Emperor Namgung Mu of the Thousand Years - Chapter 23

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#023

Trying to live differently from the past is, in a way, like a bent bamboo that constantly tries to return to its original shape.

In some ways, it’s only natural.

Since all the given conditions are the same.

That’s why if I let my guard down even a little, it’s inevitable that I’ll instantly revert to my past self.

That’s why, as I began this new life, I’ve been more wary than anything else of becoming similar to my previous life that burned to death.

“Huff… huff…”

I sat in a corner of the alley, mostly crushed and collapsed, now left only with cold moonlight, gasping frantically for the breath I had been holding.

-Drip.

Dark red blood dripped drop by drop from the corners of my eyes, falling to the ground.

The hair on the back of my head was soaked with blood, clinging like a wet rag.

I looked around.

I picked up a dishrag scattered with the broken table and pressed it against the back of my head to stop the bleeding.

This won’t be enough.

I rummaged through the belongings of a fallen Green Forest bandit nearby.

Bandages came out.

With trembling hands, I unwound the bandages and began wrapping my head.

-Thud.

It fell helplessly to the ground between my fingers covered in blood and dirt.

“…Damn it.”

I thought my gasping breath echoing in my ears sounded truly pathetic.

“Get it together… What are you doing so pathetically…”

With a quiet curse, I picked up the bandages again.

Gritting my teeth, I finished stopping the bleeding.

I confirmed once more that the last one, the green assassin Hwangpyo, had finally breathed his last.

Only then did my tension ease as I slumped to the ground.

“…I really thought I was going to die this time.”

I looked at the Green Forest bandits scattered all around.

A few survivors or those who had become half-paralyzed were letting out intermittent groans.

The rest had scattered in all directions as if they’d seen ghosts.

They’re just a ragtag bunch anyway, not even a proper sect’s force. They’ll think of tonight as a nightmare under the red lantern lights and will be reluctant to get involved again.

‘Still.’

There’s no plan in this world that can be executed with perfect preparation.

To some extent, it had to involve gambling, and in that process, one couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Since starting this life, if there was a moment when I was most prepared for death, it would be right now.

No matter how I inherited the title of Dark Emperor that once ruled both Whitenight and Darknight in the past, as long as my foundation is that of an assassin rather than a warrior, avoiding direct confrontation is the basic approach.

Moreover, only 40% of my abilities had been restored, and while the body I returned to in this life could certainly grow and was full of vitality, it was still less familiar compared to my original body.

But no matter how I thought about it, this was something I absolutely had to do.

As far as I know, the Green Shadow Assassins who manage this Red-Light District move with their subordinates exactly once a month, on this day when the full moon rises, personally managing and transporting their targets.

If I appeared when they were gathered together with armed Green Forest bandits, the Wi Family Quartet, who had taken refuge as a branch of the Namgung Family but were also from this place, would have definitely asked Hwangpyo to deal with me since they were already gathered.

The Green Shadow Assassins would make their mark not just in a corner of Anhui, but throughout the entire Martial Arts World exactly five years from now.

Also, since we were in the same line of work, I had briefly encountered him in what could be called a bad relationship, and I had once spent money behind the scenes to gather extensive information about him in order to eliminate him, so I knew him as well as the palm of my hand.

What I focused on this time was one piece of information among the various details I had obtained about him in the past, and in a way, it could be said that this entire plan began from there.

In my previous life, while toying with the masters who attacked him, he had a habit of saying that if there was ever a chance to eliminate him, it would only be possible during his fledgling days when he was concentrating on internal energy and energy circulation in the Anhui Backstreet, but it would be absolutely impossible now.

When I calculated the timing, at this point he was hiding in the streets of this Red-Light District, taking an inner pill he had received from someone to amplify his energy circulation, and he had received some auxiliary help.

In other words, the current point in time was the most vulnerable moment in his current life, and he was also someone who possessed the most cost-effective value relative to what he held.

My current state is certainly progressing ambitiously, but it’s still very lacking and precarious.

