CHAPTER 249

The Radiant Demon Squad surrounded the blue silk bedding. It was the most lavish and spacious room in the guesthouse annex.

The painting of the Ten Symbols of Longevity, brought by Baek Miryeo and Heon Wonchang, depicted the sun, mountains, white cranes, and turtles, all elegantly imbued with an antique touch.

They silently gazed down at Jung Yeonshin, who was sound asleep like never before.

His face was serene.

His thick and neatly shaped eyebrows did not so much as twitch. In contrast to his elegantly raised nose, his lightly closed lips were pale, devoid of color.

The sleeping boy's appearance was rarely seen—exceptionally handsome—yet the aura of the Radiant Demon Squad's leader was nowhere to be found.

Only after losing consciousness did his face finally resemble that of his age group. It was because he was a supreme grandmaster.

Baek Miryeo, sharpening her gaze, parted her lips.

"He overdid it."

"Indeed." 

Chung Myung replied with a blank expression.

Baek Miryeo's long fingers brushed back the strands of hair near her ear.

"The rank of the Ghost Spirit Sword was far too high. From the very beginning, it was no ordinary feat that the new black rank managed to defeat an Elder of the Tyrant Sword Tribe. That alone is already an achievement."

"For a second mission as a black rank, it's more than excessive. The rewards will be enormous, I'm sure. If only Yangyang weren't so far away. Once news reaches the main sect, everyone will be in an uproar."

Hearing the two seniors converse, Heon Wonchang stroked the heroic tendon between his brows and added,

"I believe he has yet to receive the rewards from the previous mission as well. I wonder what the accumulated sum will return as."

"Why are you all talking about that? The leader has collapsed."

A voice with an entirely different tone interrupted.

Lazy Flame Dragon, who had been standing with his arms crossed at one side, nonchalantly spoke. The shadow beneath his eyes was peculiarly dark.

The Radiant Demon Squad did not respond. They were contemplating an ominous possibility.

The lifespan their leader had previously mentioned, could it have been miscalculated?

The aftereffects of a battle between grandmasters varied greatly, but still...

Lightning Geniuses lived highly constrained lives.

The heavens had bestowed them with boundless talent, at the cost of shortening their life threads significantly. Though Lazy Flame Dragon's circumstances were similar to Jung Yeonshin's, the scale of their manifested talents and the nature of their abilities differed.

It was not a matter to seek advice on. He was, from the beginning, someone who knew nothing about it.

"Isn't it better to say something good rather than just sitting here in silence? Maybe if he hears us, he'll regain consciousness sooner."

Chung Myung smiled faintly as he spoke.

A brief silence followed. The winter owls chirping outside grew louder.

Had they failed to migrate south? It seemed symbolic of the Radiant Demon Squad's predicament. The absence of a supreme master was significant.

From the perspective of the conquerors, the situation had now turned into one where they were surrounded within the Demonic Faction's domain.

Fan Dragon Zhuge Hyeon had left before the Central Bureau's officers arrived. He had to swiftly report the progress to the Hanzhong Murim Alliance.

Cloud Dragon Sword Wei Ji Myohwa remained at a private estate in Zhongnan, residing at Jang Gi-il's White Sun Sectt.

Only the Radiant Demon Squad was here.

Then—

Baek Miryeo moved her lips.

"We'll secure Jung Hye-ah's whereabouts."

"Is that the right call? Just us? Shouldn't we focus on figuring out what to do about the leader first? We're not dealing with just some seven evil sects here, we're up against the Thirteen Celestial Demons."

Lazy Flame Dragon lazily asked, tilting his head back and interlocking his hands behind it.

Chung Myung glanced at Jung Yeonshin's face and stood up.

"We don't know when our leader will wake up. There's no guarantee that his niece will remain confined in Shaanxi either. We have to at least try. We can't afford to throw away the clue we finally obtained."

"We'll have to strike and retreat, no matter what." 

