Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 165

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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 165
Ye-hwa took in every sight before her eyes.
Cheolmu-baek was relentless, Dokgo Ak showed no hesitation, and Namgung Sohwa was resolute.
The greatness of martial prowess was not surprising. Both her father and Dokgo Myeong had said such things were nothing remarkable.
What astonished her was that they remained unmoved, like trees deeply rooted in the earth.
‘Yet here I am, having learned the assassin’s craft, and I have no idea what I should do.’
And they had taken their stand in this place for her sake, despite that.
She, the one directly involved, could not fathom what she should do. Having lived her entire life following orders, she found it difficult to judge for herself.
So now she wondered.
Why were they so resolute?
It was not their affair, yet why did they step forward first and willingly take on the burden of assassination?
‘In the end, it is the taking of human life.’
Even assassins possessed life. They were people, even if what was done could not be undone.
Yet Dokgo Myeong and his companions showed no hesitation in cutting them down.
‘Is that what it means to be a master of Gangho?’
According to Dokgo Myeong’s words.
They kill because they deserve to be killed. Killing is right, and they do it because they wish to. That is the nature of Gangho, he had said.
According to Namgung Sohwa’s words.
One’s own choice matters more than what the world deems right or wrong. Once you choose, you do not look back. If you err, you bear the responsibility for it.
Then what happens if one cannot bear that responsibility?
“Top Assassin. Buy us time. A board will be set soon.”
“Yes.”
That is what happens.
They did not even know what they were doing. They seemed like people who simply acted because it had to be done.
‘I do not wish to become like them.’
It was the first desire to bloom in Ye-hwa’s heart.
Her gaze shifted to Dokgo Myeong and his companions.
‘I wish to become like them.’
Then it happened.
Ye-hwa’s eyes gleamed.
“Huh?”
There was a change in the battlefield.
A single swordsman stepped forward.
The upright and beautiful warrior who had spoken of never regretting her choices was advancing to the fore.
‘That is…?’
* * *
Even knowing she should not let her attention waver during combat, Namgung Sohwa could not help but be distracted.
The Nameless Sword Art and the Unbound Heavenly Sword Art that Dokgo Myeong had taught her continued to cloud her mind.
‘If the Unbound Heavenly Sword Art is a sword for enlightenment, then the Nameless Sword Art is merely a sword for actual combat.’
The Nameless Sword Art was the sword of the battlefield.
It was an exceptionally aggressive swordsmanship designed for real combat against multiple opponents—utterly different from the orthodox Cheonggung Boundless Sword technique.
What fascinated me was that despite this difference, both sword techniques seemed to share the same ultimate goal.
Until now, I hadn’t understood why, but now I was beginning to grasp it dimly.
‘Both the Cheonggung Boundless Sword and this nameless sword technique are blades meant to dominate space.’
Thwick!
In that instant, an arrow grazed my shoulder blade and embedded itself in the ground.
My concentration on the battle was beginning to slip.
Could I have fallen under a curse technique?
I shook my head. That wasn’t the feeling at all. My consciousness was simply sinking deeper into itself, as though I were falling into a profound slumber.
Clatter!
It felt as though something inside me was stacking up brick by brick, yet simultaneously crumbling in an instant.
My movements grew progressively slower.
“Snap out of it! The arrows are—gasp!”
Dokgo Ak was saying something, but I couldn’t hear him clearly.
‘That’s right, this isn’t the time for this. I need to focus.’
I forcibly pushed back the flood of inspiration pressing into my mind. The thought that not only my own life but my companions’ lives were in danger drove me forward.
But then, Dokgo Myeong’s face suddenly appeared before my eyes.
His lips moved silently.
“Give it a try.”
I read those words from the shape of his mouth.
I nodded silently and focused on my blade.
Soon, the sensation of gripping the sword vanished. It felt as though I were swinging my hand itself, not a blade.
Next, sound receded into the distance. Now I had fallen into complete darkness.
Finally, color disappeared. Everything in my vision turned pitch black.
“Ah….”
I let out an involuntary gasp. Yet I could not hear that sound myself.
Everything surrounding me was impossibly rough, vast, and dark.
So boundlessly expansive that it felt infinitely distant. I truly grasped that space had no end. Was this what boundlessness meant?
Standing before this infinite expanse, I could not discern which way to advance or how.
Yet simultaneously, I realized that this space possessed a center.
Myself.
This boundless space unfolded with me at its core.
And the Namgung blade was a sword aimed at dominating this space.
Whoooosh!
My vital energy erupted.
The formidable qi wave of the Divine Technique Cheonggung Great Flame Heart Method spread across the battlefield.
Everyone in the fierce combat unconsciously whipped their heads around to gaze at me.
“…!”
“…?”
The assassins hesitated.
What is this?
All the space surrounding Namgung Sohwa seemed to lie beneath the dominion of her single blade.
‘Where should I aim?’
No matter where they targeted, the only outcome visible was being blocked or cut down.
The assassins hesitated as if shackles had been fastened to their limbs.
Screeeee!
In that instant, Namgung Sohwa’s blade extended with deliberate slowness.
