Chapter 152
Translator: penny
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: The Sword Dragon's Humiliation
In the Central Plains martial world, if you had to name the most dominant sect, what would it be?
Some would pick the Shaolin Temple, hailed as the North Star of Mount Tai. Others might choose the Wudang Sect, which produced the current leader of the Murim Alliance.
Someone else could go with the Beggars' Sect for having the largest membership, while a more pragmatic type might look to the unorthodox factions.
Opinions would vary wildly like that. But if you asked them to name a family instead of a sect, more than half would agree on one name without hesitation.
The Nangong Family.
It wasn't because of their raw military might.
It was their sheer scale, dominating an entire region, and the influence that spanned the entire Central Plains martial world.
Sure, the other Great Families dominated their locales too, but location made all the difference.
Unlike the Nangong Family, situated at the heart of the Central Plains martial world, the Sichuan Tang Family lurked in a remote corner of Sichuan, the Moyong Family in the distant Liaoning region, and the Yak Family at the edge of Shandong.
Even the Hebei Paeng Family struggled to wield real power, hemmed in by the imperial capital of Beijing.
For these reasons, people had no qualms calling the Nangong Family the World's Greatest Clan, and they truly wielded that level of influence across the Central Plains martial world.
The head of this mighty Nangong Family had a daughter named Sua.
Born as beautiful as her name implied, Nangong Sua was raised with the pampering fit for a princess from childhood.
Dressed in the finest clothes, eating the best foods, learning the most elite martial arts— it was only natural her nose grew a bit high in the air.
Yet even she had two mountains she could never surpass: her own brother, Nangong Chan, and Sword Phoenix Moyong Hui.
Her brother, hailed as a prodigy since childhood, had a bit of a prickly personality, but he'd already been crowned the top among the later-generation talents, earning the glorious moniker of Sword Dragon.
And then there was Moyong Hui, who appeared out of nowhere one day...
'Wow, she's pretty...'
She made Nangong Sua realize just how vast the Central Plains martial world really was.
A rival who outshone her in both looks and skill—someone even she had to acknowledge.
And her personality was so charming, everyone couldn't help but like her.
To Nangong Sua, Nangong Chan had been an insurmountable wall since birth, but Moyong Hui was an idol she yearned to emulate.
Birds of a feather flock together, as they say.
Led by Sword Dragon Nangong Chan and Sword Phoenix Moyong Hui, along with Crouching Dragon Zhuge Wei, Earth Dragon Paeng Deokjo, and Spear Phoenix Nangong Sua, the Five Dragons and Five Phoenixes of the Murim Alliance quickly became thick as thieves.
Red Phoenix Baek Iryeong joined occasionally, but only occasionally.
In the midst of all this, Nangong Chan and Zhuge Wei both fell for Moyong Hui, but Nangong Sua saw it as only natural.
Moyong Hui was that captivating.
Then one day, Moyong Hui had to leave due to family matters.
Nangong Sua was disappointed but understood, having grown up in similar circumstances—she couldn't very well hold her back.
They kept in touch via occasional letters instead.
When Moyong Hui finally returned to the Murim Alliance,
"Pleased to meet you. I'm the third son of the Mok Family Clan, Mok Jimyeong. I don't have a moniker yet, but I'm honored to be courting Hiya."
She brought along a man, introducing him as her lover.
Truth be told, Nangong Sua had assumed Moyong Hui would end up with her brother.
Nangong Chan might have his personality quirks, but he was rated the finest among later-generation talents in both looks and skill.
Moyong Hui matched him with her own stellar prowess, flawless beauty, and perfect charm.
What pair could be more perfect?
Crouching Dragon Zhuge Wei was in the running, but objectively, he fell short of her brother in every way—martial arts, looks, even family background.
So for her to bring some total stranger as her betrothed? Nangong Sua was utterly flustered.
'...He's handsome, though.'
Purely in terms of looks, he might even edge out Nangong Chan.
Still, her first impression wasn't great.
Handsome aside, everything else about him seemed utterly unremarkable.
But...
"Besides, I'm from a minor family."
Moyong Hui seemed genuinely smitten with this Mok Jimyeong, so Nangong Sua quickly adjusted her mindset.
