Book 29 Chapter 4

Shake! Shake!

-Secret passageways that shake violently

"Off, off, off, off, off!"

A short scream erupted from Geum Young-ho's mouth as he instinctively wrapped both hands around his head.

Kurrrrrr.

"What a coward!"

Maha-ryung, who was watching, gave him a pinzan in a nonchalant manner, but Geum Young-ho wasn't the only one who was confused.

"I'd rather die fighting the enemy than be buried alive like this!"

Jinryung shouted, looking like she was about to cry as she wrapped her arms around her head like Geum Young Ho.

Even the bravest of Amifa's descriptions would be hard pressed to maintain composure in a closed passageway, with the ceiling shaking and dust falling on the back of your head.

"Hold on, Gene Sojae. You'll be damned if you're going to run now."

"You never know when the ceiling is going to cave in and bury you alive, aren't you scared of the maSojae?"

"Moo, of course I'm not scared. What's scary about being led?"

Despite his confident answer, the Maharajah's complexion was not so good. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but it was set in a hard line, and his forehead was beaded with sweat.

In fact, when it comes to claustrophobia, it's more of a Mach force, not less. At any other time, even entering a small space would make her feel as if the walls on all sides were crushing her, making it difficult to breathe. But right now, she had Long Tianming by her side, and right now, Qin Lie didn't have Namgung Sang by her side. That was the only difference.

Qin Lie couldn't have been more disappointed.

"Gongsang, this man is not by my side at such a critical time, fool, fool, fool!

But even if I cursed a thousand times, there was no way a statue of Namgung would appear out of nowhere.

Kurrrrrr!

Once again, the ceiling shook, and dust and dirt fell from the ceiling.

How did this happen?

When I got to the end of the secret passage, nothing happened…….

Outside in the aisle, the sound of bad music was still echoing.

"Argh, I don't want to hear that!"

Qin Ling covered her ears with both hands as if she didn't want to hear it. To her, the ensemble sounded like the laughter of the dead. She wished that someone would stop the sound of gold and flutes.

"Oh my God, how did this happen!

Why do I have to go back and forth between heaven and hell in such a short amount of time!

I screamed at the top of my lungs, but there was nothing to scream about.

"I think it's the sound of the music you've been hearing."

Bai Muyoung, who had been following Yong Tianming ever since they entered the secret passage and had been quietly monitoring the situation, was the first to speak up. He was followed by Qing Shui, who frowned in agreement as if he had been waiting for him.

"I can't believe you can get that much power out of a single note!"

The music wasn't loud or strong enough to bother people's eardrums. That's why you could still hear the group's conversations clearly when they spoke in low voices.

If so, the sound waves were only impacting the slabs that were building the secret passages and passageways.

"How?

The question on everyone's mind was this.

"It's probably resonance!"

Na Yerin nodded as she listened to the silent words.

"Yes, one of those encamped out there must be a master who has reached the peak of his yin gong."

I wouldn't be surprised if the ceiling came crashing down in a shower of dirt right now, but Na Yerin's voice was as calm as anyone's could be.

"Does this woman feel no fear in this situation?

Long Tianming couldn't help but look at Na Yerin again.

"If we keep this up, we're going to be buried alive."

The polite man said in frustration. It was a horrible thing to imagine, but there was no denying the truth of the words.

"Buried alive without any resistance, I'm totally against that!"

Maharishi was a warrior himself, and he had no use for such a futile death.

"That's right, even if you die, you're going to fight like a man, and give them a taste of the spirit of the Hundred Islanders!"

Qin Ling chimed in.

"Well, I, too…… agree with my sister."

Ryu Eun-kyung, the wannabe spy who hadn't even existed until now, raised her hand and spoke in a voice the size of a mosquito.

"Right!"

"Yes!"

"I vote yes!"

Even the members of the group, who had been anxiously silent until now, began to stir with murmurs of approval and agreement.

"I think it's settled, then. What does the Dragon Lord think?"

Na Yerin inquired about the Dragonborn's wishes. In the absence of Dao and the Ice Sword, the two most powerful people in the world were the Long Tianming and the Maharishi.

