Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Trample Them
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Geon Cheon-hwi glanced toward the training grounds and muttered,
“How’d he manage to hold out for ten whole days?”
“Ahem! I thought he was a goner for sure.”
“Exactly. Ten days is long enough to turn into a corpse.”
Ten days? What’s the big deal?
Most people would lose their minds after just three days with Namgung Hyuk.
Ten days was more than enough time to experience what it really means for a person to wither away and die.
When Namgung Hyuk had drilled the Thunder Dragon Squad, not a single one of them hadn’t begged, “Kill me.”
That was when he was putting the whole group through it. What if he focused on just one person?
“Ssshh, just imagining it is horrifying.”
Geon Cheon-hwi shuddered as if struck by a chill.
Tak Hyuk-dong cleared his throat awkwardly and said,
“Kh-hum! He must’ve gone easy because it’s his little brother, right? No way he’d last ten days otherwise. He was definitely holding back.”
Gone easy?
This young master went easy?
No way in hell.
The Namgung Hyuk he knew would never cut anyone slack.
He had an uncanny knack for pinpointing an opponent’s breaking point and drilling them right up to the edge of death.
How many ancestors had he seen after getting worked over by Namgung Hyuk?
He didn’t seem to care whether they lived or died.
Even if they didn’t die, the agony was such a miracle of survival that there were no exceptions.
All thirty members of the Thunder Dragon Squad had been through it.
So at the very least, Namgung Chang would now know what that taste of death was like.
That’s what Geon Cheon-hwi believed, based on his experience with Namgung Hyuk.
It was then.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A low footfall echoed from the training grounds.
The surroundings were deathly quiet, so the sound rang out crystal clear.
“Hm?”
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
The three Thunder Dragon Squad members’ gazes slowly turned toward the source, one after another.
Very slowly.
Their pupils shook as if an earthquake had hit.
‘What the hell did he do to the kid…?’
‘Holy…’
‘Crazy, he broke the brat. Totally broke him.’
His disheveled hair and ragged clothes aside.
How the hell did he make a kid breathe like a wild beast?
Huh?
The kid’s eyes were rolled back.
Drool spilling everywhere.
Not poisoned, but driven mad with frenzy.
What the hell had Namgung Hyuk done to him over ten days to turn him into this?
There had been nonstop screams, but this condition…
“But come to think of it, weren’t we like that at first too?”
“Were we?”
“No idea. We only got drilled for a day or two…”
The three scratched their heads as they stared at Namgung Chang.
Geon Cheon-hwi let out a low “hmph.”
“At least his bones seem intact.”
“Yeah! Told you he went easy.”
“Sigh…”
Jang Woong shook his head at the utterly irrational judgment from Geon Cheon-hwi and Tak Hyuk-dong.
Namgung Hyuk strolled up behind Namgung Chang, hands clasped behind his back.
“Brat. What’s with all the whining about it being tough?”
At the sound of Namgung Hyuk’s voice, Namgung Chang—who’d been gasping raggedly—snapped his back straight.
“S-sorry! Hup, heup!”
Namgung Chang barely swallowed his heaving breaths and replied pitifully.
Whoa, he’s got it down pat now?
The kid’s a different person!
The master’s handiwork, indeed.
The three from the Thunder Dragon Squad nodded with a strange sense of satisfaction.
Was this the camaraderie of those molded by Namgung Hyuk?
Seeing that, Namgung Ryong approached from the side.
He lightly placed a hand on Namgung Chang’s shoulder, which bristled with murderous intent.
“Good work.”
“…Youngest Namgung Chang! Thank you, eldest brother!”
“Keep it up.”
“I’ll do my best!”
Namgung Ryong patted Namgung Chang’s shoulder with a pleased expression.
Namgung Hyuk sat at a table, sipping tea, and asked,
“So, what now?”
Namgung Chang’s eyes darted wildly before he answered swiftly.
“Trample them!”
“And?”
“Trample them!”
“Then?”
“Keep trampling!”
Namgung Hyuk nodded with satisfaction.
“Good. Go trample them!”
“I’ll go trample them! Trample them to death!”
