Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 14

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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 14. The Sword Demon and the Earth Deity
The sun had long since fallen, and the night had grown so deep that everything around lay shrouded in darkness.
Yet the Uncheon Pavilion blazed bright as midday, illuminated by torches lit throughout its grounds.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Clang! Clang-clang!
“Ha! Haa!”
“Kiyaa!”
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The Yeonmu Training Ground echoed ceaselessly with the ring of steel and battle cries.
Ever since Namgung Hoyeon had passed through that morning.
All seven members of the Changgun Division had abandoned food and drink, immersing themselves entirely in the practice of the Changgunmuwae Sword Art.
“So it was done like this……?”
“The shift happens here.”
Swish! Swish! Again!
The faces of the Changgun members burned with intensity, yet carried an unmistakable clarity.
‘Without knowing your destination, a person is certain to lose their way.’
Namgung Chunggang observed his comrades as the thought crystallized in his mind.
‘When you wander without knowing where to go, your heart grows restless and suffocates with doubt.’
But tonight, the Changgun Division had witnessed their destination with their own eyes.
Namgung Hoyeon.
The Changgunmuwae that his beloved youngest brother had unveiled—that was the path the Changgun Division was meant to walk forward upon.
Rustle!
Namgung Chunggang opened the Commentary on the Changgunmuwae Sword Art that Hoyeon had written.
[The Changgunmuwae Sword Art aspires toward the Heavy Sword. But what is a Heavy Sword? Does it simply mean a weapon of great weight? A blade that moves with sluggish deliberation? All of these are wrong.]
“Heh, the boy. I hadn’t thought he possessed such a manly spirit.”
At Hoyeon’s crisp, clear prose—as precise as his calligraphy—Namgung Chunggang nodded in approval, his expression one of genuine admiration.
He continued reading.
[The Heavy Sword means a state that is both explosive and serene, like the eye of a typhoon. It resembles a spinning top. A top appears motionless to the eye, yet it spins with tremendous speed. Serenity within motion. Balance through endless rotation. Through this, the top acquires its own space.]
“Hah…….”
No matter how many times he read, admiration was all that welled forth.
How did such profound insight overflow from page to page?
Genius.
No other word could explain it.
‘Heh, I thought myself exceptional compared to my peers, but I’ve grown far too conceited.’
Namgung Chunggang shook his head ruefully and drew his blade.
Clang!
Ring!
In one fluid motion, he drew forth an azure aura from his sword and focused his spirit.
‘I am a spinning top. Serene. Yet endlessly in motion. Therefore, the space within ten paces around me is mine.’
Fwoosh!
The sword aura began to scatter and disperse.
It was the technique Hoyeon had displayed—the Geomun, the Sword Cloud.
Swish! Swish!
Surrounded by the azure clouds of steel that whirled about him, Namgung Chunggang resembled an azure dragon riding clouds—beautiful and otherworldly.
After sustaining the Sword Cloud for a time, Namgung Chunggang brought his blade home.
Sheathe.
Click.
“Phew, still lacking. I haven’t achieved perfect control of my surroundings yet.”
Even as he spoke thus, a smile played across his face.
For he had crossed a threshold this night.
‘There’s a resonance with the Emperor Sword Form I’ve recently learned. The Changgunmuwae Sword Art may truly be the original foundation from which the Emperor Sword Form emerged.’
As Namgung Chunggang stood lost in thought, applause sounded from behind him.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
“Chunggang. You’ve crossed your threshold. My congratulations.”
“Jaryang.”
“Heh, I thought I’d managed to catch up one pace, but here you go, running off again.”
Namgung Jaryang offered his congratulations with an easy smile, genuine in his pleasure at his brother’s achievement.
His face bore no trace of impatience, envy, or pressure.
“Thank you. I congratulate you as well.”
“What do you mean? A sparrow must flap its wings all the harder if it hopes to follow a crane.”
Namgung Jaryang shrugged and picked up the conversation.
“Well, in any case, the Phoenix won’t be catching up to him.”
“Ha, you speak truth. Hoyeon is surely the finest talent the Namgung Clan has produced.”
As Namgung Chunggang praised his younger brother with evident pride, Namgung Jaryang let out a soft laugh and opened his mouth.
“So that makes me a man recognized by the Namgung Clan’s finest talent.”
“Hmm?”
“You don’t remember? Your young master called me ‘the handsome commander.’ Not you.”
……
At Namgung Jaryang’s words, Namgung Chunggang’s expression hardened noticeably.
