Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 106

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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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Episode 106. Sword Ghost’s Urgent Intervention
Crack! Snap!
Ho Yeon rushed forward at speed.
He was employing Cheonri Hojeong, one of the Namgung Clan’s supreme Divine Methods, surging ahead in rapid bounds.
True to its name—”a thousand leagues feels like one’s own courtyard”—the Cheonri Hojeong was a Divine Method specialized for long-distance travel.
The claim that one could cover a thousand leagues on a handful of true Qi was hyperbole, but it consumed remarkably little Nae Gong and remained stable throughout.
“Listen here, boy. What’s your game, charging ahead alone like that? You’re supposed to move with the Dan Ri Sega forces!”
The Cheonrae Sword spoke from his waist belt, and Ho Yeon replied with open exasperation.
“How many times must I tell you? They simply cannot keep pace with me.”
“That’s precisely the problem! Your opponent is a Wall-Breaker! No matter how fast you fly or crawl, unless you breach that wall, the gap between you is undeniable!”
“What are you going on about? You know my nature. I think you said something similar two years ago?”
“That Gwang Bi Chang wasn’t a true Wall-Breaker in the first place!”
“I didn’t know until he drew out his Demonic Qi Manifestation. In short, I’ve been prepared since two years back.”
Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump!
His heart raced.
Jin Heuk Cheon, the Cannibal Demon Lord.
He would be a true Wall-Breaker, unlike Gwang Bi Chang or Chu Eum.
The anticipation was exquisite.
Could he shatter the wall this man had scaled?
“Hehehehe!”
As Ho Yeon laughed with delight, the Heukya Tae Sword cried out with equal enthusiasm.
“Yes! Let’s go! A battle against a true master!”
“Hey, you damned fool, stop encouraging him! At this rate he’s going to get himself killed!”
“Why such pessimism, old one?”
“It’s not pessimism—it’s reason! Good heavens, how did I end up caught between these madmen!”
The Cheonrae Sword was vexed.
A Wall-Breaker was no mere neighborhood ruffian.
Moreover, his opponent was said to be one of the Baekpal Stars—far too reckless.
“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”
“A plan? Since when did you become capable of such a thing?”
“You know as well as I do that I haven’t been idle these past two years. A Wall-Breaker would be the perfect test for my techniques.”
Ho Yeon smiled broadly.
He had already tested Gigangjunggyeop against Chu Eum.
He wanted to hone his other techniques in real combat, to incarnate them through battle.
“Aren’t you curious? Where am I now in this vast Martial World? How strong have I become? What is the true measure of my current strength?”
To test himself. To gauge himself. To confirm himself.
This was the only way a Sword Ghost who once knew nothing but the blade could truly sense his own existence.
Am I alive?
Am I allowed to live?
Do I wish to live?
Hum! Hum! Hum!
Along with the surge of competitive spirit came a tension like stepping back into the past.
His Upper Dantian blazed with heat as Spirit Energy erupted outward without restraint.
At Ho Yeon’s response, the Cheonrae Sword muttered to itself.
“Such a battle-cock. I’ve never seen a reckless combat maniac quite like you.”
“Hahahaha! This has always been our daily life. The old one is simply too timid!”
“I am reason incarnate! You two are the abnormal ones!”
Hearing the Cheonrae Sword’s outcry, Ho Yeon chuckled and extended his hand forward.
Snap!
Whoosh!
The Uigi Yeondong activated, and Ho Yeon felt as though invisible hands were dragging him forward, accelerating his pace beyond measure.
Boom!
The world around him blurred and warped.
A rabbit grazing in the grass raised its head at the thunderous sound, only to see dust clouds streak past in an instant.
Even the legendary Red Hare could not move with such velocity.
This was why Ho Yeon traveled alone, leaving his companions behind.
Nyeondong Seonmi.
It was one of the reasons why Dan Wee Myeong, the Sword Ghost of three centuries past, could escape alive despite countless pursuers.
“Hang on just a bit longer! Try not to die if you can help it!”
* * *
“The Devouring Demon Master, Jin Heuk Cheon. A Wall-Breaker.”
