Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 210

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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 210
A gathering of those who could be called Dokgo Myeong’s closest associates.
While they weren’t meeting for the first time, the atmosphere felt somewhat awkward.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Cheolmu-baek, from the steppes.”
“Ah… didn’t we greet each other before?”
“Mm.”
“Pardon?”
“….”
The taciturn Cheolmu-baek and the bald man struggling with him—no, Son Tae-im.
“Y-Young Master. P-pleased to meet you.”
“Ah, yes. Right, Jang the servant….”
Dokgo Ak, the superior of the family he served, and Jang Sam, a servant for whom sitting at the same table was entirely out of the question by propriety.
It was a complete mess.
Children might become friends at first sight, but these were adults, each with their own dignity and circumstances.
Just as a creaking mechanism needed oil, adult friendships required a catalyst.
Though truthfully, that catalyst didn’t need to be anything grand. A few bottles of alcohol and complaints about superiors were sufficient.
“It was shameful. To receive instruction alongside those weaker than myself, alongside mere children….”
“That must have been difficult, Captain Cheol.”
“The real problem was that all those children were superior to me in fundamentals.”
“Hah! I understand! Every time I’m tormented worse than a trained dog…!”
Cheolmu-baek and Son Tae-im quickly became close.
“Uncle Dokgo Wi-hak’s refined demeanor was all an act! He’s nothing but a demon! This bastard Dokgo Myeong never listens to my opinions and does whatever he pleases…!”
“When has Young Master ever listened to anyone else’s opinions? Here, have another drink.”
“Thank you, Jang. Forget how I was in the old days. I was foolish back then.”
“Yes, yes. You were quite foolish indeed.”
“Eh? What did you say?”
Jang Sam and Dokgo Ak also quickly became close.
“Why did you have to break the door! Because of that, I’ve been facing resentment since the first day…! And what do you think he said? During rest periods, I’m to manufacture the antidote elixir I detoxified before!”
“I-I only ran away from that buffalo-like woman who bursts into wild laughter. All day long, all… day….”
“My sword was taken from me.”
Geum Seok-du, Ye-hwa, and Namgung Sohwa all joined in lamenting their circumstances.
Once the floodgates opened, everyone chattered away freely.
“Pour it! Drink it!”
Someone shouted thus, and the bottles emptied at a rapid pace.
Son Tae-im and Jang Sam shook their heads.
“At this point, wouldn’t you say this is a support group for Young Master’s victims?”
“You can say that again.”
Everyone looked in terrible condition.
They say that difficult tasks become the foundation for growth.
In that sense, Dokgo Myeong had done well, but in just one day, everyone appeared utterly broken.
At that moment, Namgung Sohwa suddenly asked a question.
“You two seem quite close. I suppose you’ve had gatherings like this often?”
Jang Sam shook his head vigorously.
“We became sworn brothers with Geum here. We’ve had drinking gatherings from time to time.”
“Sworn brothers?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, so we’ve intruded on your private gathering…”
“No, not at all. Shouldn’t we have occasions like this? I heard everyone will be busy from now on, so I arranged this gathering so you could all relax and ease your fatigue beforehand.”
“Thank you for inviting us.”
“It’s our honor.”
From that point on, Namgung Sohwa also began to drink freely, her guard lowered.
Dokgo Myeong’s retinue quickly became united in spirit.
And before long, the gathering descended into chaos.
“Argh! We’re all going to die tomorrow anyway! Let’s just drink ourselves to death!”
“That’s right… tomorrow and all that suffering again… ugh!”
Amid the sounds of lamentation mixed with drunken rambling, Namgung Sohwa murmured in a voice tinged with intoxication.
“I’m not even sure if I’m being helpful. It seems like Young Master Myeong was just trying to comfort me…”
At her complaint, Jang Sam shook his head.
“Would the Young Master comfort someone needlessly?”
“Hmm… well, I suppose that’s true.”
“He teases those he would tease. If he said such things, it came from his heart.”
Namgung Sohwa nodded and then let out a deep sigh.
Son Tae-im, the eldest present at the gathering, suddenly interjected.
“I envy you, Miss Namgung, and all of you officers.”
It was Son Tae-im’s true feelings. He continued with a lonely expression.
“Aren’t you all the Young Master’s arms and legs, his mind and heart, his eyes and ears? I’m merely his pocket. Just a pocket…”
Jang Sam shook his head.
“Then what am I, hyung? I merely open doors for the Young Master.”
Namgung Sohwa also spoke gently with a smile.
“Overseer Son, you’re not a pocket—you’re a tree to lean upon.”
