The black bamboo hat atop Chivalrous Slayer's head did not so much as twitch. The wide and long brim, like that of a straw hat, showed not the slightest movement—a silent testament to his inner turmoil.
Perched quietly at the corner of the bed, his posture was peculiar.
Glancing down at him, Heon Wonchang smiled faintly.
"I understand. This is a kind of divine skill unimaginable in a rural backwater."
"…Since my household was destroyed, this is the most astonishing thing I've seen."
His expression was a mix of stunned disbelief and incredulity.
Chivalrous Slayer was a man brimming with confidence. He made no effort to hide his surprise.
In the fleeting moment he cast a glance at Heon Wonchang's hand, complex emotions surfaced—shock, confusion, a trace of envy, even jealousy.
"What the hell is this? There's no way you could have comprehended the essence of the technique's true energy structure in such a short time."
Ha.
Heon Wonchang merely chuckled. Chivalrous Slayer's brow furrowed.
"I heard rumors that a miraculous martial art had appeared in Desolate Fortress. But that you of all people would step into the realms of Buddhist power techniques or Taoism's Three Pure Forces? I'd sooner believe you kept your mouth shut for seventy-two hours. No, no, that's not right. That would be as believable as a chatterbox like you undertaking silent meditation. It's utterly absurd."
"That's quite harsh."
"Well, whatever you've mastered must be incredible. I suppose you gained tremendous benefits from entering Desolate Fortress. Meanwhile, your dear elder brother here is just the minor leader of a rural sect that's never even wandered the martial world."
"Well, you're absolutely right that it's incredible. No question about it."
Heon Wonchang, corners of his lips turned downward, deftly changed the subject.
"More importantly, didn't you manage to rally the scattered branch families into a formidable sect? Golden Clan Slaughter Sect. I still don't understand why, even now, you're merely a minor leader. Based on achievements alone, you've surpassed my father."
"Do you know how many families serve as gatekeepers of the Heavenly Demon Tomb? To be recognized as a true leader, I must pass the trials set by the core factions. But would an slaughter sect truly be an slaughter sect if its headquarters were fixed in place? That scroll you unsealed contained the secret locations of three factions and the passwords to contact them."
"I don't care about that. What about my golden restriction?"
Heon Wonchang swiftly cut him off, demanding an answer. At the same time, an enigmatic smile formed on the lips of Chivalrous Slayer, whose face was still half-hidden.
"Seon-hwi, you're the last direct heir. The sect leader of the Slaughter Sect and the leader of the Golden Clan unlock their golden restrictions one by one as they gain recognition from the sect's factions. If you pass all the trials, you'll become the sect leader on that day."
"I am Heon Wonchang of the Radiant Demon Squad. I doubt even you truly want that outcome."
"Who knows? Regardless of what the clan elders say, at least know this—our previous leader treated you as his son."
"I never once called him father, so what does it matter..."
With those final words, Heon Wonchang fell silent.
Like a haze muddling his thoughts, he tried to focus on the presence of his companions. From outside the inner chambers, he sensed a familiar wave of internal energy.
A martial art that instantly dragged his attention away from long-buried matters of the clan.
* * *
Radiant Arts Secret.
A divine skill. Not just for its practitioners, but in its very essence, it was classified as such. Even without spiritual resonance, it was still called a divine martial art.
Just as Full Sky Flower Rain was revered as a supreme divine technique.
[Internal energy is the act of refining nature's energy and assimilating it into the body. Nature's energy refers to the energy that exists naturally outside the body, without artificial interference. Energy is the force of movement, and the core of force encompasses all actions involving direction. Actions... surely you already understand.]
This was the introduction to Radiant Arts Secret. The simpler the words, the more difficult the meaning became.
It carefully laid out the absolute fundamentals, only to seamlessly transition into strange, intricate flows of internal energy.
Most members of the Radiant Demon Squad struggled to master it.
Scattered throughout the text, redundant phrases blurred the line between consideration and arrogance, making comprehension an arduous task.
Behind closed doors, away from the squad leader's gaze, the members underwent grueling efforts. And even so, it was only possible because there wasn't a single ordinary person among them.
The warriors of Desolate Fortress had always been diligent, but since learning Radiant Arts Secret, morning technique training had become an indispensable routine.
