Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 453

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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 453
“Where are we headed now?”
“We need to go to Anhui.”
“Anhui? So you’re going to handle your personal matter.”
Dokgo Myeong tapped the documents against the back of his hand—papers he’d received from the Gae-bang members before departing.
“He’s likely using the name Wihun under either the Guan or Ji surname.”
“You mentioned he has multiple aliases.”
“Apparently he changes his name and moves around the Hefei area, near the provincial capital of Anhui.”
Namgung Sohwa nodded, recalling the documents she’d reviewed before.
The Gae-bang had estimated he was likely a distant blood relative—somewhere between fifth and ninth cousins removed.
Since the Namgung clan’s genealogical records and documents had all burned during their clan’s destruction, the only way to know for certain would be to meet him and speak with him directly.
Dokgo Myeong glanced at Namgung Sohwa as he spoke.
“I’ve already contacted not just the Gae-bang but also the Hao Sect to have them tail you, so don’t be too anxious.”
“Anxious? I’m not anxious—I’m worried.”
Namgung Sohwa let out a sigh that seemed to come from the depths of her soul.
“Did you see the documents? What was written there?”
Namgung Sohwa’s expression suggested she’d already abandoned her hopes.
“In his youth, he was such a ruthless merchant that people said he was obsessed with money. In his old age, he squandered his fortune recklessly and ruined himself. Recently, he’s been frequenting the Black Blade’s underground gambling dens and such?”
“The report only mentioned he had some extravagant tendencies—it didn’t say he’d ruined himself.”
“It’s the same thing, isn’t it?”
Namgung Sohwa let out a small laugh.
“Don’t worry. I’ve just lowered my expectations a bit. After all, you have to see people with your own eyes to truly judge them, right?”
“What if he’s not so bad?”
“Then I’ll give him a chance.”
People say humans can’t be changed, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be improved at all.
‘If you keep striking until it’s fixed, eventually it will be fixed.’
Doesn’t the Cheonma Sect possess an infallible cure that can rehabilitate even the world’s worst scoundrels, trash, and tyrants onto the righteous path?
Dokgo Myeong suddenly regarded Namgung Sohwa with a suspicious gaze.
‘Something’s off about her eyes.’
It should be fine, though.
It will be fine. Probably…
“But aren’t you wasting time because of me?”
“Huh? What do you mean, wasting time?”
Namgung Sohwa glanced at him cautiously.
“Your original purpose was to rest, wasn’t it? You even took leave. I could just go alone…”
“Ah, you want to do that?”
“…Yes. It’s my matter, after all.”
Dokgo Myeong chuckled.
“Send you alone and have our Captain Namgung cause some kind of incident? I’m too afraid of you drawing your blade—I need to follow along and keep watch.”
“An incident? Drawing my blade? Who, me?”
Namgung Sohwa let out a scoff of disbelief.
“No matter how hard I try in that regard, I could never keep pace with even your shadow.”
She who had been speaking sarcastically soon broke into a quiet laugh.
Who wouldn’t see through such an act?
She knew he was hesitating inwardly and was teasing him about it. After all, when it came to matters concerning the disciples, he was the type to abandon any vacation and rush headlong into action.
Dokgo Myeong stretched grandly and walked forward.
“Gae-bang and Hao Men are keeping watch, and it’s not terribly urgent, so let’s take our time. I should enjoy a proper vacation myself.”
“That sounds wonderful. I should take advantage of our wealthy captain’s generosity this time.”
Namgung Sohwa smiled faintly and followed after Dokgo Myeong in quick steps.
* * *
There were carriages and boats available that could reach Hefei, their destination, in two days.
But the two of them deliberately took their time, indulging in leisure.
Whenever they encountered scenic spots along the way, they would detour to admire them. When they boarded boats, they took evening cruises for pleasure, and whenever they passed through major cities, they would order every dish at the finest restaurants and inns, indulging in luxury.
In short, they lived like wandering heroes of the martial world.
“The scenery here is quite beautiful, isn’t it?”
“I’ve been here before, during the war with the Moyong Family.”
“But that was during wartime. How could you have had leisure to appreciate the scenery? What were you thinking back then?”
Namgung Sohwa murmured with a short exclamation as if remembering.
“I thought that valley’s shape would be perfect for an ambush.”
“Your sensibilities are rather bloodthirsty.”
“And whose fault is that?”
Namgung Sohwa, who had been glancing at Dokgo Myeong, suddenly sighed.
“I’m not sure we should be indulging like this.”
“Precisely because times are turbulent, I want to savor moments like these.”
“Pardon?”
“When things are fierce, we must live fiercely. But sometimes, living like this—like human beings—feels like the right way.”
Namgung Sohwa’s eyes widened.
“What is this? Have you changed?”
Changed? Yes, perhaps I have changed somewhat.
