Chapter 170
Chapter 170
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: Two Orthodox Prodigies Crushed
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"Gods above... Gods above... Gods above...."
"Shinseong..."
"......"
Paeng Junghyeok, Hwangbo Cheong, and Moyong Su stared at Namgung Hyeok descending from the arena like they were seeing a ghost.
Paeng Junghyeok's eyes shook wildly.
'Was he always this strong? Really this strong?'
He had known Namgung Hyeok surpassed the level of later-generation prodigies, but he never imagined it would be to this extent.
Who could have guessed that Wudang's Shinseong would get beaten like a dog without landing a single blow!
A strange chill emanated from Namgung Hyeok as he walked over, wooden sword dangling innocently from his hand.
When Hwangbo Cheong met Namgung Hyeok's eyes, he flinched in shock and took a step back.
There was a world of difference between hearing rumors and witnessing it firsthand.
And now that he'd seen for himself how the rumors had actually softened the truth...
'...Brother Paeng saved my life.'
In the distance, Wudang's Shinseong was being carried away on a stretcher.
"Save... save me... save..."
"S-Senior Brother! Pull yourself together, Senior Brother!"
"What are you staring at? Hurry and move him!"
"H-How could anyone do this to a person..."
Wudang Sect disciples vented their fury as they hastily carried their battered senior brother out of Jeongcheon Hall.
Paeng Junghyeok, Hwangbo Cheong, and Moyong Su let out low groans.
Even if he was the enemy, that condition was...
The three men's gazes naturally turned toward Namgung Hyeok.
Namgung Hyeok rolled his shoulders and grinned innocently.
"The taste of a fight is always best with the orthodox schools."
"......"
"Now my body's properly warmed up."
He'd used Wudang's Shinseong just for a warm-up?
Namgung Chang rushed over with a towel and a teacup.
His face lit up with excitement as he bounced around.
"As expected of Little Brother! I knew you were strong, but I never dreamed you'd smash Wudang's Shinseong like that!"
"It wasn't a big deal."
"Exactly, exactly! To Little Brother, Wudang's Shinseong is nothing at all!"
Namgung Chang poured iced tea with both hands, his eyes brimming with infinite respect.
"Down it in one go."
"After a workout, you need a full cup of liquor to top it off."
"Shall I prepare it right away?"
"Nah. We'll drink when it's all over."
"Yes, Brother!"
What kind of conversation was this?
The tournament wasn't even finished yet...
Talking about the martial conference like it was a casual hike up the local hills.
The later-generation prodigies of the Five Great Families stared in utter bewilderment.
He seemed like he was from another world entirely.
Ignoring the stares from the Five Great Families' prodigies, Namgung Hyeok turned to Namgung Ryong.
Namgung Ryong nodded with a pleased expression.
"You did well..."
"I've always done well. It's your turn now, right, Brother?"
"......"
Nod.
Namgung Ryong let his shoulders slump as he gripped his wooden sword.
And the moment Namgung Hyeok lightly dusted off his collar.
Thud thud thud!
Three members of the Thunder Dragon Squad rushed in from the back.
They set down a large chair, erected a folding screen, and brought in a brazier.
Namgung Hyeok crossed his legs as he sat in the chair. Naturally, Namgung Chang stuck by his side and began giving him a massage.
"......"
"......"
Who acts like that at a martial tournament?
Even better chair, screen, and brazier than the VIP seats for the Jeongcheon Alliance guests?
That was the real premium spot.
Crazy bastard...
But what was even funnier was that not just Namgung Hyeok, but everyone else from the Namgung Family was doing it all so casually.
They acted as if they didn't care at all about the shocked, appalled stares from the onlookers.
Namgung Hyeok wiggled his foot as he spoke toward Namgung Ryong.
"Let's wrap this up quick, Brother. They say lunch comes after this. Why's the schedule dragging like this? I could smash all their heads in a single day. Kahahaha!"
"......"
Nod.
Namgung Ryong, shoulders still slumped, stepped up onto the arena.
* * *
The elders from the Nine Great Sects let out groans.
Their faces, relaxed at the start of the tournament, had hardened like stone.
