Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 8

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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 8
“You’ve worked hard this past month, Young Master.”
At the main gate of the now-quieted Muhakbu, Maecheon Yang bowed respectfully as he saw Dokgo Myeong off.
“The Instructors are the ones who worked hard. Thank you for accommodating me.”
“…Well, we certainly did our share of the work.”
“Hmm?”
“Several Instructors took leave. Why did you have to beat them up so thoroughly?”
Maecheon Yang’s playful jab was followed by a soft, knowing smile.
“Do you plan not to visit the Muhakbu for a while?”
“For now. But I’ll still need to impose on you from time to time.”
“I welcome you anytime. The Instructors will feel the same way.”
“When did you ever say such things before?”
“I’m not sure what you mean, sir.”
Maecheon Yang gazed at Dokgo Myeong with a smile.
He had changed so much. A month ago he’d thought the same thing, but today the impression felt fresh and new.
Maecheon Yang studied him quietly for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.
“Young Master.”
“Yes?”
“It’s in five days.”
The martial match with Dokgo Ak was scheduled for five days from now.
Maecheon Yang smiled knowingly as he spoke.
“I look forward to witnessing a fine match.”
Dokgo Myeong chuckled softly.
“Right, come watch then.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Dokgo Myeong waved his hand and began to walk away.
His stride was clean and unhesitating. He walked with long steps, never once glancing back.
“…”
Maecheon Yang smiled bitterly and shook his head slowly.
‘I prided myself on my eye for people.’
Apparently, that wasn’t the case.
In the end, Dokgo Myeong had learned nothing from the Muhakbu. He had simply awakened to understanding on his own.
It was bittersweet, yet somehow gratifying.
“Perhaps… the Clan will experience great changes because of him.”
Maecheon Yang murmured softly, watching Dokgo Myeong’s retreating figure.
“Heh, that would be a blessing for the Clan as well.”
Only after Dokgo Myeong disappeared from sight did Maecheon Yang slowly turn around.
That was when it happened.
“A blessing, you say? What do you mean by that?”
“…!”
Maecheon Yang startled and spun around sharply.
An elderly man approached with a leisurely smile.
It was an unexpected figure.
Maecheon Yang bowed respectfully without the slightest hesitation.
“I greet the Clan Leader!”
An old man wearing a long robe embroidered with a black dragon and a steel sword at his waist.
Within the Dokgo Clan, only one person could wear such attire.
Dokgo Cheon, the Clan Leader of the Dokgo Clan and the Sword Sage, was approaching.
* * *
Dokgo Cheon approached with a leisurely gait, unaccompanied by any attendants.
Standing before Maecheon Yang, Dokgo Cheon glanced at the Muhakbu plaque and smiled subtly.
“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“I have been managing, Clan Leader. Had you sent word in advance, I would have prepared….”
“Ha, no need for preparations. I was simply passing through while looking around.”
Dokgo Cheon glanced around the quiet gate and asked.
“But what brings you out here?”
“I came out briefly to see off Young Master Myeong.”
At Maecheon Yang’s words, a flicker of interest crossed Dokgo Cheon’s eyes.
“See him off?”
“He finished his martial bout this morning. The Instructors are still conducting classes, so I came out to see him off.”
“I see.”
A subtle smile played at the corners of Dokgo Cheon’s mouth.
“Would you like to come inside? I’ll prepare refreshments.”
“No need. Let me take a look around the Muhakbu for old times’ sake.”
Dokgo Cheon moved forward.
Maecheon Yang followed respectfully behind him.
“Hah! Yah!”
“You there! Pay more attention to your grip!”
Inside the Muhakbu, disciples from each school were in the midst of their training as always.
Dokgo Cheon walked along a path far removed from the training grounds.
Maecheon Yang followed quietly behind, his gaze falling upon Dokgo Cheon’s back.
“You must have been quite flustered by my sudden visit.”
Dokgo Cheon spoke unexpectedly.
Maecheon Yang hesitated briefly, but soon answered with a firm voice.
“Not at all. It was rather a valuable experience.”
“A valuable experience, you say….”
….
