Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 338

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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 338
“To preserve even a thread of the Moyong Family’s legacy, there’s no other way. It’s essentially submission.”
It was tantamount to saying: if you want to live, crawl between the legs of the Dokgo Family.
‘If not that, we’d have no choice but to annihilate the entire clan anyway. If they’re unhappy about it, they can get slaughtered instead.’
The reactions of the martial artists of the realm would likely split into two camps.
More than half would point fingers at the Moyong bloodline for clinging to their legacy while enduring such humiliation.
The rest would shudder at the Dokgo Family’s cruelty for destroying an entire household and then heaping such shame upon them.
“But was that the entirety of the conditions?”
“Originally it was, but then….”
Dokgo Myeong stared intently at Moryong Sohgyo for a moment.
A condition that Dokgo Gun had proposed—one that even Dokgo Myeong hadn’t anticipated.
“Our Commander.”
“Yes?”
“An additional condition was added: to establish Moryong Sohgyo, your direct blood relative, as the head of a vassal family.”
“…What did you say?!”
Moryong Sohgyo cried out before covering her own mouth with her hand.
“If you dislike it, you may refuse. No one in the world would know if you broke the promise.”
“This is too sudden. And for a woman to become a family head….”
“By that logic, what about Sohwa? She has to rebuild a family that’s already fallen.”
Tap, tap.
Dokgo Myeong tapped the desk as if demanding focus.
“So in the end, what matters is your will. Will you do it or not? That’s all you need to decide.”
It was confusing.
I never imagined such a choice would be placed before me. I had only resolved to become a villainess who would betray the Moyong clan and destroy the family….
“Commander, what do you wish for me to do?”
Moryong Sohgyo gazed at Dokgo Myeong’s composed expression. I wanted to rely on him, who always delivered answers with such radical clarity.
Yet Dokgo Myeong was sometimes harsher than anyone else.
“It seems our Commander hasn’t fully absorbed the ways of the Cheonma Sect yet.”
“Yes?”
“Is our unit a place where others’ opinions matter?”
“…!”
Moryong Sohgyo’s eyes wavered.
“Well, though I suppose I could offer some advice.”
“Please, I beg you.”
“When you look back on this moment of anguish in the future, choose the path where you can praise yourself for having done well.”
“The path where I can praise myself….”
“Yes.”
Dokgo Myeong chuckled softly.
“Don’t brood over it so solemnly. Later you’ll just feel embarrassed about it all. You’ll wonder why you were like that and kick your blankets in bed. Haven’t you seen how our Sohwa is?”
Dokgo Myeong laughed playfully.
She knew it well.
Dokgo Myeong and the other managers still mocked her relentlessly.
“Don’t think of sacrificing yourself for the Cheonma Sect, and don’t strain yourself to become more vicious just because you’ve committed to this revenge.”
“….”
“Just choose whatever you want most and feels right in your heart.”
“You’re telling me to choose based on my own desires for such an important matter? What if people point fingers at me?”
“It’s your choice, so you bear the responsibility. Of course!”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed.
“Before that, I and the Cheonma Sect members will all rush over and snap off the fingers of anyone who dares point them at you, one by one.”
“Heh. Haha.”
Moryong Sohgyo laughed without realizing it.
Suddenly, everything felt trivial.
That’s right—who would dare say anything? Her commander was Dokgo Myeong, and she was a soldier of the Cheonma Sect.
‘Just who is this person….’
He seemed so frivolous most of the time, yet how could he be so mature in moments like this?
Moryong Sohgyo answered.
“I will do it.”
“Good thinking.”
“You’re pleased, aren’t you?”
“Huh? Why would I be?”
“You’re gaining a faction under your control.”
“Hey! When have I ever been the type to care about such things? You really don’t know people…!”
“Still, you do like it.”
Dokgo Myeong spoke in a sheepish voice.
“Well, truth is, my faction has many branches but lacks a solid foundation force.”
“See?”
Moryong Sohgyo smiled faintly.
“Even so, if it’s because of me….”
