I Became the Namgung Clan’s Omnipotent Item-Powered Martial God - Chapter 17

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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 17
Episode 17 – Those Who Were Never Recognized
#1
Like the phrase “remarkable growth,” everyone’s eyes widened as they beheld Namgung Yeon’s dazzling transformation.
He had been a sickly child.
That he suffered from a Severed Meridian was a story so famous throughout the family that hardly anyone was ignorant of it.
Had a miracle occurred?
Or had he borrowed the power of some arcane art or Spirit Medicine?
The minds of those watching him churned with speculation.
They weighed various possibilities and began to imagine a future that had been fundamentally altered.
Some gazed with pure admiration, while others furrowed their brows.
“When did that bastard ever…?”
“Brother, you really ought to be on your guard.”
“Shut your mouth.”
And who stood at the center of all this?
None other than Namgung Jin.
With the smallest age gap between them, his unease only deepened with each passing moment.
Did this mean he had genuinely been training in the martial pavilion?
‘Even so, it makes no sense….’
Human reasoning typically builds itself upon what one has personally experienced.
By Namgung Jin’s common understanding, this phenomenon was utterly incomprehensible.
No—there was only one possible exception.
“Could Mother have…?”
“Mother?”
“You know as well as I do that Mother left the house once every seven days.”
……
Spirit Medicine.
That was the only possibility.
Mother must have shown favoritism to that wretch.
She had surely obtained Spirit Medicine for him with her own hands.
There was no other way to explain such an impossible surge in strength.
Crack.
A murderous sound rang out from Namgung Jin’s clenched fists.
He had been naturally elevated to Group Leader without any formal competition.
The same was true for his other brothers and sisters.
The children of the family head radiated such authority, and even as children, they had mastered the art of ruling over others.
Originally, this was how things should be.
Everyone thought as much.
Everyone—save for one: Namgung Yeon.
“Dammit……”
“I should ask Mother about this myself.”
“Good idea.”
Standing beside him was the fifth child.
Namgung Hwayeon.
Had she been born male instead of female, she would have been a prodigy that could have eclipsed even Namgung Jin.
Unable to contain her own curiosity, she resolved to move as well.
After the Group Leader Selection Tournament ended, there would be some time before the next trial—enough to have a conversation.
‘If Fourth Brother has reached that level of skill….’
She possessed a brilliant mind and a sharp eye for profit and loss.
Family head?
She had long known that such a position was beyond her grasp.
Then should she not instead aim for the seat of “Below One, Above Ten Thousand”?
That was how power struggles operated.
To survive, one had to cling to the strong.
This was her method of survival, and it was also why she had earned the reputation of being the most well-connected child in this family.
Another thread of possibility began to extend and grow within her mind.
A thread of possibility.
One story that might allow her to survive in this treacherous Namgung Family.
Even as she observed Namgung Yeon intently, she turned and departed.
‘Fourth Brother has no connection to me yet, so I’ll need to keep watching.’
Curiosity about the unknown sprouted within him unbidden.
And so, an upset unfolded in the Group Leader Selection Tournament.
#2
“The Group Leader Selection Tournament concludes. All group leaders, step forward.”
Twelve group leaders took their places before him.
Namgung Mu and ten elders looked down upon them from above.
Eleven pillars.
As the pillars that upheld the Namgung Family gazed down upon them, the group leaders felt a kaleidoscope of emotions rise within their chests.
Namgung Mu felt a quiet satisfaction knowing that all seven of his siblings had become group leaders.
Namgung Yeon in particular.
He was the architect of this upset, and all eyes had begun to turn toward him.
How far would he go?
Was it fortune, or genuine strength?
‘The first victory was mere happenstance. The second will prove whether that luck was truly circumstance or something more.’
What fortune alone provides lacks consistency.
Let him hold that position steady, then.
Namgung Mu, the Family Head, opened his mouth slowly with that thought.
The true competition would begin now.
Death and killing might follow.
To survive in a place where intrigue and deception ran rampant, one could not afford to be bound by propriety or restraint.
He too had sent many siblings to their fates before.
“We will now commence the formal competition.”
……
“The rules are simple. For the next two years, you will disperse throughout Anhui Province to cultivate and train.”
Two years.
Long if one thinks it long, short if one thinks it short.
No one could know what would unfold in that span.
Over those two years, they would temper their bodies and minds, and learn to adapt to the wider world.
Every event that transpired would be meticulously recorded.
“For two years, grow stronger by whatever means necessary. However, you will limit yourselves to the Dae Yeon Heart Technique as your primary meditation art.”
The foundational internal cultivation method of the Namgung Family—a technique one must master before advancing to the Advanced Martial Arts that would come later.
Some faces showed indifference; others brimmed with anticipation.
Direct descendants of the Namgung Family typically learned the Dae Yeon Heart Technique as their first meditation art.
Some among them would already be near mastery.
Namgung Yeon observed the remaining six group leaders.
His own siblings.
Behind them stood the children of the elders, branch heads, and talented youths from the collateral lines.
Most of those wearing indifferent expressions were his own siblings.
‘I cannot let my guard down.’
Those behind him were his group members, yes—but ultimately, they were ones he would have to either break or embrace.
They too were people, each with their own goals and convictions.
How much of them could he take with him?
However it came to pass, he would have to assert dominion to become a true group leader.
Namgung Yeon swept his gaze across them once more, then turned his head away.
Two years from now.