Heon Wonchang muttered.

* * *

A grand estate backed by towering mountains.

Above its massive gate, a signboard read Zhongming Escort Bureau, written in a bold, dragon-like script.

Countless people and goods passed through its grounds.

The commotion was just as immense.

The sound of wheels rolling over stone pavement, the clatter of wooden cart frames, the footsteps of hundreds of martial artists and laborers in well-crafted leather shoes—it all made the famine seem like a mere illusion.

However, there were no voices. No one spoke.

It was natural, yet the silence felt eerily unnatural.

People carried loads, wrote records, entered the estate, or exited without so much as stepping on the threshold.

It was the Shaanxi branch of Yeoryeong Sect, disguised as an escort bureau.

Among the Thirteen Celestial Demons, they handled the most information. Many regarded them as an intelligence network wielding martial strength equivalent to the great sects.

They revealed the hidden depths of the martial world in silence, orchestrating its affairs as they saw fit.

There were even rumors that Yeoryeong's leader was the one who incited the Tyrant Sword Tribe's leader to annihilate the Zhongnan Sect.

Few within the Zhongming Escort Bureau were permitted to speak.

Only the branch leader, who also served as the escort master, along with a handful of his subordinates, had that privilege.

Deep within the bureau, yet as bright as if under the sun.

Under the glow of lanterns, five people sat around a single map. Each possessed an aura so faint it was almost imperceptible.

Masters of a secretive technique, capable of wielding soundless sword energy even in intense battles, they were Yeoryeong's elite.

"A rumor says a dragon ascended from the sea near Honghua Port in Fujian Province." 

A subordinate dressed in black robes reported.

"Did the martial artists tell a different story?"

"Yes. They claim it looked like a force generated by human strength, yet also spoke of it as if it were some supernatural power."

"Think about the founding records of the Ming Dynasty. The Lord has said that there is little exaggeration in the Great Ming Chronicles. Anything is possible in this world."

"The authorities are controlling the harbor. They seem to be waiting for someone…"

"It must be a high-level master from Desolate Fortress. The imperial family's supreme martial artists do not personally intervene in matters lightly. If it's of that scale, it must be a purple rank. The only purple rank left in Desolate Fortress is the Divine Sword Order's leader… but he is currently… hmm, well, the branch over there must already be investigating."

An elderly man in yellow robes, dressed like a merchant, spoke in a rambling manner. Yet no one dismissed him. The tension in the room only thickened.

Shaanxi's Number One Demon, Wei Guk-sang.

He was the branch leader of Yeoryeong's Shaanxi division.

After massacring hundreds of displaced peasants who had left their villages in search of arable land, he became known as the foremost demon of the fertile lands.

His martial arts were so strange that even Desolate Fortress' pursuit squads struggled to track him down.

Unlike the Ming Cult's martial lineage in Xinjiang, he had cultivated Demonic Arts.

Even while standing still, his entire body emitted an ominous, colorless energy.

The oppressive waves of his aura alone proved his prowess, resembling a mountain deity of monstrous strength.

"By the way," 

He spoke again.

"The Tyrant Sword Tribe's enforcers have been picking fights over some trivial matter."

At his words, the woman beside him chuckled. She, too, carried a green-hilted sword.

"Are you talking about the child you took in? She was quite the striking-looking girl… but what about her?"

"I accepted her as a disciple because her aptitude and lineage are extraordinary."

At Shaanxi's Number One Demon's response, the woman nodded.

"Well, that's only natural. She was the disciple taken in by the Sword Immortal of Zhongnan in his twilight years… That terrifying old man must have had a reason for distributing his inheritance so chaotically. The child's martial perception must be outstanding. As long as you don't devour her, she'll grow into a formidable expert. Wasn't that your intention when you carried her away while breaking through the Plum Blossom Sword Formation?"

"That's not the only reason."

"Oh?"

