Chapter 200
Chapter 200
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 200
Chapter Title: Forging a New Path
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Namgung Hyeok circulated the Celestial Bright King Art with half-closed eyes.
A blue aura surged above his shoulders, spreading like mist around him before gathering and spinning fiercely for a long while.
Namgung Hyeok's half-open eyes suddenly snapped wide.
In an instant, an intense blue gleam burst forth before settling into calm stillness.
After staring silently at some point in the air for a moment, Namgung Hyeok closed his eyes again.
‘The Celestial Bright King Art is growing.’
A lump the size of a baby’s fist dwelled in his dantian.
Its size was incomparable to his past life as the Poison Overlord, but its depth and purity were overwhelmingly superior now.
Part of it came from consuming the Golden Immortal Pill and clearing his meridians to increase his inner energy, but he could feel the Celestial Bright King Art itself evolving.
It was shedding its crude form to harmonize with his body.
Namgung Hyeok steadied his breathing.
‘I’ve taken a different path from the past.’
The peak was singular.
Yet there were dozens of roads leading to it.
If this path was right, he would reach the peak again, just as before.
The only difference was the method of ascent.
He felt no anxiety walking a different road. With certainty that this was the correct one, he simply needed to climb steadily.
He no longer had reason to fight to prove something, as in the past.
He was no longer someone who needed to prove himself.
No, he knew there was no need for it.
So he just had to walk on quietly.
The Celestial Bright King Art was smoothly approaching completion, and any deficiencies could be filled.
‘……I’m entering a new path.’
It was markedly different from the path of domination he had walked before.
Things were changing.
He was mingling with people he wouldn’t have spared a thought for, let alone kept close, in the past.
Even accounting for the difference between an era where weakness was a sin and now, he clearly felt himself changing.
The meanings of things he once saw as binding, bothersome, and cumbersome were gradually shifting.
‘If the path I took was wrong, then I must change it.’
One mistake was enough.
If he had to walk a road different from his past, he would accept it.
Namgung Hyeok slowly opened his eyes.
‘Yes, I must change.’
He couldn’t settle for merely reaching his past realm.
He had to surpass it, and keep surpassing.
Now, he would pursue ascension beyond that.
To do so, wasn’t he building everything anew, step by step?
Namgung Hyeok quietly gazed out the window.
In his subdued gaze, the towering buildings of the Namgung family loomed like mountains.
“Hmm…….”
Namgung Hyeok, who had been staring at the Namgung family with a peculiar look for a while, chuckled softly.
“Anyway, things are progressing smoothly.”
Namgung Hyeok thought that from here on, it would be nothing but smooth sailing.
The Celestial Bright King Art was advancing toward completion, and the ingredients for the Golden Immortal Pill, the Peng clan’s secret medicine, were being gathered steadily.
He had already acquired one vial of Azure Crystal Oil, and the Beggars’ Sect was searching for the Millennia Flower Dew.
On top of that, the Peng clan had promised to secure the other ingredients needed for the Golden Immortal Pill, and he could fetch any shortages himself.
The Namgung family was more financially stable than before, to the point where work was overflowing and hands were short.
The road ahead was still long, but steady improvement was enough.
“Then, I should get moving too…….”
Namgung Hyeok rose to his feet.
“Speak of the devil.”
Watching Namgung Ryong stride into the courtyard, Namgung Hyeok let out a hollow laugh.
“Why are you here so early?”
“Work. Time. Short. Training.”
Namgung Hyeok burst into hearty laughter at Namgung Ryong, who listed words sparsely.
“What, has your vocabulary shrunk even more?”
When he got involved with that Jeomchang Sect disciple, his words had exploded, but afterward, they had decreased even from before.
No, the number of words had increased from before, but they felt more choppy somehow?
‘It was a last flare-up.’
Namgung Hyeok’s guess was that Namgung Ryong’s verbosity during the spar with the Jeomchang Sect disciple had been his final burst.
Namgung Hyeok spun the sword at his waist and stood before Namgung Ryong.
Shing!
Namgung Ryong drew his sword as well.
It was the Thousand-Year Cold Iron Sword given as a prize for winning at the Orthodox Heaven Alliance.
The chill emanating from the blade made Namgung Hyeok’s hairs stand on end.
“If you’ve drawn your sword, come at me.”
“Mm!”
