Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 155

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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 155. Sword Demon Facing a Hundred
The sun hung low on the horizon, painting the afternoon in rust and gold.
A hundred students from the spring-summer cohort crowded into the Dae Yeon Mu Jang, where the opening ceremony had been held.
“Is it really happening?”
“Who knows? I’m not sure either.”
“But Bang said it, so shouldn’t it be true?”
“If it really is…!”
“It’s the chance of a lifetime!”
The students gazed at the man leading them forward, their faces caught between doubt and anticipation.
Behind him stood a scarred man with a single eye, a Cho Gak saber strapped to his back, his arms folded across his chest in a stern expression.
It was Bang Pung Gae.
‘I can’t believe he actually agreed to it.’
Despite his composed outward appearance, he was inwardly bewildered.
Bang Pung Gae, who had been recruited into the Nakjeon Dan by the Mudang Faction priest Hye Il and had risen to prominence as the leader of the spring-summer cohort, decided to ride the tide of momentum.
Though merely second-rate, he was an ambitious man.
He hoped to make a name for himself by becoming the vanguard in Namgung Ho Yeon’s takeover of the Baekmu Academy.
‘I did ask him for the favor, but I never expected he’d actually agree to it.’
Since things had come this far, Bang Pung Gae requested a sparring match between Namgung Ho Yeon and the spring-summer cohort students.
Since the Yongbong Conference, Namgung Ho Yeon had earned a reputation as a Small Master.
The rumor was that countless warriors had advanced their cultivation under his instruction.
“Gather a hundred of them at the Dae Yeon Mu Jang starting tonight. Tell them only to come if they don’t value their lives. Hehe.”
To Bang Pung Gae’s bold request, Namgung Ho Yeon had consented far too easily.
‘What’s this? A master of his caliber wouldn’t gain anything from sparring with us amateurs.’
As Bang Pung Gae wrestled with his confusion, he heard footsteps approaching from a distance.
Step, step, step.
All heads turned.
There, tearing through the sunset like a blade, came a man with eyes as blue as jade.
“He… he actually came.”
“The Thunder God’s Divine Dragon!”
“Yes! We really get to receive his instruction…!”
The students began to stir with excitement.
Ho Yeon approached Bang Pung Gae and asked, “You really pulled together quite a crowd, didn’t you?”
“It was a nightmare just selecting them. Everyone wanted to come.”
“Is that so? You’ve got quite the network.”
Ho Yeon let out an amused chuckle as he spoke.
‘I thought he was just an amusing character, but it turns out he’s actually useful.’
From their first meeting, he’d shown unexpected charm, and it seemed he’d quickly become a notable figure in the spring-summer cohort.
‘This is because of you!’
Bang Pung Gae wanted to scream at Ho Yeon’s detached tone, but he held his tongue.
After all, thanks to his connection with Namgung Ho Yeon, he could accomplish things he’d never dared dream of before.
“So you’ve come here, which means you’re prepared to die, yes?”
Ho Yeon swept his gaze across the hundred students with a cold smile.
One young man, unsettled by that smile, spoke up.
“Prepared to die? This wasn’t supposed to be a sparring lesson, was it?”
“What? You weren’t told properly?”
Ho Yeon glanced at Bang Pung Gae before continuing.
“A sparring lesson? What kind of soft language is that? This is a Desperate Stand Against the Vanguard. I clearly said for only those who don’t value their lives to come.”
“…”
“If anyone here is standing with half-hearted resolve, get out now. I don’t want to waste my time either.”
At Ho Yeon’s chilling words, not a single student moved.
Then a lean youth in a bamboo hat spoke up in a languid tone.
“I cannot fathom this, Light Dragon. Why would you go to such lengths?”
“Hmm?”
“Sparring with amateurs would yield you nothing. If you truly don’t wish to waste time, why speak of a Desperate Stand?”
The youth’s words drew curious glances from many of the students.
Ho Yeon scratched his head.
‘I can’t exactly say it’s to scout for talent and because I was feeling restless. What should I say?’
After a moment’s thought, Ho Yeon opened his mouth.
He spoke of the one field he knew best.

“Have you ever experienced war?”
“War?”
