Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 30

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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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That evening.
Hwa So-mi, who had just returned from the School for the first time, seemed in remarkably good spirits. That smile never faded from her face all day long—a genuine, unbroken beam of joy.
Dan Woo-hyun spoke to her gently, watching her expression.
“Looks like you had a good time.”
“Yes! I learned something called the Thousand Character Classic. I don’t quite understand what it all means yet…… but it was really fun.”
Dan Woo-hyun nodded encouragingly and reached out to ruffle her hair, listening as she chattered on about the various things she’d learned at the School—Calligraphy among them.
He didn’t seem bothered in the least, merely nodding and letting her finish every word.
Then, watching as she eventually dozed off in his arms, he pinched her cheek gently.
It was clear that her first visit to the School had been genuinely delightful.
“She certainly seemed to enjoy herself.”
A voice spoke from behind.
Dan Woo-hyun’s gaze shifted naturally backward. There stood Namgung So-hye, whom he hadn’t seen in some time, wearing Light Armor and gripping a blade in one hand, utterly composed.
Bathed in the pale moonlight, she was beautiful in a way that seemed almost divine—as though a celestial being had descended to earth. All the landscape around her appeared to exist merely to frame her presence.
Dan Woo-hyun gazed at her quietly, then let out a soft chuckle.
“Drawing lines on a pumpkin, are we?”
“Want to see how scary a pumpkin with lines drawn on it can be?”
Namgung So-hye’s lips curved slightly as she rolled up her sleeves. Her expression suggested she was genuinely ready to strike.
After a moment, she released a quiet sigh and spoke.
“Did you notice something?”
“What is it?”
“That child talks about all sorts of things she’s learned, all the things she did—but she hasn’t mentioned a single friend.”
……
It was a thought that had never occurred to him.
Looking back through everything Hwa So-mi had said from the beginning, just as Namgung So-hye had said, there was not a word about having befriended someone or spending time with someone.
Which meant she’d been playing alone.
Dan Woo-hyun gazed down at Hwa So-mi as she slept peacefully. He stroked her hair and exhaled a quiet sigh.
“Don’t worry. It’s only her first day. I’m sure that’s all it is.”
“Hmm…… perhaps. Anyway, I’m heading out now. Are you coming with me?”
“Yes—the Honam Five Swordsmen, was it?”
“Indeed. The architects of the Hukdo Society’s destruction.”
She squared her shoulders with confidence as she spoke, as though to emphasize that this was an incident resolved not by imperial officials but by martial artists themselves.
Dan Woo-hyun let out an amused laugh and looked for Jang Sam-tae.
First, the sleeping Hwa So-mi needed to be moved inside.

***

The Honam Five Swordsmen.
There had been a time when no one spoke that name at all.
After the Hukdo Society was destroyed and rumors began spreading that someone was pulling strings behind Hyun-ryung, the name suddenly emerged: the Honam Five Swordsmen.
Currently, the Honam Five Swordsmen occupied a small hut deep in the mountains.
It was surrounded entirely by trees and boulders, and the perpetual darkness was such that only someone with exceptional night vision could see more than a hand’s breadth ahead.
“Is…… is this really going to work? We’re dealing with the Murim Alliance……”
“I told you not to worry, you fools. The Murim Alliance has put a bounty on the Hukdo Society leader’s head, so all we need to do is take the reward and flee to the Western Regions.”
“But what if we get caught……”
“Who am I? I’m Ma Il-woong. What’s your name?”
“M, Ma Il-woong……”
“That’s right. Sam-woong, Sa-woong, O-woong, and me—we’re all blood brothers! Have we ever failed at anything we’ve tried together?”
The four figures considered this in silence, then shook their heads. Not once, in all their schemes, had they ever failed.
They possessed Second-rate level Martial Arts as their foundation, and their gift for deception was so extraordinary that they had survived this long on that alone.
Ma Il-woong steadied his younger brothers with reassurance and opened his mouth.
