I Became the Namgung Clan’s Omnipotent Item-Powered Martial God - Chapter 10

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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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Chapter 10
Chapter 10 – What Does Martial Arts Mean to You
#1
Namgung Yeon had been wondering: since when did he start thinking like this?
Where, truly, was the end of Martial Arts?
The Life-Death Realm spoken of only in legends?
Or the realm of immortals like the Dharma Master and Zhang San Feng, who had transcended humanity itself?
He had lived through countless ages, walked through innumerable lives.
Though he had wandered longer than most immortals, he had never achieved the power to cleave heaven and earth asunder with a single stroke.
To command nature itself through will alone?
He did not know.
‘I have never touched that realm, not once.’
There was only one thing he could truly do.
Understand the human body.
How to cut so that bone and muscle split in a single stroke.
How deep one must cut to sever tendons and ligaments.
Or how to cut so irreparably that recovery becomes impossible.
How to face those wrapped in Internal Energy and True Qi.
If a Sword Immortal truly existed, he would surely laugh at him.
What is the essence of Martial Arts?
Why did one learn Martial Arts?
Should one not begin by asking that?
‘For me, Martial Arts was nothing more than a tool to end a weary life.’
What of you?
He wanted to ask the Demon Martial Artists this question with sincere intent.
What meaning does Martial Arts hold for you?
Even as he rushed toward the panicked Lee Baek Cheon, Namgung Yeon could not shake the doubt from his mind.
Whoosh—!
A man overcome by panic and terror falls more pathetically than one caught off guard.
That was precisely Lee Baek Cheon’s state now.
So fragile, the burning passion extinguished, bereft even of the will to resist.
“Krraaagh—!”
“Why does Demonic Arts exist for you? Why do you follow the Heavenly Demon Cult?”
It was strange.
Ordinarily, he would never ask such questions.
For Namgung Yeon, a Demon Martial Artist was simply something to be killed.
Emotions long buried stirred and bubbled to the surface.
Was it because this was the end?
Or was it merely a frustration he needed to voice?
So he asked.
He felt this was his last chance—he would never ask again once the enemy stopped struggling for survival.
Pierce through by the Demon Spirit Sword, Lee Baek Cheon coughed up blood with a shudder.
“Damn it… what meaning…?”
“Just as I suspected.”
“We learned Demonic Arts simply to survive, boy.”
“…”
Lee Baek Cheon seemed to want to say something.
Namgung Yeon tore the sword out roughly.
Lee Baek Cheon’s complexion turned deathly pale as the Demon Spirit Sword drained his Demonic Energy.
He would never stanch the wound, never recover.
Strange, though.
Lee Baek Cheon’s face bore an expression of incomprehension as he flailed once more, then crumpled to the ground.
Crack—!
The sound of a neck breaking rang out with a chilling finality.
Namgung Yeon drove the Demon Spirit Sword down violently.
“…”
The world fell silent as a grave.
A world where nothing but his own heartbeat and breathing could be heard.
It was his own men who shattered that silence.
“Are you unharmed, sir?”
“Are you… are you hurt anywhere!?”
“……All right.”
How strange it all was.
He had lived a life of deadened emotion, doing only what needed to be done, indifferent to whether these people lived or died.
Each return had gradually taught him to price human life ever lower.
Yet now? What of now?
The frozen world began to flow the moment they spoke to him.
It felt as though a tightly sealed door was finally, slowly opening.
The living souls he’d been forced to lose.
Perhaps Namgung Yeon had gained some small wisdom in this very moment.
“……You’ve worked hard.”
And so he was able to speak this one phrase with difficulty.
Words he had wanted to hear, yet never received.
#2
Those who had tidied up the surroundings surveyed the Slums.
Where everyone had gone, no one could say—the place was silent as a tomb.
Man Ho spoke with concern.
“Won’t rumors spread?”
“They will.”
“Then wouldn’t someone realize that the young master has recovered?”
“It doesn’t matter. Besides……it won’t happen.”
Why not?
Curiosity bloomed above Man Ho’s head.
Namgung Yeon explained the reason as he walked.
It was, unexpectedly, quite simple.
“Who would believe what happened in the Slums? Severed Meridians don’t heal so easily either.”
“You believe the rumors won’t spread properly?”
“Ma Doo was the head of some organization. He likely disguised himself as a petty thug running this cesspool.”
Man Ho nodded.
The way people had whispered and scattered was exactly that kind of response.
The Demon Martial Artist must have disguised himself as a local tyrant ruling these streets.
Then…….
“From their perspective, it would simply look like an organization collapsed.”
“Precisely. And no one witnessed the fight between Ma Doo and me.”
“My achievement…….”
“That’s better. Take the credit for yourself. Such things hold no value for me.”
“…….”
Man Ho watched Namgung Yeon smile softly at him, then turn forward and continue walking.
Honestly, he was quite shocked.
He’d nearly forgotten in all the mindless training.
‘He’s a monster. How could the rumors about him have been so off the mark?’
The deployment of True Qi.
Swordsmanship.
And his composure amid blood and screams and murderous intent.
None of it resembled someone his own age.
