Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Sneaking into the Celestial Martial Pavilion
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A pitch-black night, as dark as ink.
The moon was hidden behind thick clouds, making it impossible to see even a step ahead.
Warriors of the Namgung family patrolled the grounds with torches in hand.
One might wonder what madman would dare sneak into the Namgung estate, but they never let their guard down.
Warriors of prestigious families weren't born yesterday.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The torches briefly illuminated the darkness before vanishing again.
Thud. Thud.
Amid the eerie atmosphere, the indifferent footsteps of the Namgung warriors echoed.
The warriors split up across the vast courtyard of the Namgung estate, as wide as the capital's main boulevards.
Their movements were disciplined and well-organized.
The Namgung warriors divided into teams and scattered in all directions.
As the torches disappeared, shadows draped over the walls of the outer halls.
In the darkness, a pair of clear eyes gleamed.
Flash.
'They're gone.'
Namgung Hyeok glanced once at the receding torches, then carefully moved along the shadows.
Clad in night-walking attire, Namgung Hyeok blended perfectly with the shadows.
It was the Ghost Shadow Body Technique.
It was the stealth art once boasted by some guy named either Shadowless or Divine Thief— a technique that allowed hiding in shadows with just a handful of internal energy.
But it had a fatal flaw: it couldn't be used in broad daylight.
Maybe that's why that Shadowless whatever became a thief in the first place.
'Even crap has its uses, they say.'
He never imagined he'd be using stealth arts himself, but it perfectly suited his situation—virtually no internal energy and needing to infiltrate.
At least he had that handful of internal energy.
Namgung Hyeok approached and stood before the wall of the Celestial Martial Pavilion.
It was a perfect blind spot, untouched by the torches.
'Another wall, huh.'
This one belonged to the Celestial Martial Pavilion, but the feeling was oddly nostalgic all the same.
'Do I really have to do this?'
Wall-climbing like some common thief.
What was so special about martial arts anyway?
Those martial arts were...
'Important. Yeah, important enough to hop a wall for.'
Namgung Hyeok rummaged in his bundle and pulled out his gear.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
He wrapped cloth around his body, then stuffed it thickly with cotton.
The cloth was thicker and tougher than ordinary fabric, made by ripping apart the thick quilt from his room.
It was crude, but he'd fashioned a safety measure of sorts.
'Live and learn. Experience isn't for nothing.'
Call it wisdom gained from a broken leg.
With protective padding on, he looked up at the wall.
Ten feet high—easy enough to scale.
'It's high.'
But that didn't matter now.
Namgung Hyeok channeled the Azure Clarity Heart Technique as he reached vigorously for the wall.
Energy circulated, infusing his body with vitality.
'Feels great!'
Compared to when his meridians were nearly blocked, this was indescribable.
Namgung Hyeok wedged his fingers firmly into a crack in the wall and pulled himself up.
'Much lighter than before.'
Was this what a positive cycle felt like?
Widening one meridian allowed the Azure Clarity Heart Technique to flow, filling his body with vigor.
'Alright, let's go!'
Wriggle by wriggle.
Slowly but steadily, Namgung Hyeok climbed the Celestial Martial Pavilion's wall.
'You think I can't go if you block me?'
If it doesn't work, make it work.
Keep at it until it does.
That was Namgung Hyeok's creed for surviving the martial world.
"Huff, huff. Haaah!"
Panting heavily, he kept climbing.
His limbs trembled, shoulders felt like they might dislocate, fingers ached like they might snap—but he endured.
'Got it!'
Namgung Hyeok hooked his hand over the top and yanked himself up with all his might.
The awe-inspiring Celestial Martial Pavilion loomed right before him.
'Which floor to start with?'
Like a master thief, Namgung Hyeok scanned the pavilion from top to bottom.
The best stuff was always kept on the higher floors.
'Start from the fourth.'
He pondered whether to vault over the roof or use the Ghost Shadow Body Technique to slip through a gap to the doors.
Thud. Thud.
Footsteps approached, a torch flickering ten paces away.
'Already?'
The area around the Celestial Martial Pavilion was tightly guarded.
Namgung Hyeok hurriedly activated the Ghost Shadow Body Technique again.
Fwoosh!
'Again?'
This time, torches moved inside the Celestial Martial Pavilion.
They were drawing closer.
