Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 90

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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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“I believe I’ve found him.”
“Found him?”
Man Hou-ryang smiled faintly, his gaze fixed on Moyong Hyuk-mun. Though his eyes were somewhat clouded, they regarded the man before him with unmistakable clarity.
He had not lost himself entirely. But that was enough. After all, this swordmaster standing before him would never defy Man Hou-ryang’s words.
“The Sword Emperor.”
“……Is he alive?”
“Yes. An old man who lost one arm, they say such a person dwells in Ak-yang, near Honam. Given how carefully he remains hidden, it took considerable effort to track him down, but…….”
“Is he truly the Sword Emperor? On what grounds are you so certain?”
Moyong Hyuk-mun’s expression darkened with skepticism.
Such grave wounds, and exposure to Mountain Poison as well—that he had survived at all defied logic.
“It is merely conjecture. However, should we not crush a shoot before it grows?”
“……You would act on nothing but speculation? When you cannot even be certain who this person is?”
“Did I not say? The timing is far too convenient—the odds are nearly nine in ten. Gunja Geom. They say he wears a mask and goes by that name.”
“Ha! Just like that wretch. He’s likely dreamed up some amusing game elsewhere. But tell me—have you found any trace that his Internal Energy has been restored?”
Man Hou-ryang shook his head.
The investigation was already complete. There had been an incident near Ak-yang where a martial sect was destroyed, but no evidence suggested the Sword Emperor had recovered his Internal Energy. If he had, the aftermath would have been far more severe.
“What do you intend to do?”
“Leave him be. Even if it truly is that wretch, he has already lost an arm and his Internal Energy. As a martial master, he is as good as dead, is he not?”
Moyong Hyuk-mun snorted and turned away.
Yet he had shared his childhood with this man—his old companion. It would not be strange to say that Heavenly Fortune had smiled upon him merely for surviving that first attack.
Should he return to the Namgung Clan, he would sink into despair. And if the Mountain Poison remained undeticated, perhaps a year of life remained at most. There was no need to pursue him further and cut short what little time he had.
But Man Hou-ryang’s thoughts ran a different course.
He smiled wryly and spoke.
“Consider it carefully. Your opponent is none other than the Sword Emperor. What if fortune smiles and he manages to detoxify the Mountain Poison?”
“That is impossible. It is…….”
“It is a matter of ‘what if, by some miracle’—a contingency. Many of the Orthodox Faction would look again upon the Sword Emperor with reverence, and those allied with us would abandon their positions as well. Such is the power of the Sword Emperor’s name. And should that occur…….”
Surely you would have no choice but to step down from your seat?
The words went unspoken, yet Moyong Hyuk-mun grasped them easily enough.
For a moment his body stiffened, and then he began to tremble.
Must he lose to that wretch yet again? Over and over?
A torrent of thoughts crashed through his mind. The flames of fear were fanned higher still by Man Hou-ryang’s whisper, drawing close to his ear.
“Are you prepared to lose everything once more?”
Moyong Hyuk-mun’s eyes changed. He trembled for a moment longer, then took several measured breaths. When he finally spoke, his voice had grown steady and calm.
“Do you have men ready to dispatch?”
“I have already selected several.”
Man Hou-ryang smiled again.
All preparations were complete.
The men had already been posted near Ak-yang—only Moyong Hyuk-mun’s approval remained. And given his position, he would never refuse Man Hou-ryang’s honeyed proposal.
“Then do as you wish.”
Man Hou-ryang orchestrated everything. But it was Moyong Hyuk-mun who gave his consent.
Thus, whatever came to pass, Man Hou-ryang could slip away unscathed. Every consequence would fall upon Moyong Hyuk-mun’s shoulders alone.
Man Hou-ryang turned and smiled, hidden from sight.