Heo Won of the Wudang Sect's face had twisted beyond distortion into something black and rotten like a spoiled potato.
His eyes, contorted in a savagery unimaginable for a Taoist, fixed on the arena.
To his peak-level martial arts perception, the gleeful faces of Namgung Hyeok's group appeared magnified right before him.
His beard trembled.
A mix of shame, humiliation, and rage boiled up.
Awkwardness hung over the faces of the Nine Great Sects' elders.
It was only natural, with one of their promising later-generation prodigies reduced to that state.
They too would be furious if one of their own sect's disciples ended up like that.
Especially against someone from one of the Five Great Families...
"Where the hell did a monster like that pop out from!"
"Didn't they say the Namgung Family had no one worth watching out for?"
"We had no intel on this..."
"Hmm! How could the Beggar Clan miss something this important? Where the hell are they?"
The Beggar Clan possessed the fastest and largest information network in the world.
There was no way they wouldn't know about a figure like that in the Namgung Family, so why hadn't there been a peep?
"...They all forfeited."
"What?"
"They forfeited, forfeited!"
"F-Forfeited?!"
When exactly?
The Nine Great Sects' elders, who had only paid attention to incoming reports and ignored the beggars, were all the more shocked.
"Why, why...?"
"Said they had urgent business and cleared out their lodgings entirely!"
"No way! What could be more important to those beggars than the martial conference?"
A gathering of everyone under heaven.
With all the gossip fodder in one place, it was shocking that the Beggar Clan had vanished entirely.
It was like throwing away prime beef they'd been given to eat!
The elders genuinely regretted the Beggar Clan's absence.
"Urgh!"
"So frustrating, truly frustrating. No ears, and now this..."
"How are we supposed to deal with that guy from now on..."
The elders' expressions turned grave.
"At this rate, our plans..."
"Hmm!"
"What do we do now, what..."
Their plan had been to display the Nine Great Sects' dignity, flaunt their power, and crush the Five Great Families.
But it had gone awry right from the start...
"Ahem!"
Cheon Gongja stroked his beard and spoke.
"Next up is our Kunlun Sect's turn."
The elders' gazes focused on Cheon Gongja.
"One win doesn't mean we've lost as the orthodox schools, does it?"
The problem is who lost, who...
It was none other than one of the Four Saints, Wudang's Shinseong...
"And conveniently, the opponent is the Namgung Family's eldest young master. If our Geonbyeok wins this match, won't our momentum return?"
"......"
"It's just a variable, nothing more. The overall tide favors us Nine Great Sects."
"...Do you think we can win? They say there's no younger brother who surpasses his elder, and if the younger one's already that strong..."
The elders spoke while subtly glancing at Heo Won's mood.
Heo Won's face was redder than blood, on the verge of exploding.
Cheon Gongja puffed out his chest arrogantly.
"Don't worry. We're not the type to suffer that kind of humiliation."
The elders swallowed dryly.
It sounded just like saying they wouldn't end up like Wudang Sect.
Heo Won, eyes bloodshot, tugged at his beard as if he might have a fit right there.
If this weren't an open public venue, he might have already grabbed Cheon Gongja by the collar and slammed him into the ground.
Cheon Gongja smirked inwardly.
'Hmph, Wudang's Shinseong, my ass!'
He'd shown such sloppy swordsmanship and gotten dragged around like a dog.
'Our Kunlun Sect is different.'
Settled in Gansu Province, the Kunlun Sect pursued nothing but practical combat.
Dunhuang, the gateway to the Silk Road, lay in Gansu, and bandit gangs targeting passing merchant caravans appeared frequently.
With constant bandit subjugations, the Kunlun Sect had naturally honed real-battle swordsmanship.
Whatever Wudang's Shinseong or whatever was just overhyped because they were in the Central Plains.
'Geonbyeok is a genius who's mastered that practical swordsmanship. He'll smash the Namgung Family bastards to pieces and declare Kunlun supreme in this tournament!'
Cheon Gongja's burning gaze turned toward Geonbyeok ascending the arena.
Kunlun Sect's third-generation disciple Geonbyeok eyed Namgung Ryong climbing onto the arena with sunken eyes.
