Chapter 79: Natural Enemy (4)

Mo Yonggun offered the assembly a formal salute.

“Even though I invoked the Right of Grand Assembly in haste, I am deeply grateful to the chiefs of each faction for gathering here. Some could not attend due to pressing affairs, but I will send letters of thanks to them as well.”

The lineup was dazzling.

From the Nine Sects and One Union, the heads of Shaolin, Wudang, Mount Hua, Zhongnan, and Azure Castle had come; and among the Seven Great Clans, the heads of the Mo Yong, Je Gal, Namgung, and Peng clans were present.

They were the orthodox leadership gathered near Longzhong Mountain in Hubei. Other sect heads were too far or too busy to come, but for a convocation on short notice, it was quite a turnout.

And—

Mo Yonggun’s eyes went to the heads of Shaolin and Wudang.

With those two present, he could regard the old schools as fully represented.

Shaolin of the North—preeminent in the north.

Wudang of the South—supreme in the south.

The so-called twin pillars, “Shaolin revered in the North, Wudang honored in the South.” With those two here, it was no exaggeration to say all orthodox leadership had assembled.

“You’ve come a long way. I was truly surprised. I did not expect Clan Lord Mo Yong to invoke the Right of Grand Assembly.”

“Indeed. In truth, the one who invokes that right most often is the Union Lord of the Dragon Head Union. For him not to attend—he must be most occupied.”

They traded easy, genial remarks.

Mo Yonggun smiled.

“I would not have invoked it for a mere trifle, but the gravity of the situation is extraordinary. I had no choice.”

Faces hardened.

Mo Yonggun had just said “the situation.” The sense of crisis in those words was immense.

The Abbot of Shaolin spoke.

“Amitabha. If it is so weighty and urgent, we may set courtesy aside for later.”

He was telling them to go straight to the point—a proposal Mo Yonggun welcomed.

“Very well. Since each of you is busy, I will speak directly to the matter.”

“Proceed.”

“First, I must tell you that those gathered here will need to make a great resolve for the future of the orthodox martial world.”

“Mm?”

“In my judgment, this case merits an official dissolution—a declaration naming one organization an enemy of the martial world.”

Eyes around the hall widened.

“Enemy of the martial world” meant the common foe of Jianghu.

If a single person was branded an enemy, all orthodox forces moved to seize him; if a faction was branded so, that faction must dissolve at once.

Of course, they would not meekly submit or dismantle themselves.

But once branded, only ruin remained. To call them public enemies was to judge that annihilation was fitting.

They would die with no words to offer in their defense. For that reason, those four characters were a terror to all the orthodox.

The Head of Wudang asked, cautious.

“Which force do you mean to name? No—what sect has committed a crime so great?”

“Each of you knows a great upheaval has seized the Henan martial world of late.”

From distant Hebei, the Peng Clan Lord cocked his head.

“Henan? The Henan that holds Shaolin—and the Ming Clan?”

“Correct.”

Mo Yonggun’s eyes flashed.

“The faction at the center of what I will say today is the Ming Clan of the Nine Provinces.”

****

Impressive.

Vvvvvmm.

White Tiger Qi surged on its own; Black Tortoise Qi raised a blue swell.

Tzzzz.

Jade Wave True Qi rose from his lower abdomen and swept through his body in an instant.

Even with Jade Wave True Qi, the two divine currents would not quiet. Edged taut as if nervous, they made Yeon Hojeong’s aura grow rough.

Fake or not, I didn’t expect him to have taken it this deep.

Ming Cheon, Clan Lord of the Ming.

He was thirty zhang away, but the instant Yeon Hojeong fixed him, the Twin Divine Qi rampaged.

It was true wrath toward a counterfeit—and tension before a force far stronger than expected despite being counterfeit.

Vermilion Bird Qi. And vivid.

Yes—Vermilion Bird Qi.

And yet, not the Vermilion Bird Qi he knew.

The Vermilion Bird Qi he knew held a power like the sun itself—radiant fire wrapped the body, proving divinity, a sky-borne sovereign.

Ming Cheon’s was different.

The qi itself was grossly twisted. Like a fallen half-incarnation that had lost its divinity. Fire, yet narrow and perilous.

A world apart from the two who had come with that one called Ming Hak.

He had gone deeper; the power was greater—but the rupture was far worse.

Still, his skill will be beyond reproach.

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

A fine opponent.

And if all goes well...

“You’re Yeon Hojeong?”

Ming Cheon’s lip twitched. Something about this grated hard.

“You show up here without fear—are you so desperate to die?”

“You should have come when you were called.”

“What?!”

“You heard, didn’t you? Or did they fail to tell you that, too? Seems you keep unreliable men.”

Killing intent rose in Ming Cheon’s eyes.

Flash!

A murderous glare shot across thirty zhang—as if his eyes alone could cut a man down.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed in answer.

As expected.

Tracing that dangerous killing glare, he knew Ming Cheon was more perilous than he had assumed.

The problem was the madness carried in those eyes.

Certain. The Vermilion Bird Qi has invaded the upper dantian.

The Four Spirit are the divine beasts of the four directions—divine in nature, too much for a human body to hold.

