Chapter 273
Chapter 273
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 273
Chapter Title: The Bait Bites
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Namgung Hyeok let out a low breath and sank into thought.
‘If I train Fifth Elder properly first, he’ll handle the cheerleading on his own, right?’
Fifth Elder was the bait.
Once Namgung Sik figured out how to fix the flaws in the Celestial Bow Invincible Sword, the other elders would snap it up one after another.
People always got envious seeing someone pull ahead.
Especially those with strong pride—they burned with jealousy even more.
And with the method already laid out for them, there was no reason to refuse once the results were shown.
Elders were people too, weren’t they?
When even one raised their realm and racked up achievements, the others would twist with envy.
All the more so if it involved martial arts.
Before long, one or two would flip, and eventually all the elders would be out on the training ground wielding wooden swords.
If all the elders came around, that would achieve the initial goal at least.
‘Making experts is more important than churning out regular warriors.’
A single expert could handle a hundred regular warriors.
Anyone could train regular warriors, but only Namgung Hyeok could forge true experts.
Namgung Hyeok focused on training Fifth Elder for now.
As the first customer, he planned to give him his full attention.
Namgung Hyeok gripped his wooden sword tighter.
‘Gotta moderate the power, so it’s a bit annoying.’
The wooden sword blurred into afterimages as it battered Namgung Sik.
Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
“Gaaah! Stop, stop! W-wait!”
“I told you to use footwork. Don’t you know Infinite Steps? Deploy Infinite Steps.”
“Guh! Ack! Don’t hit me! I said stop hitting! Stop it, you brat!”
“Jeez, you just don’t get it. Move already. You’ll die if you don’t, for real.”
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Namgung Sik screamed and gasped in shock.
Every time he tried to unleash the Celestial Bow Invincible Sword, Namgung Hyeok’s wooden sword wove a dazzling trail of afterimages, drumming his body like a drum.
“You little shit! They don’t even beat drums this hard, aaagh!”
“Shut up already! Footwork, footwork! Want your legs broken?”
“Kaaaaah!”
Namgung Hyeok’s wooden sword showed no mercy.
Having pierced three acupoints and advanced his Heavenly Bright King Art, he was a completely different man from when Namgung Baek had rebelled.
The Thunder Dragon Squad stuck to the training ground walls, staring wide-eyed at the brutal scene under Namgung Hyeok’s overwhelming violence.
Geon Cheon-hwi yawned lazily.
“He’s going easier than I thought.”
“He’s an old man.”
“Not using a real sword, just the wooden one?”
“You trying to kill him?”
They’d been horrified at first by the idea of beating an elder, but after half a day, they just shrugged it off.
It made sense because it was Namgung Hyeok.
Everything felt plausible coming from him.
And he really wasn’t hitting that hard, relatively speaking.
“Eh, hit him harder.”
“Heh, brings back memories. Bury him in the ground there, and it’d be perfect.”
“Still, he’s holding back for a family elder.”
The regular warriors were appalled.
‘That’s holding back?’
“He looks half-dead!”
‘…What kind of training did these guys go through?’
Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
The crisp sounds of striking flesh filled the training ground, mingled with Namgung Sik’s agonized screams.
The regular warriors marveled first that a person could deliver such savage beatings, then again that the victim was one of Namgung Clan’s top elders, Namgung Sik.
“All right, Elder…”
“Y-yeah…”
“Unbelievable.”
While the regular warriors gaped, the Thunder Dragon Squad snuck up behind them and grabbed their napes.
“Eek!”
“W-what’s this!”
“Hey, what gives!”
The Thunder Dragon Squad grinned.
“What, just sightseeing?”
“You wanna die?”
“Time for your training.”
The regular warriors, who’d felt a strange sympathy for Namgung Sik, went pale.
“Sp-spare us!”
“Let go, let go!”
“Eeeek!”
The Thunder Dragon Squad smoothly dragged the panicking men away.