"I'm afraid I can't do that anymore. You'll have to ask Ma Sojae about that. From now on, she's the president of the Celestial Academy Student Council."

After a pause to give people time to process the news, Yong Tianming spoke again.

"Resuscitation is just following her lead."

"Uh, how could you do that without consulting……."

Hearing this, Qingfeng and Bai Muyoung couldn't help but be astonished; they hadn't expected the proud and imposing Long Tian to follow the woman's orders so easily.

"My dogma. I'm hoping you'll agree."

"……Unable to answer at this time."

Cheonghyeon and BaekmuYoung replied with trepidation. They still didn't seem convinced.

"But if you think Ma Sojae has what it takes to get us through this crisis, then we'll also consider the two of us. We recognize his skill in defeating the Dragon Lord, but we've yet to see if he can lead people through a crisis."

Baek said in a skeptical tone.

"If Ma Shaoge is a leader worthy of leading both the Nine Righteousness Sect, which is led by the disciples of Gu Feifang, and the Gunwung Eightfold Sect, which is led by the Eight Great Sages and Gunsomun Sect, then you must prove your prowess. Until you do, we will not recognize you."

Cheonghun's attitude was clear.

"I see. What do you say, Ma'am Sojae, I mean, Ma'am General?"

Na Yerin asked the Maharishi. The suddenness of the question caught her off guard, as it did the Maharajah, and it was foolish to expect the walls to come down overnight when there was so much animosity that had been built up. But he didn't want to back down. I didn't want to waste Yong Tianming's determination.

Straightening his back and looking at the Supreme Master of the Ninth Council, Moon Sang, Iron Jade Jade Maharishi spoke in a confident voice.

"Okay, Cheong-Heon and Moo-Young, if you two follow my instructions, I'm going to try to break through this difficulty. What are your intentions, will you follow my instructions?"

After a moment's thought, Cheongheon and Baek Moo-young answered simultaneously.

"Just this once, I will follow your instructions."

I was just going to play around with it.

"Don't worry, you will continue to follow my instructions!"

Maha Ling smiled wryly and turned her head toward Long Tianming, then asked.

"Tianming, can you help me?"

"Haven't I already told you, you are my captain!"

"Okay, let's do this."

Seeing that the Maharishi had finally made up his mind, Nayarin turned his gaze elsewhere.

"What would you suggest, Instructor Jade?"

Na Yerin's question drew everyone's attention to Jade Yujing, who stood at the back of the group, arms crossed, watching impatiently.

"How long has that been there?

"Well, maybe it's been there all along?

"Was it?

"I suppose.

"How did we forget about this?

'Well, you can't ask me that. Because I don't know.'

It didn't make sense that a figure of Okuyukyung's stature should have been forgotten so far, yet the rest of the group, with the exception of the polite man who had been walking closest to her, had completely forgotten about her. In other words, she had been so perfectly concealed that even their awareness of her had faded.

"Come to think of it, wasn't there another one?

"No, I didn't!

'No, I did, and I seem to remember it vaguely, with this little guy…….'

'Yeah, come to think of it, I even seem to remember the little guy…….'

But before the group could even recognize the unknown and unrecognizable figure behind her, Yue Yue's question drew everyone's attention back to her.

"Why do you ask that, lest I interfere with your ceremony?"

Okuyukyung asked, the corner of her mouth twitching upward, a hint of provocation in her tone. Na Yerin shook her head silently, unmoved by the provocation.

"No, of course not, I'm taking your word for it, Jade, that you're not going to interfere with our events, just observe. I just wanted to ask if you'd be willing to put up an arm for us."

Na Yerin's voice was very calm.

"You're a clever kid," he said, "you thought I wouldn't be able to at least 'get my hands on you' if you put it that way. Don't worry, I'll just be watching until he comes. There are still some unanswered questions, and until they are resolved, I will remain an observer. Of course, I will never speak against you, as I would never speak against my older sisters."

Ok Yukyung shrugged and said.

"You mean big sisters……?"

"Yes, that's right. Guess who's out there, besieging this place."

"I'm surprised you knew."

"So I'm afraid I'm going to have to cover my face with cotton thread and watch. Don't forget, we're not here."

