Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 115

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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 115
There was no way the martial arts tournament could continue after this.
It was a shocking turn of events.
A murder had occurred at the Denglong Arena martial arts tournament, one of the most renowned venues in the Central Plains Jianghu.
Moreover, those entangled in the incident were the bloodline of the greatest clan under heaven, the last surviving member of an exterminated family, and the young lord of the Moyong Family—the overlords of Zhejiang.
Gossips showed no signs of stopping, and letters flew ceaselessly from Wuhan in all directions.
Whenever people gathered, they engaged in heated discussions about Dokgo Myeong, Namgung Sohwa, and the Moyong Family’s response.
“Lord Dokgo Myeong said they were close friends. Didn’t he draw his blade on behalf of the Namgung heir?”
“The Moyong Family’s cruel and vicious deeds deserve condemnation from all!”
Many sided with Dokgo Myeong and Namgung Sohwa—primarily those who had witnessed the entire incident from beginning to end.
But of course, there were those who thought differently.
“Wasn’t this a strategic move by the Dokgo Family to check the Moyong Family’s expansion?”
“The Dokgo Family would certainly have been capable of orchestrating this….”
Countless theories sparked and faded like embers in the wind.
Finally, the two people at the center of the incident sat face to face.
* * *
Namgung Sohwa.
A martial artist stronger than anyone, a capable adjutant who commanded the fierce Demon Slaying Unit without relying solely on martial prowess.
One of the four captains who steadily supported the Demon Slaying Unit and Dokgo Myeong.
Only after she awoke from days of unconsciousness could Dokgo Myeong finally have a proper conversation with her.
“Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Namgung Sohwa. I’m probably the last remaining direct bloodline of the Namgung Clan.”
Her complexion was still pale from unhealed internal injuries. Yet she offered a gentle bow with a more composed expression.
Geum Seok-du stepped forward before her.
“I am a man of confidence, the right hand of the young lord, and the first member of the Musa Corps—Geum Seok-du. Pleased to meet you.”
“Huh? Oh, yes. Pleased to meet you too.”
Geum Seok-du spoke while performing a respectful fist salute.
Dokgo Myeong lightly smacked the back of his head.
Crack!
“Ow! Why are you doing that again!”
“You bastard. I hadn’t even spoken yet and you introduce yourself first?”
“Well, it could be like that….”
“Yeah, that’s right. What does it matter who introduces themselves first?”
Then Dokgo Ak interjected.
“What’s wrong with this guy?”
Whether Dokgo Myeong glared at him or not, Dokgo Ak opened his mouth with the gentlest smile in the world.
“Miss, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Dokgo Ak. I’m the younger cousin of Lord Dokgo Myeong here. My father is the third son of the family head….”
Whoosh!
“Gack!”
Dokgo Myeong twisted Dokgo Ak’s jaw without the slightest hesitation, channeling his inner energy into the blow.
“Ugh, you crazy bastard! I was just greeting her and you had to use your martial power…!”
“Just a greeting? Want another hit?”
“Uh, ah, n-no, that’s fine… Ack!”
Smack!
Dokgo Ak took another blow and tumbled across the floor.
‘Damn it, if you’re going to hit me anyway, why ask?!’
But if he said that, he’d probably get hit again.
Dokgo Ak staggered to his feet.
Then.
Drip, drip!
Blood began flowing from Dokgo Ak’s nose.
As he wiped his nose, Dokgo Ak’s eyes widened.
“Blood, blood! My nose is bleeding!”
“Damn it! That’s just how younger brothers live—getting beaten by their older brothers, nosebleeds and all! Where do you get off raising your voice?”
“That’s nonsense!”
“You keep naturally forgetting something, don’t you?”
Dokgo Ak was about to shout in indignation.
But then he caught sight of the prominent blue veins bulging on Dokgo Myeong’s hand and lowered his head.
“…I, I’m sorry. Brother.”
“Good. Now go make some honey water, you brat.”
“….”
With his nose pinched, Dokgo Ak quietly opened the door and left, his sorrowful sniffling echoing faintly.
Namgung Sohwa, who had been watching the entire spectacle in a daze, let out a soft laugh.
“What was that? You’re more considerate than I expected?”
“What?”
“Weren’t you trying to cheer him up because he seemed depressed?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Pardon?”
Geum Seok-du shook his head firmly.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding, but our young master is simply like this. Regardless of gender, age, or status, if he meets a Buddha he’ll beat the Buddha, and if he meets an immortal he’ll beat the immortal.”
Silence fell.
During that brief silence, Namgung Sohwa wondered if perhaps she had formed a bond with the wrong kind of people.
Dokgo Myeong chuckled and spoke.
“How’s your body?”
“…It’s better than it looks.”
“It should be. Someone took care of you.”
Namgung Sohwa hesitated.
“Could it have been you?”
“What?”
“At night when I was sleeping… someone was adjusting my vital energy periodically….”
