I Became the Namgung Clan’s Omnipotent Item-Powered Martial God - Chapter 50

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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 50
50 – Let It Reflect in the Evaluation
#1
A woman may hold her silence, but a mother will not.
It was one of the truths Namgung Yeon had come to understand through countless trials.
A woman who becomes a mother can grow stronger than anyone else.
She faces hardship willingly, refuses to shy from abandoning beauty itself.
That is why she can be called a great being.
For they are those who gladly accept their own transformation for the sake of their children.
If a father is the great beam that holds a household steady, then a mother is the one who raises the pillars that support it.
So Yeon’s awakening may well have been inevitable all along.
“What were the instructors doing?”
“Performing their duties as usual, I would imagine.”
“The Squad Leader of their assigned unit fled, and they were simply locked away in the Training Grounds?”
“They were afraid as well, I suspect.”
Namgung Yeon twisted his words with careful precision as he spoke.
In any case, the Personnel Evaluations of those instructors were already beyond salvage.
But it must not drag down his own evaluation—or Man Ho’s.
Display mercy, preserve his reputation.
It was elementary Rhetoric, but these elementary things always proved their worth.
So Yeon’s anger only deepened.
In the meantime, the families of the survivors had arrived.
“What on earth……. My lady, what in the heavens has happened?”
“Apparently the Demon Cult has stirred. Thankfully, thanks to the instructors’ sacrifice, we were able to recover the children.”
“Outrageous! Such an act of cosmic injustice……!”
“Who would dare raise a hand against the Namgung in such brazen fashion!”
That was right.
Brazen was exactly the word.
Any ordinary man would never have dared bare his fangs at the Namgung.
Let alone against children—children that included the direct line of the Clan Lord.
Among the survivors was the grandson of this elder.
Slightly round in the middle.
Somewhat weathered by the years.
Yet his devastating Heavy Sword technique remained legendary throughout the martial world.
This elder was Namgung Hyeon-baek.
One of his grandsons belonged to the very squad in which Hwa Yeon was stationed.
He made no effort to conceal his fury.
“Baek A, are you well?”
“Yes, Grandfather. I survived because the fourth young master intervened in time.”
“Ah…… thank the heavens. Truly, thank the heavens!”
Only after confirming his grandson’s safety did he turn his gaze toward Namgung Yeon.
Then came a deep bow from the elder.
“I am truly grateful. Without you, young fourth master, the future of the Namgung would have faced great calamity.”
“I merely did what was necessary.”
“But…….”
Namgung Hyeon-baek’s ire naturally turned toward the instructors who were shirking their duties.
What were they doing now, he wondered.
This elder’s position was also that of Chief Training Instructor.
A man who commanded all forces and deployed personnel to their proper positions.
Which is precisely why his anger burned all the hotter.
Those he had placed.
Those he had authorized—that they should show such shameful conduct was itself an embarrassment.
As if ink had fallen from the heavens and drenched his entire body.
Namgung Yeon pressed into that weakness.
Perhaps he would gain a powerful ally in this.
“They’re currently absent without leave. Would you speak to that matter?”
“Ha! Of course! The lives of the Namgung Clan’s brilliant talents are not something to gamble with during an Selection Period.”
“That is all I need hear.”
Namgung Hyeon-baek watched silently as Namgung Yeon turned to leave, seeing to the aftermath around him.
The fourth young master.
Weak and bedridden, a boy no one had ever noticed.
Yet this fourth young master was now stirring upheaval throughout the Namgung Clan.
‘His path forward… I find myself quite curious about it.’
Indeed.
Come to think of it, the Squad Leader Selection wouldn’t be far off now.
A time when squads were reshuffled and massive reorganization swept through the ranks.
Something amusing was bound to unfold.
“This old man may need to exert some influence.”
A person’s reputation rarely changes of its own accord.
First impressions held such weight, and deeply rooted prejudices were nearly impossible to dispel—they could shape an entire life.
But what of Namgung Yeon’s progress?
He was methodically shattering his own reputation, dismantling preconceptions with undeniable skill.
Just as the clan patriarch had done long ago, before he was called the Martial God.
“Elder.”
“Yes, my lady.”
It was while pondering such thoughts that a sharp voice cut through the silence.
So Yeon’s eyes had changed entirely.
The moment she faced the elder with such composure.
Namgung Hyeon-baek sensed that something was transforming.
This woman, always so gentle, now wore an expression so fierce and resolute it startled him.
“We must send a letter to the Third Squad’s current location.”
“I understand your meaning perfectly.”
“Please handle it well. And several martial artists will be arriving from Sacheon.”
“Pardon? What do you…”
So Yeon gazed down at her own hands as she spoke.
Only now did she grasp what her son had been so insistent about.
Had such an assassin struck her in broad daylight…?
When she was in the Slums.
Or when she was at the Marketplace.
Or climbing the mountain to see her son and daughters.
Could she survive if her guard was killed and she herself lay under threat?
No. The answer was no.
‘The world grows ever more chaotic.’
Then what was the way to protect herself?
Only one thing: to make herself strong.
“I intend to take up the blade again myself.”
……
“Don’t worry. I have no interest in the Namgung Clan’s Martial Arts.”
“Hehehe… The discipline shall be all the firmer for it.”
So Yeon smiled and replied.
“Let us hope so.”
What would the clan patriarch say if he knew?
The elder felt a strange emotion in this wind of change.
And then he called out forcefully:
“Bring me ink and paper!”
#2
“The instructors are going to raise hell.”
“Yes. They will.”
“Though I usually keep my tongue still, I must say something about this.”
“You needn’t step in. It will resolve itself well enough.”
Fortune had smiled upon him.
Or perhaps fate had guided it that way.
He understood Man Ho’s concern well.
The Selection Period was ongoing, and the instructors would predictably be shameless—of that there was no doubt.
But that position would soon reverse.
Because of the one who was pursuing them from behind.
Clop-clop-clop-clop!
The sound of hoofbeats thundered loudly.
“Young Master! Please ride with us!”
“A Red Dragon Corps member, no less. You’re a busy man.”
“The elder sent this letter herself. You needn’t worry about the instructors harming you, sir.”
Man Ho blinked slowly, his gaze fixed on Namgung Yeon.
Because it was happening exactly as the man had said it would.
For him, it was a genuinely wondrous experience.

