Chapter 104
The Twelve Exalted Ones of the World.
Twelve supreme martial artists who command the world.
Among them are four sword demons madly devoted to the blade.
They are called the Four Unrivaled Swords.
The First Sword of the Unorthodox Path, Mun-jung of the Black Qilin.
The First Sword of the Green Forest, Seo-cheol the One-Eyed Dragon.
The First Sword of Mount Hua, Ji Yun-tak, the Zixia Sword Saint.
And Yang Jeon of the Guankou Erlang Sword.
Among them, Yang Jeon of the Guankou Erlang Sword was a martial arts genius who reached the supreme level at the youngest age among the Twelve Exalted Ones.
His Thunderclap Divine Art summoned the sound of thunder, and its power was immense. Thus, people likened him to a thunderclap, and he established the Thunderclap Sect, walking the path of a great master.
*Rumble! Krr-rumble!*
A tremor that seemed to shake the very axis of the earth jolted Yang Jeon, who was in the middle of circulating his energy.
The shock was strong enough to awaken Yang Jeon, who had been concentrating on healing himself in the world of the unconscious.
Yang Jeon reflexively gripped the Arang Twin Swords that lay beside him.
Shudder!
His Arang Twin Swords trembled faintly, as if they, like Yang Jeon, had sensed something.
Yang Jeon had no time to ponder whether it was his own trembling or the swords'. He instinctively rose to his feet, his nerves on edge from the strange power that stimulated his entire body.
"Who on earth?"
A shock felt along with the sound of a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
This was certainly not a natural phenomenon.
Yang Jeon focused his hazy mind, feeling a tingling sensation on his skin.
He had already raised his Thunderclap Divine Art throughout his body, fully prepared.
In truth, due to a severe internal injury and the successive use of powerful martial arts, Yang Jeon's condition was not good.
Furthermore, his request for the Tang Clan's divine elixir for treatment had been denied.
For now, there was no better way than to recuperate with good medicinal herbs and elixirs, managing his internal injuries on his own.
But even considering his deep internal injuries, the current shock was not something he could ignore.
What he felt was undoubtedly a powerful lightning force, strong enough to shake the entire Tang Clan.
"Hmph!"
Yang Jeon, holding the Arang Twin Swords, kicked open the door and shot forward like an arrow.
In all his travels across the world, through countless fights and encounters with numerous martial artists, he had never met one who properly used lightning force.
Even those whose titles or techniques included the character for thunder were merely using it as a metaphorical symbol.
They did not actually use or control lightning force.
Though the world believed he had created his martial arts on his own, he had merely founded the Thunderclap Divine Art after a great fortuitous encounter with a secret manual containing the essence of a past master.
Yang Jeon hoped that this terrifying energy might be the opportunity he had been so curious about—a chance to find the roots of his own martial arts.
Rumble!
Although his body was not in its prime, he was a supreme master who had seen the pinnacle of martial arts.
Flying through the dark sky like the wind, he crossed the distance to the Tang Clan's forbidden area—now reduced to ashes and emitting a foul smoke—in a single bound.
'Is that... Brother Kang?'
Yang Jeon spotted Kang Ziya with someone else in a corner of the area that was emitting black smoke.
It seemed Kang Ziya had also spotted him.
Kang Ziya, who looked inexplicably urgent, and an unidentified figure.
But Yang Jeon had no time to get an explanation from Kang Ziya.
He could feel the being he was chasing getting farther away.
"Stop right there!"
If the person he was chasing had created the disaster before his eyes, they must be a master of incredible power.
And to have used such lightning force, they must be a master comparable to Yang Jeon himself.
They were undoubtedly one of the most skilled masters Yang Jeon had ever met.
Thwack!
Kicking off the stump of a burnt tree and then kicking off the air again, Yang Jeon spotted the back of a large person bounding along the mountainside not far from the Tang Clan.
"Stop!"
At Yang Jeon's shout, like a Lion's Roar, the pursued figure stopped in their tracks.
As the distant figure grew closer, Yang Jeon saw an unbelievable sight and, without realizing it, stopped his levitation technique.
"A white tiger..."
"You foolish Black-Spotted Tiger... How could you mistake a human's voice for that of your own kind?"
The young man in a white Daoist robe, riding the large white tiger, scolded the animal and turned his gaze toward Yang Jeon, who was staring at him in bewilderment.
Seeing his troubled expression, Yang Jeon swallowed dryly.
"Could you be... an immortal?"
"Hahaha!"
It was a question asked unconsciously at a sight that did not seem human, but the young man burst into loud laughter at Yang Jeon's question.
Yang Jeon felt insulted and looked at his opponent again.
He looked far too young to be the source of the power he had just felt.
Yang Jeon had thought that a person who displayed enough power to devastate an entire area would be at least a venerable old master.
Since the opponent could be a master who had achieved a state of returning to youth, Yang Jeon did not let his guard down and spoke once more.
"If you are neither an immortal nor a ghost, reveal your identity."
The man let out a small sigh and dismounted from the white tiger's back.
The man Yang Jeon had mistaken for an immortal was none other than Shen Gongbao.
The Black-Spotted Tiger let out a low growl at Shen Gongbao's scolding and rubbed its face against the back of his hand.
"It's alright. How could this be your fault? You may step back for a moment."
Yang Jeon watched Shen Gongbao make the Black-Spotted Tiger retreat and gasped in admiration.
Seeing such a large white tiger obediently retreat as if it understood human speech made him wonder again if he truly was an immortal.
"I am neither an immortal nor a ghost. As for you, you are neither a bandit nor a pirate, so for what business do you seek me?"
"Then was it you who caused the disturbance at the Tang Clan?"