Geon Cheon-hwi’s gaze flicked toward Namgung Ryong.
He was the closest spectator, parked right there watching Namgung Hyeok’s “training” session.
His eyes tracked every movement with intense seriousness, which somehow made him look even more sinister.
One might even suspect Namgung Ryong enjoyed watching beatings the most.
Geon Cheon-hwi stretched as he spoke.
“Let’s wrap this up quick and grab some food.”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Nice weather today.”
Namgung Hyeok’s Celestial Bow Invincible Sword and Namgung Sik’s screams were reaching a fever pitch.
* * *
All the elders except Fifth Elder had gathered in the Elders’ Hall.
The manual for the Celestial Bow Invincible Sword still lay before them, surrounded by mountains of annotations they’d scribbled.
Seventh Elder let out a deep sigh and muttered.
“Hoo… This won’t work either…”
“What’d Fifth Elder say?”
“Haven’t seen him at all lately. Word is he’s practically living on the training ground.”
“Huh? Did he find some clue?”
“No idea. Just swinging wooden swords in spars or something…”
“Huh, spars?”
The elders chuckled in disbelief.
He’d vanished for days, and all he was doing was sparring?
“If he’d solved it, would he be wasting time like that? They say he looks like a mess!”
“What a disgrace. Shouldn’t have jumped in so eagerly, tsk tsk.”
“Doesn’t even know what the kids are whispering about. Ha ha, really. You can’t solve this by brute force. Right?”
Namgung Wi-gyeong stroked his beard leisurely.
“Fifth Elder seems to have underestimated it. We all gave it our best thought.”
“Exactly.”
“I usually back Hyeok, but not this time.”
“Right, ha ha! Elders don’t speak lightly. Since it came up, shall we go check on him?”
“Yeah, we can console him while we’re at it.”
Namgung Wi-gyeong nodded and rose.
The other elders chuckled along and followed him to the training ground.
Leisure hung on their faces.
The elders entered the training ground, smiles playing on their lips.
Namgung Wi-gyeong’s eyes, searching for Namgung Hyeok and Fifth Elder, bulged as they locked on the two figures in the center.
He flinched, his mouth slowly falling open.
“Ha ha, what’s wrong?”
“Where’s Fifth Elder…?”
“Great Elder…?”
The elders, who’d followed chuckling behind Namgung Wi-gyeong, froze one by one like statues.
Their eyes went wide, shaking violently.
‘What the hell is that?’
‘Who’s that beggar standing there?’
‘Is that really Fifth Elder?’
Horrified, they stared at Fifth Elder Namgung Sik—unkempt hair like a monk’s, covered in dirt and grime, his uniform torn to rags.
‘What the hell happened in just a few days to turn him into a beggar!’
‘How hard did they train him…’
‘The rumors don’t even come close!’
He looked like he’d wandered in from a beggar clan.
The elders were speechless at the wretched sight.
Namgung Hyeok glanced at the elders hovering by the entrance, then turned back to Namgung Sik.
“Your footwork’s getting better now.”
Namgung Sik lifted his bowed head.
His bloodshot eyes gleamed with killing intent.
Gritting his teeth made his jaw grind audibly.
“Is that so?”
“Your old friends came to watch from back there.”
“Old friends? Watch?”
“At that age, a year or two’s difference makes you buddies.”
Namgung Sik slowly turned his blood-veined eyes.
There stood the Elders’ Hall “friends” at the entrance, dumbfounded.
Namgung Wi-gyeong and the others flinched as their eyes met his.
“F-Fifth… Elder?”
“Y-you okay? N-no, good to see you.”
“What a sight, ahem!”
Namgung Sik’s beard quivered as his lips curled up.
Namgung Hyeok smirked at Namgung Wi-gyeong.
“What brings you here?”
“Ahem! Heard about you and Fifth Elder, so I came to see how it’s going.”
“It’s going great.”