“Hundreds, thousands of lives snuffed out in a single day. Young men, brimming with vigor, become cold corpses sinking into eternal silence.”
Ho Yeon recalled the countless battlefields and fierce struggles he had witnessed during his time under Dan Wee Myeong.
Whoosh!
As he spoke, Spirit Energy rose naturally, settling heavily over the surroundings.
“Blood and flesh spray. Corpses skewered on pike tips, trampled beneath horse hooves until they’re unrecognizable. Pleas for mercy mean nothing—less than nothing. Eagles drink from rivers of blood.”
Words alone, they were.
But entangled with the Sword Demon’s hollow, keen intent—shaped by witnessing countless deaths—Ho Yeon’s speech carried the acrid stench of blood.
He regarded the overwhelmed students with emotionless eyes and continued.
“To be blunt: I could kill every one of you in a single breath.”
“……!”
“……?”
“…….”
The students felt a prickling sensation wash over their entire bodies.
Shiver!
The Killing Intent radiating from Ho Yeon chilled the very air around them.
“A breath—the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Should you meet me on a battlefield, your lives are worth scarcely that much. Does that not seem unjust?”
The students’ faces twisted in response to his words.
“What—what are you trying to say?!”
“Damn it. Are you calling us mediocre?!”
“I wanted to be a master too! Does anyone choose to be weak?!”
Angry shouts erupted from the crowd.
Only then did a smile cross Ho Yeon’s lips.
“You’re unlucky. No prestigious bloodline, no extraordinary fortune. So you must earn strength through your bodies. Study diligently at the Academy, train step by step, and grow stronger? A naive assessment.”
“……So, you intend to teach us war through practical combat, then?”
A young man wearing a bamboo hat spoke in a measured, measured tone, his voice rigid.
Ho Yeon nodded.
“Even masters die when steel pierces their belly. Those who’ve trained only in the mountains show half their true strength when meeting real combat—then collapse uselessly.”
It was true.
In the Jianghu Martial World, when the madness and Killing Intent of battle freeze the body, even peak masters fall to third-rate swordsmen.
“What you should pursue isn’t launching Palm Strikes or drawing Sword Force—it’s grim deliberation on how to drive a blade through that bastard’s throat.”
Snap!
Ho Yeon pointed at himself with his thumb and continued.
“Come at me with the resolve to die. Should you even scratch me, I’ll personally escort you to the Namgung Clan and treat you as an honored guest.”
“This……!”
“There’s a limit to mockery!”
“We’re warriors too!”
The students’ energy shifted menacingly at his provocation.
Yet the youth in the bamboo hat asked in a low, measured voice:
“Why…… go this far for us?”
He was one of the rare few who grasped Ho Yeon’s true intent.
‘Combat like real war. The words are simple, but it’s an opportunity few ever experience. Why would he……?’
To the young man’s question, Ho Yeon chuckled and replied.
“No particular reason. Perhaps I’ve seen too many pointless deaths. Walking corpses aren’t a pleasant sight.”
“……Indeed.”
“Is that so.”
“Ho Yeon clashed with the Flesh-Eating Demon Commander. He must have seen and felt much in that war.”
Several nodded in understanding.
Among them was Ak Du Gu, a towering man of seven feet.
Bang!
He stomped into a stance, raising both fists.
“Anyone who wants to remain third-rate their whole life can leave! I’ll claw my way up no matter what!”
Ak Du Gu shouted, his gaze fixed on Ho Yeon with burning ambition.
“An age of war has come! The Dragon must be strengthening the Baekmu Martial World’s combat strength through real experience. Finally, opportunity knocks for me!”
“Heh, interpretation over substance, I see.”
“Dragon, keep your word! Should my fist reach you, take me to the Namgung Clan and treat me as an honored guest!”
“Of course. Moreover, I’ll grant you lifetime free access to the Dang Dang Dang.”
“Kha-ha! I don’t know what that is, but I’ll take it!”
As Ak Du Gu’s competitive spirit blazed, the fervor spread to those around him.
Ho Yeon nodded and glanced around at those gathered before speaking.
“Everyone looks far more spirited now. There’s no coward here who’d slink away, right?”
