Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: What Those Crazy Bastards Did
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Hissssss.”
Having left the Black Point and returned to his room, Namgung Hyeok stared into empty space and drew in a deep breath.
“Phaaaaa.”
A profound sigh rose up from the depths of his lungs and burst out of his mouth.
“Sip... haaaaa.”
With each inhale and exhale, Namgung Hyeok’s shoulders drooped straight down.
For a long while, he exhaled, purging the emptiness.
His limp shoulders twitched a few times.
“Puhuhu.”
The corners of Namgung Hyeok’s mouth, which had been spilling sighs just moments ago, curved upward.
Laughter leaked out from between his parted lips.
“Puhuhuhuhuhu!”
The laughter grew louder and louder.
“Uhahahahaha!”
Namgung Hyeok clutched his stomach and burst into guffaws.
After laughing foolishly for quite some time, Namgung Hyeok gradually regained his composure and straightened his expression.
In a voice still slightly flushed, he muttered,
“What the hell have those crazy bastards done?”
Some emotion too hard to put into words swirled around in his head and vanished.
“Hah... They’ve fabricated history.”
It was so absurd he couldn’t even get mad.
He hadn’t expected them to rewrite history like that.
He had staked his life fighting the demonic path and won, yet sixty years later, he’d become the leader of the demonic path.
It really grated on his nerves.
What was it? It felt like he’d been properly sucker-punched.
Like they’d screwed him over right up to the end.
“Hah, well. Hahaha.”
Even thinking about it again, it was ridiculous. Fabrication?
“Good job, good job.”
What grudge did they have against him to pull off something like that?
“Should I catch those bastards and beat the crap out of them?”
That might finally scratch the itch.
“What did I do wrong that they’re so desperate to devour me?”
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t recall doing anything deserving to be turned into the archdemon of the age.
“Did I plunge the world into misery like some Demon Lord and create rivers of blood...?”
Huh?
Rivers of blood...?
“...I created rivers of blood?”
He’d drenched the plains in blood.
Even the Demon Lord would’ve stuck out his tongue in admiration...
“No. Even so, that’s not right. How many were there? In the heat of battle...”
Ah.
He’d killed them all.
Wiped them out near annihilation.
He’d completely forgotten.
“...Damn it, I really am a demon lord.”
Namgung Hyeok let out another hollow laugh.
Greatest Demon of Past and Present.
Divine Demon.
The two words echoed and reverberated in his mind.
‘Son of a bitch.’
From the Righteous Heaven Alliance’s perspective, he might be worse than the Demon Lord.
Regardless of the reason, it was a fact he’d killed far more.
Namgung Hyeok’s eyebrows twitched violently as he sat in silence.
“So who betrayed who? They came charging to kill me—should I just lie down and die?”
No way.
After all I’d been through.
After how I’d survived, was he supposed to meekly die at the hands of those bastards?
‘So why’d they charge? Why not just eat well and live well?’
Did they have to taste rotten meat to know it was bad?
Namgung Hyeok clicked his tongue.
“Can’t catch them all and beat them either.”
Beat my ass.
Survivors or whatever, sixty years had passed.
Time enough for boys to become hunched old men.
Those who’d endured the Demonic Path Blood Tribulation would all be in graves, turned to dirt.
They’d long met the grim reaper and crossed the Yellow Springs.
No bones left to find, let alone catch and thrash.
Digging up graves now would just be posthumous desecration.
Namgung Hyeok clicked his tongue again.
It was all pointless. No gain in dwelling on it...
‘Is this the karmic retribution for the blood tribulation?’
No way.
‘Even those guys couldn’t do this.’
Even immortals couldn’t help it.
Stories distort and twist with the flow of time.
And deliberate fabrication like this only warped them further, beyond control.
‘Damn, time is a filthy thing.’
He wondered what the hell was going on.
Namgung Hyeok’s eyebrows twitched.
“Because of you damn immortal bastards! If you’d just let me ascend peacefully, I wouldn’t be seeing this shit, you sons of bitches!”
It was all their fault.
If he hadn’t known, he could’ve let it slide, but now that he did, how could he not care?
