Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: What Were You Thinking?!
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“Exactly what were you thinking, pulling a stunt like that?!”
Namgung Jangcheon couldn’t hold back any longer and bellowed.
His voice was so thunderous that the teacup on the table rattled.
‘Hah, yelling again. What’s the big deal?’
Namgung Hyeok gave his raging father a deadpan look.
“As you’ve seen.”
Namgung Jangcheon’s face crumpled, then slowly relaxed.
He let out a heavy sigh, laden with worry.
“Do you even realize what you’ve done?”
“I do.”
“What?”
“A sparring match.”
Seeing Namgung Jangcheon’s fists trembling, Namgung Hyeok averted his gaze slightly.
Namgung Jangcheon reined in his anger before speaking lowly again.
“This isn’t something you can just step in and fix. It could even give them leverage over us.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you still not grasp how massive a blunder this is?”
It wasn’t just massive—it was a disaster.
A colossal one.
He’d thrown away countless negotiation options by lumping them into a single sparring match, and not just any match.
It was a bout between a child and an adult, a chasm in skill levels.
“Disadvantageous” didn’t even begin to cover it.
It would’ve been better to outright abandon the family head position in exchange for elixir support.
At least that way, he’d proven he wasn’t squandering funds frivolously.
But he’d crushed all such openings with this sparring nonsense, so how could Namgung Jangcheon not seethe?
And the culprit behind it all was far too nonchalant, which only twisted the knife.
“You fool!”
Namgung Jangcheon started to yell again but caught himself.
It was clear he was suppressing his fury.
Namgung Hyeok subtly plugged his ears.
The man’s throat sounded like he’d boiled gunpowder.
‘Hah, what’s with all the fuss?’
Just beat the guy, that’s all.
Namgung Jangcheon twisted his face once more and kept sighing.
That was when a moment of silence fell.
Shing. Shing. Shriiing.
At the sudden noise, Namgung Jangcheon whipped his head around.
Beside the table, Namgung Ryong was sharpening his sword in a reverent posture.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“...I am.”
“What?”
“Sparring.”
“You’re saying you’ll spar in his place? Does that even make sense? Do you know what kind of sparring this is?!”
“...Disguise.”
“Get up!”
Frustrated, Namgung Jangcheon thumped his chest.
“I’ve got two sons, and...”
“...The third.”
“...”
Namgung Jangcheon shut his mouth and coughed awkwardly.
Namgung Hyeok, now curious, asked Namgung Ryong.
“Come to think of it, where’s the youngest?”
He vaguely recalled hearing Namgung Jangcheon had a youngest son, but he hadn’t shown up anywhere, which piqued his interest.
Their reactions were odd, though.
Namgung Jangcheon slyly looked away, and Namgung Ryong glanced up at the ceiling for a moment.
Namgung Hyeok stared, and Namgung Ryong murmured lowly.
“...Outside.”
“So, where outside?”
“...For a bit.”
“Can’t you just tell me properly? A full sentence?”
“...Sigh...”
“Sigh?”
“Enough! Is the youngest the issue right now?!”
Namgung Jangcheon raised his voice, cutting off Namgung Ryong and Namgung Hyeok.
Namgung Hyeok shot Namgung Ryong a regretful glance.
‘What’s the deal? Why am I out of the loop?’
Treating me differently over something trivial?
As Namgung Hyeok felt a strange sense of exclusion, Namgung Jangcheon’s sigh reached him.
“The important thing now is the sparring! What on earth were you thinking?!”
“Uh, feels like I’m hearing the same thing on repeat. Am I imagining it?”
“How’s a guy who’s trained martial arts for just a month supposed to beat a master with over a decade of experience?!”
Over a decade?
I’ve got over a century, what’s this about?
Namgung Jangcheon’s lips were parched; he gulped down tea repeatedly.
“You were reckless. Let’s try delaying the sparring somehow, even now. Lie down and feign illness. Yeah, play sick for a month or two.”
“Eh.”
“You brat! You could barely climb stairs until recently—what makes you think you can spar? A bit of jogging doesn’t make you a martial artist!”
“Just win, that’s all.”
Namgung Jangcheon let out a long sigh at Namgung Hyeok’s indifferent toss-off.
“If you were healthy, I’d slap some sense into you...”
Hmph, that’d be a sight—your jaw spinning.
Or maybe your head.
Namgung Hyeok chuckled inwardly.
“But is Namgung Jeong really that great?”
“You agreed to spar without even knowing who he is?!”
“Didn’t you say he’s second-best?”
“You little—!”
“Whoa, hands off the inkstone. That’ll kill me.”
“Urgh!”
Namgung Jangcheon pressed his temple firmly.
He might collapse from high blood pressure first.
