He Became the Genius Blacksmith of the Namgung Family - 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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Chapter 23

Episode 23

Anhui Province was bustling with more people than usual.

Today was the day.

The Namgung Family’s Direct Lineage Promotion Exam was taking place.

“Who will rise to the direct lineage this time?”

“I heard that Namgung Sangtae of the Twelve Undefeatable Swords recently reached the first-rate level. I think he’ll probably take the direct lineage position this time.”

“Nonsense. When was he ever one of the Twelve Undefeatable Swords? Haven’t you heard the news?”

“What news?”

“You know the Black Tiger Sect that was causing trouble over in Jeongdeok? The heterodox faction with that first-rate Black Tiger bastard as their leader.”

“I know them. Weren’t they extremely vicious?”

“Well, that place disappeared two months ago! By none other than Namgung Jeongjin of the Gentleman’s Thunder Sword!”

“My, such a thing happened! This is truly unpredictable – who knows who will become direct lineage in this promotion exam!”

Everyone already knows who’s participating and who they are.

Each one has accomplished great deeds under the name of Namgung warriors.

In this era with little entertainment, the actions of warriors are like topics of conversation.

Remembering, admiring, and becoming followers is the natural order.

Moreover, didn’t the Namgung boldly open the Direct Lineage Promotion Exam to everyone?

How could they miss this martial arts competition where the Namgung warriors they admire and follow gather to compete?

Risk of martial arts leakage?

This is the Martial Arts World where warriors fight each other bloody in broad daylight on the streets.

Though sects and martial families extremely dislike martial arts leakage, do you learn martial arts to cook soup?

When trouble comes, you need to use martial arts to survive.

Therefore, even if competitions are held privately, those who should see have already seen everything.

Besides, martial arts aren’t child’s play.

Just because ordinary people see martial arts doesn’t mean they can immediately perform them.

If someone sees, comprehends, and instantly performs them, they’re a once-in-a-millennium genius who should be recruited by any means necessary.

They don’t just go around assassinating people either.

Moreover, the profits from open competitions are enormous.

The finances going into martial families cannot be ignored.

Monthly wages for hundreds of warriors.

The equipment those warriors use.

This alone is like pouring water into a bottomless dam.

When an opportunity to make money comes, you have to seize it to breathe some life into your lungs.

“Have you properly categorized the seats into Special, Upper, Middle, and Lower grades?!”

“Yes, Finance Director Namgung Cheong! We’ve engraved the grades on the tickets and clearly organized the prices!”

“Good! Since those ticket scalpers might cause trouble, thoroughly monitor and eliminate them, confiscating all their wealth!”

“Understood!”

“Have you finished talking to the inns, pleasure houses, and restaurants belonging to Namgung?”

“Of course. We’ve agreed to collect 40% of the profits from selling food that people can eat lightly while watching the exam and waiting.”

“Reasonable. Make sure to tell them to pay special attention so the food doesn’t spoil. If anything goes wrong, it’ll be Namgung’s disgrace!”

“Yes!”

Therefore, the Namgung Finance Department worked day and night everywhere to sweep up the seasonal funds flowing in.

Especially since rumors had long spread throughout Anhui that the Direct Lineage Promotion Exam for master-level blacksmiths belonging to Cheongeumjeong had changed to martial competitions.

Not just one martial competition, but two!

The Finance Department people expected profits to soar by about 1.5 times compared to before.

Of course, expectations are just expectations.

“Are you folks also looking forward to the Cheongeumjeong blacksmiths’ competition?”

“Hmm. While we know the Cheongeumjeong blacksmiths have learned martial arts, compared to real warriors they’re rather…”

Though they’re called master-level blacksmiths of Cheongeumjeong, they’re still blacksmiths.

Not much expectation.

After all, there’s the real warriors’ competition happening first.

It’s natural to make comparisons.

The previous excitement?

It was just interest in the fact that things had changed.

“Tsk tsk. You seem to have forgotten that Namgung Seo is among the Cheongeumjeong master-level blacksmiths.”

However, this Martial Arts World occasionally has unexpected figures appear, causing great surprises.

“Namgung Seo? Isn’t he a Cheongeumjeong master? Why would he?”

