Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 164

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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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Episode 163. Ill Karma Clings with Stubborn Tenacity – 1
The Namgoong Clan Estate.
It was a house of great renown, the patriarch of Anhui Province and one of the Five Great Clans.
The Namgoong Clan Estate lay on the outskirts of Hefei, the provincial capital of Anhui.
Behind it stood a formidable mountain like a living screen, and before it flowed a great river. A perfect configuration of mountains behind and water before. Moreover, only a single bridge crossing the river provided passage into the settlement.
Guard the bridge and no enemy could breach it—a terrain blessed by heaven itself. The Namgoong Clan Estate occupied its heart.
The houses that clustered around the Namgoong Estate all belonged to collateral branches. The entire village comprised the bloodline of the Namgoong family.
Encircled by high walls, the Namgoong Estate was itself a perfect fortress. Only those bearing the Namgoong name or granted explicit permission by the clan could enter.
Within the Namgoong Estate, where countless halls and the Training Ground harmonized in seamless arrangement, certain spaces held special importance.
The Sword Resonance Hall was one such space.
If the Divine Myth Hall served as the dwelling of the clan patriarch, the Sword Resonance Hall belonged to the Heir Designate.
Here dwelt the future patriarch who would carry the Namgoong Clan forward. Naturally, the guard detail was impeccable.
Even in ordinary times, security was maintained without a drop of water spilling—but now the Sword Resonance Hall bristled with masters gathered within, resembling a fortress made manifest.
Roughly a dozen people had assembled in the Sword Resonance Hall, yet none of them spoke.
Their eyes fixed upon the sickbed in the center of the hall.
Lying upon that bed was a young man who appeared to be in his late twenties to early thirties.
Once, his features might have earned him the reputation of a handsome man, but misfortune had painted his face with a sickly pallor, and thick sinews bulged unnaturally across his entire frame.
His name was Namgoong Mujin.
He held the exalted position of eldest son to Namgoong Cheon, the clan patriarch, and served as Heir Designate.
He had first taken up a blade at five years of age and shown exceptional promise at seven. By ten, he had already surpassed martial masters many years his senior.
Naturally, he bore the expectations of every figure within the Namgoong Clan. For an ordinary person, such weight would have been unbearable, yet Namgoong Mujin defiantly exceeded those hopes with each achievement.
He had mastered all the secret techniques of the Namgoong Clan—the Azure Sky Boundless Sword Technique, the Great Evolution Sword Technique—and only recently had he entered the Imperial Sword Form, which only the patriarch himself could learn.
“Did I push too hastily?”
An elderly man, appearing to be in his mid-fifties, muttered the words as he gazed down at Namgoong Mujin.
His eyes were cold and lucid as a lake, and his features bore the refined aspect of a scholarly gentleman.
This elderly man was Namgoong Cheon, patriarch of the Namgoong Clan.
A great warrior who had perfected the Imperial Sword Form once in two hundred years. For this, the Namgoong Clan bestowed upon him the title of Sword King.
Namgoong Cheon had entrusted the management of the clan to Namgoong Chang and his younger brothers, devoting himself entirely to the martial path.
What he desired was the Path of the Sword Immortal, transcending the Sword King—to reach the ultimate realm through the blade.
For this reason, he had even neglected to oversee his children’s martial training. Three months ago, Namgoong Mujin had sought him out.
The young man wished to learn the Imperial Sword Form. Ordinarily, it could not be transmitted before one officially became patriarch, yet Namgoong Cheon readily bestowed it upon his son.
So deeply did Namgoong Cheon trust his son.
He believed that Namgoong Mujin would follow in his footsteps and perfectly master the Imperial Sword Form.
Namgoong Mujin did not betray that trust. He absorbed the Imperial Sword Form at remarkable speed.
For three months, forgetting hunger and sleep, he immersed himself utterly in the form. The catastrophe struck mere days ago.
Drunk on rapid progress, Namgoong Mujin grew more greedy, and in his haste, he fell into Qi Deviation.