Namgung Ryong nodded vigorously and charged at Namgung Hyeok.
“Hah!”
With a mighty shout, the Thousand-Year Cold Iron Sword sprayed a deep blue sword light and unleashed thunderbolts.
Pajijijik!
The momentum of the Imperial Sword Forms paired with the Sovereign’s Dominion Stride surged ferociously, as if to shatter mountains.
Kurrung!
A powerful sword strike fell amid thunderous roars.
Namgung Hyeok countered the Imperial Sword Forms with the Triple Thunder Sword Method.
Its momentum was swifter and fiercer than the Imperial Sword Forms.
A bundle of thunderbolts, appearing disordered, engulfed the Imperial Sword Forms.
Kwaaang!
After a fierce clash, Namgung Ryong slid back, but immediately charged again with another strike.
Namgung Ryong’s swordplay shifted from heavy strikes that crushed opponents to swift sword.
At a glance, it resembled Lightning Thirteen Thunders, but the power and weight infused within differed.
A gleam shot from Namgung Ryong’s eyes.
Pajijijik!
Sword energy mimicking lightning clashed with Namgung Hyeok’s Triple Thunder Sword Method.
A light flickered in Namgung Hyeok’s eyes.
Paat!
Namgung Ryong’s sword changed from swift to soft, drawing Namgung Hyeok’s blade like pulling up a net as it advanced.
The Imperial Sword Forms transformed in myriad ways.
It didn’t contain dozens of changes in a single strike like Namgung Hyeok’s, but each shift was vivid and distinct.
It was a sword akin to Namgung Ryong’s nature.
Namgung Hyeok twisted his sword.
Sword energy roiled, cleaving through Namgung Ryong’s Imperial Sword Forms.
Kaaang!
With a sharp clash, Namgung Ryong’s arm nearly snapped as it bent backward.
Swish!
In that momentary gap, Namgung Hyeok’s sword energy pierced through.
“Urgh!”
“You’ve got to move! If the Imperial Sword Forms get blocked, you offering your neck?”
As Namgung Hyeok thrust his sword straight, Namgung Ryong spun his body and unleashed a spinning kick.
“Hup!”
Namgung Hyeok hooked his foot to disrupt Namgung Ryong’s balance. Namgung Ryong kicked up again in midair while thrusting his sword.
It was Namgung Ryong’s sword energy extending from an unexpected angle.
But as if he had anticipated it, Namgung Hyeok lightly sidestepped, grabbed Namgung Ryong’s neck, and slammed him to the ground.
Kwaang!
“Keok!”
Swaaang! Kwang!
Namgung Hyeok’s sword grazed Namgung Ryong’s cheek by a hair’s breadth and stabbed into the earth.
Seeing Namgung Hyeok’s previously playful eyes turn icy cold, Namgung Ryong felt a chill run down his spine.
He swallowed dryly at the razor-sharp killing intent that raised goosebumps.
Namgung Hyeok rose smoothly, chuckling.
“Died once?”
“…….”
“How long you gonna lie there?”
“……Do it.”
Namgung Ryong gripped his sword and sprang up.
And the spar resumed.
Kaang! Kakang! Kakakang!
“Wow.”
Tak Hyeok-dong gaped at Namgung Hyeok and Namgung Ryong sparring in the front yard.
“Brutal, brutal. Isn’t someone gonna die like that?”
“It’s brutal, sure.”
Geon Cheon-hwi clicked his tongue watching the spar.
“……Is that orthodox or unorthodox?”
“What kinda nonsense is that? The Namgung family is orthodox, not unorthodox.”
“You idiot, can’t you tell?”
“Hey, spars can get intense. Yeah? Sneak attacks, backstabs, throwing dirt—could happen!”
Crazy bastard, at that level, it’s hard to call it orthodox anymore.
‘But they’re doing it right now?’
Killing intent flew in a simple spar, and savage momentum swept the ground.
Rough, fierce, tricky—it was far from the honesty and steadfastness of the orthodox sects.
“Quietude breeds blackness…….”
“Huh? Food? What kind of jelly?”
“Damn, you really…….”
Geon Cheon-hwi shook his head.
He suddenly thought this guy deserved a paper bag over his head in a different sense.
At that moment, a roar erupted as Namgung Ryong collapsed with a thud.
