A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 49
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 49
My boast about winning the championship was no empty bluster.
Myo Eun Myung and his brother swiftly closed the gap, overtaking the children who had been leading.
The adults watching from the Pavilion gasped in admiration.
“The Myo Family Estate’s secret technique—the Shadow Cat’s Wandering Step!”
“You’ve raised these children remarkably well, Myo Dae Hyup!”
“Meow!”
Hearing the distant praise, Myo Eun Myung’s shoulders lifted with pride as he burst through the cluster of children ahead of him.
Then he began tripping them up indiscriminately.
“Ugh!”
“What is this!”
“Kyaah!”
Children who had fallen victim to Myo Eun Myung tumbled across the stone ground in various places.
Those who barely dodged his feet fell prey to his brother’s golden hand technique.
“Oh, my duck egg!”
Thwack!
One child’s wrist was seized, and the duck egg tumbled from his grasp, his face crumpling in dismay.
“Waaaaaaah!”
As the child’s wails erupted, the Competition Ground descended into chaos.
Myo Eun Myung’s next target was Deng Xiao Xiao, who was earnestly pursuing Nam Goong Baek.
Myo Eun Myung’s eyes gleamed with confidence.
“That should be easy!”
Launching himself skyward using the Shadow Cat’s Wandering Step, he reached to seize Deng Xiao Xiao’s wrist as she gripped the wooden ladle—when suddenly.
Whoosh.
Deng Xiao Xiao twisted her body lightly, evading his grasp entirely.
And that was not all.
“How dare you!”
She shrieked sharply, extending her fingers in a strike.
“Eek!”
Myo Eun Myung yelped in alarm and leaped backward.
If those fingers struck a vital acupoint incorrectly, his entire body would be paralyzed and he would roll helplessly across the ground.
“Tch!”
Deng Xiao Xiao withdrew her fingers, having found no target.
“I’ll settle this with you later!”
Myo Eun Myung hissed through gritted teeth.
Ptui!
When her acupoint strike failed, Deng Xiao Xiao spat roughly onto the ground—then froze in shock, apparently realizing that Nam Goong Baek was nearby.
“You’re just lucky, Myo Eun Myung!”
Deng Xiao Xiao glanced nervously around to see if anyone had noticed, then called out sharply before pressing forward again with renewed determination.
Turning to glance behind her, Hong Seol marveled at the sight.
‘Wow! That Deng Xiao Xiao is amazing!’
Rather than shrinking back against Myo Eun Myung, she countered with a brilliance that dazzled the eye.
She seemed to be around the same age, yet not only did she wield her martial arts with skill, but such fearlessness too!
‘I want to become like her!’
Nurturing a small wish in my heart, I quickened my pace as well.
Even amid that chaos, the children at the front pressed onward toward the finish line with composure.
Leading the way was, as expected, Nam Goong Baek.
Behind him came Nam Goong Heuk, and then myself—disguised as Jeok—running hard alongside a group of other children.
Halfway through the race.
Nam Goong Baek, who had been leading, suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
‘What? Why is my older brother stopping?’
The moment the lagging children tilted their heads in confusion.
A transmission of inner energy from Nam Goong Baek pierced my ear.
– When I give the signal, leap upward with all your might.
I blinked, bewildered. I glanced at Nam Goong Heuk running beside me, but he kept his eyes forward.
‘Did my older brother send that transmission only to me?’
To me alone, in the guise of Jeok?
It was the moment when I and the group of children were about to pass Nam Goong Baek.
– Now!
With his transmission, I leaped upward with all my strength.
A beat before me, Nam Goong Baek also leaped up, concentrating all his power into the Yongcheon acupoint on the soles of his feet.
The Changcheon technique of the Nam Goong Family.
The azure energy swirled around his entire body and condensed at the soles of his feet.
And with a thunderous crash as he landed on the ground.
A massive wave of azure energy seeped into the earth, spreading outward in concentric circles.
As the ground heaved violently, children running in all directions tumbled to the ground.
“Aah, my duck egg!”
“Ugh, my foot’s twisted!”
Duck eggs that hadn’t even fully formed flew through the air from every direction.
Splat, splat!
The stones on the ground were now slick with egg whites and yolks.
Even the children who had managed to avoid Nam Goong Baek’s shockwave stepped on the broken eggs and fell one after another.
This included Nam Goong Heuk and Deng Xiao Xiao.
“Ah, you damned older brother!”
“Kyaaah! My duck egg!”
The only survivor from the leading group was myself, who had leaped into the air at just the right moment.
“Now, run.”
