Chaos Begins in the Most Unexpected Places (2)

 

The woman with half-white hair fluttering in the wind was none other than Dan Li-yeon.

 

Namgung Jin-geom clearly remembered her face from when he visited the Jade Heaven Alliance. But the Dan Li-yeon in his memory had black hair.

 

She was called the “Dark Martial Empress” precisely because of her jet-black hair.

 

‘What on earth happened to her?’

 

His eyes sharpened.

 

He scanned Dan Li-yeon from head to toe with a gaze that seemed to pierce through everything.

 

No matter how famous she was as the  Dark Martial Empress, she was still far inferior to Namgung Jin-geom. She must have known this, so why provoke him?

 

Namgung Jin-geom asked,

 

“Did Ja Hong-cheon send you? Told you to provoke me?”

 

“No.”

 

“No?”

 

“Yes! He didn’t.”

 

“Then why did you direct killing intent at me?”

 

“It’s not a provocation. I came to kill you.”

 

“To kill me?”

 

Namgung Jin-geom looked momentarily dumbfounded. Her words were so unexpected.

 

He stared at her, wondering if she had misspoken. But Dan Li-yeon stared back at him, expressionless.

 

Only then did Namgung Jin-geom realize she was serious.

 

“Hah! Ja Hong-cheon must have gone mad. He wouldn’t dare face me himself, yet he sends his disciple to insult me?”

 

No matter how famous Dan Li-yeon was as the Dark Martial Empress, she was still far from being a match for an absolute master like Namgung Jin-geom.

 

An icy aura radiated from Namgung Jin-geom’s entire body.

 

“You don’t actually believe you can survive after insulting me, do you?”

 

“We won’t know until we fight.”

 

“Hah! You’ve changed a lot.”

 

Namgung Jin-geom clicked his tongue at her cold response.

 

The Dan Li-yeon he remembered wasn’t this cold or arrogant.

 

She had been quiet, yes, but also graceful, with eyes full of determination.

 

Though she was an enemy’s disciple, he had once admired her talent. Now, however, she stood before him like a completely different person, filled with hostility.

 

She was quiet, yes, but also graceful, with eyes full of determination.

 

Even when Namgung Jingum himself stood before her, Dan Li-yeon showed no fear.

 

That unnerved him even more.

 

“I wonder how Ja Hong-cheon will react when I send him your severed head.”

 

Namgung Jin-geom gathered his internal energy.

 

He didn’t have a habit of attacking juniors first. But her provocation had gone too far.

 

He didn’t intend to waste time on a mere disciple of Ja Hong-cheon.

ahongcheon.

 

Shh!

 

With a short and powerful swing, he slashed his sword.

 

A massive arc of light flew toward Dan Li-yeon.

 

It was a crescent-shaped sword aura.

 

This was no ordinary sword aura—it was one unleashed by Namgung Jin-geom himself.

 

The density of internal energy and depth of enlightenment imbued in the strike were on another level. Naturally, its power was immense.

 

Dan Li-yeon knew this. But, even as the sword aura hurtled toward her, her expression remained unchanged.

 

At the last moment, just before the sword aura struck her body, she raised her hand.

 

Her pale hand turned even whiter.

 

Boom!

 

Her hand clashed with the sword aura.

 

The impact sent her body jerking violently.

 

Namgung Jin-geom had expected her hand to be cut off in this exchange, but it remained unharmed.

 

“You had something up your sleeve, huh.”

 

His brow twitched.

 

Techniques capable of neutralizing his sword aura were exceedingly rare.

 

Only now did he begin to take Dan Li-yeon seriously.

 

At that moment, Dan Li-yeon kicked off the ground and rushed toward Namgung Jin-geom like the wind.

 

Her black-and-white hair streamed behind her in a haunting swirl.

 

Swish!

 

Her pale hand tore through the air, aiming for Namgung Jin-geom’s throat.

 

Clang!