“Whoa, whoa. Don’t kill them.”
“I’ll trample them till they’re begging for death!”
“Good, go!”
Like a dog off the leash, Namgung Chang bolted toward the Hero Hall.
The onlookers gaped.
* * *
Namgung Chang charged straight ahead, eyes gleaming ferociously, reaching the Hero Hall in an instant.
His limbs still trembled from the aftereffects of ten days under Namgung Hyuk.
His body was far more exhausted than after that initial beating.
Namgung Hyuk was beyond human.
No, a monster wearing a human mask.
How could anyone pummel a person like that?
Even dogs wouldn’t get treated that way.
For ten days, all Namgung Chang remembered was getting beaten until he shat blood.
He’d even thought he might actually die from the blows.
Yet somehow, it only hurt—no more.
He couldn’t even pass out if he wanted to.
It just hurt.
And after suffering that mortal agony, he somehow got up the next day.
Despite chills and fever ravaging him through sleep.
It was enough to make ghosts weep.
But that only meant no external or internal injuries.
His stamina wasn’t back to normal.
Especially not after being squeezed dry just moments ago.
Facing the Jongnam Sect bastards in this state? The outcome was obvious.
But right now, only one thought filled Namgung Chang’s head.
‘Trample them!’
Hadn’t those Jongnam Sect bastards caused all this—leading to ten days of hell under Namgung Hyuk?
The culprits who’d dragged him to hell!
Jongnam’s Haedong, Haegon, Haeun.
All his rage poured onto the so-called Jongnam Three Hounds.
Namgung Chang half-rolled his eyes and kicked open the Dragon-Phoenix Squad’s door.
Boom!
The door shattered with a thunderous crash.
His stark white eyes swept the interior.
The Dragon-Phoenix Squad’s later-generation disciples, resting after breakfast, stared blankly at Namgung Chang.
“Huh?”
“What?”
“What’s going on?”
They were still processing the beggar-like figure before they could react.
Namgung Chang lunged at the Jongnam Three Hounds, who were laughing over tea at a table.
Crackle!
No one had time to intervene.
Before they could grasp the situation, Namgung Chang’s Thunderclap Fist slammed down at the youngest, Haeun.
“It’s all because of you bastards!”
Crack!
The Thunderclap Fist struck Haeun’s face like lightning.
“Keuk!”
Haeun spewed twin streams of blood and toppled backward.
Crash!
Haeun writhed, out cold.
Haedong and Haegon’s eyes bulged as they shot to their feet.
“You lunatic Chang!”
“You still haven’t learned, huh!”
“Shut your traps, you fucks!”
Frothing at the mouth, Namgung Chang charged at Haegon.
Crackle!
The Thunderclap Fist flared again.
“Hmph! Idiot! Heaven-Earth Mountains-Rivers, that basic fist crap—urk?!”
Haegon scoffed, unleashing Heaven-Earth Mountains-Rivers, only to take a jaw-crushing hit and collapse face-first.
Thud!
Seeing Haegon out with his jaw twisted, Haedong’s jaw dropped.
‘C-crazy! What the hell?’
Even as a sneak attack, for Haeun and Haegon to drop from one punch each?!
“You mad bastard!”
Haedong barreled forward, leading with his massive frame.
Boom!
“Hm?”
Haedong faltered, trying to blast Namgung Chang away with Grand Ultimate Divine Beast.
It felt like shoving a giant tree—immense weight emanated from Namgung Chang.
Before, one hit would’ve sent him flying to Wudang Mountain.
No, what’s this?
Namgung Chang’s face twisted.
“You fuck… because of you… do you know what I went through!”
“Chang, you little shit! I warned you about that mouth!”
Haedong bared his fangs viciously and circulated his qi.
In that instant, channeling Grand Ultimate Heart Method for another Grand Ultimate Divine Beast!
“You brat! It’s not Chang, it’s Namgung Chang!”
Smaaack!
Namgung Chang’s Thunderclap Fist doubled in speed, smashing into Haedong’s face.
Crack!
With a sinking sensation, Haedong staggered back.
