Chapter 511: Chapter 511

Oh Il-hwan, the scholar responsible for managing the Celestial Silence Treasury, was hurled backward by the shockwave, only to be caught by the gate guards before he hit the ground.

As the violent tremor subsided, everyone’s robes, which had been flaring wildly, gradually settled back into place.

But the warriors were far from unscathed.

Each of them struggled to endure the sheer force of the energy wave that had just erupted.

Oh Il-hwan quickly made his decision.

“Inside the treasury! We must deploy the Gate Protection Formation!”

The Gate Protection Formation of the Celestial Silence Treasury.

A defensive technique refined through generations, meant to safeguard the vast collection of martial arts manuals housed within Ipwang Fortress.

As the name implied, it protected the gate.

By channeling their deep inner strength, the fortress guards would weave a defensive energy barrier, forming a shield akin to Internal Energy Armor around the treasury’s sanctuary.

It was a measure meant not for the fall of the fortress, but for moments when the tide of battle could still be turned.

[Yes, the foundation of Ipwang Fortress lies in its scholars.]

Shin Cheonhwa smiled.

[That was a wise decision. The Celestial Silence Treasury holds the history of the fortress. Now that the purple has arrived, there is no reason to preemptively set it ablaze. Get inside.]

It was only after witnessing the transformation of Elder Council Chief Shin Byeok that Oh Il-hwan and the gatekeepers finally turned and disappeared into the depths of the Celestial Silence Treasury.

Shin Cheonhwa, having just brushed off the remnants of her previous attack, deepened her smile.

[My dear nephew, your body is in complete disarray.]

Her will stirred the dust swirling along the ground, pushing it aside like an unseen wind.

Even if the remnant of the former Divine Sword Sect Leader had overlaid itself upon her, the host body she now occupied was still that of the current Elder Council Chief.

A form far from intact.

There was no way she could unleash the full strength of the past Divine Sword Sect Leader.

[It seems I’ll need to employ some technique. This should be fun.]

This was no idle monologue.

Rather, it was the voice of Won Young-shin's will, flowing naturally as if it had always been a part of her.

Before she realized it, Haeil Kwoncheon had already advanced before her, his waist twisting, his fist drawn back in preparation to strike.

His punch tore through the air in an instant, distorting the space around it.

It was a rapid compression and explosion of Heavenly Yang True Energy, the unique heat-infused power of his martial arts.

Yet before his fist could reach her abdomen, Shin Cheonhwa simply lifted her long index finger.

[Thousand Shields, False Thunder.]

A translucent energy barrier materialized between them.

Haeil Kwoncheon’s fist slammed into it, shattering through dozens of layered shields in an instant.

The resulting shockwave should have been enough to obliterate the entire Celestial Silence Treasury, yet the fragments of the internal energy barrier absorbed the force, preventing it from spreading outward.

At the same time, among the shattered pieces of neutral-colored energy, flashes of blue lightning flickered.

The instant Haeil Kwoncheon’s ghostly-masked eyes widened, those blue streaks surged, expanding across his body in an instant, binding him like coiled ropes.

It resembled the iron restraints used by the judiciary to shackle criminals.

Yet, in truth, it was nothing more than a net woven from his own exploded energy wave, repurposed against him.

[You're quite solid. This is Body-Forged Internal Energy, something usually seen in the northern martial world. And from your stance and movements... I see traces of the Imperial Army.]

Shin Cheonhwa studied him with a calm gaze.

[If you were truly a Grand General befitting that attire, then you have failed to conceal your identity.

But if you are merely a commoner who has mastered these techniques, then you are mocking those who protect this nation.]

Haeil Kwoncheon replied in a whisper, his pronunciation escaping like mist.

As if he barely felt the restraints binding him, he spread his arms.

Yet before he could rip himself free—

Shin Cheonhwa snapped her fingers first.

In an instant, the deep blue energy restraints burst apart, radiating an overwhelming pulse of force.

The resulting energy shot vertically into the sky, a massive pillar of force.

Haeil Kwoncheon’s body was caught within it, launched high into the distant void—

Just like a marionette in a poorly performed street play.

[The martial world’s so-called greatest masters are nothing but pests with unnaturally long lifespans. Naturally, you must be the same.]

With her hands clasped behind her back, Shin Cheonhwa rose effortlessly into the air, following after him.

Her voice, tinged with amusement, left an echo behind.

[The south looks rather empty right now...]