The fact that it synergized with Radiant Demon Arts and the Lightning Genius' lineage was the only saving grace.
Outdoors.
Beneath a towering cliff, the dim morning light seeped into the air.
The crisp, refreshing breeze gently flowed, signaling the time of day.
Flicking his hands absently, Lazy Flame Dragon let out a dry chuckle.
Of all the Radiant Demon Squad, he had mastered Radiant Arts Secret the most effortlessly.
"Our squad leader still doesn't realize, does he? He thinks he created a flawless technique, one that even he struggles to master."
His drooping bangs framed sunken eyes, accentuating his haggard appearance.
No one would mistake him for a prodigy at a glance. Yet, beneath his languid demeanor, a strange air of nobility lingered.
"Well, it's definitely a divine technique... Ha!"
Shin So-bin's straight punch exploded through the air—Formidable Wall of the Infinite Blossom Fist Strike.
Her silk-like hair and sleeves fluttered in the powerful shockwave.
Lazy Flame Dragon only cast her a brief glance before continuing.
"How touching. The squad leader treats you like the youngest sibling, and in return, you all treat him like the family idiot. The Radiant Demon Squad was once known for its ruthlessness, you know?"
"A brat like you wouldn't understand family bonds."
"Strange, isn't it? I'm officially part of Desolate Fortress, yet I still feel like I'm wearing a ragged, nameless robe. The hierarchy of the squad definitely needs some adjustments."
"No doubt. Even Senior Hwangbo's attitude toward the squad leader is unusual."
"The Radiant Demon Squad must have some hidden art of tongue-wielding. I must be the only one out of the loop. Right, Wonchang?"
"It's Heon Wonchang."
From the shadowed temple hall, Heon Wonchang stepped out.
Step.
The light, precise footfalls of an assassin sliced through the dawn air.
This was after hearing the news that the head of the Zhuge Clan had been assassinated, sending shockwaves throughout the region.
Following the map on the unsealed scroll, they had arrived at the location of their first trial.
To prove themselves as Jung Yeonshin's Guardian under the banner of the Radiant Demon Squad.
Chivalrous Slayer, Heon Wonchang, Lazy Flame Dragon, and Shin So-bin.
Together, they moved as one.
* * *
The region of Shaanxi was often called Jin in shorthand, a name inherited from the ancient Jin Dynasty.
Taiyuan was the provincial capital, once the heart of the Jin Kingdom. A city deeply rooted in history, it was a birthplace of civilization and martial arts along the Yellow River.
The land was vast.
Shrouded in mystery, unseen martial legacies, and forgotten histories.
A metropolis of countless thousands, where factions moved both in the light and the dark.
Thus, when flocks of birds burst into flight from distant ridges, no one paid them any mind.
In a forest overlooking the grand city—
Step.
A woman with flowing crimson robes, her hair cascading like ebony silk, stood tall atop a high branch.
Her face was pale to the point of being deathly white, and the single red eye gleamed languidly. At the end of her gaze, fixed downward, stood an old-fashioned inn.
The Seventh Apostle parted her lips.
"Those people down there, can I kill them?"
"You still insist on speaking in that unsettling manner. Why are you asking me?"
A figure standing on a floating sword within the thicket replied. It was Baek Seo-gun, the Sword Sovereign, her presence imposing, her hair streaked with white.
Without so much as a glance toward the Seventh Apostle, she wore an expression of distaste.
She simply continued to silently observe the inn beyond the city walls, nearly hundreds of feet away.
The Seventh Apostle's lips curved into a smooth arc.
"Because you deserve respect."
That was the end of it. She said nothing more.
Beneath their feet, the sparse green leaves began to shimmer in the wind.
Baek Seo-gun, too, did not ask further or try to understand. The Demonic Faction was a world of madmen.
Those who lived by the martial world were all crazed in their own ways.
Among them, those of the True Bloodline of the Red Clan were known in the highest circles as little monsters, their obsession with reaching martial extremity was beyond rationality.
No one had been surprised when that young girl ascended to the rank of Apostle. She was simply born different.
Shaaah—
As a cold wind swept through the forest like a wave, Baek Seo-gun fixed her gaze on the entrance of the inn in the distance.
'Taesa, was it?'
