Chapter 269
Chapter 269
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 269
Chapter Title: Uproar in the Nangong Clan
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Nangong Clan was abuzz with the news from Huangshan.
"Did you hear? A secret manual turned up in Huangshan!"
"A secret manual? I heard it was a hidden grotto."
"A secret manual from Huangshan? What kind? How the hell does something like that just appear there?"
"Why else do you think the Family Head and the leadership went rushing to Huangshan!"
The clan's retainers chattered away with shocked expressions.
It was only natural.
The Huangshan Sword Branch, established as the Nangong Clan expanded its territory, had stood on Huangshan for hundreds of years already.
How many times had the Nangong Clan come and gone from Huangshan over those centuries, only for a secret manual to turn up now?
It was no different from finding a pouch of gold right in their own bedroom.
Such an unbelievable event had actually happened, so how could people not be stunned?
A secret manual, from Huangshan of all places!
"Who found the manual?"
"They say the young masters stumbled on it while sightseeing in Huangshan!"
"What? Found a secret manual while taking in the views?"
"Good lord! Is something like that even possible?"
The retainers' faces went blank.
Huangshan wasn't some backyard—it was a massive mountain range stretching hundreds of li southward.
It had seventy-two peaks alone, and to find a secret manual by sheer chance in such a vast place!
"Our young masters must be blessed by heaven!"
"It's bizarre, just bizarre. What do you even call a talent like that?"
"Finding a secret manual isn't just any old thing. Heh heh, the young masters are bringing great fortune to the main house again!"
The retainers nodded with pleased expressions.
Good things kept happening one after another to the Nangong Clan, so how could they not be happy?
Thud, roll roll roll...
From where he lounged on the eaves with his arm propped up, Little Beggar dropped the fruit he was eating.
He stared at the backs of the passing retainers with eyes bulging wide enough to tear.
'...A secret manual? A hidden grotto?'
What nonsense was this?
Nangong Hyeok, who had gone out on clan business, found this manual or grotto or whatever?
Did that even make sense?
'No way the Little Beggar of the Beggars' Clan wouldn't know about a grotto turning up in Huangshan?'
Even those nameless retainers all knew about it?
He sprang up and bolted straight to Nangong Hyeok's quarters.
"Second Young Master! Second Young Master!"
Bursting into Nangong Hyeok's residence, Little Beggar rolled his eyes wildly.
People's attention snapped to the noisy intruder.
Paeng Jung-hyeok, who had been tending to his sword, looked up.
"Why are you making such a racket?"
"Have you seen the Second Young Master?"
"No. Everyone's cultivating, so keep it down."
"No, cultivation isn't what's important right now!"
"Then is begging more important?"
"Damn it! They found a grotto in Huangshan! The whole clan's in an uproar saying the Second Young Master discovered some secret manual!"
Clang!
Paeng Jung-hyeok dropped the sword he was working on and stared blankly at Little Beggar.
"A grotto?"
"That's what they're saying!"
"Crazy! How does a grotto pop up everywhere he goes? Does he have some kind of detection ability?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying!"
Little Beggar slapped his thigh in agreement.
But Paeng Jung-hyeok's face was deadly serious.
'...Damn it. Please don't let it be true.'
The Nangong Clan growing even stronger was something that absolutely could not happen.
It wasn't out of hatred or disdain for the Nangong Clan.
Simply...
'If keeps stuff like this turning up, I'll never get back to the main house!'
The stronger the Nangong Clan became, the more certain it was that his father, Paeng Cheon-wi, would keep him pinned here.
Please, please—for the love of heaven—grow after I get back to the Paeng Clan.
Damn it all!
As Paeng Jung-hyeok despaired beside him, So Hye-yeon lit up and asked,
"Is it a sword manual? Who created it?"
"We'll have to check that out..."
"If it's got the whole clan buzzing, it must be some divine technique, right?"
"Well..."
Heh heh. Little Beggar subtly averted his eyes as So Hye-yeon smiled.
