He Became the Genius Blacksmith of the Namgung Family - Chapter 71

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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 71

Episode 71

The affairs of the Namgung Family in Anhui.

The affairs of Dongling County.

There’s nothing that Hwanggyeon, a Palgulgae beggar of the Beggar’s Sect, wouldn’t know about.

‘No matter how much I chase traces of those Sima Waidao bastards around the plateau.’

Reports come in daily from beggars spread across the nation.

How could I not know about this?

So, the main character of the major events in those two places.

‘Namgung Cheon-gang’ was naturally etched in my mind.

Well, I figured it was just Mak Noya’s reputation at work.

Just hearing about the Dongling County incident, his sense of justice seems overflowing…

But aren’t there plenty of such warriors in this martial arts world?

Especially if he’s Master Mak Noya’s disciple, that would make sense.

So I didn’t think much of it particularly.

I planned to form a modest connection and leave it at that.

But what’s with this guy?

“Hup!”

“Let’s wash up!”

He’s sincere.

Yeah, well, I can understand this much.

A beggar ran all the way here from the plateau, so of course I’d smell.

Even the Shaolin Abbot would snatch a beggar’s bowl and crack his head.

What’s interesting is what came after.

“Let’s wash up and eat!”

Wash up and eat together?

Not “see you later”?

‘Wasn’t he 18 years old?’

Kids that age don’t usually tell beggars to wash up and eat together, right?

Even after I revealed I’m from the Beggar’s Sect, it’s the same.

Except for kids with some blood in their heads, most noble family children are too proud to deal with beggars.

Where would you find “let’s eat together”?

They’d just throw money and tell you to go eat.

Ah, but then again.

I did reveal I’m a Palgulgae, right?

So he could say let’s eat together.

I understood up to this point…

“Big brother!”

He formed a sworn brotherhood with me.

“I’ll make you brand new shoes!”

Said he’d make me new shoes.

“I’ll make them for 100 Beggar’s Sect members too!”

While taking care of our people.

“Of course, it’s free!”

Says it’s free.

But why?

“Didn’t you generously provide information about the matter I need to resolve without holding anything back? So making about 100 pairs of shoes isn’t difficult. Especially since you came all this way to form a connection with me, how could I just stand by and watch? Even without the information, giving gifts is the proper duty of a human being, isn’t it?”

“…The proper duty of a human being.”

The great way of human relationships.

To uphold that.

“Dirt can be washed off, but people themselves aren’t dirty.”

External filth cannot damage one’s fundamental nature.

External dirt does not harm a person’s essence.

Ha.

Really.

He actually expresses this through his actions?

At that age?

‘Seriously, what is this kid?’

Is he just saying empty words?

Because he’s a martial arts world blacksmith who deals with many people?

But would he have dealt with more people than beggars?

Isn’t a beggar’s life about surviving by reading people’s faces?

I’ve lived 10 more years than him, and I’m a Palgulgae of the Beggar’s Sect at that.

There’s no way I’d misjudge someone.

‘If I misjudge, I’d have to quit being a Palgulgae and quit the Beggar’s Sect too.’

So he’s sincere.

The actions and eyes of this Namgung Family youth before me.

Love at first sight.

When your heart leans toward someone from the first meeting.

When you consider them a precious friend sent by heaven, a beggar doesn’t hide anything.

“From now on, you are truly my dear friend and blood brother! I will personally tell you any information you want from now on! Of course, except for top secrets, to the extent I can?”

So approaching him with sincerity was inevitable.

Moreover, Hwanggyeon’s sincerity.

“Here, big brother! It’s finished! Please try them on!”

“…”

Became even more solid with the shoes Namgung Cheon-gang gave him.

‘Wh-what is this? This is a masterpiece!’

No, something that just needs to protect feet adequately!

He made a masterpiece and just gave it away?

Even at a glance, the quality was on a different level.

The glossy surface looked exactly like a beautiful woman’s silky hair.

‘Ah, right. He made it with fabric procured from Cheonggeung Clothing Store, so it is silk.’

Come to think of it, he made beggar shoes with that silk.

This younger brother really!

He touches this beggar brother’s heart.

Is it just the quality that’s amazing?

The design is incredible too.

In all my life, I’ve never seen such sleek and stylish shoes.

I think I understand why swordsmen go crazy when they see a fine sword.