“That’s only because Hoyeon has a kind heart. Truth is, our youngest likes me best.”
“Ah, and what does your young master call you?”
“……He calls me brother.”
At those words, Namgung Jaryang’s face lit up with the flush of victory.
“Ha, your young master calls me ferret. A sort of nickname, you might say.”
“What! That can’t be!”
“It’s the truth. He seems to have taken quite a liking to me.”
“Hoyeon is my brother!”
“Broadly speaking, he’s my brother too. If you won’t even acknowledge that much for a distant branch of the family, I’ll quit the Changgun Division.”
At Namgung Jaryang’s casual shrug, Namgung Chunggang felt genuinely taken aback.
The Namgung Jaryang he knew would never speak of quitting the Changgun Division, even in jest.
“You’ve changed.”
“People change.”
……Is that so.
“I owe you an apology. You suffered because of my petty jealousy.”
Clasp.
Namgung Jaryang extended his hand for a handshake, apologizing for his past behavior.
Namgung Chunggang stared at that hand for a moment, then grasped it firmly and spoke.
“Nonsense. Your grievance was justified. I myself have sometimes found the family law stifling.”
“Then become the clan head and change it. You’ll have my support.”
“Ha! Now that’s a welcome thought.”
Crack!
Their clasped hands tightened with strength, and from the mouths of these two newfound allies, without hesitation, flowed the motto of the Changgun Division.
“Changgunmuwae.”
“Namcheon Gwangmyeong.”
For there is no end to the boundless sky—
And the southern heavens shall shine bright.
* * *
“With this, I confirm that all debts owed by the Namgung Clan to the Baekyun Trading Company have been settled in full.”
The man in the official’s cap spoke matter-of-factly, and Baek Wonkwang rose from his seat with a thin smile.
“Ah, a most profitable transaction.”
……
Namgung Baek looked down at the desk with a conflicted expression at Baek Wonkwang’s greeting.
On the desktop lay the promissory notes and land deeds that the Namgung Clan had owed, and between them sat a small wooden box.
Tap.
Baek Wonkwang pocketed the land deed from among the documents.
‘There were unforeseen losses, but compared to this, they’re negligible.’
Baek Wonkwang’s eyes flicked toward the box on the desk as the thought crossed his mind.
The box contained ten thousand gold taels—the fruit of Namgung Baek’s final desperate gambit.
‘Buying time for the trial to proceed is cheap at this price. Tsk, if not for that fire, I wouldn’t have given them a copper coin…….’
The Baekyun Trading Company had depleted its liquid reserves by paying massive compensation to the Geumryung Trading Company.
Ordinarily, they would have slowly bled the Namgung Clan dry, but they had become unexpectedly dependent on the harvests from the Northern Fields themselves.
Namgung Baek had leveraged that situation to extract an additional ten thousand gold taels—
But nothing could ease the sting of losing the Northern Fields, passed down through generations of ancestors.
“Ha, use that gold toward your maritime trading venture.”
……
“Should the venture prove necessary, I may come calling. As families rooted in Habee, we ought to help one another.”
At Baek Wonkwang’s words, Namgung Baek, who had remained silent, picked up the promissory note and concentrated his qi into his palm.
And then—
Whoosh!
“……Gasp!”
“Hmm…”
The promissory note caught fire, and Namgung Baek’s blue eyes fixed upon Baek Wonkwang.
“I see. Do remember the heart of a trading company master, won’t you.”
“Ahem, yes.”
Baek Wonkwang, who had turned away from Namgung Baek’s cool gaze, muttered inwardly as cold sweat beaded on his brow.
‘Samadhi True Fire… Even a withered tree bears fruit. When did he reach the Ultimate Realm?’
Samadhi True Fire was formidable in its inner force alone, but it was a technique that demanded exquisitely precise manipulation of one’s vital essence.
Common knowledge held that only masters of the Ultimate Realm could employ it.
Namgung Baek was issuing a warning.
‘Hmph! A setting sun, for all that. Do you think we’re still a mere merchant house? Don’t you know who stands behind the Baekyun Trading Company?’
His heart had raced at the unexpectedly formidable depth of the clan head, but—
Baek Wonkwang steadied himself and offered a smile laden with meaning.
“How delightful to have made a new acquaintance. Well then, I shall take my leave.”
Swish, tap!
Baek Wonkwang departed the room with swift steps.
The administrator who had witnessed the transaction then cleared his throat and spoke.
“Ahem, I too shall withdraw now.”
“Wait.”
“Yes?”
“I have a question for you.”
