I Became the Namgung Clan’s Omnipotent Item-Powered Martial God - Chapter 45

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 45
Chapter 45 – Master of Muhan
#1
Somewhere in the Main Estate, after everyone had departed.
The Third Elder exhaled a long sigh and fixed his gaze upon Baekryong Daejoo.
All things considered, it was fine.
Baekryong Daejoo was a talent, one of the valued swords in his hand.
Yet strangely, whenever anything concerned his son, the man became a fool.
“Baekryong Daejoo.”
“Forgive me, Elder.”
“If things proceed like this, recommending you for Group Leader will become difficult. Do you understand?”
……
Baekryong Daejoo knew he was not the sort of person to halt here.
But was a performance review truly a matter of skill alone?
Of course not—that was precisely why these political struggles arose in the first place.
To climb to higher ground, one’s conduct had to be beyond reproach.
“For now, concentrate on your cultivation. There will be external evaluations soon enough.”
“Understood.”
“Do not fall out of the Family Head’s favor. No matter how we build our faction, the Family Head remains the Family Head.”
“I will bear it in mind.”
Only by pooling all the elders’ strength could they check the Family Head’s absolute rule.
And what did that mean?
It meant the Family Head wielded extraordinary power alone.
Should he ever decide to abandon the bonds of law, blood would flow.
Until now, he had moved through precedent and persuasion.
But one must never forget.
The Family Head of the Namgung Family was also the strongest person in Dae Namgung.
His wrath was an object of dread even to the elders themselves.
“Conduct yourself well. The Fourth Young Master doesn’t appear to be entirely without thought.”
……
Baekryong Daejoo lowered his head in silence.
And he learned one more thing.
That no matter what concerned his son, one must not act from emotion.
He should have prepared more thoroughly.
Who could have known that Namgung Yeon, confined to a sickbed all this time, was so clever?
Sigh……
Whose fault was all of this?
He thought it was entirely his son’s, Namgung Jinjin’s, doing.
That day.
Had his own son become a Group Leader, none of this would have happened.
The chasm of resentment only deepened.
And the distance between him and his son grew wider still.
He did not yet perceive how much of a hideous monster he was becoming.
Yes.
Since it has come to this, I shall teach him thoroughly.
“Two years……? How absurd.”
A twisted sneer twisted across his lips.
Two years.
Long if you stretched it, short if you compressed it.
The face of Namgung Yeon, who had boasted that he would make Namgung Jinjin surpass Baekryong Daejoo within that span, surfaced in his mind.
Heavy-footed, Baekryong Daejoo walked, and a murky shadow fell behind him.
There was someone watching his departing figure with quiet intensity.
A darkened heart drives a man into the mire.
And to those who sink into the mire, a rope is always lowered.
‘One has been hooked.’
Whether that rope is soaked in blood-red.
Or whether it gleams golden, dyed crimson by the twilight—one must distinguish carefully.
And usually, the first cord to descend is one charred black, stained with blood.
#2
Upon arriving at their lodgings, the Third Group immediately set about preparing for the next task.
The next trial would be the Group Leader Challenge.
But seizing the position of Group Leader was far from the only point of contention in this bout.
During this period.
A Group Member could eliminate another group’s Group Leader and take their place.
True to the name “Group Leader Challenge,” situations where Group Members shuffled between groups happened frequently.
Namgung Yeon would face his share of challengers.
Moreover.
‘The Demons will begin targeting Group Leaders in earnest.’
The Changcheon Inspection would conduct sweeps, but the odds of catching everything were slim.
Those Demons who hid their strength were cunning and meticulous.
The ones embedded in his three groups—hadn’t even the instructors failed to sense them until they revealed themselves?
‘I can’t very well distribute powdered dragon bone to everyone. Still, I’ve laid the groundwork.’
Since movement was restricted, the moment would come when they had to fend for themselves.
And to be honest.
Those who couldn’t withstand a Demon assault now had no hope in the future either.
It was true that he needed to cultivate as many talents as possible to prevent the collapse of the Martial Realm.
But there was no time to spare for those who couldn’t stand on their own feet.
Namgung Yeon thought this through as he drew water from the Riverside.
This time to think deeply and move his body freely was truly precious.
The feeling of the clutter in his mind fading away.
‘In any case, it would be best to protect my three groups as much as possible.’
There was one thing that troubled him.
Namgung Jinjin leaving to become Group Leader elsewhere.
If that happened, he might not be able to keep his promise two years from now.
Based on his understanding of Namgung Jinjin, the man would have put such thoughts aside by now.
All he could do was trust in the certainty bordering on conviction.
Nothing was harder than guiding another’s heart.
Scattering ash over a dish already cooked.
Offering help when all seemed lost.
All of it stemmed from the complex nature of human hearts.
“Then I suppose it’s time I prepared myself as well.”
He’d scattered money abroad; now it was time to invest in himself.
He planned to upgrade the medicinal materials used in his herbal baths to something more refined.
Moreover, it was time to build immunity against mental attacks.
Illusion Art and Soul Seizing Art were devastatingly effective against martial artists who trained only their martial prowess.
Poison.
And sorcery.
How many times had his plans been derailed by these two things?
They would target him first, and if they failed, they would come for the others.
The more thorough his preparations against these two, the better.
‘I hope Wol Young can handle it.’
He wished it could be resolved in one go, without him having to step forward and search himself.
The person Namgung Yeon sought was a Formation Master born of misfortune—one of his oldest friends.
A friend who had done his utmost for him even in dire circumstances.
