“There was Blood Flame Sect?”
Ma Jin muttered. The scar on his face became seriously swollen.
“Of all things, a Blood Swordmaster......”
“It proves that the incident in Jinpyeong County wasn’t just luck.”
Behind Baek Mi-ryeo, who furrowed her brow as if recognizing the importance of the matter, Cheong Myeong simply patted Jeong Yeon-shin’s head, saying it was amazing.
“There are traces of regeneration ability that started but stopped. It’s definitely a Blood Swordmaster.”
For some reason, Hyeon Won-chang showed an unexpected reaction.
He didn’t stick out his tongue or shake his head as if enlightened.
He had confirmed traces of excessive blade movement while examining the severed head with the Blood Swordmaster.
Ma Jin opened his mouth.
“This isn’t normal. It’s hardly possible.”
“Blood Swordmasters aren’t this common.”
Baek Mi-ryeo nodded slightly.
“Whether it’s the evil martial arts world or places without martial sects, this is an issue that needs to be investigated. The expansion of the Blood Flame Sect is a major concern. If they’ve developed their evil techniques to place a Swordmaster in each county, it could mean the number of Blood Flame Sect disciples has also increased. Those that have completely turned black-haired. If their numbers have grown too...... It’s terrifying.”
“Of course.”
This time, even Cheong Myeong nodded in agreement.
“Lightning Flash has made no small achievement. It seems incidents follow you. Handling it and bringing back information and merits will affect the martial arts world. The Desolate City will have to respond.”
After staring at him blankly for a moment, Ma Jin spoke again.
“Right. You want to climb Mount Zhongnan.”
“I understand. I can only worry about my nephew’s well-being.”
Did it sound like an indirect criticism of the Desolate Ma Family?
Ma Jin’s face stiffened awkwardly. He spoke with a rare expression of difficulty.
“......We just received the news ourselves. But Mount Zhongnan is dangerous now. The Tyrant Sword Sect is different from the Blood Flame Sect.”
“We can’t just call them evil. They cultivate both orthodox martial arts and evil techniques. They’re crazy about getting stronger, not knowing moderation.”
Baek Mi-ryeo added. Her slightly raised eyes seemed to hold concern.
“Right. Above all, no mission has been assigned. It’s enough for us to complete the tasks we’re given.”
Ma Jin and Baek Mi-ryeo seemed unwilling to send Jeong Yeon-shin.
Only Cheong Myeong, standing beside them, tactlessly defended the youngest of the Radiant Demon Wing.
“Can’t a Squad Leader level judge the situation and assign a mission at their discretion?”
“......”
While Baek Mi-ryeo glared fiercely, Ma Jin continued.
“I’ll be honest. How can we send you knowing you might not return from Mount Zhongnan?”
“Pardon?”
It was a story that couldn’t help but be questioned.
However, everyone here except Jeong Yeon-shin seemed to sympathize.
“Anyone from Desolate City who knows your qualities would worry.”
“Even if it’s just a concern, it’s true. There’s no place that wouldn’t covet you, and with blood relatives there too. There was even talk of Mount Hua Sect’s Sword Saint wanting you as a guest.”
Not only Baek Mi-ryeo, but even Cheong Myeong spoke with an agreeing expression.
Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.
Jeong Yeon-shin knew Ma Jin had another reason they didn’t know.
It must be because he worried about him not getting attached to the Desolate Ma Family.
“How can the Squad Leader not distinguish between public and private matters? Was that all the trust I built in the Radiant Demon Wing?”
He spoke with a calm face. It was a bone-striking statement.
“......”
“I’ve made clear achievements. Please send me. Record this as an individual merit.”
“You’ve been cornered.”
Cheong Myeong finally got elbowed by Baek Mi-ryeo.
Along with his groan, Ma Jin, who had been deep in thought, slowly opened his mouth.
“That’s right. It’s hard to just refuse. Let’s make a bet.”
“A bet?”