Like medicine turned poison when misused, the Four Spirit Qi are so numinous they can destroy a person. Complete understanding of true qi and gradual cultivation are essential.

Yeon Hojeong could handle Black Tortoise and White Tiger so deftly only thanks to insights from his days as the Dark Emperor. Having mastered the Four Spirit Arts, he could employ them safely without gradual training.

But Ming Cheon had not.

Nor had the fifty masters behind him. They had only skimmed the surface of the Four ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Spirit Arts.

They had force-trained twisted currents with no full comprehension. Neither body nor mind would remain intact.

Thoom!

Yeon Hojeong stamped the earth.

“No need for long words, right?”

“......”

“Come. I’ll split your skull.”

Ming Cheon was dumbfounded. So angry he almost laughed.

“Did you think we spared you out of fear?”

“If called, then come. Enough talk.”

“That whelp?!”

The way he spoke was beyond insolent.

Even as his fury surged, Ming Cheon felt it was convenient. The family had suffered rumors because of this brat alone.

He was already en route to erase the Yeon Clan. There was nothing left to hold him back.

Ming Cheon bellowed.

“Bring me that pup! I’ll rip his head off with my own hands!”

Even before the words ended, a warrior slammed a foot into a sweat-blood horse’s stirrup.

Thoom!

He vaulted sky-high—a lightness skill as free as wind yet with a peculiar weight, a strong, steady motion.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes lit.

White Tiger!

Thud!

Landing three zhang in front of Yeon Hojeong, Ming Ro spoke coldly.

“To spew such insolence at the Clan Lord—I’ll break your limbs.”

Ssssnap!

Ming Ro lunged.

It was fast—like a single gust turned flesh.

A lightness skill worthy of praise—but Yeon Hojeong saw its gaps and weak seams plain as day.

Whummm!

Ming Ro’s eyes went wide.

As he moved to rake with Qilin Claw, his opponent was already inside his guard—slipping naturally into the dead angle of Qilin Step.

Crunch!

“Urk!”

Yeon Hojeong’s left hand twisted his wrist.

“A mess.”

Black Tortoise Qi filled his hand.

Bang!

“Kraaa!”

Ming Ro’s wrist burst apart as if caught in blasting powder.

He had poured in the Triple Tortoise Wall of the Northern Heaven Twelve Walls. Ming Ro’s hand, primed with aggressive force, could not withstand the explosive rebound and was pulped.

Yeon Hojeong raised his axe.

“In your next life, start with learning to walk.”

“D–don’t—!”

Thud!

The axe split his skull and sank to the pit of his stomach.

Yeon Hojeong kicked the chest.

Thump!

The body tumbled across the dirt and stopped before a sweat-blood horse, twitching.

Silence fell.

Even Ming Cheon stared at Yeon Hojeong in shock.

What is that brat?

Every Death Sword he had brought was an outstanding master. And on top of that, they had learned a Divine Art; they far surpassed the level of late-stage youths.

He had handpicked the best among the Death Swords—yet how many exchanges had it taken for this one to die?

Wiping the axe edge with his sleeve, Yeon Hojeong spoke.

“Did you think taking these men to storm the main estate would end it all?”

“W–what?!”

“Good reaction. So my guess was right.”

Ssssss.

Jade Wave True Qi glimmered along the axe edge. The strong true qi vaporized the remaining blood.

A terrible killing intent rose in Yeon Hojeong’s eyes.

“Even across layered pasts, you remain a cursed tie.”

In the timeline before return, the Ming annihilated the Yeon Clan.

After return, he had hounded the Ming alone to prevent annihilation. Yet they could not restrain themselves—they again aimed at the main estate and dispatched troops.

A viciously knotted fate. There had never been any affection, but now every last shred was gone.

Boom!

Yeon Hojeong stepped harder than ever; explosive killing intent burst from his body.

“The price for rampaging without knowing your place—I’ll collect all of it here today.”

Ming Cheon roared.

“Kill him!”

Fwap-fwap-fwap!

A dozen Death Swords charged Yeon Hojeong.

Lightning-swift movement—enough to make even a great master gasp.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes cast out the twin divine currents—Black Tortoise and White Tiger, black and white.

Here!

Flutter-flutter-flutter!

His body slipped past their strikes with uncanny precision.

He evaded the blades of ten peak masters with a single motion. All who watched were stunned.

But he had not “dodged” their blows.

He read the attack lines of two who had studied Black Tortoise’s substitute art and White Tiger’s substitute art—Ghost Tortoise Divine Art and Qilin Divine Art—and set his White Tiger Lord’s Step toward their softest point.

Boom! Boom!

One step forward, two steps for the kill.

His axe birthed the teeth of a mountain king and the claws of a beast-lord.

Rip-rip-riiiip!

Three Death Swords caught in the White Tiger Lord’s Wall were torn to shreds.

“Ugh!”

“Keep attacking!”

Fwap-fwap!

The remaining seven struck again—but Yeon Hojeong was no longer there.

Boom! Boom! KRAAANG!

A merciless advance. An explosive charge.

Leaving seven masters behind, Yeon Hojeong’s gaze drew in forty-odd more as if the field itself were sucked toward him.

He swung the axe with everything he had.

KWRRRRRM!

The Four Spirit General speared straight through the enemy line.