uncle, during his younger days in the white and blue rank.
'The scent of oil on their weapons. They've been in and out of the city.'
They were worth interrogating.
Just as Jung Yeonshin's fingers twitched, from the opposite direction, middle-aged martial artists pursuing them rapidly closed in.
A Taoist wielding a sword and a Buddhist nun carrying an iron staff. Their upright and composed energy waves were striking. They had already been closing the gap.
"Damn it! They just won't give up…!"
"Scatter!"
The five experts who had earlier tried to take Jung Yeonshin hostage to turn the situation in their favor—
As soon as they saw the black robes bearing the engraved 'Desolate' character, they didn't even hesitate before sharply turning at a right angle.
They were quick-witted, seasoned enough to survive long in the demonic faction and become experts. Their ability to assess situations was sharper than most martial artists' senses, and it was a point of pride for them.
They were called the Five Guardians of Passion. That was what they called themselves.
These warriors, who had once dealt in weaponry in Sichuan's Jianghu, had banded together to survive in the famine-stricken martial world.
They crushed the heads of overfed self-proclaimed righteous warriors who roamed about playing heroes, or gained an edge in plundering competition against other martial artists.
The Five Guardians of Passion were powerful. Their teamwork was formidable.
They were skilled enough to escape before the veteran monsters of the Nine Great Sects could close in. Before that, they had even severed the limbs of some white rank warriors and rising elites from the Desolate Fortress' Sichuan Branch.
Thus, the very fact that the Five Guardians of Passion had suddenly changed direction at this moment was a boon to the martial artists pursuing them.
Now, they wouldn't have to waste their internal energy on enemies they were already about to catch.
"Uncle, over there…!"
"Lady Ziwei Star Divine Nun must not show mercy with her hands…!"
From below the path, scattered voices rang out.
Trust-filled voices, their tone filled with the righteous sects' typical clarity and strength. With them at their backs, the middle-aged Taoist and the Buddhist nun pushed off the ground.
Whoosh!
Dust exploded from beneath the Taoist's heels clad in blue robes. Eternal Flowing Drift, the Qingcheng Sect's Lightness Technique.
Though it should have been imbued with Taoist elegance, his movements cut through space at an extraordinary speed, leaving a cloud-like trail of dust.
The Buddhist nun wielding an iron staff was not left behind. She sprinted alongside him without falling behind in the slightest, utilizing the Great Silent Buddha Shadow Form, a famous technique of the Emei Sect.
A dark shadow flickered behind her back, generating an immensely powerful propulsion force.
In mere moments, the two closed the distance to the Five Guardians of Passion.
The five warriors, sensing the overwhelming internal energy waves, gasped and instinctively threw themselves to the ground. Lazy Donkey Roll.
Ssssssssh!
A chilling sound sliced through the air, and strands of hair shot into the sky.
A blade wind had passed precisely through the spots where their necks had been just a moment ago.
It was a single slash from the Taoist's sword.
"You insane…! A Qingcheng Sect swordsman through and through!"
"Hey, you crazy Taoist bastard! Since when did your sect teach that killing wasn't taboo?!"
The Five Guardians of Passion, now sprawled on the ground, shouted whatever came to mind. Some even cursed.
But their words carried no real weight.
Slay demons, eradicate the wicked.
These were old tenets passed down within the Nine Great Sects, which housed Buddhist and Taoist orders.
Other than Songshan Shaolin, none of the Nine Great Sects showed mercy to heretical factions. Their benevolence extended only to the common people.
The Five Guardians of Passion knew this well.
They just needed a moment to catch their breath.
Boom!
The Ziwei Star Divine Nun's iron staff did not grant them that luxury.
Unlike the stone staffs wielded by monks who did not practice martial arts, the staves of the Emei Sect's martial nuns were made of iron, capable of channeling internal energy without limit.
Each time her staff slammed into the ground, aiming for the tumbling bodies of the Five Guardians of Passion, the earth shook as if an earthquake had struck.
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
"Amitabha! Amitabha!"
Buddhist chants burst forth like battle cries. The middle-aged Buddhist nun's crimson robes billowed violently, generating massive shockwaves as they swung up and down.
The iron staff, slamming down with overwhelming force, created countless shadows, and with each strike, exploding dust clouds erupted skyward.
