Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 109

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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 109
“Has your recovery been completed entirely?”
“Yes. I apologize for the trouble, Uncle.”
“Think nothing of it. What’s so significant about providing protection for my nephew?”
Moyong Lim, the young master of the Moyong Family and wielder of the Windstorm Blade, unfolded his legs from his seated position and exhaled deeply.
Moryong Baek, one of the current Moyong Family head’s brothers, clicked his tongue.
“Take better care of yourself. Surely you’re aware that your body now carries the Main Sect’s sacred aspiration, however incomplete it may be?”
“Of course I am.”
“While I was away preparing for the martial tournament… tsk tsk!”
“…”
“So you unsealed the restriction and unleashed your martial arts, yet still lost?”
At my uncle’s words, my expression twisted.
“I couldn’t fully unleash them. The space was cramped, and he rushed at me like an ambush, leaving me unprepared.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Moryong Baek nodded as if he understood.
“Dokgo Myeong of the Dokgo Family… I’ve been hearing his name frequently of late.”
“Had I faced him with proper preparation, I would never have lost.”
“You dominated over a dozen of the posterior disciples standing alone, didn’t you?”
“Do you think I couldn’t do the same?”
My eyes flashed with intensity.
Moryong Baek chuckled softly.
“It’s certainly possible.”
I was the first to accept everything the current Moyong Family conducted in secret.
Though merely an experiment and preparation phase, the results were quite remarkable. There were even times when I had the upper hand against him in sparring.
“Rather, losing then was fortunate. Since my loss of face at the Yongbong Conference has spread as gossip everywhere, the attention will only intensify.”
“You intend to take revenge at the martial tournament?”
“Yes, so please unseal the restriction binding my meridians.”
“…”
“Don’t you remember the Family Head’s orders? To win the championship, I must defeat him, and for that, I need that martial art.”
“…Hmm.”
At those words, Moryong Baek let out a contemplative sound.
“Very well, I understand. This might actually be for the best. Testing it at this opportunity would be ideal.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Since your opponent is someone currently making a name for himself, it couldn’t be better. Elder Brother will understand as well.”
Moryong Baek gazed at me with a resolute expression.
“However, now that I’ve granted you this, I cannot tolerate even a single mistake. Do you understand?”
My eyes gleamed with determination.
“Of course.”
* * *
The tournament grounds were so densely packed with young martial artists from Zhongyuan that one might wonder if there had ever been this many before.
Among them, there were quite a few who had entered the martial tournament.
“Wow, sir! Do you see that? Two hundred and thirty-four people, two hundred and thirty-four!”
“Look at these so-called future talents of Gangho, just throwing themselves into the arena without a second thought. Sigh, these young people these days.”
“S-sir! An arena? If someone hears that, it’ll be a disaster!”
“What! Did I say something wrong?”
“…”
No, well.
It is an arena, technically. It is, but!
“…”
“…”
“…”
Did he really have to say it with so many people around?
‘Am I about to get stabbed?’
Geum Seok-du found those murderous glares absolutely unbearable.
Geum Seok-du swallowed hard and took a step closer to Dokgo Myeong.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ve pledged to share life and death with my lord, so I’ve positioned myself closer to ensure I can protect you in any moment of carelessness.”
“Ugh! You’re creepy, man! Get away!”
That was when it happened.
“…Did you forget something?”
A man’s voice, dark and heavy, came from behind.
Dokgo Myeong and Geum Seok-du’s heads snapped around simultaneously.
There stood a young man, disheveled and slovenly, his shoulders sagging—Dokgo Ak.
“Uh…?”
“Gasp!”
Dokgo Myeong and Geum Seok-du’s eyes widened in unison.
“Hehehehe, right. You forgot about this, didn’t you?”
Dokgo Ak began muttering with a sinister smile.
“You told me to buy honey water, so I bought it and then you suddenly disappeared… I thought maybe it was a test, so I searched the entire compound like I was combing for lice, but you were nowhere to be found…”
“Oh, right.”
“Right? Right? Oh? Right? Hahahaha!”
Dokgo Ak began laughing like a madman.
Then he stopped abruptly and glared at Dokgo Myeong with piercing intensity.
“Is this acceptable? I clearly told you I have no money and nothing! No matter how much you dislike me, how could you do this to your own brother?!”
“Uh, ow. Hey, I’m sorry.”
“And you call yourself a person?!”