"That's good enough for me."

As Okuyukyung said, it wasn't something that Nayarin would have said after careful calculation, but she deserved it anyway.

"Hmm… but I'll give you a warning."

Ok Yoo-kyung hesitated before speaking.

"I'll listen."

"They are not to be trifled with. Don't underestimate them, or you'll die with them."

That was the best advice she could give.

"I already know that."

As if she knew it, Ok Yoo-kyung shook her head.

"No, you probably don't. Most of the people in this organization don't know."

She hesitated for a moment, and then Ok Yoo-kyung sighed and spoke up.

"Never think of confrontation, only of flight. That's all I can tell you. I've said too much today."

In fact, she had told him more than he deserved. She remained tight-lipped.

It was then.

"Huh? I can help?"

A voice, a ghostly presence that I didn't even know existed, spoke out of nowhere.

"Huh, there it is, the white-haired guy with the tiny kid!

"That's real, when did it show up?

"He didn't show up, he must have been following you.

But there was one person who was even more surprised than the rest of the group.

"Captain, are you in your right mind!"

Jang Ji-ok, the deputy commander next to Moo Myung, shouted angrily at his innocent words.

"Why, no?"

He looked at Mu Myung with a look of incomprehension on his face.

"Of course not, these are white people, and you're going to help them stand up to 'them'?"

But the namelessness only made him shake his head.

"What's wrong with that, you're supposed to help the weak and downtrodden, right?"

"Since when do you say that you've been such a good man, and is that what a Negro would say, shame on you!"

Zhang Ziyi's face grew red and she became angry with no one. Although she looked and acted far from evil, she seemed to think that it was a shame to be a good person as a Black Daoist.

Mu Ming nodded for a moment to see if there was any merit to what Suo Jia was saying.

"Hmm, I see, but does that make you a bad person?"

The words caught her off guard, but she pulled herself together and fired back.

"……, what's wrong with you lately, you used to be the one who didn't give a shit if people died or not, except for sleep and sweets!"

"No, I'm a nice guy, a shameless bastard."

Then Jang Ji-ok exclaimed, "Don't be ridiculous.

"Don't lie to me, have you forgotten how you used to act?"

"Well, I don't remember."

Whether or not he was stomping his feet, Mu Mu's demeanor was nonchalant. In fact, one could almost suspect that he was enjoying her reaction.

"Are you sure?"

He tilted his head and glared at Mu Ming.

"I don't fall for that tactic! Do you think I've fallen for it once or twice? No way!"

As if to avoid looking at the nameless face with the puppy-dog eyes at all, Zhang Ziyi jerked her head to the other side.

"So-ok, are you sure about this?"

"Oh, and don't be naive, it's really, really bad, boss!"

"Really? Well, I guess I can't help it then."

He sighed in a full, dead voice.

"You've finally read my mind, Captain!"

Zhang Ziyi's eyes widened as he turned his head toward his esteemed captain, impressed that his opinion had worked.

"……!!"

His leader, a nameless man, held a club above his head that he didn't know where it came from.

"Sorry."

Puck!

And then, in front of him, darkness enveloped him.

"Okay, the interruption is gone, and we can continue our story."

Mu Ming smiled brightly as he spoke, as if nothing had happened. He was so nonchalant that the thought crossed their minds that it would be a hundred times better to fight with their own strength rather than rely on someone like this.

Nameless, the Great Captain of the Thousand and Twelve.

I don't know what the hell he's thinking. Qin Lie thought to himself as he soothed his anxiety.

'I hope we don't have any more of these weird, uncomfortable groups…….'

It remained to be seen whether her wish would be granted.

"Well, let's get everyone out of here, but before we do… I have a question. If Instructor Jade calls you her sister, what are the ages of the people outside?"

Maharishi asked, unable to contain his curiosity. Judging from Jade Yue's words, it was clear that some or all of the Divine Demon Eight were waiting outside. However, they were very young, only appearing to be in their late twenties to early thirties.

At that moment, Okuyukyung's eyes, which were crossed, emitted a terrifying glow. It was a warning of sorts. Suddenly, the air around him felt chilly, and a thick flesh that made him shiver emanated from his body.