Dokgo Cheon turned to look at Maecheon Yang for a moment, smiled, and turned his gaze forward again.
His steps came to a halt before a tall tree in the Martial Arts Academy Courtyard.
Standing in the shade, looking up at the tree, Dokgo Cheon spoke softly.
“What remarkable timing. I heard Ak-i also finished his secluded training this morning.”
Maecheon Yang had heard the same. Not only had he completed his isolation training, but there were also rumors that he had consumed a spiritual elixir with the support of Baek Ok Sect Leader Dokgo Jo-hak.
“I too had the opportunity to instruct Ak briefly, and his martial talent was truly exceptional.”
“Only his martial talent?”
Dokgo Cheon’s eyes gleamed with meaningful intent.
Maecheon Yang closed his mouth and held his tongue.
Dokgo Cheon’s eyes crinkled as a mischievous smile formed.
“Even the most ancient tree will grow a twisted branch or two.”
Dokgo Cheon spoke while fingering a branch extending to the side.
“But if it sprouts not from a small twig but from the main trunk itself, then it should not be pruned away—rather, it must be carefully cultivated and nurtured. In the end, that too will make the tree more abundant.”
Dokgo Cheon’s finger flicked the branch sharply.
Whoooosh!
Though he had merely struck a small branch, the entire tree trembled and several leaves scattered into the air.
Maecheon Yang, who had been quietly observing, bowed his head with a stiffened expression.
“My apologies. I misspoke.”
“Misspoke? What did you say that was wrong? Haha!”
Dokgo Cheon asked while lowering his clasped hands.
“But tell me—what kind of child is Myeong-i, from your direct experience?”
“….”
At that question, Maecheon Yang’s smile turned bitter.
“Why do you smile?”
“Lately, many people have been asking me that very question.”
Dokgo Cheon suddenly wore a meaningful smile.
“It seems my children and grandchildren are already taking interest. True to their bloodline, they’re quite cautious.”
“…!”
Maecheon Yang’s eyes widened in surprise.
Maecheon Yang had meant to refer to the Instructors. Yet it was also true that several factions within the family had recently come calling.
Dokgo Cheon had known all along.
“So then? What does the eye of the Triple-Absolute Sword see?”
Maecheon Yang earned the epithet “Triple-Absolute Sword” because he excelled in three distinct ways.
First was the Dokgo family’s martial art, the Broken Mountain Sword Technique, which had made him a master of the highest caliber. Second was his unparalleled deep understanding of martial arts itself.
Yet beyond these, what allowed him to be perfected as the Triple-Absolute Sword was none other than his “eye for seeing people.”
“If I were to use a tree as metaphor….”
Maecheon Yang, who had paused briefly, lowered his gaze.
At the base of the tree, a small unnamed leaf was sprouting.
“…It is like this cotyledon.”
“A cotyledon? But didn’t you just say you’d use a tree as metaphor?”
“My apologies. It simply did not resemble such a tree at all.”
Dokgo Cheon’s eyes brightened.
Truly, it was a statement that could be interpreted in many meaningful ways.
“Seedlings.”
“Whether it be the changes in his conduct or the potential he has shown, I lack the knowledge to even identify what kind of seedling it is.”
“Heh heh, and here the greatest swordsman under heaven speaks such words.”
“….”
“Tsk tsk, so a sprout has grown beneath the severed branch.”
Dokgo Wi-hak, once thought to become the mightiest branch of all.
Yet beneath that severed branch, an unknown sprout had taken root and grown.
Dokgo Cheon suddenly clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, how unfortunate then.”
Sunlight filtered through the leaves cast shadows across his face.
“Why do you say so, sir?”
“Because just as the sprout begins to grow, it seems it will be trampled. As you said, that Ak-i fellow possesses genuine talent in martial arts.”
Everyone had no choice but to think the same. No matter how much Dokgo Myeong had changed, a dull talent remained dull, and the time lost was far too great.
What of Dokgo Ak, on the other hand?
Not only was he born with talent, but he had grown as a martial artist from infancy with every possible advantage.
And yet.
“….”
Maecheon Yang wore an uncertain expression, lost in thought.
