Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 11

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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 11. The Sword Demon’s Name
A moment of silence.
Then, a ripple of commotion.
“Namgung Hoyeon… the Greatest Talent of Ancient and Modern Times?”
“What on earth is he talking about?”
“No… that can’t be right…!”
“You’re saying this commentary is the work of the youngest lord? Absurd!”
The reactions split sharply.
Those who knew the information and those who didn’t.
But the one thing they all shared was this: none of them believed Namgung Baek’s words.
“Head of the Clan—are you saying that all the martial texts newly shelved in Changgyeong Pavilion were written by Hoyeon?”
An old, bald man with a stern expression, who had said nothing throughout the meeting until now, spoke up.
He was Namgung Muwon, one of the three elders of the Elder Council.
So consumed by martial training he was called a Martial Arts Fanatic,
he was the one who had examined the books in Changgyeong Pavilion faster than anyone.
“Indeed, Elder.”
“…Does that even make sense?”
“What part of it doesn’t?”
“The boy is barely twenty! I’ve given fifty years to the martial way, and even I couldn’t produce such commentary!”
As the elder cried out in disbelief, Namgung Baek smiled meaningfully and replied.
“Isn’t that precisely what I’ve been telling you? That Hoyeon is the Greatest Talent of Ancient and Modern Times.”
“…Ha!”
Pfft.
Namgung Muwon let out a bitter laugh and pulled a book from his robe.
On the cover, written in sharp characters, were the words “Iron Sword Ten Styles.”
“The Iron Sword Ten Styles is no common technique peddled in the streets. It’s the supreme sword art created five centuries ago by the ancestor Namgung Ilhon, who left the clan to become a Ronin and was known as the Undefeated Sword Master.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“Aware? No, you’re not.”
“Sir! Such rudeness to the Head of the Clan—!”
First Elder Namgung So tried to intervene, but the agitated Namgung Muwon paid him no mind.
“I’ve dedicated my entire life to the Iron Sword Ten Styles! I believed no one in this world understood it better than I did! That was true… until I opened this book.”
Crack.
Namgung Muwon opened the “Iron Sword Ten Styles” and began reading the first passage aloud.
“The Iron Sword Ten Styles aims for the Strong Sword. This is often confused with the Tyrant Sword, but they are fundamentally different. Where the Tyrant Sword overwhelms an opponent through sheer momentum like wildfire, the Strong Sword must focus on actual physical force and destructive power.”
“Hmm……”
“Thus, the Strong Sword is neither swift nor heavy—it is simply strong. One must bear this in mind to truly understand the Iron Sword Ten Styles.”
“Ah……”
As Namgung Muwon continued, the expressions of everyone gathered in Changgung Hall began to shift, their ears perking up.
They were all martial artists.
They could sense the profound depth hidden within those simple words.
Crack.
Namgung Muwon turned the page and continued his explanation.
“The first form of the Iron Sword Ten Styles is Iron Sword Resonance Emergence. Uniquely, this technique begins by emitting the sword’s resonance. Why is that?”
“…Why indeed?”
“I’ve never thought about it before.”
“Isn’t it to concentrate the spirit?”
Changgung Hall had quietly transformed into a school hall rather than a council chamber.
“The first sentence matters in prose, and the first form matters in technique. I believe Iron Sword Resonance Emergence is the very secret of the Iron Sword Ten Styles.”
“What? That can’t be right.”
“That’s just an opening form, surely.”
“Isn’t the secret of the Iron Sword Ten Styles the Iron-Soul Unity?”
“Shh! Quiet!”
Every ear in Changgung Hall turned toward Namgung Muwon’s mouth,
and from his lips spilled the true secret of the Iron Sword Ten Styles that had been lost three centuries ago.
“Iron Sword Resonance Emergence is no mere opening form—it is the pillar supporting all nine forms that follow. As the resonant sword clashes with the opponent’s blade, it absorbs the rebound force.”
“What?”
“Re… bound force?”
“Through this rebound, the iron sword generates an even stronger resonance, and the power of that vibration grows exponentially as the forms unfold and with each clash against the enemy.”
“……”
“Thus the strength that the Iron Sword Ten Styles pursues finally reveals itself—and that is Reverse Strength.”
“…….”
“This is what one might call the true form of the Iron Sword Ten Styles — a creation born from five centuries past, when Namgung Ilhon wandered as a ronin and perfected it through countless real encounters.”