“So we run?”
“No. We fight. We need to buy time.”
“Ha! Now that’s the Hye Il I know!”
“Gwang Myeong, I’ll take the vanguard. I should be able to withstand one strike.”
“The Diamond Zen Technique I’ve trained in carries the Demon Suppression power of the Ami Sect’s core cultivation. It should be effective against demons.”
Jin Heuk Cheon watched the four battle-ready disciples and smiled.
“How refreshing.”
He envied the age where ignorance permitted such courage.
A wall stands before them. Yet they dash their heads against it with all their might.
That valor—it would surely be delicious.
‘All four at the peak of their realm. Disciples from orthodox sects, no doubt. Ah! They’ll offer as varied a taste as a feast with four flavors!’
Crack-crack-crack!
The Yeolheuk Sikmaganggi urged him to devour these choice morsels quickly.
Bang!
Jin Heuk Cheon stamped the earth.
Black demonic qi erupted from his Yongcheon Acupoint, friction with the ground sending it scattering brilliantly in all directions.
This was the supreme footwork of his sect, the Bowhwa Gate—the Bowhwa Bobo, legendary for its grace.
Ordinarily, each step scattered golden radiance, earning praise as the beautiful walk of precious treasure.
But the Bowhwa Bobo touched by Yeolheuk Sikmagong had become as desolate as a demon’s fluttering robes.
“He’s coming!”
“I’ll hold him no matter what! Ready yourselves for my signal!”
“Un Am!”
Tap-tap-tap!
A Daoist with a single embroidered red plum blossom on his sleeve drew his sword with grim resolve.
Shing!
Crimson flame-like plum blossom qi, cultivated through the Maehwa Shimbeop, rippled across the violet blade.
“That fool!”
Gwang Myeong gasped.
Though unspoken, Un Am was the weakest among the Nakjeon Society.
“Trust me, Gwang Myeong! Prepare yourselves!”
“Grit!”
“Ready.”
The other three moved to his rear, steeling themselves for the final, desperate clash.
Not one of them harbored the foolish thought of conserving strength against a Wall-Breaker.
“Hmm. The first course—a Daoist of Huashan Sect? A fallen orthodox house has its own bitter flavor.”
Boom!
As Jin Heuk Cheon stamped, his figure seemed to split into four.
This mysterious technique, like the Surim Sect’s phantom mirage, was the Bowhwa Bobo’s illusory step.
Hwajung Bowhwa.
Clang-clang-clang!
Surrounded within four flower petals, Un Am showed no panic as dozens of slashes poured down upon him.
‘Namgung Ho Yeon’s Red Moonless Flame Sword had far greater unpredictability than this.’
Clink! Clink! Clink!
Un Am kept his blade steady and horizontal, arranging it across three directions simultaneously.
This was the Baewun Geom—the sword that arranges clouds.
Even if Huashan had no plum blossoms, that gave no excuse for the absence of clouds.
‘I abandon one.’
Un Am had to identify the single real body among four illusions.
His skill allowed him to defend against only three directions of attack.
Should a blow land from the undefended fourth direction, he would die.
His resolve was absolute.
Ring!
Fortune favored the gamble.
“Cough!”
“Ho. You’ve got nerve.”
Jin Heuk Cheon, reforming into one, gazed down at Un Am as blood poured from his mouth, and murmured.
“That blade. A divine weapon?”
“Kugh! Hack!”
“Wasted on you. I’ll put it to good use when I grind meat.”
“Aaaaaaagh!”
Crash-crack-crackle!
Un Am poured every last shred of his power into the Taeak Sambong Geom, detonating it with a final, desperate cry.
The three peaks of Huashan.
The Azure Dragon Peak to the east, the Lotus Peak to the west, the Falling Goose Peak to the south—all materialized at the tip of Un Am’s blade in majestic splendor.
And yet.
“A meaningless death throes.”
Bang! Metal shriek!
The Jaha Shin Geom—Huashan Sect’s sacred treasure—clattered to the ground in Jin Heuk Cheon’s single strike.