His gaze swept over Namgung Ryong.
Namgung Family's eldest young master, Namgung Ryong.
Towering height, handsome features so striking you wondered if they belonged to the same person as his brother.
Was it an illusion that he seemed to glow like a lantern behind his head?
"Wow..."
"Kyaa!"
"Oh my..."
...No, it wasn't.
As Namgung Ryong stepped onto the arena, cheers erupted from all sides, different in tone from before.
The match hadn't even started.
Geonbyeok ground his teeth and glared at Namgung Ryong.
'...The enemy of Wudang!'
Vowing to avenge his fellow disciple at the training hall, Geonbyeok glanced at Cheon Gongja in the VIP seats.
Cheon Gongja nodded solemnly.
'...We can win.'
Namgung Ryong's aura was unusual, but would he lose to some Central Plains swordsman who'd trained lounging in comfort, gorging on rich food?
How many storms had he weathered himself!
The rumor of beating the Jongnam Sword Dragon must be exaggerated nonsense.
That dopey-looking...
Doepy...
'Looks and skill are inversely proportional!'
Geonbyeok evaluated Namgung Ryong with bizarre logic as he assumed his stance.
Namgung Ryong mirrored the stance.
"Woooow!"
"Kyaaa..."
"Oh my!"
...No, he just gripped his sword—why the reaction?
Geonbyeok's pupils shook.
"Primal Heaven..."
His cultivation must be shallow; his mind wavered.
Geonbyeok bit his teeth hard and stared at Namgung Ryong with serious eyes.
Soon, the announcer signaled the start of the match.
At the start, Geonbyeok shot forward like an arrow.
"Tahaaat! To the Primal Heavenly Lord you go!"
Demon-Subduing Divine Art unleashed alongside the Demon-Subduing Sword.
Fast, concise movements. Strikes piercing the opponent's gaps.
A momentum that overwhelmed the foe!
The Demon-Subduing Divine Art at its peak wreathed his sword tip in translucent sword qi.
Not flashy, but enough to suppress any opponent, with perfect power distribution accounting for counters.
"Where are you looking, you dare!"
Namgung Ryong, gaze off to one side of the arena, shoulders slumped like a wet dog.
"Chahaap!"
The moment Geonbyeok's Demon-Subduing Sword thrust for Namgung Ryong's throat!
Snap!
"Huh?"
Namgung Ryong snatched the wooden sword with his teeth? No—he gripped it firmly.
Geonbyeok's eyes bulged.
Th-that's a sword... Oh, right, wooden sword!
He could grab it because I was thrusting.
As he hastily twisted his body to counter with a Demon-Subduing Palm strike!
Lightning flashed from Namgung Ryong's body.
Rumble!
Crackle!
Baaaam!
With a single bolt of thunder, Geonbyeok's face crumpled, eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.
Slowly, ever so slowly, as he fell, he caught sight of Cheon Gongja leaping up in a scream.
The elders' shocked faces, one by one, and the audience jumping to their feet in cheers...
"Kyaaaaak!"
"Oh my oh my!"
"Our young master won!"
"Oppa-!"
Even in his fainting daze, the cheers pierced his ears.
'Ah... Immeasurable... mercy...'
Geonbyeok rolled his eyes back and collapsed.
"M-Medic!"
"Quick, quick!"
Chaos erupted on the arena once more.
The elders in the VIP seats were already dumbfounded, and below the arena, disbelieving reactions exploded.
Gods above...
The Namgung Family had toppled two from the orthodox schools.
And amid this unbelievable upset, the only ones not excited were...
"Whew, I nearly passed out waiting. Let's eat! Oh, and booze while we're at it."
"Yes, Little Brother!"
"Young Master, this way!"
As Namgung Hyeok strode forward briskly, the Namgung Family group ebbed away like the tide.
The crowd gawked at the scene in a stupor.
Paeng Junghyeok muttered.
"...Out for a stroll. They're out for a damn stroll."
Even stargazing a street performer's tricks wouldn't draw stares this amazed.
'...But damn, it feels good.'
Two from the Nine Great Sects laid low—and Wudang's Shinseong at that!
All the pent-up frustration under their prestige suddenly burst open.