Even with the Ghost Shadow Body Technique, his low proficiency meant any torchlight would expose him.
Namgung Hyeok's eyes darted between the approaching torches from both sides, then found a landing spot.
'Jump.'
Porcelain body or not, with that tiny bit of real internal energy and his safety gear, it was a height worth risking.
'Not like last time.'
He steeled himself.
Positioning for a light descent with the Tri-Disaster Body Technique.
Whoooosh!
A sudden gust shook his body.
'...Strong wind?'
The torches closed in right before him.
Namgung Hyeok rolled his eyes, then lay flat sideways atop the narrow wall.
Just a handspan wide.
As the wind threatened his balance, he gritted his teeth and held on.
The torches crossed paths and receded.
In that moment, another approached from the opposite side.
'Now.'
Namgung Hyeok leaped vigorously downward.
Pat!
Newly aware that wind could shake him mid-jump(?), he landed on the ground.
Thud!
Zing!
A jolt shot up from his soles; Namgung Hyeok clamped his jaw.
'Ugh!'
Suppressing a silent scream, he writhed briefly before checking his feet.
Ecstasy lit Namgung Hyeok's face.
'Not broken. Not broken!'
A perfect landing.
To think his porcelain body survived a drop from that height unscathed!
Overjoyed yet sorrowful, Namgung Hyeok felt pathetic for rejoicing over such a trifle.
'Once I master proper martial arts, even this won't be an issue.'
Namgung Hyeok dashed swiftly toward the Celestial Martial Pavilion.
He'd already spotted an entry from atop the wall.
He dove into the darkness with the Ghost Shadow Body Technique.
Tatatat!
Safely inside the passage, exhilaration filled Namgung Hyeok's eyes.
'Yes! Made it!'
He bypassed the first and second floors in one go, heading straight to the top of the fourth.
To inspect the manuals there, as planned.
"Huh, lots. No wonder the Sword King bragged."
The pavilion's scale he'd glimpsed passing by was staggering. Such a dense collection of texts was rare.
Just the bookshelves on the fourth floor numbered over ten, all packed with manuals.
Namgung Hyeok grabbed and scanned them indiscriminately.
Flip! Rustle! Rustle!
He focused with frightening intensity.
There wasn't enough time to read them all.
Pages turned faster.
Namgung Hyeok's pupils dilated.
Rustle! Rustle!
In the shadowed fourth floor of the Celestial Martial Pavilion, only the sound of turning pages echoed.
* * *
The Celestial Martial Pavilion was accessed once a day by household servants from the inner residence for maintenance.
To clean, organize books, or repair the building.
Today, a servant who had diligently cleaned and tidied up to the fourth floor was horrified.
Someone was there, where no one should be.
Not just there, but piled manuals mountain-high on a table.
Shock and terror colored the servant's face.
Someone had entered the supposedly empty Celestial Martial Pavilion—no visitors yesterday or today—and tampered with the Namgung family's manuals.
Clunk!
The servant dropped his broom and fell on his rear.
"Gasp! Intruder!"
His shout threw the Celestial Martial Pavilion into chaos.
"Intruder?!"
"Who is it!"
"Block the exits!"
Roars echoed as warriors poured in from the first floor.
Clang! Clang!
Vigilance and fury etched their faces.
What lunatic dared invade the Namgung family's Celestial Martial Pavilion without permission!
And what kind of expert breached their defenses to enter?
Such questions and rage.
The Cloud Guard Captain, defender of the pavilion, soared forth like a protective barrier.
Shing!
Drawing his sword from his waist, the Cloud Guard Captain bellowed.
"You bastard... Hm?"
About to thrust his sword, he spotted the intruder's identity amid the manuals and froze.
"Y-Young Master?!"
The Cloud Guard Captain hastily sheathed his sword and cried out in shock.
In the center of the Celestial Martial Pavilion sat Namgung Hyeok, eyes hollow, half out of his mind.
Slumped shoulders and a neck lolled half to the left evoked a sickly chicken.
Bloodshot eyes and a pallid face suggested he might foam at the mouth any second.
Warriors following the captain spotted Namgung Hyeok and panicked.
"Y-Young Master?"
"The Second Young Master?"
"How did you get in here..."
Lost in a daze, Namgung Hyeok overheard them and sighed deeply.
