I Became the Namgung Clan’s Omnipotent Item-Powered Martial God - Chapter 65

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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 65
Episode 65 – The One Who Refuses
#1
“Listen up.”
A new instructor opened his mouth to address the Group Three trainees who had returned to the training grounds.
To Man Ho and Namgung Yeon, his face was already familiar.
‘He’s come here.’
The instructor who had worked alongside them when the Demons were released in Anhui.
He had now become Group Three’s new supervising instructor.
He swept his gaze across all the Group Three trainees and spoke.
“Welcome. I’m Gwang Min, your new instructor, and I’ll be responsible for you from now on.”
“What about the other instructors……?”
“They’ve all been transferred to different departments. That’s why my colleagues and I are stepping in as your new supervisors.”
Gwang Min’s arrival seemed to herald a fresh wind.
His eyes burned with passion, and his face bore the mark of an honest temperament.
Judging by how rigorously he must have trained in the past, his lean, muscular frame was impressive.
“And there’s one more matter I need to inform you of.”
…….
“From now on, you’ll be granted free time once every fortnight to move about as you wish.”
“So we can leave the grounds and spend nights outside.”
“That’s right. From now on, you’ll be assigned external missions as well.”
Everyone nodded in understanding.
After the Group Leader Succession Battle, this was the work of stabilizing the remaining Group Members.
Namgung Yeon sensed that what had to come was now arriving.
Many trainees had died in the Group Leader Succession Battle.
But even that would seem like a drop in the ocean compared to the deaths and injuries yet to come.
There were still many who sought to conquer the Martial Realm, and many who despised the Namgung Family itself.
And the greatest enemy of all…….
‘The Peng Family.’
The Peng Family of Hebei.
Once the rulers of the Martial Realm.
Under the favor of the Thunder God, they had once been bound together, but gradually their ties had grown strained.
The Peng Family had been the supreme power of the Martial Realm, dominating Jiangxi, Anhui, Hebei, and Hubei.
The same held true now.
Except for abandoning Jiangxi, nothing had changed—they were locked in constant competition with the Namgung Family for first place among the Five Great Clans.
It would be frequent that they hindered matters at every turn.
The Peng Family had but one goal.
‘To recover the lost martial techniques of the Thunder God.’
It was a relationship that had been broken far too long ago.
Moreover, it was also the Peng Family that contended with the Jegal Family.
The time for that struggle had arrived.
‘I wonder if Wol Young is faring well…….’
Wol Young, whom he had sent into the Peng Family, came to mind.
By what means would she make effective use of the fifty thousand taels of gold he had given her?
He was also curious how she would make contact with the Peng Family.
As Namgung Yeon fell into thought, Instructor Gwang Min continued.
“And from now on, I will accompany you during mission assignments.”
“Instructor, you seem quite skilled?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, what I’m saying is…….”
Yi Hyeon, ever glib-tongued, couldn’t hold back and spoke up.
Right.
This was the season when overconfidence ran high.
Namgung Yeon emerged from his reverie and regarded the two of them in turn with vacant eyes.
Then he spoke bluntly.
“It’s time you both got a proper thrashing.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that? We did plenty of good work this time! Slash! Slash-slash! I cut down over ten Demons myself!”
“Instructor.”
Namgung Yeon opened his mouth, leaving the still-oblivious Yi Hyeon behind.
Yi Hyeon was not a trainee who had graduated from the Martial Academy.
The Martial Academy of the Namgung Family was a place anyone could enter, but not everyone could graduate from.
Conversely, every instructor in the Namgung Family’s Martial Academy had come up through its ranks.
Whether you called it a faction or a tradition, that was how things stood.
Someone like Ma Cheol Wei would mock Namgung Yeon for not being Martial Academy alumni.
This time, he intended to approach it differently.
“Perhaps you’d be willing to teach me?”
“……Ha.”
Gwang Min’s expression turned serious.
“Very well.”
Sometimes one had to show proper respect to those above.
Was it the power of money?
Or did he possess genuinely superior skill?
If neither, then avoiding enemies was the wisest course.
#2
“……Guh—ack.”
“Phew. That was genuinely enjoyable after such a long time.”
Yi Hyeon had quite literally been beaten into the dust.
Gwang Min regarded Yi Hyeon with a satisfied expression, then finally let his eyes take in the training grounds—markedly different from any other he’d seen.
“This place is truly…… extraordinary.”
“The power of money, wouldn’t you say?”
“I wish other places could be like this as well.”
“That won’t be easy.”
Most people, when they gain wealth, use it for themselves rather than for the public good like this.
Gwang Min nodded, his expression growing rather somber.
Nowhere else had facilities as modern as these.
It wasn’t as though the Namgung Family lacked for funds.
Namgung Yeon gazed at the training grounds, which he maintained in reasonably good order, and opened his mouth.
Money, depending on the will of the one who spends it, could become either poison or honey.
“It depends on the intent with which one uses it, doesn’t it?”
“…….”
“That’s why those above are so important. The direction that money flows is determined by their will.”
“That is…… true, Young Master.”
For once, looking at him, Gwang Min saw not a student but the young master of the Namgung Family.
Namgung Yeon let out a soft laugh.
If he played this right, Man Ho might actually grow jealous.
Gwang Min gave a similar impression.
Loyalty among their elders often wound up intertwined with personal gain.
Gwang Min.
A name he would remember.
The man who would one day become the Dark Dragon Lord.
