It was a chaotic era.
Accurate information was extremely rare. For any given event, there might be more than a dozen rumors, but the truth would typically be found in only one or two.
Even the portraits of the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader circulating mainly in the central regions of the country reflected this reality.
The appearances depicted in these paintings varied tremendously, though they were still fewer in number compared to his fame.
This was because sharing private information about high-ranking officials of Desolate Fortress could lead to punishment from government offices.
'This feeling.'
Jeong Yeon-shin had seen twelve different facial depictions, each with its own style and description. He couldn't dismiss the documents personally handed to him by Cheong Myeong, Baek Mi-ryeo, Yue Shou-lin, and the Grand Administrator before his departure.
Their thoughtfulness had broadened his knowledge. He had learned quite a lot of detailed anecdotes about the figure he would be facing.
The appearance of the person before him clearly matched several pieces of information.
"How strange. I heard you were about three years younger than me… but your body is fully grown."
The figure who still loosely held a fishing rod while glancing at Jeong Yeon-shin said.
Clear pronunciation with a rough voice. It was as if an invisible rake was scratching a throat that should have produced a resonant voice.
The external appearance was also striking. It had the feeling befitting the legitimate lineage of Ming Cult, said to have deceived heaven for generations.
Starting with the silver mask that only came down from the forehead to the tip of the nose, elegantly revealing just the lower face.
Despite having no special engravings or patterns, a faint luster flowed like waves. It matched the crooked smile that seemed habitual.
Meanwhile, the figure was wrapped in an extremely splendid white windproof robe, with black embroidery threads sewn along its edges like decorations, yet they didn't seem excessive.
This was due to the overwhelming temperament emanating from the dark blue eyes behind the mask. Even the neck wrap made of pure white animal fur felt like the mane of some divine dragon.
"Your curse doesn't sound like a curse."
The strange person slowly moved their lips.
Between syllables, when the strange person wasn't speaking, the winter stream's characteristic cool silence was particularly pronounced.
Whether they were actually fishing or not was secondary. A truly overwhelming presence filled the surroundings.
"Perhaps it's due to your uncommon appearance, but the word 'Damn it' sounds amusing. It must be because of your gentle nature."
"..."
Jeong Yeon-shin silently thought: I should be wary of this person's discernment.
Invincible Yelü Zhen.
The world-renowned greatest genius of the vast world.
A figure who had blocked Jeong Yeon-shin's path with remarkably surprising intelligence.
The clothing concealed how well-trained the body was, and the mask, which was more of a luxury item than anything else, covered half the face. This meant it was difficult to gauge information about martial arts except through large movements and energy waves.
Woman or man?
How well-trained were they in physical martial arts beyond spell martial arts?
Nothing could be determined with certainty.
The windproof robe surrounding the body seemed close to a dharma treasure. It completely blocked energy waves, making nothing detectable.
'I shouldn't exchange too many moves.'
A feeling he had never experienced before crept in. It was close to intuition bordering on insight.
Jeong Yeon-shin engraved a dragon holding a fan in its mouth in his mind.
So that he could overlay the mental image onto the Flowing Star Sword at his waist and launch the Falling Star Sword toward the opponent's neck at any moment. Among his martial arts, none had a faster draw than the Fan Dragon Treading Lotus Technique.
'Alternatively, I should consider using Ultimate Thunder. My head might fly off before I can use the Falling Star Sword.'
He opened his mouth.
"Ming Cult's Yelü Zhen. Have you clashed with Desolate Fortress martial artists before?"
Immediately after asking in a monotone voice, energy waves rose like wildfire from various places in the skeletal forest, pressing against Jeong Yeon-shin.
Dozens in number.
The snow on the branches shattered in all directions, turning white. The density of the energy waves was uniformly tremendous.
Among them, the internal energy release speed of the one who first raised their energy waves couldn't be explained without Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown. This meant that the Ming Cult's Young Sect Leader commanded sword bearers comparable to Desolate Fortress's Black-ranks.
It was then.
Whoosh!
The snow fragments that had been falling sparsely and desolately were pushed away by a large circular shockwave.
The source was beside Jeong Yeon-shin. The Seventh Apostle, who had revealed one ominously bewitching ruby-like eye, was carefully looking around. With her back perfectly straight.
Reddish energy currents that had spread from her entire body were seeping into the snow like flower petals.
Soon after, words that might have been uttered by Invincible's subordinates flowed from the Seventh Apostle's lips.
"How dare you."
Hiya—
The Ming Cult's Young Sect Leader let out a low exclamation.
"Your Wife is quite extraordinary. It would be costly to order a joint attack."
"Answer me."
Jeong Yeon-shin urged a response with an indifferent face.
There was a startled rustling of sleeves being gently adjusted beside him, but at this moment, his priority was finding out the whereabouts of his seniors.
"Radiant Demon Wing Leader… indeed, you have spirit. You deserve to wear such a large 'Desolate' character in broad daylight. These days, among fairly powerful martial artists, Desolate Fortress martial artists are known as targets to be plundered. This is especially true in Sichuan lately."
