Almighty God of War - Chapter 116

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

116

A young eunuch in his twenties blocked the path of Guyang Cheongang as he left Munyeong Pavilion.

Bowing respectfully, he spoke.

“Prince Hahou, His Majesty the Crown Prince says he wishes to see you.”

Since Guyang Cheongang had also wanted to bid farewell to the Crown Prince before leaving the Imperial Palace, he followed without hesitation.

The study in Jaseon Hall.

Warm sunlight filtering through the bookshelves gently enveloped the entire study.

The Crown Prince, who had been standing by the window gazing at the garden flowers, turned around as Guyang Cheongang entered.

A bright smile, completely different from before, appeared on his face.

“You met with His Majesty?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Can you tell me what was discussed?”

Guyang Cheongang briefly explained the mission the Emperor had assigned him.

He was confident that the Emperor wouldn’t blame him for not keeping it secret.

Through this incident, the relationship between the Emperor and Crown Prince had been reborn as a true father-son bond.

Moreover, the forces that threatened the Crown Prince’s position as heir had been completely eliminated.

The Crown Prince nodded with a pleased expression.

“You’ve been given a difficult mission. But if it’s you, you’ll surely succeed.”

“I’ll do my best to make it so.”

“But I heard you went into the Imperial Treasury and came out with a rusty sword?”

A mischievous glint appeared in the Crown Prince’s eyes.

“That story reached Your Majesty’s ears as well?”

“Everyone who should know, knows. Some praise you for being without greed, but quite a few mock you for having surprisingly foolish aspects.”

Guyang Cheongang smiled wryly as he replied.

“Since it’s something I’ll possess, it only needs to please me.”

“That’s right.”

The Crown Prince’s expression became serious as he continued.

“But hearing that made me feel quite sorry. Considering your merit in saving me, His Majesty, and Myeonghwa, even giving you countless gold wouldn’t be insufficient reward.”

He paused briefly and looked at Guyang Cheongang with warm eyes.

“So I prepared a separate gift.”

The Crown Prince took out an exquisite jade box the size of a palm from his sleeve and handed it to Guyang Cheongang.

“This is a precious treasure His Majesty searched all under heaven to find, hoping it would help with my illness. Thanks to you, my illness is completely cured, so I no longer need it. I’d like you to have it.”

Sincerity was evident in the Crown Prince’s voice.

It was deep gratitude toward the benefactor who had freed him from the illness that had tormented him for thirty years.

“Your Majesty…”

Guyang Cheongang tried to decline, but the Crown Prince waved his hand and said.

“If you refuse, I won’t feel at ease. Please accept it.”

It wasn’t a situation where he could decline.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Guyang Cheongang bowed deeply and accepted the jade box.

From the moment it touched his hand, he felt a subtle warmth.

Driven by curiosity, the moment he opened the lid, Guyang Cheongang’s face filled with shock.

Inside the jade box was a Laughing Buddha statue intricately carved from ten-thousand-year warm jade.

‘This is… could it be!’

[Doctor! This is…]

Akasha’s voice was sharp with surprise, unlike her usual self.

The same warmth began to be felt from within Guyang Cheongang’s chest.

Another ten-thousand-year warm jade Laughing Buddha statue he had possessed since his time at the Guyang Family Estate was resonating.

Seeing Guyang Cheongang’s surprised expression, the Crown Prince said.

“Looking at your face, it seems more precious than I thought.”

“Yes… it’s truly precious.”

Guyang Cheongang’s voice trembled.

It had to.

[Doctor, these two statues seem to be a pair. There’s a possibility of obtaining the latter half of the Hologram Pupil.]

Akasha’s excited voice continued.

[Being able to establish the framework of the Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art was thanks to the first half heart method hidden in the statue. Now if you obtain the latter half too…]

Guyang Cheongang felt his heart pounding.

The Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art was already sufficiently powerful, but he knew it wasn’t complete.

“You really seem to like it.”

The Crown Prince continued with satisfaction.

“It seems I made the right choice. When His Majesty bestowed this, he said ‘If you think you don’t need it, give it to him.'”

“His Majesty said that…”

“Indeed. His Majesty was also bothered by you coming out with that rusty sword.”

Guyang Cheongang looked down at the jade box once more.

The Laughing Buddha statue’s gentle smile felt as if it were alive.

[Doctor, even if not right now, combining these two statues should allow you to obtain the complete divine art. It should also provide decisive help in treating the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.]

‘What an amazing coincidence… No, maybe it’s not a coincidence.’

Guyang Cheongang looked at the Crown Prince with deep gratitude.

“Your Majesty, thank you.”

“What thanks. Compared to what you’ve done for me, this is nothing.”

The Crown Prince waved his hand as he spoke.

“Thanks to you, I’ve gained a new life. Weren’t you the one who gave me a future when I was only waiting for death?”

He continued with a worried tone.

“But I hear Murim is a dangerous place. Moreover, the undercurrents are extremely vicious, so be careful.”

“Thank you for your concern. But I have a trustworthy companion.”

Guyang Cheongang replied with a smile.

Of course, the Crown Prince couldn’t know who that companion was.

“That’s fortunate then. But still be careful. I hear there are unimaginably skilled masters hidden in Murim.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Guyang Cheongang’s steps as he left Jaseon Hall had become much lighter.

The jade box tucked in his sleeve still emanated warm energy.

Guyang Cheongang felt the first half statue in his chest and the second half statue in his hand resonating with each other as he walked toward the Yeom Estate.

* * *

Time passed frantically.

The days were so busy there wasn’t even time to examine the Laughing Buddha statue closely.