“…….”
At some point.
Changgung Hall fell into a silence so profound that one could hear a pin drop.
Faces wore shock, bewilderment, or the focused concentration of those closing their eyes to consolidate sudden understanding.
‘Reverse Strength…… is that what it means?’
‘Ah, I see now. To truly understand martial arts, one must know the life of the creator!’
‘Namgung Ilhon spent his entire existence crossing blades with opponents. That was the path he walked!’
‘Ah! The Iron Sword Resonance Emergence — it was both the beginning and end of the Iron Sword Ten Styles!’
Those gathered in Changgung Hall were the highest-ranking members of the Namgung Clan, and they grasped it at once.
The interpretation was correct.
Everything they had cultivated in the Iron Sword Ten Styles until now had been merely a shell.
Thud.
As Elder Namgung Muwon closed the book, a look of deep regret crossed every face in the hall.
“Clan Lord. Having read these words, I have made a vow. I shall seek out this departed master and bow my head to receive his teachings.”
Namgung Muwon gazed at Namgung Baek with pleading eyes and made his request.
“This answer is truly vital to me. The one who wrote this interpretation…… is it truly Hoyeon?”
“It is.”
“……Hm.”
At Namgung Baek’s confirmation, Namgung Muwon’s expression turned hollow with astonishment.
And the reaction throughout Changgung Hall was not so very different.
Namgung Baek, who smiled at their expressions, continued.
“I spoke of Hoyeon as the Greatest Talent of Ancient and Modern Times, but truthfully, I was thinking of another person.”
“……And who might that be?”
“Namgung Cheongang.”
“……!”
“The Sword Demon of Creation!”
At Namgung Baek’s words, eyes widened throughout the assembly.
It was a name that no member of the Namgung Clan could fail to know.
Three centuries past, he was one of the Three Supremes of the Realm, and before the Sword Demon ever emerged, he was called the Number One Master of the Realm — the pride of Namgung.
Yet he was also the paradoxical figure whose actions brought about the clan’s decline.
“……Indeed. The Sword Demon of Creation was an extraordinary talent, and they say he mastered every martial art of the Namgung by the age of merely ten years.”
At Namgung Baek’s words, Namgung Muwon nodded slowly.
Greatest Talent of Ancient and Modern Times?
He had thought it absurd talk, impossible to believe — yet now there was precedent.
Within this very clan, no less.
As understanding gradually took shape in Changgung Hall, Namgung Baek’s eyes gleamed.
‘That Namgung Cheongang possessed the Sword-Heart Resonance gift is a secret recorded only in the Changgung Secret Records. The same must become true of Hoyeon.’
The Sword-Heart Resonance could not be revealed.
It was a rare gift that every clan and sect would covet.
Therefore Hoyeon’s abilities had to be explained without mention of the Sword-Heart Resonance, and the method Namgung Baek chose was simple.
“Hoyeon is a genius. The Greatest Talent of Ancient and Modern Times — one capable of bringing about Namgung’s Resurgence!”
“Namgung’s Resurgence…….”
“To make Namgung great again…….”
“Ah…….”
At Namgung Baek’s words, those assembled in Changgung Hall took on the expressions of dreamers.
In days past, when one spoke of the Number One Master of the Realm, it meant Namgung — and when one spoke of Namgung, it meant the Number One Master of the Realm.
Three centuries ago, as long as the Sword Demon of Creation lived, this was simply the natural order of things.
‘……Is this clan to rise again?’
‘Talent equal to the Sword Demon himself. Truly the Greatest Talent of Ancient and Modern Times.’
‘When the youngest lord comes of age…… how far will the name of Namgung reach?’
Blooms began to open on the faces of those gathered in Changgung Hall.
The name of that flower was ‘hope for the future.’
And this too was precisely what Namgung Baek had calculated.
‘Now that the fields have been seized and the clan grows desperate, we need something to unite our people.’
The focal point Namgung Baek chose was his beloved youngest son, Namgung Hoyeon.
The clan would be electrified by news that their direct heir was a genius, and they would watch his growth with eager anticipation.
And when Hoyeon fulfilled that expectation.
That would be the moment Namgung soared once more.
* * *
“Good morning, sir!”
“Ah, yes.”
“Young Master Hoyeon! Did you sleep well?”
“…Yes.”
“I do hope to receive your instruction someday…!”
Tap-tap-tap!