The Ming Cult's Young Sect Leader stood up.
Invincible casually threw aside the bamboo fishing rod he had been holding, letting it sprawl on the ground, while muttering some grumbling to themselves through the mouth revealed beneath the mask.
"They say fishing is about catching time, but truly, not even one fish was caught. How frustrating."
"Targets to be plundered?"
Jeong Yeon-shin asked. The Young Sect Leader, who glanced at him, nodded casually.
"You might not know this yet in Huguang. Well… that's how things are. Desolate Fortress martial artists, I mean. They have ample food supplies and precious martial arts in their heads, but there are no consequences. You're the busiest in these chaotic times."
They said that Desolate Fortress often neglected their martial artists, sending them on solo missions to look after the common people.
"Of course, you're still messengers of death to third-rate sects, but powerful masters who had been avoiding White or Blue ranks only out of fear of Desolate Fortress's retaliation… rather than starving to death during a famine while obeying the law, isn't it better to commit something first? Whether it's plundering villages or killing the Desolate Fortress martial artists who come to capture them."
Desolate Fortress martial artists whose whereabouts had been lost throughout the world…. It wasn't just Obeying Heaven Squad, Forest-Treading Squad, and Immortal Tree Spirit Squad. What had once been uncommon was gradually becoming commonplace. Many lower-ranked martial artists were not returning.
Jeong Yeon-shin had heard about such incidents since his initiation.
On Sichuan's City of Renowned Craftsmen, they had lost many Radiant Demon Wing seniors, and even after he became the Radiant Demon Wing Leader, stories of Desolate Fortress martial artists dying away from home never ceased. They were always with them.
"People are bound to be swept along by the tide of the times. Would Desolate Fortress be any different?"
A flash of light gleamed in the Young Sect Leader's dark blue eyes. It seemed to pierce through Jeong Yeon-shin's inner thoughts.
"The answer you want, well, it might not be much. There are so many peerless masters wandering the world that they're hard to count on two hands, and they might have met one of them and been defeated somewhere."
"Not you?"
"Well. I am one of those peerless masters, but… you don't believe the rumors spread by the Yu Ling, do you?"
Those fellows are experts at driving wedges between the martial world and Desolate Fortress. The Young Sect Leader, who had leisurely interlocked their fingers, glanced at Jeong Yeon-shin and spoke again.
"You don't seem to believe it much. Indeed, martial artists must first exchange blows. I really hate pain, though…"
In that moment, the silence of the snow field seemed to take on a certain weight. Jeong Yeon-shin felt an invisible pressure bearing down on his shoulders.
None of the Ming Cult masters who had reacted intensely to his words earlier revealed themselves. This was despite being on the verge of conflict.
The meaning was clear. They had absolute confidence in the "Invincible" title attached to their master's alias. Just like the trust that Radiant Demon Wing masters placed in Jeong Yeon-shin.
"Shall we exchange two or three moves? Your energy is extremely unsettling, but a master's honest intentions are revealed in their techniques."
Black flames flickered beneath the Young Sect Leader's mask. There was no sign of martial arts activation, nor any crackling sound.
A formidable power could be felt from the black flames that wrapped around and climbed up the thick windproof robe.
It was a natural development. From the beginning, this was a relationship where trust couldn't be considered.
Jeong Yeon-shin released the internal energy containment method he had inherited from the Blood Guardian Leader. Simultaneously, a white lotus bloomed beneath his feet.
Luminous Wheel Energy, Brilliant River— Ultimate Thunder. Full power from the first move. The first time since his bone transformation. This opponent warranted it.
***
***
Devastation surrounded them. Amidst smoke that raged as if carried by a typhoon, corpses were everywhere.
It was a place where major matters of the martial world were being decided. It could be called the highest level of the martial world.
"Desolate Fortress will be exterminated."
A calm, measured voice. A man wrapped entirely in black robes. The lower face with black beard that had grown beneath the bamboo hat on his head moved slowly.
"The net of heaven and earth formed by all the major factions of the world will make it so. Perhaps only the Nine Great Sects will be excluded."
"Talk sense."
Ten paces away.
A man with a scholarly appearance replied. He wore a purple robe close to a scholar's attire.
Despite being surrounded by enemies glaring at him, not one dared to approach the unarmed man.
This was true even though only one young man in blue martial attire stood as an ally, furrowing his brow.
The black-robed man with the bamboo hat, the Yu Ling Leader, faced them from the front. With an extremely leisurely attitude.
"You shouldn't have trusted the Eight Great Clans. Even after suffering like that… I know your chivalrous spirit, which makes it all the more regrettable, Yong. The Divine Sword Squad members who will return as corpses from Anping Mountain over there won't be able to close their eyes due to resentment."
Behind the Divine Sword Group Leader stood a middle-aged swordsman with long blue sleeves hanging down, blocking the escape route.