The Yeom Estate was as bustling as a military camp preparing for war.

From the first day of receiving the Emperor’s proposal, meetings led by Shangguan Wana and Yeom Pung continued.

Detailed plans to protect the salt fields on the Shandong Province coast and transportation routes, which were the core of the salt business, were discussed.

“We need to station reconnaissance teams around the salt fields at all times, and attach at least five guard warriors to each transport vehicle.”

Shangguan Wana explained while spreading out a map.

“Since we don’t know when Golden Tower Manor might move, we need to establish emergency evacuation routes and communication systems in advance.”

Yeom Pung added with a worried expression.

“Wan-a is right. We don’t know what tricks the enemies might use, so we must prepare for everything.”

While the meeting was in full swing, the sound of horse hooves came loudly from outside the main gate.

“Trading House Master! Warriors from the Du Family Estate have arrived!”

Shortly after the servant’s report, three hundred warriors stood in formation in the front courtyard of the Yeom Estate.

Their ages ranged from mid-teens to mid-thirties, but all their eyes shone with something in common.

They were descendants of the vassal families who had once served together under the name of the Guyang Family Estate, but were now forgotten.

Perhaps because of this, their eyes held a mixture of the sorrows of past years and anticipation for the future.

Yeom Pung had the servants guide the three hundred warriors to their quarters to rest.

Since Guyang Cheongang was still wearing Hahou Gang’s human skin mask, it wasn’t the right time to reveal his identity to the warriors from the Du Family Estate.

Jupyo entered the Main Hall and bowed to Guyang Cheongang.

“Jupyo greets the Grand Young Master.”

Guyang Cheongang took Jupyo’s hands and helped him up.

“You must have had a difficult journey. Please rise.”

Jupyo straightened his back with an expression of deep emotion.

“Grand Young Master… I never expected you would summon us this early.”

Deep sentiment could be heard in his continuing voice.

“The ones this old man brought are half of our total forces. The rest are currently training at the Du Family Estate, and the two Trading House Masters are continuously accepting more warriors, so their numbers keep growing.”

“I am grateful for this.”

Thinking of the warriors who came with Ju Po, Guyang Cheongang felt something tickling deep in his chest.

‘The number of people I need to take responsibility for keeps increasing. It feels like my feet are sinking into a swamp.’

[It would be best not to voice such thoughts. You’ll get cursed at behind your back.]

‘I know!’

Guyang Cheongang asked Jupyo.

“You mentioned that the warriors are descendants of vassal families. Are their family martial arts preserved?”

A deep shadow fell across Jupyo’s face upon receiving the question.

“There are still a few who know the forms of the sword techniques, but the Heart Methods and essence were completely lost during the Great War of Orthodox and Demonic. So now they mainly train in the Four Great Martial Arts of the family estate that the Young Master passed down to the Du Family Estate.”

His voice carried decades of accumulated regret.

Guyang Cheongang’s eyes flashed.

“If the forms remain, restoration should be possible. Please tell Elder Master to have them record everything they remember about their family martial arts without missing a single character, and compile them into secret manuals.”

Jupyo’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“But Grand Young Master… how is it possible to restore the essence of lost martial arts?”

Guyang Cheongang smiled faintly in response.

His voice carried stronger conviction than anything else in the world.

“I am Guyang Cheongang.”

That evening, Jupyo came to find Guyang Cheongang again with a complex expression mixing embarrassment and hope.

In his hands were three freshly made manuals.

‘Four Winds Thunder Fist’, ‘Falling Flower Whirling Sword’, ‘Strange Wind Chaotic Spear’.

These were once called first-rate martial arts of Gangho, but now their names seemed meaningless.

The Heart Method incantations didn’t match up, the connections between sword forms were broken, and even the same techniques had different diagrams drawn for them.

Guyang Cheongang clicked his tongue inwardly but maintained a calm smile outwardly.

“Grand Young Master, I am ashamed. This is… all that they remember. Really… is restoration truly possible with this?”

At Jupyo’s trembling voice, Guyang Cheongang nodded with a confident expression.

“Don’t worry. By tomorrow morning, the vassal families will regain martial arts greater than those of the past.”

That night, Guyang Cheongang sat alone in the training room and opened the three secret manuals.

In his Mental World, fragments of tangled sword forms floated like broken ghosts.

‘This isn’t simple restoration. It’s recreation.’

He operated the Dual Mind Divine Art and split into two consciousnesses.

One consciousness worked with Akasha to cross-reference hundreds of martial arts data obtained from the Imperial Treasury, finding the lost links.

And the other consciousness reconstructed the origins of the broken sword forms based on the Principles of Martial Arts gained from the Nine Dragons Ten Thousand Mountains Diagram.

As the night deepened, a wondrous scene unfolded in his Mental World.

The scattered fragments of sword forms found their places one by one, forming perfect shapes.

The next morning, Jupyo, who had been unable to sleep all night from anxiety, received Guyang Cheongang’s summons and entered the Main Hall.

On the desk in front of Guyang Cheongang lay three new secret manuals with ink still not completely dry.

Jupyo picked them up with trembling hands.

The moment he turned the first page, his pupils shook like waves hit by a typhoon.

After closing the last page, he bowed his head deeply.

“Thank you, Grand Young Master.”

Jupyo realized anew.

‘The Grand Young Master is not someone who will merely stop at raising a fallen family. He is a giant who will become a legendary martial saint who will rewrite the very Martial Studies of this era…’

The next day, Jupyo left the Yeom Estate with the three hundred warriors.

With Yeom Pung providing guides, the journey to Shandong Province would be without problems.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————