Yu Hyeon’s dry lips moved slightly.
“Yeon... Shin...?”
His throat constricted, as if being squeezed. The boy, looking down at him, let out a small laugh.
His smile was the same. Slowly, a smile appeared, one that only showed itself to those with whom he shared a bond.
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“Doesn't it seem like your eyes are covered in shadows? Your mastery of internal martial arts doesn’t fade, even though your energy seems temporarily scattered.”
“What’s up with that robe...?”
The corner of Jeong Yeon-shin’s mouth lifted slightly. Yu Hyeon wasn’t an ordinary person either.
Right away, he asked about the color of the robe—anyone could tell that he was a born warrior of the Jianghu.
He was more concerned about his friend's martial abilities and status than anything else. He didn’t seem interested in the circumstances that brought him here.
“Are all disciples of the old sects like that? So direct.”
He had connections with four of the major factions among the Nine Great Sects.
The Sword Dragon Wei Ji Myo-hwa, the Hidden Dragon Yu Hyeon, Monk So Shin-seung, and the Swordsman Choi So-ok... none of them were ordinary figures.
They each had distinct personalities, but they shared one common trait—they were all defined by their strong individuality.
Even now, it was the same. Yu Hyeon stumbled slightly with his words.
“Every time I see it, the color changes... How do you do that? Are you on the same level as our Heavenly Master now?”
The leader of the Mount Hua Sect was more famous by his alias than his title. He was known as the Sword Virtuoso.
As the leader of the Plum Blossom Swordmasters, he had left behind countless legendary tales, one of which included an encounter with Ma Gwang-ik that forced them into a tie.
“You’re not fit to mention the Sword Virtuoso. Don’t speak carelessly.”
He was a person who lived in a different time. Jeong Yeon-shin mumbled, concealing his true thoughts.
Those who knew the reasons behind his rise to power, such as the former leader of the Shin Geom Dan (New Sword Squad) and Wei Ji Myo-hwa, were enough to explain his current situation.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Yu Hyeon, but simply that he didn’t want to speak about it.
‘My grandfather didn’t seem to have told my uncle either...’
Ma Jin’s silence made it clear. He still knew nothing.
Ma Yeon-jeok had not hastily intervened in his grandson's matters.
He didn’t know what was on the mind of the previous Shin Geom Danju, but Jeong Yeon-shin thought it was for the best that it stayed that way.
Now, it was the support of his close companions like Heonwonchang, Cheongmyeong, and Baek Mi-ryeo that sustained him. He didn’t want to increase the worries of those closest to him.
It was a burden on him as well. If he had gained the fruit of the Heavenly Tree and healed his constitution, then maybe he could joke about it.
“So, how did you end up here? The Black-Clad Lord of Ipwang?”
He asked casually, though his gaze kept scanning Jeong Yeon-shin’s robe.
Yu Hyeon seemed a bit stunned, his reaction amusing to the boy.
Jeong Yeon-shin glanced around briefly.
Three members of the Zhongyang Gang standing at a distance were frozen, watching them.
They had found their chi paths and pressure points, and now they couldn’t move. They were paralyzed.
‘Is the internal energy focused in here?’
Tae Yeom-ryong, Namgung Hwa-shin, and Heonwonchang had gone to scout other areas.
The island was large, but it seemed like he had arrived in the right place.
Jeong Yeon-shin took out a blue jade from his pocket and tossed it into the air. The moment the jade flew, it scattered light in all directions.
It was the Boryeong Jade, which he had received from Ma Se-in.
If pure internal energy was absorbed, the object would crack.
Ma Gwang-ik had decided that it would be used as a signal for the new Lord of Ipwang.
“How did you end up caught?”
Jeong Yeon-shin asked lightly. Yu Hyeon, still staring at the shards of Boryeong Jade, lowered his gaze.
“There was a survivor in the village—a boy. I came here after hearing his story. He said the Jianghu factions and the Zhongyang Gang’s local branch are involved. They also have hostages. I was completely taken by surprise.”
“The local branch?”
Jeong Yeon-shin asked again.
The boy’s existence began to seem suspicious, but it wasn’t as significant as the presence of someone from the higher management.
“It’s quite funny. The local branch leader did something that went against the rules, but the Jianghu people can’t make a big deal out of the accusations. Even though they claim they’ve been wronged, the cries of a few Jianghu people don’t matter more than the leader’s own.”
“If someone from Ipwang’s Black Clad is involved, is it the ‘Seomye’ you speak of?”
One of the disciples from the Hua Shan Sect, who had been accompanying Yu Hyeon, asked. She had finally raised her head, revealing a striking gaze with large eyes.
Jeong Yeon-shin nodded briefly and grabbed his sword by his side.
Swish!
A flash of light shot from the sword.
Yu Hyeon sighed, his hand barely tracing the blade’s path.
Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t say a word and simply sheathed his sword.
The sound of the blade being sheathed snapped the remaining Hua Shan disciples out of their trance.
