Chapter 441 : Ten-Year Sect War

Chapter 441: Ten-Year Sect War

Iron Blood Saber Jeon Jung of the Iron Response Sect led all his disciples out to confront the warriors of the Heavenly Central Sect.

The Iron Response Sect held deep grudges against the Heavenly Central Sect.

All of their previous Sect Leaders had been killed by Yong Hwarin, and now even their Elder Patriarch had stepped forward, a disgrace to their pride.

Moreover, as one of the pillars of the Demonic Path, they had decided to reject the Ten-Year Sect War and fight to the end.

Even if it meant their annihilation, they were determined to uphold their pride.

Iron Blood Saber Jeon Jung also did not believe that the Iron Response Sect, even as a rising power, could possibly lose to a sect like the Heavenly Central Sect.

He believed that as long as he and the elders could block Yong Hwarin, their disciples would be able to sweep away the Heavenly Central Sect.

Because he knew that martial arts masters did not emerge overnight.

It took decades of dedication to cultivate a true master. So he could not believe that the Heavenly Central Sect, until recently considered a third-rate sect, had managed to produce such masters in a few years.

Had the elites of any Prestigious Clan joined this Ten-Year Sect War expedition, perhaps Jeon Jung’s view would have changed.

But this expedition was to be carried out solely with the strength of the Heavenly Central Sect, without borrowing any strength from other sects.

Their forces consisted entirely of Heavenly Central Sect disciples and guest warriors, so Jeon Jung held confidence.

“Wipe them all out!”

At Iron Blood Saber Jeon Jung’s roar, hundreds of disciples from the Iron Response Sect charged forward.

Seeing this, Yong Hwarin shouted.

“Prepare the Dragon Scale Fingers!”

At that command, all the disciples of the Heavenly Central Sect drew large needles from their robes.

Every disciple of the Heavenly Central Sect had trained in the Dragon Scale Finger and had honed it to a level where it could be effectively used in battle.

“Fire!”

As the enemies closed within ten jang, at Yong Hwarin’s order, the first line of warriors sat, the second crouched, the third bent their knees.

The fourth line hunched over, the fifth took a horse-riding stance, and the sixth line stood straight and fired the Dragon Scale Fingers.

Since hundreds of warriors firing Dragon Scale Fingers while standing could end up hitting their own allies at the front, they adopted this tiered formation to adjust their heights, forming the Dragon Scale Finger Formation.

It was with this Dragon Scale Finger Formation that they had neutralized the Dabie Sect.

It was said that Jong Munhye and Nan Myeonggwak, after devising this formation, were delighted to call it invincible, and after several battles, it was clear the term was no exaggeration.

Whirrrrrrrrrrrr!

As hundreds of Dragon Scale Fingers flew at once, the sound echoed like silk flapping wildly in the wind.

Since the Dragon Scale Finger could be used with both hands, the warriors alternated firing large needles as the enemy approached.

As a result, the front ranks of the Iron Response Sect turned into chaos, some falling after being struck, others tripping and collapsing over one another.

Jeon Jung acknowledged his mistake in launching a reckless charge.

But he could not retreat now. Doing so would have been worse than not attacking at all, so he shouted,

“Anyone who retreats will be punished! Charge forward no matter what!”

They ran, stepping over the corpses of their comrades, but the fiercely fired Dragon Scale Fingers were hidden weapons not easily blocked.

The technique of the Dragon Scale Finger itself was excellent, and the large needles used were hard to see.

In the blink of an eye, a third of the Iron Response Sect disciples were rendered unable to fight by the Dragon Scale Fingers, prompting Jeon Jung to charge forward himself.

“Attack!”

As the Iron Response Sect warriors closed to within five jang, Yong Hwarin raised his hand.

Immediately, the warriors of the Heavenly Central Sect all sat down.

As hundreds of warriors dropped down, the Fifty Warriors of the Demon-Subduing Dragon Unit, led by Bukri Sehee, stood at the rear and began to pluck their pipas, unleashing sound arts.

Individually, their sound arts were unimpressive, but together—fifty at once—they were devastating.

Sound arts could be layered, and their cumulative effect was truly powerful.

The advancing enemies covered their ears at the deafening noise that burst their eardrums.

