Chapter 570: Chapter 570

There are eighteen stone chairs in the One Sword Hall of Ipwang Fortress. That number included the seat of the Divine Sword Unit Commander.

Among them, the seat that always filled up the fastest was essentially fixed.

That was the seat of the Myungryu Corps Commander.

Quite literally, because it was immortal.

When the original Myungryu Commander died, the spiritual energy of the deceased was retrieved into the Secret Formation beneath Ipwang Fortress.

And the newly appointed master accepted it.

Into a body just before death.

The spiritual essence flowing from the Secret Formation of Ipwang Fortress intervened in that dying body and held onto life, achieving the state known as the Trifold Convergence.

A grand technique passed down only to the chief officials of the General Office and the Myungryu Commander and Vice Commander.

The energy expenditure, the mystical treasures, and the engineered formations consumed in the process were nearly equivalent to the military funding of a vast border.

Artificially creating something like the black-rank final weapons of the defensive corps was simply impossible.

Thus, the Myungryu Commander spent their remaining life inhabiting a corpse. Naturally, there was no need for nourishment, and the seat would never again become vacant.

The only issue—major or minor—was that the divine energy in the upper dantian could no longer grow, making promotion to the Violet Rank impossible, and that the entire body’s skin would rot, requiring layers of bandages.

The woman, wrapped head to toe in gray Heavenly Silkworm bandages—including her face—remained silent. Over her sharply outlined body draped a faded black long robe.

She was hiding in the open wasteland.

Dust coated the bandages and black robe—fine, yellow-brown dust drifting like clouds across the wide wilderness.

She was the Myungryu Corps Commander of the Myungryu Corps.

The seat through which all frontline intelligence of the world’s greatest martial alliance flowed.

Among the many commanders under the Divine Sword Unit, it was one of the most critically important positions, alongside the Commanders of Mystic Spirit and Resonant Soul. Naturally, it could not remain vacant for long.

She was the newly appointed Myungryu Commander.

Even as Jeong Yeon-shin, the Thief, and the War God’s Strategist clashed behind her with earth-shaking force in the distance, she did not look back.

Because she had to protect Jeong Yeon-shin.

From two faint, distant figures on the far opposite horizon.

Namje appeared cloaked in pure black mist that draped to his feet, while the massive silhouette unmistakably belonging to Bukdo loomed over him atop a monstrous warhorse.

Namje’s black mist billowed like an energy screen, trying to envelop the surroundings, but because of the overwhelming, tyrannical aura constantly radiating from Bukdo and his steed, it only swirled in a circular pattern.

Bukdo of the martial world was so overwhelmingly powerful that even energy screens like that could not encroach.

It was a clear standoff.

Bukdo had once acted as the War God’s left arm before suddenly rebelling. Whatever the reason, his current enmity with Namje was genuine.

The two moved their heads slightly now and then.

Eavesdropping on the conversations of such absolute beings usually meant risking one’s life, but just as often, it was worth that risk.

If the War God’s sole remaining right arm broke through Bukdo to strike Jeong Yeon-shin... or if Bukdo suddenly changed his mind—

She would have to act before anything happened, if only by a split second. Otherwise, it would be impossible to resist them.

Myungryu Commander Un Sohyeon moved forward without a sound. Then she activated her detection techniques—Heaven-Ear Clairvoyance and Poison-Whisper Concealment.

Bits of their conversation began to filter in.

In one of the many northern dialects, one within her knowledge—flowing low and smooth, like a river. Manchu.

—...I know you arrived using a space-folding step. Your title, Namje, once meant you were the first destined to trample the Ming Kingdom... and now you beg teachings from the Western Demon Lord?

—It was a transaction. As always, you fail to grasp this. Fitting for a traitor of your own clan.

—The true betrayers of our clan’s spirit were those at Whirling Wind Hollow. Of course, the Greed-Driven Namje is no exception.

—Bukdo, take the sight of a predatory bird. The Ming Kingdom is absurdly vast. If we are to trample it, as you say, then the Northern Kings of this land must remain intact.

—Why are those who refuse to fight called Kings of the North? They are no longer whole. Be thankful that Yaryul, once Pah Gun, has revived your pathetic spirit.

—These words are useless. Now move. Mun Gok says within Yaryul’s body and his arms lies a piece of the secret technique to sever the Gate. He will become a clue to the War God’s trail after his death.

—You seek the War God...?