“If you don’t know, I should tell you. Ah, but first my throat is really parched…”

“Here, have a drink first. There, you drink like a real man. So who is this person?”

“Ahh, good. So, Namgung Seo was originally…”

Originally a warrior who had reached the pinnacle level.

A warrior known for lightly wielding a giant sword with his natural monstrous strength to smash villains.

Hence his nickname was Thunder Force Heavy Sword.

* * *

“Thunder Force Heavy Sword?!”

What a truly fierce nickname.

How much strength must he have to get the characters for thunder, force, and heavy all attached?

“Wait, why is such a person working as a blacksmith?!”

News like a bolt from the blue heard the day before the Direct Lineage Promotion Exam.

Namgung Cheon-gang stopped eating his egg fried rice and cried out in surprise.

Yellow rice grains scattered everywhere.

Aeso quickly blocked them with a tray.

“I just told you, young master. After defeating villains, he suffered serious internal injuries and barely awakened after hovering between life and death, then retired from active duty. His dantian was damaged, causing his martial arts level to drop to second-rate.”

“Just how vicious were the villains he faced to cause that much… No, why didn’t you tell me this fact until now, Aeso!”

“Well, I thought you knew since you’re part of the Namgung Family.”

Know my ass.

He wasn’t originally from Namgung, but his qualities and background were decent enough to catch the family head’s eye and work as a collateral warrior.

Later, Mak Noya discovered his blacksmithing talent and he came to work at Cheongeumjeong – I knew up to that point!

“You do know that.”

“Huh?”

That’s right.

But this was the first time I learned about his tremendous nickname Thunder Force Heavy Sword and that he was a pinnacle-level warrior.

‘Thinking about it, I really didn’t pay much attention to the Martial Arts World.’

It was an 18-year life lived faithfully as a blacksmith.

“A-anyway! It’s fine that I know now.”

“That’s true, isn’t it?”

“Aeso, then do you know exactly what level his martial prowess originally was? Seeing his pinnacle level and Thunder Force Heavy Sword nickname, he seems extraordinary.”

“Eh, so from what I know, when he performed martial arts, he didn’t cut but rather crushed things.”

“Crushed?”

“Yes. They said the sword he wielded in his youth weighed over 300 geun (180kg). When you perform martial arts with that kind of weight, things get crushed like potatoes, don’t they?”

“Wow.”

“So among villains, rumors spread far and wide, and many would run away just hearing his nickname. Even villains wanted to leave intact corpses. Anyway, I heard he’s made up his mind this time to properly display his martial arts and has been training seriously.”

“What?”

“From what I hear, while his internal energy isn’t at its peak, his martial prowess has recovered to some degree.”

“…”

“So, young master—”

‘Good luck!’

Is that it?

Damn it.

“Phew.”

The footsteps heading home.

Are heavy.

Looking at the moon, I see Aeso’s face encouraging me to cheer up.

She probably doesn’t mean anything bad by it, but it’s annoying.

“I’m worried.”

According to what I heard from Aeso, besides the Thunder Heavy Sword, there were others among the prize winners whose old nicknames were impressive.

Among them, the Thunder Heavy Sword was the most famous, making him a candidate for victory.

Indeed, how could one withstand the heavy sword of a peak martial artist wielding 180kg?

Moreover, didn’t they say he had recovered his abilities from his prime to some extent?

“Isn’t this just an adult who learned martial arts butting into a children’s fight? Don’t you think so?”

Grumble grumble.

Namgung Cheon-gang vented his complaints while looking at the alley ahead.

The shadows of the moonlit alley stretched long.

Soon, a man walked out from the darkness with steady steps.

A rat-like face.

Thunder Heavy Sword Namgung Seo.

He stood there and gazed at Namgung Cheon-gang with clear eyes.

“I have to ask just in case, but this isn’t an assassination, is it?”

A quiet alley.

Only the moonlight as witness.

A perfect situation for an assassin to sneak up and kill.

Well, I had to ask just to be sure.

Namgung Seo shook his head.

“No matter how blood-stained my past may be, I am now a person of the Namgung Family. Moreover, as a prize winner of Cheongeumjeong, I have pride as a night craftsman. How could someone like me do such a petty thing?”