Jang Sam-tae and Gwon Mu-jin watched quietly as Namgung Cheon cultivated his Qi in the Training Grounds. They had never seen him in such a state before, and it made them wonder whether the Mountain Poison had truly been neutralized.
“Our Lord Master never ceases to amaze. Treating the Mountain Poison, most legendary of poisons…….”
“It may only be possible because he obtained the Hwa Samcho.”
“The Hwa Samcho…… the Hwa Samcho…….”
Jang Sam-tae fell into thought.
His eyes remained on Namgung Cheon, who sat in lotus position, staring intently at him before his brow furrowed.
To give the Hwa Samcho to an old man who did not seem long for this world, whether the Mountain Poison was detoxified or not.
‘He should have given it to me instead. What a waste.’
With that alone, would he not become a master of the highest caliber?
With such thoughts, he turned his head once more.
There on the veranda sat Dan So-mi, slowly nibbling on sweets.
‘Should we search for Spirit Herbs together?’
Jang Sam-tae pondered the matter seriously. It seemed with that alone, he could grow even stronger.
“Human greed knows no limit, and desire forever breeds calamity.”
In that instant, goosebumps erupted across his entire body.
The words burrowed into his ears with a cutting edge—as if a blade had pierced straight through him. And it seized his breath so completely he could barely draw air into his lungs.
“Hack!”
Jang Sam-tae collapsed where he stood.
An enormous pressure bore down upon him. If he fell now, he sensed he would never rise again.
“I’m… hack-hack! I’m… I’m sorry… hack!”
Jang Sam-tae clutched at his throat, coughing violently.
Crouched on the ground, sweat poured down his face in rivulets, his pupils dilating and contracting as though about to spill from their sockets.
Though his breath came in ragged gasps, his mind refused to settle.
Even Gwon Mu-jin, standing nearby, felt his palms slick with perspiration.
“What is there to apologize for?”
“Gasp… gasp… No, no… it’s nothing….”
When Dan Woo-hyun stepped forward to loom over Jang Sam-tae, he could not bring himself to meet that gaze—his forehead pressed hard against the earth.
He had grown complacent of late, he knew it himself. Once he had come to regard Dan Woo-hyun as an ally, his vigilance had eased.
And yet he had not truly forgotten.
This man before him was the heir of the Martial God, one who had transcended the human realm, a figure acknowledged even by the Sword Emperor himself.
It was not so long ago that this man had slaughtered so many before him and ruled through terror. But as time passed and he grew comfortable, Jang Sam-tae had allowed himself idle thoughts.
For that lapse, he had tasted death. And now he held his tongue.
All that remained was to await Dan Woo-hyun’s mercy.
“Internal Energy alone does not grant strength. If one cannot grasp even this, clinging only to fortune, enlightenment shall never be attained.”
“Y-yes, I shall remember this forever.”
Dan Woo-hyun said nothing more.
He knew well what had crossed Jang Sam-tae’s mind when the man had looked at Dan So-mi—but that too was human desire. Besides, no actual harm had come from such longing.
Moreover, Jang Sam-tae proved useful in many ways.
He saw no reason to spill unnecessary blood.
“Ha, so the messenger of death has come calling.”
Just then, Namgung Cheon opened his eyes slowly, murmuring to himself. His brow glistened with cold sweat.
Even as he cultivated his Qi, he had sensed Dan Woo-hyun’s aura. Though not directed at him, the indirect wave alone had nearly thrown his concentration into chaos—he had nearly fallen into Deviation into Demonic State.
“Have you recovered your Internal Energy?”
“Ha, enough to work with. I’ll need more time yet—whether it takes years or decades, well….”
Namgung Cheon smiled ruefully.
Even finding that much owed greatly to the Hwa Samcho’s influence. Without it, he would have managed only the detoxification of the Mountain Poison. Yet even this much brought a surge of strength throughout his frame.
The difference between having Internal Energy and lacking it was so vast.
“Still, fortune smiled on us. To stand again after merely three days—I thought you’d be bedridden a fortnight at least.”
Dan Woo-hyun chuckled softly.
During the detoxification, Namgung Cheon had screamed for nearly ten hours straight. Having exhausted his Qi meridians and depleted so much of his spirit that way, the fact that he now stood whole was itself a marvel.
“Perhaps it is name alone, but I am still the Sword Emperor, am I not? This is nothing. Ha ha ha.”
Namgung Cheon laughed.
The truth was that the detoxification had been excruciating, nearly unbearable. There were moments he had wished only for death. Yet he had endured by gritting his teeth, knowing that this suffering paled to insignificance compared to the path he had walked to become the Sword Emperor.
Namgung Cheon recalled for a moment the day of his detoxification, then glanced at Jang Sam-tae crouched on the ground and clucked his tongue in disapproval.
And yet he understood the man’s heart as well. Had their positions been reversed, Namgung Cheon might have harbored the same thoughts.
He reached down carefully and lifted Jang Sam-tae to his feet.
“Desire itself is not inherently evil. Such is human nature, after all. But to exploit another—that crosses a line. Once one abandons the Way of Man, there is no end to the descent. Remember this well.”
“Ngh…”
Jang Sam-tae let out a low groan.
Though Namgung Cheon’s voice had been gentle, his words carried weight. Jang Sam-tae nodded carefully, and with a final steadying breath, composure returned to his frame.
‘I nearly died that time.’
His life had truly hung in the balance.
Jang Sam-tae knew all too well that touching Dan So-mi carried no ordinary price.
Once more, he gathered his scattered resolve.
“This shall never happen again, I swear it.”
“See that it doesn’t—unless you’ve nine lives to spare.”
……
Under Dan Woo-hyun’s gaze—a look that promised death nine times over, or ten if needed—Jang Sam-tae quietly turned his face away.
Terror gripped him.
He feared he might soil himself where he stood.
He held fast against that urge and nodded.
“In any case, we are truly grateful. Without you, this old man….”
“It was not me. It was that child’s power. I merely lent my hand.”
Thinking it over again, Dan So-mi’s discovery of the Spirit Herb was truly remarkable and wondrous. It felt as though the heavens themselves had bestowed it. That was why he had spoken of Heavenly Fortune.
But would the Mountain Poison have been detoxified by the Spirit Herb alone?
No. Without Dan Woo-hyun’s power, there would have been no way to purge it.
‘What kind of Mental Cultivation Method is he practicing that his Internal Energy could be so pure?’
Namgung Cheon still felt Dan Woo-hyun’s Qi flowing through his body.
Neither Wudang nor Shaolin, schools renowned for their Daoist traditions, nor even Kunlun possessed anyone with such pristine Qi.
It was as though the very nature of the world, its principles themselves, had converged around him, sweeping through his entire being and rendering all things peaceful. That single thread of light he had felt amid the agony—that was it.
‘The Martial God became a public enemy of the martial realm, so he must have been a wicked man. How could he possibly possess such pure Qi?’
Namgung Cheon had already convinced himself that Dan Woo-hyun was the successor of the Martial God. Therefore, he had assumed Dan Woo-hyun’s Mental Cultivation Method would be the same, yet he could detect not even a speck of Demonic Qi or Evil Qi in his energy.
Confronted with such purity, Namgung Cheon found himself wondering whether he had misread everything entirely, and his mind spiraled into deeper confusion.

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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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