Chapter 610: Chapter 610

Wеi Ji-geuk stepped out of the tent.

In that moment, winter wind fluttered along the edge of the entrance flap, and Shin So-bin, paying no mind to her hair streaming in the gust, silently kept her gaze on the open book before her.

The Jeong Family’s Internal Technique of the Divine Sword Corps.

Beyond Great Mastery lay Extreme Mastery—a level where even improvised techniques could be executed with full potency. It meant the practitioner had fully grasped the intent that matched the flow of energy.

For Shin So-bin, that realm was still distant.

—"Then it’s like we’re already married now.”

What she had learned wasn’t the standardized internal technique of the Divine Sword Corps, but the original Jeong Family Technique personally cultivated by Jeong Yeon-shin since childhood. What had started as a simplified version had now reached this point.

—"The Divine Sword Sect rejects formal teacher-disciple relationships as it is. I can’t just go off and form my own school after learning even Hwangang’s formulas. People will call me a thief. That’s how absolute and sacred a secret technique is."

Words she had once spoken to Jeong Yeon-shin.

The only path left to her now was to become the next Master of the Divine Sword Corps.

From her current blue-robed Seomye status, to becoming a black-robed Seomye, and ultimately being known as Jeong Yeon-shin’s direct successor—if her life unraveled in that order, she would inherit him completely.

Naturally, her mastery of the Jeong Family Technique would have to reach Extreme Mastery as well. But ever since she heard of Jeong Yeon-shin’s shortened lifespan, her advancement had stalled.

It was because her subconscious refused to accept it.

If she fully acknowledged that Jeong Yeon-shin was nearing death, she would be able to comprehend all the formulas of the Seomye lineage in their entirety and push through to the next level.

It was a type of heart demon. Just as the household of Ipwang Fortress had supported her life for so long, Jeong Yeon-shin himself had become her spiritual pillar in the Divine Sword Corps.

Thus, the only thing advancing now was Hwangang.

She had seen the moment Jeong Yeon-shin cradled the body of Cheong Qilin, and had been by his side every time he spoke of him.

Heon Won-chang glanced at the palm of her hand and muttered,

“It’s ready to be used in live combat now.”

But unlike the others, Shin So-bin’s Jeong Family Technique had not progressed. No words could serve as comfort.

She slowly opened her mouth.

“I was taught that a proper disciple of a righteous sect should do their best to ensure their master is never forgotten. That’s what I learned from my clan.”

“No need to be so sentimental. Even in demonic sects like the Thirteen Heavens, they teach the same. Not sure about those cannibals in the Demonic Domain though.”

Yeon So-ha replied nonchalantly and continued,

“Whatever nonsense you heard from the Ming Cult Lord, hold your ground. If things go south in Heukdo, we’ll be up against no fewer than twelve Northern Kings. You’ll die for real.”

The martial world of the Demonic Domain mirrored that of the Qing. Just like how the Thirteen Heavens and the Nine Orthodox Clans were counted as one nation in Ming territory.

Heon Won-chang nodded faintly.

One hand was resting on the hilt of a blade wrapped in bandages, the other pressing calmly against his Heavenly Crown Point (the top of the skull), forcibly unlocking the Seven Blood Gold Circulation Technique.

“We hit fast and retreat fast. As soon as the others finish restoring their energy.”

This was their final cultivation.

Like Jeong Yeon-shin, their time was as precious as gold. Once they moved, there would be no rest. They would have to sprint nonstop.

Their opponent was an entire nation.

The Lord of Lava Fortress, the Chi Geuk King, the Sword Lord of Goyo, the Heavenly Palace King, the Great King Vajra, the Dharma King, the Elder Sage of the Southern Heaven, Aisin Gioro Heukhwan, Mun Gok, Yeom Jeong, the Southern Emperor, So Cheonmujuk—and even the unpredictable Star Lords of the North, such as Bukdo.

And this was just the intel the Mingliu Corps had already obtained.

Even breaking through Lava Fortress would be a monumental task. But if they delayed too long in Heukdo against the Southern Emperor’s elite forces, they’d risk total annihilation.

Unlike the Ming, the Northern Kings were unified under titles like Gold and the Great Qing.

Coordinating them behind the scenes was none other than the Chi Geuk Prince Consort.

A being capable of moving between dreams using others' upper cinnabar fields.

In other words, he relayed detailed information to the Northern Kings of the Whirling Wind Hollow. One could say he resembled the Yeouicheon Lord of the southern martial world.

Only recently had it been revealed that he was the only Grand Strategist to ever enter the Whirling Wind Hollow.