At Nam Goong Baek’s urging, I snapped back to attention. I then quickened my small feet and began to dash forward with all my might, but I hesitated.
“Haa, haa. Older brother… or rather, aren’t you coming, eldest brother?”
“Ah, I have some people waiting for me.”
Nam Goong Baek turned with a flourish of his robes, having left those parting words in a measured tone.
His figure resembled a white wolf with bared teeth, like those that roamed the snow-capped peaks.
“What, what is this bastard doing!”
Geum Myung and Eun Myung, who had been rushing forward, came to an abrupt halt.
“How did this happen?”
Around Nam Goong Baek, three or four children lay groaning on the ground.
Above them, Nam Goong Baek’s voice rang out, cold as a blizzard.
“No one passes beyond this point.”
Behind his back, only Hong Seol raced down the well-maintained path unobstructed, alone.
“This is insane!”
“Get out of the way! Once I catch that little brat, I’ll show everyone who the true victor of Anhui Region is!”
The burly Geum Myung bellowed savagely.
Nam Goong Baek glanced briefly at Hong Seol’s receding figure in the distance, then turned his gaze back to the brothers before him.
“I may not know the full story, but clearly you two did something wrong, didn’t you?”
Faced with Nam Goong Baek’s cryptic words, Geum Myung and Eun Myung both scowled.
“What the hell is this bastard saying?”
“Yeah, hyung. Isn’t he just bluffing?”
The rumors of Nam Goong Baek, the eldest young master of the Nam Goong Family, being an unparalleled martial genius were well-known even to Geum Myung and Eun Myung.
The real problem was the competitive spirit the Myo Ga Jang harbored toward the Nam Goong Family.
The people of Myo Ga Jang dismissed the rumors about Nam Goong Baek as baseless.
They claimed the stories were exaggerated because he rarely ventured outside.
Recalling those tales and gaining confidence, Geum Myung cried out.
“Hey! If your martial prowess is so exceptional, prove it here before this elder!”
“That’s right, Nam Goong Baek! Our hyung is the best! You can’t even compare!”
As Nam Goong Baek watched them rampage, his eyes remained as deep and cold as always.
Why did these types always need to be beaten before they came to their senses?
“Sigh.”
Nam Goong Baek exhaled softly and moved his wrist, which held the wooden ladle lightly.
The duck egg resting on his ladle flew into the air.
He caught it effortlessly with his left hand.
With his right hand, he pointed the now-empty wooden ladle directly at Geum Myung’s nose.
“Changcheon Grand Sword Technique, First Form.”
A single thread of wind cuts through the azure sky.
There is movement, yet the eye perceives nothing.
“Wahaha! The duck egg fell from the ladle, so you’re disqualified, Nam Goong Baek!”
Geum Myung pointed his stubby finger and laughed like a madman.
“That’s not it, hyung! You just need to keep the duck egg in the ladle while moving forward.”
As Eun Myung retorted, an embarrassed Geum Myung lunged at Nam Goong Baek.
“I’m going first!”
Scrape.
Geumyeong, who had been approaching Nam Goong Baek, suddenly froze.
“H-hey, hyung! What are you doing!”
Eun Myung, standing behind him, cursed under his breath. At those words, Geumyeong could only tremble, his jaw quivering, unable to speak.
A handful of coarse hair, freshly severed, lay darkly across the tip of his shoe.
“H-ha, if I’d taken just one more step, my nose would’ve been cut off.”
How in the world could that blunt wooden ladle possibly cut hair?
“What are you talking about, hyung! Are you saying that bastard is wielding a blade or something!”
“I-I don’t know! But the hair was definitely cut!”
Whether Geumyeong and Eun Myung argued or not, one corner of Nam Goong Baek’s mouth, holding the wooden ladle, curved into a cheerful smile.
Nam Goong Baek—a genius counted among the rarest in the long history of the Nam Goong Family.
By drawing up his inner force and concentrating, he could gather a faint blade energy into whatever weapon he held.
Though his youth prevented him from reaching the level of sustaining blade energy for extended periods.
But in the briefest of moments—
even a worn wooden ladle could become a sharp blade.
And Nam Goong Baek was a boy with the concentration and balance to accomplish such a feat.
He lifted his chin and twisted his lips into a smile, his voice ringing with crystalline clarity.
“Changcheon Grand Sword Technique, Second Form.”
When wind follows wind, it becomes a tempest.
Geumyeong and Eun Myung, seized by fear, clutched each other’s sleeves tightly.
“W-what do we do, hyung! Is he coming again!”
“I don’t know! That’s your job—you’re the one who thinks!”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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