“Try to receive one of my moves. One second is enough. If you can neutralize or avoid it, I’ll send you. You need that level of skill to stand out in the martial world. I’ll promise another reward too.”
“Understood.”
While the others were surprised, Jeong Yeon-shin nodded readily.
* * *
They headed to the inn’s backyard. Neither Jeong Yeon-shin nor Ma Jin cared about others’ attention.
It was a place to exchange one move.
Mount Hua Sect masters approached and asked what was happening.
After hearing the general situation, many of them cautiously asked to watch.
Ma Jin casually allowed it.
“Thank you.”
Mount Hua Sect martial artists surrounded them, blocking the view of commoners.
“A move from the Radiant Demon Wing Lord. Isn’t he a black-robed master of Desolate City comparable to our fourth uncle?”
Yu Hyeon asked Cheon Ju. The leader of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen answered affirmatively and added.
“In terms of fighting, he might be stronger than me. His alias is ‘Hell-dweller’. It means he completely dominates the battlefield. Not a few elders of famous sects became wandering souls at his hands after displaying hypocritical evil.”
“It looks scary just to receive one move.”
“When facing such a high-level master, even a simple gesture can’t be taken lightly. Even in a single move, there’s the subtlety of instant kill. Unlike us Nine Sects martial artists who look towards the ultimate in swordsmanship. It’s martial arts thoroughly honed for real combat. If you think battlefield martial arts have reached the extreme, there’s nothing scarier than that.”
“......No matter how good Yeon-shin is, won’t it be difficult? With such a master, there probably isn’t anyone among our peers who wouldn’t be defeated in one second.”
Yu Hyeon’s eyes turned to Jeong Yeon-shin standing opposite Ma Jin.
Radiant Demon Wing’s prodigy. He stood with his hand lightly on his sword, facing the blowing wind.
His face, which didn’t seem to have much emotional fluctuation, remained the same.
Jeong Yeon-shin was calm, thinking he was just demonstrating the martial arts he had learned. He slowly opened his mouth.
“Will you give me some time?”
“As much as you want. I intend to show you a strike that a White-level would find hard to handle, so you should properly sharpen your senses.”
It sounded like he was taking it easy. However, Ma Jin’s standards would be different.
The Lord of Radiant Demon Wing. A Black-level supreme master. It was said there were less than thirty in Desolate City.
Jeong Yeon-shin closed his eyes. He first observed his body and awakened his lower dantian.
The energy dormant throughout his body, accumulated in his pupils, also awakened.
As he circulated true energy throughout his body, he also wanted to bring out the senses he had realized in the Praying Mantis Sect.
An ordinary martial artist might have had to focus on training as the experience from that time seemed to disappear.
Jeong Yeon-shin was different. Once he properly felt a sensation, it became completely his from that moment.
It was unnecessary to spend time trying to make further progress based on chance.
‘Show me.’
As if scanning Ma Jin’s body from all directions, he could see even his back as if it was reflected in his eyes.
When his unique sense of sensitively feeling energy joined in, it was a perfect sense.
“I’ll give you the first move.”
Jeong Yeon-shin rarely threw out a joke.
Ma Jin, who chuckled, raised his hand. It was a thickly established hand.
He had heard that Ma Jin’s martial art was the epitome of Radiant Demon Art. He had truly mastered all weapons to the level of an expert.
T/N- Changing Radiant Demon Formation to Radiant Demon Art as it sounds better.
It was said he skillfully handled all kinds of weapons that had fallen on the battlefield. Even wine bottles scattered on the tavern floor.
‘Then his hands would be the scariest.’
He could guess just by looking at the gathering energy. He understood the meaning of saying it would be difficult for a White-level to handle.
The level of density was different.
It seemed like it could instantly destroy a fairly thick fortress wall with that level of palm technique.
‘I have to avoid it.’
He finished his calculation. If he tried to block it clumsily, he wouldn’t be able to avoid serious injury.