If Ho Ho was an excellent assistant and a dependable subordinate,
then this friend was one with whom he could share his heart and laugh openly.
With the thought that this might be the last chance, he felt an urgency to move faster and more decisively.
If he twisted and shook the very threads of his friend’s fate and rewrote them,
‘Then there would be no further tragedy.’
There had been times when he merely stood by.
There had been times when he struggled desperately to protect.
Yet all of it ended in nothing but a cruel death.
This time, there would be no further loss.
Could even death be bought off with money?
‘Only one way to find out. But this time…….’
What was eternal loss?
And when he faced it—what expression would he wear?
Namgung Yeon imagined the sight briefly, but only his own expressionless face came to mind.
A resolute conviction.
Yet would he accept its consequences with equanimity?
Namgung Yeon turned to observe the instructors moving busily about.
They welcomed his group with open arms.
Others were diligently preparing for formal training.
Sights familiar yet utterly strange all at once.
“I hope no one dies in this.”
He moved forward, desperately hoping the currents of fate would flow as he intended.
Namgung Yeon walked on with quiet urgency.
The Group Leader competition was coming, but he had no intention of neglecting their training because of it.
“Everyone, gather round.”
“Are we finally moving on to intermediate martial arts?”
Yi Hyeon asked, and Namgung Yeon nodded.
Each of them had chosen their techniques on his recommendation.
Every Group Member except Namgung Geon-ho had followed the Group Leader’s wishes.
Excitement and an odd tension hung in the air.
Both were plainly visible in the eyes of all the Group Members present.
“I’ll oversee your intermediate training myself. At the first trial next month, Group Three will achieve overwhelming results.”
……
“Until the Group Leader competition, try your hardest to surpass me.”
“Excuse me.”
Namgung Geon-ho raised his hand quietly.
Namgung Yeon turned to look at him.
“Would you consider letting me transfer to a different group?”
“It doesn’t matter to me.”
“I see. Understood.”
Everyone’s gazes turned unfriendly.
Truthfully, wasn’t that ingratitude?
But since the Group Leader had said he didn’t mind, no one made their displeasure obvious.
Even the sharp-tongued Yi Hyeon let it pass without comment—a testament to how far Namgung Yeon’s standing had risen.
“Well then, shall we begin? Try to surpass me.”
……
Namgung Yeon hadn’t even chosen an intermediate technique.
Yet everyone present shared a common thought.
No matter how much intermediate martial arts they mastered, surpassing their Group Leader seemed like a distant dream.
“By the way, I’m doubling the amount of water you carry.”
“Really? That’s too much.”
“Be grateful I’m not doubling the Golden Dragon Chain training.”
That would actually be life-threatening, so they decided to accept it in silence.
Group Three’s serious training began in earnest.
Until now they had walked the same path; from this moment forward, each would walk their own.
The transition to this new path was remarkably smooth.
#3
Wol Young gazed toward the distant Hwanghakmnu.
One of her guards spoke to her quietly.
“Venerable One, do you truly intend to acquire that entire establishment?”
“It’s the fastest way to make contact with the Peng Family.”
“Your life could be in danger. Are you certain about this……?”
“It’s a gamble. I’ve only just crawled out of the gutter—something like this is necessary.”
……
She gazed at the massive pavilion and swallowed hard.
Hwanghakmnu was one of the Five Great Pavilions of the Central Plains, passed down through the ages.
The Murim Alliance’s Yongjeongnu.
Hwanghakmnu of Muhan.
Akyangnu and Deungwanggak.
And finally, Changcheonnu, which the Namgung Family had constructed with the Peng Family’s assistance.
The task at hand was to bring one of these into the Namgung Family’s sphere of influence.
The Peng Family was a place teeming with dangerous people.
And thus she, rumored to possess great wealth, made an inviting target.
‘If Demons truly have infiltrated within the Peng Family……’
Her life would be as fragile as a candle flickering in the wind.
But wasn’t that precisely what made this gamble so worthwhile?
Contacting the Peng Family was not merely to bolster the Heukpung Faction’s influence.
There was a request from his lord, Namgung Yeon.
Specifically, to find someone.
The heretic of the Jegal Family.
The outcast of the Jegal Family—one who had abandoned that name and withdrawn from the clan into seclusion.
To find him, contact with the Peng Family was absolutely essential.
‘Besides, I want to be rid of this blade as soon as possible.’
The sword Namgung Yeon had given him.
The lynchpin of this operation, the instrument to sow chaos in Muhan.
What was it called—a Demonic Sword.
The moment he carried it, strange emotions would rear their heads unbidden.
If he kept holding onto it much longer, he feared someone would surely come to ruin.
There was no doubt of it.
If it was truly this Demonic Sword, this whole region might be drenched in blood….
Wol Young drew a deep breath and stepped into Hwanghakmnu.
Without preamble, she spoke.
“I wish to see Lu Zhu. Guide me.”
“No, just who do you think you—”
Wol Young regarded the gatekeep who dared dismiss her and extended something toward him.
Then she spoke again.
Recalling the young lord Namgung Yeon, who had once issued commands to her.
“You are in no position to stand in my way.”
“This is…?”
The seal of the Namgung Family.
Once those who rose with the aid of the Peng Family, now called the leaders of the Martial Realm.
How could they be here, when they ought to have been living quietly in Anhui, far away?
“Please wait a moment, miss.”
The gatekeeper of Hwanghakmnu slipped away.
What would unfold in Muhan?
Wol Young steadied her racing heart and breathed quietly, gathering herself.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————