"The child's uncle… There exists a monstrous warrior in Desolate Fortress, does there not? I received reports about it from my headquarters but was skeptical. Yet the man openly revealed himself in the neighboring city of Hanzhong and dominated the OMurim Alliance's Sect Opening Tournament. And he hasn't even reached twenty yet."

The woman shook her head.

"If it's about the Radiant Demon Squad's leader, I'm getting tired of it. It's not like he became a hot topic in Shaanxi just yesterday."

"He's different from the Young Lord of Ming Cult. Normally, such a thing would be impossible. Isn't it reasonable to suspect that something is in their bloodline? Even I think so. Never mind the fact that the Jung Clan of Henan was nothing more than an insignificant third-rate martial clan. No wonder those sword fangs are suddenly claiming ownership. Before being my disciple, that child was their prisoner."

"But now she is in the arms of Shaanxi's Number One Demon. There are few places in the world safer than that."

"You're right."

Suddenly, the yellow-robed Shaanxi's Number One Demon unsheathed his sword. The orange glow of a lantern hanging on the wall reflected off the blade before being swallowed up by the sheer force of the sword's energy, shattering the ceiling above.

Boom!

"I knew someone was eavesdropping!"

A young man shot up from the collapsing ceiling. His movements, stepping upon the shockwaves of the sword energy as if climbing stairs, were anything but ordinary.

There were traces of refined technique in his fluid, free movements—a sign of noble martial lineage.

"Yejo Celestial King Steps, the signature movement art of the Hwangbo Clan's prodigal scion."

Wei Guk-sang murmured.

His subordinates and the woman beside him instantly scattered, breaking through the walls. They anticipated the consequences of a single step from Wei Guk-sang.

As he calmly lifted and then lowered his foot, dark currents gushed from beneath him in thick, sinuous streams.

Heavenly Grave Demon Art—Monarch's Dominion.

Step.

The moment his leather shoes touched the ground, everything turned pitch-black.

There was no explosion.

The surrounding structures instantly crumbled into ash, disintegrating in silence. The range of destruction was unimaginably vast.

As the gray dust settled, the distant mountain ridges came into view. It was a wave of power bordering on the divine.

Wei Guk-sang lifted his gaze.

Suspended in the now-exposed sky was the unmistakable figure of the Lazy Flame Dragon.

His comrades from the Radiant Demon Squad had devised a strategy to keep the enemy's top martial masters occupied.

The Radiant Demon Squad, with their swift movements, took on the role of holding out, allowing Chung Myung, Heon Wonchang, and others to search for Jung Hye.

They deliberately made their presence known, one of their comrades had been spotted from afar. If they failed to hold Wei Guk-sang in place, everything would be over.

"Intruders! At least twenty of them!"

"They're strong! Don't recklessly cross swords with them!"

Other grandmasters of the Radiant Demon Squad rushed in. The walls of the estate crumbled, and the clamor of metal resounded. The ambush had unfolded in an instant.

"You're quite strong... But you've trespassed where you shouldn't have." 

Shaanxi's Number One Demon said as he raised his sword.

"Die."

* * *

The moment Jung Yeonshin awoke, he grasped the situation.

He had collapsed after overexerting his upper dantian. The Baihui Acupoint at the crown of his head was directly linked to the bloodstream of the brain.

Without even adapting to the newly developed Sight Arts, he had forcibly examined every aspect of a seasoned grandmaster like the Ghost Spirit Sword. His mind had been put under immense strain.

'Losing consciousness even once in the martial world accelerates everything.'

He thought.

The memory of being carried by the Lord of Desolate Fortress at the Blood Flame Cult's main hall surfaced in his mind.

Jung Yeonshin rose belatedly and stepped outside.

He ignored the attempts of Shin So-bin and Kang Chang-mu to stop him as they tended to him like caregivers. After hearing the circumstances, he signaled with his eyes, urging them to reveal their destination.