It had been a hazy memory, something she wasn’t quite sure about.
Dokgo Myeong nodded.
“What’s so difficult about that?”
“Well….”
Of course it was difficult. How could it possibly be easy?
Correcting another person’s vital energy—especially that of someone with severe internal injuries and no consciousness—was extraordinarily difficult work.
‘Even the greatest masters have their limits….’
And it wasn’t just once or twice. Every time I felt that sensation of my organs being pricked by needles, he immediately corrected my internal injuries as if he’d known it was coming.
‘Just how profound is my understanding of martial energy?’
Namgung Sohwa let out a hollow laugh as her thoughts naturally drifted toward martial arts.
I had already witnessed Dokgo Myeong’s greatness firsthand. It felt foolish to marvel at it anew.
Right now, there was something more important I needed to say first.
“I am deeply indebted to you. I am truly grateful. I will repay this debt with my entire life.”
“Of course you should repay it. You should repay it again and again. You saved my life, avenged my clan’s enemies, and because of that, I’ve ended up on the death list of one of the Four Great Families.”
“…Is that how you’re going to make a show of it?”
“You have to make a show of it so people know to be grateful.”
Namgung Sohwa chuckled.
“I should repay it. Not just for myself, but I also express my gratitude on behalf of the Namgung Clan.”
“But you’re not a clan anymore, are you? It’s completely collapsed, so what clan are we talking about?”
“….”
“….”
Silence fell over the chamber for a moment.
“Wow, you really….”
Geum Seok-du shot Dokgo Myeong a look.
Dokgo Myeong spoke without shame.
“What, what is it?”
“Well, you’re not wrong. Everything’s been destroyed down to the roots, so what clan is there to speak of?”
Namgung Sohwa shrugged her shoulders and spoke.
At her casual remark, Dokgo Myeong let out a soft laugh.
“You’re starting to show your old self again.”
“What? My old self?”
“I misspoke. Forget it.”
Namgung Sohwa tilted her head in confusion.
Dokgo Myeong changed the subject with a gentle voice.
“Then shall we hear your story?”
“What story?”
“The story of how you’ve lived.”
Namgung Sohwa hesitated.
“It’s an ordinary story. There’s not much to it, really.”
Namgung Sohwa spoke in a detached tone.
But her voice trembled faintly at the end.
How much time had she needed before she could speak of her own circumstances so matter-of-factly?
“Have you ever told anyone else this ordinary tale?”
“Pardon?”
“If you haven’t, then take this opportunity to speak it aloud. Not for my sake, but for your own.”
In most cases, silence held more value than a hundred words. Yet Dokgo Myeong understood all too well that certain stories, when deliberately swallowed and left unspoken, became poison that wounded the soul itself.
Namgung Sohwa’s story was precisely such a thing. No one could hear her words, and she could not speak them—so perhaps it was only natural.
Namgung Sohwa’s eyes widened in surprise as she spoke.
“I thought you prowled about like some fearsome tiger, but now I see you’re quite the cunning fox.”
“I do have a talent for enchanting people.”
Geum Seok-du muttered under his breath.
“Well, you’re more of a dog than a cat, really. A vicious one at that…”
“Seok-du.”
“Yes?”
“I can hear you. You’re calling me a son of a bitch right now, aren’t you?”
“….”
“You think keeping your mouth shut will save you? You’re dead during training today.”
Namgung Sohwa watched the bickering Dokgo Myeong and Geum Seok-du with a faint smile.
‘A story of how I’ve lived… now that I think about it, I’ve never told anyone this before.’
Since fleeing the Moyong Family in childhood, she had never opened her heart to anyone in conversation.
“I’m not much of a storyteller, I’m afraid.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be a good listener for you.”
“Well then.”
Namgung Sohwa laughed softly as if surrendering, then began her tale hesitantly.
She spoke of everything that had happened, laying it out in sequence.
A clan destroyed, the few remaining retainers and family, assassins who came seeking her, abduction and escape, and the hardships that followed.
It was a long story. A person’s entire life. It could not be brief.
As she spoke, a realization came to her.
‘Yes, this is how I’ve lived.’
She continued to pour out her story.
It was less like speaking and more like vomiting forth words. Once her lips opened, the words cascaded out effortlessly.
As she continued, many forgotten things surfaced in her memory.
Her father wielding his blade day and night, her sickly mother, siblings she often quarreled with, kind-hearted retainers.
The calamity that consumed them, death, abduction, flight.
Then Dokgo Myeong spoke.
“When did the Moyong Family first target you?”
“It wasn’t so long ago. Five or six years? I’m not certain. Those were times when I had no leisure to count the days.”
“So it’s certain that the recent events weren’t the beginning.”
“That’s correct.”
“….”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes flashed with sudden clarity.
‘This is happening far too soon.’
At first, I thought Namgung Sohwa’s circumstances had changed because of my existence.
But that wasn’t it.
‘If it’s not just because of me, then what on earth is the reason?’
