Chapter 475: Chapter 475

The bend in the hill.

A thunderous roar swept through the surroundings like an overwhelming force.

Joo Gwang-shin flinched for a brief moment. He had been carefully observing the gap in Dark Heaven Emperor’s stance when he finally attempted to defy the heavens.

At the mention of Sambong, his gaze lifted upward.

Thick bolts of lightning flickered within the dark clouds.

A rumbling sound pounded against his ears, and beneath it, a supreme master, surrounded by a skeletal aura, endlessly chanted vibrating incantations.

A sight only found at the peak of the martial world.

‘A lunatic pretending to be the King of the Underworld...!’

The grandson of the Tyrant had just ended the life of the ancient monster with an unfathomable technique. The Dragon Head Master of the Nine Schools and Eight Sects could not afford to stand idly by.

Even if his body had aged, even if his injuries from Void Nihility Realm had slowed him down.

Yet it was just a thought.

No opening was visible.

Dark energy spread in all directions, making it seem like sorcery could erupt from anywhere at any moment.

Though Dark Heaven Emperor had ultimately been restrained by his own Empty Moon Dance, Joo Gwang-shin’s sensory perception remained intact.

He could feel the intangible currents surrounding the ancient monster’s body. Defensive formations composed of dozens of protective spells. A body-reinforcing aura that completely severed the external world from within.

It was like an impenetrable fortress.

Even if Joo Gwang-shin were in perfect condition, it would be difficult to break through in one strike.

The Empty Moon Dance he had mastered allowed for rapid movements that could overwhelm the Tyrant in his prime, but it was far removed from the overwhelming brute force that the Tyrant’s grandson had displayed.

It was, in a way, a direct counter. Moreover, his Void Nihility Realm had disrupted his Vital Essence, making it impossible to execute.

He could not simply urge his junior to attempt the Empty Moon Dance again.

It would destroy his body. Even now, his meridians and muscles were burning up, requiring time to cool. It was not something a senior should ask of a younger martial artist.

— Are we not undertaking a great cause together?

The words Jeong Yeon-shin had spoken earlier.

The Dragon Head Master was also a man of the martial world. His reluctance toward blood ties had persisted since their first meeting, but he could not afford to let personal feelings cloud his judgment in matters of great significance.

At that moment, Joo Gwang-shin suddenly launched himself backward.

[Clear Understanding.]

The ground beneath his feet cracked loudly.

In the middle of the hill, Dark Heaven Emperor stood with both arms outstretched, his quiet intent rippling through the air.

A sudden wave of scorching heat compressed the surrounding atmosphere, rendering it nearly translucent. The intensity of a single attack was beyond belief.

‘He’s gotten even stronger...!’

Joo Gwang-shin, now at the base of the hill, inwardly cursed. That damned old monster.

If not for the presences flanking him, he might have considered retreat.

The young lord and the Mount Hua Sect Leader—two youthful warriors whose voices reached his ears.

A final exchange before they entered an earth-shattering battle.

“I’ve infused Fire Samadhi into Striking Palm. The release direction is omnidirectional. Given the level of mastery in Three Flames Converging Purity, the strike is abnormally fast. It seems there’s an artifact or formation enhancing his spells nearby. You’ll notice a warning sign before he casts—when the fine hairs on your skin rise, use an evasion technique immediately.”

“There’s a pattern. If I strike the focal point, it will disperse.”

“The real problem is linked casting and overlapping strikes. Neither is impossible for that bone fragment. If your body-reinforcing aura isn’t fortified against Fire Samadhi, your insides will melt. This applies to the Three Flames Converging Purity of the Ming Sect as well. You’ll need special footwork to suppress it. Engaging directly would be unwise.”

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. So, in the end, it’s a matter of distance. If I can just get within thirty steps...”

“For now, Lady Nangnang should continue guarding the Abbot. Soon, that bone fragment will awaken with his Empty Moon Dance rendered useless. He’s stabilizing his Vital Essence through meditation... I’m learning a great deal from this.”

“...Yeon-shin, are you breathing more easily?”