“But the opponent is from the Namgung Clan……”
“Hmph! That paltry Namgung Clan! If we use our wits properly, we can even fool the Eight Great Families themselves.”
Ma Il-woong was truly confident.
He’d discovered Namgung So-hye purely by chance. Back when Ak-yang was in an uproar over the Hukdo Society’s destruction, he’d happened to spot her wandering through Market Street, investigating something with great care.
He’d quickly grasped the reason why, and could one not call this a Rare Opportunity bestowed by heaven itself?
Ma Il-woong had possessed remarkable audacity since childhood, and he was born with a natural gift for deceiving people.
This place had been created for exactly that purpose, and if this scheme succeeded, their lives would transform entirely. With the bounty in hand and escape to the Western Regions within reach, even the Murim Alliance couldn’t catch them, could it?
Ma Il-woong let out a soft chuckle.
“Yes…… sir, understood.”
Then the sound of approaching footsteps reached their ears.
He glanced sideways and saw two figures approaching their house.
‘Two of them?’
It should have been just Namgung So-hye alone—who was this man who had appeared so suddenly?
Ma Il-woong turned his gaze toward the man following behind Namgung So-hye, puzzlement flickering across his face.
“Are you the ones they call the Honam Five Swordsmen, who destroyed the Hukdo Society?”
At the sound of her thin, delicate voice, Ma Il-woong swallowed hard.
The moment his eyes met her face—shadowed and indistinct in the darkness—his heart lurched, and he found himself entranced.
But he quickly steadied himself.
He needed to focus.
One misstep now and everything would collapse.
Ma Il-woong turned to face Namgung So-hye with an expression of perfect composure.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean.”
First, he had to deny everything convincingly. He needed to emphasize that Hyun-ryung had been the one leading the charge, that all credit belonged to him.
A faint laugh escaped.
In that moment, an irritating chuckle reached his ears.
He glanced sidelong to see who had laughed—it was the man.
Then a voice cut through, sharpening his mind.
“I’ve already learned the truth. You backed Hyun-ryung, and together you destroyed the Hukdo Society—isn’t that so?”
“I don’t know who told you such things, but…….”
“I am Namgung So-hye, Master of the Phoenix Unit under the Murim Alliance. I know well that heroes of your caliber hold a deep sense of chivalry and prefer to remain out of the world’s eye. But I ask that you set aside deception now and answer truthfully.”
Namgung So-hye studied them slowly, taking in their appearance.
They wore shabby martial robes, each carrying a different sword at their belt.
But that wasn’t the issue.
‘Did they really do this?’
The martial presence she sensed from them was far too faint. These men seemed too weak to even qualify as second-rate, let alone first-rate—she doubted they could have done more than catch some common thugs, much less destroyed the Hukdo Society.
In the moment she narrowed her eyes and looked at Ma Il-woong.
“Ah, so it was Jang who spoke of us. Hmph, there truly is no one to trust in this world…….”
“Then you really were the ones who destroyed the Hukdo Society?”
“Since matters have come to this point, I shall tell you all. Yes, we are the ones who did it.”
Namgung So-hye lifted her eyebrows slightly.
There was confidence in her gaze, unwavering resolve in her eyes—and for just a moment, a flash of martial presence that made her body tense.
Yet…….
‘But the force behind it…… is so weak.’
Warriors know warriors.
Namgung So-hye, whose name carried weight even among first-rate masters, felt that she could subdue these men with a single finger.
“Do you doubt us?”
“The Hukdo Society’s master has reached the peak. Most of his subordinates are first-rate. But you…….”
That was the moment.
Ma Il-woong exchanged a quick glance with the youngest—so brief that even Namgung So-hye failed to catch it.
Ma Il-woong’s hand then moved slowly.
Crack!
Splinter!
A tree near Namgung So-hye suddenly emitted a tremendous sound and began to topple backward.
There had been no projectile, no sound of wind—nothing audible—and Namgung So-hye’s eyes widened in shock.