Whoooosh!
My sensory meridians were responding.
The same ominous premonition I’d felt even at the Nine Flower Blood Shrine rang alarm bells in my mind.
“Well, that’s the end of it. Now that I’ve said it all, it turned out much longer than I expected.”
Namgung Sohwa ended her words calmly, offering a bitter smile without shedding a single tear.
Rather, it was someone else who shed tears, not Namgung Sohwa.
“Oh my… truly, you’ve endured so much. My own story doesn’t even compare. *Sniff!*”
“As expected, those Four Great Families are pathetic. The level of the Moyong Family, supposedly the finest of the Four Great Families… *Tsk!*”
Geum Seok-du’s tears had already burst forth, and Dokgo Ak, who had brought in the honey water a moment ago and handed it to Namgung Sohwa, tried to hide his choked throat with a forced cough.
Dokgo Myeong let out a soft chuckle watching them.
Then he turned his gaze back to Namgung Sohwa.
“How is it?”
“Pardon?”
“Your breathing.”
“Why are you suddenly asking about my breathing?”
Namgung Sohwa paused mid-sentence.
“Huh?”
She tilted her head, taking several deep breaths in and out, when her eyes widened in surprise.
‘My breathing really has become easier.’
Dokgo Myeong nodded and spoke.
“Then let me ask you something now.”
“Yes?”
“What do you want to do from now on?”
“….”
Namgung Sohwa’s expression visibly darkened.
“I want to become a martial artist.”
Namgung Sohwa wanted to become a martial artist.
One whose body and spirit were both strong and unyielding.
And through her own hands, she wanted to restore the clan that was said to be as bright and righteous as a clear sky.
“I will rebuild the family and restore our martial arts. And before that….”
Namgung Sohwa’s eyes turned cold for a moment.
“I must take revenge first.”
“You’re not giving up now?”
“Didn’t you say you’d help me?”
“What?”
A subtle warmth mixed into Namgung Sohwa’s eyes that had been frozen cold.
Now she could smile without a shadow crossing her face.
“I want to become the greatest swordmaster under heaven.”
“What?”
“And I’ll rebuild the Namgung Clan as well.”
Namgung Sohwa gazed directly at Dokgo Myeong.
“Those are the things I abandoned. You said you’d help me reclaim them, so please—help me become capable of that.”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes widened as he looked at her.
It was different from when she faced Geum Seok-du.
Having cast off the demon mark, she neither retreated nor turned away. She simply advanced with stubborn, unwavering resolve.
“Good. Since I promised, I’ll help you.”
“Then tell me—what should I do for you, my lord?”
“I already told you. Give me your sword.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll help you, so you must also help me as a blade.”
“…!”
“You might even think being hunted by the Moyong Family was easier. I will urge you to fight more fiercely than anyone else, and I will drive you mercilessly into the jaws of death.”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed.
“Will you still follow me?”
Namgung Sohwa paused for a moment, then her lips curved into a smile.
“You spent days and days trying so hard to win me over, and now you’re trying to scare me?”
“It’s meaningless if you do it because I command it.”
“What?”
“That’s what it takes to become my person.”
Namgung Sohwa’s expression grew peculiar.
She had continued to sense that he was different, but Dokgo Myeong seemed far more unusual than she had imagined.
Namgung Sohwa collected herself and asked.
“Will you act against righteousness and justice?”
“Not against the justice I have defined.”
“Will you oppress the weak and sacrifice others?”
“If necessary.”
“Are you simply incapable of lying?”
“Lying is what I do best in this world.”
“Then was what you just said a lie?”
“What do you think?”
At Dokgo Myeong’s words, Namgung Sohwa let out a soft laugh.
“Is that all?”
“What?”
“Your attempt to frighten me.”
Dokgo Myeong smiled.
“I don’t think there’s anything more.”
“You don’t need my answer, do you?”
“Even so, isn’t a spoken answer important for something like this?”
“I’ve already given Sohwa an answer far weightier than words.”
Namgung Sohwa gazed at her sword resting in the chamber.
Upon the Martial Arts Arena, she had handed her blade to Dokgo Myeong. That gesture itself was her pledge and her answer.
“Hahaha!”
Only then did Dokgo Myeong break into a radiant smile.
He extended his hand with a face brimming with laughter.
“I look forward to working with you.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
Namgung Sohwa grasped that hand firmly.
In that instant, she was taken aback.
‘It’s like touching ancient wood.’
The sensation was not of human skin but of tree bark—calluses layered upon calluses across every knuckle, making his palm rough and hard as stone.
A martial artist’s dedication can always be read in their hands.
Namgung Sohwa looked down at her own still-soft hands.
Then, as if seized by resolve, she lifted her gaze and spoke.
“May I ask you one thing?”
“By all means.”
Namgung Sohwa drew a shallow breath and fixed her eyes upon Dokgo Myeong.
“How do you know the Namgung Clan’s sword techniques?”

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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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