Son Tae-im looked at her with a moved expression.
“Miss Namgung speaks as beautifully as your appearance is fair.”
“It’s not flattery—it’s sincere.”
“Yes, and the heart that can speak such things so naturally is beautiful as well.”
Son Tae-im, who had been laughing, suddenly cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem! What I mean is… you all advance together with the Young Master.”
He glanced around the gathering.
“I can only help from behind. But that is my role, and I have no intention of losing it. Nor do I have any complaints about it.”
“…”
“In the end, because I maintain the foundation, you all can flourish… ah, I’ve become drunk and rambled, but what I mean is…”
It was a somewhat abrupt remark, yet one that carried the pride of a man named Son Tae-im.
“No, I understand what you’re saying.”
Namgung Sohwa gazed around with vacant eyes.
Each person was laying bare their inner thoughts. They were all similar yet different, different yet similar.
When I thought about it, everyone had their own life. I had believed we were all branches of the great tree called Dokgo Myeong, but in truth, each of us was a tree rooted in our own given soil, growing independently.
“Ah…!”
In that moment, she grasped something and let out a soft exclamation.
Yet she did not rise from her seat to organize her revelation. She spoke instead.
“Could I have some more wine?”
“Of course.”
“Please speak freely. You’re the elder here.”
“Then I shall.”
The night deepened.
She had forgotten, if only for a moment, thoughts of revenge, urgency, and even the sword.
The empty expanse of her heart was now filled with the people gathered here.
Could this be the fence that Dokgo Myeong spoke of?
That was when it happened.
Remarkably, the blade of her heart, which should have grown dull, seemed to sharpen and keen with greater clarity.
And somehow, she sensed that the others felt something similar.
The boisterous, chaotic drinking gathering now felt more at ease.
* * *
A few days later.
Namgung Sohwa called upon Dokgo Myeong and spoke.
“Is the focal point placed outward?”
“Be more precise.”
She rose from her seat and drew her sword.
Whoosh! Whirr!
Standing in place, she swung her blade through empty air.
“If this is the Boundless Void Sword…”
Slash! Thrust!
A sharper, more forceful sword line cut through the void.
“Then this is the Nameless Sword.”
She gazed at Dokgo Myeong with eyes gleaming brightly.
Dokgo Myeong met her gaze blankly before speaking.
“Say it aloud. An insight you cannot explain to another cannot truly be called your own understanding.”
Namgung Sohwa fell silent for a moment, choosing her words carefully, then spoke with composure.
“So… I concentrate not on myself, but on what lies beyond.”
“What do you mean?”
“No matter where I advance, I can make that place my center.”
The Boundless Void Sword technique concentrated more on the center.
It was about settling in with weight and exerting influence on the surroundings.
“The Nameless Sword Technique focuses on space itself. You bring every direction the blade touches under your will.”
“….”
“Dominating space. That is the essence of the Nameless Sword Technique.”
Namgung Sohwa’s eyes grew hazy as if intoxicated.
It seemed as though some profound insight was pressing down upon her.
Dokgo Myeong broke into a wide smile.
“So what should you do now?”
“Train?”
“Correct.”
“Can I do it alone?”
“You must do it alone. Even those trial-and-errors will become nourishment for you.”
Namgung Sohwa nodded.
Dokgo Myeong returned the sword he had confiscated to her.
“Grow stronger, Namgung Sohwa!”
“Just trust in me.”
Namgung Sohwa drew her sword with a faint smile.
* * *
Dokgo Myeong headed somewhere with quick strides.
“Overseer Wi! I need to ask you for a favor!”
“….”
Wi Baek regarded the uninvited visitor with a face as expressionless as a mask.
“What brings you to visit me?”
He set down the reading aid he had been holding on his nose onto the desk as he spoke.
“What are you using?”
“A device that helps me see small letters more clearly.”
“You seem to be getting on in years.”
“Since I have much work to do, I would appreciate it if you would get to the point.”
At Wi Baek’s words, which seemed to carry a cold wind, Dokgo Myeong smiled faintly and spoke.
“I collected a debt from Sect Leader Cheon I-gak, but thinking about it, I realized I also have something to collect from you, Overseer.”
Wi Baek nodded.
“You mean the favor I granted you back then, which you have now fulfilled.”
“It was surely under the Sect Leader’s orders, but surely you won’t pretend you know nothing of such a reason.”
“Of course not. Do you need a separate chamber?”
Dokgo Myeong was momentarily taken aback.
“Pardon?”
“I understand you are preparing to increase personnel. In that case, the Sa Heon-gak would surely be insufficient. I believe you will need a chamber dedicated exclusively to the Martial Corps.”