The Southern Emperor’s vanguard. A man who never dies.

“That bastard Chi Geuk Prince Consort... His political maneuvering is like moonlight on still water. Near impossible to deal with. I heard he even inherited a part of the Divine Protection Meridian from the Divine Slayer. If he runs, there’s no catching him.”

Yeon So-ha changed the subject. Perhaps he’d felt the mood turn heavy from the expressions of Heon Won-chang and Shin So-bin. He hadn’t read the message left behind by the Ming Cult Lord at Jeong Yeon-shin’s quarters.

Shin So-bin calmly nodded.

“They said the Divine Sword Criminal and the Sub-Lord of the Corps are focused on something else right now.”

Heon Won-chang asked. Ever since they marched out from Yeokluseong, he’d been focused solely on his own body. Of everyone, the acting Commander of the Blood Supply Division was the least informed of the Corps’ situation.

“I don’t know the details.”

Yeon So-ha chimed in.

“Well, they’re trying to merge the Jeong Family Technique with Mara True Blood Art... The Sub-Lord of the Destruction Division and the Master of the Wu Geuk Pavilion handed over the One-Sword Formation of Wonpyeong to Yeouicheon Lord and went to meditate. Since they know the Chi Geuk Prince Consort is a slippery bastard, they just left her to handle him casually.”

That was the extent of it.

The next moment, a silence settled over them like a lie. Even if they reviewed the situation or practiced martial arts during their conversation, it wouldn’t fill the absence of the Divine Sword Corps Master.

Only the sound of Shin So-bin’s Hwangang echoed through the tent.

The friction of true energy, resonating until the air inside twisted into a hazy spiral—making the silence stand out even more.

The same must have been true at the One-Sword ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Formation of Wonpyeong.

The One-Sword Formation of Wonpyeong in Ipwang Fortress did not exist solely within the fortress itself.

Wherever two or more black-robed warriors gathered, that place became a roundtable for discussing the fate of the world. Even in the Demonic Domain.

Even if it was just a filthy table in a tattered tent, with holes punctured throughout.

“Negotiations have failed again. But you ought to think carefully.”

A voice mocked the formation in an archaic tone.

A young man with mesmerizing lips and eyes rose from his seat. Subtle mockery always lingered on his serene, aristocratic brows. It was the Chi Geuk Prince Consort.

“Listen well, Yeouicheon Lord. No matter how hard you try to conceal it, the whole martial world knows the acting Master of the Divine Sword Corps has fallen into critical condition at the hands of the Southern Emperor. Do you think my King is the only one aware? Even the King of Dragon Resonance will soon send an envoy. Naadam ends here.”

His words flowed like a mountain spring.

He was the one who most frequently stood in for the Northern Kings among all the Grand Strategists of the Demonic Domain. As a Dream Phantom Body, he possessed an extraordinarily powerful upper cinnabar field and preternatural instincts that had kept him alive in the face of countless threats.

Though he boasted of having slain five blue-robed warriors of the Divine Sword Corps in one sitting, martial artists of the Demonic Domain still bet on when and how he would finally be killed.

Yet he had survived multiple encounters with the Divine Sword Corps.

Such was the nature of a Dream Phantom Body’s upper cinnabar field—it would always sound the alarm ahead of time when one’s life was in danger.

Even the light-footwork technique of the Heavenly Martial Emperor, which he'd picked up through eavesdropping, was his to wield. It was the reason he had been chosen as an envoy of the Demonic Domain.

In truth, he'd come to sap the Divine Sword Corps' morale—but they hadn't reacted the way he'd wanted.

“...I’d rather spar with a straw dummy. To treat an envoy this way... Even if you call yourselves the Ming’s Black Sword or whatever, in the end, you’re nothing more than lowly warriors. Ah, perhaps because you’re warriors, this is to be expected.”

He was called Jade Face in the south for his beauty, but there wasn’t a trace of composure in his face now. His expression had been subtly twisted for a while.

From the very beginning until now.

Because he’d been openly humiliated by Yeouicheon Lord Bukgung Ah. She had one leg propped on the table, barefoot, the other draped loosely over it, long legs crossed.

He knew she was supposed to avoid bending her knees too much due to aftereffects from the Battle of Cheonggwang Plain, but to Chi Geuk Prince Consort's eyes, it was clear—

Bukgung Ah’s legs were supple and solid enough to rival divine swords.

‘She’s a monster I can’t beat head-on. Still... she’ll eventually sleep. Maybe I’ll aim for her in a dream. Her upper cinnabar field seems powerful, but with our camps this close...’