Not Namgung Hyeok—he’d need the elixirs himself.
“Namgung Jeong is one of the top late-generation disciples alongside Ryong at the main house! Even your brother would have to face him!”
“Oh.”
“Oh? Ohhh?”
“Ah?”
“Haaa!”
Namgung Jangcheon gave up on yelling.
No point in raging at this.
“The technique he’s mastered is the Lone Sword of the Exalted Soul. He’s reached the tenth stage, enough to be hailed a prodigy and a true master.”
“Lone Sword of the Exalted Soul, huh...”
“Do you get what that means?”
“Is the Lone Sword of the Exalted Soul really that impressive?”
“Oh, you naive fool.”
Namgung Jangcheon clutched his temple and covered his face with his hand.
But Namgung Hyeok just tilted his head at his father.
‘Why would I know that?’
Lone Sword of the Exalted Soul, or whatever—he knows it or not.
Just some sword technique, right?
‘But is that all he knows?’
Weird.
Didn’t the Sword King say by his thirties, he’d mastered over ten sword arts of the Namgung Clan, all surpassing the tenth stage?
- By my thirties, this lord had already memorized all of the Sovereign Pavilion’s martial arts. Impressive memory, right?
- I’ve got ten thousand techniques in my head.
- You and your four arts... Ahem, anyway, before thirty, I’d mastered over ten from the Sovereign Pavilion, all beyond tenth stage.
- That impressive?
- In Namgung Clan history, I was the only genius like that.
- Genius sounds easy. So, where’s the Flame King Elixir?
- ...Ahem! I’ll grab the privy for a sec and bring it.
- Go. Back yet? No elixir? You could vanish, you know?
- Ahem! Be right back.
Recalling his chat with the Sword King, Namgung Hyeok suddenly thought the Sword King was impressive.
‘I get the Sword King’s amazing, but what level is this Namgung Jeong? Average, or pretty good?’
Namgung Hyeok sidelong-glanced at Namgung Ryong.
‘What about him?’
Shing shing.
Shriiing.
“...”
Namgung Ryong sharpened his sword with detached poise.
Kept sharpening.
Nonstop.
“You can sharpen the sword later.”
Namgung Ryong paused, eyed the honed blade, and nodded.
Shing, shing.
‘...And this guy’s the Sword Dragon.’
A contest of dullards?
Then he must be one too.
Felt right.
Namgung Hyeok inwardly tsked and turned to Namgung Jangcheon.
The man cleared his throat once, then grew abruptly serious.
“Father.”
Namgung Jangcheon matched Namgung Hyeok’s grave demeanor.
“Yes, let’s think of countermeasures now. Find a way to counter the Lone Sword of the Exalted Soul, or something other than sparring...”
“It’s mealtime.”
“...What?”
“Food.”
Namgung Hyeok stared at Namgung Jangcheon with a straight face.
Namgung Jangcheon blankly stared back for a moment before asking again.
“Food?”
“Yes.”
Watching Namgung Hyeok’s solemn reply, Namgung Jangcheon clutched his nape.
“Out.”
“We eat first.”
“Out—!”
Namgung Hyeok grimaced at Namgung Jangcheon’s roar.
‘Damn, at least feed me.’
He’d held out here to eat in the family head’s quarters.
‘Fine. Too messy. Guess I’ll kidnap the head chef.’
Grumbling, Namgung Hyeok left the family head’s room.
Namgung Jangcheon sighed deeply.
“Why is that boy so utterly carefree...”
He was bizarrely calm.
No—not calm; the sparring didn’t even register.
What the hell was in that kid’s head?
This was a situation where sparring was absolutely off-limits.
“Surely he’s not thinking something dangerous?”
Namgung Ryong looked at Namgung Jangcheon.
“No? Confident eyes?”
“...”
“Hah.”
Namgung Jangcheon’s head throbbed.
Since his Nine Yin Severed Meridians improved, Namgung Hyeok had changed repeatedly.
But that was just better than before—unrelated to his martial prowess.
‘Whether this is his true face or not, it’s reckless.’
The opponent was Namgung Jeong.
The Sword Tiger, one of the clan’s top prodigies.
A wall no one-month trainee could surmount—embarrassing to even compare.
‘It won’t end with just a spar.’
It wouldn’t flow nicely. This wasn’t mere martial exchange; it was life-or-death.
Namgung Jangcheon eyed Namgung Ryong.
“Ryong.”
Namgung Ryong nodded quietly.
“Right. What’s more important than family?”
“...”
“If it turns dire, intervene. You must protect Hyeok.”
“...”
“...Don’t go for the kill.”
“...”
Namgung Jangcheon sighed.
“Hyeok’s done something utterly insane. Ha!”
* * *
Namgung Baek smiled faintly at Namgung Jeong.