He glanced at the warriors with world-weary eyes, then sighed again.
Shaking his head, he rose weakly with a lament.
People gaped at Namgung Hyeok, clad in tight night-walking garb wrapped thickly with padded cloth.
Who wouldn't take that for an intruder's outfit!
The intruder shuffled past the warriors.
All eyes naturally followed.
Namgung Hyeok kept sighing deeply.
"Sigh."
He lightly patted the Cloud Guard Captain's shoulder, then descended the stairs as if nothing happened.
Mumbling as he went down weakly.
"Damn Sword King. You cheated? World-class manuals my ass."
Dragging his exhausted body, Namgung Hyeok exited the Celestial Martial Pavilion.
The Cloud Guard Captain, stunned by the absurdity as he watched Namgung Hyeok descend, paled.
"Report to the Family Head!"
* * *
Crunch. Crunch.
Namgung Hyeok chewed premium jerky and sighed.
"To think they'd fall so short."
Anyone overhearing would call him mad.
The Celestial Martial Pavilion's manuals were all first-rate, without exception.
If released into the world, they could spark bloodshed across a province.
But they didn't satisfy Namgung Hyeok.
In his past life, he'd been revered as the Lone Tyrant.
Beyond the world's best—he was the greatest of past and present, on the verge of ascension.
He couldn't settle for that level.
The arts he'd mastered were leagues beyond those manuals.
"I could do better with my feet."
A thousand years of history, my foot.
'They call it the heart of the Namgung family.'
But recalling memories, a question arose.
"The Sword King was pretty strong, though?"
Excluding the Demon Lord, one of the few who'd truly crossed hands with him.
"There must be core family arts or insights somewhere."
Crunch. Crunch.
Chewing jerky, Namgung Hyeok rubbed his chin.
A hundred mediocre arts paled against one divine technique.
At his level, even among divine arts, only the finest would do.
"It's lacking. This isn't the level the Sword King boasted."
The Sword King bragged plenty but wasn't one for empty bluster.
He was surprisingly rational and objective about evaluating martial arts.
—Our family's sword arts glimpse beyond the world's best to the greatest of all time.
—What about me?
—...You're a saber user.
—Sword or saber, same difference.
—...No.
—What's the difference?
—...Anyway, different.
—In any case, beyond the Celestial Martial Pavilion, our family has massive repositories. They're the foundation, the future...
—So where are they?
—...Hm, what's for dinner? Seafood? Ever tried sashimi? The flavor's exquisite.
'Hah, that punk. If you're gonna brag, hide it somewhere easy to find.'
Ruminating on memories with the Sword King, Namgung Hyeok shot to his feet.
"No, this won't do."
If it doesn't work, make it work.
Time for a direct approach.
He grabbed a handful of jerky from the bowl and crunched.
"I'll just ask for it."
No need for this agonizing.
Not stealing—just viewing his family's manuals.
His ban from the pavilion and outings stemmed from the Family Head's orders.
So just get the Family Head's permission, done.
To check other floors and hidden manuals, sneaking wouldn't cut it.
Namgung Hyeok flung open the door. Just then, Gold Peak Shang came running up in a fluster.
Pale-faced, Gold Peak Shang shouted.
"Young Master! What in the world have you done!"
Namgung Hyeok glanced at him.
"What?"
"When did you sneak into the pavilion and get caught?! The whole place is in uproar. The Family Head is summoning you—eh, where are you going?"
Namgung Hyeok smirked at Gold Peak Shang.
"He wants me, right?"
"Pardon?"
"Stock up on jerky while I'm gone. Tasty stuff."
He sauntered off.
Gold Peak Shang stared blankly at his retreating figure.
Why the creepy grin?
'What the hell's gotten into him lately?'
Climbing walls on a whim, now trespassing in the pavilion!
"Sigh, gonna get skinned by Father again."
Grumbling at the thought of his steward father chewing him out.
"Jerky? When did he eat that? He used to skip meals over a toothache. What if they fall out again..."
Sighing deeply and turning back dejectedly, then—
"Hey!"
"Yes? Yes! I said nothing."
"Who said anything?"
"Oh, no... What?"
Gold Peak Shang looked at the returning Namgung Hyeok.
Namgung Hyeok glanced around and asked.
"But where's the Family Head's quarters?"
"......"