Ice Dragon of Namgung - Chapter 106

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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 106
Tang Baiho stared at the note’s contents, his mind blank, for a long moment.
The message was too shocking to absorb.
Namgung Geom was a successor of Heuk Cheonsal.
At first, he’d thought it impossible.
The First Young Master of the Namgung Clan couldn’t possibly be a successor of Heuk Cheonsal.
Yet as he recalled Namgung Geom’s incomprehensible realm of power, doubt crept in—perhaps it was true.
Namgung Geom’s level defied all rational understanding.
Moreover, the Namgung Clan’s First Young Master had suddenly mastered the Ice Technique.
And most tellingly, Namgung Geom had claimed to correct the Guyang Jeolmaek.
If that was because he’d inherited Heuk Cheonsal’s Demonic Technique?
Everything fell into place.
A smile spread across Tang Baiho’s face.
If Namgung Geom’s identity as Heuk Cheonsal’s successor were exposed, Namgung Geom would be finished.
Tang Baiho felt ready to expose his identity on the spot.
But suddenly, doubt seized him.
“Wait—who sent this note?”
Sending only a note without revealing the sender’s identity suggested murky intentions.
The intent was clearly to use him as a tool to strike at Namgung Geom.
This made the note’s contents suspicious.
If the note were false, he would be played for a fool by whoever sent it.
‘Is Namgung Geom really Heuk Cheonsal’s successor?’
Tang Baiho forced himself to calm down and think.
How had Namgung Geom acquired Heuk Cheonsal’s Demonic Technique?
Heuk Cheonsal had fallen from a cliff on Daebyul Mountain three hundred years ago and died.
But his body was never found.
For years afterward, countless martial artists had combed Daebyul Mountain seeking his legacy, yet none had discovered his remains.
For Namgung Geom to be Heuk Cheonsal’s successor would mean he’d exhumed the body himself.
But Namgung Geom, waiting for death by the Guyang Jeolmaek, could never have discovered Heuk Cheonsal’s remains on Daebyul Mountain.
Of course, it was possible someone else had obtained Heuk Cheonsal’s Demonic Technique and passed it to him.
Yet the odds were minimal.
Even if someone had obtained it, there’d be no reason to pass it to Namgung Geom.
More importantly—wouldn’t Namgung Baek, the Sword King, recognize it immediately?
A Sword King would identify Heuk Cheonsal’s Demonic Technique at once.
And he would certainly have prevented Namgung Geom from learning it.
Nor was Namgung Baek alone.
His own grandfather had also examined Namgung Geom’s aura, he recalled.
If Namgung Geom had truly inherited Heuk Cheonsal’s Demonic Technique, his grandfather couldn’t have missed it.
‘If I exposed Namgung Geom as Heuk Cheonsal’s successor based only on this note?’
‘And if Namgung Geom isn’t actually his successor?’
The Namgung Clan would never forgive him.
Accusing the First Young Master of being a Dark Inheritor—that was a sin he’d pay for with his life.
In fact, using the Hidden Thunder Strike in today’s Martial Combat could already become a serious issue if the Namgung Clan raised objections.
But at least Namgung Geom had consented to that; there was room to get past it somehow.
Falsely accusing him of being Heuk Cheonsal’s successor was an entirely different matter.
The Namgung Clan would never let him off.
Now Tang Baiho felt a deep revulsion at whoever had sent this note.
“He knew I harbor resentment toward Namgung Geom, and sent this deliberately.”
The sender had assumed that someone nursing a grudge against Namgung Geom would instantly expose him upon reading the note.
“What does this bastard take me for?”
Tang Baiho ground his teeth at how close he’d come to walking into the trap.
He wanted nothing more than to find whoever had sent it and tear them apart.
The problem was not knowing who it was.
“First, I need to find out who entered my room.”
Tang Baiho called out to the guard just outside.
“Has anyone come into my chambers today?”
“Apart from the servants here who came to clean, no one, my lord. But why do you ask?”