He didn't have to say it, but his meaning was clear.

"Well, it would be wiser not to know that."

Maharishi said, avoiding Okuyukyung's gaze. Jinryung smiled awkwardly and chimed in.

"Well, yeah, that sounds good, ahahahaha."

There are some questions in the world that should never be asked, and others that should be sealed away forever in doubt and suspicion. Unnecessary curiosity will always ruin you.

Land, land, land!

The sound of the music outside has intensified.

Purr.

The entire secret passage shook with a scream, and the dirt rained down like stormwater.

Now the black-and-silver ensemble was reaching its climax, and the passageway shook with the screams of the terminus.

Tsk-tsk-tsk!

Suddenly, tiny cracks began to appear in the slab, spreading in all directions like spider webs.

It was moving at such a frightening rate that it didn't look like it was going to crumble to dust at any moment.

Hoo-doo-doo!

A chunk of the slab, unable to withstand the crack, fell on his head.

Puck!

At that moment, a green power surged in Long Tianming's fist, and with a light punch, the shards were turned to dust and disappeared.

"I think it's a critical mass, the aisle can't take it anymore."

Chancellor Dam shouted in an urgent voice.

"I guess that's the only way to go now, please, MaSojae."

At Na Yerin's words, the Maharishi looked at Qingfeng, Baishun, and Yongtian and asked.

"Did you remember everything, and are you ready to go?"

While Okuyukyung and Mu Myung were talking earlier, the three people who had briefly discussed the plan with Maha-ryung nodded at the same time.

"Then let's get started, please, Bai Wensheng."

Bai Muyoung nodded once, then took the jade cow from his arms and raised it to his mouth.

Beep-beep-beep-beep!

To Gal Hyo-min, the sound of the flute now sounded very plastic. For a musician of her caliber, a single note was all it took to gauge her opponent's skill. In her opinion, the flute that had begun to emanate from the secret passage was clearly the work of a very young man, but it still lacked depth, power, and skill.

With a little more force, she could have neutralized the flute once and for all. But she didn't, because she wanted to wait and see what she would struggle with next. But that didn't last long either.

Pushed to the limit, Baek Moo-young signaled to Cheong-heon without removing the flute from his mouth. Cheong-Heon nodded in understanding, then stretched out his left and right hands, clutching his sword, toward the opening in the ceiling.

Boom!

With a sudden bang, sand gushed out of the center of the siege like a spring, and with it, the blueprints jumped.

Jumping from the entrance of the passageway to the Zeun Sect, Qing Shui simultaneously stretched out both of his hands holding the saber at the same time.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three swords were drawn from the main three sword sheaths on Qing Shui's back, and they shot out like arrows of light toward Galhyo Min, Galhyo Hyo, and Galhyo Miao.

The Three Jewels (三情太極劍慧)

Ascendant Misconceptions

Three Sword Ritual (三劍交宴)

Chop! Chop! Chop!

The three swords clashed with each other like they were mating, spitting out clear sword blood like jade balls rolling on a silver tray.

"Sum!"

Qingfeng exclaimed, crossing the sword points of his hands in a crisscross pattern.

Three Sword Ritual (三劍交宴)

Final chapter

Three Swords Return (三劍歸一)

As if Qin Yin were chanting a sutra, the three sword polearms, which had been emitting a black sound, collided together in midair, creating a roar that seemed to shake the heavens and earth.

Quack! Qua-qua-qua!

The three poles, which had been divided, became one, causing a tremendous explosion.

A tremendous sound, worthy of being called a "breaking of the heavens," rang out and killed Hyo-min and Hyo-hyo's performance.

Even for a master of the pipa at the height of his powers, it was nearly impossible to continue playing in the midst of such air-piercing noise.

Gal Hyo-hyo's rhythm was out of sync first because she had a high inner gong, but a lower level of skill than Gal Hyo-min's, and when the collaborator's rhythm was out of sync, Gal Hyo-min's black cow sound was also out of sync.

The attacks of Munmusangjeol, Baekmu-young, and Cheongheon of the Gujing Assembly seemed to be almost successful.