Thud!
The massive tree snapped at its base and fell completely.
“Do you still doubt us? The world holds countless eccentric masters. Our teacher was one such person, and so are we.”
“Extraor…… extraordinary.”
Namgung So-hye swallowed dryly.
To fell a tree without so much as a whisper of wind—
If a master had reached such a level, then subduing the Hukdo Society’s master would indeed be a simple matter.
The Hukdo Society had managed to operate covertly for so long precisely because it was run as a cell organization—and whenever officers were captured, they either took their own lives or were assassinated.
Furthermore, while the Society boasted subordinates of first-rate skill, they fell short compared to the Murim Alliance’s warriors. And though the Hukdo Society’s master had reached the peak, he was inferior to the elders of the Nine Schools and One House.
“If you intend to doubt us further, we shall take our leave.”
“No, no! That’s not it at all…… I was simply being cautious.”
Namgung So-hye gave an awkward laugh and waved her hand in denial. Ma Il-woong sent a sharp glance to the third man, then stomped his foot with a heavy thud.
At the same moment—
Boom!
A massive boulder, standing at a considerable distance, erupted in a shower of fragments that scattered in all directions. It was no feat of martial arts that a master of weak internal energy could accomplish.
“Please, return!”
“No, wait! Just a moment, please!”
Namgung So-hye watched the five figures turn their backs and hurried after them, her heart hammering with the knowledge that she could not let them slip away. Even as she chased them, she seemed to recognize that her manner had been somewhat rude, and she offered apology upon apology.
……
As they slowly receded into the distance, Dan Woo-hyun stood motionless in that place, examining the scattered debris and the felled trees.
“They felled the trees beforehand and installed the mechanism. Quite skillful, isn’t it?”
He let out a bemused laugh.
To deceive others, one must be perfect. If there’s even the smallest flaw, those with sharp eyes will never fall for it.
In that sense, their choice had been excellent.
A dark night, and a place where even moonlight scarcely penetrated—they’d installed their mechanism there. Likely, when they gave some signal, it would spring into motion.
Having prepared so thoroughly, even someone as skilled as Namgung So-hye would have no choice but to fall for the deception.
“Had I been a child, I might have been taken in as well. Haha.”
Dan Woo-hyun burst into genuine laughter.
For the first time, he felt surprised by others. He marveled at this novel method of deceiving people.
Moreover, these con artists seemed to possess considerable audacity. To deceive the daughter of a clan renowned in its own right.
Watching them at work was itself quite entertaining.
Dan Woo-hyun walked slowly, following in Namgung So-hye’s footsteps.
He was curious to see what would unfold next.
Then he heard voices.
“The Murim Alliance would dearly love to invite the Major Chivalrous Ones. For that reason, the Alliance Lord himself wishes to…….”
“The Alliance Lord himself, you say?”
“Yes! Though I committed a breach of propriety, I do hope you won’t refuse an invitation directly from the Alliance Lord.”
Ma Il-woong regarded Namgung So-hye with a look of triumph. She was nearly won over now. From this point forward, she would believe whatever he said.
“What exactly would we accomplish by going to the Murim Alliance? If this is merely about idle conversation and tea, I must decline.”
“That……! Well…… There is a bounty placed by the Murim Alliance on the Hukdo Society, and you could claim that, and perhaps by speaking with the Alliance Lord, a beneficial connection might…….”
At the mention of a bounty, Dan Woo-hyun’s eyes sharpened. Was it true that only the imperial court had placed a bounty on the Hukdo Society?
“Hmph, merely for the sake of a bounty…….”
“Two hundred silver taels…….”
“Hmm?”
It was not the Honam Five Swordsmen who were startled by the figure that left Namgung So-hye’s lips. They already knew what bounty was being offered.
“Two hundred?”
It was Dan Woo-hyun who asked in shock.
His eyes widened in surprise as he stared intently at Namgung So-hye.

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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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