Taihu Beiming Xusheng Shenggong, or Bukmyeong Singong for short, is presumed to be different from the Absorption Mastery that shook the Martial Arts World with its origin, approach, and results, but ultimately disappeared.

However, this martial art too is inevitably treated as taboo in the Martial Arts World for the fact that it ‘absorbs others’ internal energy and makes it my own power.’

According to ancient texts I saw when I was learning and exploring various knowledge under my master’s teachings in my previous life,

While the Absorption Mastery was notorious for leaving only skin on its victims, the actual internal energy conversion rate was only about 20%.

Considering this, the potential of Bukmyeong Singong, which is in a similar category, is definitely an incomparably superior version compared to the Absorption Mastery.

Certainly, both its speed and conversion rate are close to 80%, so there’s no comparison.

Crucially, while the Absorption Mastery expels and eliminates absorbed internal energy to avoid qi deviation, Bukmyeong Singong can make absorbed internal energy my own without considering the nature of the absorbed energy.

However, since it’s still an incomplete divine art, I learned this time that there’s a fatal flaw in the Bukmyeong Singong system I’m currently developing.

While all the advantages of Bukmyeong Singong are fully manifested in a proper posture with a calm mind and body, I belatedly realized through the battle with the Wi Family Quartet and others that the speed of absorption is far too slow in actual combat.

Like something stuck in the middle of the throat, there was a section where the absorption would slow down as if blocked while absorbing at high speed, and the speed would decrease just before being sucked into my palm, causing most of the internal energy that was absorbed with difficulty to scatter into the air. So I determined that I must refine Bukmyeong Singong to completion and improve it in a direction that allows stable absorption even in actual combat, and I considered this attack absolutely necessary for that purpose.

“Witnesses… shouldn’t be a problem either.”

This place is perfectly an extraterritorial zone ruled by irregular entities from the Black Dao and Green Forest, even in Anhui.

There probably weren’t many people who saw anyway, but even if there were, people who live in this place never carelessly run their mouths.

Just cleaning up the aftermath and sprinkling salt while grumbling about anxiety and complaints is the natural order of this underworld.

That’s also why I chose this place as the location.

And certainly, according to such implicit rules of the street, at least until sunrise, not even an ant will come near this particularly secluded back alley, even within the world of the Red-Light District.

“Let’s see what’s there.”

Until just before his death, Hwangpyo looked at me, then looked at the cargo loaded on the cart, fearing something.

I don’t know if it’s tribute to someone or the behind-the-scenes stories of the Black Dao and Green Forest worlds.

But if it’s something to be offered to someone he fears that much, there should be something worthwhile.

-Whoosh.

I removed the thick waterproof tarp made of wild boar hide.

“Not even an inch off from my expectations.”

What was on top were various liquors and incense. There were also silk fabrics and flashy courtesan clothes with various ornaments hanging from them.

From the outside, anyone would think it looked like cargo dealing with the pleasure quarter.

Rather, because it was moderately flashy, it might just be the kind that people would nitpick about after just looking at the surface.

But-.

“Hmm. Iron plate bottom.”

Under the silk and liquor jars, I discovered a cart bottom reinforced sturdily with iron plates.

And the height between the bottom and the cart was lower than a typical cart.

I hesitated for a moment.

“…Anyway, if it’s to confirm what I was thinking, I won’t need to use the cart anymore.”

I immediately kicked down and broke two wheels of the cart.

As it tilted and fell over, I pushed it to the side and toppled it completely.

Various expensive liquors and incense scattered and spilled across the dirt ground. The silk got dirty and the courtesan clothes became covered in dirt.

In the very center of the cart’s exposed belly, where the cart’s axle was located, I discovered wood of a slightly different color that had been nailed on as reinforcement.

“As expected.”

I immediately grabbed it and twisted it out, crushing it with my bare hands.

-Clatter.

Numerous silver coins, gold ingots, and jewels poured out from the cart’s double bottom.

Three gold ingots, twenty-seven various precious metal gems including pearls.

There was also a considerable amount of money.