“Never mind that. Bring me the servant who cleaned my room.”
“The servant, my lord?”
“Yes, I have questions for her. Fetch her at once.”
“Understood.”
The servant withdrew with the air of a man resigned to the inevitable.
Some time later, he returned alone.
“Where is he?”
“It seems… the attendant has vanished.”
“Vanished?”
“Yes. He said he had urgent business outside, left, and never returned.”
Tang Baiho’s brow furrowed.
Now it was certain.
Whoever sent this note meant to use him to frame Namgung Geom.
And if things went wrong, they’d dump the blame squarely on his shoulders.
“I have to see grandfather.”
“But the Clan Patriarch ordered you not to leave this room.”
“Something important’s come up. Get out of my way.”
Tang Baiho pushed past the servant and strode from the chamber.
He went straight to Tang Cheonoh.
“Didn’t I tell you not to leave that room?”
Tang Cheonoh’s eyes flashed with anger.
“Grandfather, there’s something you need to see.”
Tang Baiho handed over the note.
Tang Cheonoh examined its contents, then looked back at his grandson.
“What is this?”
“Someone left it in my room. It seems they were trying to manipulate me into framing Namgung Geom.”
“So you didn’t fall for it.”
“I’m not fool enough to be used by someone whose face I’ve never seen.”
Tang Cheonoh let out a derisive snort at his grandson’s words.
“If you’d believed this note and acted recklessly, you would have borne the full fury of the Namgung Clan.”
“What do you make of what’s written here, Grandfather?”
“If Namgung Geom had truly mastered the Demonic Technique of Heuk Cheonsal, I would have known at once. And before me, that old Sword King himself wouldn’t have missed it.”
Tang Cheonoh’s answer was exactly what Tang Baiho had expected.
“Then what’s the purpose of whoever sent this note? Even if I accused him, the truth would come out quickly.”
“Most likely, they’re trying to damage Namgung Geom’s reputation.”
If rumors spread that Namgung Geom was a successor of Heuk Cheonsal, the label would stick even after the truth emerged.
“Or perhaps they’re aiming to deepen the rift between our main house and the Namgung Clan.”
If Tang Baiho had raised suspicions about Namgung Geom being Heuk Cheonsal’s successor, the Namgung Clan would never let the accusation pass.
If the Namgung Clan pursued punishment against Tang Baiho, the Sichuan Tang Clan would move to protect him—and conflict would be inevitable.
“Then whoever benefits from conflict between our main house and the Namgung Clan is likely our culprit.”
“And where do you think that benefit leads?”
Tang Cheonoh asked.
“Obviously to the Sa Pae Ryun, wouldn’t it?”
Tang Baiho answered without hesitation.
Anyone would have reached the same conclusion.
Had Tang Cheonoh not heard certain words yesterday, he too would have suspected the Sa Pae Ryun first.
‘Is the Sect truly making its move?’
Tang Cheonoh recalled what Namgung Baek had told him the night before.
Namgung Baek had said that agents of the Sect were moving covertly throughout the Martial World.
Their purpose was to ignite the Great Conflict.
At the time, he had harbored doubts.
The circumstances Namgung Baek presented weren’t sufficient for certainty.
But now, seeing this note, Tang Cheonoh found himself believing Namgung Baek’s words held truth.
It was possible, of course, that a Sa Pae Ryun agent had sent the note.
Yet something in Tang Cheonoh’s bones told him otherwise.
It was mere intuition.
What was clear was that this matter shouldn’t remain his alone to know.
Tang Cheonoh thought it best to inform Namgung Baek at once.
“You may withdraw now. This old man has an audience with the Sword King.”
After dismissing Tang Baiho, Tang Cheonoh went directly to find Namgung Baek.
And once Namgung Baek saw the note Tang Cheonoh had brought, he immediately summoned Namgung Geom.
“Look at this.”
Summoned suddenly, Namgung Geom took the note from Namgung Baek and read its contents.
His expression hardened.
“The Cult’s secret agent used the Sichuan Tang heir to stir up trouble.”