He clung to life by the thinnest thread, his vital essence fragile—he might expire at any moment. Unless he received proper treatment, it was uncertain how his life could be saved, but he would certainly become incapable of martial training ever again.
The Heir Designate of the great Namgoong Clan reduced to a body that could no longer pursue martial arts? The clan now faced their worst conceivable circumstance.
For this reason, innumerable physicians from Anhui Province had been summoned to the Namgoong Estate. Every renowned doctor, every celebrated physician—not a single one was spared.
Every doctor who examined Namgoong Mujin shook his head. Their skill was insufficient to treat his Qi Deviation.
Namgoong Cheon, consumed by rage, slew every physician who spoke of impossibility. Later, when reason returned, he felt regret, but the deed could not be undone.
“Has Shin Ui not yet arrived?”
“The commander took subordinates and set out. He will bring her back presently.”
“Shin Ui can treat Mujin, can she not?”
“If she cannot treat him, then no physician in all the realm will save the young master.”
“By whatever means necessary, she must be brought here.”
“Set your mind at ease, brother.”
The speaker was Namgoong Hwa, an elder of the Namgoong Clan and younger brother to Namgoong Cheon. He wielded considerable influence within the clan.
Namgoong Hwa regarded Namgoong Cheon with an expression of deep concern. The patriarch had entered what might be called a state of eyes rolled back in fury.
Rage was eroding his reason, and his wrath stood on the precipice of explosion. Should anyone touch this raw nerve even slightly, catastrophe would unfold in an instant.
The elders of the Namgoong Clan held their breath in the face of Namgoong Cheon’s wrath, and it was precisely at that moment—
“Patriarch!”
An urgent voice rang out from beyond the doors.
Namgoong Cheon’s eyes snapped toward the entrance. Hope kindled across his face.
“Have you brought Shin Ui?”
“That is…”
A warrior of the Namgoong Clan opened the doors and stepped into the chamber. But he came alone.
“What is the matter?”
“Those sent to bring Shin Ui have been slaughtered. All of them.”
“What?”
“No matter how long we waited, he never came. So I sent men to the inn, and found it full of corpses—our own warriors.”
“You’re telling me the main house was slaughtered?”
“I beg your pardon.”
“Dare you! What kind of man insults the Namgoong Clan like this?”
Namgoong Cheon shot to his feet, and a tremendous aura blazed outward from his entire frame.
The sharp, piercing force that befitted his epithet—the Sword King—carved through the hearts of those around him.
The elders inside the Sword Resonance Hall went pale, overwhelmed by his presence.
“C-Clan Lord! Please, compose yourself…”
“Think of the Young Master, Clan Lord.”
The elders tried to calm Namgoong Cheon, but his fury would not easily subside.
“Who is he? Who dares to kill our warriors?”
“That’s… still uncertain. The innkeeper fled, and there were no witnesses.”
Namgoong Cheon ground his teeth.
For all his usual coldness, there was no containing his rage when his son was in danger and his men lay dead.
The warrior continued carefully.
“Judging by the cruelty of the methods and how little resistance our warriors could mount, this must surely be a master of tremendous skill.”
“Mobilize the Sword King Squad.”
“Yes, sir!”
“The Sword King Squad?”
The elders gasped in shock.
The Sword King Squad was the final bulwark of the Namgoong Clan.
The previous clan lord, Namgoong Seon Wol, had secretly recruited prodigies to guard the clan, and granted them rare medicines and forbidden techniques to master.
They emerged into the world only when a Crisis of Destruction threatened the Namgoong Clan, and when they did, they displayed terrifying power.
The last time they had revealed themselves was more than thirty years ago—during the Demonic Cult’s Catastrophic Invasion.
Then they had slaughtered nearly a thousand elite warriors of the Demonic Cult who breached the clan’s walls, displaying martial prowess that shook the world. Wearing Red Masks so their individual identities remained hidden, their existence as the Sword King Squad became widely known nonetheless.
Once the Demonic Cult’s assault ended, they vanished without a trace, returning to their daily lives to guard the Namgoong Clan anew.
Only the clan lord knew the identity of the Sword King Squad’s members, and only he held the authority to command them.
