Chapter 20
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Reckoning
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A tournament bracket could be arranged for dramatic effect, if one so desired. The question of how four young lords of the Namgung family could participate without facing each other even once as the finals neared was just beginning to swell like a cloud.
We finally meet.
Only two matches remained before the champion of the Sword Branch Assembly would be decided. And the opponent I faced before the final match was none other than that bastard I had already seen.
The one smiling at me was none other than that son of a bitch.
The fourth young lord, Namgung Gyeon.
Last time, I only got hit because I was careless, so wipe that smug look off your face! I'll show a worthless degenerate like you what's what.
Seeing him grin, pleased with himself for some reason, I too revealed my white teeth in a wide smile. My smile, however, made Namgung Gyeon's own falter, his expression turning serious.
Hmph, you seem awfully relaxed for someone in your position. You have no idea you're destined to kneel before me soon.
Toward the cackling bastard, I spoke softly, a smile playing on my lips.
You already know, don't you, you son of a bitch.
What?
That I can't use my internal energy.
As if he knew I couldn't use my internal energy.
And at my words, Namgung Gyeon snapped his mouth shut.
This guy was a true son of a bitch. The kind who'd attack his own family just to save his skin, not even recognizing them. The kind who'd still tear into them even if he did.
And for a son of a bitch like that.
A beating is the only cure.
The Namgung Family's Great Young Lord, Namgung Ban, versus the Namgung Family's Fourth Young Lord, Namgung Gyeon.
Having announced the names, Namgung Ho gazed at Namgung Gyeon and me, then quietly stepped back and lowered his hand. It was the signal to begin the match.
I was going to beat him without mercy.
Fwoosh!
Namgung Gyeon kicked off the ground, launching himself into the air and simultaneously striking down with his sword. It was the Sky Wind Sword Art that Namgung Hyeok had demonstrated earlier.
The power behind it was considerable, but unlike Namgung Hyeok, who had achieved a minor mastery, it was crude.
With a sharp crack, Namgung Gyeon spun once and rolled ungracefully across the granite floor.
Jumping to his feet, the triumphant smile on Namgung Gyeon's face vanished in an instant. At the same time, a question arose in his mind.
His expression was so transparent, so utterly childish, that I couldn't help but look dumbfounded. I found myself shaking my head, wondering what kind of dream they were chasing with a kid like this, to be pulling such wicked schemes.
This is why they say a woman's influence is a fearsome thing.
Anyway.
Namgung Gyeon, who had trusted the internal energy that suddenly bloomed within him as he looked down at his sword, now wore a look of utter confusion.
What kind of trick did you use!
What you people did is what's called a trick.
My dantian still lay dormant, but for me, internal energy wasn't confined to the dantian alone. The energy pulsating between the qi channels and blood vessels throughout my body, a network I had built out of habit, gradually began to move according to my will.
If you don't remember anything else, remember this. Even a dog doesn't bite its own family.
But you crossed the line.
Thirteen Thunders of the Flashing Sword.
First Form, Dividing Sword Shadow Thunder.
In a flash, Namgung Gyeon's face went pale at the cold sensation touching his throat. He had realized it. That I could use my internal energy.
Otherwise, I would never have been able to show such movement.
S-surren!
Surrender, my ass.
Crack!
From the conversation between the Great Young Lord and the Fourth Young Lord, Namgung Ho had already realized who had done what.
So, just as he was pondering how to resolve this issue after quickly concluding the Sword Branch Assembly, the match was already decided.
The flashing movement was unmistakably that of the Thirteen Thunders of the Flashing Sword. There was no way an elder-class warrior like him would fail to recognize it.
However.
The refined energy flowing from the tip of Namgung Ban, the Great Young Lord's, sword was clearly internal energy.
Wasn't he unable to use it?
How on earth...?
He didn't know how the Great Young Lord had become able to use internal energy, but setting his surprise aside, he hurried to declare the victor of the decided match.
The winner is the Namgung Family's Great Young Lord, Namgung Ban!
At that moment.
Crack.
At the gruesome sound, Namgung Ho, who was about to announce the winner, froze with a shocked expression.
The Great Young Lord's sword pommel slammed into Namgung Gyeon's face, mercilessly crushing his nose and smashing him into the ground.
Competition among the Namgung young lords during the Sword Branch Assembly was commonplace, and he had seen many sights of them at each other's throats, but.
Crack! Crack!
The pommel smashed into the already unconscious Namgung Gyeon's face, splitting his forehead and breaking several of his teeth.
Never before had anyone shown such ruthless brutality.
A young boy's skin could only be so tough.
Just as the gruesome sounds erupted, a woman's scream rang out.
Aaaaaaah!
Snapping back to his senses, Namgung Ho shot forward like a gale and pushed the Great Young Lord away.
What do you think you're doing! In the sacred Sword Branch Assembly, what is this outrageous!
A frosty voice erupted as Namgung Ho glared fiercely at the Great Young Lord.
What kind of event was the Sword Branch Assembly?
It was an event that represented the Namgung family, a festival. At the same time, it was a declaration, announcing the family's continued strength and showcasing the beacons of its future.
To ruin such an event was to tarnish the name of the Namgung family.
