Neither Tang sibling was looking at him as though he were human.

Jung Yeonshin paid them no mind. He let out a long breath and eased his mind into tranquility.

'Let the mind arise without abiding anywhere.'

He repeated the formula from the copy of the Diamond Sutra he still carried. It meant that he must free himself from attachment. The closer death drew, the more strangely those words resonated with him.

The boy raised his head. The iron-race man was staring at him in astonishment.

"That yin qi belongs to the Martial God of Desolate Fortress...! Might you be of imperial blood?"

He called the Desolate Fortress Master a Martial God. He also seemed to have recognized the Moon Spirit Harmonization Art's yin qi at once.

Then he would likely know that her disciples had been exclusively imperial royalty for generations. He was a knowledgeable man.

"How can one body contain so many different energies...?"

Tang Ryeoryeo trailed off.

That single remark attested to extraordinarily keen senses. She seemed to have sensed every wave of energy within Jung Yeonshin. The green light characteristic of poison arts flickered in her eyes, then vanished.

The same happened to Tang Yeohwa. His lips trembled slightly.

"Every one of them was profound. That isn't internal energy built through ordinary training. Some of it didn't even seem to be core energy..."

An orthodox Buddhist power that could hardly be called internal energy.

The Poison Dragon and Poison Phoenix's senses had precisely identified the Dharma power of the Demon-Slaying Gentle Flowing Strike. Awe filled the eyes of Tang Yeohwa, the boy known as the Poison Dragon.

His senses, which he proudly considered a gift unparalleled through the ages, allowed him to recognize Jung Yeonshin's true worth. He had distinguished every disparate wave of energy the Lightning Genius had released.

'How is that possible?'

Despite wielding multiple kinds of core energy, he showed no sign of damage to the fine meridians throughout his body. It had to be one of two things.

'Either he's born with a gift for controlling internal energy, or he's tempered his body with a peerless movement art.'

Someone who possessed both would be a supernatural abomination capable of challenging the realm of the Nine Great Sects' leaders within a few years.

That was why Tang Yeohwa thought it was probably the former. Merely controlling such powerful energies separately was already an inhuman feat. It would be harder than simultaneously controlling four hands sprouting from a single body.

'He briefly showed signs of qi deviation just now, but...'

The overall impression given by the Lightning Genius Jung Yeonshin's presence was one of stability. His seemingly solidly built martial power exerted a quiet pressure. From their first encounter until now, Tang Yeohwa had sensed no opening whatsoever.

It meant he had complete control over those disorderly energies.

'He's different even from us.'

Tang Yeohwa and Tang Ryeoryeo had also learned the Origin-Reversing Three Yang Art, which housed three kinds of poisonous qi within the body. But Tang Yeohwa's energies were all yang in nature, while Tang Ryeoryeo housed yin energies.

In other words, they had cultivated core energies of the same nature. They were not like Jung Yeonshin.

"I really, really want to ask you to visit as an honored guest, but..."

Tang Yeohwa suddenly let his head droop. Tang Ryeoryeo approached her childlike elder brother. By now, intermittent green glimmers were appearing in her eyes as she looked at Jung Yeonshin.

"We were going to invite you to our clan if things went well... But that might be difficult for you, Young Master Jung."

"To the Tang Clan? Why not?"

The Supreme Flame Dragon abruptly asked. He, too, had been studying Jung Yeonshin with interest.

After his younger sister spoke, Tang Yeohwa opened his mouth, looking crestfallen.

"Our clan has a lot of old monsters. Starting with our grandfather. If you're unlucky, they might try to use you as material for their cultivation. They go mad for spirit beasts, and you would be worth no less than most supernatural creatures, Young Master Jung..."

"Just as I thought. Noble clans aren't orthodox."

The Supreme Flame Dragon spoke with a faint smile.

"How can they walk the righteous path? They chase worldly advancement in this corrupt world. The righteous path is something only the Nine Great Sects can claim."

He was the young clan head of the annihilated Hwangbo clan.

His words were self-mocking, yet he did not seem pitiable. Was it because of his characteristically languid disposition?

"..."

The Tang siblings said nothing. Namgoong Hwashin also kept his mouth shut.

After glancing at the rising generation disciples of the Eight Great Families, Jung Yeonshin looked down at the iron-race man and spoke.

"I am not of imperial blood, but I have studied martial arts under the Fortress Master."

He had changed his manner of speech. He had seen the hostility disappear from the man's face. If the man respected the Desolate Fortress Master, then as her disciple, Yeonshin ought to show due consideration for his age.

"I apologize for my discourtesy."

The iron-race man stepped back and abruptly bowed in salute. He clasped his hands, raised them before his face, and bent deeply at the waist. His manner was exceedingly respectful.

"This humble man was born in Luzhou, Sichuan. I am Jongmyeong of the Jang family of Luzhou. While honing my smithing skills in my hometown, I accepted an invitation from my fellow clansmen... and made my home here in the City of Master Artisans. It has been nearly thirty years."

