Chapter 4

Annihilation (3)

This time, he did not go to the training ground.

He entered his room, where no one would come, and sat in a lotus position.

It was different from when he cultivated his eyes.

Meditation to receive energy while sitting in a formal posture had to be done in a place free from external influences.

‘If someone interferes and twists my qi and blood, I’ll die.’

Possession by a demon. He thought of his overly careless family members when it came to himself.

It was a legitimate concern.

He did not want his qi and meridians to tangle and lead to an early death.

He erased the unpleasant thoughts that arose with his breathing.

Jeong Yeonshin slowly cleared his mind and began to immerse himself inward.

He already understood the principle of circulating inner energy through the Small and Great Circulations within his body.

‘Let the function of the Jeongga Meditation manifest in the inner energy.’

First, he refined the natural energy he inhaled through the breathing technique.

Most martial arts, including Jeongga and Zhongnan Sect, incorporate natural energy into their bodies through circulation.

The energy that adapts and resides within a practitioner’s body is called inner energy or true energy.

Jeong Yeonshin wanted to strengthen his true energy with true energy.

Just as his body had become robust by accepting inner energy.

The cultivation he started in the morning continued until the sun disappeared behind the mountains.

“...Huh? This is strange.”

Jeong Yeonshin muttered with a blank face, as if he had just sat down, and lightly untangled his legs.

‘Why is the Baihui point so wide open?’

At first, he wanted to explore what kind of power the denser true energy would exert. It didn’t work well.

The true energy accumulated in his dantian seemed to be a single entity, refusing to overlap.

He wondered if his thinking was wrong, but he couldn’t explain the powerful aura of the grand elder Yu Yixin.

However, all this cultivation was now secondary.

‘I’ve only polished my body for a year with Jeongga Meditation.’

He had been so engrossed in one type of cultivation that he hadn’t introspected for a year.

During this time, the amount of energy flowing through his head had become even more massive.

‘I knew I was the only one growing, but...’

Jeong Yeonshin muttered blankly.

“Am I going to die like this?”

The Baihui point is a meridian directly connected to the dantian in the head, and the energy in the upper dantian should be moderate.

He was afraid of becoming a fool and being found dead later.

Comparing the differences, it seemed he had less than five years before he lost consciousness.

The sudden realization of his lifespan felt very unreal.

‘Am I going to die? Me?’

He stood up and grabbed the doorknob with trembling hands.

Perhaps the fresh air would bring a clue to a solution.

Creak.

His body stopped as soon as he opened the door.

Jeong Yeonshin couldn’t move for a moment. The smell of blood came with the fresh air.

He picked up his sword first. He had seen hunters butcher and skin animals.

It was a similar smell, but he didn’t see any bodies until he passed the training ground.

It was impossible unless it was the Blood Technique of the Sama Sect.

“...”

Silence enveloped the night sky. The family was unusually quiet.

Jeong Yeonshin walked slowly.

A premonition that something had already happened surrounded his consciousness.

It felt like walking into a pitch-black swamp.

‘Ah.’

When he arrived at the garden of the main house.

He saw it. Carnage.

The common saying that blood turns rivers red was an exaggeration.

The blood was either absorbed into the ground or dripped from the thresholds of the annexes.

He saw family members lying lifelessly everywhere.

The sword marks on their chests were identical, as if someone had been practicing sword techniques.

They lay still, as if they had never moved.

It was unclear whether they were so engrossed in a state of no-mind that they didn’t even notice the commotion, or if the attackers’ skills were overwhelming, leading to minimal resistance.

Bang!

A loud noise finally came from outside the courtyard.

It seemed that formidable experts were clashing beyond the gate.

Amid the sounds of sword clashes and strikes, Jeong Yeonshin walked toward the main house.

Ten men, who seemed to be the attackers, were sprawled around. One of them turned his head toward the boy as he approached to about three zhang.

“Who are you?”