“Then what brings you here?”

“First, there’s something I need to clarify. This martial arts competition between night craftsmen came about because I requested it.”

Huh.

Suddenly a confession?

I didn’t expect that.

“You look surprised, but somehow your face seems like you had an inkling.”

Nod.

“After hearing the past tales of a martial artist with the nickname Thunder Heavy Sword, I thought it was quite possible.”

I didn’t know he was planning to confess, but I had vaguely guessed the reason why it changed to a martial arts competition.

Honestly, I heard about the current night craftsmen’s glorious past from Aeso.

I would have been foolish not to guess.

“Then this will be easier to discuss. Let me get straight to the point. If you know my past, you’ll understand that this martial arts competition is more unreasonable than you think.”

“Hmm…”

Even with an injured dantian, a peak is still a peak.

Even a first-rate martial artist cannot easily match the experience of reaching that level.

Second and third-rate martial artists go without saying.

Moreover, since he had recovered his martial prowess to some extent through intense training, there was sufficient reason for him to speak as the ‘victor.’

“Therefore, I came to recommend once more what I mentioned before.”

Previously, Namgung Seo had met with Namgung Cheon-gang one last time to recommend he give up the competition.

However, Namgung Cheon-gang firmly refused.

Would now be any different?

“Sorry, but it’s too late. If you were going to do this, you should have come earlier.”

“Would you have given up if I had come earlier?”

“Of course not. As I told you before, my life depends on this.”

“I see. Then… I’ll see you tomorrow. I don’t want to harm someone who might be Cheongeumjeong’s future, but since it’s been a while since I’ve wielded a sword, I might not have control, so be careful.”

“Is that what you came to tell me?”

“That’s right. Also, because I acknowledge you, I wanted to give you one more chance. Someone whose last opportunity remains wanted to prevent a promising sprout from being harmed.”

“…”

“I’ll be going now. Tomorrow’s competition – if it becomes too much, forfeit. No one will resent you for it.”

With those words, Namgung Seo turned around.

I quietly watched his back disappearing into the darkness.

“He’s quite a sentimental uncle.”

He could have just held the competition without confessing.

That shows how sincere he is about the Namgung Family.

I thought he’d be petty because of his rat-like appearance.

Indeed, you can’t judge people by their appearance alone.

After all, looking at just his small build and features, how could you think he’s a martial artist who wields 300 geun of weight?

‘Indeed, you can’t judge martial artists by appearance alone!’

Well, thinking about how he piled work on me makes my teeth grind.

But considering what he wants to achieve in the competition, it’s understandable.

When desperate, one might do anything.

“But I’m just as desperate.”

My remaining lifespan decreasing in real time even now.

I’m more desperate than anyone.

“Tomorrow will be interesting.”

Let’s see how well two desperate men can clash, senior.

Well, I wasn’t expecting much.

But it was the night before the Namgung Direct Lineage Promotion Exam that made me look forward to it.

* * *

The Namgung Family Direct Lineage Promotion Exam finally began.

All seats were sold out.

The prepared food ran out early due to lack of ingredients.

There was that much to see.

Even though the main event of the Direct Lineage Promotion Exam was the martial arts competition, are the branch families only concentrated in martial arts?

There are also some in commerce, arts, and professional fields.

A great martial family in the Martial Arts World is like one giant corporation.

Martial arts is just the center, but they have hands, feet, and hair extended into various businesses.

Martial arts becomes sharper and stronger with money and capital.

Food, elixirs, and weapons don’t cost just a penny or two.

Therefore, there have to be some branch family members in business.

In terms of numbers alone, there are probably more on the business side.

Moreover, branch families are like temporary employees in corporate terms.

Among all those people, since they got the chance to become permanent employees, they put their souls into the competition.

“These are the clothes I’ll be presenting! I’ve improved breathability and mobility! They’re durable, so once you buy them, you can wear them for years! Please enjoy watching and buy plenty!”

A parade of colorful clothing and work clothes.

“Oh, those clothes with blue and red harmonized together look like they’ve captured the sunset glow of the sky. Very beautiful.”