And that was only half of it.
He hadn’t even taken a single blow against Ma Doo before winning.
The depth of his understanding of Martial Arts was beyond even guessing at.
Man Ho’s reasoning was simple enough.
‘Even I couldn’t guarantee life or death against that man. Yet…….’
He’d played with his opponent slowly.
The young master’s absolute Internal Energy was certainly far inferior.
And yet it was the Demon Martial Artist—the master—who’d withered away slowly to death instead.
There was no need to think deeply about it.
Having chosen to serve under him anew, he simply needed to give his loyalty, nothing more.
He turned his gaze the other way, looking at Ho Ho, whose expression had grown gloomy.
“What’s wrong with you? Why so downhearted?”
“I…….”
“Hmm?”
“I wanted to be helpful too, but I couldn’t do anything.”
So that’s what it was.
Man Ho scratched his cheek and asked nothing more.
While he and the young master were cutting down Demon Martial Artists, what had Ho Ho been doing?
Hiding beneath the cart, trembling.
He’d hidden to save his own skin, yet Ho Ho had thought it over.
He too wanted to be of use to his lord, the young master Namgung Yeon.
It frustrated him. It shamed him.
Had the young master foreseen this trouble and spoken those words for that very reason?
“Man Ho, Ho Ho—whatever happens there, pay it no mind.”
How could he not mind?
He hadn’t even dared voice his uselessness aloud.
A sigh escaped him unbidden.
The situation itself drew sighs from him.
‘After all, there’s so little I know how to do.’
Cleaning.
And cooking.
Was he meant to be content with that?
Ho Ho was an unremarkable creature, yet his dream was specific in its own way.
One day, to live a life where no one looked down upon him.
That was the dream of Ho Ho the cleaner.
The method didn’t matter.
Whether his Martial Arts became formidable or he earned master’s renown in some craft—either would do.
‘I simply despise a life spent under someone’s heel.’
That’s why he’d come here.
He’d thought that Namgung Yeon, at the very bottom himself, would never treat him with contempt.
But what was all this?
In the end, he remained the lowest here as well.
As he sank into self-reproach, Namgung Yeon opened his mouth.
“Ho Ho.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Don’t worry.”
“Sir?”
“One day you’ll find yourself missing this very moment.”
Ho Ho watched Namgung Yeon’s retreating figure, chuckling softly as he walked.
Namgung Yeon said nothing more and reflected alone.
You cannot know it yet.
That you are my most precious companion, my most trusted ally.
And that you always stand ready to sacrifice when it matters most.
That you valued my life above your own.
‘So now… I’ll use them for your sake as well.’
Countless treasures lay dormant in the Secret Chamber.
Millions of things that could make him and his companions stronger.
#3
They returned to the Martial Hall and rested deeply.
They’d slept not a moment the night before, and today they’d fought fiercely—rest was warranted.
And the next day.
“W-what is all this?”
“You’re learning Martial Arts.”
“W-with these things?”
“Take a look at your own body.”
From morning, Ho Ho gazed at what lay before him.
Strange-looking iron bracelets.
And a weighty vest besides.
Namgung Yeon himself put on an identical set with careful precision.
Click.
A heavy sound rang out, as if he were being shackled in irons.
What was this?
The Tyrant Dragon Chain, no less.
Originally it meant a chain to suppress dragons, but this one served a different purpose now.
“Man Ho, you’ll wear these as well.”
“……Mmm.”
“Listen well. For the next three months, until the Minor Patriarchal Tournament begins, you must not remove this under any circumstances.”
“Not even when bathing or sleeping?”
“That’s right.”
The Tyrant Dragon Chain.
The true value of this item lay in none other than Bone and Muscle Transformation.
I’d tested it just to be safe, never expecting it would actually become removable.
‘It unlocked at just the right moment.’
Originally it was something I couldn’t remove, but after capturing that Demon Martial Artist, I checked it on a whim.
And so it had been unlocked.
The Tyrant Dragon Chain was such a crucial growth tool that I took it out at once.
The effects of the Tyrant Dragon Chain were simple enough.
Bone and Muscle Transformation.
And Meridian Expansion.
“The dragon’s essence filling this hunk of metal will reshape your very bodies.”
“Wow……. This thing is actually really heavy!?”
“Never take it off.”
The moment you do, all progress is lost.
Namgung Yeon left those words behind and headed out of the Martial Hall.
What business did he have today?
Man Ho, unable to contain his curiosity, asked.
“Master, if I may ask—what draws you out today?”
“I need to go recruit some people.”
“……Pardon?”
“Ho Ho.”
“Yes, sir!”
Namgung Yeon broke into a deep smile as he addressed Ho Ho.
Before learning Martial Arts, what must come first?
Of course—ridding him of that cowardly nature of his.
“Go buy me plenty of men to beat.”
“……Pardon!?”
There was simply no understanding what he intended today.
Man Ho, who had only just finished equipping the Tyrant Dragon Chain, followed behind.
“Guard the house well while I’m gone!”
“…….”
What madcap scheme was he planning to indulge in today?
Ho Ho released a deep sigh.

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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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