The word "sparring" had clearly popped into his head.
Off at a distance, the Tang siblings' eyes went wide.
Scribble scribble.
Tang Myeong-ok pulled out her notebook and jotted something down, while Tang Myeong-jin muttered blankly,
"Did he save the country in a past life? How long ago was the Millennium Crimson Crane, and now another secret manual...?"
Some said you had to fall off a cliff to encounter destiny, but Nangong Hyeok tripped over it everywhere he went.
Tang Myeong-jin felt the world's unfairness keenly.
Just then, Nangong Hyeok, Nangong Ryong, and the three from the Thunder Dragon Squad happened by.
Everyone's gazes locked onto Nangong Hyeok.
Huh?
A bright smile, the look of someone ascending to the heavens, skin practically oozing with oil—he looked like he'd just come back from a hot spring soak.
'No way, did he already get rewarded?'
'They said he found a secret manual—did he find his health too? He looks excessively healthy.'
'Ugh! Every time he makes that face, something feels off.'
'What's with them?'
The three from the Thunder Dragon Squad trailed behind in haggard, deathly pale states, forming a stark contrast to the radiant Nangong Hyeok.
Nangong Hyeok glanced at Geon Cheon-hwi.
"Why are you so tense? I told you to manage your expression. What crime did we commit?"
"It's a crime alright. The crime of deception..."
"Deception? What deception?"
Nangong Hyeok glared.
"This is all for the clan! We're basically heroes, aren't we?"
"......"
"What?"
"What if problems come up later? We should just come clean now..."
"Haha, go ahead and speak. Yes, speak up. It'll be your last words."
Who would speak after a threat like that, you...
His eyes might pop out.
Geon Cheon-hwi quietly bowed his head.
Nangong Hyeok grinned.
"Why is everyone out here?"
Little Beggar, Paeng Jung-hyeok, and So Hye-yeon charged over with fiery eyes.
"Second Young Master! Is it true you found a secret manual?!"
"No, right? Tell us it's not! It's not a secret manual!"
"Is it a sword manual? Or an internal energy method?"
Heh, really now.
Rumors sure spread fast.
Nangong Hyeok waved them off.
"No need to know."
"......"
"Ahem, don't dig too deep."
With that, he slipped back into his quarters.
Little Beggar, Paeng Jung-hyeok, and So Hye-yeon blankly watched his retreating back, then whipped their heads around.
Their gazes fell on the bedraggled three from the Thunder Dragon Squad entering the area.
"It's true you found a secret manual, right?! We won't spread it—just give us a hint!"
"No way, right? It can't be!"
"Is it a sword manual?"
As the three clung like flames, the rest of the Thunder Dragon Squad came rushing over and surrounded them.
Geon Cheon-hwi chuckled dryly.
'We're the easy marks, huh.'
They couldn't say a word to the Second Young Master!
"Tired..."
"You can at least say something!"
"We'll talk later..."
"Come on! Don't play hard to get! Let us in on it, yeah?"
Led by Little Beggar, everyone stared at him with burning eyes.
Geon Cheon-hwi let out a hollow laugh.
"Why the laugh?"
"Hahahaha."
"Why are you laughing?"
"You're all dead meat now."
"...Huh?"
"You're just dead."
Geon Cheon-hwi laughed heartily, and from behind, Tak Hyeok-dong and Jang Ung laughed like madmen too.
"Kuhahahahaha!"
"Uhahahahaha!"
The three from the Thunder Dragon Squad walked off laughing insanely.
The crowd parted, staring blankly after them.
What?
Why?
Why are we dead meat?
A heavy silence of confusion settled over the area.
Nangong Ryong shook his head from a step away and turned around.
And it was only the next day that they learned what "dead meat" meant.
* * *
Led by Grand Elder Nangong Wigung, the twelve elders of the Nangong Clan gathered in the Heavenly Palace Hall.
Their faces, fresh from returning from the Huangshan Sword Branch, bloomed with smiles.