Namgung Hyeok dusted off his hands.
Geon Cheon-hwi shot to his feet.
“Shall we carry him to the medical hall?”
“Medical hall? What medical hall.”
“No, not you, Young Master, but the eldest young master…….”
“He’s fine. Perfectly healthy.”
Perfectly healthy……?
Around the sprawled Namgung Ryong, something red spread like creeping shadows.
“……He’s bleeding?”
“Pfft, spit on it and it’ll heal.”
“He’s not dead, is he?”
“No way.”
At Namgung Hyeok’s nonchalant words, Geon Cheon-hwi’s jaw dropped.
Namgung Hyeok glanced at Geon Cheon-hwi.
“You guys too.”
“Yes?”
“What, you gonna just watch?”
“W-Wait a…….”
“Wait what.”
Namgung Hyeok said.
“Don’t wanna learn martial arts?”
“Yes? Martial arts?”
Geon Cheon-hwi’s eyes widened as he stared at Namgung Hyeok.
‘He’s gonna teach me martial arts?’
New martial arts?
Thanks to the insights Namgung Hyeok had given him, he had continued growing until now.
Maximizing his existing arts, learning new sword formations to match, mastering body utilization.
Everything he tossed out casually held unimaginable value.
And now Namgung Hyeok was going to teach new martial arts?
Just how vast a new world would he reveal?
Geon Cheon-hwi’s eyes bulged.
“I’ll do it. What first?”
“What first? Spar with me.”
“Yes? You just said you’d teach martial arts…….”
“Martial arts are best learned through the body!”
“W-Wait a…….”
“You think I’ve got time to burn? Huh? I train all day, and you lot have been sitting in the stands spectating?”
“W-Waaaait!”
Geon Cheon-hwi screamed as he drew his sword.
Namgung Hyeok was charging with terrifying momentum.
“Learn with your body.”
“Aaack!”
“It’s called Iron Soul Thirteen Paths. The guy who mastered it learned it while getting hit!”
“W-Wait, why that one of all things!”
“Master it right, and you can become unbreakable like diamond! If you master it!”
Uh, and before mastering it?
Such doubts couldn’t continue.
Namgung Hyeok’s attack had already begun.
That assault engulfed Tak Hyeok-dong, who had been blankly watching from behind, and didn’t stop until it caught Zhang Xiong, who was silently fleeing.
“Kuaaaah!”
“Keurgh!”
“Huerk!”
The screams of the Thunder Dragon Squad’s three members echoed endlessly.
* * *
Geum Cheom-sang added firewood to heat the bathwater and asked.
“You’ve been moving pretty intensely lately.”
“That’s life.”
“Ah…….”
“What’s with those eyes?”
“Nothing. Training and sparring all day—aren’t you overdoing it?”
“In the old days, this wouldn’t even count as a warm-up. Not even a sweat.”
“Not pushing yourself just because you’re healthy now?”
“If this is healthy, a seventy-year-old would be hopping up Mount Hua. Gotta get healthier.”
That’s not quite right.
In many ways.
Namgung Hyeok casually stripped off his clothes and glanced at Geum Cheom-sang.
“But what were you doing coming so late? Playing around?”
“Playing? I was working until just now!”
“What else you got besides serving me?”
“Hey, I was just organizing supplies! For real! This is so unfair!”
“Yeah, sure.”
Namgung Hyeok gave a perfunctory reply, ignoring the fuming Geum Cheom-sang as he sank into the bathwater.
The steaming heat warmed his body.
A languid feeling washed over him quickly.
Namgung Hyeok’s gaze drifted somewhere beyond the steam.
‘A faction, huh…….’
In his past life, he had never truly belonged to one.
But having a faction felt like gaining a sturdy fence.
At least with reliable allies, no backstabbing worries.
And the various obstacles arising from that would vanish……
Such thoughts strengthened his sense that this life must differ from the past.
Then the Namgung family should grow alongside him.
Advancing together in step with him might uncover something new.
‘Grow together.’
It would start from those around him.
From Namgung Ryong, the Thunder Dragon Squad, the Peng siblings, and the Little Sword Princess.
Then the Namgung family would change and grow too.
“Together…….”
Namgung Hyeok mulled over the unfamiliar yet not entirely strange word.
“Feels awkward.”
Chuckling, Namgung Hyeok closed his eyes.