Chapter 549: Chapter 549

Jeong Yeon-shin turned his head toward the source of the laughter, suspicion flickering in his heart.

“Cheongeuk’s master?”

Street stalls lined both sides of the broad market road. Among them, a one-armed man in a straw hat lowered his head discreetly.

His build was ordinary.

Clearly not a Yozoku.

And he didn’t look like the master of Cheongeuk either. His ragged appearance was far removed from the stature of a dominant swordsman.

The hat pulled low like someone imitating a Yozoku, and the northern frontier garb—it all fit in a place where few had intact bodies.

It was only natural for «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» a martial artist to react to the name “Cheongeuk.”

He was simply someone who had, for one reason or another, turned his back on the southern lands.

He wasn’t the so-called Number One Outsider Sword who challenged the world with nothing but a blade.

Jeong Yeon-shin relaxed the sharpness in his gaze.

It hadn’t been an overreaction. If a figure as powerful as one of the Five Heavenly Swords had made their way this far north, even Jeong Yeon-shin would need to reconsider his northern mission.

Especially now, traveling almost entirely alone, vigilance in all directions was warranted.

“Not just the Northern Lords—there was talk of the Demonic Cult and the Ice Palace too. If the Five Heavenly Swords show up here, this place really is the Demonic Territory. A land too mad for anyone sane to live in.”

The temporary commander of the Divine Sword Sect glanced sideways.

Shin So-bin, as if she’d lost ten years off her life, placed a hand over her solar plexus. Her gesture, gently covering the fabric of her robe, carried the subtle technique of pressure point control.

She was suppressing the fluctuation of blood and energy at will—proof that every movement she made stemmed from Jeong Family Inner Techniques.

The man in ragged silk who had spoken first—the doorkeeper-level master—let out a small chuckle.

“Sounds like you’ve got a grudge against the Number One Outsider Sword.”

“My sect holds a deep resentment toward him. I’m not the only one who feels this way.”

Shin So-bin’s voice was as cold as a frozen leaf. Since learning the Jeong Family techniques, her emotional fluctuations had become more pronounced.

“Is it my physical frame...?”

Jeong Yeon-shin questioned himself.

Body and mind constantly influence each other. That was true for both Shaolin and Wudang’s orthodox martial arts, and even for more unorthodox paths.

Then, suddenly, he thought of the Seventh Apostle.

A woman whose tendons and bones had somehow shifted to resemble his own, despite never learning the Jeong Family’s method. Her madness was unparalleled.

But it was impossible to say whether her mental state was simply natural, or if the altered structure of her body—similar to his—had influenced her.

If it was the latter, he’d need to account for that when deploying warriors of the Divine Sword Sect’s Formation of Radiant Might formation in tactical combat.

Even if they hadn’t learned the Jeong Family Inner Techniques, martial bodies naturally evolved to match their techniques.

“No detours. We’d need to charge in with straight-line lightness techniques that decide the battle in a single stroke...”

While Jeong Yeon-shin sank into thought, the doorkeeper master began explaining how they should behave within Yeokluseon.

His pace was brisk, almost as if he were using a lightness technique.

“This northern land is a different world. Everything’s different from the southern martial world. Where you came from—where the eared bastards have taken over—the land and qi itself are twisted, even if the Zhu royals still claim the highest status... But not here.”

Seeing that the two followed him without raising any force of intent, he gave a pleased nod. Even one’s gait could prove their strength, he claimed.

“Here, order stems from power. Martial authority and government are not separate, and one’s nobility isn’t determined by birth.”

“You’ve adjusted well,” Shin So-bin replied calmly. There was weight in her words.

“The Yozoku honor the customs and traditions of every clan under heaven. And if they see you as a sworn sibling, they’ll share their secret techniques freely—skills like Celestial Armor and the Ten Seals of Crimson Flow. Among equals, the stronger one becomes the leader. Like me.”

“...May I ask your name?” Shin So-bin inquired.

A smile stretched the deep lines at the corners of the man’s mouth.

“I am the Doorkeeper of the North.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“I spoke with the God of Combat. Slept beside him in the same barracks. In the end, he bestowed upon me both the Celestial Armor and the Ten Seals of Crimson Flow. As with so many Yozoku of this land, I too can be called his disciple.”

Shin So-bin’s already large eyes widened. For the first time, Jeong Yeon-shin truly looked at the man directly.

Shin So-bin blurted out the question:

“You’re saying you met the God of Combat in person?”

“Of course. He was everywhere. Though now he’s vanished, leaving the world feeling strangely empty...”

The man let his words trail for a moment, then continued.

“In any case, if you’re stronger than those you’ll face, there’s no need to worry about decorum. Unlike the rotting lands below, here, martial strength is status and etiquette. Isn’t that refreshingly clear?”

“Still seems just as dry around here,” Shin So-bin muttered, lightly tapping the ground with the toe of her boot.