The disciple who had asked about Jeong Yeon-shin’s identity stammered.
“Thank, thank you, Great Hero.”
“Great Hero...,” Yu Hyeon mumbled. "Well, calling you the Black-Clad Lord of Ipwang is also a bit unfamiliar, but I guess it fits."
Yu Hyeon got up, muttering in amazement. He looked somewhat baffled.
However, there was formality in his movements as he bowed to his old friend.
The refined manner of the Hua Shan disciple proved their noble background.
“Thank you. You’ve saved me.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Jeong Yeon-shin turned his head slightly, his lips stopping momentarily. He had sensed movement coming from the opposite building.
There were more than a couple of them, and some seemed quite powerful. The boy’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“A ship came here without fear, and I was expecting nothing but corpses.”
A middle-aged man’s voice came. A group of people began to walk out.
At the forefront, a man holding a large saber had a corpse hanging from his mouth. It was the Zhongyang Gang leader.
Jeong Yeon-shin had heard of the boy’s story before. But there were also things he hadn’t heard.
‘So, they’re really involved with the government.’
He had expected that the officials were involved in the raid.
The group behind him was a sight to behold. There were about twenty people, a mix of Jianghu members and government soldiers.
The Jianghu members were dressed in light armor, while the government soldiers wore plain clothes with iron armor added.
“You’re trying to imitate Ipwang? Are you one of the Hua Shan disciples? That golden 'Huang' on your chest is quite grand. It suits me more than you.”
The Zhongyang Gang leader said, a sneer on his face.
His mocking laughter spread to the people around him.
Some of the men, hoping to make a name for themselves, began to approach Jeong Yeon-shin.
The Zhongyang Gang leader didn’t stop them, as Jeong Yeon-shin still hadn’t drawn his sword.
“Your age, and yet wearing black... You don’t know anything about the world, do you? You must be some junior who learned a few moves from a decent military officer but you’re not a disciple of Hua Shan, right?”
“You can’t pretend to be someone you’re not when you’re this ignorant. With your age, being a White Rank in Ipwang is already too much.”
The gang members approached, mocking Jeong Yeon-shin with their words.
In the Sima Wei Dao, this kind of rough talk was commonplace.
Despite the mocking words, the posture they took was solid.
They held their swords tightly. Seeing the bloodied, paralyzed members behind them, it seemed they had some awareness.
It was then that the woman next to the leader spoke.
“Husband. Stay still.”
The branch leader said. She looked at Jeong Yeon-shin with a dark expression.
She sensed something and reached out to stop the Zhongyang Gang leader.
She was about to speak to the gang members who had been closing in on them.
It was a moment too late. The boy, who had been standing idly, was already making his move.
With one outstretched arm, an invisible wave surged forward.
The first strike from the Seomye style was swift and powerful.
In that moment, it seemed as if a storm had descended. Amidst the rushing dirt winds, a dull noise echoed. Blood splattered like water, spraying everywhere.
The three members of the Zhongyang Gang were swept away in a single strike, crashing to the ground with tremendous shockwaves, leaving marks on the earth.
The swirling pattern of energy left behind by the unique spiral pressure of the Gwanglyun formed a vortex on the ground. It mocked the deaths of the three corpses.
"......"
Suddenly, everyone froze. A level of martial power that no one on the island had imagined had been unleashed.
Even the disciples of the Hua Shan Sect, who had been standing behind, immediately held their breath.
Yu Hyeon, the oddball known for his eccentricity, muttered under his breath. What was this pressure?
‘The common people...’
Jeong Yeon-shin spread the energy from his Gwanglyun in all directions. The manipulation of internal energy spread across a radius of ten paces.
He immediately sensed the faint presence of powerless common folk. Around the practice hall, in the humble buildings forming a circle, they were there.
Just by feeling the energy, he could tell. They were all malnourished, lacking vitality, and their internal energy was shallow, only cultivated through the Three-Focus Method taught by the Ming Imperial Family.
Had they been gathered as hostages to fight Jianghu warriors?
There was no one guarding them. The ones who had seized the island had likely never experienced this kind of overwhelming martial force before.
The contrast between the faint energies of the starving commoners and the shining, healthy cheeks of the branch leader and his wife was stark.
‘The Jinbyeok energy was particularly shattered... The defensive abilities, and their bodies...’
The boy glanced at the bodies of the fallen Zhongyang Gang members. They seemed to be using the powers of Sima Wei Dao.
There was no reason to argue.
"......Husband, is he truly the Lord of Ipwang?"
The branch leader spoke, her lips trembling slightly.
"Seomye Jeong Yeon-shin... They said the new Lord of Ipwang was very young. It must be him."
Hearing his wife's words, the Zhongyang Gang leader hurriedly spoke, realizing the hopelessness of a direct confrontation.
They needed to bring in the Jianghu people who were toiling the land rather than leading a proper army.
It was just like when the Hua Shan disciples arrived. Hostages were needed.