“Still, your tone is a bit…”
“Shut up!”
“Uh, uh…”
Faced with that sharp, cutting momentum, Dokgo Myeong faltered.
Watching Dokgo Ak sniffling as if on the verge of tears, I reached over and patted his shoulder gently.
“Hmm? Wait a moment. Where did you sleep then? Surely you brought an escort with you?”
“There wasn’t one…”
“What?”
“There was… no one…”
“Huh?”
Dokgo Ak glared at me with eyes that looked ready to devour me whole.
“Because you kept going on about subordinates and such… I decided to try handling things on my own and came out alone!”
Only then did I understand why Dokgo Ak looked so disheveled.
‘Tch, this bastard…’
Within the family, he’d always had servants help him bathe and change clothes, and even when he ventured outside, he traveled by carriage and received the utmost care.
For someone like that to venture out alone for the first time—what kind of journey must it have been?
“So you slept rough? On the streets…?”
“…”
“In this freezing cold?”
Dokgo Ak squeezed his eyes shut.
I let out a hollow laugh.
“Why didn’t you just go somewhere and sell your silk robe? Or peddle some salt instead!”
“Silk? Salt? How would I even sell those?”
“You didn’t know? Common folk often pay with salt and scraps of silk instead of coins or silver.”
“That… that’s…!”
Dokgo Ak’s expression crumbled as if the heavens themselves had fallen.
Meanwhile, Geum Seok-du looked at me with slightly surprised eyes.
“Young Master, how do you know such things?”
“It’s just that he’s too ignorant of how the world works. Nothing remarkable about it.”
I chuckled and pulled out a pouch from my sleeve, handing it to Dokgo Ak.
“Here, go wash up at the inn where we’re staying and buy yourself something to eat. You’ve had it rough, my friend.”
“…Forget it. I don’t trust you. I’ll stick to you like a leech, so remember that.”
“No, it’s just… you smell a bit, that’s all.”
“Shut up!”
It was right as Dokgo Ak was in the midst of his anger.
Boom! Boom-boom! Boom!
A deep drum sound began to echo from a hastily erected platform beside the Dengyongji.
Just as the bustling Dengyongji fell silent in an instant, a man in ornate clothing stepped onto the martial stage.
“Thank you for gracing us with your esteemed presence on this fine day. I, Moyong Baek, offer my greetings on behalf of my family to all the heroes gathered here.”
Woooong!
His voice resonated deeply, infused with inner energy, spreading outward in all directions.
It revealed his realm by itself. Those who had not reached the pinnacle could not so easily channel their inner power through their voice.
“Moyong Baek, you say…”
“Ah! It’s the Thunderbolt Sword, the great hero Moyong Baek!”
He was the direct younger brother of Moyong Tae, the head of the Moyong Family, and a seasoned master renowned as the finest swordsman of Zhejiang.
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes narrowed.
‘A direct descendant of the Main Sect? And the family head’s own brother at that?’
Given his standing in Gangho and his martial prowess, he was not someone who should have traveled so far from Zhejiang to Honam.
‘It’s not even within their sphere of influence, and sending someone of his caliber to a tournament seems excessive.’
At that moment, Moryong Baek’s voice, which had been droning on, suddenly boomed louder.
“We shall now commence the martial tournament! The first match is…!”
A hastily constructed bracket was erected beside the arena.
Dokgo Myeong let out a soft chuckle.
‘Tsk tsk, how blatant. How utterly shameless.’
My name and Moyong Lim’s name were written at opposite ends of the bracket.
It meant we would never meet in the middle rounds, and simultaneously, it was a declaration of confidence that I would never be eliminated before then.
‘Look at that arrogance. What an insolent bastard.’
I chuckled softly and gazed at Moyong Lim, seated far away on the elevated platform.
Zzzt!
Moyong Lim happened to be looking this way at that very moment, and our eyes met.
Moyong Lim’s lips moved.
-I’ll kill you.
The killing intent radiating from Moyong Lim, who had uttered those words so decisively, surged outward in waves.
I chuckled softly and moved my lips in response.
-Spare yourself. Don’t get beaten again.
Boom!
“That bastard!”
As Moyong Lim shot to his feet, the eyes of the spectators and disciples near the platform fixed upon him.
“Did Moyong Lim just call someone a bastard?”
“Surely not….”
“Is something the matter?”
Moyong Lim, his face flushed with seething anger, dropped back into his seat.
“…No, nothing at all.”