The protective energy that the Five Guardians of Passion had refined to the point of emitting a faint glow began to shatter, piece by piece, with the sound of stone slabs cracking apart.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged Taoist swordsman from the Qingcheng Sect, who had launched the first strike, now stood still.
Each time the Five Guardians of Passion showed the slightest sign of rolling in another direction, his hands blurred, and a blue sword light spread like drifting clouds, bursting open their blood vessels one by one.
The Emei Sect and Qingcheng Sect. Two of Nine Great Sects of Sichuan.
Their level was different.
One by one, with faint groans, they collapsed, incapacitated.
None had died instantly, but all five had their arms crushed and holes in their legs. Their tendons and meridians seemed to have ruptured.
'Mind-Severing Thousand-Sleeves Staff, Azure Cloud Sword Art.'
Jung Yeonshin stood motionless ten paces away, quietly observing the scene.
The Jung Clan Manor was located in Xinye County, Henan Province, a place where the towering reputation of Shaolin was inescapable from childhood.
Jung Yeonshin, too, had held a vague admiration for the martial monks of Shaolin. It was even stronger because he had no companions of his own.
When he played alone, swinging tree branches as makeshift swords, the immortal masters of the Nine Great Sects would, in his imagination, always become Bodhidharma or Zhang Sanfeng.
Transcendent beings who knew everything.
Never had he envisioned a monk with blazing eyes, striking a man down with an iron staff. Nor had he ever imagined a Taoist wielding a killing sword.
'There must be a reason…?'
A faint sense of unease settled in. It felt as if the staff had left a mark on his treasured childhood memories.
At that moment, the Buddhist nun and Taoist who had been inspecting the dying Five Guardians of Passion lifted their heads. They were looking at Jung Yeonshin.
Swish.
As their gazes met, they slowly brought their hands together.
Even at a glance, they were significantly older than him, yet they were the first to offer a palm-together bow and fist-wrapping salute. Their dignified composure starkly contrasted with the brutality they had just displayed.
"I am Ziwei, I hail from Emei."
The nun said.
"Primordial Peace and Tranquility…"
The Taoist's voice was calm.
"I was too preoccupied to offer proper greetings. This humble Taoist is Qing En."
Ziwei Star Divine Nun and Taoist Qing En. They were high-level masters from the Nine Great Sects. Their names were even known in the Desolate Fortress, meaning they must have had an intricate understanding of the power dynamics in Sichuan's martial world.
"May I ask for your name?"
"I have never heard of anyone like you among the Desolate Fortress' squad leaders…"
The middle-aged Taoist from Qingcheng Sect, with thick eyebrows, trailed off at the end of his sentence.
The Ziwei Star Divine Nun, who seemed to be of a similar age, remained silent, her expression impassive as she gazed at Jung Yeonshin.
"...."
A gentle breeze swept through the silence.
Jung Yeonshin deliberated internally. Would it be wise to reveal his identity? The Desolate Fortress' squad leaders thrived in obscurity—their enigmatic presence was the source of their power.
'Veteran masters of the Nine Great Sects…'
His expression remained calm, but he did not feel entirely at ease.
Unlike when they had unleashed their techniques upon the Five Guardians of Passion, their breaths were still measured and drawn-out, as if they had yet to lower their guard.
Yet, it was Jung Yeonshin who had been more deeply unsettled, as if some illusion had been shattered.
Just then—
"Oh? We caught them! These damned outlaws!"
"As expected of Uncle!"
"Look at the ground. Those are Azure Cloud Sword Art marks… I'm lucky to witness this firsthand."
"What technique did Divine Nun use?"
"Mind-Severing Thousand-Sleeves Staff."
"Ah, of course. Look at that spiral pattern. The energy impact left an incredibly deep mark."
"The form itself isn't something to imitate, but the internal energy is beyond comprehension…"
The voices belonged to the rising elites following behind Ziwei Star Divine Nun and Taoist Qing En.
There were around a dozen of them.
Among them were not only those clad in monk robes and Taoist garments but also young men and women dressed in silk robes, seemingly heirs of Sichuan's martial aristocracy.
Some flinched upon seeing Jung Yeonshin, while others remained fixated on the remnants of their masters' techniques. A few glared at the Five Guardians of Passion, now lying in a bloodied heap.
Among them, a young Taoist and a Buddhist nun suddenly composed themselves and stepped behind Ziwei Star Divine Nun and Taoist Qing En.