“Why do you make such a face?”
“That is….”
Maecheon Yang hesitated before letting out a hollow laugh.
“…My apologies. It is simply that I feel it may not be so straightforward.”
“You speak of the outcome of the martial contest?”
“Yes.”
Dokgo Cheon regarded Maecheon Yang with interest.
“For some reason, I find myself anticipating Young Master Myeong’s victory more.”
Maecheon Yang lowered his gaze to the grass growing beneath the tree. A single sprout, having stubbornly pushed through the hard earth, stood proudly upright.
“What on earth has that fellow done to capture your heart so?”
The corners of Dokgo Cheon’s mouth curved upward.
“Anticipation… it seems many people are looking forward to this martial contest.”
Beneath the shade of the tree, Dokgo Cheon’s eyes gleamed with peculiar depth.
* * *
Five days passed far too quickly, and at last the appointed day arrived.
The day of the martial contest between Dokgo Myeong and Dokgo Ak.
The contest was to be held at the Central Training Hall.
Anyone belonging to the Dokgo Clan, from servants to martial artists, had spoken of the contest.
And the direct line members were no exception.
“Making such a fuss over some children’s contest. Tsk.”
Dokgo Yeon, the eldest granddaughter of Dokgo Cheon, wiped her signature weapon, the Black Dragon Spear, while grumbling.
“Why are you in such a foul mood again?”
“Thanks to you, I’m stuck practicing in this cramped hole. Did you expect me not to complain?”
“The Central Training Hall is only used for major clan events. Not for individual training.”
The fair-faced young man who replied with a gentle smile was Dokgo Gun, Dokgo Yeon’s older brother.
Both were children of Dokgo Un-hak, the eldest son of clan leader Dokgo Cheon, and were considered the greatest geniuses among the current generation’s most promising talents.
“It’s just a martial competition. What major event?”
“Well, I suppose that’s true.”
Dokgo Gun spoke with narrowed eyes.
“Uncle Jo-hak seems to have been preparing quite thoroughly. He’s even summoned the clan members as spectators.”
“Anyway, he’s such a meticulous fellow.”
“My, what kind of language is that toward your uncle?”
“If you’re going to nag, then stop bothering me and go somewhere else.”
Whoosh!
Dokgo Yeon swung her spear shaft threateningly right in front of Dokgo Gun’s face.
Even as the spear point grazed mere inches away, Dokgo Gun continued to smile with perfect composure.
“Actually, I was thinking of heading over to watch the competition. Were you planning to stay here?”
“I’m not particularly interested in watching youngsters spar.”
“Youngsters, you say… though they don’t seem to be quite that simple.”
Dokgo Gun spoke without ever losing his smile.
Dokgo Yeon casually dismissed him, tossed aside the cloth she’d been using to clean her spear, and took her stance.
Just as she was about to swing her spear.
“I hear Ak-i has mastered the Eight Forms of the Iron Sword.”
Thud!
Dokgo Yeon stopped moving.
“The Eight Forms of the Iron Sword?”
The Eight Forms of the Iron Sword.
It was a martial technique that served as a bridge to mastering the Eight Great Divine Arts, the secret legacy of the Dokgo Clan. Learning it meant opening the door to true advanced martial techniques.
“How old is that bastard?”
“Seventeen.”
“Seventeen and already the Eight Forms? With insufficient inner energy, he can barely execute even one form, let alone all eight.”
“It seems he supplemented his energy by consuming the Clearness and Purity Pill. What do you think—does this differ from your expectations?”
It meant he’d consumed a precious elixir in addition to the secret family technique.
But that wasn’t all.
‘This cunning bastard is taking an interest?’
What exactly does he have?
In truth, that was what bothered me most.
Tap!
Dokgo Yeon planted her spear shaft on the ground and spun around sharply.
“Come to think of it, my younger cousins are competing, so I can’t very well stay away.”
“Right, let’s call it that.”
“It’s not ‘let’s call it that’—it’s the truth.”
“Fine, fine.”
Tap!
Dokgo Yeon slung the spear shaft across her shoulder and let out a smirk.
“Well, might as well take a look.”

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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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