I Became the Namgung Clan’s Omnipotent Item-Powered Martial God - Chapter 34

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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 34
34 — Every soul carries a story
#1
Night.
At this hour, Namgoong Yeon had grown rather fond of gazing out at the city lights.
Though if he was honest, he was replaying the vision of those brilliant flames devoured by the Fire Demon over and over—a future he’d witnessed countless times before.
A paradox of language, truly.
Recalling a future that hasn’t arrived yet.
Only because Namgoong Yeon himself existed could such a phrase make sense.
Each glimpse of the city’s illuminated sprawl sharpened his mind—the weight of loss that might descend at any moment clearing away the fog.
“Here you are, young lord.”
Until that voice broke through his reverie, he continued standing in silence beside Man Ho, watching the city lights flicker and glow.
He turned his head. The figure approaching was none other than Dae Ju of the Changcheon Widaae.
What would drive him to search this far for Namgoong Yeon?
In the quiet, Namgoong Yeon met his gaze and waited to hear what came next.
Dae Ju swallowed his surprise at such composure before speaking.
Truth was, the interrogation this morning had been mere formality.
The real exchange would happen here, in words spoken under starlight.
“I’ve visited other training grounds, but this one is quite extraordinary.”
“So it is. Speak freely—I’m still just a young lord, after all.”
“I don’t mind the courtesy. But there are things here that defy all common sense.”
Dae Ju shifted slightly, positioning himself alongside Namgoong Yeon.
In his mind, he traced the shape of the young lord’s disposition, his skill, and everything illogical about this training ground that somehow stood together.
Namgoong Yeon didn’t look at him as he spoke.
“Do you know what I’ve been doing these past three months?”
“I’ve heard fragments.”
“Not fragments. Know it precisely. What this man you never spared a thought for has been doing—what he’s prepared for this succession.”
……
Dae Ju had no answer.
Truthfully, he’d been consumed managing greater affairs, keeping watch over things that mattered.
Yes.
Namgoong Yeon had never warranted his attention.
Of all the people beneath the vast kingdom of the Namgoong House, he’d been deemed the most worthless.
A man who grew no stronger, who posed no threat of discord.
From the Changcheon Widaae’s perspective, the safest choice.
“Over these three months, I’ve acquired an intelligence network. And I’ve discovered that countless insects have burrowed into Namgoong.”
……
“You’re no exception, Dae Ju. So be careful.”
“I can stake my life on the Changcheon Widaae’s innocence, young lord.”
Namgoong Yeon smiled, white and bright.
He turned to face Dae Ju fully.
Dae Ju met his gaze in return—eyes burning with an intensity that scorched.
What dwelt in those hollow pupils?
He had seen countless criminals.
He had seen many malicious souls.
Even those who dared spit upon Namgoong itself.
But never had he encountered eyes that held such depths.
‘Am I… afraid?’
What could he have done in that sickbed?
What could he have accomplished in Jeol Maek, that prison?
Everything here felt like a dream to Dae Ju.
Then, in the stillness—
Namgoong Yeon extended something with an expressionless face, his eyes darker than the night itself.
“What is this?”
“A bribe.”
It was absurd.
A bribe offered to the one who should embody integrity above all?
And so brazenly?
“What are you—”
“A bribe to preserve your integrity. So that you’re bound by nothing, and see only the blue sky. That’s what this is.”
“…….”
There was steel beneath Namgoong Yeon’s words.
Of course there was.
Dae Ju—the fourth son—had a sickly mother and a younger sibling still going hungry.
Changcheon Widaae.
They had been molded into zealots, but it was all to use them like puppets in the end.
It had taken Namgoong Yeon over a hundred years to see through it.
So he had invested two cycles learning everything about Changcheon Widaae’s circumstances.
The conclusion he’d reached after all that effort was unmistakable.
What this hollow organization needed most was money and goods.
“If you truly wish to become a guardian of Namgoong, then look after your own people first.”
He noticed the trembling hands.
This was something kept in absolute secrecy.
Which was why there had been no way to help.
Even a meager salary could barely stretch to afford expensive medicinal materials.
“It’s an ordinary tale. Anyone who heard it might weep at such loyalty.”
“…….”
“Who among us has no tragic backstory? Even Man Ho here is an orphan.”
“M-my lord.”
Namgoong Yeon let out a soft chuckle and tossed a pouch he’d prepared in advance.
Then he spoke.
“Oops, looks like I dropped something.”
And with that, Namgoong Yeon slipped away.
Before he left, he added one final word.
“My efforts in all these past days have been fiercer than anyone here. I ask that you believe me in this, at least.”
In a life painted over with falsehood,
these words alone were an undeniable truth.
Namgoong Yeon proceeded with his Subversion in precisely this manner.
#2
The next morning.
Changcheon Widaae departed without further fanfare.
Their choice would determine the course of their fates going forward.
But it didn’t matter to him.
Namgoong Yeon had already accounted for what would come after.
‘Dae Ju—the fourth son I’ve come to know—he’ll move as I intend.’
Namgoong Yeon proceeded with his ordinary days, bolstered by half-formed certainty.
Clang—!