"That was indeed me... but is that any of your concern?"
"I am a guest indebted to the Tang Clan. How can I simply let someone who caused a great disturbance and is now fleeing get away?"
Shen Gongbao looked at Yang Jeon and stroked his chin as if annoyed.
"Instead of such a flimsy excuse, isn't there another, real reason you pursued me?"
"Hmph!"
"What is your reason for wanting to meet me, even to the point of disregarding your severe internal injuries?"
Yang Jeon was once again surprised that Shen Gongbao had seen through his internal injuries at a glance.
"Very well! I, this humble one, followed you because I am curious about the nature of that power... the power you just used at the Tang Clan."
"Useless greed only brings ruin upon oneself. Your own skills are at a remarkable level, so do not harbor any more foolish desires and return."
A low hostility was laced in Shen Gongbao's voice.
Shen Gongbao believed that Yang Jeon was coveting the Thunder Lord's Tablet he possessed and had chased him for it.
The Thunder Lord's Tablet was a sacred object entrusted to him by the Old Lord with stern warnings.
It was not an object to be handled carelessly, and if it fell into the hands of someone without the proper affinity, it was a terrifying object that could incinerate not only the world but the user as well.
Yang Jeon, realizing Shen Gongbao's misunderstanding, immediately corrected him.
"You are mistaken. I am merely curious about the nature of the martial art you used."
Shen Gongbao shook his head.
The existence of the Hermit's Valley, let alone the Mountain Faction, was strictly forbidden from being known in the martial world.
This was to guard against the chaos and shock that would ensue if the existence of the Hermit's Valley's masters, the Mountain, Sea, and Non-Dual Factions were to be revealed to the martial world.
Revealing his origins or the source of his martial arts would be a violation of the Mountain Faction's laws.
"Even that is a useless curiosity. I have no connection to whatever you are thinking of, so please return and recuperate."
At Shen Gongbao's firm refusal, Yang Jeon tightened his grip on the Arang Twin Swords.
Although the Tang Clan was in an uproar, he wasn't the one chasing the culprit who killed the Xuanyuan Sword's disciple, nor was he particularly indebted to the Tang Clan.
Therefore, Yang Jeon had no intention of harming Shen Gongbao or engaging in a life-or-death duel.
Just one exchange.
If they crossed blades for just one exchange, he would be able to grasp the root of Shen Gongbao's martial arts.
When Yang-attribute power reaches its peak, it either becomes a great conflagration that incinerates all, or it possesses an immense power like lightning force.
The former was the case for Emperor Yan, one of the Two Emperors, while the latter was the case for Yang Jeon.
If Shen Gongbao shared the same roots, he could uncover his identity in a single move.
"I know you are a great master, but challenging me in your current state is by no means a wise decision."
"If you will not tell me, I have no choice but to find out by crossing hands."
Knowing his own condition well, he also knew this was forceful, but Yang Jeon could not back down.
As Yang Jeon gripped the Arang Twin Swords, a brilliant light emanated from them.
Yang Jeon's Heaven-Sundering Three-Part Sword, unleashed with sixty percent of his Thunderclap Divine Art, was a powerful sword technique that could split heaven and earth with a single strike.
Although he held back, no master could easily evade it.
"Haaah..."
Watching the powerful sword energy fall towards him from the sky, Shen Gongbao raised both hands and drew a gentle circle.
Immediately, a blue aura flickered around his body, and the sword energy of Yang Jeon's Heaven-Sundering Three-Part Sword began to scatter around without even grazing Shen Gongbao's clothes.
'What?'
Yang Jeon could not hide his bewilderment at seeing Shen Gongbao deflect his strike with such a strange technique.
Instead of the powerful lightning force whose traces were left at the Tang Clan and which he himself had felt, Shen Gongbao's appearance, countering him with a technique of redirection, was reminiscent of a Wudang Sect Daoist.
Yang Jeon's Heaven-Sundering Three-Part Sword was not a technique of myriad changes.
It was a powerful sword style that simply crushed the opponent with overwhelming force.
His second strike was as heavy and strong as a collapsing mountain; a redirection technique should not be able to block its power.
CRASH!
Shen Gongbao dodged Yang Jeon's first strike, his body floating as lightly as a flower petal, and in the next moment, he lightly swung a tree branch he had picked up.
Whoosh!
The lifeless vegetation around them floated up and began to swirl towards him.
Yang Jeon had heard of this legendary technique and was well aware of it.
"To wield the Sword Immortal's Nine Turns Harmony Sword Art!"
At first, it seemed he was using a Wudang palm technique, and now, the martial art of the Sword Immortal.
Hadn't the Sword Immortal, in his later years, secluded himself without taking any disciples, earning the great resentment of the Diancang Sect?
Shen Gongbao frowned at the mention of the Sword Immortal's name.
His opponent's martial prowess was far stronger than he had thought, forcing him to use progressively more advanced techniques, which seemed to have given him away.
"Truly a persistent one."
Shen Gongbao had no intention of injuring Yang Jeon and was not using his full strength, but no matter how he looked at it, the man before him was clearly a step above him in martial arts.
If he hadn't been internally injured, he would have displayed a martial prowess comparable to his own masters.
"If that is what you so desire..."
Shen Gongbao did not have much time.
Soon, the people of the Tang Clan would follow the commotion and pursue him, and more urgent was the matter of the Black Star Fortress.
If he did not arrive, a great star would fall upon the Black Star Fortress, and even with the Black-Spotted Tiger's swift legs, it would take three days and nights to get there, so time was extremely tight.
'The Old Lord told me not to use it against people, but...'
As if he had no other choice, Shen Gongbao took out the Thunder Lord's Tablet that hung from his waist.
(End of Chapter)