“…I see. Ahem, carry on then.”
“Will do. You’re not leaving?”
“Ha ha, since we’re here, I’d like to see what you’re doing.”
Namgung Hyeok’s lip twitched upward slyly.
His gaze shifted to Namgung Sik, whose eyes blazed red.
Namgung Hyeok whispered.
“Hear that? They wanna freeload.”
Tremble!
Namgung Sik’s eyes shook lightly.
“What?”
“They wanna freeload.”
“These old bastards really…”
I’m the one suffering through this to learn it!
Day after day, thinking today might be my grave, taking these beatings!
And they want to freeload off this hard-earned insight?
‘I’ll never share a scrap of knowledge with those jerks!’
Namgung Hyeok grinned at the quivering Fifth Elder.
“You just thought of hogging it all, didn’t you?”
…Is he a ghost?
“Not the best call, in my opinion.”
“What’re you talking about? Those old geezers clearly came to freeload off my suffering…”
“You’ve barely grasped footwork and call it suffering? I’d be offended.”
“That’s not what I—”
“But wouldn’t it suck if you suffered alone from here on out too?”
“What’re you saying?”
Namgung Hyeok chuckled.
“You suffer to annotate the Celestial Bow Invincible Sword and claim the credit—that’s fine.”
“…”
“But that manual’s gonna end up with those elders eventually. Who knows, maybe they’ll figure it out themselves?”
Namgung Sik’s pupils trembled.
‘Hold on.’
So I’m the only one suffering?
What if, just what if.
Of course, learning the Celestial Bow Invincible Sword from Namgung Hyeok proved it was some profound mystery no theory could crack, but just in case.
What if those old fools solved it?
‘Damn it!’
That annoyed him more than them solving the manual outright.
They’d skip the suffering and freeload!
Namgung Wi-gyeong and the elders flinched again at Namgung Sik shaking violently with rage.
“What’s wrong with him…”
“We should call the medicine hall master.”
“Did he hit his head? Ha, haaa!”
Namgung Hyeok smiled faintly amid the elders’ laments.
He patted Namgung Sik’s shoulder lightly and stepped forward.
“Let’s have a match.”
“…A what?”
“Didn’t you come to see how much the Celestial Bow Invincible Sword has improved?”
“Ahem! Right!”
Namgung Hyeok spoke casually as Namgung Wi-gyeong nodded.
“Then how about a spar?”
“With who?”
“Who else? Fifth Elder here.”
The elders blinked at the heaving Fifth Elder beside them.
They burst into laughter.
“Ha ha, spar with an injured man?”
“How long’s it been since he learned it?”
“Hmm, seeing the art’s power firsthand wouldn’t hurt, I suppose.”
The elders’ opinions varied.
Namgung Hyeok leaned in and whispered to Namgung Sik.
“What’re you waiting for? Show them the results.”
“Grrrm!”
“Warriors are simple creatures. Show them something powerful, and they’ll come running to this hellhole on their own.”
“Really?”
In an instant, a spark flashed in Namgung Sik’s eyes.
His heaving subsided, replaced by an elder’s poise and dignity.
He stepped forward, facing Namgung Wi-gyeong.
“I’ve had no chance to test the Celestial Bow Invincible Sword’s power, but if you elders would assist, nothing could be better. It’s all for the clan, isn’t it? You can resolve your frustrations, and I can refine this sword art.”
“Ha ha, if you put it that way… Yes, your clan spirit touches me.”
“Of course.”
“Good. A spar it is. Who should we spar with?”
Namgung Sik’s eyes whipped toward Third Elder.
Third Elder chuckled awkwardly.
“…Me?”
Namgung Sik nodded firmly.
“Ha ha, sure. Why not.”
And so, the spar between Fifth Elder and Third Elder was set.
Namgung Hyeok’s lips curled into a sly grin.
‘Warriors are all the same, kids or adults.’
He smirked wickedly at the stage naturally set.