Moyong Hui was her idol, after all.
Once she set aside her prejudices, she spotted plenty of redeeming qualities.
For one, unlike the other guys around, his straightforward personality stood out positively.
"What's the big deal? We weren't even sitting together formally. And even if we had, it's all in the past. I'm sure Mok hyungnim understands."
"Haha, of course. What's a little table-sharing? If anything, it's nice hearing about Hiya's past I didn't know."
"As expected of the man Sis chose—such a big heart. These days, guys make such a fuss over a woman's past. They don't mind their own but demand women never sit with the opposite sex."
For the record, "these days' guys" was a pointed jab at her brother, Nangong Chan.
Couldn't he see her brother fuming right there?
The conversation soon sparked a minor spat over swordsmanship.
Normally, they'd cower before Nangong Chan's prestige, but astonishingly, Mok Jimyeong shot back with utter confidence.
"If you're so set on it, why not settle it with a spar?"
This was a boldness even elite later-generation talents like Zhuge Wei or Paeng Deokjo never showed. For Nangong Sua, it was thrilling.
Sure, he might just be posturing for his girl, but even that was something.
Plenty of guys couldn't manage it.
His first meeting with Moyong Hui, his tender attentiveness toward her throughout the drinks— all of it was captivating.
Meanwhile, the only guy next to her was Paeng Deokjo...
'Sigh, Hiya Sis has it good. Finding a guy that cool.'
Nangong Sua couldn't help envying their relationship.
After that first drinking session, she invited them several times, eager to hang out, but always got turned down.
"Sorry, Sua. Jimyeong's been swamped lately."
Then opportunity knocked.
Her brother Nangong Chan had joined the same White Tiger Unit as Mok Jimyeong.
"How about tonight, Hiya Sis? My brother's in the White Tiger Unit now too—why don't the four of us grab dinner?"
Moyong Hui agreed, and after work, the two headed to the White Tiger Unit together.
And then...
Thud-!
The 'incident' happened.
A scene so unbelievable, even seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn't trust it.
"Gahk!"
Her brother Nangong Chan— the lifelong mountain she could never climb— vomited blood and collapsed,
"Hey, what did you just say about Hiya?"
While Mok Jimyeong, once all sweetness, now radiated beastly fury as he grabbed Nangong Chan by the hair.
'What in the world is going on...?'
As Nangong Sua struggled to discern dream from reality, the chaos unfolded.
The White Tiger Unit— the Murim Alliance's elite force— crumbled before one man, and the famed top later-generation talent Nangong Chan crawled on the ground with all four limbs shattered.
"Kyaaak!"
It wasn't a dream.
Her brother, whom she believed superior to all, fell without resistance, and her idol Moyong Hui tearfully tried to intervene.
But a miracle occurred: the rampaging beast recognized his lover.
"Insult Hiya one more time, and next I'll shatter your dantian."
That's right.
This incident was simply one man defending his woman— it was just the scale that exceeded Nangong Sua's wildest imagination.
Nangong Sua's mind reeled from witnessing it all.
What just happened?
Was that real?
How is that guy so strong?
Is Brother okay?
What will those two do now?
What will our family say?
Even amid the turmoil, time marched on.
Nangong Chan was hospitalized in the Alliance's Medical Department, while Mok Jimyeong was hauled off to the Disciplinary Hall.
The trial for Mok Jimyeong was set for the next afternoon.
That evening after the verdict, Nangong Sua heard the shocking outcome alongside her brother.
"Uncle, just one month of confinement...?"
"What the—! Urk... grrr..."
The result was so staggering that Nangong Chan, mid-treatment, convulsed in shock.
Song Yukang, who delivered the news, remained calm.
"That's how it went down. So bear it in mind, Chan."
In the end, Nangong Sua had to step in.
"Uncle, you can't just leave it at that. Tell us what happened."
"...You really want to know?"
"Yes."
Song Yukang hesitated but, faced with her firm resolve, recounted the entire trial.
They were his nieces and nephews, after all— the very victims.
"When that Mok Jimyeong first walked in..."
And so the two from the Nangong Family heard a tale they could scarcely believe.