Ipwang Fortress – East

The Moon of Mong Inwol's Lord remained in the sky, refusing to fade for quite some time.

The twilight that had stained the heavens in murky black hues remained untouched as well.

Even after losing her head, she remained suspended in the air for more than a full moment—just as if the consciousness of all those watching had detached from reason, drifting through a dream.

Thus, Geumbyeokja stood silently, still clutching the severed head of Mong Inwol’s Lord, his gaze fixed upon her body.

He did not know what final command her will had given to her flesh just before he unleashed The Empty Moon Dance Technique.

For those who had mastered Three Flower Unity Refinement, even death did not always proceed as expected.

By the time he exhaled a lazy yawn—

The prematurely risen moon disintegrated like smoke.

The once colorless, suffocating twilight receded, the sky gradually regaining its blue hue.

The source of The Empty Moon Dance Technique lost its vitality.

The headless body of Mong Inwol’s Lord plummeted from the sky, violently colliding with the rushing air as it fell.

The waves of energy that had once poured from her, surging like a dream, scattered lifelessly into gray dust, mingling with the remnants of the shattered moon.

Geumbyeokja—still gripping the head—dropped his shoulders as he floated in the air.

The golden glow that had briefly flickered in his eyes had faded. His gaze blurred as exhaustion took hold.

Only two things had changed since the start of the battle.

His face, now deeply shadowed with fatigue.

And his tattered, bloodstained robes, barely holding themselves together.

He muttered under his breath.

“I’m done. I can’t do this anymore.”

At that moment, he abruptly dispersed the Internal Energy Flow Technique keeping him airborne and began plummeting toward the ground.

He was on a direct course to catch up with the falling body of Mong Inwol’s Lord—

But the exhaustion on his face was undeniable.

The Unnamed Empty Moon Dance Technique.

A martial art where the body flashes like a divine thunderstorm.

For a fleeting instant, it bestows an overwhelming divine presence—

Yet the backlash of summoning a one-of-a-kind mystery inevitably wrecks the body.

Both he and Mong Inwol’s Lord crashed into the ground in quick succession.

A dull impact sent clouds of dust swirling into the air.

A white spirit bird, a swallow named Baek Yeon, observed the scene from above, its pitch-black eyes capturing every detail.

From this height, it could see the battle raging within Suncheon Ik’s Martial Hall—

Where dozens of Ipwang warriors were overwhelming the remaining Mong Inwol martial artists.

“Don’t say it. We already know.”

“We must retreat. We need to save Brother Jo and prepare for the future—”

The Mong Inwol martial artists.

In an instant, a wave of silent transmissions rippled between them, and they all leapt into the air—escaping the battlefield in the blink of an eye.

At their waists, gourds filled with liquor sloshed noisily.

At the same time, their bodies flared with a faint energy pulse.

The White Butterfly Burial Formation.

A veil of energy spread outward, distorting the senses of their enemies and interfering with their energy circulation.

At the core of this formation stood a middle-aged warrior, his massive frame carrying a young man whose side had been completely torn open.

They were Ma Hwan-shin and The Nine Provinces Dream Demon—

Two warriors who represented the past and future of Mong Inwol in Guangxi.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Yet Baek Yeon barely spared them a glance.

Instead, the small white swallow turned its head westward.

At the edge of its vision—

It caught a brief glimpse of Ma Jin, ripping through the energy veil, tearing apart the Mong Inwol martial artists as he charged.

But only for a moment.

The swallow folded its wings backward—

And shot westward like an arrow, toward the core of the main fortress.

As if there was nothing more to see.

Baek Yeon was blindingly fast.

From the small swallow’s perspective, the buildings of Ipwang Fortress shrank into tiny dots.

The speed distorted the landscape, stretching everything into long, threadlike strands.

As it passed over the center of the fortress,

Baek Yeon briefly glanced southward, toward the main gates.

There, the ruins were stained with corpses.

Hundreds of bodies lay strewn across the crumbling walls and the trenches of the earth.

The usual shockwaves produced by those who steal and manipulate natural energy were nowhere to be found. Instead, only a few stray wisps of dust drifted over the corpses—much like mist rising over a riverbank at dawn.

The people of Ipwang Fortress, now like an ebbing tide, had abandoned the outer gate and turned their blades toward the enemies that had breached the inner fortress.

Not a single one of them spared a glance back at the main gate.

Because the master of the white swallow remained there.

Dressed in fluttering black robes, his back pressed against a silver spear-wielding girl, the two of them stood surrounded by powerful warriors, each radiating overwhelming energy.