Suddenly, the life of Dokgo Hyeon came to mind. In those days, his life had only one purpose.
The death of Hyeokwisang the Blood Demon.
He had believed that only then could he return to the Cheonma Sect with honor. He had endured everything for that alone.
Foolish. It should never have been that way.
He had lived in hell under the guise of living.
‘Even if I hadn’t died by Baek Mu-heun’s hand back then, that ending would not have been good.’
In the end, if one lives like hell, there is only hell at the end.
This time, seeing the secret history of the Blood Cult changed my thinking.
One must live like a human being and defeat those who live like hell.
Only then does it have meaning. Even if one lived like hell and won, the result would be countless Dokgo Hyeons and countless Blood Cults.
It might be different for a moment, but eventually, it becomes that way.
That’s simply how the martial world is constructed these days.
“Fine. Everything’s fine, but….”
Namgung Sohwa’s eyes narrowed as she regarded Dokgo Myeong.
“You open a path of hardship for your disciples, yet you yourself enjoy leisure so brazenly. Don’t you feel even a shred of guilt?”
“…Just stay quiet.”
“Oh ho.”
“What? What’s with that look in your eyes?”
“It means I understand perfectly.”
The leisurely atmosphere of travel continued thereafter.
As if bound by an unspoken pact, they refrained from discussing war or the Twin Horse Alliance. They occasionally practiced breathing techniques, but neither trained in martial arts nor sparred.
‘Have I ever rested so comfortably in this lifetime?’
I played so much that such thoughts arose. The only certainty was that it had been so long I couldn’t pinpoint exactly when.
So I consciously decided to relax even more thoroughly.
Fortunately, thanks to roaming across the Central Plains in my previous life, every place we visited proved excellent.
“Wow, this is incredibly delicious too! How can pork be this delicate?”
“You’ve already devoured eight portions by yourself, and now you speak of delicacy?”
“…It’s because I’m the youngest and grew up in a poor household.”
Namgung Sohwa set down her chopsticks and asked casually.
“Are there any places you haven’t visited?”
“Just name it. Sights, food, wine—whatever. It’s not that I don’t know how to enjoy myself; I simply haven’t indulged. I’m quite capable of it.”
“That’s true. Whoever you traveled with in your past life must have been someone, given how you know everywhere. You must have suffered restraint in this lifetime.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind.”
“…?”
“So, are there truly no places you haven’t been? It’s no fun revisiting the same locations.”
“Back then, I was either taking on commissions as a ronin or caught in warfare, so there was no opportunity to experience enjoyment.”
At those words, Namgung Sohwa’s expression hardened, and she struck Dokgo Myeong’s shoulder with her fist.
“Ow! My shoulder’s dislocating! What’s this about?”
“If you say things like that, what does that make me?”
“What are you going on about?”
* * *
What should have been a two-day journey took ten days as they traveled leisurely.
With Hefei, their destination, within sight, Dokgo Myeong and Namgung Sohwa spent their final night drinking heavily before retiring.
“….”
Was it the hangover? Or something else?
Dokgo Myeong suddenly awoke and, unable to return to sleep, opened the window.
Stars and moon shone brilliantly, as if white paint had been scattered across black silk.
Dokgo Myeong sat cross-legged as if entranced.
Uuuuuung!
Throughout the lives of Dokgo Hyeon and Dokgo Myeong combined.
I had never cultivated my inner energy with such joy and ease in my heart. Without any conscious effort, my inner and outer qi naturally flowed on their own.
Soon, a transformation arrived.
Whiiiiiing!
The Heavenly Exterior Spirit Orb began to rotate.
‘How smooth.’
With the rotation, the true qi of the Heavenly Exterior Scripture’s Secret Heaven Technique surged through every meridian in my body.
The sensation of the spirit orb felt different from before.
The process of unraveling rather than clumping together was free and natural. My endurance had improved after grasping the principles of breath accumulation, but this felt entirely different.
‘It is not merely a change in the Heavenly Exterior Spirit Orb.’
In that instant, Dokgo Myeong was taken aback.
‘If I had to put it into words… it is a change in myself—in how I perceive and accept qi.’
Was it because of the White Lotus True Scripture?
But I had finished interpreting the dharma and incantations long ago, and had paid them no mind for some time after beginning my travels.
‘No, that is precisely why.’
Dokgo Myeong soon understood the reason.
‘All my afflictions have departed. The heart demon has completely left me.’
Everything became comfortable as naturally as water flowing downstream.
I had thought the tales I heard from the Singnyeo and the realities I faced would only feed the heart demon, but it was the opposite.
The transformation of my heart extended to my body, my martial arts, and my qi.
In that moment, I brought the Heavenly Exterior Spirit Orb to a halt.
‘Now is the time.’