The assassins immediately swung their respective weapons to intercept the blade.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Five assassins lost their balance in a single strike and were swept away.
How could such power emanate from those slender limbs?
Namgung Sohwa stood firm as if rooted to the earth, unmoved.
She held her blade horizontal without trembling, then swung it in one fluid motion.
Screeeee!
A strike that cleaved heaven and earth asunder.
A single moment containing the infinity of space itself.
The Azure Heaven Boundless Sword Technique, or the Nameless Sword Method.
First Form: Azure Heaven Infinite.
Namgung Sohwa shattered the wall.
It was the blade of a supreme swordmaster.
Boom!
The assassins fell without offering even a moment of resistance, far too easily.
Dokgo Myeong cried out in admiration.
“Finally, you’ve grasped it!”
That was Namgung Sohwa’s sword technique.
A heavy sword that dominated all directions—the Weighty Blade.
It was not called weighty because of its mass. This single form was weighty because it guarded the center of space without wavering, unmoved by anything.
“Haaa….”
Focus returned to Namgung Sohwa’s eyes.
She gazed at Dokgo Myeong, breathing heavily.
“Is that… enough?”
“You would know better than I.”
“Yes. It feels like it’s done.”
She had restored the first form of the Azure Heaven Boundless Sword and grasped the true nature of the Nameless Sword Method.
Thus Namgung Sohwa ascended to the pinnacle realm.
“Then I leave this place to you now.”
“Pardon?”
“We must stop dragging this out and end it.”
* * *
A repetition of what came before.
Dokgo Myeong pushed off the ground and appeared before them.
“No…!”
Gok-ju’s eyes widened in shock.
Dokgo Myeong immediately aimed for Gok-ju’s throat.
“Stop!”
In that instant, a threatening aura suddenly erupted from behind.
It was the Top Assassin.
He raised his crossbow and fired three arrows in rapid succession at Dokgo Myeong’s flank.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Dokgo Myeong slid backward using Cheonryu Yubo and shifted his target toward the Top Assassin.
Whoosh!
“…!”
As the distance closed, the Top Assassin abandoned drawing the string. Instead, he twisted the bow in his hand like a blade and brought it down like an axe.
‘His reflexes are sharp. A master trained quite well. But…’
I had not neglected my training to the point of losing to a slave without will.
Bang!
I planted a palm strike that disrupted the Top Assassin’s footwork.
The Top Assassin wavered.
“Does a mere assassin dare engage in one-on-one combat?”
Crack! Snap!
Dokgo Myeong grasped the bow and twisted it skillfully.
The bow couldn’t endure even an instant and shattered completely.
Just as I raised my hand blade toward the panicked Top Assassin.
“Not so fast!”
Clang!
Gok-ju unleashed his internal force and struck at my abdomen.
Boom! Crash!
The internal power cultivated through esoteric temple techniques was indeed formidable.
The Top Assassin immediately followed with a combined strike.
The dual palms of both men erupted directly before me.
Boom! Ugh!
I was driven backward, scraping the ground.
Then I suddenly charged toward Gok-ju.
“…!”
The Top Assassin hastily stepped before Gok-ju. A slave’s dutiful response—exactly what I had anticipated.
Crash! Thud!
I struck my dual palms against the Top Assassin’s hands and interlocked my fingers to seal both his arms.
Once caught, what else mattered?
Jecheon Gi.
Crack!
The Top Assassin’s eyes widened in shock.
“Not even a scream—how fitting for an assassin.”
“…!”
Dokgo Myeong simply raised his foot.
Boom! Bang!
A sharp explosive sound erupted, and the Top Assassin’s jaw snapped upward, never to return.
No one survived a broken neck.
Whoosh!
Dokgo Myeong shoved the Top Assassin aside and immediately extended a single palm strike.
Gok-ju, seeing Dokgo Myeong materialize before him, spoke with resignation.
“I made a mistake.”
Crash!
Struck by the palm, Gok-ju flew behind the building in a tumbling arc.
Yet Dokgo Myeong’s brow furrowed.
‘Did he take that intentionally?’
Accounting for the injury, he used the impact’s momentum to leap backward.
Sure enough, Gok-ju was already ascending with supreme lightness technique.
“Wow, running away again? You’re really something….”
Gok-ju shouted as he moved.
“Does this look like running to you?”
“What?”
“I am no martial artist—I am an assassin. I simply fight as assassins do.”
Where the figure had landed.
It was the very center of the battlefield where Dokgo Myeong’s companions clashed with the Milmilgok assassins.
Yet Gok-ju did not look there at all, instead calling out toward somewhere else entirely.
“Come forth. It is time for the patrons to take the stage.”
From behind Gok-ju, people in various different garments emerged.
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes narrowed.
‘No inner strength. Ordinary people.’
Gok-ju called out once more.
“Come now, young monks—step forward as well.”
This time, shaven-headed children poured out with vacant eyes.
Those called patrons glanced about nervously, while the novice monks stared blankly ahead.
Gok-ju’s words continued.