“Of course not!”
“Not a chance!”
“I am the honored guest of the Namgung Clan!”
“Nonsense! That’s me!”
A one-versus-one-hundred martial exhibition had begun.
* * *
“Hyah!”
The first to charge was Ak Du Gu.
He drew Guhap Gi from his lower dantian and cycled it throughout his body.
Guhap Gi was the inner energy accumulated through the Guhap Gyeol technique, a training method practiced through nine distinct postures, each different from the last.
Still only second-rate, unable to materialize his power, yet his innate strength combined with this technique had allowed him to hold his own against first-rate masters back home.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As Ak Du Gu crossed his Hoenggwon strikes, a threatening sonic crack split the air as if a bear were rearing up on its hind legs and raking wildly.
“Fool—using such wide, telegraphed forms against a master? What were you thinking?”
Whisk!
Ho Yeon slipped past like water flowing with Gam Bo and burrowed into Ak Du Gu’s embrace, driving a Chung Gwon straight into him.
Crack!
“Cough! Gahhh!”
Ak Du Gu spat blood and let out a howl, snapping both hands shut like an alligator to try to trap Ho Yeon.
“Your resolve is admirable for a third-rate brute, but you need to read your opponent while you fight.”
Tug!
Ho Yeon swept his legs and Ak Du Gu toppled; as he fell, a fist streaked toward his face.
Thud! Crash-bang-bang!
Ak Du Gu’s massive frame flew a full zhang before slamming into a pillar and did not rise again.
“Next.”
“Huaaaah!”
The next challenger, a broad-shouldered man, thrust a long spear at him with a battle cry.
Ho Yeon sidestepped easily and snapped out a leg like a crane, catching him squarely in the solar plexus.
Thump!
“Next.”
“We’ll combine our strength! I take the front!”
“I’ll take the right!”
“I’ll take the left!”
“And I’ll cover the rear!”
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
Four martial artists surrounded Ho Yeon from all sides and rushed him.
Seeing this, Ho Yeon gave an approving nod.
“Good. Now you’re thinking.”
Shick!
Ho Yeon drew the Yoo Ae Geom.
Using the Cheonrae Geom or the Heukya Tae Geom risked accidental fatalities.
Zing!
The Yoo Ae Geom, drawn for the first time in ages, sang its blade song with gladness, and a faint smile crossed Ho Yeon’s lips.
“Earn your keep, you rust bucket. Show them you’re not just decoration.”
Cling! Clang-clang!
The Yoo Ae Geom whirled in a blur, parrying and deflecting the pole weapons thrusting in from all quarters.
Snap! Thud-crack-crack!
He followed up by striking with the flat of the blade, and the students began falling like scarecrows.
“Haaaagh!”
“Stop yelling while you’re attacking. Does your brain not work?”
Thwack!
“What’s that defense? Does my sword technique look like child’s play to you?”
Boom!
“You there—the one-eyed man. Since you’re missing your left eye, I’ll be kind enough to target it.”
Crack!
The claim that Ho Yeon could eliminate everyone within Il Gyeon Mo An was no exaggeration.
Ho Yeon needed nothing fancy—advancing and retreating, thrusting and cutting alone—to dispatch the first-half students with contemptuous ease.
Tap-tap-tap! Thud-crack-crack!
It was at that moment when he lifted his leg and sent four students flying with the Hak Hwoe Jik Ja.
Shrieeek!
A cold, sinister presence registered in Ho Yeon’s senses.
“Hmm?”
Snap!
Spinning smoothly, Ho Yeon caught something shot at his ribs.
‘An arrow?’
It was a short iron dart, laden with the coarse force of Jeon Sa Ryeok.
‘It threaded perfectly through the gap in my stance. Someone who understands how to hunt.’
Crack-snap-snap!
Ho Yeon’s ankles and knees bent in an unnatural angle as he planted a thunderous Jin Bo footstep.
“Not bad.”
“Gasp!”
Ho Yeon appeared before the small-framed archer.
The archer was a dark-skinned girl who, the moment Ho Yeon appeared, quickly nocked another iron dart on her Gak Gung and fired.
Whoosh! Clang!
“Oh, how’d you manage that?”