“No. I wish for it. In ten or twenty years, I’d like to remain not as a wicked woman who abandoned her family, but as someone who took revenge yet ultimately preserved the family’s legacy.”
“You’re greedy. You might just end up with nothing but curses.”
“It’s my choice, so I must accept the consequences.”
“Hehe, that’s perfect.”
Dokgo Myeong nodded with a satisfied expression.
Everything was going well.
-Think of it as a gift. I’ll convince your father.
The only thing that bothered me was how Dokgo Gun kept acting friendly.
“So what should I do and how should I proceed from now on?”
“For now, there’s only one thing you need to do.”
“What is it?”
“To save them, you must kill them first. You must win this war.”
Fortunately, Wi Jang-chun had brought the information needed for that.
“The location of the Muyong Gaju has been identified. The Elder Council Leader of the Moyong Family discovered it.”
“Where is it?”
Moryong Sohgyo’s eyes sharpened in an instant. Before becoming the Gaju of a vassal family that hadn’t even been established yet, she had returned as a soldier of the Cheonma Sect.
“It was as expected. The situation has become somewhat complicated.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“Yes, the center.”
The main force.
Muyong Tae had decided to target the very place the Grand General was after.
* * *
Lotus flowers bloomed in profusion within the darkness.
The petals scattered in crimson brilliance. Rather than the elegance of lotus flowers, only an unsettlingly gaudy splendor could be felt.
Blood-red lotus flowers blooming from the darkness itself. Recalling the sect’s teachings, there could be no more auspicious sight than this.
‘Yet there is no joy in my heart.’
Jimeol Magoon slowly crossed the bridge laid between the lotus flowers.
Each red blossom felt like the lives of the dead believers. If so, was this truly the Pure Land of Eternal Peace they had yearned for so desperately?
But neither rest nor tranquility could be felt here. There was only endless darkness and countless red lotus flowers blooming endlessly.
‘Did all the fighting until now truly hold such value?’
To achieve martyrdom through death and purify the world.
Then the incarnation of Divine Blood that would follow would create the Pure Land of Eternal Peace.
That was what I had learned and believed.
Yet even after sacrificing not only the faithful believers but also the Black Bloodfiend, who was like a brother, the sect’s plans had gone awry.
‘If all of this truly was the will of the Divine, why does it not flow according to providence?’
Why do the Dokgo Household, our adversaries, and that abominable Dokgo Myeong alone continue to achieve victory?
Why do they drive us into battles without hope of winning?
‘What purpose does the Sect Leader hold that requires such tremendous sacrifice?’
It was then.
The petals flowed and scattered.
The red lotus flowers melted into the darkness and streamed downward. The crimson things, whether petals or blood, gathered together and soon took the form of an old man.
Only then did Jimeol Magoon realize he was not in reality but in a dream.
And he spoke the name of the man who had summoned him into this dream.
“Grand General.”
As Jimeol Magoon prostrated deeply, the old man of prayer, transcendent from the mortal world, opened his mouth.
“Jimeol.”
“Yes.”
“I see delusion in your eyes.”
Jimeol Magoon lowered his body even deeper.
“I apologize. My cultivation remains insufficient, and I am easily consumed by affliction.”
“Affliction brings calamity. Should we not uproot it before it takes hold?”
Affliction brings calamity. Shouldn’t we uproot it before it takes hold?
“Your words are most just.”
“Lift your head.”
Jimeol Magoon regarded the Grand General.
A face with bold lines, eyes that gleamed with unfathomable depth.
“Swiftly master the Bloodfiend technique. The foreign energy within you is the source of your delusion. Consume it with your Ji-myeol power rather than attempting to harmonize them. Should you do so, you may yet turn your gaze even halfway beyond the abyss.”
“Please, grant me your guidance.”
“Heaven, earth, and man. The Bloodfiend of man and the Ji-myeol power of earth do not blend together. Rather than attempting to merge them, devour with your Ji-myeol power. Thus you may open that gate which already lies within your reach—the realm of absolute extremity.”
The Wuji Realm.
He was saying I could open that door which I had already touched.
“I shall devote myself to cultivation.”