 

Jin-geom easily deflected her strike with his sword. But his expression darkened.

 

 

 

He swung his sword, intending to cut off her wrist. But not even a scratch marked Dan Li-yeon’s skin.

 

A faint mist now surrounded her white hand. Namgung Jin-geom sensed a thick, evil energy within it.

 

“You’ve learned demonic arts.”

 

Namgung Jin-geom roared in fury.

 

Even if war raged between their sects, she was still the disciple of the Jade Heaven Alliance’s leader, an orthodox sect.

 

For the disciple of the Jade Heaven Alliance’s leader to practice demonic arts was unforgivable.

 

Hiss!

 

Namgung Jin-geom’s aura shifted.

 

His sword now aimed to destroy Dan Li-yeon completely.

 

Clang! Clang! Clang!

 

Namgung Jin-geom’s sword and Dan Li-yeon’s hand clashed countless times.

 

The sword art of Namgung Jin-geom, descended from the Namgung clan, was fearsome.

 

But Dan Li-yeon’s momentum was no less formidable.

 

She moved with the grace and serenity of a “Moonlight Fairy.”

 

Despite the fierce battle with Namgung Jin-geom, her breathing remained steady.

 

Her white hand withstood every blow. And as time passed, it grew even whiter.

 

It was the White Lotus Hand technique.

 

A martial art paired with the White Lotus Red Heaven Art she had mastered.

 

It was unknown who the creator of the White Lotus Hand and the White Lotus Red Heaven Art was. No one even knew their names.

 

These secret techniques were shrouded in darkness.

 

One reason for their secrecy was the overwhelmingly sinister energy they emitted. This evil energy not only destroyed opponents, but also eventually drove the practitioner to madness.

 

As if to confirm it, a dark and sinister energy now shimmered in Dan Li-yeon’s eyes.

 

Her entire body glowed white under the moonlight. To Namgung Jin-geom, she looked both bewitching and beautiful.

 

He finally understood what it meant to be enchanted.

 

“Ja Hong-cheon… You turned your disciple into a witch!”

 

His roar echoed through the night sky.

 

He charged at her with all his might.

 

There was no room for mercy anymore.

 

If left unchecked, Dan Li-yeon wouldn’t just harm him—but plunge the entire Jianghu into chaos. She had to be stopped before it was too late.

 

Shhhh!

 

His sword sliced through the darkness horizontally and vertically.

 

Blinding sword light aimed at her vital points. But Dan L i-yeon never let a single strike land.

 

She moved like a ghost.

 

Her movement through the air sent chills down Namgung Jin-geom’s spine.

 

Her ethereal movements sent a chill down Namgung Jin-geom’s spine.

 

He realized ordinary sword techniques wouldn’t work on her. So, he unleashed a sword technique he had honed through years of dedication—one he had yet to even name.

 

Swish!

 

The nameless sword technique tore through the darkness.

 

The blue-glowing sword resembled a dragon soaring into the heavens.

 

The coiling blue dragon shot forward with lightning speed and pierced Dan Li-yeon’s chest.

 

Thud!

 

Namgung Jin-geom’s sword ran clean through her.

 

“This is the end.”

 

Though it had missed her heart, a pierced chest was still fatal. He was sure she was done for.

 

But that certainty crumbled when he looked into her eyes.

 

They still brimmed with that dark evil energy.

 

“You…”

 

Swish!

 

Suddenly, Dan Li-yeon’s hair wrapped around his body like a snake.

 

“Urgh!”

 

He tried to back away, but the pressure from her hair was inhuman. He couldn’t move.

 

He tried to pull out the sword lodged in her chest to cut her hair, but it wouldn’t budge as if clamped by iron.

 

“What…?”

 

Namgung Jin-geom was stunned.

 

Thud!

 

At that moment, her white hand pierced his chest.

 

His eyes widened in disbelief.

 

He stared back and forth between his chest and Dan Li-yeon.

 

“H-H… How…?”

 

Hiss!