“As expected of the one called the Sect Leader’s right hand. You saw right through it.”
A slight chill ran down his spine, but he soon understood.
This man had spent a lifetime carrying out the will of that difficult Sect Leader. It would be stranger if he were easy to fool.
“I shall provide an empty hall within our clan. Training weapons and a practice ground will be completed within the near future. Additionally, there will be various administrative matters to handle….”
Dokgo Myeong spoke to Wi Baek, who was looking at me while drawing out his words.
“Among those we’re recruiting, there are some with capable minds. If you could lend us just one person to teach them the work….”
“Very well.”
“Additionally, I would request medicinal herbs that our faction currently possesses. For those we don’t have, I hope you could procure them separately.”
“I must know the purpose of the medicinal herbs.”
“Why is that necessary?”
“Depending on their use, they could become poison. Records must be kept.”
A thorough and meticulous gentleman.
Dokgo Myeong nodded.
“It’s for manufacturing elixirs. Once completed, I shall present one pill to our faction.”
“Very well.”
Wi Baek picked up his brush again, swiftly wrote several documents in one fluid motion, and silently handed them to a faction member nearby.
‘Is it really this easy?’
It was somewhat bewildering.
My coming here was ostensibly to collect on a debt, but it was really just an excuse. Moreover, given that we were entering full wartime operations, I had expected more back-and-forth negotiation….
“It was the Sect Leader’s instruction.”
Wi Baek spoke as if he could read minds.
“He said that if the Chamma Corps requires anything, grant it all as long as it doesn’t cross the line.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He anticipated that you would come to me like this and make various requests. He called it a gift.”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes widened.
As if moved by emotion, his mouth slowly opened.
“Well, you should have told me that from the start!”
“…?”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed as he fumbled to pull something from his breast.
“…What is that?”
It was paper.
When he unrolled it, its length was nearly equal to Dokgo Myeong’s height.
“Ah, perfect! I thought it might be too much, so I only mentioned a few of the larger items. But you said you’d grant them all!”
“….”
“Here, take this. Let me explain from here… Oh, this too. This part is really important….”
Even Wi Baek hadn’t anticipated this.
He lifted the brush with his index and middle fingers, pressing his brow firmly.
* * *
Time passed swiftly.
“Your categorization is wrong. Aren’t you paying attention?”
“Y-yes!”
“After this, it’s basic training. Collective education for Class B informants.”
“I, I’ve been awake for two nights straight….”
“If I pass through quickly, I should be able to manage it.”
“Ugh!”
Geum Seok-du rolled through his training at Cheon I-gak, absorbing all manner of knowledge and practical skills.
“Just an inch to the side—utilize the flexibility of your joints!”
Crack!
“I told you Hwa-gyeong isn’t about striking! Go back and start from the horse stance again!”
“Hngh!”
“…Is even a master of the pinnacle really that impressive?”
Cheolmu-baek continued his training under the relentless pressure of the Instructors and the peculiar gazes of the Young Masters in the basic class.
Whoosh!
“Huh, huff! W-wait, just a moment!”
“Hahahaha! Where is there a moment? Come here, you adorable little thing. Why aren’t you coming? This older sister will shower you with affection!”
“…!”
Ye-hwa underwent training in fundamental practical martial arts, beginning with close-quarters combat under the wild laughter of Dokgo Yeon.
“Three thousand repetitions of each form, from the first to the last.”
“…Pardon?”
“After that, an additional thousand repetitions for each mistake.”
“R-rest time?”
“You have one double hour of breathing cultivation, don’t you?”
“U-Uncle, isn’t breathing cultivation not the same as resting?”
“You’re sitting, so it counts as rest.”
“…!”
Dokgo Ak absorbed the clan’s secret techniques from Dokgo Wi-hak.
Meanwhile, Namgung Sohwa was—
Boom! Crash-crash-crash!
She was striking down with her sword in the training ground behind the annex, creating thunderous sounds.
“This isn’t it… I need more!”
Muttering with a vacant expression, she delved deeper into her sword technique.
And finally, Dokgo Myeong was….
“You’ve arrived at last.”
“My apologies for being late.”
The spacious training ground reserved exclusively for the Sect Leader.
Dokgo Myeong, his face tense, stood before Geom-jon Dokgo Cheon.
“Are you prepared?”
“…Prepared for what, sir?”
“Before I teach you, I must gauge exactly how skilled you are.”
Dokgo Cheon did not draw his sword.
Instead, he approached a zelkova tree in the corner of the training ground, snapped off a thin branch with a crack, and spoke.
“Come at me.”

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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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