“When this is over, I expect to see you at Mount Hua. I’ll prepare medicinal baths with the herbs of Jaso-dan, and I’ll send a letter to Ipwang Fortress. I’ve already informed Elder Ak.”

“There are plenty of elixirs at the Fortress.”

“Still, would anything compare to an immortal’s leisure in a sacred mountain like Mount Hua?”

A seemingly lighthearted conversation.

But in truth, the Grand Formation of the Tiger’s Ascendance had been completely nullified. The great technique had succeeded.

Now, breaking through the enemy’s martial techniques became the key focus.

At that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin and Yulha Nangnang exchanged pulses of internal energy, scanning each other’s limbs and pressure points.

Each was adapting their Qi flow to the countermeasures they had discussed.

Much like how Island King Seomye had once gifted Ten Thousand Flowers Rain to the Tang Clan Master, this was a direct transference of technique.

Such was the discourse of the world’s greatest talents.

Joo Gwang-shin, who could vaguely sense the profound energy exchanges, found himself momentarily impressed.

‘Yes... There’s no rule saying only the old monster should be preparing for battle.’

A tidal wave of thunder roared down from the hilltop. A preemptive attack laced with intent. The area was engulfed in an eerie blue light.

Dark Heaven Emperor’s lightning, imbued with boundless internal energy.

[Unforgettable Lawlessness.]

Flames shot upward as the earth blackened from the sheer force.

Behind Joo Gwang-shin, Jeong Yeon-shin and Yulha Nangnang were already in motion, their swords slashing through the air.

As their violet and pink robes fluttered violently, unseen sword strikes collided with the storming lightning, dispersing it in an earsplitting clash.

Joo Gwang-shin’s eyes widened mid-step.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s movements were astonishing. Even without practicing blood-feeding techniques, his recovery speed was nothing short of monstrous.

But such was the way of the martial world.

Where fortune arrived, calamity followed.

[Do not measure me. It ended long ago.]

A deep voice echoed through the darkened sky, so close that the vibrations scraped against their skin.

A tremendous tremor surged through the air, resonating within their very bodies.

It felt as though the heavens themselves were quaking.

The space around them rippled violently, as if an earthquake had erupted.

“Fall back immediately!”

Joo Gwang-shin shouted urgently.

‘What Dark Heaven Emperor is summoning with his Grand Tiger Ascension Art is...!’

It was not merely a dragonling like the pink-robed madman had recently slain at the southern seas.

If he were summoning a true spirit beast, then neither the sudden appearance of the Sword Saint of Taemo Fortress nor the gathering of the Nine Schools and Eight Sects’ top masters would have occurred.

The pinnacle of all mystical beings.

One that never revealed itself to mere mortals.

Even the greatest of the past, the Four Heavens of Gold and Jade, had only ever pursued its traces.

Kwaaang! Kwarurururung—!

The ground shook. The dark clouds above rapidly expanded, swallowing the sky.

A deafening explosion swept across the battlefield.

Even the masters of Taemo Fortress, locked in combat from afar, turned in awe.

The great Daoist sage Cheongsu Jin-in and Ak Su-rim momentarily faltered, their movements interrupted.

Jeong Yeon-shin, Joo Gwang-shin, and Yulha Nangnang, standing together, could not hide their astonishment.

The thickening darkness poured downward like an unyielding curtain, plunging all of Hangzhou into shadow.

The sky, filled with raging clouds, split apart.

The moment the sea of clouds split open.

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly took his first step forward, pressing the reverberations coursing through his body into the ground beneath him.

Darkness surrounded him on all sides.

Pale clouds had descended all the way to the earth, as if he had stepped into an immortal realm at dusk.

A place not meant for humans.

Perhaps this was the very spot where the heavens that had cursed him with a short-lived fate were watching the world below...

And the flood dragon.

A misty rain began to pour.

A fierce storm accompanied it, making it nearly impossible for anyone to keep their eyes open.

A violent gust lifted the hem of Jeong Yeon-shin’s robes.

An endless wall of bluish scales slashed through the air.

A body too vast to measure.

A slanted head covered in gleaming scales, shining like polished diamond.