The young Taoist and young nun radiated invisible energy waves, as if their sects' mystical elixirs had been infused into their very being.
"Uncle, we must return immediately. These men… aren't they mercenaries bought by the demonic faction? They might be laced with Pursuit Fragrance."
The young Taoist spoke with piercing eyes, his gaze unwavering.
He had called Taoist Qing En Uncle, which meant he was likely a prominent elite within Sichuan's Jianghu.
The young nun beside him nodded deeply, the shadow under her sharp nose adding weight to her agreement.
"There are far too many cases of this lately. People with the same behavior patterns—ambushing Desolate Fortress warriors or orthodox sect disciples, then vanishing into secluded mountains…"
Ziwei Star Divine Nun, who had been silent, interrupted her.
"Ten Perfection Sect, Golden Wings Sect, Pure Demon Alliance, Tyrant Sword Tribe… and most likely, Yeoryeong Sect as well."
"Which group do you think these ones belong to?"
"Invincible Laughing Heaven disappeared, and a new leader has taken the Pure Demon Alliance's throne in his absence."
The young nun replied in a steady tone.
"It makes sense for them to lure Emei and Qingcheng masters into a trap. They must make a statement."
She added a few more words, her voice unwavering.
"If the two of you are their opponents, perhaps the leader of the Pure Demon Alliance himself might appear. After all, the Radiant Demon Squad's leader killed the Sword Fist Demon and Pure Demon Hand."
Even amidst such a serious discussion, the eyes of Ziwei Star Divine Nun and Taoist Qing En never left Jung Yeonshin.
They were wary, as if facing a great enemy.
Not all masters of the Nine Great Sects accepted the Desolate Fortress without reservation. Many of them belonged to secular sects.
Because many persecuted martial clans had roots in Nine Great Sects' martial arts, the Desolate Fortress and the Nine Great Sects sometimes stood together, yet occasionally clashed.
Jung Yeonshin had heard about this from his uncle Ma Jin when he succeeded the position of Radiant Demon Squad's leader.
—The reason we clashed with the Plum Blossom Swordsmen? Some so-called chivalrous warriors started a bloodbath in a village, and some of them turned out to be from the secular branch of Mount Hua.
—When we tried to arrest them for questioning, their Sword Masters barged in spouting nonsense. Said they'd handle the interrogation themselves.
That had been the reason for the clash between the Radiant Demon Squad and the Plum Blossom Swordsmen of Mount Hua before Jung Yeonshin had even entered the Desolate Fortress.
Mount Hua upheld righteousness and the martial path, but his uncle, known by the title Narkasal, had no patience for the affairs of Jianghu folk.
'Would they even believe me if I revealed my identity?'
Jung Yeonshin pondered.
The Radiant Demon Squad's leader was a major figure in Jianghu.
Anyone who held a high position in the Nine Great Sects would be aware of his distinguishing traits.
Especially if he was Lightning Genius, the youngest black-robed warrior, and the one called Dark Flame King in Sichuan.
"Why do you hesitate to speak? The 'Desolate' character is inscribed upon your shoulder."
"If the inscription is in golden color, wouldn't that mean you are the Direct Disciple of the Lord of Desolate Fortress? Among the Divine Sword Order's squad leaders, only Dark Flame King Lightning Genius fits that description, and I heard he is merely a seventeen-year-old youth."
Taoist Qing En and his disciple spoke.
The top-tier martial artists of Jianghu were always well-informed. Extracting information from them was no easy task.
"Could it be… that you are falsely impersonating the Dark Flame King…?"
The words of the young nun barely reached Jung Yeonshin's ears.
He was well-versed in etiquette and propriety. Since he had received their palm-together bow and fist-wrapping salute, he thought it only right to return the gesture. Slowly, he raised both hands.
Rustle.
Jung Yeonshin began to perform a respectful fist-wrapping salute, as he would when addressing monks or Taoists, but hesitated midway.
He found it difficult to regard the people before him as mere monks and Taoists. The sight of Ziwei Star Divine Nun and Taoist Qing En's earlier actions flickered in his mind.
They had undoubtedly done the right thing, but their methods had been brutal.
One could even say they lacked dignity.
"I am the Radiant Demon Squad's leader."
He had begun to raise his hands neatly, but in the end, he lowered them.