But…….

Beep-beep-beep!

The fingers on the black cow sped up dramatically, and Gal Hyo-min got her notes and rhythm back on track. Then her playing began to guide Galhyo's disorganized notes correctly.

As if guided by an invisible hand, Gal Hyo Hyo's ten fingers on the silver began to steady.

"How dare you insult the music with noise!

Cold fury rushed through Galhyo Min's breath and into the black cow, and with it, her high, calm eyes began to glow frighteningly.

"Boom, we're in trouble!

Gal Hyohyo was horrified to see her eyes sinking into the depths. She knew better than anyone that this sixth sister was usually quiet, but when she was angry, she could be deadly. As far as she knew, the Sixth Sister was not merciful enough to leave a desecrator of music in this world.

If I were playing a different instrument, like a brass or a zither, I'd be shouting, "I'm sorry, I've got my mouth on a black cow!

-Did you think you could stop me from playing with such coarse jibes? You who know nothing but noise, the only thing that suits you is a hymn!

Hyo-hyo could hear Hyo-min's cries echoing in her ears.

"Sister Min, you can't kill them all already, that would ruin the plan……."

Luckily, Galhyohyo's instrument is silver, so he quickly sends a note.

Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep

However, the sound of a flute filled with tremendous power emanated from the black cow in Galhyo Min's island jade tree.

'Yuck! I'm not listening!

Whether he couldn't hear it at all, or was pretending not to hear it, the sound of the flute only intensified. Gal Hyohyo was furious, but he could only raise the sound of the silver horn to keep the harmony intact. She was afraid of what would happen if she stopped playing or made drastic changes on her own.

Their rapidly escalating ensemble was like a sea of storms and turbulence, as cold anger turned to sound.

-Nothing to see here. Now I'm going to wipe everything out, no trace!

Their high-pitched chorus seemed to shout it.

Shake!

Cheong-Heon and Baek Moo-Young fell to their knees, clutching their ears with both hands.

"Kaaahhhh!"

"Boom!"

A groan escaped the mouths of two struggling men with their ears plugged. The pain was so intense that they thought their eardrums would burst.

The current performance was far more ruthless than the one that shook the secret passage earlier.

Chirp, chirp, chirp!

Oomph!

Inside the secret passage, where the rest of the group was still hiding, the floor began to crack and collapse in places, as if it had been hit by an earthquake.

'Now just one syllable away…….'

It was only a matter of time before the secret passage down there would be turned into a mass grave.

At that moment, a young man emerged from the doorway of a secret passageway underground. In his hand, he held a sword that glowed with a jade green light. It was the Nephrite Goddess Sword, one of Shaolin's Great Treasures. It had been forged by the Angelic Dragon Long Tianming.

Shaolin Buddhist Secrets of the Buddha Shaolin Martial Arts Feng Shui

蓮臺九品 第三品 第三品

Amitābha The Three Noble Truths Buddha The Three Immortals

Triple Sazahu (獅子吼)

Yan'an refers to the Lotus Platform, or the seat of the Buddha. It is one of the highest levels of Buddhist practice, almost a form of ascension, where the number of shadows increases with each level, and it is said that a practitioner can eventually create a total of nine Buddha images seated in the same place.

Furthermore, these spirits, the shadows, are not mere alter egos. It is said that the martial arts formulas of each spirit are different, and their power is almost as great as usual, so if one were able to conjure one of the old spirits, they would be able to unleash an exquisite maneuver that would allow the nine Dragon Heavenly Masters to attack from all directions simultaneously.

Uh-huh!

Sajahu erupted from the three directions simultaneously.

Like the three Buddha statues in the Great Hall, the third product was a martial art in which the central main spirit and the two supporting spirits simultaneously attacked from three directions with the energy of zhenma. In this case, Yong Tianming added to the attack the power of the Buddhist lioness, which contained the power of feng shui.

Doo-doo!

It wasn't just the size of the sound.

The sound was strong, majestic, and penetrating into the lungs, like the sound of a bell ringing in a mountain temple at three o'clock in the morning.