The overwhelming presence from his snow-white sword filled the world like a semi-transparent mountain, allowing no movement. It was an imperial sword form.
"Group Leader. Please release the martial world now."
Namgung First Sword of the Martial Dragon Association said.
They weren't alone. They knew that the Dark Night Palace Leader's all-killing arrows were targeting them from twenty li beyond where the Divine Sword Group Leader and Divine Sword Squad were burning.
The Yu Ling Leader said:
"The net of heaven and earth that will defeat the seventeen squads of the Divine Sword Group one by one is complete. Among them, the annihilation of your Divine Sword Squad will be the beginning of the great plan. The same goes for the squad leaders dispatched westward from Desolate Fortress. Xinjiang, Qinghai, Sichuan. There are more than five of them."
He spoke as if mentioning lives already lost. The master of Yu Ling. If one were to discuss who was the messenger of death in the martial world, he would easily be counted first for his capabilities. He was an absolute being.
The corner of the Divine Sword Group Leader's mouth rose.
He had experienced such situations many times before, and had endured for a very long time the sight of free martial artists swaggering about like ruffians who had obtained divine power.
Since inheriting the supreme hierarchy from Tyrant Hero Ma Yeon-jeok, he had lived like a wall silently blocking the fierce winds.
"These fellows are getting on my nerves."
He muttered.
Swoosh.
Suddenly, writing implements rose from the travel pack sprawled at the Divine Sword Group Leader's feet. The marvel of void absorption. Brush, ink, inkstone, and seventeen sheets of paper danced in the air on their own.
"What trick is this?"
The enemies didn't dare move rashly. The Divine Sword Group Leader had not yet drawn his Coiling Dragon Sword, his life-controlling technique.
This meant that although they had poisoned him by heavenly fortune, they hadn't diminished his full power. They needed to buy time.
"Group Leader?"
The Divine Sword Squad's Blue-rank martial artist, Yeon So-ha, looked up at his superior. The Divine Sword Group Leader burst into laughter.
"I don't think I can remain a hero after all. Check the contents. My energy sense has become dull. If the back pages aren't fully written, copy them exactly as they are."
Yeon So-ha faithfully followed the Group Leader's order. The youthful man turned his back to the enemies and checked the contents of the letter.
Then his shoulders heaved greatly once.
"Really?"
He asked.
"Should I really write it like this? All seventeen pages? When you gathered the squad leaders' lots, was this what you had in mind…?"
"It seems you're indirectly asking if I'm in my right mind."
"No, really?"
Yeon So-ha was a loyal subordinate. Taking the back page from the void absorption, he picked up a brush and began copying while asking again.
The Divine Sword Group Leader smirked.
"The stubborn old men of the Elder Council will unanimously try to remove this robe for once. But having heard their plans, what can I do?"
"Would it end with just that? What about the common people?"
"…It's a sin I must bear. In my judgment as Group Leader, this is better than all of us being destroyed and exterminated together."
His voice was very heavy.
But that was all…. The Divine Sword Group Leader did not revoke his instructions.
Rustle!
He simply spread his hands wide, folding the letters suspended in the void absorption and sending them soaring in all directions.
Those documents were tied directly to the legs of one hawk and more than ten swallows in the air above.
A martial skill reaching the realm of the divine. The sword winds and hidden weapons launched by the enemies surrounding them from all directions couldn't approach and were torn apart.
This was because the Divine Sword Group Leader had already drawn a rainbow-colored radiant sword, emitting tremendous sword energy.
"Go."
Until the seventeen spirit beasts of Desolate Fortress flapped their wings and scattered in all directions.
The Yu Ling Leader and Namgung First Sword did not stop them. This was because they had judged with their extremely developed upper dantian.
The moment they tried to do anything with those letters, the Divine Sword Group Leader would disregard his life and make a life-or-death decision.
"Curious about what I wrote?"
The Divine Sword Group Leader asked. The Yu Ling Leader slowly nodded.
"I can guess. But can you handle it? The imperial court won't overlook what you've done."
"Does it send chills down your spine? Martial world scum like you thought our fortress would just keep taking it."
No answer came back.
The Divine Sword Group Leader picked up the one remaining letter with his fingertip. At the same time, smoke from Samadhi True Fire rose from his fingers.
The burning letter. Words that would shake the world were written in messy handwriting, gradually burning away from the corners.
[Personal letter to Squad Leaders. To the esteemed ones.
I'm terribly sorry during this busy time. I know everyone is in a state of emergency. Therefore, I don't know how many will open this letter, but praying to heaven and getting straight to the point…
The Divine Sword Group Leader commands.
Temporarily ignore any harm caused by martial ruffians. The Divine Sword Group of Desolate Fortress will now seek our own safety from the entire martial world. We will show them what happens when the main fortress unites like them.
Black-ranks under my command are to cease all missions immediately upon seeing these words and gather at Sichuan's Ten Perfections Sect.
Seventeen.
All of you.]