Through my active period as an assassin,

I had accumulated so much field experience that I learned as a side effect

practical knowledge that couldn’t be learned from books.

This type of iron-reinforced cart was the kind that even courier services would use only when transporting very important items ten years later.

Since many of my target subjects were village notables or wealthy individuals, I had encountered many of these types of carts designed for safety, so I could recognize it at first glance.

‘Right now it’s early stages, so everyone would find it unfamiliar though.’

Unless it’s specifically to catch and fix me, it would be quite difficult to overturn under normal circumstances.

Of course, if someone was tempted by the bait loaded on top and only stole that, it would be even better.

“…Still, it’s more than I expected. Business must be good?”

I made a makeshift sack from the boar tarpaulin and swept everything into it.

In my thinking, to devour a family, one definitely needs operating funds. Funds of unclear origin that can’t be traced back.

Now that I’m the Fourth Young Master, I have my own token with incomparably greater power than Namgung Cheon’s token, but any funds used through it can all be tracked.

It empowers me while also constraining my actions, making it effectively useless. And I have no intention of using it anyway.

‘These funds must be used without any waste… at the best moment I can manage.’

Wealth aside, there was something else I was specifically looking for.

The most important objective of this entire incident.

If my thinking is correct.

The artifact that Hwangpyo should originally possess must surely be here, starting from transporting this cargo-.

-Clatter.

“Found it.”

I pull up what caught on my fingertips.

It was a pair of bracelets.

Bracelets in the form of coiled ink-colored dragons.

Ebony Dragon Bracers.

They double the speed of internal energy flowing through the blood vessels, ultimately doubling the power of martial techniques.

In my previous life, Green Shadow Assassin Hwangpyo still had the weakness of being crude and lacking finesse in executing techniques and martial arts.

He compensated for this with an artifact he obtained by chance, the Ebony Dragon Bracers, using overwhelming power to crush his lack of precision and cut down opponents, growing to become one of the top five in Darknight.

My master also always instructed me that if I ever encountered the Green Shadow Assassin, I must kill him and steal this, saying that if I, who relied on the extreme delicate coordination of techniques and martial arts to compensate for my meager internal energy, were to possess this as well, it would be like giving wings to a tiger.

-Click.

I put them on both wrists.

I clenched my hands.

“Increasing future martial technique power is one thing, but there’s something more important.”

For this, I had left the Imperial One-Thousand-Cycle Pill unabsorbed.

The flaw in Bukmyeong Singong I mentioned earlier.

During combat when proper breathing and posture cannot be maintained, the original absorption speed cannot be achieved, so most of the internal energy scatters into the air before it can even enter my blood vessels.

I had pondered endlessly to devise a solution for this.

In that process, what came to mind was a passage I had seen while voraciously reading records of countless martial arts out of compensation for my insufficient internal energy in the past.

It was an ancient text discussing the founder of Absorption Mastery, where the author theorized about Absorption Mastery as follows.

The founder of Absorption Mastery’s fanatical obsession with absorption speed so terrifyingly fast that victims were left with only blood and skin was likely one strategy to overcome the poor conversion rate.

That attempt had some effect, but ultimately due to the martial art’s inherent limitations, even with assistance for rapid absorption speed, it was bound to have a terrible final conversion rate.

But what was certain was meaningful change.

And now, feeling the need to break through that blocked section like having rice cake stuck in my throat, it was enough to give me a hint.

If most internal energy scatters due to a briefly slowing section in the middle, solve it by dramatically increasing the overall absorption speed to the point where even that is ignored.

And achieve this through this very artifact.

This was the final piece I conceived for completing Bukmyeong Singong.

Actually, until the very end, I had considered whether to wear these Ebony Dragon Bracers while absorbing Hwangpyo’s internal energy.

But I considered the variable that, just possibly, the Ebony Dragon Bracers might not be here contrary to my previous life’s memories.

Moreover, Hwangpyo wasn’t someone lacking in skill to the point of being leisurely left alone while I searched the carriage – he needed to have his breath cut off in one decisive strike. The Hwangpyo I knew, even if less mature at this point in time, wasn’t at a level to die instantly like this.