The elders' gazes fixed on the "Heavenly Palace Invincible Sword" atop the table.
Their eyes mixed greed, ecstasy, and awe.
It was the finest sword art from the grotto, a martial technique one step beyond the Heavenly Palace Unfettered Sword.
Naturally, desire for such a technique was inevitable.
A brief silence passed, and Nangong Jangcheon spoke.
"What do you think?"
Nangong Wigung replied quietly but with evident excitement.
"After returning to the main house, we examined it thoroughly and checked for flaws again, but found no elements that could lead to demonic deviation anywhere."
"Mm..."
"Interpreting certain key phrases will take some time, but we judge it a matter of time. The other elders agree."
The elders nodded at Nangong Wigung's words.
It was the result of pooling their heads back at the Nangong Clan to scrutinize the Heavenly Palace Invincible Sword's phrases.
The elders chimed in one by one.
"The swordplay's profundity is one thing, but its simple clarity is the best under heaven!"
"Indeed! It revolutionizes the complex lines of the Heavenly Palace Unfettered Sword into something streamlined—truly astonishing."
"Heh heh heh! It's absurd. For sword art of this caliber to be so easily decipherable! This is a discovery that elevates our clan's swordsmanship to new heights."
The elders poured out their admiration.
The most terrifying aspect of the Heavenly Palace Invincible Sword was how accessibly it presented such an advanced technique.
Even a sword novice could mimic its forms with eyes alone—it was that straightforward.
This went beyond surprise into outright shock.
"It's great fortune, great fortune!"
"Heh heh heh, master this, and the clan will leap forward dramatically."
"We could surpass the Five Great Clans and challenge even the Nine Great Sects, couldn't we? Hahaha!"
The elders buzzed with excitement.
Even these usually dignified, solemn men were extremely worked up—the value of the Heavenly Palace Invincible Sword was that immense.
"What about the other techniques?"
"Similarly efficient and concisely organized."
"It's miraculous, truly miraculous. How are all the phrases so succinct?"
"Right? It's like it's urging you to learn it quick and try it out."
It felt just like spear techniques taught in wartime.
In war, priority went to churning out soldiers who could fight immediately.
The spear was optimized for that.
Phrases like Ten-Day Spear or Hundred-Day Blade weren't coined idly.
Roughly ten days, and you'd have a soldier worth one man—the spear made it so.
Especially spear arts honed through countless wars and battles yielded tremendous efficiency even with brief practice.
The manuals discovered this time felt exactly like that.
Simple, clear techniques that boasted high efficiency and considerable depth.
Nangong Jangcheon nodded.
"Even if the phrases are simple, only a rare few will master them properly."
"Mm!"
"The Heavenly Palace Invincible Sword will be for elders and above. The other techniques we'll distribute by rank to the leadership and regular warriors."
At Nangong Jangcheon's words, delight and ecstasy lit the elders' faces.
Nangong Wigung said with a satisfied expression,
"We'll master it as swiftly as possible to deepen our understanding and insight, Family Head."
Confidence laced his voice.
Nangong Jangcheon smiled in satisfaction too.
Just seeing the elders' zeal made him feel secure.
"Yes. Do your utmost to master it. The higher your realms rise, the more solid our clan becomes."
Nangong Wigung and the elders beamed with pride.
"Heh heh, this old retiree finally has something worthwhile to do."
"Heavens! Such fortune in my later years..."
"It's all thanks to the young masters and the Family Head, isn't it?"
"The day our clan soars draws near!"
"Hahaha! I might even live to see the Nangong Clan reclaim its seat at the head of the Five Great Clans in my lifetime!"
Intense ambition gleamed in Nangong Jangcheon and the elders' eyes.
The meeting in the Heavenly Palace Hall drew to a harmonious close.
They had no idea yet.
The true nature of the Heavenly Palace Invincible Sword they would cultivate.
Nor what trick Nangong Hyeok had played on it.
Nangong Hyeok's shadow slowly crept over the Heavenly Palace Hall, but no one noticed.