The Grand General was nearly like his own sect leader, yet he was not one to employ the sect’s forbidden arts for such trivial reasons.
He was the representative of blood and flame, the executor of divine will. If such a being had summoned me, there could be only one reason.
“A vessel of defiance against heaven. I hear that the great enemy of our sect, one who escapes divine words, dwells there.”
“Dokgo Myeong. The Cheonma Sect Leader has appeared before me.”
“Kill him.”
At those words, murderous intent and anguish surged forth once more.
When had I ever wished to spare him? That loach had always slipped through every crisis.
“You may sacrifice everything.”
In that instant, Jimeol Magoon’s eyes wavered.
“If you speak of everything….”
“Pacheonggun.”
“…!”
“The Four Heavenly Kings.”
“…!”
“Victory and defeat. All things entangled in this war.”
Whoosh!
The scent of blood mingled thickly among the crimson petals.
“And the Bloodfiend… even your own life.”
“…!!”
“Sacrifice everything to kill him.”
Swaaash!
In that moment, it seemed as though all the petals in the world poured down upon me. Each petal felt like the countless sect disciples who had been martyred for the great cause of the Jeongheol Sect.
‘Ahhhhh!’
A scream was about to burst from Jimeol Magoon’s lips.
Flash!
“Hueok! Gasp!”
His eyes snapped open as he collapsed face-down on the ground.
His entire body was drenched in sweat.
Was what I had just witnessed a fleeting dream or reality? Everything swirled in confusion.
“…!”
Jimeol Magoon felt a sharp pain near his chest and hastily shed the worn gray robes he was wearing.
Whoosh!
Several talismans tucked into his chest blackened and charred as if being consumed.
Behind them, the ashes that fell to the ground formed the shape of a crimson lotus flower.
“Now it’s my turn.”
Jimeol Magoon let out a hollow laugh.
* * *
“Go carefully. Are you confident you won’t be discovered?”
“It’s embarrassing to say from my own mouth, but the security in Hangzhou is already in chaos. Would you believe that a mere third-rate martial artist guards the entrance to the main household’s grand treasury?”
The day after meeting Dokgo Myeong, Wi Jang-chun prepared to depart.
Though it was only a brief meeting lasting a few hours, he looked as exhausted as someone who had gone without sleep for days.
“I cannot die until I fulfill my responsibilities. Once all our agreements are concluded, I will bear that final responsibility then.”
“That’s enough. I absolutely hate that sort of talk.”
Dokgo Myeong waved his hand dismissively at Wi Jang-chun’s solemn words, yet Wi Jang-chun could only manage a bitter smile.
‘That man is dying.’
These were not the eyes of the living. Though already dead, a sense of duty and guilt seemed to be what moved him.
“If I may add one more thing… there may be others within the Yuk Cheon Dan who harbor thoughts of betrayal.”
“The Yuk Cheon Dan?”
“They resisted the Gaju to the very end. I’m not speaking idly—they truly had no choice.”
The Yuk Cheon Dan, the Yuk Cheon Dan…
Now that I think about it, the Geon Gon Dan was from that faction too.
‘If I could absorb them, it would be ideal.’
Dokgo Myeong did not harbor such ambitions.
“But the Elder Council Leader…”
Wi Jang-chun asked one final question.
At those words, Dokgo Myeong shook his head firmly.
“Even if we’ve reached an agreement, shouldn’t we hold a hostage on our side as well?”
“To use as a hostage… his position within the main household is not particularly stable.”
“I’m aware.”
…!
Wi Jang-chun’s eyes wavered.
Dokgo Myeong chuckled and spoke.
“Hostages do tend to accidentally die sometimes, don’t they?”
…
“If his position is unstable, all the better. No one will care what becomes of him.”
Wi Jang-chun asked nothing more. He understood the situation well enough.
“I will leak the promised information through Cheon I-gak upon my return. I trust you will keep your promise as well.”
“I’ve already staked my life on that single promise, so have no concerns.”
And so Wi Jang-chun departed.
Now it was time to bring in the person who needed to know of all this.
“Bring Namgung Bujang here.”

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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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