Besides, Yeouicheon was a woman. While Chi Geuk Prince Consort belonged to the Dream Phantom Body bloodline, born as a man.

He stared at her blankly with watery eyes and said,

“A martial sect has never recklessly intervened in affairs between nations. They are relics of history. If they were truly strong enough to rule an empire, then martial artists would be emperors by now. Your Ipwang Fortress is no different. If you overstep again, you won’t escape annihilation.”

“...The Lord of Lava Fortress has set his sights on you. To him—the man who wiped out the Buk Gung royal family—you are its last heir. He’ll want to take you as his wife for the sake of his bloodline. Just as the Ice Palace Lord took the Great Flame Dragon as her husband.”

“Not even funny. I’ll be going now.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Chi Geuk Prince Consort smoothed his brow. Her attitude reeked of bluff, he thought. He turned and flung open the tent flap.

‘I should tell the Lord of Lava Fortress to march immediately. And of course, inform His Majesty too...’

There was a face behind the flap. A cheerful-looking young man with sharp features. The very one he always kept an eye on, even while pretending not to.

The way the man poked his head in and stopped dead was eerie. Like coming face-to-face with a statue in the middle of the night.

‘There’s no killing intent...’

Just as Chi Geuk Prince Consort felt the energy around the Divine Sword Corps had shifted—

Heavenly Dragon Commander Wеi Ji-geuk spoke.

“I let you be because it seemed our acting Corps Master was trying to reconcile with your king. But that’s enough.”

“You wouldn’t dare—here?”

“Leave your head behind.”

As if those words had lit a fuse—

The entire camp shook violently. No earthquake, just pure martial resonance. The sect with the sharpest ears in the world had, at a single word, finished their energy circulation and activated their Body Protection Meridians.

Chi Geuk Prince Consort instantly spun in place, his robe sleeves flaring out like pinwheels. A powerful gust blew Wеi Ji-geuk back, and the force of the burst collapsed the tent entirely.

“You damn moths! Have you forgotten Lava Fortress is right in front of you?!”

With a curse, Chi Geuk Prince Consort vanished. His afterimage etched into the air even as he disappeared.

Not just fleeing the tent—he cleared the Divine Sword Corps' encampment in a single bound, arcing across the sky like a fading trace of light.

His movement route, via Body Protection Meridian, was absurdly vast.

There are those who can rival even transcendent masters in specific disciplines of martial arts.

The Defensive Qi of the Demon Slayer from the Flaming Destruction Blade.

The Inner Workings of the Great Flame Dragon.

The Calculative Prowess of Yeouicheon.

The Palm Techniques of the Annihilation Division Lord.

And the Body Protection Meridian of the Chi Geuk Prince Consort.

Along with the Binding Art of the Heavenly Dragon Commander.

Mid-leap through the night sky, Chi Geuk Prince Consort flinched. His right ankle had been snared by a rope braided from strands of gray silkworm silk—Cotton Cord Binding Rope.

He had been caught by the slayer of the north.

Wеi Ji-geuk, whose killing intent had vanished as though he’d attained enlightenment through reading the Taoist Canon, clung to the rope as it dragged him through the sky alongside Chi Geuk Prince Consort.

It was a chilling sight.

And behind Wеi Ji-geuk—

The earth trembled violently. The tremor came from Chi Geuk Prince Consort’s own meridian art—but now a storm of people surged forth, nearly five hundred blue-robed Seomye, flapping like wings.

It felt as if the wind itself wrapped around their bodies.

Even though they’d clearly finished circulating their energy, the waves of qi they emitted didn’t stop. Their regrouping had been quick because they could circulate qi while moving. The Divine Sword Corps was using Moving Cultivation.

KUGUGUGUGUNG! KUGUGUGUGUNG—!

They charged with terrifying speed.

With each step, the earth shook, the tremors reaching the winding path to Lava Fortress above.

They ignored the smoke that trailed low along the ground.

Even though they were mere warriors, they no longer looked human.

The Divine Sword Corps Seventeen Generals.

As their light-footwork accelerated, the waves of qi they emitted grew stronger, yet they only seemed to gain more power with each burst.

It was a tidal wave made of light. They surged up the slope toward Lava Fortress as though ripping the air apart. The martial troops of the fortress scrambled to ignite their Heavenly Armor Qi in response to the overwhelming pressure.

And at last—they collided.

Guangye Formula, Jeong Family’s Internal Technique, and the Heavenly Armor Qi of the Demonic Domain martial world.

‘Are they seriously... clashing head-on?’

A look of pure shock spread across Chi Geuk Prince Consort’s face.