Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: The Family Head's Disbelief
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Geum Gwangmo, the chief steward, entered Nangong Jangcheon's office.
"Family Head!"
Nangong Jangcheon looked up from oiling his sword.
"A letter arrived?"
"Yes!"
"Hmm! What's with all these frequent letters? They're handling things just fine on their own."
"Shall I set it aside for later?"
"No need. Since you've brought it, I'll read it now."
Geum Gwangmo suppressed a smile and handed the letter to Nangong Jangcheon.
Snap!
Nangong Jangcheon snatched it like an eagle seizing its prey.
Excitement flickered across his face, but Geum Gwangmo pretended not to notice.
"Let's see... ahem!"
He cleared his throat pointlessly as he read the letter.
His movements were leisurely, but his eyes gleamed sharply.
…Patriarch Pang proposed a sparring match to promote exchange and harmony with the main family. Our young masters gladly accepted, and the Thunder Dragon Squad sparred with the Hebei Pang Family.
"Sparring? With the main family's warriors?"
That bastard Pang Cheonwi is deliberately trying to humiliate the main house!
Holding a sparring match right in front of the guests at a birthday banquet—clearly a calculated move to shame us!
Geum Gwangmo spoke in a worried tone.
"Won't we be at a disadvantage sparring on Hebei Pang Family turf? If they send out their elites…"
"That fox-like Pang Cheonwi must have laid a trap. Otherwise, how does sparring make sense at a birthday banquet?"
"He wouldn't dare insult us openly. He probably kept it moderate."
"Hmm! Let me finish reading."
Nangong Jangcheon furrowed his brow and focused on the letter.
…Fierce Tiger Squad's Seventh Captain fell to Deputy Leader Tak Hyeok-dong in just ten exchanges. Then Blood Fiend Kwak Chung stepped up and sparred with Squad Leader Geon Cheon-hwi. After thirty exchanges, Squad Leader Geon Cheon-hwi emerged victorious. Infuriated, Patriarch Pang pushed for a match between Tiger Dragon Pang Junghyeok and the eldest young master, who overwhelmed him with sheer power…
Blink. Blink.
Nangong Jangcheon stared blankly at the letter and muttered.
"…What nonsense is this?"
All this happened at the birthday banquet?
They called it a spar for exchange, but it's a total mess!
Nangong Jangcheon continued reading.
…In the end, our second young master perfectly cornered the Hebei Pang Family. Enraged, Patriarch Pang ordered the Blood Fiend Squad Leader to spar with Young Master Nangong Hyeok.
"What? Who'd he send out?"
The Blood Fiend Squad Leader—a renowned master even in Hebei Province!
"This madman! No matter how angry he was, pitting a junior like Hyeok against the Blood Fiend Squad Leader?!"
Nangong Jangcheon's hands trembled as he read on.
…Because the second young master turned the Blood Fiend Squad Leader into pulp, we nearly faced some trouble…
…What pulp?
Who turned whom into pulp?
So Hyeok turned the Blood Fiend Squad Leader into…?
He knew Hyeok's martial arts were formidable, but to that extent?
He checked the letter several times, but it read the same.
Nangong Jangcheon folded the letter, and Geum Gwangmo asked.
"What's wrong?"
"Heh heh heh…"
"Family Head?"
"Heh heh heh heh!"
Nangong Jangcheon's laughter grew louder, filling the office.
Geum Gwangmo stared at him in bewilderment.
Right then.
"These brats are fabricating lies in their letter!"
"Pardon? No, surely not."
"Read it! See just how insolent they are!"
Geum Gwangmo quickly read the letter as Nangong Jangcheon thrust it toward him.
And then…
"…It seems my son was threatened."
"Are you trying to use my son as an excuse now?"
"If you consider the chain of command…"
"Grrrm! What the hell have these kids been up to, plastering letters with such absurd lies!"
Nangong Jangcheon bellowed in fury.
"Dispatch someone immediately to investigate! I absolutely cannot believe this letter!"
"Yes, Family Head!"
Nangong Jangcheon let out a hollow chuckle as he watched Geum Gwangmo hurry out.
"…What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this?"
It was the day his distrust deepened.
* * *
Nangong Hyeok opened his eyes and immediately sank into meditative trance.