Those with weak internal energy had no way to resist the sound arts.

There was no real defense against sound arts.

With their hearing lost, they couldn’t even hear Jeon Jung’s shouts from the front lines.

Once the enemies were disoriented from the Dragon Scale Fingers and sound arts, Yong Hwarin shouted again.

“Charge!”

At his command, the warriors of the Heavenly Central Sect sprang forward from their seated positions, like a pack of wild beasts charging at once.

This was none other than the Floating Wind Steps.

The Floating Wind Steps were the best movement technique for scattering the attention of nearby enemies.

Momentarily losing sight of the Heavenly Central Sect warriors, the Iron Response Sect warriors felt something brush past them.

Then, blood streamed down their chests.

The warriors of the Heavenly Central Sect had slashed them while passing by, and it was so fast that the victims didn’t even know when they had been cut.

The martial arts that had been reorganized and taught to the sect disciples by the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect and the instructors were finally showing their results.

Those watching the great battle between the Iron Response Sect and the Heavenly Central Sect from afar let out words of admiration.

“Whoa, impressive.”

“This might end easier than expected.”

“The Iron Response Sect can’t seem to find its footing.”

“At this rate, the Heavenly Central Sect won’t lose to anyone.”

Hundreds of martial artists watched the battle between the two sects. Some sighed, some marveled.

“The Heavenly Central Sect warriors are forming one-on-one assault teams and cutting straight through in a line—the Iron Response Sect can’t counter at all!”

“What exquisite tactics.”

“This tactic is powerful because it cuts straight through the enemy ranks, but it’s also vulnerable to collapse against a stronger opponent. That they’re breaking through the Iron Response Sect so easily means the Heavenly Central Sect is incredibly strong.”

“At this point, it’s practically a one-sided slaughter.”

To them, it looked as though the Heavenly Central Sect was overwhelming and massacring the Iron Response Sect.

“And now, Iron Blood Saber Jeon Jung and Heavenly Sword Hero Yong Hwarin finally meet.”

After several charges through the enemy lines, more than half of the Iron Response Sect’s disciples were lying on the ground.

Compared to that, the damage suffered by the Heavenly Central Sect was minimal.

At the front lines, top masters of the Heavenly Central Sect took their positions and broke through, so the losses weren't significant.

Iron Blood Saber Jeon Jung charged toward Yong Hwarin, intending to demoralize the Heavenly Central Sect.

Realizing it was time to end the fight, Yong Hwarin stepped forward to confront him.

“We need to finish our unresolved duel.”

He had once crossed blades with Iron Blood Saber Jeon Jung while rescuing martial artists heading to the Shaolin Temple.

They had clashed once then, but the fight was interrupted by So Yonghwa, and a proper conclusion hadn't been reached.

“I didn’t get to properly witness your Do-Pa-Cheon-Hwang. Please grant me the opportunity.”

When he politely requested, Iron Blood Saber Jeon Jung responded boldly.

“Of course. You'll get to see it before you die.”

Iron Blood Saber Jeon Jung immediately unleashed the final technique of Do-Pa-Cheon-Hwang — Sky-Shattering Earth-Crushing (轟天崩地).

Expelling all his remaining true energy, Jeon Jung wished to settle the match with this single technique.

Even if he couldn’t defeat Yong Hwarin, he believed he could at least sever one of his limbs.

“Best be careful!”

There was immense pride in his voice.

Despite the confident shout, Yong Hwarin didn’t let his guard down.

He didn't remain still either.

Instead, he surged forward using the Thunder Dragon Flash technique, with the aura of Eastern Thunderous Earthquake raised to the extreme.

Strangely, Yong Hwarin’s left hand continued tracing a circular motion.

He was unfolding the Left-Right Split Mind Technique, forming a Whirling Enhanced Qi Barrier around his body.

With his left hand forming Enhanced Qi and his right hand responding using Thunder Dragon Flash, he infused Nascent Qi into the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword.

However, even the Greatest Sword Under Heaven, Jo Wonmook, murmured upon sensing that aura.

“Could it be… True Qi?”

True Qi was vastly different from regular Enhanced Qi in both light and form.