—Yeom Jeong confirmed it. The War God did not perish when Gunreung’s final trick erased him. Like Gunreung, he has not exhausted his life energy. You didn’t see it that day—you were too busy stopping me.

—Wasn’t Yeom Jeong blocked by Yangcheon that day?

—Not to the point she couldn’t glance sideways. That grand Yangcheon, chief among the Three High Protectors of the Ming Royal Court, now likely wanders these lands dressed as a beggar. He could not withstand repeated internal injuries. Yeom Jeong’s detection has never been wrong...

[The War God lives beyond the Gate.]

Perhaps due to the fearsome conviction and obsession of the North’s strongest man, Namje’s final words carved themselves into space like the will of the Unified Martial Power.

Un Sohyeon’s eyes widened faintly.

A vibration, like the flutter of a hornet’s wings, stirred from the bandages wrapped around her commander’s seat. A secret art of the Myungryu Corps.

Earth King's Conveyance Technique.

It formed a short phrase with her footwork force. The moment she slammed her left palm to the ground, a storm burst out nearby.

Prrrrk—! The ground split in countless threads like a tangled skein of silk.

And just then, the massive shadow of a warhorse, having crossed an impossible distance, fell over her.

The rushing gale it dragged with its colossal speed engulfed the surroundings. The pressure was unmistakably charged with immense internal force.

The World-Opening Force.

The supreme cavalry technique of the War God’s left arm.

Un Sohyeon froze mid-motion, hand still on the ground. The pressure unleashed by the monstrous warhorse and the rider fused in perfect unity crushed her body entirely.

The atmosphere trembled with the horse’s rough snort. Bukdo, beneath his woven straw hat, spoke in a low, [N O V E L I G H T] resonant voice.

[I know you won’t answer even if I ask what you tried to do.]

His dry voice continued slowly.

[Ipwang Fortress’s black rank. That energy signature and extraction speed... match Fifty-Seven. Truly worthy of the title.]

In silence, Un Sohyeon began circulating her full-body internal force through her meridians. Following the key formula of Radiant Wing Double Steps from the Seomye Martial Pulse.

She had once briefly greeted Jeong Yeon-shin in the Black State at Cheonggeumwu Valley and entered the path.

A step that pierces momentum.

Just one step would be enough to break free of this pressure.

She had already stepped to the edge of death, but the commanders under the Divine Sword Unit were black ranks because they could create infinite possibilities like the night sky.

—You’re from the Ipwang line, right? If you’re a relative of Commander Yun from the Yullyeong Unit, then you’re family to me too. If that’s overstepping, I apologize...

To be able to reflect the founder’s form into one's martial core was a great blessing for a cultivator.

It meant one had gained the proper mental image for inner energy flow. That alone could subtly elevate one’s techniques.

‘Whether I live or die, you will not die.’

Seomye Jeong Yeon-shin.

She wasn’t deeply close to him, and yet, the boy’s smiling face as her commander appeared in her mind.

At that moment, Un Sohyeon’s leg twitched. Her foot, also wrapped in bandages, was just about to take a step.

Suddenly, a pitch-black mist slithered up.

Namje, the strongest man in the North, grabbed her head with one hand and crushed it.

At the same time, his hand, twisted with bulging blue veins, cracked like lightning. He had unleashed full power in that instant.

Her shattered skull and fragments of flesh rolled across the sand, mixing with the already dead, black blood and pale bodily fluids.

Thud, thud—the sounds were quietly swallowed by the northern soil. The ground was too cold for steam or warmth to rise.

The War God’s two arms, before being peerless martial artists, were kings of war. If the objective aligned, they never hesitated to join forces.

“She reacted a step too late. That’s a problem.”

Meanwhile, Bukdo, still astride his warhorse, glanced toward the distant speck that was Yaryul.

[If it’s Fifty-Seven, it could match any Great Warrior. Something must have happened.]

“...Beneath the ground... the earth energy is vibrating. It’s a ripple like a war transmission. No, more like Whirling Wind Hollow’s technique.”

[I feel it. It will reach farther than war transmission.]

“It’s too late. Don’t interfere anymore. The invasion must begin.”

Namje stomped the ground.

Cracks like a spiderweb split the ground, and the faint spiritual essence of Un Sohyeon, underfoot, was utterly crushed.

The Myungryu Commander’s legacy of Ipwang Fortress ended completely.

Only fragments of shattered defensive energy and her bandages scattered across the arid earth.

A place where the sunlight began to glimmer faintly.