"Right now...!"
His words were abruptly cut off.
Crash!
The energy that exploded from the boy’s body sent his black robe flying upwards.
The flow of energy spread out, scraping the ground and leaving traces of whirlwinds. Silence fell for a moment.
The sheer presence of the energy overwhelmed everyone, drawing their gazes.
Soon, the black-clad figure of the new Lord of Ipwang, Jeong Yeon-shin, with dust swirling around him, spoke with a slight movement of his lips.
"Kill them."
Boom!
In an instant, shockwaves erupted from three directions outside the practice hall. Gray, white, and blue robes leapt in from the outside.
It was a fleeting moment. Heat, killing intent, and the sharpness of swords tore through the air.
Whoosh—!
Smoke and blood spurted from all directions.
Tae Yeom-ryong’s two-handed Yeolyangjang crushed eight men in a single instant. Heonwonchang used his signature lethal sword to decapitate five men in one swift motion.
Namgung Hwa-shin, using his Cheonggungmua sword technique, sent ten energy waves in a single strike.
It took no more than a breath to clear the area.
With Jeong Yeon-shin’s overwhelming energy drawing attention, the elite warriors of Ipwang quickly surged in.
It was a strategy that could defeat any sect. The question was how much damage would be done in the first strike.
The Zhongyang Gang was wiped out in that single move. The same went for the government soldiers.
The sound of falling bodies echoed. Most of them were struck down by Heonwonchang and Namgung Hwa-shin’s swords.
Tae Yeom-ryong, having wiped his hands clean, furrowed his brow slightly.
“Do they not raise yanggui? Are these just some petty bandits?”
“......”
The only ones left standing were the Zhongyang Gang leader and the branch leader.
The Zhongyang Gang leader’s face looked pale, as though his soul had left his body. The branch leader, however, maintained an unreadable expression.
She simply stared at Jeong Yeon-shin calmly.
“Indeed, Jeonchang didn’t need to come. It was the right choice to let the child stay behind.”
Heonwonchang spoke as he passed by the bodies of the fallen.
He poked the corpses with his sword, checking for anyone pretending to be dead with the Gwisik Daebeop technique.
Ipwang was like a military faction.
They did not negotiate with those who harmed the common people. There was no mercy shown.
Once they completed their mission, they left nothing but destruction.
“Ugh.”
A strange groan echoed. Tae Yeom-ryong stretched his arms, cracking his neck.
After a long yawn, he looked at Jeong Yeon-shin with a mischievous grin, somehow grating.
“Didn’t you say something when we fought? What a shame. You were going to create a new sword style, but your opponents were nothing but half-wits.”
“I wasn’t trying to create a new style. I was just trying to breathe new life into the Gwanghwa sword style. So it doesn't have any blind spots, like the Lord of Righteousness.”
Jeong Yeon-shin replied casually, trying to brush him off. He knew that if he didn’t respond, Tae Yeom-ryong would continue talking.
He’d been hit hard in the ruined village already, and now it felt like a thorn was stuck in his ear.
Perhaps it was because he had the natural talent for Cheonggongsin from the Tae Yeong Sin bloodline. His immense interest in Jeong Yeon-shin’s martial ability was evident.
‘Maybe not as much as Chilsa Do, but...’
A red smile flickered in his mind.
The sight of the branch leader before him, who had given him a dilemma, filled his thoughts. What should he do?
It was then that Tae Yeom-ryong spoke again, a relaxed smile on his lips.
“Anyway, now the real battle can only be experienced in the Jianghu. How about you spar with the Lord of Righteousness? The sword saint is said to be comparable to the Lord of the New Sword Squad.”
“I don’t want that, but it’ll probably happen anyway.”
Jeong Yeon-shin answered in a nonchalant tone.
It was said that there were two special rewards for winning the Jianghu meeting’s faction competition. The first was the Daehwan Dan.
The second was the teaching of the sword saint, who had been appointed as the new Lord of Ipwang.
Each was something that would stir excitement among Jianghu warriors, but the Ipwang General’s office saw a trap in the second reward.
Jianghu was a collective of interests. The alliance had united under the banner of the fall of the Hwangbo family and the destruction of Namgung’s direct descendants.
What would happen if a faction outside the alliance won the competition?
Especially if the winner were a master from Ipwang?
‘They said they would bring both the Daehwan Dan and humiliation together.’
Jeong Yeon-shin dismissed the thought, lightly gripping the Bukmyeong sword.
Now, he had to decide what to do about the branch leader in front of him.
At the same time, Tae Yeom-ryong, who had silently approached, whispered in his ear. Kill them to remove any future troubles.
“Go away.”
Jeong Yeon-shin replied indifferently, pushing him aside with his elbow.
At that moment, the pure white blade of the Bukmyeong sword rose and a lightning-like strike fell upon the Zhongyang Gang leader, who had been standing in shock.
Swish—
The sound of shattering blood vessels and slicing bone rang out.