I Became the Namgung Clan’s Omnipotent Item-Powered Martial God - Chapter 12

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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 12
Chapter 12 – New Wine in New Skins
#1
The balance of power shifted in an instant.
Heuk tried to recall what the exalted one from the Namgung Clan had asked of him.
To summon everyone……?
What could possibly be the reason?
But rather than waste time speculating, he chose to move.
When you crawl through life in a place like this, you see and hear many things.
Especially when an exalted guest arrived—one careless word and you might find yourself without a head.
‘After all, creatures like us survive by trembling, don’t we?’
Heuk understood their station well.
At best, they were second-class warriors.
First-class warriors emerged now and then, but such men rarely lingered long in places like Heukpung-bang.
So it was wise to abandon any thought of opposing them early on.
‘The Namgung Clan. We wouldn’t even dare cross swords with a middling sect—with the Namgung Clan, there’s nothing but trembling.’
With that thought, Heuk moved quickly.
In the brief moment that followed, Man-ho spoke to Namgung Yeon.
“What was it you gave to him?”
“Drug Materials.”
“……What!?”
He had withdrawn it beforehand from the secret vault.
A stone that could be processed to yield a powder inducing hallucinations and dull pain—a fragment of something ancient.
Even a handful of it held enough value to purchase an entire small village outright.
That he had given away a fistful spoke to his sense of sufficiency.
Yet Man-ho gasped in alarm and pressed further.
He had no idea where such a dangerous object came from, nor how it had been transported here.
“How… how did you possibly obtain such a thing?”
“Think of it as a secret art I possess.”
“Like that Spirit Elixir from before?”
“Precisely. Don’t worry yourself too much.”
There was nothing to hide, and it mattered little if others learned of it.
How many had tried to exploit him?
Some had even severed all four limbs and tortured him, demanding he surrender his secrets.
But they had all failed.
‘It’s already been proven—no matter how many know the truth, nothing can be seized without my will.’
So at some point, he had begun using the secret vault openly.
Dozens of lifetimes.
Hundreds of years.
By now, even trifling concerns like this felt tedious.
Namgung Yeon, watching people stream in from the distance, opened his mouth.
Man-ho was undoubtedly an accomplished martial artist, yet he remained young, with much still to learn.
And if he were to be groomed for greater things, guidance should not be withheld.
So he resolved to offer counsel.
Man-ho, meanwhile, gripped his sword tightly and responded.
“I sense that many such situations will arise. I would speak a word, if I may.”
“Please instruct me, sir. I shall engrave whatever you say deep in my heart.”
Namgung Yeon gave Man-ho a solemn charge.
If he wished to become his true arm and blade, certain conditions remained to be met.
Precisely like now.
“Whatever circumstance befalls us—keep your tongue heavy and your sword drawn without hesitation. Only thus will we survive.”
……
“Watch closely what I do from this moment on. We must become more ruthless than anyone else.”
Man-ho could not fathom why the young master spoke such words.
What had Namgung Yeon endured in all those long, overlooked years?
Why had a youth barely come of age acquired such a cruel and ice-cold disposition?
‘He is terrifying. And yet, perhaps he shall be the light that illuminates my path forward.’
Man-ho nodded, thinking thus.
Whether the young master saw this nod or not, it felt as much a vow to himself.
Since that day in the martial grounds when he swept away the Demonic Qi, something extraordinary had been apparent……
“Please don’t worry. I stake my name and honor on it—you won’t be disappointed.”
“……All right.”
Namgung Yeon laughed softly and nodded.
Disappointed……
He had long since stopped expecting anything from mankind.
So there was nothing left to be disappointed about.
The moment their brief conversation ended, Heuk appeared with the captives in tow.
“I’ve brought them all, sir.”
“Who among you brought in the others?”
“…….”
“Why are you asking that?”
“Who do you think you are to order us around? Huh!?”
Good.
This was how it should be.
Namgung Yeon smiled broadly.
A smile on his lips, yet his expression utterly devoid of warmth.
Heuk, meeting that gaze head-on, hastily tried to silence the slave traders.
“Hey! Hey! Are you out of your minds? Do you know who this is—!?”
“Man-ho.”
“Yes.”
“They don’t know who we are.”
Namgung Yeon’s voice came cold and measured.
Slave traders.
Human traffickers.
Drug manufacturers and distributors.
All of them gathered in one place.
Later they would scatter to the winds and commit every imaginable crime across the land.
Tracing their movements back to their origins had led to one conclusion: they operated from several key strongholds.
“Then perhaps I should introduce ourselves. Show you who we are.”
“Ha! You think just two of you can take on all of us!?”
“A person of such status—if we stripped everything from you and threw you to the wild beasts, we wouldn’t be the ones who killed you, would we?”
Good.
Keep barking like that.
That way, I can take you with a completely clear conscience.
Namgung Yeon spoke to Man-ho.
“Keep them alive. They’re gifts for Ho-ho.”
“Understood.”
A First-class Warrior.
Not merely a First-class Warrior, but one who had consumed Spirit Elixirs and mastered the martial techniques of the Namgung Clan—and he drew his blade.
‘Perfect timing.’
Namgung Yeon likewise unsheathed the Maryeong Sword.