A man skilled at observation and surveillance.
[Records of Muhan]
[Shadow Stepped Pill]
(影踐團)
Recalling something, he decided to offer a small gift.
A person of upright character, impartial and fair, advancing ever upward.
Exactly the sort of talent the Namgung Family needed right now.
“After the last battle, this should help you consolidate what you’ve learned.”
“……Is this a bribe?”
“Call it an investment.”
“I cannot accept it.”
He was troubled.
To anyone’s eye, it was a precious medicinal treasure—if he accepted it outright, what would happen to his standing as an instructor?
Moreover, this was a matter of fairness.
Gwang Min was more principled than Namgung Yeon had given him credit for.
Namgung Yeon chuckled softly and extended the Shadow Stepped Pill again.
“You really won’t take it?”
“No. It is tempting indeed, but as an instructor, I cannot in good conscience accept it.”
“You may come to regret it. Such things aren’t given to just anyone.”
He had grown unusually talkative.
He wasn’t saying this out of mere regret.
The human heart was always vulnerable to temptation.
How unshakeable was this man’s conviction, truly?
Did he possess a belief that would not waver before any enticement?
Namgung Yeon found himself curious about that.
Most instructors simply chased profit.
He himself might have done the same.
‘But this one’s eyes are quite firm.’
So it was worth placing hope in him.
The Dark Dragon Lord’s strength lay above all else in that unwavering resolve.
Namgung Yeon studied Gwang Min quietly.
He seemed to waver for a moment at those last words, but soon shook his head.
“If the Young Master’s trial concludes safely, then I could accept it.”
“By then there may be no opportunity. This elixir might go to someone else.”
“Then… I would take it as a matter of fate not aligning. There’s nothing to be done about it.”
He closed his eyes firmly and clasped his fists.
Namgung Yeon chuckled softly and returned the elixir to his sleeve.
Don’t worry.
The owner of this elixir is already decided.
‘This too would be a new connection of fate, if anything is.’
For the first time, someone had refused.
Even for Namgung Yeon, it was rather refreshing.
In the meantime, Yi Hyeon approached with a puffy face, trudging heavily.
“Group Leader.”
“Mm?”
“A visitor has arrived.”
A visitor?
Namgung Yeon turned his head.
There stood Wol Young, leading members of the Heukpung Faction.
“Outside visitors are not permitted here…”
Gwang Min said so and moved to step forward toward her.
Then Namgung Yeon raised his hand and immediately invoked the newly implemented rule and authority.
“She is my guest, so I will exercise my departure permit. I have the authorization I received from the Family Head.”
“…Very well.”
With Wol Young bowing her head modestly, the first outing began.
#3
A place thick with the pleasant aroma of tea.
Under the instructor’s permission, Namgung Yeon had been granted authority to leave for a day.
It was groundwork for external missions and a process to earn the true qualifications of a Young Master.
“What has come to pass?”
“I apologize, but I have not yet met with the Peng Family’s representatives.”
“And so?”
“Therefore…”
Wol Young recounted everything that had transpired in detail.
She reported that the Demonic Sword still remained sealed.
Namgung Yeon let out a soft chuckle.
Then he spoke.
“Of the fifty thousand silver, how much remains?”
“I secured estates and informants for thirty thousand. Deducting various expenses, approximately ten thousand remains, but…”
“Don’t worry. Spend it all. If you need more, come find me again.”
“…”
Wol Young felt something burning inside her.
Receive more money?
Yes, she was pleased, of course.
But the self-reproach of failing to resolve matters within the allocated funds weighed far heavier.
With debt piling ever higher, she keenly understood what it meant to be crushed beneath the weight of money.
So she opened her mouth with difficulty.
“…Let me at least try to manage with what has been given. Spending too much money is—”
“Too much? Is that amount too much?”
“…”
What kind of financial sense does this man have?
Wol Young stared at his hollow eyes, aghast.
The words were far too divorced from reality.
Even as a direct descendant of the Namgung Family—even as the Family Head’s own son—could he really command funds on this scale? Was it possible?
“Young Master, there’s truly no need to strain yourself. But… what will you do?”
“The Peng Family’s representative asked to see me.”
Namgung Yeon stroked his chin.
A few faces came to mind.
Thoroughly disagreeable ones.
Those who looked down on the Namgung Family merely because it had once received the Peng Family’s aid in years past.
The era of that man’s favor had long since faded, yet they still clung to the past as though it were yesterday.
Namgung Yeon let out a quiet laugh.
He wouldn’t simply dance to their tune just because they snapped their fingers.
‘Countless martial realm practitioners had fallen because of their tyranny.’
And his own friend as well…
Wol Young gauged his expression carefully, then smoothly shifted to the next matter.
“Well…”
“Speak.”
“I’ve located the person you seek.”
“Where?”
“In Hubei, hiding at the Hwanghakmnu.”
Namgung Yeon’s movements stopped abruptly.
This was an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“…You said after the first trial ended. Perhaps I might see them before then.”
“…Yes. I’ll make the arrangements.”
“Then lay the groundwork before that.”
Money was no object.
Therefore, he would make all of Hubei’s information his own.
The light in Namgung Yeon’s eyes as he regarded Wol Young deepened and grew cold.
He held no expectations.
He merely made it inevitable.
Receiving that gaze, Wol Young bowed her head quietly.
And she made a vow.
For her own life.
“I will accomplish far more than you desire, without fail.”

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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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