This is the fiery rant of the Buddhist monk, the Buddhist sage Jazahu, borrowing the body of Yong Tianming, to awaken the mind of the dazed, open the eyes of those who have blinded themselves with foolishness, open the ears of those who have been deafened by arrogance and prejudice, and ultimately subjugate the demons and bring them to their knees.

The simultaneous sajihu from all three directions canceled out their unison, which seemed to reach out to the stars in the night sky, just before it reached its final peak. The completely shattered yin-gong unison didn't recover as quickly this time as it had in Qinghua. Moreover, mysteriously, Sajahu only attacked the 'listener' and had no effect on the collapse of the secret passage.

"Well done, both of you."

When the chorus stopped, Yong Tianming looked back at the two of them, who had finally gotten back on their feet after escaping the pressure of Yin Gong, and chuckled.

"I thought my eardrums were going to burst waiting."

Blue grumbled, brushing the dirt off his knees.

"You didn't tell me to hold out for this long, did you? You should have told me beforehand, that sort of thing."

"I'm sorry. But I had to wait, just as the chorus was reaching its peak."

There was a hint of apology in Yong Tianming's tone, but it was clear that he would do the same thing if asked again.

If you're not giving it your all and are conserving your energy, you can shake it off and get it back on track quickly. However, when playing is at its peak and intense, the player has no choice but to put all their energy into it. And strings that are already taut are more prone to breaking.

"For a guy who can barely keep a straight face, to be able to say something so profound at his age……. That's pretty good."

The recoil was also considerable, as the music was abruptly cut off just as it was about to reach its climactic moment. If Galhyo-min, Galhyo-hyo, and Galhyo-myo had been weaker in their study of the inner arts, they would not have been able to withstand the rebound that shattered the ensemble and would have vomited out their blood.

"That was good, but don't think you can evade us this long. You seem to have used up most of your inner energy in that one move."

Biting her lip, Galhomin said. Her intestines had been shaken, and she too would need some time to recover.

Qingfeng and Bai Muyoung were stunned by those words and looked at Yong Tianming's face. As Gal Hyo Min had said, his face was extremely pale. There were even beads of cold sweat on his forehead. However, it wasn't despair that curled the corners of Yong Tianming's mouth.

"I don't think so, but it's hard to imagine that anyone else would have the depth of character to withstand the aftermath of what just happened."

"Ouch!

Gal Hyo Min and Gal Hyo Hyo realized what they had overlooked, and they looked everywhere with eyes wide open.

"……!"

Even though we were scattered a good distance away from the emergency exit, I could still see the black dog squad members who had surrounded us in the distance staggering around clutching their ears.

The three women of Shinmaga were able to withstand Yong Tianming's full-throttle saber-rattling because they had a strong foundation, but the black dog squad, Jaydae, was not so fortunate.

Yong Tianming's target was not the tricky Divine Eight Eyes, but rather the encircling Black Dog School. This was why Gal Hyo Min and Gal Hyo Hyo's Yin Gong were concentrated on their target, while Yong Tian Ming's Lionshadow exploded in all directions.

With so many of them in range, he couldn't deliver a lethal blow, but he could deliver a staggering blow to disrupt the encirclement.

However, about half of them were still alive and well. After all, a single lion-hoof was not enough to break the siege. Moreover, it was only the weaker members of the Black Dogs who were staggering. About half of them, including the leader of the Black Dogs, Vicious Dog, were still maintaining the siege with a ferocious momentum.

"It's a shame, you didn't achieve your goal and it's all for nothing."

As Galhomin said with a hint of sneer, for the time being, Long Tianming was out of combat.

But he smiled coolly, pale and unaware that he had made a fatal mistake.

"Nope. That's enough for my role."

Then Gal Hyo-min frowned and said, "I'm sorry.

"You don't really believe the girl who climbed that tree, do you?"

At those words, Qing Shui and Baek Muyoung's gazes turned toward the tree her fingertips pointed to.

"Huh? Where? Uh-oh, it's really there?"

He was so focused on the fight in front of him that he didn't even notice Galhyo and Galhyo Miao.

Before I knew it, I was at the top of the tree, standing tall and proud.