Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 68

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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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Standing with arms crossed, Dan Woo-hyun looked down at Namgung Cheon, and the words that came from his mouth were utterly arrogant.
He spoke as though he considered the Sword Emperor to be beneath him.
Kwon Mu-jin and Jang Sam-tae’s eyes widened at what they heard.
No matter who Dan Woo-hyun was, he shouldn’t be touching the Sword Emperor’s pride at a time like this.
“Heh heh heh—even if it’s what the master desires, aren’t you underestimating me a bit too much? I was called the Sword Emperor, even without an arm.”
Dan Woo-hyun let out a short sigh.
Sword Emperor, Sword Emperor……
Namgung So-hye, Kwon Mu-jin, Jang Sam-tae—even the man before his eyes—all seemed to take considerable pride in the epithet of Sword Emperor.
But an epithet was merely a name, nothing more.
It would never save your life in battle.
“Show me the best you can do. That’s all I have to say to you right now.”
Namgung Cheon didn’t know where such confidence was coming from, but he felt a crack form in his pride.
His right hand, gripping the wooden sword, suddenly tensed, and he began to move slowly, fixing his gaze on Dan Woo-hyun before him.
His movements, devoid of inner power, were neither fast nor slow—merely comparable to an ordinary man running—but soon the blade extended outward began to dance and weave, dazzling the eye with its brilliant display.
Kwon Mu-jin, watching that sword path, opened his eyes wide.
It was remarkable enough that a man without inner power could draw such a path at all.
Clack!
In an instant, Dan Woo-hyun’s wooden sword, lightly extended, effortlessly intercepted Namgung Cheon’s flashy blade.
Even Namgung Cheon himself hadn’t expected his attack to be neutralized so easily, and his shock was evident on his face.
Yet Dan Woo-hyun gazed down at him with an utterly impassive expression and muttered quietly.
“I misspoke. Even if you had all four limbs intact and hadn’t lost your inner power, the outcome wouldn’t change. Come at me with everything you have.”
Namgung Cheon gripped the wooden sword even more tightly. The way Dan Woo-hyun spoke—as though he’d already won after breaking just one technique—delivered a deep wound to Namgung Cheon’s pride.
He attacked with even greater speed.
Clack-clack-clack!
The sound of wooden swords colliding rang out in rapid succession.
Neither fighter gave ground, and sword paths wove together—one ornate, one austere—dancing and extending with lethal intent.
To Jang Sam-tae and Kwon Mu-jin watching from the sidelines, the exchanges happened so swiftly they couldn’t even count how many times the blades met.
Even in a Basic Technique duel without internal cultivation, when masters of this caliber clashed, the result could be nothing short of extraordinary.
‘And yet…… the Sword Emperor’s blade……’
Kwon Mu-jin watched the battle unfold before him and thought carefully.
The Sword Emperor’s blade was ornate but lacked substance. Dan Woo-hyun’s blade, by contrast, was spare yet gained ground with every strike.
Each move struck its target with precision, and the Sword Emperor was already struggling to defend.
As time wore on, the ornate flourishes faded away, and only Dan Woo-hyun’s austere blade remained visible.
This could only mean the Sword Emperor was losing ground.
Jang Sam-tae surely saw it the same way.
Then, thrusting his sword forward with his right hand, Namgung Cheon suddenly twisted his body.
But the instant he twisted, Dan Woo-hyun’s wooden sword darted forward and caught him across the jaw.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
Namgung Cheon cried out and tumbled to the ground in utter confusion.
It was so pathetic you’d question whether this man was truly the Sword Emperor at all.
This was a Basic Technique duel without inner power, yet the Sword Emperor’s blade couldn’t even graze Dan Woo-hyun’s sleeve.
“Hell, I think I could beat him too.”
……
Jang Sam-tae muttered, having watched them spar for half a Double Hour.
By that measure, Namgung Cheon had tumbled about helplessly—a sight entirely unworthy of someone bearing the name Sword Emperor.
Since his own level was still too low, to Jang Sam-tae’s eye the Sword Emperor’s one-sided defeat seemed almost comical.
“Cough, cough…… you’re remarkable, aren’t you?”
Drip.
Namgung Cheon, sweat pouring down his face, muttered quietly.
Dan Woo-hyun’s blade was extraordinarily spare.
Simple, yet carrying an unstoppable momentum. And since he wasn’t even drawing on inner power, this was unmistakably a gap in raw skill.
‘Impossible…… that I, Namgung Cheon……’
Namgung Cheon felt the weight of despair. He’d accepted this duel on the pretext of adapting to his right hand.
He hadn’t thought for a moment that he would lose.
His confidence had been that absolute, and his faith in his own skill that unwavering.
But now, with the mask lifted, the result was the exact opposite.
The man before him was strong.
He possessed something that transcended mere strength.
It was as if he’d already shattered the very wall that Namgung Cheon had yearned to surpass.
‘Is such a thing possible at that age?’
Though he shook his head, dismissing it as absurd, that strange sensation only dragged him deeper into the abyss.
“The Namgung Clan are all burdened with the same arrogance. That one was no different, but you—you’re worse by far.”
……
“A sword dressed in pretense cannot hold sincerity. That is why, no matter how much killing intent or life force you pour into it, it cannot reach me.”
Dan Woo-hyun watched the silent Namgung Cheon for a moment, then threw down the wooden sword.
He no longer had the leisure to face an opponent who’d already lost the will to fight.
“Cast aside your arrogance. If you can return with sincerity in that blade, then take up your sword and come find me. For now, you are beneath my notice.”
Namgung Cheon sank to his knees, saying nothing.
At first, he’d believed he was merely losing because his right arm hadn’t yet adjusted.
With his genius talent for martial arts and superior physical abilities, he’d been certain he would soon overwhelm Dan Woo-hyun.
Crunch!
Namgung Cheon’s hands trembled around the wooden sword.
The title of Sword Emperor, lofty and supreme.
His pride, soaring and proud.
Shattered and scattered in a single moment.
“Don’t be so discouraged, sir. The fact that you’re still standing after facing that man is remarkable enough.”
“Y-your…sir?”
“Of course ‘sir!’ Do you want to be coddled in your old age?”
Jang Sam-tae grumbled while sighing to himself.
He’d held such high expectations.
He’d heard it was a battle between Absolute Masters and imagined the world would shake with earth-moving power, that he’d witness an awe-inspiring clash.
But?
When he lifted the lid, there was nothing to see.
‘It’s like watching an adult beat down a child.’
Contempt flickered across Jang Sam-tae’s eyes. Everyone spoke of the Sword Emperor as if he were something grand, yet Jang Sam-tae thought he could probably beat him himself.
Utterly blind to Dan Woo-hyun’s true mastery, Jang Sam-tae was a third-rate who believed only what his eyes showed him.
Namgung Cheon’s body shook.
Receiving that dangerous gaze twisted something inside him.
“You there—can you handle a sword?”
“Ha! Me? Listen, don’t even think about fighting me. I’m not as gentle as our lord here.”
Kwon Mu-jin, who’d come to intervene, broke into a cold sweat hearing those words.
Seeing Namgung Cheon’s eyes flash with murderous intent, he turned away. He silently prayed for Jang Sam-tae’s wellbeing as he slowly slipped from the scene.
There was no telling where the sparks might fly.
“Speaking of which, what could So-mi be doing?”
Using Dan So-mi’s name as an excuse, he hurried away. The last thing he saw was Namgung Cheon driving his wooden sword down with full force into the head of the laughing Jang Sam-tae.
“Aaaaagh! W-wait…gack!”