The appearance alone already makes it a rare item.

But when I put them on?

‘…!?’

It’s not a masterpiece.

It’s a rare item.

My younger brother truly made and gave me rare item shoes.

The word ‘crazy!’ automatically comes out.

Finally.

“So shoes can actually be comfortable…”

I thought they just needed to last a long time when worn.

I thought you just had to wear them for a long time.

“Of course. When your feet are comfortable, your mind and body are at ease. There’s even a saying: feet are a person’s second heart.”

“So I’ve been trampling on that heart all this time….”

“Well, that can happen. But not from now on. These shoes made by this Namgung Cheon-gang will protect and comfort your feet, legs, and even bones!”

“Even bones! But how!?”

“If you feel the sole, it’ll be a bit soft. I applied plenty of Muktan glue to give it elasticity.”

“Gasp! It’s true! I can feel the bounce! But what are these grooves, little brother?”

“Aren’t you a warrior, big brother? Since the friction from using lightness skills or footwork techniques can be several times greater than for ordinary people, I made these grooves to reduce friction.”

“My goodness, little brother… You’re truly a genius, a real genius!”

If the one who made such an item isn’t a genius, then what is?

“My little brother! Truly my little brother!”

If the little brother who gave such an item for free isn’t blood family, then what is!

“Oh right. I put iron plates on the front and back of the shoes, you see? From what I observed, the Beggar’s Sect’s martial arts seem specialized in kicking techniques, so this little brother did some tuning—I mean, made some modifications. They’ll be even more effective when used against enemies.”

“Little brother is truly… the greatest blacksmith among all the young smiths I know!”

If the one who made products considering even martial arts methods isn’t the greatest, then who would be!

Hwanggyeon wanted to run right away.

He wanted to unleash his lightness skills to his heart’s content.

He wanted to smash the heads of villains to his heart’s content while wearing his new shoes.

Such was Hwanggyeon’s heart.

Namgung Cheon-gang seemed to understand well.

“Go ahead and do as you please!”

“Yes! Little brother!”

The creator had given permission.

How could he just stay still?

Just as he was about to unleash his lightness skills with an excited heart to go out to that wide plain(?), ready to do as he pleased.

“Oh right, I forgot the most important thing! This item, what’s the name of this item created by little brother’s genius inspiration!?”

How could he not know the name of the miraculous shoes that the Beggar’s Sect would treasure for generations?

There was no greater discourtesy than this.

To Hwanggyeon’s question, Namgung Cheon-gang smiled gently and answered.

“Since it gives lightness like clouds, I used the character for cloud ‘un’ , and since that cloud’s light energy circulates throughout the body, I added the character for merit ‘gong’ . Finally, I attached the character for shoes ‘hwa’ , so I call them ‘Ungonghwa ‘, big brother.”

This was the moment when the Namgung Cheon-gang brand ‘Ungonghwa’ was born—shoes that every martial artist would eventually need to have at least one pair of.

* * *

Good.

Excellent.

This must be how Hwanggyeon feels wearing his new shoes.

No, his Ungonghwa.

‘Me too!’

After giving the Ungonghwa to Hwanggyeon when he returned.

Hwanggyeon’s eyes welled up with tears as he immediately took flight.

Bouncing up and down in the training hall instead of the field.

At the same time, message windows kept popping up one after another.

There were incredibly many.

I was startled seeing the divine arts automatically registered within them.

I thought this would be no different from before Gongmyeong.

‘But I survived thanks to Manryu Giwongong, didn’t I?’

Since it was absorbed into Manryu Giwongong, who would know how?

‘Still, I was quite surprised.’

With Gongmyeong, I can now pick and choose martial arts, so I thought I’d learned divine arts and could say goodbye forever to severed limbs and meridians.

Since it came back to life, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘Anyway, it doesn’t seem like there’ll be any particular problems. Even if I use Gongmyeong with warriors who’ve learned divine arts, it’ll probably be the same as now, so let’s be satisfied with having confirmed it.’

Of course, the excited feeling like Hwanggyeon comes next.

Look.

At those beautiful lightness skills and footwork techniques I can pick and choose from in the Gongmyeong window!

Moreover, there’s one footwork technique that immediately catches my eye.

‘My goodness! Chwipalseombo! There’s Chwipalseombo!’