Whoosh.
Namgung Baek halted the administrator and pushed forward a box containing 10,000 gold taels.
“Among the lands the government oversees, is there the largest parcel money like this could purchase?”
“The largest parcel, you say…?”
“Even barren wasteland will do. As long as it’s expansive.”
At Namgung Baek’s words, the administrator paused to think, then nodded and replied.
“Then the Western Wasteland would be perfect.”
“The Western Wasteland?”
“Yes, that land has been empty for over a century, so it has no owner.”
“The price must be low?”
“It is, however…”
The administrator hesitated briefly, trailing off before continuing.
“Well… I’ll say no more. But I beg you, pay that land no mind.”
“Why would that be?”
“It’s a barren wasteland. Whether the cause is known or not, not a single blade of grass grows there—the soil is too poor for farming or herding alike.”
At the administrator’s warning, given out of concern, Namgung Baek laughed and spoke.
“Ha, I’m grateful for the advice.”
“Phew, glad you understand…”
“I’ll purchase it.”
“Pardon?”
Seeing the flustered administrator, Namgung Baek smiled broadly and replied.
“Our youngest son needs it, you see.”
Even as Namgung Baek spoke, the excited voice of the Changgun Division master echoed in his mind.
“Hahaha! Master! Rejoice! At last, a Divine Dragon has been born in the Namgung!”
‘A Divine Dragon, is it… Heh heh. Hoyeon. If you truly are a dragon, then let’s see you work some miracles on that patch of earth.’
* * *
Step, step, step.
A figure walked through the dark nighttime streets.
A small frame draped in a Black wind robe.
It was Hoyeon.
―So, off to commit arson again, boy?
“Come now, Geom. That was just a simple greeting?”
―If that’s a greeting, this world will become terribly barren. No one would dare offer salutations.
“Is that why kids these days have such terrible manners?”
―You’re the one with the worst manners!
Hoyeon, who had been bantering with Cheonrae Geom, laughed and asked.
“Never mind that. Old master—what you said was true, wasn’t it?”
―What do you mean?
“Don’t play coy. You said the Cheonrae Jwang Wangsin Gong is the Fertile Earth Creation Art.”
The Fertile Earth Creation Art.
A martial art that creates fertile soil?
Does the Cheonrae Jwang Wangsin Gong possess such a capability?
Hoyeon himself had found it difficult to believe, yet trusting Cheonrae Geom’s assurance, he’d asked his father to purchase land despite his lingering doubts.
—It’s the truth. Have you lived your whole life being deceived?
“Yes.”
—……I’m no fool either. To speak plainly: the head masters of the Namgung Clan who mastered the Cheonrae Jwang Wangsin Gong were, without exception, Earth Deities.
“That’s exactly what I don’t understand. If they were Celestial Deities or Thunder Deities, I could accept it—but Earth Deities? Surely you’re not saying they were manifestations of an ancient Earth Deity or something like that?”
—What?
“I trusted your word and committed to it without reservation. Well, I doubt my father procured a particularly vast expanse of land for me.”
Hoyeon shrugged as he spoke.
He’d made the request himself, but his father wouldn’t have acquired such an enormous tract of land for him.
Setting aside the Clan’s straitened finances, he wouldn’t have taken the words of a fifteen-year-old so seriously.
‘If he secures even a modest plot of land, at least I can test the theory.’
As Hoyeon entertained this thought, Cheonrae Geom continued.
—Didn’t I tell you? The reason the Northern Fields are so fertile is because the Namgung Clan has controlled that region for ages.
“So it wasn’t always rich soil?”
—Well, the land wasn’t poor to begin with. But since the Namgung Clan took it under management, there hasn’t been a single poor harvest. Is such a thing ordinarily possible?
“It’s impossible land. You’re saying the soil fertility remains unchanged even with crop rotation year-round?”
Ordinarily, farmers allow their fields to lie fallow to restore soil fertility.
The more fertile the land, the shorter the fallow period—yet the Northern Fields had no fallow period at all.
Even searching across all of Jungyeon, such fertile soil would be exceedingly rare.
—Heh heh! That is precisely the power of the Cheonrae Jwang Wangsin Gong. The Northern Fields have served as the training ground for successive clan heads since antiquity.
“A training ground, you say…….”
Stop.
Hoyeon’s footsteps came to a halt.
In the stillness around him, the rich scent of earth and the faint smell of water mingled together.
Turning to survey the dim surroundings, Hoyeon’s eyes grew bright.
“This is the place, isn’t it?”

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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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