Enhanced Qi was subdivided into Nascent Qi and Twisted Qi, and at its peak, it became True Qi. But to reach that, one had to surpass the Fourth Jiazi Stage, and also be able to wield the full force of that stage.

Even if one possessed the internal energy of the Fourth Jiazi, if their internal arts were lacking, they couldn’t utilize it all and thus couldn’t form True Qi.

This was why vast internal energy alone didn’t make someone a master.

At present, Yong Hwarin had built up nearly Fifth Jiazi-level internal energy, possessed the mental technique to wield it properly, and had a Tai Chi Dantian that could amplify it severalfold.

Iron Blood Saber Jeon Jung had barely formed Twisted Qi after pouring out all his true energy, but seeing Yong Hwarin effortlessly manifest True Qi, he sensed his own death.

‘If I can’t avoid death… then I’ll take you with me!’

Instead of dodging, Jeon Jung charged straight toward Yong Hwarin’s chest.

The image of the two colliding head-on gave the illusion that they were performing a Mutual Destruction Technique.

“Twisted Qi may be a tier below True Qi, but taking a direct hit from it must still be quite the impact.”

Jo Wonmook grew concerned seeing Yong Hwarin not evading the blow but responding to it instead.

To him, it appeared reckless.

But knowing Yong Hwarin’s level, he didn’t believe it would go terribly wrong.

Still, what followed stirred even greater awe.

Yong Hwarin’s True Qi turned into a blue light, and from the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword, a blue dragon burst forth.

The Qi, turned vaporous, had received the essence of the dragon, manifesting in the form of a semi-dragon.

It was undeniably the form of a blue dragon.

Normally, figures created through Qi manifestation were vague and ambiguous, making it hard to define what they represented.

People often exaggerated what they resembled.

Even the white tiger formed by Pang Giyok’s Five Tigers Blade Art didn’t have the details of a tiger—it looked more like a cloud shaped vaguely like one.

Martial artists exaggerated and called it a white tiger anyway.

But the blue dragon that emerged from Yong Hwarin’s sword had the precision of a sculpted statue.

“Ooh… a true blue dragon incarnation!”

Even Jo Wonmook, the Greatest Sword Under Heaven, was stunned, exclaiming in awe, completely captivated.

At that moment, all the martial artists watching the battlefield trembled before the blue dragon's emergence.

Then came a wave of shock.

As the blue dragon opened its mouth and devoured Iron Blood Saber Jeon Jung—

BOOM!

The blue dragon exploded with thunder, swallowing Jeon Jung in its wake.

And in that explosion, what remained was Jeon Jung’s body, crisscrossed with lines of blood.

Crack!

First to shatter was Jeon Jung’s saber, which broke like ice.

He tried to force a smile.

“Tell me… My Do-Pa-Cheon-Hwang wasn’t too bad, was it?”

He wanted recognition from Yong Hwarin, who had summoned a dragon, that his martial art wasn’t without worth.

That would make his death feel a little less bitter.

“The blue dragon was erased by Do-Pa-Cheon-Hwang. There is likely nothing else in this world capable of doing that.”

“Is that so? Then why… why are you so unharmed?”

He had believed he would at least sever one of Yong Hwarin’s limbs, yet Yong Hwarin stood unscathed.

“Be content with having erased the blue dragon.”

Though Yong Hwarin’s tone was somewhat cold, Jeon Jung found it strangely noble.

“Is that so? Maybe… it was just my greed!”

With those final words, Jeon Jung’s body split apart, crumbling like a sandcastle.

His entire body had been torn apart by the True Qi of the blue dragon.

As silence swept over the battlefield, Yong Hwarin shouted:

“Those who throw down your weapons shall live. Those who resist shall be shown no mercy!”

The disciples of the Iron Response Sect, having witnessed the death of Iron Blood Saber Jeon Jung and the inhuman martial prowess of Yong Hwarin, lost all will to fight.

Clang!

Those who dropped their weapons stood dazed and hollow.

Only then did the disciples of the Heavenly Central Sect, realizing they had secured victory, erupt in a roar of triumph.

“Waaaaaah!”

After annihilating the Iron Response Sect, news of the Heavenly Central Sect spread like a storm throughout the Jianghu.

The stories began with the martial artists and observers who had witnessed the clash between the two sects, and continued to birth ever more tales.