Namgung Geom spoke with certainty.
“How can you be certain it was the Cult’s agent?”
Tang Cheonoh raised the question.
“The Junior Patriarch of the Cheongyang Branch, who ambushed me before, made the same claim. There’s a strong possibility he’s the Cult’s agent.”
“Couldn’t the Cheongyang Branch Master or whoever sent this note be a Sa Pae Ryun agent?”
Namgung Geom shook his head decisively at Tang Cheonoh’s counterargument.
“No. The Sa Pae Ryun would gain nothing from this unless they wanted to provoke a Great Conflict.”
Namgung Baek and Tang Cheonoh understood immediately what Namgung Geom meant.
In the current situation, Sa Pae Ryun was most likely to draw suspicion.
It would be like Sa Pae Ryun handing their enemies a pretext for attack.
If Sa Pae Ryun had no intention of provoking a Great Conflict, they would never have planned such a thing.
“So you’re saying the Cult orchestrated this with the Great Conflict in mind.”
“Before that, they had two other aims.”
“Two?”
Namgung Baek expressed his confusion.
“One was to sow discord within the main family—to make me doubt my uncles.”
The Namgung Clan was in the midst of a Clan Leader Succession Competition.
Who stood to benefit from framing Namgung Geom?
The patriarchs of the three branches competing in the succession competition.
By making Namgung Geom distrust them, the Cult sought to create internal division.
Namgung Baek nodded and asked.
“And the other?”line>
“A rift between the Namgung Clan and the Sichuan Tang Clan.”

That was something Tang Cheonoh had already considered.
“If my grandson frames the Namgung eldest son, the Namgung Clan won’t sit idle, will they?”
“Precisely.”
“Three schemes planted with a single note—whoever sent this is meticulous, even if we don’t know their name. First the internal strife, then the split between clans, and finally the Great Conflict itself.”
Tang Cheonoh marveled at the cunning of the note’s author.
And he was struck with admiration for Namgung Geom’s insight in seeing through it.
‘But my grandson…’
A sigh escaped his lips.
Thinking of Tang Baiho, he felt it slip out unbidden.
A frog in a well, they called such men.
He’d seemed adequate enough when he was in the Sichuan Tang Clan.
But seeing Namgung Geom here, the boy fell woefully short.
“Why the sudden sigh?”
Namgung Baek asked, puzzled.
Tang Cheonoh, finding the sight of him irritating for no good reason, spoke with petty malice.
“Never you mind.”
“For someone so cantankerous, you do take some getting used to.”
As Namgung Baek clicked his tongue, Tang Cheonoh bristled.
“What did you say? Are you looking for a fight?”
“Why? Will you use the Secret Assassination Technique on me like your grandson did?”
At Namgung Baek’s words, Tang Cheonoh flinched and swallowed his anger.
“Ahem. So, do we have any way to catch this agent?”
Tang Cheonoh quickly changed the subject.
“For now, it seems our priority should be setting up the note in the Sichuan heir’s room and drawing out the agent.”
Tang Cheonoh shook his head at Namgung Geom’s words.
“My grandson said the maidservant has already disappeared without a trace.”
Tang Cheonoh referred to the chambermaid who had cleaned Tang Baiho’s quarters vanishing.
“They’ve already covered their tracks, it seems.”
Namgung Geom furrowed his brow.
That maidservant was likely already dead.
There was no surer way to keep a secret than to erase all witnesses.
Namgung Geom had set a trap using Jeon Seomyo and the Heavenly Death Lord Wie Taegang to draw out the Cult’s agent.
But the Cult’s agent had not fallen for it.
The trail had gone cold again.
For now, all that remained was to wait for the Cult’s agent to make another move.
The problem was that in the meantime, there was no telling what else he might scheme.
Tang Cheonoh, who had been watching Namgung Geom, spoke up.
“But Heuk Cheonsal has nothing to do with this, does he?”
Namgung Bing-ryong
Author |
Baek Wol-geom
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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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