Namgung Hoyeon was on his way to Changgung Hall for his duties.
Normally he would have exchanged a simple bow and passed through in silence.
But today, every person he encountered accosted him with flushed faces and eager salutations.
‘What in blazes is going on? I haven’t become some notorious figure of the martial world again, have I?’
As the barrage of greetings continued, memories surfaced of the intense attention he’d received during his Sword Demon days.
Jackals circling, hunting for any opening—he could still see their hungry faces whether he was eating or drinking.
Surely not the same again?
―Listen here! Don’t you see the affection shining in their eyes?
“I don’t care about such things. How am I supposed to see what I can’t? Besides, Kondae doesn’t even have eyes.”
―You’re the blind one here! Stop running and accept their greetings.
“No!”
Tap-tap-tap!
Namgung Hoyeon quickened his pace, weaving through the crowds.
Upon arriving at Changgung Hall and heading toward the patriarch’s chamber, Namgung Baek greeted him with a brilliant smile.
“There’s my son!”
“Father, something is wrong. Everyone keeps trying to devour me.”
“Ha-ha-ha! Well, you can hardly blame them. Your father may have boasted a little about his brilliant son at the Changgung Council Meeting!”
“Pardon?”
So you were the culprit after all?
This old fox of a father?
Namgung Hoyeon’s eyes sharpened as he glared, but Namgung Baek merely found him adorable, tousling his youngest son’s hair while explaining everything that had transpired at the council.
“…And so it came to pass. Rest assured—not a soul knows of the Sword-Heart Resonance.”
‘Is this man serious?’
After hearing the full account, Namgung Hoyeon was left speechless.
What? The Greatest Talent of Ancient and Modern Times?
He’d heard the word “talent” many times before—but always in the sense of calamity, never brilliance.
“Heh-heh-heh, Hoyeon. I’m truly grateful. Thanks to you, the clan is stirring with vitality once more, for the first time in ages.”
“…”
He wanted to protest, but seeing his father’s joyful face, the words died in his throat.
‘I’ve been used, haven’t I?’
With keen instinct, Namgung Hoyeon could discern his father’s true intentions.
The clan had been drowning in misfortune of late, and Namgung Baek had clearly seized upon his existence as a means to weather the storm.
‘Using me? How dare you.’
In his Sword Demon days, he had spared no one foolish enough to exploit him.
Father, if you think you’ll be an exception, you’ve sorely miscalculated—
Crunch!
“There’s no one like my son! You’ve truly lifted the burden from your father’s shoulders!”
Just as Namgung Hoyeon was sharpening the blades of his resentment, Namgung Baek pulled him close and patted his back.
In an instant, his twisted heart smoothed itself out.
‘…Huh? That’s strange. I’ve been used, and yet… why doesn’t it feel wrong?’
As Namgung Hoyeon tilted his head, bewildered by this entirely new sensation—
Namgung Baek released him from the embrace, grasped his shoulders, and continued.
Pat.
“Hoyeon, there are people lining up to meet you right now.”
“To meet me?”
“Those seeking instruction on the martial texts you’ve written. The Dae-yeon Division, the Bi-yeon Division, the Cheolgeom Division, the Cheonpung Division—even the Changgung Division itself wishes to invite you.”
“…”
At his father’s words, Namgung Hoyeon’s face darkened, and he fell silent.
Noticing this reluctance, Namgung Baek waved his hand dismissively.
“Of course, if you’d rather not, you needn’t do it.”
“…Which division does my brother belong to?”
“Chunggang?”
“Then I’ll visit his division once.”
‘Why would I let my brother make a fool of himself and get killed by that Changgung Secret Method if I could help it?’
As Hoyeon muttered this to himself, Namgung Baek spoke with an expression of approval.
“Chunggang belongs to the Changgung Division, you know.”
“Then I’ll head there.”
“Ha ha! Very well.”
Namgung Baek nodded with a bright smile, then continued.
“This deserves proper compensation. Labor demands suitable payment—is there anything you need?”
Namgung Baek imagined at most some fine food or a good sword.
But Hoyeon’s answer fell far outside his expectations.
“Well then… could you buy me some land?”
“……What?”
“Even wasteland would do—just as much as possible, if you don’t mind.”
Hoyeon smiled meaningfully as he watched confusion wash over Namgung Baek’s face.
‘Heh heh heh, if that holds true, I might be able to make a tidy sum…’

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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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