What’s the indispensable footwork technique when it comes to the Beggar’s Sect?

Isn’t it precisely Chwipalseombo !

‘I may not know other things, but I know that one!’

As someone who read martial arts novels in my previous life, could there be anyone who doesn’t know that?

No, even without reading martial arts novels, could there be anyone who doesn’t know drunken fist?

‘Absolutely not!’

If you’re a man?

‘You can’t resist drunken fist!’

How could I miss the essence of action martial arts from the golden age of Hong Kong cinema in the 80s and 90s!

Namgung Cheon-gang quickly learned Chwipalseombo.

Simple, but each one difficult.

Peak-level internal energy aside.

How do you learn Honyeon Gangryong Ilgigong?

‘It would be difficult without Gongmyeong.’

Learning orthodox faction divine arts is the same.

But Namgung Cheon-gang?

Passed through easily!

Ah.

It’s coming in.

The essence of drunken fist.

Ah….

‘Now I’m on the same level as big brothers Seong X, Lee X-geol, Hong X-bo, Ju X-chi, and Won X!’

This is happiness!

‘Keu!’

Today too, I’m drinking refreshingly like cider.

Finally, I learned the footwork technique I’d been longing for and anticipating.

‘It’s even more than that!’

A footwork technique that will realize a man’s romance!

I’ll dodge swiftly with drunken fist!

‘Now what remains is lightness skills,’

Well, this shouldn’t be difficult.

‘I can learn the Beggar’s Sect’s lightness skills from other Gaebangdo members.’

It’s not the Namgung Family martial arts I wanted to learn first, but….

‘I can just distribute Ungonghwa to the entire Namgung Jeonggeomdan.’

I can work on it again.

What’s so difficult about that?

‘Learn lightness skills too, and level up close to max.’

Then?

I need help.

“Big brother, isn’t it amazing!?”

Namgung Cheon-gang cupped both hands to his mouth and shouted loudly.

“Yes! It’s amazing! Little brother is the greatest blacksmith in the world! Uhahahaha!”

Hwanggyeon responded brightly and confidently to Namgung Cheon-gang’s shout.

A bright smile bloomed on his face too.

‘It really must be amazing.’

He even used martial arts to prevent the sweat dripping from his head from touching the Ungonghwa.

Papapat, papapat!

True Drunken Eight Immortals Steps.

‘Wow, he’s using the True Drunken Eight Immortals Steps to dodge… Well, new shoes deserve that kind of treatment.’

Moreover, he’s a beggar.

Since he’s wearing the only pair of cloud-walking shoes in the Martial Arts World, it’s understandable he’d act like that.

‘And these aren’t just ordinary cloud-walking shoes, right? They’re ability-enchanted cloud-walking shoes.’

“Hahaha! Euhahahaha! To think I wouldn’t get tired even using lightness skills! To think the circulation of lightness skills could become this free! My whole body feels light!”

‘Mm, the flexibility and balance effects are working properly.’

The abilities written below are exactly the effects of flexibility and balance.

How to confirm the effects that flexibility and balance will demonstrate?

Easy.

Just think about being curious and it tells you right away.

‘The breathing really turned out well.’

At that level, it was truly a mystical item.

‘I’d like to let him do this all day if I could, but…’

There’s work to be done, isn’t there?

‘I got a week’s time, but finishing quickly and resolving things fast is the way to receive more favor.’

It’s like knowing how to do well in social life.

Or the wisdom of old age.

‘However, to receive that favor even one moment sooner, I need Brother Hwanggyeon’s help.’

More specifically, the power of the Beggar’s Sect disciples.

I need to make at least 300 cloud-walking shoes from now on.

I could do it if I cut back on sleep.

But then it would interfere with the mission!

‘I should ask Brother Hwanggyeon for help from the Beggar’s Sect disciples if possible. This is the way to obtain Beggar’s Sect lightness skills through Gongmyeong, max out my level, and reduce work time – the best method!’

This is exactly killing two birds with one stone, achieving two goals with one action!

“Brother! When are the Beggar’s Sect disciples coming! I need to make cloud-walking shoes for them!”

“Oh right! I said I’d make cloud-walking shoes for our guys too!”

Hwanggyeon hurriedly descended from the sky.

His appearance was like a fallen leaf slowly drifting down on the wind.