The man didn’t deny it.

“Of course. This land was barren to begin with, and now it’s even more so. But...”

He locked eyes with Jeong Yeon-shin and Shin So-bin in turn. His gaze held the weight of a lifetime—perhaps as long as their two lives combined.

“That’s all because of that southern walking tree—the Heavenly Tree.”

At some point, the earthen walls had given way to looming structures built from stone bricks. Faint outlines shimmered in the dust.

From within, intense auras churned like flames. They had reached the inner wall of Yeokluseong.

At that moment, the man added:

“Though everything here is free, there is one thing to be wary of. Since the north is a place where the martial and military are one, boundaries still exist, despite all the talk of respect. If either of you is so powerful that even I can’t handle you...”

Suddenly, his voice slowed.

“Then the Northern Kings will appear. One... or two.”

“Are they that powerful?” Jeong Yeon-shin asked quietly.

The man smirked like someone hearing a joke.

“Of course! Not even the God of Combat could unify this land, and it was because of a few Northern Kings who refused to join his banner.”

Shin So-bin looked as if she was trying to memorize every detail of the north while the chance remained.

“They say all of them lead military-style formations of elite martial artists... Is that true?”

“It is. Those peerless masters move in groups—striking, retreating, never to be caught. They’re like natural disasters. The worst kind of headache. Ah—!”

He clapped his hands.

“You may not know, but the one currently ruling this Yeokluseong is a monster called the Flame King. And she’s not alone. Two other Northern Kings have arrived in nearby camps.”

Shin So-bin flinched slightly.

“That’s why this savage Yeokluseong has been so quiet lately. When three Northern Kings gather, that place becomes the northern hell.”

The man came to a halt. As if this was as far as he could go.

“The rest will be guided by the Lord of Hocheonseong, the Demon Annihilation Blade. I hope you don’t get swept away by the Northern Gale.”

The Demon Annihilation Blade—who survived after taking on Jeong Yeon-shin’s Yi Gi Yu Geom.

A man who lost the fortress he once defended.

What if he recognized Jeong Yeon-shin and called for the Northern Kings?

For a brief moment, Shin So-bin’s throat moved as she swallowed dryly, and Jeong Yeon-shin recalled one of the legendary tales forged by Yong Hui-myeong.

The one where he overwhelmed a joint assault by the Lord of Amya Battlefront and the Lord of the Mu Ryong Association.

Both were famed masters from the southern lands.

Among them, Jeong Yeon-shin had crossed blades with the Lord of Amya Battlefront. But at the time, both the Lord of Amya and Namgung’s Greatest Sword had already expended their strength after days and nights of intense combat against Yong Hui-myeong.

They were the core attackers during the Sky Net of Ten Thousand Strikes meant to kill the Leader of the Divine Sword Sect. Even then, Jeong Yeon-shin only managed to sever the Lord of Amya's head with the help of Jin Myeong-jo.

Of course, the current Yong Hui-myeong was stronger than the one from back then, and Jeong Yeon-shin himself was on an entirely different level now.

‘If I were to face Namgung’s Next Greatest Sword and the Lord of Amya Battlefront—both in their prime—and another of equal strength at the same time...’

Just how many of them could he handle if he unleashed the Southern Radiant Tai Chi?

Jeong Yeon-shin gently massaged the nape of Shin So-bin’s tense neck, pressing on the Tui Gong Gua Point, thinking to himself: It was clear this land required discretion and quick wit.

He sent her a low, inaudible transmission.

—So-bin, no matter how the Yozoku provoke you, you have to endure for now. Since your energy wave carries traces of Ipwang Fortress martial arts, there may be some who recognize it. It might be hard, but for now, let’s act like gentlemen.

With his disciple at his side, Jeong Yeon-shin stepped into the Demonic Lands. The biting and arid northern gale grazed his skin.

‘I’ll have to lie low for a while.’

He had arrived at the Northern martial world.

His mission: to end this chaotic era.

He would need support.

Just as Jeong Yeon-shin once arrived at Yong Hui-myeong’s Sky Net of Ten Thousand Strikes, he too would need someone like that now. Someone who would allow him to unleash all of his martial arts freely and safely.

[To the Second Palace Lord.

Report on the concubine of the Great Palace Lord from the Hwangbo Clan.]

[To the Second Palace Lord.

Report on the First Consort of the Great Palace Lord.]

To the Second Palace Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace:

Hocheonseong has collapsed. The following great warriors are currently stationed near Yeokluseong and its surroundings:

—The King of Ultimate Shame.

—The Dragon Chant King.

—The Invincible Master of the Ming Cult.

—Yeokluseong. A peerless swordsman has appeared.

—Confirmed to have been vouched for by the Northern Gatekeeper.

—Used close-quarter combat to kill the Flame King. Proceed with caution if entering the fortress—beware of aftershocks.