Energy surged from his dantian like a geyser. The qi of the Heaven-Cleaving Bright King Art poured through his body like a waterfall, circulating once in an instant.
Another meridian opened, multiplying the speed of his cultivation several times over.
The amount of internal energy in his dantian had grown far larger than before, and the surging power was incomparable.
Even his newly improved meridians shook under the onslaught of the Heaven-Cleaving Bright King Art's qi—like a wild ox rampaging.
The Heaven-Cleaving Bright King Art's qi incinerated impurities and suppressed yin energies.
Purer qi than ever before.
Like pristine spring water, it began flowing endlessly through his meridians.
Nangong Hyeok quickly slipped into a state of no-mind.
Crackle! Crackle!
Lightning like wriggling earthworms crawled over his shoulders.
Each flash of blue lightning made his body jolt.
The Heaven-Cleaving Bright King Art's qi surged into his middle dantian.
Developing the middle dantian was essential for advancing to the ascension realm.
The latent potential dwelling in the heart—prenatal essence—was the vital qi required for ascension.
Strengthening this qi would lay the foundation for ascension.
'One of the reasons I failed ascension in my past life.'
Back then, he had practiced orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic arts without discrimination.
It was possible thanks to the Bright King Chaos Heaven Qi. That avaricious internal art didn't just absorb others' energy—it fused and digested them into one.
As a result, the prenatal essence in his middle dantian had inevitably become turbid.
Demonic arts pursued immortality, so it was perhaps a natural outcome.
The fact that he had still reached the cusp of ascension in that state attested to his innate genius…
'Prenatal essence is that crucial.'
He had come so close to ascension with turbid internal energy and inferior prenatal essence. Done right this time, ascension would be a given.
Only then could he smash those damned immortals' skulls.
Nangong Hyeok swallowed a laugh inwardly and concentrated.
Since the middle dantian had only just opened, it required extra care.
It reacted to the incoming Heaven-Cleaving Bright King Art's qi.
Woooong!
A strange resonance emanated from his heart.
Crackle! Crackle!
The lightning intensified, and the qi grew more vigorous.
His entire body's meridians quivered in stimulation until, at last, the Heaven-Cleaving Bright King Art's qi converged back in his lower dantian.
"Hmm!"
Nangong Hyeok exhaled deeply and opened his eyes.
A flash of blue light gleamed before retracting inward.
He stretched languidly.
"Eutcha!"
Crackling sounds rang out pleasantly.
"Refreshing!"
Breathing and moving felt entirely different.
Light and crisp.
"Haha! Not even feeling this damned cold."
His body had warmed considerably—compared to before the golden elixir pills, it felt like a blazing furnace.
Beijing's fierce winds couldn't touch him. Returning to Anhui Province, he might even sweat from the heat.
A monumental leap forward.
He had truly shed his bones and exchanged his marrow.
"Excellent!"
Nangong Hyeok shouted in delight.
"Now all that's left is to ascend."
Immense joy welled up at no longer needing to tremble over his feeble life force, burning away like cheap incense.
Ah, liberation after how many years!
His beaming smile twisted slyly.
"…But isn't this just obvious? Why am I thrilled over something so basic?"
He had opened two meridians—this was the bare minimum.
He started to despise himself for rejoicing over the expected.
'Damn it, hurry up and ascend already.'
Nangong Hyeok muttered and steeled his resolve.
"Why the sudden mood?"
Geum Cheomsang asked flatly as he brought in a bowl of porridge.
Nangong Hyeok whipped his head around.
"Because I'm refreshed. Why?"
"Beijing's air is anything but refreshing. You'll catch a cold—why do you keep the door open?"
Sandstorms are howling out there.
Geum Cheomsang closed the window and eyed Nangong Hyeok strangely.
Nangong Hyeok shook his head.
"What would you know?"
"…Eat your porridge. You need your medicine."
"No need for that medicine anymore."
"Pardon? You, you should get permission from the Medical Hall Leader before stopping. Eat it for now. I know you can't just quit medicine cold turkey."
"Forget that. Time to prepare our return."
Geum Cheomsang's eyes went wide.
More shocked than when he'd refused the medicine.
"N-No! Leaving already? You haven't even started your Hebei trip!"
"Why so worked up?"
"Isn't it obvious! The banquet wasn't the goal, right? We came all the way to Hebei Province for your travels. And now you're suddenly leaving? You said you're healthier now. Since you're healthy, let's sightsee a bit."