It loomed over the earth from the sky, its presence so surreal that it felt like a dream—yet its overwhelming existence became all too real as the fierce storm struck against his face and hands.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s gaze locked onto the dragon.

A long snout lined with teeth sharp as divine swords, massive obsidian-like eyes gleaming with a predatory glint, and a body that never stopped tracing vast circles, larger than entire cities.

Its head alone was the size of half a village.

To gauge its full length, he would have to imagine the endless flow of the Yangtze River.

It was the same as what he had once seen in the Formation Realm that the Golden Seal Master had created.

The only difference—this was no shadow or illusion.

A being that embodied the very essence of the martial world.

‘...Defying the heavens.’

Something should never have appeared before his eyes.

He was meant to live in an entirely different world.

At the age of eighteen, Jeong Yeon-shin felt immense shock.

But the newly appointed young lord of Ipwang Fortress revealed nothing on his face.

His expression remained indifferent as he continued forward, stepping toward Dark Heaven Emperor and Unrivaled Under Heaven, who stood atop the flood dragon’s colossal body.

He had already seen a Human-Faced Pillar in Beijing.

After that, he had donned the violet robes.

Ma Yeon-jeok and Yong Hui-myeong had told him to take responsibility for the world of men.

But he had never truly been able to separate himself from a world ruled by monstrous beings.

Today was no exception.

[Sambong, I know you dwell in the heavens.]

Dark Heaven Emperor, clad in a thick white mantle of spirit energy, gazed upward.

From his pallid eyelids, an unstable blue ethereal glow flickered.

The skeletal foundation of his Ethereal Phantom Body pulsed with translucent waves of force.

[Throughout all of time, if not you, then who else has truly ascended? This is a truth beyond question. And yet, why do you remain silent...?]

[Why have you granted me nothing but the flood dragon...?]

His murmuring thoughts, teetering on incoherence, carried an eerie weight.

Frost spread across the dragon’s body where he stood.

The cold energy was excessive.

The rain that fell near him thickened into heavy hail, striking the dragon’s scales with sharp clattering sounds.

Dark Heaven Emperor—The One Who Perfected the Undying Ethereal Phantom Body.

The one who could summon dragons and wield the very forces of storm and tempest.

Jeong Yeon-shin, the violet-robed young lord, thought to himself.

The bone fragment had to be dealt with first.

If he prioritized Unrivaled Under Heaven here, Baek Mi-ryeo would be furious, regardless of status or rank.

She might never welcome him again.

Lightning crashed in the distance.

Was it the aftershock of the Flood Dragon’s Manifestation?

Enormous arcs of blue radiance flickered ceaselessly, illuminating various parts of the ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) land—some of which clearly stretched toward populated villages.

How many lives had already been lost?

Jeong Yeon-shin finally spoke, glancing sideways at Yulha Nangnang, who was now walking beside him.

“Don’t try to stop me. This isn’t something you can face alone.”

She still looked shaken, but she was less surprised than he was.

As expected of a leader of one of the Nine Great Schools, Yulha Nangnang seemed familiar with the presence of monstrous beings.

“The Abbot will awaken soon. His internal energy has reached its peak. Without an Ethereal Shadow Tiger, it will be difficult to guard against a sudden attack.”

“There’s a way. Keep watch on the dragon.”

Jeong Yeon-shin lifted his gaze toward the silent dragon.

Massive, obsidian eyes rippled with dark light, sending a deep, unfathomable threat into his mind.

His thoughts grew hazy.

It would not have been surprising if a natural catastrophe had begun at that very moment.

The true violet-robed martial world was as mysterious as it was suffocating.

Was it simply following Dark Heaven Emperor due to his great technique?

Did it feel nothing toward the one who had summoned it?

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Did it even have a purpose on this earth?

Jeong Yeon-shin shook his head inwardly.

There was no need to know.

In the next instant, his form blurred.

He was already stepping onto the dragon’s body.

Before it could even open its maw.

Above him, much further up, Dark Heaven Emperor entered his vision.

[...This too is merely part of the process.]

But it was none of Jeong Yeon-shin’s concern.

His next step split the storm around him.