"The City of Master Artisans was here?!"

Tang Yeohwa shouted. The cave reverberated with his voice, but no one rebuked him. Everyone's expression changed, from Hong Joogeom, who had arrived a little later, to Namgoong Hwashin, the Supreme Flame Dragon, and Tang Ryeoryeo.

"My knowledge is limited. What is the City of Master Artisans?"

Jung Yeonshin asked calmly. The Radiant Demon Squad was here. To aid his seniors without a hitch, he would do well to learn the nature and origins of this place, so he could respond to any situation.

Hong Joogeom answered at once.

"As the name suggests, it is a home for master artisans."

"I heard it was a city of iron-race people who aren't subject to the Ming imperial court. I'd only heard stories. To think it was so close to our clan..."

The girl's disheartened voice echoed around them. It was Tang Ryeoryeo.

Jung Yeonshin had already raised his head. His gaze had been drawn past the short man who had introduced himself as Jang Jongmyeong.

For the first time since entering the cave, they faced a wall blocking their path. Set into it was a circular stone door bearing archaic patterns.

"We cannot open it. All we can do is wait for someone to come out."

Watching his reaction, Jang Jongmyeong clenched his teeth once before continuing.

"It opens through sophisticated trap device techniques, but the treasure plaque that serves as its key was stolen! By those fiends of the Thirteen skies...!"

"How many days have you been waiting?"

"About three days, I believe. Such is our clan's nature. Once we shut ourselves away, we rarely come out."

"Please tell me how the Radiant Demon Squad became involved in this incident."

Jung Yeonshin made the request evenly, but Jang Jongmyeong seemed to hear it as an order. He began explaining earnestly, his manner almost servile.

"We invited the Tang clan head, who had left his household, to serve as the City of Master Artisans' Dharma protector. But the Ten Perfections Sect and Pure Demon Alliance caught wind of it and tracked him down. At the time, the Radiant Demon Squad was asking the Tang clan head about something."

"..."

"Then the Thirteen skies and a host of Sichuan sects launched a joint attack on them. On the Radiant Demon Squad, I mean. In the end, the fighting continued from the cliff all the way here. I merely watched from a distance, only to have my treasure plaque stolen."

His voice seethed with indignation.

"Did all of them enter the City of Master Artisans?"

"Yes! They simply went straight in! The fighting must have spread into our home!"

Jang Jongmyeong's enormous fists shook. Together with his bitten lip, the gesture betrayed his helplessness.

'The Thirteen skies were after the City of Master Artisans, and the Radiant Demon Squad was trying to get information about the Thunderclap Bombs from the Tang clan head?'

Jung Yeonshin considered it in silence. The Tang clan head was said to be part iron-race and an exceptional smith. As the head of one of the Eight Families, he also possessed powerful martial arts.

In bloodline, craftsmanship, and martial strength alike, he was someone the City of Master Artisans would covet. That connection seemed to have given rise to this incident.

It was then that a footstep sounded.

Namgoong Hwashin walked past Jang Jongmyeong. Stopping before the stone door in the wall, he examined the recess carved into its very center.

"Iron-race treasure plaques were used in our house's martial library and armory as well. They are wondrous objects that guide the core energy you feed into them along a prescribed pattern. When a plaque with a particular energy-circulation route activated is placed in this recess for recognition, the sophisticated mechanism operates on its own and opens the door," Namgoong Hwashin said.

"That's right."

The Supreme Flame Dragon, who also came from a noble clan, nodded.

"Can't we break it down?"

Hong Joogeom abruptly asked. Namgoong Hwashin took a step away and shook his head.

"We shouldn't consider that lightly. Most iron-race smiths are said to pass their own smithing qi arts down through the generations. They don't just forge divine swords. Many take an interest in exceedingly dangerous trap device techniques."

"Since they're sensitive to intruders, the entrance might collapse. They wouldn't have dug only this one tunnel."

Tang Ryeoryeo interjected. Jang Jongmyeong regarded her with a curious look, then nodded.

"The other entrance is very far away. Yet I cannot afford any more delay. I was truly caught between a rock and a hard place, stuck fretting here."

"A moment."

Jung Yeonshin spoke briefly and stepped forward. He quietly approached the stone door and stood shoulder to shoulder with Namgoong Hwashin.

"Captain?"

He did not answer Namgoong Hwashin's call. Jang Jongmyeong's words applied to him as well. He could not afford to linger here.

He slid his hand onto the recess and brought the Movement Art's core energy to his fingertips. Sending a strand of internal energy through the wall, he clearly identified the traces left inside.

His innate energy detection picked up the faint remnants of internal energy with perfect clarity. It mapped out, as clearly as a mirror, the interior of the mechanism designed to open through resonance with core energy.

HUM!

In an instant, he extracted its formula. He had created a diagram of the core energy that would serve as the key.

Jung Yeonshin twisted a strand of internal energy above his palm and pressed it against the stone surface.

RUMBLE!