“You seem to have keen eyes for seeing through the essence of matters—so answer me this. Who do you think these patrons are?”
Patrons are those who offer material support to monks.
And to maintain such an organization, many hands are required.
If assassins are busy with training, then what sort of people would the patrons be?
“You’ve caught on, I see. Then who are the novice monks?”
At those words, it was not Dokgo Myeong but Ye-hwa whose complexion darkened most.
Ye-hwa’s arms trembled slightly, a rare crack in her usual composure.
‘Those children… they were me.’
The novice monks were reflections of her past self.
Subjected to brainwashing that tormented both body and spirit, their intellect systematically destroyed, their upper dantian forcibly opened to transform them into assassins. These children stood at that very threshold.
“What are you doing?”
“Stop.”
Gok-ju halted Dokgo Myeong as he moved forward.
“Don’t move, don’t speak. You must remain still until they blend in among the assassins. Otherwise, I’ll have them all killed.”
“What?”
Gok-ju released a chilling laugh.
“You seem like a righteous hero. And there’s a rule about heroes—you cannot meet them with force alone. They grow stronger and more resolute by overcoming it. So what must one do?”
“….”
“An assassin does this: attack their humanity. They can endure the sacrifice of loved ones, but they cannot bear the sacrifice of the innocent.”
Suddenly, the phrase “cannot bear” stretched out unnaturally long.
Whoooooosh….
Smoke erupted from all directions once more.
Sorcery again. Simultaneously, a piercing whistle shrieked through the air.
“Can you truly distinguish between assassins, innocent novice monks, and patrons within this fog and fight accordingly? Ah, how troublesome. Will you instead use that overwhelming martial prowess and Buddhist dharma to target me?”
Gok-ju shook his head slowly.
“What a predicament. If I die, the assassins will target the patrons and novice monks. I’ve already given them those orders.”
Gok-ju looked at Dokgo Myeong.
“Dokgo Myeong. Why won’t you speak? This is how assassins fight. Do I still seem like a slave to you?”
Gok-ju chuckled.
“Silent, are you? You’ve obtained the astonishing martial arts of heaven and earth, yet things don’t unfold as you wish? Let me make you a proposal. Cut off just one arm yourself. Then I’ll withdraw my forces and fight you fairly.”
Gok-ju continued muttering like a malevolent spirit tormenting a monk’s soul.
After a moment of silence, Dokgo Myeong’s lips finally parted.
“Tch. This won’t do. You really are something else.”
Dokgo Myeong clenched and unclenched his fists.
“You need a thorough beating. A proper one. Then you can die.”
“What?”
“And you, fool. You should have demanded a leg instead of an arm. Do you think I can’t catch you with just one arm? Do I look that easy to you?”
“If you touch me, all of them will….”
“Silence.”
Dokgo Myeong cut him off sharply, his aura turning razor-keen.
“From this moment on, I will kill you, kill your assassins, and save every innocent person. Why? Because I want to. And because I can.”
“Your arrogance knows no bounds.”
“It’s not arrogance—it’s certainty. I can do this. I am Dokgo Myeong.”
The instant Dokgo Myeong moved.
The change did not originate from Dokgo Myeong.
As if heaven itself had grown wrathful, a single white line descended from the sky, bisecting the battlefield.
Boom!
Mist erupted from the point where the line had been drawn. Following it, the formation itself was torn to shreds.
“Impossible?”
“Baek? I thought she couldn’t generate anything?”
Both Dokgo Myeong and Gok-ju spun around in shock.
Creak-creak-creak!
There stood Ye-hwa, her arm muscles bulging as she drew back the bowstring with all her might.
Ye-hwa’s lips parted.
“Now… I understand what I truly wish to do.”
Ye-hwa’s voice resonated low and resolute.
‘This place was never where I would die, nor where I would return. Now I see it. I came here to make a choice.’
She lowered the bow’s aim from the heavens to a point below.
Gok-ju’s eyes widened in horror.
Twang! Screeeeeech!
The bowstring snapped forward.
The arrow that had been distant an instant before materialized before Gok-ju’s brow.
Gok-ju desperately thrust a palm forward.
Crash! Shrieeek!
Gok-ju’s eyes flew wide open.
He had barely prevented it from piercing his brow, but both his hands were now transfixed by the arrow, as if skewered on a spit.
Then, Ye-hwa spoke with a resolve in her voice that he had never heard before.
“Ensuring that people like me never exist. Ensuring that creatures like you vanish from this world. That is my purpose in this realm.”
Dokgo Myeong grinned wickedly and spoke.
“Then do it.”
Gok-ju desperately kicked off the ground.
Almost simultaneously, his eyes widened.
As he launched skyward to wrench the arrow from his pierced hands, his entire body suddenly lurched downward and crashed to the earth.
Crash!
“Did you think I’d let you escape?”
Dokgo Myeong had caught Gok-ju’s fleeing feet and driven him into the ground.
Dokgo Myeong seized Gok-ju by the nape of his neck and thrust him forward.
“No…!”
Boom! Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
A rain of arrows descended upon Gok-ju’s body.
There was no one in this world who could escape the rain.

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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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