He died before demonstrating even half his true ability, based on a calmly settled mind.

‘Now I should focus more on the progress gained before my eyes than the fish that got away.’

I put on the bracelets on both wrists and tested movement.

“I should visit a forge soon. The bracelets feel a bit loose.”

I adjusted my wrists while shouldering the sack of wealth.

Even if there are no witnesses, staying here long won’t do any good.

Now I need to leave this place before the full moon passes and return by crossing the mountain range toward Anhui’s center.

“Whew, it’s heavy.”

If I hurry from now, I should be able to get in before dawn breaks…

“…Huh?”

I discovered there was something more in the crushed, empty space at the bottom of the carriage.

I examined the inside.

Embedded flush against the carriage floor was a silver wooden case.

“I feel like I’ve seen something similar somewhere… it’s familiar.”

Compared to the flashy gold and silver treasures, this wooden case with its subdued color could have been relatively overlooked.

But I had definitely seen this somewhere before, which made me stop my intended action even in that brief moment.

I tilted my head and picked up the wooden case.

“Where did I see this? Definitely, this texture, size, and weight are familiar.”

The memory is hazy.

I examine the wooden case thoroughly.

And then,

“Wait. This…”

My breath stops.

“This is exactly the same as what I saw during my last commission.”

This was definitely the very wooden case I had recovered in my last commission in my previous life, just before being attacked by the white masked figure and demon cultists and burning to death.

“Is it coincidence…? Or could it be that even the contents?”

I hastily opened the wooden case.

Inside the wooden case were luxurious cloth decorations along with three circular slots.

The first and second slots were empty.

And in the third slot was a pearl-like milky white orb.

I blinked.

I picked up the bead.

“It’s identical…”

I definitely saw this.

I recall the memory of my last commission in my previous life.

Between Cheonghe and Seogang, eliminate the mentioned local influential figure.

An assassination commission that came to me promising a huge reward.

‘What’s the reason?’

‘That person stole our treasure.’

‘We need to kill and recover it.’

‘Without fail.’

‘What form is the treasure?’

‘Something like a pearl. Just for reference in proceeding.’

“…”

In the wooden case I recovered then, there was also one pearl-shaped orb just like now.

So I replaced the real one in the wooden case with a fake pearl I had prepared in advance for secrecy and kept it separately in my chest.

I don’t know what happened after that.

I met the Masked Man, had my hands crushed, and burned to death.

With countless thoughts, I lifted up what should be called an orb, or perhaps a pill – it was ambiguous.

“Looking closely, it’s not a gemstone, but something like a spiritual medicine?”

If it were an inner core containing vast internal energy, any martial artist familiar with the flow of internal energy would feel something unusual from the moment they held it.

But no matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t that kind of common thing meant for increasing internal energy.

-Clatter.

A note that had been tucked between the wooden case’s decorative cloth rolled out.

This must be the content that Hwangpyo, who died by my hand, left for whoever sent this wooden box.

I unfolded the note.

It was a lengthy note written in unexpectedly polite handwriting.

I read through it.

[…Regarding the Sun and Moon Sect, it’s as good as finished now.]

[…I still haven’t been able to confirm whether that theory of reincarnation, that one can return again, is true.]

…I can’t make heads or tails of what he’s talking about.

I narrow my eyes and continue reading the note.

[…(omitted)… But regardless of the truth of the story, among the three Hwasaengsimdan you commanded, excluding the first dan whose whereabouts are unknown, after offering a thousand sacrifices, I was finally able to obtain and send the third dan that remained last. I, Hwangpyo, am pleased to have contributed to the great undertaking that is our sect’s first step.]

“…”

A chilling sensation.

An alien sensation.

Something like an alarm bell rings in a corner of my mind.

This is, in a way, a story from another world that originally had nothing to do with me.

And in a way, a story from another world that I will now inevitably become entangled with.

As if entranced, I slowly read the final, utterly unfamiliar words left at the bottom of the note.

“The Heavenly Demon’s Return… Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Submission…?”

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