Had they been enemies of Jung Yeonshin, she would have drawn her sword without hesitation. But if their madness had fixated on the Lightning Genius Bloodline, then they were unparalleled as guardians.
Baek Seo-gun had long since decided not to break the shield of Lightning Genius, especially since she would soon have to return to the Profound Martial Alliance.
"Why aren't you moving?"
"What?"
"Some nobodies just followed my precious Taesa inside."
"The sight of the Radiant Demon Squad's leader alongside me would not look good from the outside. And why are you here? Stalking Lightning Genius from the shadows like some petty thief."
"Taesa dislikes me."
Her voice was a low murmur. The end of her sentence wavered ever so slightly, as if it might break at any moment.
Not out of fear, but more like a child reciting a mnemonic verse before adults for the first time, strange and unfamiliar even to herself.
Baek Seo-gun, upon seeing her small and miserable-looking back, was incredulous but made no outward show of it.
Who could understand a Blood Demon who was obsessed with martial arts from birth?
For a while, the two remained still.
Until, suddenly, a massive shadow loomed over them.
Fwoosh—!
Sunlight vanished from the forest. No signal. No energy wave.
It descended like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky.
A presence so immense that it had been utterly concealed, an overwhelming figure, long known as the Monarch of Infinite Swords.
He had manifested after a long time, searching for his only right hand.
With an eerily transparent presence.
"A most unexpected company. What brings you here?"
Just before a deep, gravelly voice rumbled from the ground itself, the two had been watching the inn, where Jung Yeonshin was practicing sword arts against a group of warriors.
With an incomplete body, surviving the harsh martial world required a different path.
* * *
Three figures landed on a wall covered in old roof tiles.
A vast estate lay before them, a massive main hall, side buildings, an outhouse, and a small well, all spread across a vast tract of land.
Few people remained after a great incident had occurred here.
This was the battleground of the duel between the Zhuge Clan's leader and Lotus Nezha. It was said that the energy waves of transcendent masters could even alter nature itself.
Gongya Clan.
A desolate atmosphere. Not even the sound of insects could be heard.
Despite the bright midday sun shining overhead, an eerie chill pervaded the ruins before them.
Among the three figures observing the scene, the warrior standing at the center finally spoke.
A middle-aged swordsman clad in jet-black martial robes.
"They say the Sacred Warrior of the Radiant Demon Squad follows its leader wherever they go. Unless under truly exceptional circumstances, it should have appeared here as well. Find it."
"Squad leader, the martial prowess of the Radiant Demon Squad's leader, Lightning Genius, seems to have exceeded all expectations. This could become a significant variable."
"…Indeed, the matter of the Zhuge Clan's leader is gradually proving to be true. But we also confirmed the Radiant Demon Squad's strength during the Murim Alliance Sect Opening Tournament. Even if his martial prowess has improved beyond belief, he could not have faced Reincarnated Dragon Zhuge Cheonsang and emerged unscathed. He must have sustained severe internal and external injuries."
"Understood. I will carry out the command."
Their movements carried an air of refinement. Even as the two warriors on either side twisted their feet against the ground in preparation to leap, the grace of an esteemed family was evident.
As the gusts of Protective Energy Technique swirled around their pant legs, creating long, billowing folds—
"I sensed the filthy energy of the Murong Clan, so I decided to come by."
A voice erupted, like the release of boundless power itself.
No hint of restraint or refinement.
"What…!"
At the sudden presence, the three warriors spun around in shock. And came face-to-face with a lone man.
For a moment, they felt as though their retinas had been branded—an overpowering sensation.
The man's figure seemed to forcibly etch itself into their vision.
There was no intent behind it, yet he was impossible to ignore.
"Esteemed elder…"
The black-clad middle-aged swordsman trailed off, his eyes fixed on the intruder.
The man's black hair was cropped short and unkempt. His facial features were bold and striking.
His body, dense and suffocatingly solid, looked as if it had been forged from iron.
An overwhelming aura emanated from him, reminiscent of a towering fortress.
His transcendence was beyond the realm of internal energy, pure and unfiltered.
"This old man is ignorant of worldly affairs. Keep talking. Only about the Lightning Genius."
He spoke with the voice of an old man but wore the face of a young one.
Step.
Above the rough-textured leather shoes, the hem of his long martial robe shimmered with a faint pink sheen.
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