‘Wow… just how high is his level that it looks like he’s stepping on the sky as he comes down?’

And what kind of martial art is that anyway?

It seems like he has other footwork techniques besides the Drunken Eight Immortals Steps.

‘Well, he is the next Beggar’s Sect leader, Palgulgae, isn’t he?’

There’s no way he wouldn’t have footwork techniques other than the Drunken Eight Immortals Steps.

“They’ll come soon after just organizing the branch a bit. When I said I’d make new shoes for them, they wanted to come right away, but even beggars should finish their work before coming.”

“Of course. Even beggars should finish their work. You did well.”

“The more I see you, brother, the more charming you are. How do you always say exactly what touches my heart?”

“Isn’t that why I’m Mak Noya’s sole disciple?”

“What? Hahaha! Right. Exactly! That’s why you’re the elder’s sole disciple! I totally understand, brother! Hahaha!”

Hwanggyeon laughed, but his eyes were sad.

‘This brother’s master must be a tease too.’

Somehow, I could see right through it.

I felt a strong sense of sympathy from shared suffering.

Namgung Cheon-gang smiled gently and nodded understandingly.

“Did dust get in my eyes? Why are tears coming out. Oh right, brother. But are the cloud-walking shoes for our guys similar to this? Surely they won’t all be mystical items?”

Perhaps trying to hide the reason for his tears.

Hwanggyeon hurriedly changed the subject.

Sometimes a man’s tears need to be pretended not to be seen.

Namgung Cheon-gang answered with feigned ignorance.

“Yes. They’ll be similar. I said I’d make them, so it wouldn’t be right if only one was excellent, would it? Most will be similar, so don’t worry.”

Come on, what’s so hard about breathing enhancement?

‘Isn’t it more than enough to provide some convenience for information agents who run around day and night?’

However, this was something only Namgung Cheon-gang could do.

Others couldn’t.

You could tell just by looking at Hwanggyeon’s expression.

He was so surprised that you could see his eyes widen even through his shaggy hair.

“Huh… you can make something like this so easily? No, why… how is that possible?”

It didn’t make sense.

Were mystical items originally made this easily?

Of course, that might be how it appeared on the surface.

‘But this is a real mystical item!’

After putting them on and practicing martial arts, he knew more precisely.

He felt his legs becoming activated.

But to say he’d make 100 of such things soon…

Does this make sense?

‘No, before that, does it make sense to make such things for others?’

Ah, really, this brother!

The reincarnation of Buddha is here!

“Brother is… really…”

“Oh my, why are you getting emotional again? Stop it, brother.”

“Stop!”

What an emotionally rich brother.

“So, could I get some help? It’s different from what I said initially, but the work seems like it’ll take longer than expected.”

“Of course! Just say the word!”

When someone’s making mystical items for you, how could you not help!

Moreover, he’s not even asking for money.

He’s just asking for help.

“I could even move the blacksmith’s forge if you asked!”

“…”

Seeing Hwanggyeon’s crazed eyes, Namgung Cheon-gang was scared he might actually do it.

“Th-there’s no need for that. Just apply the ink charcoal paste to the shoes as I tell you.”

Even just that would significantly reduce work time.

The breathing enhancement?

‘Well, I can do that after sending everyone away.’

Thinking about it, I need to make over 300.

It does take some internal energy, but…

When was I not quick to finish?

I’ll just collapse when I’m done.

“That much is nothing… Isn’t there more? You can ask for more. Really!”

“Mm, then can you sew?”

Hwanggyeon puffed out his chest.

“A true Beggar’s Sect disciple must mend his own clothes himself! Sewing is a beggar’s friend!”

“Ah, no wonder! I thought your clothes looked like they’d been mended a lot!”

They were almost at rag level.

“Huhu! This is exactly the dignity of Palgulgae.”

“Cool!”

If I’m reborn again, I’ll definitely never become a Beggar’s Sect disciple.

‘Anyway, if he mends his clothes to the point of wearing patched clothing, he should be able to handle sewing shoe soles.’

The work speed would increase even more.

‘Not a week, but maybe three days would do?’

True to his word, the work was finished in three days.

And Namgung Cheon-gang lay groaning in agony all day long.

He had been circulating his internal energy without sleep, trying to control his breathing, and eventually collapsed from exhaustion.

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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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