Words he’d heard from time to time.
At first, he’d thought they were meant as instruction for him alone.
Their words and actions had made no sense to him.
And the contempt in the way they looked at him.
They’d only spoken, never actually shown him.
No—there had been no real opportunity to learn from them in the first place.
And yet he was learning all of it now from this young master.
‘Truly, he is a remarkable man.’
Another small insight had taken root.
The way the world turned was not so simple.
And even with identical content, the result could shift based on how one arranged the words.
“A great relief indeed.”
“The elder seems to have made her resolve quite firm.”
Namgung Yeon smiled faintly.
Perhaps today’s bath would be something to look forward to after all.
Even if only slightly—he’d glimpsed a possibility.
If even the smallest fraction of hope could emerge in a future once so vague and directionless—
‘I know that the answer lies in building upon it steadily.’
He had worked toward that slender possibility all this time.
That woman had said he’d wandered about like an idler, but… no.
He had lived with more intensity than anyone.
So he would surely see it bear fruit.
Surely.
“There it is. Hmm… it’s far nicer than the Red Dragon Corps barracks?”
“I poured all my allowance into it.”
“An excellent choice. I should mention it to the commander.”
The kindhearted Red Dragon Corps member spoke in jest.
As soon as they reached the Training Grounds, the instructors crowded around Namgung Yeon as though they’d been waiting.
“Cadet Namgung Yeon—you’ve finally returned.”
“Unauthorized absence from the Training Grounds forfeits your status as a cadet.”
“Off you go back to your family home, to that bed of yours… but who is this person?”
An instructor, mid-sentence, belatedly noticed the faint figure beside them and asked.
The Red Dragon Corps.
The elite martial band of the Namgung Clan—only the finest warriors could enter.
Admission came only after stellar achievement at the Namgung Military Academy and surviving countless brushes with death during the brutal training regimen.
Naturally, compared to an instructor’s post, it was…
An entirely different order of organization.
They used the character for “red” because they were said to call for blood.
And the Red Dragon Corps took its name from the way they moved—like the writhing of a dragon.
The evidence lay in their garments.
Martial robes trimmed in crimson—an edge unsuited to the Namgung standard uniform.
The meaning was unmistakable.
“The… Red Dragon Corps?”
“One of the Red Dragon Corps members. I’ve come with this elder’s personal letter now.”
“A personal letter… you say?”
“Indeed. Now, let me read it aloud for you~.”
The contents were quite simple.
Recognition of Namgung Yeon’s merit and contribution.
And an order to the Red Dragon Corps member to reveal his unit and name.
Also, that she would not forgive those who heard all this and did nothing.
With each word of the letter, the instructors’ faces grew increasingly pale.
Couched in careful language though it was, it meant their reputations had plummeted to the bottom.
‘Nicely played, you bastards.’
Man Ho’s mouth twisted as he fought to suppress his laughter.
How fitting.
All that talk of laws and principles, and yet karma had come full circle.
“The point of reflecting all these matters in the evaluation… that is my wish.”
“Is that truly so?”
“Of course. Would I have spoken falsely?”
The instructors fell silent as stone.
Yet they could not raise their voices before the Red Dragon Corps.
As the saying goes, one stretches their legs only as far as their bed allows—and these men, though similar in age, found themselves overwhelmed by the sheer presence before them.
Namgung Yeon was a fourth-rank heir, yes, but his rank within the family hierarchy sat below theirs, which had emboldened them to throw their weight around.
And now, holding the status of a cadet, his sense of privilege would only have deepened.
But look at the result.
This is what becomes of those who chase only their own safety.
“You have become the very worst representatives the Namgung name could bear.”
“……”
Namgung Yeon smiled faintly and stepped into the Training Grounds.
He had held no expectations to begin with.
The Namgung Clan of this era was rotting from within.
To slow that decay, one would have to bear losses too great to shoulder.
‘And to make new growth sprout, money is what matters.’
More precisely, precious goods and wealth purchased with that money.
Fear of loss?
Then one should question whether one’s assets run shallow.
Fortunately, Namgung Yeon’s coffers held the kind of wealth that would overflow even if scattered on the streets.
‘Perhaps the timing needs to come forward.’
Originally, he had intended to train them thoroughly first.
But given the circumstances, the time had come for a trick of deception.
Once more.
The hour of extravagant expenditure had arrived.

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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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