As translucent raindrops scattered, the force propulsion of Ten-League Light Step shimmered faintly.

Jeong Yeon-shin sprinted across the dragon’s body.

His speed was staggering.

In the blink of an eye, he would reach Dark Heaven Emperor’s face.

But then, in an instant, Unrivaled Under Heaven blocked his path.

Her jet-black hair whipped like flowing silk.

[Didn’t you have business with me?]

A habitual sneer curled her pale lips.

A rhythmic, pulsating energy, like the beating of a heart.

From her extended hand, streaks of blue energy traced a massive circle in the air.

Within its boundary, ancient symbols and inscriptions of internal energy interlocked, spinning like radiant threads of light.

Had she too gained something from the Void Nihility Realm?

The brilliant lightning surged outward, tearing through the formation in an instant.

[I want to know about your Empty Moon Dance. As the Master of the Ming Sect, I am prepared to ask most respectfully—]

Her words were cut short.

Because, in that moment, a woman darted upward like a bat before Jeong Yeon-shin’s very eyes.

Long black hair glistening with rain like scattered starlight, a crimson robe slicing smoothly through the dark air...

And lips curved in a twisted, innate madness.

Even without looking, he knew.

Just by her presence alone.

Jeong Yeon-shin did not stop.

He reached out mid-sprint.

His fingers pressed against Seventh Apostle’s lower back.

Her Life Gate Acupoint.

Beyond the slick texture of her pure blood robes, he could feel her tightly woven spinal muscles, trained with an eerily disciplined rigidity.

For a split second, both of their skins tingled with a shiver.

‘Stealing from me to learn...?’

Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyelids flickered upward for a brief moment.

Then, without hesitation, he unleashed the complete incantation of Ethereal Phantom Blood Meridian Technique through his palm.

He had been benefiting from the effects of Void Nihility Realm all along.

A specialized flow of energy shot through Seventh Apostle’s Life Gate Acupoint in an instant.

At the same time, her back arched wide.

A sinister wave of power repelled the raindrops cascading around them.

In the span of a heartbeat, a small, crazed laughter escaped her lips.

‘Using one to subdue the other.’

Jeong Yeon-shin placed Seventh Apostle in front of Unrivaled Under Heaven and passed by them both.

The next moment, he was face to face with Dark Heaven Emperor.

[Does death hold an afterlife for you as well?]

The mantle-clad revenant murmured, his blue ethereal eyes gleaming ominously.

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly felt a deafening silence in his ears.

Beneath their feet, upon the blue-scaled body—

At last, the flood dragon let out a thunderous roar.

At the same time, a voice—deep, resonating like rolling thunder—shook the very air, clashing against the dragon’s cry and distorting the space around them.

The Lion’s Roar of the Shaolin Temple.

Abbot Beomheo had finally risen.

And below, a crimson light spread outward—

Yulha Nangnang’s Empty Moon Dance was also on the verge of activation.

A battlefield where the supreme monstrous deities of the martial world each unveiled their might.

“There is no afterlife.”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s voice was slow and deliberate.

“When you die, it’s over.”

[Such courage is commendable.]

Dark Heaven Emperor let out a quiet laugh.

Was it because he had already determined that Jeong Yeon-shin was in no condition to use Empty Moon Dance again?

Satisfaction and curiosity both lingered in his next words.

[I asked about the Song Gate Sword. Your life is now bound to my will. Speak in detail of that which is not yours to possess.]

He spoke as if victory had already been decided.

There was no reason to respond.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s pale eyes flickered sharply as a single thought took form in his mind.

His Hundred Convergence Acupoint began to vibrate intensely.

At this moment, there was only one technique he could activate.

He had contemplated it several times before.

A divine secret technique—

Fan-Dragon Treads the Blossoms.

‘Upper Elixir Field Resonance...’

His body was no longer the same as before.

Jeong Yeon-shin struck the ground with a powerful step.

In an instant, the mental image of a dragon clutching a fan crashed down from his mind to the very tips of his feet—

Like lightning, it took root in the dragon’s body.

The torrents of rain pouring down suddenly froze in midair.