Geum Cheomsang yelled, veins bulging in his neck.
He felt wronged.
They had come all the way to Hebei, and all he'd done was hole up writing letters all day.
If they left like this, who knew when he'd get another chance to travel here…
"Did we come to play?"
"…Isn't that what you did?"
"Ha, work's done. Get ready to depart."
Securing Huge Wood's secret manual had wrapped up all business in Hebei.
No reason to linger.
Nangong Hyeok spoke firmly.
"Pack quickly. We're taking a boat back."
"Yesss?! But…"
"What."
"…Nothing. I'll prepare."
Geum Cheomsang trudged out with a pout.
* * *
Nangong Hyeok gaped up at the ship docked at the wharf.
"…This doesn't look like our boat?"
Its roof resembled one transplanted from a fortress, and the sailboat boasted an enormous size.
It dwarfed even the Yangtze Waterway Bureau's dragon boats into mere fishing skiffs.
A tiger symbolizing the Pang Family adorned the bow, and the flag bore the bold characters "Pang Family."
"Hahaha! I prepared this for you gentlemen."
With a booming laugh, Pang Cheonwi descended from the deck, followed by a swarm of Hebei Pang Family warriors who surrounded them.
"Surely the main family can do this much for honored guests, eh?"
Nangong Hyeok let out a dry chuckle at the chuckling Pang Cheonwi.
Desperate flailing, huh?
Then he'd accept.
A bright smile spread across his lips.
"Oh, if you're offering, how can I refuse? This voyage looks mighty comfortable."
"Haha! No special intent. It's a long way to Anhui Province—can't help but worry. Ahem!"
"Your thoughtfulness leaves me at a loss, haha!"
Pang Cheonwi cleared his throat at Nangong Hyeok's satisfied smile.
"Ahem! And the latter half?"
"Hahaha!"
"Haha, what about the latter half?"
"Hahaha!"
"No, the latter half…"
"Then safe travels."
Pang Cheonwi's forehead veins throbbed as Nangong Hyeok played dumb.
'Can't just crush the bastard outright.'
Then he'd never get the latter half of the Blade King Manual.
Pang Cheonwi's cheeks trembled as he forced a smile.
"…Hahaha, take care on your journey!"
Nangong Hyeok cackled.
His eyes met Pang Junghyeok's beside Pang Cheonwi, who growled.
"I won't forget today's humiliation. Father may let it slide, but I will definitely…"
"You bastard, who do you think—"
"Guhk!"
Pang Cheonwi jabbed his snarling son's ribs with an elbow.
Pang Junghyeok groaned and doubled over from the hammer-like impact.
"Hahaha! He's just giving his farewells too. That's his way of expressing it."
"That's how men are."
"Haha! Safe travels, everyone!"
Pang Cheonwi watched with a hearty laugh as Nangong Hyeok and the others boarded.
Clatter clatter.
He tilted his head at the Thunder Dragon Squad moving their luggage.
"…Why do those weapons look familiar?"
Nah, probably not.
Pang Cheonwi, unaware that Pang Yeonhwa had emptied an armory, felt only a vague sense of déjà vu.
Thus, as Nangong Hyeok stepped aboard the Hebei Pang Family's sailboat, thinking of the comfortable trip ahead.
"…What the hell is that?"
His gaze fell on two women standing naturally on the deck.
Sword Princess So Hye-yeon and Hebei Pang Family's Pang Yeonhwa.
"…What are you two doing? Get off."
Pang Yeonhwa smiled sweetly at his scowl.
"This ship's mine, you know?"
Well played.
"Father said he'd escort you home. And fix that sword you gave me along the way!"
Pang Yeonhwa beamed innocently, brandishing the Blade King's sword.
Nangong Hyeok furrowed his brow.
"And you?"
So Hye-yeon glanced at Nangong Ryong following behind.
"…We haven't sparred yet."
Does that guy have a fatal disease that kills if he doesn't spar?
Nangong Hyeok sighed deeply.
Geum Cheomsang sidled up and whispered.
"What do we do, Young Master?"
"What do you mean, what? Set sail!"
If they didn't listen, he could always toss them overboard midway.
As he vented his exasperation, the Hebei Pang Family's sailboat began to move, signaling departure.