“Blue-dyed leather pants? They look quite durable, so I could wear them for a long time. I needed work clothes, so this works out well.”

A passionate cooking competition.

Chop chop chop!

Thud thud thud!

Chop chop chop!

“Amazing! Dismantling fish flesh in mid-air!”

“So that’s what separating flesh from bone means!”

Brushwork like martial arts.

“Like this, like this, swish swish and then…”

Swish, swoosh.

“The verdant green of mountains, the abundance of fields, and the steadfastness of Namgung warriors are revealed in one stroke. Pretty easy, right?”

“How can such a painting be drawn with just one brush stroke!”

“It’s trickery!”

“His name being Namgung Bab already seemed suspicious, like some kind of con artist!”

Watching, listening, enjoying, making reservations, being amazed, and reporting(?).

“Reservation inquiries for Namgung Textile Shop keep coming in!”

“Don’t miss a single one and accept them all! How are the inn and restaurant reservations!”

“Some places are booked beyond this year, with reservations into next year!”

“Must be high-end pleasure houses or restaurants! Absolutely don’t let a single person slip away, tell them to work even after death! Of course, make sure to inform them that bonuses beyond monthly wages are guaranteed!”

“Yes!”

The general affairs department was truly diligently raking in money.

Thus everyone was excited and joyful for the Namgung Direct Lineage Promotion Exam.

The blacksmith competition was also worth watching, but unlike before, it was somewhat lukewarm because they said the competition would unfold with ‘martial artists’ skills’ rather than ‘blacksmiths’ skills’.

Moreover, its order came after the real martial artists’ competition.

So how could there be any anticipation.

At least there was the participation of Thunder Heavy Sword, an outstanding warrior who was once famous.

There was some anticipation that three more blacksmiths with titles, though not quite matching Thunder Heavy Sword, would appear…

“Anyway, the winner will be Thunder Heavy Sword Namgung Seo.”

“Well, the other two aren’t bad either, but they do seem somewhat lacking compared to Thunder Heavy Sword.”

“Right, right.”

Anyway, the winner would be Thunder Heavy Sword.

That was what the audience thought.

Namgung Cheon-gang?

A genius blacksmith who became a master craftsman of Cheongeumjeong at merely 12 years old.

A martial arts mediocrity who left Baekryeon-dang early because he disliked martial arts.

How could he endure against warriors who had been swinging swords since they were in their mothers’ wombs?

“The blacksmiths’ competition! The long-awaited first match! Namgung In versus Namgung—”

So they didn’t doubt he would be the first blacksmith to be eliminated…

“Oh my, what the hell is that?”

“No, that’s… uh, I mean… what is that!?”

Something beyond everyone’s expectations.

People were all unable to close their mouths.

Their eyes wide open too.

The Namgung warrior serving as referee for the arena match doubted his own eyes and spoke nonsensically.

“Nam, Nam, Namgung Cheon-gang!”

It was chaos.

Why?

The weapon Namgung Cheon-gang brought out was extraordinary.

“Hehe. No matter how genius a blacksmith he is, if he couldn’t endure the basic training of Baekryeon-dang and ran away, he’s mediocre in martial arts. So there’s no way he could be a match for Namgung In, once known as the Steel Sword of Anhui.”

Namgung In, who had already climbed onto the arena before Namgung Cheon-gang appeared.

He had been relaxed and confident.

But his face turned pale blue at the extraordinary weapon Namgung Cheon-gang brought out.

‘Oh my, what the hell is that thing!’

It’s big.

Just, really big.

Receiving sunlight and sparkling brilliantly, it contained both ‘enormity’ and ‘majesty’ that one couldn’t look away.

What is this?

Did he come to scatter tomatoes at the Namgung Family’s Direct Lineage Promotion Exam, which was like Anhui’s grand festival?

Using a person at that.

‘No, no, that can’t be! Unless he’s crazy, such a thing could never happen! Right, it’s, it’s just bluffing! Just a hammer made ridiculously big by stuffing several pig bladders inside—’

Kuuung…

Namgung Cheon-gang’s weapon, briefly set down on the arena.

A heavy rumbling sound.

The trembling ground.

“…”

Namgung In’s eyes shook greatly, just like the trembling ground.

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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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