I laughed and glanced around.
‘There he is.’
Namso was visible not far away.
He gazed silently at the platform with cold, piercing eyes.
Yet Moyong Lim’s gaze never once turned toward Namso.
I smiled bitterly and murmured to myself.
“There’s still someone imprisoned who cannot escape.”
If only he could take a single step out of that prison, he would see so much and feel so much more.
He likely knew this himself. Yet he chose to lock himself within that prison.
‘So be it. If that is your will, there is nothing I can do about it.’
I had a conviction I had upheld since my previous life.
I make an effort to grasp at fate, but if I cling to it too desperately, we’ll only exhaust each other.
Isn’t that simply how relationships work? Push too hard and things drift apart uncontrollably; pull too hard and the rope snaps.
‘Damn it. But this frustration is killing me.’
Should I just grab him by the hair and drag him out?
It was the moment Dokgo Myeong exhaled sharply through his nose, his arms folded across his chest.
“M-master.”
Geum Seok-du called out desperately to Dokgo Myeong, cold sweat dripping down his face.
“Hmm? Are you trembling right now?”
“W-well, how could I not be trembling?”
Geum Seok-du swallowed hard, his gaze fixed on the martial arena.
“Hyaaaah!”
“Haaaah!”
Clang! Clang!
Young martial artists who appeared to be posterior disciples of local sects were clashing their blades together.
Each time steel struck steel and sparks flew, Geum Seok-du flinched.
“No matter how I think about it, this doesn’t seem right, master.”
“What doesn’t?”
“I may have learned martial arts, but how could I possibly fight against posterior disciples from Gangho who have trained formally? It’s absurd!”
“Calm yourself.”
“How can I calm down! It’s like a sparrow trying to follow a stork—you’ll only tear your own legs off.”
Geum Seok-du cried out with a pitiful expression.
Dokgo Myeong wrinkled the bridge of his nose as if about to say something, when a crisp voice came from behind.
“I don’t see what the problem is.”
“Ah, w-what?”
“Just go out there and fight with what you’ve got. Why are you shaking like that? Pathetic.”
Dokgo Ak’s blunt words twisted Geum Seok-du’s expression.
‘Ah, so he’s also known as a notorious troublemaker.’
What is this? Is the location where the Dokgo Family resides cursed?
Or is it simply that the bloodline itself is like this…
“Well, he’s not entirely wrong.”
Then Dokgo Myeong joined in as well.
“What are you saying?”
“Why worry so much when you can just go out there and beat them?”
“How could I, a mere gambler, beat anyone? I’d be the one getting beaten.”
“If you go out there and get beaten, you’ll get beaten by me too.”
Geum Seok-du flinched at once.
“What do you mean by that…?”
“You think I’d teach you, invest in you, and train you only for you to come back beaten by these snot-nosed kids? That’s ridiculous.”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
“If you bring shame to my name, I’ll…
Crack! Thud!
Geum Seok-du’s mouth gaped open like a fish gasping for air.
That was when it happened.
“Next! Geum Seok-du from Honam! Challenging Baek Jong-mun of Shaanxi! Come forth!”
Before I knew it, it was Geum Seok-du’s turn to ascend the martial stage.
“M-master! What should I do! P-please give me some advice! Quickly!”
“Hmm, very well. First, go up there and…”
“Yes, yes!”
“Strike the places that look like they can’t be defended.”
“Pardon?”
“Hit the spots you’ve already hit again, sweep at any openings when he staggers, and if his mouth shows—just here, here—drive your fist straight through that mouth!”
Oh dear.
I’ve certainly chosen the wrong person to ask for advice.
“Urrrrgh!”
Geum Seok-du eventually sprang to his feet and rushed toward the martial stage.
And moments later.
Thwack! Crack! Crunch!
“S-stop! Enough!”
“Huh?”
“The outcome is already decided! Show mercy to the defeated! What manner of cruelty is this!”
“Eh? This can’t be the end…”
“Release him! I said let go of his collar! Physician! Physician! Come here at once!”
Geum Seok-du suddenly relaxed his grip.
Thump!
“Ughhhh…”
The young man, his face drenched in blood, collapsed limply and writhed.
Only then did Geum Seok-du glance around him.
His fallen opponent, his own fists covered in blood, the physician rushing over in alarm to stop him.
Dazed as he descended from the martial stage, Geum Seok-du’s eyes slowly regained their light.

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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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