Simultaneously, members of the Iron-Blood Unit surrounded the tournament grounds.
...Even if you are the Great Young Lord, you must take responsibility for creating this situation, and you will surely pay a commensurate price.
Following Namgung Ho's order, two members of the Iron Sword Unit lifted the limp body of Namgung Gyeon and disappeared.
There are many eyes watching, so step down for now. Later, you will be questioned
The moment Namgung Ho, his voice laced with reproach, glared at the Great Young Lord.
...He flinched.
Grin.
The moment he saw the Great Young Lord smiling, he felt that something was wrong.
It was as if.
He was someone who had been yearning for this very moment.
One of the fundamental reasons that sickens a family is the competition for the position of Family Head. Overheated competition and rivalry plant seeds of discord rather than providing a foothold for growth.
In my past life, that competition, which hadn't ended for a full twenty years, ultimately drove the Namgung Ban and Namgung Byeok of that life to their deaths.
Some fanned the flames.
Some watched from the sidelines.
Wondering what would profit them, which side would be advantageous.
This endless struggle for vested interests was causing them to devour one another.
I decided to pull out those seeds before they could take root.
And.
The moment my decision was made, I grinned. After Namgung Ho, I faced Lady Pyeon.
Looking at her, I took out three secret manuals from my robes.
The Imperial Sword Form.
Like the Great Expansion Art I had practiced, this was a distorted version of the Imperial Sword Formthree volumes of it.
And at the same time, I called up An Baek, who was waiting below, the maid who had brought me tea, and the maids who had served refreshments to the other young lords of the Namgung family.
At this sight, just as Namgung Ho was about to shout at me, asking what I was trying to do.
A figure blocked Namgung Ho's path. It was my maternal uncle, who I never thought of as reliable, but who looked particularly dependable today.
And at the look in my uncle's eyes, which told me to do what I had to do, I nodded.
The Imperial Sword Form. A martial art of the Namgung family that needs no introduction.
The crowd wore bewildered expressions at this scene. The sudden turn of events was one thing, but the out-of-context situation of him pulling out a secret manual called the Imperial Sword Form left everyone staring blankly.
At the same time, it is also a martial art that has been distorted somewhere along the way.
...
The fact that there are three volumes means that not only did someone secretly copy this manual, but they also tampered with it, distorting it. To practice it would surely be poison.
Though I was a worthless degenerate, these were the words of the Namgung Family's Great Young Lord. It was a situation that couldn't be ignored.
After all, this was the heart of Anhui, the Namgung family's own backyard.
In response to a voice from somewhere in the crowd asking what proof he had, the Great Young Lord took something from his robes.
The ones who will prove it are right here.
Aaaaaaah!
The woman, who had frozen with her mouth agape, soon began to tremble with encroaching fury. Seeing the child she had cherished, raised, and coddled being carried away, she became uncontrollably enraged.
All I've done to get to this point.
How hard I've worked to make him the Family Head!
The sense of futility and emptiness from all her efforts to make him Family Head turning to nothing washed over her more strongly than the fact that her child had been carried away.
Lady Pyeon glared at the Great Young Lord who had ruined everything, her eyes bloodshot.
I will tear him to pieces.
I'll have that bastard, whom I could grind into a drink and still not be satisfied, dragged before me right now and gouge out those arrogant eyes of his!
As she made that vow and looked at the Great Young Lord.
...A grin.
Her thoughts stopped.
At that sight, Lady Pyeon's heart, which had been burning with rage, grew cold without her realizing. The smile spreading across the lips of a mere fifteen-year-old boy sent a gruesome and chilling sensation down the back of her neck.
Seeing the Great Young Lord looking at her with a smile, and then seeing the three secret manuals he took from his robes, she froze in spite of herself.
The Imperial Sword Form. A martial art of the Namgung family that needs no introduction.
Why.
How on earth did all three manuals end up with the Great Young Lord?
At the same time, it is also a martial art that has been distorted somewhere along the way.
That brat I could chew up and still not be satisfied, how did he...
The fact that there are three volumes means that not only did someone secretly copy this manual, but they also tampered with it, distorting it. To practice it would surely be poison.
But one thing was certain.
She had the feeling that she couldn't let the Great Young Lord speak any further.
B-Black Tiger.
...
Black Tiger! G-get that boy down from there right now!
Her thoughts racing, Lady Pyeon immediately sought out the person she trusted most.
Drag him down, I said! That boy is now!
From the mouth of the loyal and devoted man who heard her urgent voice.
I am sorry.
An apology flowed out, not a word of compliance.
What, what are you sorry for...?
Just then.
Something popped out from the Great Young Lord's robes.
It was a nameplate with the character for 'Black' () written on it.
Black Tiger looked at the nameplate, then slowly turned his body, his back to Lady Pyeon. At the sight, Lady Pyeon felt that something was wrong.
B-Black Tiger?
In return for you saving my life, I have followed a total of twenty-three orders, twenty of which were dishonorable. Yet, I carried them out without any excuse or disobedience. But now.
Turning his head to look at Lady Pyeon, Black Tiger's eyes looked relieved.
I will pay for the rest of my debt with my atonement to the Namgung family. Therefore.
Black Tiger's final words pierced through Lady Pyeon's heart.
Do not call my name again.