The humming blade seemed to urge him forward, eager for blood.
No, that wasn’t quite right.
It didn’t absorb blood—rather, it discharged what its master had fed it.
“The best time to absorb Inner Force is when one is actively channeling the Inner Force Cultivation Method, wouldn’t you say?”
“What are you babbling about! Come on!”
Man-ryu Gwi-won Divine Art.
Ting-ting-ting!
The bells on the Maryeong Sword rang out sharply.
#2
How does the world’s vital essence take shape, refine itself, and accumulate as a warrior’s True Qi?
The secret lay in the Inner Force Cultivation Method itself.
An Inner Force Cultivation Method was used to refine and purify the ambient vital essence and consolidate it into one’s own True Qi.
It was also the mechanism by which one deployed the accumulated True Qi.
Most warriors divided these two acts.
Using True Qi and accumulating Inner Force.
Though they were technically accomplished through the same cultivation method, the two processes were entirely distinct.
‘But that’s only true for ordinary warriors.’
Namgung Yeon was different.
He had reached a level where he could simultaneously gather essence, channel it, and release his Inner Force in a single motion.
This transcended the realm of martial prowess entirely.
It was a technique born of understanding—understanding of Inner Force, mastery of True Qi itself.
Shing—!
The Maryeong Sword cleaved through the obstruction.
The blade thrummed, expelling Demonic Qi it had absorbed from the demon, a sound like the earth itself groaning.
For ordinary warriors, such an aura would be poison. But not for Namgung Yeon.
The Demonic Qi accumulated in the Maryeong Sword flowed like a spring, supplying True Qi to his veins.
He drank it in without hesitation, every drop fueling his blade.
There was no one alive who could stop his sword.
“Aaaagh!”
“Rush him together, you worthless dogs!”
The screams and shouts grew distant, muffled as though from another world.
The instinct to fight—he could never grow accustomed to it.
The survival sense that kept him alive.
Through sharpened senses came the revulsion of strangers’ emotions flooding in.
He hated this moment, having to turn away from it all.
Haaa—!
With each breath drawn, the current of Inner Force spiraling through him grew stronger.
Crack, crack-crack.
The Bound Dragon Chain constricting his body twisted him this way and that under the force of the Inner Force Cultivation Method.
By now, Man-ho must be enduring a similar torment.
Yet neither man showed it—they simply wielded their blades in silence.
Feet planted firm, he swung his sword with the fury of lightning.
Namgung’s blade swept through Heukpung-bang.
“Uhhh…….”
“Mon, monster…….”
“Who, who are you, sirs!”
Why had they come here in the dead of night, out of nowhere, to torment them so?
They wailed thus, blood streaming from arms and legs.
But Namgung Yeon’s gaze as he looked down upon them was utterly unmoved.
He had lived too long to be shaken by sentiment, had witnessed too many scenes, knew too well how they ended.
They all fell.
It had never been a true fight at all.
These were at best third-rate rabble.
Men who could only brandish strength against fleeing civilians.
Whereas the two standing here belonged to the nobility among those who lived by the blade.
“Please, please spare my life, master…….”
“I gave you a considerable sum, and you couldn’t even manage a handful of children.”
“Spare me—.”
Shing.
Namgung Yeon swung the Maryeong Sword lightly.
Heuk’s head fell cleanly away.
As it did, a purse tumbled from his robes—the very one Namgung Yeon had given him.
Namgung Yeon retrieved the purse and turned his head toward the other side.
There stood the trembling civilians, helpless and frozen.
A scene of slaughter.
In this moment, soaked in terror, Namgung Yeon’s eyes resembled those of death itself.
Yet contrary to what one might expect, his voice emerged infinitely gentle.
“Were you brought here unjustly?”
“…….”
“Have no fear. I have come to propose something of importance to you.”
“What, what might that be, sir?”
They would have two choices before them.
Those with hometowns, with families waiting—they could return to them.
And those with nowhere to go would be given the means to make a life here, in Heukpung-bang.
“Those who have somewhere to return to should rest well now. I shall take these criminals into the streets of Hapbi.”
“Is that truly so, sir?”
“I will provide you the means to return to your homes.”
“Truly…… thank you, sir, from the bottom of our hearts.”
In an instant, hope bloomed across their faces.
But what of those with nowhere else to go?
Namgung Yeon spoke.
“Excluding Heuk, who holds the highest position here?”
“Ah, perhaps Mo-dam…….”
“Bring her to me.”
From now on, you will be my eyes and ears in this place.
This Heukpung-bang will become a trump card at the crucial moment, striking at the enemy’s heart when the time comes.
Namgung Yeon had long puzzled over how to make use of this place that had always been a thorn in his side.
‘If it is a hidden blade destined to be revealed one day, then I will be the one to grip its handle.’
To accomplish that, he would need to pour new wine into old vessels.
New management and vast funds directed toward a reorganized force.
“D-did you call for me, Great Swordmaster?”
Mo-dam, having heard the summons, came rushing out and lowered her head.
She was a woman whose image remained sharp in Namgung Yeon’s memory.
‘This works perfectly.’
With this woman, he could entrust Heukpung-bang to her with confidence.
Truly fine talent had been waiting here all along.

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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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