A man with two swords on his back in a cross asked. Jeong Yeonshin replied briefly.

“The third son of this house.”

There was no response. The man stood up and walked over.

He didn’t seem to have any intention of drawing his sword.

The power contained in the hand that came down with the wind was read by Jeong Yeonshin, and a sky-blue flash appeared in his eyes.

Snap!

He grabbed the wrist, brought it down with the back of his hand, and then twisted it in a fluid motion.

The Qinnashou (Seizing and Restraining Technique) he had never learned unfolded.

The method of using true energy to support his body and power while moving, the power of Jeongga Meditation, filled his entire body.

No matter how much the enemy struggled, his grip remained firm.

He grabbed the man tightly.

Crack!

A loud bone-breaking sound and a scream echoed.

The others, who had been ignoring the scene, turned their heads. Their eyes widened.

“Let go!”

“This brat!”

Now you look like rootless Sama Sect members. Jeong Yeonshin thought.

As he readily let go, the swordsman with the dual swords glared.

His face was contorted with pain and anger.

It was natural to be subdued by a boy who was almost half his size.

The swordsman’s large hand formed a fist. His face turned red, and he soon shouted and extended his arm.

It was not an ordinary fist technique. His fist seemed to grow as large as a pot lid in an instant.

A sky-blue flash appeared in Jeong Yeonshin’s eyes again.

‘Head.’

The trajectory was obvious. The power of Jeongga Meditation, activated throughout his body, surged.

At the same time, an insight he had never gained before penetrated his mind. Intent, intent.

When the intent to move inner energy becomes strong, the true energy in the body can do anything.

It fully conforms to the one who masters the energy.

Rumble!

Jeong Yeonshin’s intent to move true energy materialized, and the clear mental image naturally turned into a certain phrase, seeping into his inner self.

The essence of martial arts, known as the formula, burned like the sun throughout his body.

Start, Overcome, Scripture.

The name that came to mind without deliberation defined the nature of the martial art.

Start Overcome Scripture. As the name suggests, it was a method of using true energy to break through current limitations.

The true energy in his right foot and left hand moved to his right hand and left foot.

The overlapping energy increased in density.

The left foot’s true energy broke the ground with unprecedented force, and the moonlight flickered at the tip of the steel sword drawn in an instant according to the fast sword formula.

Swoosh!

The heads of the two men who rushed in with the swordsman were also severed.

It felt as if it wasn’t his own body. Three heads were swept away at once.

The shock on their faces suggested that they could barely follow the speed of the sword.

What did it matter, the severed heads floating in the air, no matter how much they glared.

Swish!

Like a snowflake caught in the wind, he spun around.

The red-haired woman approaching from behind the headless men gasped.

By the time she raised her left arm, holding a crescent-shaped weapon, a blue sword had already pierced her neck.

The body of the woman, from whom he had just pulled the sword, fell forward.

There was no difference in breathing before and after drawing the sword.

It was an extreme situation.

The shock of the first kill naturally distanced itself to some part of his mind, and his body, tempered by meditation, seemed more robust and stable than anyone else’s.

“Y-You...”

The lean swordsman watching the scene contorted his face.

The giant man, who had been leaning on his shoulder, stood up.

“You’ve dedicated your life to fast sword techniques. You don’t have any other tricks, do you? You’re just a well-trained fast sword user. They were caught off guard.”

He had a large, beast-like build with fox-like, agile eyes.

Not everything he said was true, but Jeong Yeonshin instinctively felt he was running out of options.

“Still, it’s impressive. Truly impressive. How can you do that at your age?”

“Blood Flame Sect?”

The boy asked, recalling the red-haired woman lying on the ground.

He couldn’t take his eyes off the man.

“No. I am from the Broken Sword Sect.”

“Broken Sword Sect? Is this the Blood Flame Sect?”

“Yes.”

“What are two of the Thirteen Thousand doing in a place like Shinya County?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Why are you answering me?”