Then, he bolted.

Whoosh—!

A powerful gust of wind wrapped around his thighs. The invisible energy waves of Wind Body surged more violently than ever before.

Despite not yet having created a proper lightness technique, he propelled himself forward with overwhelming force, instinctively altering his movements into a running technique.

Thud!

The ground pushed firmly against his feet. Ignoring the pain coursing through his entire body, Jung Yeonshin sprinted ceaselessly.

Even as his whole body began to convulse, even as he climbed the mountain, his speed remained unchanged. The once-faint sunlight of dawn gradually brightened.

They had said it was Radiant Spirit Mountain in Bongsang Division. As a privilege of being a black rank in Desolate Fortress, he had memorized the topography in detail.

'There.'

His vision opened up between the mountain ridges.

A large estate stood in the middle of the mountains, with multiple streams of smoke rising from within.

It seemed to be Yeoryeong Sect's hidden safe house. Unfamiliar martial artists were locked in life-or-death combat with his comrades. Clashes erupted from all directions.

Boom! Kuung!

The air trembled, the collision of force waves from footwork techniques. It was a battle on the scale of a sect war. White energy waves from the Radiant Arts Secret burst out in various places.

The battlefield had already been set. The priority was distinguishing friend from foe.

Jung Yeonshin sought out the most overwhelmingly powerful energy first.

A swordsman in yellow robes was effortlessly overwhelming the grandmasters of the Radiant Demon Squad.

A towering figure, six feet tall. His pitch-black eyes brimmed with arrogance.

With a playful flick of his yellow sleeves, his sword strikes unleashed compressed energy waves like a tempest, carving deep furrows into the ground.

Even though a dozen of the Radiant Demon Squad's top warriors, including Baek Miryeo and Chung Myung, surrounded him in a sequential battle, they were continuously forced back. The ground shook as if struck by an earthquake.

Not far from them, Lazy Flame Dragon lay unconscious at the feet of two white-robed martial artists. One of them was Zhuge Qing-ya.

The moment he took in the scene—

Step.

Jung Yeonshin was already standing beside Lazy Flame Dragon's head, enduring the piercing internal and external wounds constraining his entire body.

He reached toward the fallen Lazy Flame Dragon's chest. In an instant, his arm blurred. He had seized a bundle of flowers from the grasp of a grandmaster. He took them.

Zhuge Qing-ya, standing nearby, momentarily looked startled.

"Leader...?"

Jung Yeonshin did not answer.

Holding a bright red poppy, he bit into it. The crimson petals crushed between his lips.

Glaring at the approaching enemies, he slowly chewed down the stem.

With internal energy, he amplified the energy flow in his stomach. The power of the Radiant Wheel spread the medicinal effects instantly. A sensation akin to being engulfed by clouds overtook his entire body, a deeply intoxicating rush.

Jung Yeonshin thought, So this is what it feels like.

"Spread out. When I pierce through the center, widen the path for me. Leave Lazy Flame Dragon."

The Lightning Genius of the Radiant Demon Squad spoke between his teeth. The tremor in his sword-wielding right hand gradually subsided.

In contrast, the black fabric of his robes began to ripple, swept by the surging force of Wind Body.

Streams of energy radiated from his entire body, swirling endlessly like sword aura.

"One step to that man."

In an instant, the surrounding air quivered. The approaching enemies, who had been lunging toward him, hesitated.

Jung Yeonshin placed another poppy petal between his lips. Silence fell over the battlefield.

He looked completely possessed.

His overwhelming battle stance spread an eerie stillness.

[T/L: Please support me AND read further chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans.]

[T/L: Subscribe for a membership on my Buy Me a Coffee page and receive 15 extra chapters upon joining, along with daily updates of one chapter: buymeacoffee.com/revengerscans ]

[Additional Info: If anyone is facing the issue of payment on Ko-Fi, please contact me on revengerscans1@gmail.com]