Grumbling in irritation, frustration, and emptiness for a long while, Namgung Hyeok finally let out a heavy sigh.
“Whatever.”
What could he do about spilt milk?
“Better spend that time raising my Heavenly Firmament Bright King Art.”
My own nose is three feet long.
No, this body has only three months left.
No leisure to fuss over petty revenge.
He had to surpass his past realm, achieve ascension, and reach a level to crack those immortals’ skulls.
‘It’s possible.’
With the fraudulent backing of the Namgung family and the greatest art in history, the Heavenly Firmament Bright King Art.
And though this damn body was cursed, overcoming the Nine Yin Severed Meridians would grant the world’s finest physique—no reason he couldn’t surpass his past self.
“Surviving comes first.”
Right.
That was top priority.
“For now, anyway.”
Gotta survive to do anything.
“......”
Hah, really.
It made him reflect once more on how his situation had come to hinge on bare survival.
“Ridiculous.”
Another hollow laugh escaped Namgung Hyeok’s lips.
The stinging in his eyes was probably just dust.
Namgung Hyeok looked up at the ceiling.
His lips twisted slowly, and his gaze sharpened.
“You bastards dropped me here for a reason, right?”
He didn’t know why the immortals had tossed him into the Namgung family, but he was now part of the martial world’s pillars.
Survive here, and he’d seize the massive backing of the Namgung family.
A wicked smile crept onto Namgung Hyeok’s lips.
A cruel grin no one would expect from a righteous sect’s junior.
He’d thought of a way to screw over those unlucky immortals.
“You bastards try it too. I’ll screw you over the same way, no matter what it takes.”
The immortal bastards had a voyeuristic kink, peering down at the mortal world.
That’s why they watched his ascension attempts and judged him.
They were surely watching the mortal world now too.
“I’ll make you feel it properly.”
Real good.
Crystal clear.
“Before I ascend, I’ll turn all the praise you got into spit.”
Heh heh, heh heh heh.
Just imagining it lifted his mood.
Namgung Hyeok chuckled darkly, then suddenly scowled.
“...But when do I start?”
Damn it.
Ready to run, but the finish line’s so far and hazy.
Confidence overflowed, but damn, it’d take forever.
“Caring about it’s making me crave candy.”
He glanced at the door. Checking for Geum Cheomsang.
“Why’s this guy always gone when I need him?”
At that moment, he sensed something approaching rapidly from outside.
The presence reached the door, and it flew open.
Bang!
Geum Cheomsang came rushing in, panting.
“Y-Young Master!”
Speak of the devil—Namgung Hyeok couldn’t help but smile.
“You’ll pass out.”
“B-Big trouble!”
“What? Big trouble? Yeah, big trouble. I’m out of candy right now.”
“No, real big trouble!”
Namgung Hyeok’s head tilted.
Huh?
What else could it be?
“Bigger than that?”
Geum Cheomsang panted for a bit, then blurted out urgently.
“T-The Family Head!”
“Huh?”
“The elders’ meeting’s been called! He’s there!”
“Oh, elders’ meeting. So what?”
That’s big trouble? Geez, so many ‘big troubles.’
Back in my day, the Demon Lord had to storm the Righteous Heaven Alliance’s inner quarters for it to count as big trouble, kid.
Namgung Hyeok clicked his tongue and sipped his tea.
“Word is the Family Head’s getting stripped of his position!”
Namgung Hyeok blinked.
What the hell was this out-of-nowhere nonsense?
“No way the guy who was Family Head yesterday gets axed all of a sudden?”
“It’s been brewing for a while. Between the Family Head and the elders...”
“Huh? Mere elders daring to talk back to the Family Head?”
“Pardon?”
“Rebellion or something?”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing else would change it. Hah, ridiculous, just ridiculous.”
Sword King, you hear that?
Elders mouthing off to the Family Head!
‘If the Sword King were alive, he’d lop their heads off first.’
The Sword King was no saint.
A tyrant, no, a conqueror.
If not for his Namgung origins, he’d have ruled the unorthodox sects.
One hell of a temperamental bastard.
- Those punks not greeting their elder?
- Isn’t a few years’ difference basically peers?