Faint shafts of light began to tickle his eyes. The door was splitting along a straight line. Both stone panels swung forward.

It was an astonishing wonder. To Jung Yeonshin, that wonder was the iron race's mechanism. To those standing behind him, it was the miracle the boy had performed.

Jang Jongmyeong's face was filled with shock.

"Just now, what technique did you...!"

"He extracted the core-energy diagram of a mechanism made by the iron race? Truly?"

The Beggar Heir, who had been holding his breath behind them, muttered dazedly. The Tang siblings' eyes went round.

Footsteps sounded.

Leaving them behind, the Wing-Returning Unit's experts moved forward. Calm but swift, they lined up on either side of Jung Yeonshin. Their soft footfalls, characteristic of seasoned experts, rang out in disciplined rhythm.

"Founding Master. It must be utter chaos in there. You must put the mission before those of us accompanying you. Bringing the Radiant Demon Squad home alive, I mean."

Hong Joogeom spoke while watching the slowly opening door.

"We were told that besides the Ten Perfections Sect and Pure Demon Alliance, there are sects between the two paths, flitting from side to side like bats. It seems the Radiant Demon Squad may have come under attack from all of them. A bloody battlefield will await us. ... I fear your compassion may sway you, Founding Master."

He was telling him to think of the Radiant Demon Squad before the Wing-Returning Unit. It was advice for the young founding master. The concern in his voice came through undiminished.

"I beseech the Desolate Fortress Master's disciple!"

Jang Jongmyeong, who had belatedly recovered his wits, cried out.

"There are so many ordinary folk in our city! Please, please protect them! There's no telling what those turtle bastards from the Thirteen skies may be doing!"

Jung Yeonshin began to nod, then paused. They were unmistakably underground, yet the light streaming up the descending passage struck him as strangely unfamiliar.

Was this a marvel wrought by the iron race's mysterious cultivation arts?

But that was not his concern right now.

Below, where the passage widened dramatically, sinister energies seethed. Their waves alone seemed to weigh upon the soul.

These were the internal energies of the evil and unorthodox paths. Demonic qi. Was it the Pure Demon Alliance of the Thirteen skies, which he had only heard about?

It did not matter. He sensed a very familiar energy among them. Just one.

'Young Master Heon.'

BOOM!

With a violent stomp, Jung Yeonshin tore through the air. He drove the formula of his leaf movement technique with the force of a tempest.

As he raced downhill, his legs devoured the distance as though treading on clouds.

WHOOSH!

As he drew closer, voices reached his ears. They belonged to pursuers and pursued.

"That Radiant Demon Squad lackey is quick on his feet! Like a little rat!"

"How long do you intend to keep running? Desolate Fortress must be some worthless gang!"

"You small-time sect trash are getting full of yourselves! Just because one demonic lackey from the Pure Demon Alliance joined you...!"

The last voice was unmistakably Heon Wonchang's.

'There he is.'

At that moment, the view opened wide.

A battered Heon Wonchang was running toward him, pursued by enemies. The warrior leading them had a truly formidable presence.

He charged with transparent demonic qi wrapped around him like armor. Even at a glance, he was clearly an expert beyond what a Desolate Fortress white robe could easily handle. Behind him, men who did not look like warriors of any major faction came running with triumphant expressions.

"Huh?"

Heon Wonchang let out a bewildered exclamation. His eyes had met Jung Yeonshin's.

It happened in an instant. Power surged into the boy's right foot. The stone floor caved in, very deeply.

THUD! WHOOSH!

In the time it took Heon Wonchang to blink, the skirts of a blue robe streamed past him. Jung Yeonshin swept by and stamped down directly in front of the man emitting demonic qi.

BANG!

"What...! Reinforcements?!"

The man cried out in surprise. In that brief instant, Jung Yeonshin's eyes flashed sky blue.

He was indeed a Pure Demon Alliance expert. Even his clothing matched the descriptions Yeonshin had heard.

The middle-aged man wore a pitch-black shoulder cape—a short cloak—and sent a billowing mass of energy toward Jung Yeonshin. The combat path of his palm technique, thrusting both hands forward together, was exceedingly direct.

'He's strong.'

The expressions of the small fry behind him made that clear. Despite Jung Yeonshin's sudden appearance and burst of energy, not one of them looked worried.

In that fleeting instant, Jung Yeonshin invoked the formula of his Dharma power.

'Demon-Slaying Gentle Flowing Strike.'

Sacred energy gathered along the knife-edge of his right hand, glowing a deep blue. With that blue radiance wrapped around his hand, Jung Yeonshin chopped down at the man.

He paid no heed to the sinister palm force surging toward him from both outstretched hands.

RIP!

It was the ultimate counter. The strike tore through without the slightest resistance, unraveling the wave of demonic force from the evil and unorthodox paths as it advanced.

It happened in an instant. The deep-blue knife-hand was reflected in the man's horror-stricken eyes.

CRUNCH!

The man's head shattered.