“You fuck…”
Haedong shook his head side to side, pointing a trembling finger at Namgung Chang.
Drip. Drip drip.
“Fuck, why… blood… fuck… blood…”
Wiping the waterfall of blood, Haedong’s eyes glazed over as he crumpled.
Namgung Chang rolled his eyes and pounced on the fallen Jongnam Three Hounds.
“Trample youuuu!”
Haedong, Haegon, and Haeun struggled to rise, only to freak out at the frothing Namgung Chang charging again.
“H-heuk!”
“Hiiik!”
“C-crazy bastard!”
“You’re dead!”
The beatdown Namgung Chang had learned over ten days from Namgung Hyuk erupted from his fists and feet.
Pow pow pow pow pow!
“Kaaaaak!”
“Keueuk!”
“Keeeek!”
Like frogs leaping from a boiling pot, the Jongnam Three Hounds desperately fled, but they couldn’t escape Namgung Chang’s grasp.
“Where you gonna run? We’re just getting started!”
* * *
“Aigoo! What about their teeth, their teeth!”
Geum Cheom-sang paced anxiously as he watched Namgung Chang charge into the Hero Hall.
Worried something might go wrong inside, especially with his body still unwell.
But he couldn’t intervene in something Namgung Hyuk had egged on(?).
“Squad leader, if something happens, you gotta rush in and stop it.”
Geon Cheon-hwi and the others picked their ears, glancing indifferently at the Hero Hall.
“It’s just kids fighting, what…”
“But they could get seriously hurt!”
“If something breaks, I’ll step in.”
“No! You step in before it breaks!”
“Ah, right. Before it breaks, then.”
Geum Cheom-sang realized anew that hanging with Namgung Hyuk had warped these guys’ sense of normalcy.
“Kraheheh! Kids fighting, how cute! Kraheheh! Though that third young master had murder in his eyes, so it’ll be worth watching…”
Squeeeeal!
“Keeek!”
A pig-slaughtering screech echoed from the Hero Hall.
Geon Cheon-hwi, Tak Hyuk-dong, Jang Woong, and Geum Cheom-sang flinched.
Boom! Boom!
Deafening crashes followed, shaking the Hero Hall’s walls.
Screams continued amid the chaos.
Crack!
“Huh?”
A crack spiderwebbed the wall, then shattered—revealing a head poking through.
Through the broken wall, a figure in indigo robes was dragged out by Namgung Chang.
Crack! Crack! Pow! Thud thud thud!
The fissures exposed Namgung Chang’s beating scene in vivid detail.
The Jongnam Three Hounds flew like balls, snagging on the roof, smashing into walls, splintering the door as they soared.
Drag drag drag.
Then Namgung Chang dragged them back…
Why’s this scene so familiar?
Geon Cheon-hwi blinked.
“…Who needs stopping?”
“W-well, uh…”
“What kinda training did he do for ten days?”
It’s like he’d been injected with Namgung Hyuk’s personality…
Namgung Chang oddly overlapped with Namgung Hyuk.
Tak Hyuk-dong burst out laughing.
“Kraheheh! Our third young master got properly educated.”
“Crazy… damn, he hits good.”
“He learned how to wreck people real well. Real well.”
The three from the Thunder Dragon Squad had zero intention of intervening, just spouting commentary.
Geum Cheom-sang glanced from the half-dead Jongnam trio to Namgung Ryong.
“E-eldest young master! What do we do? This is blowing up! E-eldest young master, please…”
Nod nod.
Namgung Ryong nodded contentedly.
Clap clap clap.
Even lightly applauding, leaving Geum Cheom-sang dumbfounded.
‘They’re all out of their minds…’
Through this, Geum Cheom-sang realized everyone had been tainted by Namgung Hyuk.
‘Screw it, whatever. Better to be the beater than the beaten.’
Unaware he’d been subtly infected by Namgung Hyuk’s philosophy too, he watched the Hero Hall.
The five who’d come to stop the fight ended up as spectators, enjoying Namgung Chang’s rampage.
The Jongnam Three Hounds’ screams continued to fill the Hero Hall.