Jeong Yeon-shin completely lowered the hand he had placed on his sword.
While the onlookers couldn’t hide their puzzlement, Ma Jin’s large body rushed in.
Thud!
His step technique was not sloppy. It was straightforward and incredibly fast.
It felt like a condensed typhoon was rushing in.
Even this wasn’t his full speed, but Jeong Yeon-shin found it overwhelming just to twist his body to the side.
Whoosh!
Ma Jin controlled his movements with surprising precision.
By slightly twisting his toes, the flow of power was reversed. At the end of the trajectory of the hand technique tearing through the air horizontally was Jeong Yeon-shin’s head.
Even then, Jeong Yeon-shin observed Ma Jin’s movements. A faint blue light flashed across his eyes.
He couldn’t escape with the footwork he had trained his body with so far.
The body movements of the Elf clan that Cheong Myeong had taught him were not a formula, so he needed a clear intention to open up a path with a single step.
‘Just one step.’
The movement path and direction of force that Ma Jin would create drew complex lines in his mind.
The top of his head felt like it was burning.
What posture and true energy operation to use, and at what point to take a step.
A single footstep began to form in his mind, tearing through the gap in the raging wind.
At the same time, he felt another dantian opening up near his heart. It was a single moment.
A strand of internal energy from the Jeong Family Dynamic Technique activated the middle dantian for a fleeting moment and passed through.
The true energy that had become even stronger for a brief moment spurred the creation of a new technique.
It wasn’t the realm of some supreme masters who could perceive time slowly.
Jeong Yeon-shin’s thought process was lightning fast. That was all.
His innate talent manifested in this moment in the realm of nothingness.
Step.
Kwaaaak-!
The moment Jeong Yeon-shin took a step, a tremendous shockwave flipped his hair up.
He felt the fierce wind brought on by the force that exploded behind his back.
“......”
Dust swirled, but no one opened their mouths.
Everyone present was a master who lived with martial arts.
Anyone could feel that the step Jeong Yeon-shin had just taken was extraordinary.
“That footwork just now.”
Ma Jin moved only his lips, still in the posture of extending his hand.
“What is it? I haven’t seen it before.”
“I just walked. Because I saw a path to survive.”
“......Truly an incomprehensible talent. Even now.”
“I’ll name it Radiant Wing Step.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke indifferently.
The origin of the name Radiant Wing Step was not complicated.
It originated from the meaning of the wings of Desolate City that destroyed the demons of the Great Ming Empire.
The name Radiant Wing Step was different. The naming that included the character for “Radiant” revealed the affection of Jeong Yeon-shin, who was part of Radiant Demon Wing.
Not only Ma Jin but also the faces of Cheong Myeong and Baek Mi-ryeo couldn’t help but melt away.
Ma Jin straightened his posture. He slowly opened his mouth.
“I permit the prodigy’s trip to Zhongnan.”
“Wooaahh!”
Hyeon Won-chang came running while shouting. He was very excited and poured out praises about how surprisingly ingenious the footwork was.
While his body was shaken by the grabbed shoulders, Jeong Yeon-shin quietly thought.
‘Radiant Wing Step.’
Right now, it was one step. He didn’t know how many steps it could progress to.
If it increased to something like Ten Radiant Wing Steps, would it reach the realm of the Divine Sword Squad Leader?
“A once-in-a-generation genius has emerged from Desolate City.”
“It’s not a very pleasant thing. But it’s the footsteps of a new generation with infinite potential. There will be the joy of watching.”
“I’ll come find you, so don’t turn me away at the door!”
Amidst the admiration of the Mount Hua Sect masters and Yu Hyeon’s envious gaze, they returned to the guest room.
A warm atmosphere wafted among the seated Radiant Demon Wing masters.
“To act alone in the Zhongnan Sect, being a White-level would indeed be insufficient.”
Cheong Myeong said with a grin.
What was he talking about now? Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes were filled with puzzlement.