Crack-slash!
Just as the Sikhon Chae Do descended toward the throat of the unconscious Un Am—
Whoosh!
“Hmm?”
Un Am’s body flew backward like a stone tossed through the air, as though he’d sprouted wings.
Around his waist, crimson threads—brighter than blood—had wound themselves tight.
“That bastard.”
Jin Heuk Cheon, watching his carefully prepared prey slip away, turned his gaze toward Cheon Se Geuk, who held Un Am aloft.
Flutter-flutter-flutter! Thwack!
“Hyuuuuh!”
A stout Daoist appeared from nowhere, his robes billowing as he kicked at the empty air.
Boom-boom-crack!
Impossibly, each strike off the void allowed him to pivot mid-air, drawing steadily closer to Jin Heuk Cheon.
“So now it’s Kunlun’s turn.”
Jin Heuk Cheon recognized the Kunlun Sect’s peerless Divine Method—the Unryong Daepalsik.
The Unryong Daepalsik was a miraculous and inscrutable movement: mid-air, the body flipped up to eight times to alter direction.
By manipulating Qi with supreme control, the user shifted his center of gravity instantaneously, spinning through the void with a technique both beautiful and lethal.
“Argh! This damned Divine Method—I’m going to puke from the vertigo!”
Flutter-flutter!
Gwang Myeong rotated diagonally through the air, his arms extended wide.
Less a dragon swimming through clouds than an earthworm writhing in the void, yet it was power not to be dismissed lightly.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
Gwang Myeong then curled his ten fingers into fists, then splayed them open—and a torrent of cyan Finger Wind poured down like torrential rain.
This was the Kunlun Sect’s prized Flicking Finger technique: the Pyohwa Tan Gongsoo.
The Finger Wind scattered forth like petals on the breeze, each gust aimed at Jin Heuk Cheon’s Death Acupoints and Demon Acupoints.
Crash-crack-crackle!
Bang!
Jin Heuk Cheon cut through all the gusts and pushed off the ground, launching skyward.
Defying gravity itself with the Eogi Chungso, black Demonic Qi clung to him like dust in his wake.
The rushing footwork of Bowhwa Bobo, the shell-shedding step of Bowhwa Talgyak—each one executed flawlessly.
“Annoying little fly.”
Jin Heuk Cheon lunged toward Gwang Myeong with a cruel smile.
He’d seen all eight aerial transformations already; there was nowhere to retreat.
“Now! Hah!”
Yet Gwang Myeong had no intention of fleeing—he threw out the Chujun Quan instead.
Bang! Crunch!
“Ughhhh!”
Where Gwang Myeong’s fist struck Jin Heuk Cheon’s knee, bone crumpled, wrist snapped, and shoulder dislocated.
Yet even as blood leaked from his nose and consciousness fled, Gwang Myeong’s lips curved in a single, victorious smile.
“Hup!”
Hye Il surged forward from Jin Heuk Cheon’s rear, his right palm rising.
The calculation was simple: Gwang Myeong draws Jin Heuk Cheon’s eye, Jin Heuk Cheon launches skyward, and without his Unryong Daepalsik, he falls defenseless into their trap.
It worked perfectly.
Whoooosh!
Two overlapping Palm Threads spiraled slowly across Hye Il’s outstretched hand, extending toward Jin Heuk Cheon’s back.
Born from the Cheolseon Jeonjang, this technique had been transformed on Namgung Ho Yeon’s counsel—renamed the Seoncha Jeonjang.
Like a pinwheel spinning in a child’s hand in the marketplace, the rotating palm struck true against Jin Heuk Cheon’s back.
Boom!
“Heh-heh! Make contact? Does it change anything?”
“Cough!”
But it was Hye Il who spat out a mouthful of blood.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Jin Heuk Cheon had become wholly enveloped in the Yeolheuk Sikmaganggi, its violent rotation forming a scorching Protective Aura around him.
Sizzle! Sizzle-crack!
Hye Il’s palms, pressed against Jin Heuk Cheon’s back, blistered and burned, yet he did not withdraw his strike until the very end.