Namgung Jeong embodied arrogance. At just twenty-one, he already exuded a master’s aura.
Calm as a still lake now, but with sword in hand, he surged like raging waves—that was Namgung Jeong.
No wonder he was counted among the clan’s premier late-generation disciples.
Namgung Baek, standing before him, spoke.
“I trust you’ll handle it, but don’t get complacent.”
“No worries. I won’t slack like the second brother.”
“Good. I believe you.”
Namgung Baek patted Namgung Jeong’s shoulder lightly.
“Remember, this spar decides not just the family head’s fate, but the next young lord’s seat.”
One spar could oust Namgung Jangcheon’s line in a flash.
Plus, it’d imprint on the retainers who’d lead Namgung Clan henceforth.
“A guy who’s trained a month accepting a spar—despite his untreated Nine Yin Severed Meridians—must have some scheme.”
Doing the illogical meant he had a hidden crutch.
A nagging unease lingered.
Though just a minor worry.
Even so, how could Namgung Hyeok beat Namgung Jeong?
‘Namgung Jangcheon must be plotting something.’
No room for tricks.
He’d block it at the source.
Namgung Baek eyed Namgung Jeong.
“How’s your Lone Sword of the Exalted Soul?”
“Beyond tenth stage.”
Pleased, Namgung Baek’s eyes gleamed.
The Lone Sword of the Exalted Soul was peak swordsmanship even in the jianghu.
Hiding his joy, Namgung Baek lowered his voice.
“Rip him apart mercilessly. Overwhelmingly! Crush whatever scheme, thoroughly.”
“Understood.”
“And show the elders. Prove whose seat the young lord’s belongs to.”
“Yes!”
Namgung Jeong replied crisply.
“I’ll smash him flat.”
Namgung Baek smiled in satisfaction.
“Good! I trust you.”
* * *
A patrol warrior nodded to a warrior entering the hall, dusting off his clothes.
“Why’re you still hanging around?”
“Huh? Just got back after ages—gotta rest. Can’t I here?”
“Hah, you really don’t know?”
“Huh? What’s with the hints? Something happen?”
“Yep! Something hilarious.”
“Huh?”
“Not curious why everyone’s flocking that way?”
“The main house is always packed...”
The warrior tilted his head at the patrolman’s pointed direction.
It was odd, sure.
Namgung Clan was always bustling.
But not like this—everyone mesmerized, heading one way.
And their faces lit with excitement, like at a spectacle.
“What? Why? What happened while I was gone?”
“Big time!”
“Quit stalling—spill! It’s killing me!”
The warrior chuckled, then whispered slyly.
“They’re sparring.”
“Sparring? That big a deal to draw crowds? Some lunatic sect challenging the main house?”
“Bigger!”
“Huh?”
Bigger than invading Namgung Clan?
Savoring the reaction, the patrolman dragged it out before saying.
“Second Young Master Hyeok’s sparring Namgung Jeong.”
“Pfft. Late-gen disciples sparring...”
Mid-sentence, the man froze, eyes bulging.
“Second Young Master? You mean the Nine Yin Severed Meridians guy, the one whose body snaps like a twig, sparring Namgung Jeong?!”
“Yep!”
“Are you nuts? What bullshit is this?”
Second Young Master Namgung Hyeok was the clan’s weakest ever.
Forget meridians—his body was paper-thin.
Him sparring?
Could he even lift a sword?
And against Namgung Jeong!
The second-strongest late-gen after Sword Dragon.
Some even whispered Sword Dragon might change soon.
Namgung Jeong’s Sword Tiger moniker wasn’t for show.
Second Young Master would crumple from a graze.
“That’s why it’s chaos!”
“L-let’s go!”
“Impatient, eh?”
“Come on! How’s this even real? How’d it happen?”
Glancing around, the patrolman lowered his voice.
“Rumor has it the family head... ahem, might step down based on this spar’s outcome.”
“What?! They put Second Young Master in for something that huge? Not even First Young Master?”
“Just rumors. Anyway, bets are on.”
“Bets?”
“How long Second Young Master lasts. Wanna bet?”
The warrior snorted derisively.
“Last? Bet on how many fractures instead?”
“Ahem. That’s an option.”
“...”
“Haha, just for drinks. Whew, huge crowd. Seems like all the clan’s here!”
The sparring ground, holding thousands, was walled by retainers.
Hundreds, easy.
All buzzing with curiosity and anticipation.
From servants to idle warriors—everyone converged.
Their murmurs rumbled like thunder despite low volume.
Everyone chattered about the outcome.
Near the platform, Thousand Response Squad warriors scanned sharply, ready for trouble.
They chatted freely in groups, but tension gripped the air.
Soon, figures appeared on the sparring platform.