- What’s the point of martial world etiquette and hierarchy? Punks who don’t respect elders need a beating. They’re itching for a fight after so long.
- Me too?
- ...Exceptions exist. We’re comrades who shared life and death. Comrades transcend age and rank.
- Cut the nonsense, go fetch booze. You said there’s good stuff.
- *Cough*. Now I’m craving some.
Anyway, he had temper. Fighting cock material.
As if the Sword King were muttering ‘Who’re you calling?’, but he brushed it off.
Looking at the flustered Geum Cheomsang, Namgung Hyeok let out a hollow chuckle.
“Hey, you think the Family Head changes that easily? This ain’t some back-alley thug boss.”
“......”
“Worrying over nothing. Who do they think they are, changing the Family Head? Heh, guess the elders are farting pretty loud to spout that crap.”
Namgung Hyeok snickered and sipped his tea.
“Yeah, there must be some pretext for the noise. What is it? Huh?”
Did the Namgung Family Head change whenever they wanted?
It was a seat handed down from the previous Family Head.
The Namgung family was blood-bound, obeyed their elders faithfully.
Life with hierarchy was tiring, but that hierarchy kept things solid.
The Family Head’s seat was like that.
‘Does the Namgung family switch seats like demonic cults, chopping master’s head for succession?’
Ridiculous.
The Namgung family was rock-solid.
Roots over a thousand years deep, Family Head changes were rare throughout history, only in exceptional cases.
Of course.
Plus, the Sword King bragged how much he’d strengthened the Family Head’s authority— it couldn’t crumble that easily...
“The elders have warned multiple times over the Young Master’s spirit elixirs.”
“...Huh?”
“They say the Family Head’s been reckless! He’s suffering now because he squandered family assets making elixirs for the Young Master!”
“What?”
Spirit elixirs? Weren’t they just given?
This was the Namgung family, right?
The Family Head’s kid dying of Nine Yin Severed Meridians—surely they could spare that much.
Right?
Or not?
Even if spirit elixirs dried up after the Demonic Path Blood Tribulation...
‘Dried up—where’d they even get them?’
Uh, hah...
‘How the hell did he get them?’
He’d taken it for granted, but maybe it wasn’t.
And when people did the ungranted, reactions were binary.
Praise or curses.
For Namgung Jangcheon, it seemed the latter.
‘How much fortune did he burn for them to talk ousting the Family Head?’
Family Head or not, he could spend some wealth!
The Sword King strutted around dripping in gold—talk about excessive...
“Over ten years dumping family wealth into treatments—even the elders hit their limit.”
...He could spend a bit.
How vast and rich was the Namgung family—elixirs shouldn’t...
“Our businesses aren’t growing at all; some are even running deficits, my father said. Sigh, the rot finally burst.”
...Guess he spent a ton.
Namgung Hyeok cleared his throat awkwardly and averted his gaze.
Then paused.
‘Hold on.’
Thinking it over, something felt off.
‘If he’s stripped of Family Head... the elixirs stop too?’
Most likely.
Ousted for squandering—would they supply elixirs after stepping down?
Like hell.
Namgung Hyeok’s face drained white.
‘No, can’t happen!’
My perfect elixir supply vanishing?
Elixirs were his lifeline.
How much they extended his thread of life.
Without them, when would he unblock his meridians, become a master?!
He shot up.
“You damn filthy bastards!”
“Young Master?”
“Where!”
“Pardon?”
“Elders’ meeting or whatever—where is it!”
“Eek, what’re you gonna do!”
“What else? If it’s my mess, I fix it!”
“Whaaat?”
Geum Cheomsang’s face twisted weirdly.
Namgung Hyeok snorted and strode out.
‘Damn it. Who the hell cuts my elixir supply on their whim? Unacceptable.’
Sword King, I’ve got temper too.
If your descendants block my elixirs, I’ll go back to my Poison Tyrant days!
Namgung Hyeok strode out of his quarters.
“Young Master! Argh, seriously! It’s not like going fixes it!”
“What, punk?! Don’t stop me!”
Geum Cheomsang made a miserable face and chased after Namgung Hyeok.
“Wrong way! Wrong way!”