Bang—!
The sound of steel striking steel drifted over from the training ground.
“Block it!”
“Ah, but I can’t do it!”
“That’s what I get for expecting anything from a simpleton.”
“Wha—? Did you just say something hurtful!?”
Over there, Ho Ho and Jin Jin were sparring, blades crossed against one another.
Everything seemed to have fallen into place, but gradual changes were already taking root.
And Dae Ju, the Head of Changcheon Widaae, would report each shift faster than anyone else to his father, the Head of House.
That news would reach the elders, and reach someone who had long viewed the third squad with disdain.
When the Mock Tournament ended.
When the Squad Leader Succession Battle concluded.
Then even the smallest flaw would become grounds for accusation.
‘Thanks to that foolish blunder, I’ve bought myself time.’
Ironically, the mistakes he’d made had circled back as fortune.
A path entirely different from the previous cycles.
How would this ending truly unfold?
“I hope you make a wise choice, Dae Ju.”
The Mock Tournament was now upon them.
He had to build his body quickly.
He had to increase his Internal Energy without delay.
Only then could he catch up to the siblings who had pulled ahead.
Meanwhile.
“Dae Ju, have you uncovered anything?”
“Not a word from him, and he just sleeps. Did you manage to find anything useful?”
“Well, we cut down the traitors in one stroke, so it’d be stranger if something turned up.”
“But he killed two of the students as well. This is just a formality, then?”
Changcheon Widaae circled back, peppering Dae Ju with questions as they went.
To outward appearance they were fearsome, dreadful beings—yet they were, fundamentally, ordinary people.
Only their work was extraordinary: killing and torture.
Dae Ju had fallen silent the moment he returned from meeting Namgoong Yeon.
The other operatives chattered and joked as they always did, but Dae Ju’s mood had shifted into something else entirely.
After a long stretch of quiet, Dae Ju called over his most trusted subordinate.
“Hyung Ju.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Once we’re back, report to the Head of House first, then investigate every detail of what the fourth prince has been doing.”
“All of a sudden?”
The one called Hyung Ju showed his bewilderment at the grave tone.
Still, he nodded in acceptance, ready to carry out the order.
“I understand. I’ll do as you say. There must be something serious going on.”
“Not exactly. He seemed cleaner than anyone, more devoted to Namgoong than anyone else. But…….”
“But?”
“I think there’s something we need to learn from him.”
This was the first time anyone had heard Dae Ju speak this way.
The operatives sensed the sudden gravity and voiced their confusion.
After a brief pause, Dae Ju spoke again.
“Any of you have vulnerabilities being exploited?”
“Vulnerabilities?”
“Well… there are certainly people who cause us grief.”
“If you want to shake them loose, seek out the fourth prince.”
Dae Ju spoke as he recalled last night’s events.
In that bundle he’d opened lay medicinal materials worth more than he could earn in a lifetime.
And that was merely the beginning.
Treasures aplenty—the kind that could be sold in black markets for enough to leave the Namgoong House and live lavishly ever after.
Where could such things have been gathered from?
More than that, the fact that such preparations could be made at all was remarkable.
Was he, too, fulfilling his role in his own way?
Growing stronger was the creed of Namgoong, and martial prowess was said to be Namgoong’s essence.
‘But wielding that martial strength aptly, with precision and purpose, is also an essential quality for a leader.’
A martial family clan was not merely a collection of thugs.
They were stewards who governed regions in place of the emperor.
They had been given the role of ruling the subjects of this vast continent in the emperor’s stead.
In the end, it meant testing other abilities on the foundation of basic martial strength.
Changcheon Widaae understood this truth very well.
In any case, there was more than enough reason to investigate further.
‘If the fourth prince truly knows all this information through legitimate means…….’
Dae Ju let his mind wander.
The fourth prince appeared cold, yet he seemed full of emotion—as though concealing something deep.
The Head of House governed with an iron will, yet beneath it all nurtured and protected every soul.
“……It wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
A lord of Namgoong who led with overwhelming martial prowess, dispatching enemies with swift finality.
Yet who, from the shadows, embraced the broken and the scarred.
Changcheon Widaae’s investigation was not yet complete.
More people than expected had failed to escape suspicion, and they had a duty to examine them all.
Dae Ju held the medicinal materials to his chest with great care.
There was no one without a story.
Yet few existed who would listen to that story and offer concrete solutions.
And who among them would solve it so cleanly, with money alone?
— None of your vulnerabilities must be exposed. Not even family matters.
— For they will return as weapons against you. And should it come to that… we may have no choice but to take extreme measures.—
The oath returned to him—that they would abandon even family for Namgoong.
That was what Namgoong had always been.
So when the opposite appeared, it was only natural that Dae Ju’s heart would lean toward it.
‘For now, I should observe the Mock Tournament.’
The Mock Tournament would draw many figures from the Namgoong House.
If something truly unfolded there, Namgoong Yeon’s words would gain even greater credibility.
The Namgoong House would need to be vigilant.
A genuine new wind was stirring.
Whether that wind carried the scent of blood—
or whether it brought only the fragrance of sea and mountain, remained to be seen.

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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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