***

That evening, as Dan So-mi scanned the faces of those eating quietly in the Dining Hall, her eyes darted quickly before fixing on one spot.
Jang Sam-tae’s face was a wreck.
His right eye was swollen like a tom-cat’s, and his face bore numerous bruises large and small.
Moreover, his behavior had shifted noticeably from usual.
It was his manner toward Namgung Cheon that had changed.
The moment Namgung Cheon reached for water, Jang Sam-tae flinched and hastily brought it to him.
“Hehe, h-here you are, sir.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, you’re too kind to say so.”
Dan So-mi tilted her head in confusion.
Jang Sam-tae wasn’t normally this considerate, so what was this about?
It seemed connected to those marks on his face somehow, but surely the one-armed Namgung Cheon hadn’t beaten him?
She shook her head gently.
“Uncle Jang, what happened to your face?”
“Ah…ha! T-this? Well, it’s…uh……”
Just as Jang Sam-tae was about to explain, Namgung Cheon fixed him with a razor-sharp stare.
Under that gaze—keen as a blade itself—Jang Sam-tae flinched and turned away.
“I… fought a bear.”
“What?! A bear? There are bears here too?”
Dan Woo-hyun’s laughter rang out at that.
He patted the startled Dan So-mi on her head, then shook his own head slowly.
“Don’t worry. He’s talking nonsense. There are no bears here.”
“But his face……”
“He fell. Hit his face hard on a rock.”
“Ah…… Are you all right, sir? Would So-mi heal you?”
“…… Thank you.”
Jang Sam-tae grumbled inwardly.
If he was going to lie anyway, what harm was there in saying he’d fought a bear? But if he admitted to falling like some fool, what would become of his dignity in front of the child?
He scowled and sat down, eating his rice in silence.
“Now that I think about it, nearly two months have passed already. Your strength seems to have returned — shouldn’t you be thinking about heading back soon?”
At the words, Namgung Cheon let slip a groan.
Considering Namgung So-hye and his family, there would be nothing strange about returning to the Namgung Clan immediately. Yet his feet would not obey his will.
He had no wish to be treated as a useless elder shut away in a back room.
As his Inner Power faded, his strength too waned slowly, and to return now would only burden his family.
But Namgung Cheon had a goal.
He lifted his gaze and fixed it upon Dan Woo-hyun.
He could not leave — not until he defeated this man before him.
Where once he had merely suspected Dan Woo-hyun might be of the Top Ten Masters’ level, all his certainties had crumbled away.
‘He is strong. Stronger than me.’
A man who could toy with him so effortlessly — surely he must have reached the Heavenly Rank itself.
Of course, they had never fought a true contest with full Inner Power, so he might fall short of that; yet for Namgung Cheon now, this man was a mountain that must be crossed.
And so he could not leave.
Not until he surpassed this one.
Not until he had fully reclaimed everything.
He felt a strange hope that Dan Woo-hyun might hold the key to that path.
This man possessed such peculiar and wondrous power.
“I’ll impose upon your hospitality a while longer.”
“By all means.”
Dan Woo-hyun nodded without hesitation.
Was it pity for his circumstances?
Or reverence for what he had once been?
Neither.
He simply wished the Estate to be a little more lively, and he wanted to give Dan So-mi the gift of a grandfather.
There was no other reason beyond that.
Dan Woo-hyun smiled faintly and began his meal.

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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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