 

Her half black hair began turning pure white.

 

Namgung Jin-geom felt some of his energy draining into her.

 

“You even mastered energy-absorbing techniques…?”

 

“…I’m sorry.”

 

Dan Li-yeon spoke.

 

Though she apologized, her eyes were still cold as ice.

 

The White Lotus Red Heaven Art she practiced contained principles of energy absorption. While not as absolute as the Soul-Stealing Method, it allowed her to siphon a portion of her opponent’s energy to strengthen her own cultivation.

 

As Namgung Jin-geom’s energy was absorbed, Dan Li-yeon’s hair turned whiter until it became fully silver.

 

“Hah… hah…”

 

Namgung Jin-geom let out a hollow laugh, his strength draining away.

 

Only then did her hair unwind from his body.

 

Thud!

 

He collapsed to his knees.

 

He looked up at her weakly.

 

Dan Li-yeon gripped the sword stuck in her chest and pulled it out.

 

Despite holding a sharp blade in her bare hand, her hand remained uninjured.

 

Namgoong Jingum spoke.

 

“Child… That demonic art will destroy not just others—but you, too.”

 

“You knew… and still learned it?”

 

“I had no choice.”

 

“Sigh…”

 

At her calm reply, Namgung Jin-geom let out a deep sigh.

 

In that brief moment, he seemed to have aged decades.

 

Had he known she practiced such arts, he would have fought differently. The outcome might have changed.

 

But regret always came too late.

 

He had underestimated her.

 

In the Jianghu, such miscalculations could be fatal.

.

He wasn’t afraid of dying. But the thought of the chaos his death would bring to the Jianghu weighed heavily.

 

Still kneeling, he looked up at the sky.

 

All he saw was pitch-black darkness—no moon, no stars.

 

“Ja Hong-cheon… You are truly a criminal against the world. You destroyed your disciple for your ambition. Your end will be no better.”

 

With those words, Namgung Jin-geom stopped moving.

 

That was the end of the swordmaster who had reigned over the world for decades.

 

Dan Li-yeon looked down at his corpse. There was no joy of victory on her face.

 

As the sinister energy faded, her eyes revealed only sorrow.

 

“…I’m sorry.”

 

Just then—

 

“Over there!”

 

“Alliance Leader!”

 

Martial artists from the Thousand Kingdom School came running, having heard Namgung Jin-geom’s roar.

 

Among them was Namgung Jin, his son.

 

Namgung Jin’s eyes locked onto his father’s kneeling corpse.

 

“Father!”

 

But Namgung Jin-geom did not move.

 

 

 

Namgung Jin’s gaze shifted to Dan Li-yeon, who was standing before the body.

 

He recognized her instantly.

 

“Dan Li-yeon!”

 

His shout shook the darkness.

 

No explanation was needed.

 

Instinctively, he knew—Dan Li-yeon was responsible for this.

 

Swish.

 

Namgung Jin unleashed a sword aura toward Dan Li-yeon. But before it could reach her, she leaped into the air.

 

Her silver-white hair fluttered chaotically in the darkness before she vanished completely.

 

“Damn it!”

 

Namgung Jin gritted his teeth and stared at the spot where Dan Li-yeon had disappeared.

 

His instincts screamed at him to chase after her immediately. But right now, that wasn’t the priority.

 

“Father!”

 

Namgung Jin urgently checked Namgung Jin-geom’s condition.

 

There was no movement. No breath.

 

“No… Father!”

 

Namgung In clutched his father’s body, tears streaming down his face.

 

“Sob! Alliance Leader!”

 

“How could this happen?!”

 

The martial artists of the Thousand Kingdom School dropped to their knees before Namgung Jin-geom, weeping.

 

The Dark Heavenly Lone Star had fallen.

 

“I will never forgive this. Dan Li-yeon… The Jade Heaven Alliance!”

 

Namgung Ji’s voice trembled with rage and grief, his vow cutting through the night like a blade.