Namgoong Hwa opened his mouth cautiously.
“Brother, isn’t the Sword King Squad meant to be deployed only in a true Crisis of Destruction?”
“And?”
Namgoong Cheon’s voice turned desolate. At that, Namgoong Hwa quickly fell silent.
“N-no, it’s nothing.”
The other elders, glimpsing Namgoong Cheon’s wrath, sealed their lips firmly shut.
In all of Namgoong history, no clan lord had wielded control over the house as absolutely as Namgoong Cheon. Once he had made his decision, the matter was closed.
Namgoong Cheon raised his voice and called out to someone.
“Su Cheon!”
“Yes, Clan Lord!”
A reply came at once from beyond the door.
The elders inside flinched. Among them were none but masters, yet none had sensed the presence of the man waiting outside—a testament to his skill.
“Take the Sword King Squad at once and bring me Dam Ho and Shin Ui.”
“Alive or dead?”
“Bring Shin Ui alive. Dam Ho—breathing is sufficient.”
“It shall be done.”
With that affirmation, all sign of his presence vanished.
Namgoong Cheon turned his gaze toward Namgoong Mujin.
“Hold on just a little longer, my son.”
A voice thick with anguish and fatherly affection filled the hall.
＊＊＊
Dam Ho glanced back. Behind him came a beautiful woman and an elderly man.
Jongli Yeon and Hwa No.
After Dam Ho left the inn, they had followed him out.
The innkeeper and Dong Yi had fled straightaway. They too understood: the Namgoong Clan would never let this rest.
Dam Ho spoke.
“Why are you following me?”
“I’m not following you. We simply happen to be going the same way.”
…
“Really.”
Jongli Yeon wore an aggrieved expression.
There was truth in what she said.
The patient lay in Hanshan, which could only be reached by following the Official Road that Dam Ho must take.
Dam Ho regarded her for a moment. Her cheeks flushed crimson at the attention.
“What—what is it?”
The next instant, Dam Ho turned his head away. The complete indifference of his gesture stung her, and Jongli Yeon’s expression soured.
Frustration flared within her for no good reason.
“This man…”
“Compose yourself, Miss Jongli,” Hwa No said quietly.
“Ugh!”
Hwa No made an effort to steady her. Jongli Yeon’s shoulders trembled, but she held back from any further outburst.
“You must calm down. Think only of the patient, Jongli Yeon. Only the patient.”
The fire in Jongli Yeon’s eyes dimmed at once. Yet his image lingered there still—the back of his head, the set of his shoulders.
After last night’s slaughter ended, she had retched until she had nothing left. She did not remember how long it went on.
In the physician’s work, death was a common sight. She had witnessed much of it, and so she had believed herself accustomed to the death of others.
But the deaths she had seen before were nothing—mere trifles—beside the carnage Dam Ho had wrought.
Through him, she had learned how easily a human being could die.
In Dam Ho’s hands, the human body became more fragile than cracked earthenware.
His words from last night returned to her unbidden.
—Killing people. There’s no pleasure in it.
How mournfully he had spoken those words. And perhaps because of that mournfulness, its echo had not yet faded from her heart.
She tried not to look at him, yet her gaze kept drifting back.
“Miss!”
“Hmm?”
“Do not concern yourself with him.”
Hwa No’s voice was gentle but firm.
“What do you mean?”
“He walks in a world far removed from ours.”
“But—”
“An ordinary martial artist cannot kill as he does. In all my years, I have never witnessed a man take lives with such merciless efficiency. No one like that can be sound of mind.”
Hwa No’s tone remained measured, yet a powerful revulsion underlay every word.
Jongli Yeon protested weakly.
“I have no interest in him. Truly, I don’t.”
“Hold firm to that resolve, Miss. It is the final counsel of an old man whose days are numbered.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Hwa No’s expression was grave.
People are always drawn to worlds they do not know.
Whether it be mere admiration or simple curiosity, the danger is this: the more one is drawn, the more one’s heart follows. Hwa No earnestly prayed such a thing would not come to pass.
He truly hoped it would not.

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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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