I reversed the rotation of the Heavenly Exterior Spirit Orb.
‘Now it will be fine.’
Kuuuuung.
A low vibration rippled outward from me at its center.
The light of true qi grew increasingly dense, and soon a pitch-black radiance began to emanate from me, spreading outward.
It was the cultivation of Reverse Heaven Qi.
* * *
I dreamed as if in a daydream.
When cultivating martial arts, one often experiences sensations that cannot be explained in words and can only be understood through metaphor and symbol.
This was such a moment.
Amidst all the turbidity and chaos, I saw light and darkness.
Swooooosh!
Then my body felt as though it were being swept away somewhere.
Light and darkness, forward flow and reverse flow.
I swayed like a buoy between two currents flowing in opposite directions.
Then suddenly, I realized that they differed only in direction.
The moment I grasped that, I simply rode upon the reverse current.
My consciousness was shaken roughly this way and that, yet it never collapsed.
It was humanity’s task to define reverse flow as reverse flow. This was simply flowing.
‘This is the Honcheon Technique.’
With my mind and body at ease, I smiled.
‘I’ve finally reached the threshold of the final secret realm.’
The ultimate secret realm of the Heavenly Exterior Realm—the Honcheon Technique.
Its gate had finally opened.
“Haah….”
I exhaled slowly and opened my eyes. It felt less like a sigh and more like a comfortable release of tension.
As my eyes opened, I saw Namgung Sohwa standing with her hand resting upon her sword hilt.
“Are you possessed by demonic influence?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Look at me with your eyes.”
“Yes, yes.”
“…That’s not it either.”
*Click!*
Namgung Sohwa exhaled a sigh of relief and collapsed into a chair.
Though it was still somewhat dark at dawn, the exhaustion etched upon her face was unmistakably clear.
“Why are you here? Did I wake you?”
Namgung Sohwa let out a hollow laugh.
“You did wake me. Four days ago.”
“What?”
“You’ve been doing that for four days straight. Goodness, I aged ten years in that span. I was so tense thinking you’d destroy the entire inn.”
“Four days? You mean four days?”
I thought it had been only a brief moment, yet two days had already passed?
Namgung Sohwa asked.
“What was it, exactly?”
“An enlightenment, I suppose.”
“Enlightenment? Just like that?”
I nodded and raised my hand.
*Tssssss.*
In that instant, a pitch-black aura began to seep forth from my palm.
*Kwaaaaa!*
Soon the energy surged violently as if it would shatter everything. Yet that fierce torrent never escaped beyond my hand.
*Thud!*
Namgung Sohwa jumped up from her seat in alarm.
“Could it be…that?!”
It was unmistakably the same savage energy from when I fell into demonic possession and when I destroyed the Jeonmu Army’s pavilion.
“Reverse Heavenly Energy… or should I call it Honcheon Energy? I’m not certain.”
It differed from the Whirling Heavenly, Crimson Heavenly, or Sacred Heavenly techniques. The Honcheon Technique was so fundamentally different it constituted an entirely separate martial art.
‘That single strand of Reverse Heavenly Energy absorbed by the Heavenly Exterior Soul Vessel can now be wielded to some degree.’
If the Honcheon Technique had distinct stages, could I not say I had finally entered its threshold and reached the First Stage?
Namgung Sohwa clicked her tongue.
“The density of true energy is absolutely staggering. You’re saying that’s just from drawing out a portion of it?”
“Want to try blocking it?”
“….”
She hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.
“…I’ll pass.”
Though I hated to admit it, I honestly lacked confidence in my current state.
I felt a primal sense of threat. It seemed I would suffer a terrible defeat if I didn’t prepare deliberately and meet him head-on.
Whoosh!
As Dokgo Myeong clenched his fist, the violent currents of energy that had enveloped his hand dispersed explosively.
Even the way he contained his true energy was extraordinary.
“Have you achieved perfect control now?”
“Only a fraction.”
He opened and closed his hand several times.
He still couldn’t manipulate this fierce torrent exactly as he wished.
“But I can at least ride upon it and draw a small stream to use as I see fit.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
Dokgo Myeong sprang to his feet.
“Ah, I’m in the best mood! Well then, shall we finally head out and search for that person?”
Dokgo Myeong called out cheerfully, bathed in the sunlight streaming through the window.
Behind him, Namgung Sohwa suddenly burst out.
“Hey! Is it all fine as long as you’re in a good mood?!”
“Huh?”
“While you were comfortably cultivating your energy, I went without sleep for several nights!”
“…You’re complaining over just three or four days of lost sleep.”
“Do you have a death wish?!”
“Ah, no, just calm down for a moment….”
Namgung Sohwa, who had been glaring at Dokgo Myeong as if ready to kill him, suddenly spun around.
She then locked herself in her room and slept for an entire day before finally preparing to depart.

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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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