The territory of the Divine Sword Unit.

A bearded, middle-aged scholar sat with his gaze lowered.

Though there was no ceiling above the hall and transparent sunlight was pouring down in beams, the lamp on one side of his desk still emitted a faint glow.

He had stayed up all night.

The dozens of scholars seated before him were no different.

“The Extermination Unit has completely withdrawn from Changdeok Province in Hanam. Considering the number of severed secret lines, this likely occurred four days ago. Of course, the Imperial Army has moved in to replace them.”

Hearing the report from one of his direct subordinates, Im Jinmyeong gave a small nod of his chin.

“An Elder from the Senate has once again requested an audience. It’s regarding the removal of Lord Jeong’s acting commander status and his official promotion to Corps Commander...”

This was the next scholar’s report.

“The Sword Beyond the Gate is there. What are we supposed to do about it? Send someone in to fetch it? In any case, it seems we'll need to nominate Lord Sinchang as the next Elder of the Senate...”

Then, Im Jinmyeong turned to someone else.

“And the report from Scholar Yi?”

“We received a communication from the old site of the Sandong Ak Family. Lord Sinchang has been unable to locate the family’s secret arts...”

“Tell him to return immediately. Make sure he doesn’t head north alone without the Unified Martial Power.”

At that moment, someone pushed open the General Bureau’s doors without the slightest presence.

The Grand Commander, who was about to issue a stern rebuke, paused.

“This place is always bustling, I see.”

A man walked past the scholars toward Im Jinmyeong. His gait was the only thing peculiar, the hem of his robe fluttering above his pants, but he gave off no presence whatsoever.

It was the body-shielding technique that allowed noble figures to remain undetected by martial artists' senses.

He wore the Four-Clawed Dragon Robes, a gift from the late Emperor Geonreung to certain princes.

On both shoulders and at the center of his abdomen, the robe bore the emblem of a dragon with four claws.

The man—King Gungmyeong—spoke again.

“This must be the most formidable place in the world. Not counting trees that can walk.”

Im Jinmyeong showed his respect with a simple bow of his head. It was a form of courtesy permitted to the Grand Commander after the Battle of Iphwang, a symbol of the supra-legal relationship between the Imperial Household and the military leadership.

“It felt like the time had come, so I stopped by. By now, the Imperial Army should be able to fully occupy Iphwang Fortress.”

No longer a contender for the throne, his presence was more transcendent than ever. Though distant from the imperial seat, he now radiated the mystique of a martial artist.

He was more than sufficient to replace the standing forces of Iphwang Fortress.

“You’ve worked hard, Grand Commander.”

King Gungmyeong looked around and placed a hand on Im Jinmyeong’s shoulder.

“To hand over public security duties entirely is no easy feat. This land is vast. Just Yunnan and Guangdong alone feel like different countries altogether.”

The Grand Commander of Iphwang Fortress was indeed worthy of the king’s praise.

Handing over the wide-reaching domain once patrolled by the fortress’s elite warriors—known for their incredible speed and mobility—to the elite guards of the Imperial Household required immense effort.

One had to fully convey the power dynamics of the region, the current status of local sects, and assign each member of the Imperial Army to the appropriate region based on their martial strength and detection range.

Had they failed, chaos would’ve broken out.

Only after all these arrangements were complete could the Divine Sword Corps make their move.

Their notion of "chivalry" was simply another name for "responsibility."

“The Grand Commander’s orders have been issued.”

“The Radiant Blade Corps, the Sun-Sky Wings, and the Bloodguard have left Yangyang. They are led by Radiant Blade Commander Hak Soseon, Sun-Sky Wing Commander Namgung Hwashin, and acting Bloodguard Commander Heon Wonchang.”

“Bright Might Commander Cheongmyeong has confirmed the presence of all Core Blue-level Radiance Formation Masters in Bonseong... Senior martial artists from Bonseong who were instructors of Unified Martial Power are also moving north.”

“Confirmed once more: the letter from the Wugeuk Hall that had been in Guangdong has now arrived in Bonseong via Beijing. It is presumed to have already crossed the Great Wall. Wugeuk Hall consists of one hundred and nine members.”

“The rapid movement of each military corps now exceeds their previous mission limits.”

“There is no longer any communication with Bonseong.”

The Grand Commander issued no further instructions. He merely listened in silence, even as the chief scholar seated beside him finally opened his mouth.

“The Divine Sword Corps.”

“All military units are heading north.”