[Half a quarter-hour remains. I once granted a full half-hour’s grace to that vile dragon of Yongga, but you are no Divine Sword Sect Leader... And this is, after all, a battlefield. One-quarter hour should be more than enough.]

The mighty warrior of Mu Ryong Association, an expert in escape, spoke in his booming voice.

Yet, the man standing beside him—a scholar-like figure built as large as a mountain bandit—did not seem to agree.

He was still catching his breath, as if he had unleashed a devastating strike moments ago.

In his hands, a massive battle-axe spun rapidly, carving up a howling storm of wind that sent a broad cloud of dust sweeping across the battlefield.

The white-feathered spirit beast saw through it instantly.

Every single one of them was eyeing a fatal opening—waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

And in the midst of them—

Ak Su-rim stood like an unshakable shield, guarding Jeong Yeon-shin with unyielding vigilance.

Meanwhile, the one and only man in purple robes on the battlefield stood with his eyes closed.

For a brief moment, Baek Yeon tilted its head, puzzled.

Is he sleeping while standing?

The swallow cried out sharply, though its master could not hear it.

Then, flapping its wings with renewed strength, it ascended higher into the sky.

A spirit beast of Ipwang Fortress holds the same status as its master.

And since its master could not currently offer aid, it made its decision—

It would assist the bearded scholar with the brush instead.

Thus, the White Swallow of the Wasteland Annihilation folded the edges of its wings and dived sharply downward.

“Look! Look over there!”

A thunderous roar of cheers erupted.

The white-clad warriors and nameless disciples of Ipwang Fortress, who had barely caught their breath after the previous fierce battle,

Immediately sprang to action.

Their bodies, still reeling from exhaustion, tightened once more—their every muscle fiber contracting, their inner energy reigniting like flames upon dry wood.

It was like a ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) wildfire spreading through the ranks.

Even the marauding martial sects, who had been approaching from the collapsed western walls, hesitated for a moment.

The Avatar of Wasteland Annihilation.

Its mere presence bolstered the morale of the fortress’s warriors, ensuring that their focus never wavered.

With its white chest puffed out, Baek Yeon soared across the fortress interior before ascending once more, this time toward the tallest tree in the fortress.

A centuries-old juniper tree.

Personally watered and cared for by none other than the Lord of Ipwang Fortress.

A lone figure stood atop its highest branch, her long hair rippling in the wind.

A giant bow, as large as her own body, rested in her grip.

Her fingers, which had once tamed Baek Yeon into a spirit beast, lightly brushed the bird’s tiny jawline.

“You came to urge me.”

Though she phrased it as a question, her tone fell flat, as if the very concept of emotion had long since been abandoned.

Baek Yeon let out a soft chirp.

“...If you wish for certainty, wait a little longer.”

Then, the master of the great bow continued in a gentle murmur.

[The Soul-Piercing Bow Technique (超魂弓法) grants only a single shot.

Once loosed, the target’s life... and the power within a single arrow... both become one with the void.]

She turned her gaze downward.

“...Shall you choose, then?”

Her eyes drifted between two distant points, sweeping over them like a calm tide.

First, the Grand Overseer’s Office, the center of Ipwang Fortress.

Then, the main gates, where waves of enemies surged forward, trampling across the Yangyang plains.

Within the Grand Overseer’s Office, someone had already infiltrated beyond the threshold, moving effortlessly amidst the confusion.

A man cloaked in black, his face obscured by a wide-brimmed straw hat.

A man whom the martial world knew as Yeo Ryeong-ju.

Beyond the fortress’s still-standing main gate, across the Yangyang Plains,

Another force approached.

A horde, their numbers already in the hundreds, with more still unseen.

And even from a great distance, their combined presence already shook the earth beneath them.

These were the martial sects that had long yearned for the fall of Ipwang Fortress.

The entire martial world was descending upon them, drawn in by the secret missives and intelligence Yeo Ryeong-ju had carefully scattered in secrecy.

Baek Yeon spread its wings wide.

In that very moment, through the shared senses between the swallow and its master—

Jeong Yeon-shin had opened his eyes.

Something descended from the sky, striking the ground with immense force, carving a massive trench into the battlefield.

And in front of it а woman landed.

Her long black hair, tied in a single line, whipped violently in the wind.

Before the fortress’s main gate—

Where the entire martial world now gathered—

Two figures clad in purple stood, waiting.