‘Just a little more… a little more…!’
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The Seoncha Jeonjang rotated with deliberate precision, and its resonance locked perfectly into Jin Heuk Cheon’s bodily vibration.
“Hmm? You fool!”
Crack! Bang!
Feeling the Penetrating Path covertly boring through his insides, Jin Heuk Cheon pivoted sharply and brought his heel down hard against Hye Il’s shoulder.
Crunch! Crack!
With a sickening sound, Hye Il crashed into the earth, and Jin Heuk Cheon—his brow furrowed—performed a somersault and landed cleanly.
‘An Internal Injury technique. Perhaps a palm strike.’
The overwhelming density of his Qi had prevented serious damage, but the impact had left his insides roiling for a moment.
Thud!
His balance wavered slightly during the landing, and Nan A seized that narrow opening to unfurl the closing moves of the Nanpipung Geombeop.
“Wind and Orchid’s Chaotic Dance! Demon Suppression Against Evil!”
Clash-clash-clash-clash!
Like orchids dancing wildly in the wind, Nan A’s blade moved with liquid grace.
Four golden Sword Threads extended from her blade.
Bang-bang-burst!
Whoosh!
Each time Nan A’s sword grazed him, Jin Heuk Cheon’s Protective Aura began to unravel.
This was because the Shimbeop she had mastered—the Geumgang Seonggong—carried the power of Demon Suppression.
‘It connects…!’
With a Buddha’s heart, Nan A’s blade pierced through the black flames, drawing near to Jin Heuk Cheon’s heart.
‘…Ah.’
Whoosh-whoosh!
Whoosh-whoosh!
Nan A beheld a demonic cradle enfolding Jin Heuk Cheon’s entire body lengthwise and crosswise.
“Tsk. Shameful, fighting mere children.”
“Demonic Qi Manifestation…! Ugh!”
Crash!
The Yeolheuk Sikmaganggi engulfed the Buddha Light and formed a Protective Demonic Aura, shattering Nan A’s blade into shards that became deadly projectiles aimed at her entire body.
‘…A maiden ghost, Amitabha Buddha.’
At the moment Nan A accepted her death and chanted silently in prayer,
Whoosh!
Snap!
A crimson thread wound around her waist contracted sharply, pulling her free from the storm of blades.
Crash-crash-crash-boom!
“Cough! Gag! Ugh…”
Nan A turned to look behind her.
There stood Cheon Se Geuk.
Crackle! Crackle!
Seeing the crimson thread emanating from the tip of his finger, Nan A understood what had happened.
“I… thank you…”
“Take them and withdraw at once.”
At Cheon Se Geuk’s words, Nan A looked toward the rear.
There lay Un Am, Gwang Myeong, and Hye Il—all unconscious.
Without his timely aid from behind, they would surely all be dead.
“But…”
“Go.”
…
At Cheon Se Geuk’s piercing gaze, Nan A nodded and retreated backward.
Whoosh!
Step, step, step.
Jin Heuk Cheon walked forward, dispersing the dust cloud raised by the blade storm with his Sikhon Chae Do.
“That blade, now. It’s my cooking ingredient.”
“An elder who drew out Demonic Qi Manifestation against Later Generation Disciples speaks boldly indeed.”
“That’s rather embarrassing, I confess. Hehehe.”
“Send the children away. Let us adults play for a bit.”
“Well now. You look plenty young to me.”
Jin Heuk Cheon smiled faintly, tilting his head.
“Why didn’t you combine forces with those kids over there? At least then there would have been a shred of possibility.”
“Impossible.”
“Hmm?”
“The martial arts I have mastered are those of a master who stood alone without peer across Guzhou Tianxia all his life. They are not suited for combining forces.”
Clang!
Cheon Se Geuk drew ten swords bound at his waist.
“……The Shipgeom? You don’t mean—”
“Wind Demon and Food Demon. Let us see which demon is real.”
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Shwing-shriek!
Radiant Cheonsa Geom Ryeong Gi blazed from Cheon Se Geuk’s ten fingers as all ten swords drew in unison.

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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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