“It’s a pity. A martial artist of your age, so well-cultivated, is rare. It’s also amusing to hear a kid from a backwater talk as if he’s experienced the center of the martial world.”

The man laughed heartily.

“Is it a pity?”

A sneer formed on the boy’s lips.

“You’re afraid of my maternal family. You rootless Sama Sect bastards.”

Jeong Yeonshin, with an extremely arrogant expression and a heart pounding fiercely, challenged them.

If the man holds back, he will definitely win.

When they first exchanged blows, the swordsman with the dual swords used a hand knife instead of a sword, which gave him a clue.

“...Crazy brat.”

The man growled. It sounded like a roar from deep within a beast.

Despite the overwhelming aura and ferocity, Jeong Yeonshin maintained a calm demeanor.

“You can’t kill me. No matter what I do, it’s the same.”

The one who retreats will be devoured.

Bang!

The sound came from the gate. The door shattered and splinters flew in all directions.

A familiar man was thrown out with the splinters.

A high-ranking expert from the Zhongnan Sect who came with Yu Yixin.

His neatly dressed martial uniform was torn in several places, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

‘His nickname was Single Love Sword. For such a high-ranking expert to be reduced to this...’

Thud! Thud!

The startled boy turned his head.

The sound of immense forces colliding grew closer, and they soon broke through the wall and entered the estate.

Boom!

Yu Yixin and another high-ranking expert from the Zhongnan Sect were the first to arrive.

The Jeongga Sect’s family members were in a state of utter defeat, worse than the Single Love Sword.

Yu Yixin, who seemed almost inhuman, had his left earlobe cut off, a shocking sight.

‘I thought he was a celestial sword immortal.’

Thud.

A massive shadow walked with large strides.

Clearly human in form.

The heavy aura of power, as if declaring that the center of the world was here, was surreal.

He carried a large sword, from which a deathly aura emanated.

Just facing him sent shivers down one’s spine.

It wasn’t just the aura or the level of martial arts.

He was surrounded by something beyond mere power, which Jeong Yeonshin couldn’t understand at the moment.

Jeong Yeonshin thought of an unstoppable landslide.

‘Who is he?’

A terrifying aura swirled around the middle-aged man.

The absolute sword aura.

It enveloped the space, passing through the man facing Jeong Yeonshin and then focusing on the boy.

Just realizing that his gaze was on him made Jeong Yeonshin feel dizzy.

“Patriarch!”

The man who had been talking to Jeong Yeonshin prostrated himself.

‘Patriarch? The Patriarch of the Broken Sword Sect came in person?’

A figure who could rival the Nine Sects and controlled one of the Thirteen Thousand.

That explained his presence.

The overwhelming aura that could stop the movement of all things around him, and the sight of the grand elder of the Zhongnan Sect being injured despite a joint attack.

It even inspired awe in the high-ranking experts of the Zhongnan Sect who had fought him for a long time.

In that moment when everyone stopped.

Thud, thud.

Jeong Yeonshin moved alone. He started running.

He pushed the ground continuously, raising his Jeongga Meditation to its peak.

Toward the man prostrated before the Patriarch of the Broken Sword Sect. Toward the terrifying martial artist he had just faced.

“W-What...”

The man was startled, and the attention of everyone in the courtyard focused on the boy.

The Patriarch of the Broken Sword Sect did not move.

Was he waiting to see what the boy would do? Jeong Yeonshin didn’t care and launched himself with all his might.

Whoosh!

The air rushing past his ears was like a waterfall.

A sharp sword light followed his sprint in a straight line.

Crack!

The man, who was hastily standing up, had a blue sword blade pierce his back.

With a thud, the man, who was pierced from his back to his abdomen, fell again.

Jeong Yeonshin slowly stood up.

He stepped on the man’s back with one foot and looked straight at the Patriarch of the Broken Sword Sect.

“Even like this.”

A faint blue lightning flashed in the boy’s eyes.

“Can you kill me?”