Though they called it a period of harsh training, that was not its true nature.
Everyone here had already perfected the fundamentals to some degree.
What they truly needed to accomplish over those two years was forging their group into one unified whole.
A process of recognition and accord, of becoming one.
In that crucible, those who had not yet been acknowledged would forge new purpose and resolve, awakening to the truth that they were proud members of the Namgung line.
“I will watch over your two years carefully. The locations will be drawn by lot.”
“Yes!”
“After two years, you will begin in earnest to master the Advanced Martial Arts. Those without the qualification will be eliminated, so train well.”
……
Two years hence, the group examination would proceed with the twelve group leaders as instructors.
Over a span of three years, they would master advanced martial disciplines and face true tests of their talent.
Namgung Yeon glanced back briefly, surveying the faces of his group members.
Their pasts, their futures, talents and natures they themselves had not yet discovered—all passed before his eyes.
It was a curious thing indeed.
He alone knew the talents and nature of each, even those things they themselves had yet to perceive.
What he had gathered was not merely wealth and Spirit Medicine.
Talents and futures that even he could not be certain of.
Those who always went unrecognized, anxious and uncertain—he had grasped their circumstances, observed them, and committed them to memory.
‘Once you join my group, your talents will blossom brilliantly.’
I will remake you thoroughly.
I will transform you into masters devoted solely to Namgung Mu—to myself alone.
But for traitors, there is no mercy.
Choose wisely.
“Group Three! The Hapsan Training Grounds!”
Hapsan.
The training location had been set.
They would depart five days from now.
Until then, all preparations had to be completed.
But how was he going to manage it?
The answer was obvious.
‘Once they taste money, they’ll all crawl after it of their own accord.’
First, he would get some pocket money from his father, and some from his mother as well.
Or more precisely, from his maternal grandfather.
Namgung Yeon’s lips curved up slightly.
—Follow me.
And as promised, his father’s summons came.
Now it was time to get that allowance.
#3
The Family Head’s office.
Namgung Yeon went alone to find Namgung Mu, the Family Head.
The group members’ discontent seemed about to explode, but dealing with them could wait.
He had to see just how far that ferocity and fighting spirit would take them.
For now, what mattered more was deciding what compensation to demand.
He had thought about it beforehand.
Namgung Mu had roughly two hours to spare.
Beyond the Sub-Family Head Selection Tournament, there were mountains of other matters to handle, so time was scarce.
“You’ve come. I have no time, so state your business briefly.”
“Very well.”
“What do you want as compensation? If it’s not an unreasonable request, I’ll grant it.”
What counted as unreasonable here would depend entirely on his whim.
Namgung Yeon knew this all too well, so he spoke at once.
By his standards, the bar was set quite high.
“Please allow the Sacheon Tang Family to participate in this Sub-Family Head Selection Tournament.”
“Your maternal relatives…?”
“Yes. They are bound to the Namgung Family as well, and I believe they could sufficiently serve as patrons in the tournament.”
……
It was a reasonable request.
Moreover, it was unexpected.
Did he understand what kind of ripples his words would create?
He had expected him to demand martial techniques or sword methods that might benefit himself instead……
The Sacheon Tang Family was the hegemon of Sichuan, guardians of the southwestern regions.
Naturally, their influence loomed vast as the heavens.
With ties so intimate to the Imperial House, the Tang Family’s power was what the Martial World called a gray faction.
To involve even them.
‘This could complicate matters.’
Whether Namgung Yeon understood the weight of what he was saying, or whether he was simply speaking his thoughts aloud, was unclear.
Was he trying to enlarge the stage?
Or…
“Do you understand what your words mean?”
“Of course.”
“That I cannot permit. However, if two years from now you wish to go to the Sacheon Tang Family as a disciple, I will invite one of their masters to teach you.”
“Then please give me some pocket money.”
……
What.
Had he simply been speaking without thought after all.
Namgung Mu couldn’t find his footing as his son seemed to thrust straight toward him, only to slip away like a phantom.
But in the next moment, his wavering uncertainty crystallized into firm conviction.
“There’s no need for the Family Head to involve himself personally. I’ll handle it.”
“You believe you can move your mother’s clan?”
“Of course.”
His empty eyes seemed to deepen with an unusual intensity.
What was he thinking?
Namgung Mu wanted to ask directly.
As if his son had read his mind, the answer came.
“The Namgung Family is no longer a mere single household. We are becoming a vast organization that unites the east and west of the continent, are we not?”
……
“If the Sacheon Tang Family does not involve itself in our affairs, we likewise cannot involve ourselves in theirs. For the sake of the future, it is something we must necessarily navigate.”
“Do you understand how presumptuous it is to see so far ahead?”
Namgung Mu spoke thus, yet he found himself marveling at such foresight.
Had there ever been a man with such vision?
They were all the same.
Each came seeking favors for their own profit, for the seat of supreme power.
But you, my son.
What are you looking at?
What future do you envision that you hurry so to prepare for such a distant journey?
Time had not allowed him to ask, but as Family Head, it was a most satisfying answer.
And so he nodded.
“Very well. I’ll ensure you have ample travel funds.”
“Thank you.”
Just as Namgung Yeon bowed respectfully and turned to leave, the moment arrived.
Namgung Mu offered a quiet word.
Three months.
In a time both long and brief, he had achieved sufficient accomplishment.
“Continue as you have today.”
……Yes.
Before he knew it, a faint smile had crept across the Family Head’s lips.

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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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