“Hisss!”
Twang! Thud-thud-thud!
The girl fired rapidly, but her darts could not evade Ho Yeon’s Gigam.
‘Every single shot threads the gaps in movement and even severs the flow of Spirit Energy. This isn’t just keen eyesight. Could it be…?’
Hum!
Ho Yeon’s brow grew hot as he concentrated Yeom Ryeok toward the girl’s center point.
Sure enough.
The girl’s center point was activated and radiating Spirit Energy in wild bursts.
Twang!
Ho Yeon deflected the wind and struck the girl’s Hun Hyeol, then turned his head.
“That leaves one. You coming?”
“……I was taking measurements.”
Ho Yeon’s gaze fell on a young man wearing a bamboo hat.
Within the hat, the youth’s eyes held a white glimmer.
“Measurements? Of what?”
“Height five chi eight cun. Shoulder span one chi three cun. Wrist-to-wrist span four chi three cun. Long blade four chi three cun. Short blade two chi six cun. Blade length three chi three cun—a longsword of those dimensions.”
“Ha.”
Ho Yeon let out a dry laugh.
“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”
“My master often remarks the same.”
“Why are you in the Spring-Summer class?”
Ho Yeon hardened his expression as he asked, and the man cast off his bamboo hat.
Beneath it appeared the face of a strong, youthful man.
The youth looked at Ho Yeon with eyes that flashed white-bright and introduced himself.
“My name is Gongsun Il Bi.”
“Doesn’t look particularly courteous.”
“Ha ha—I must use a nom de plume, so within the academy, call me Gong Hyo.”
“Getting more suspicious by the second.”
“Everyone has their circumstances, do they not?”
“So—why is someone who should be in the Autumn-Winter class in the Spring-Summer class?”
“I was gathering strength. But you’ve disrupted that.”
In response to Ho Yeon’s question, Gongsun Il Bi drew his sword and took stance.
Whisper. Ting!
“Will you promise me one thing?”
“What?”
“I have confidence that my swordplay will not yield to yours.”
“Hmm?”
“If my sword art surpasses you, then withdraw from the Spring-Summer class.”
Gongsun Il Bi made his proposal with complete confidence.
Indeed, he had reason to believe it.
‘My Spirit Ability, Il Gyeon Mo An, allows me to perfectly replicate anything I see once. My master took me as his disciple precisely because of this gift!’
His master was none other than one of the Three Sovereigns—the Sword Demon Mu Yeo Hae.
The movements he had replicated through Il Gyeon Mo An were none other than the movements of the Sword Demon himself.
No matter how renowned Namgung Ho Yeon was as a prodigy, he could never surpass the Sword Demon’s Geomgi—that of a perfected superhuman.
Ho Yeon found himself intrigued by Gongsun Il Bi’s confident proposal.
“Hm, this is interesting. All right.”
“You promised.”
“I did.”
Crack!
Ho Yeon kicked off the ground.
He swung the Yoo Ae Geom horizontally, his expression alight with anticipation.
Whoosh! Tap-tap!
‘Useless! I’ve already mapped out your every distance!’
Gongsun Il Bi had analyzed everything—Namgung Ho Yeon’s height, arm span, sword length.
If he retreated three paces, the sword would cut through empty air.
‘The Shadowless Sword that follows will stop one inch before your neck!’
Just as Gongsun Il Bi, convinced he had evaded Ho Yeon’s blade, moved his sword with subtle precision—
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
A sharp impact bloomed across his head, and stars exploded in his vision.
‘What… how is this…’
Even as his consciousness began to slip, Gongsun Il Bi forced his head up.
And he saw it.
What Namgung Ho Yeon held wasn’t the flat of a blade—it was a blue thread tied to the sword’s pommel.
‘…insane.’
Thud! Collapse!
Watching Gongsun Il Bi crumple like a frog struck by lightning, Ho Yeon muttered in disbelief.
“What is this bastard? Falling for such a pathetic trick? He’s really something else, isn’t he?”
Staring down the unconscious Gongsun Il Bi, Ho Yeon reached a conclusion.
This fool was certainly no spy for the conference.
He was far too stupid to pull off espionage.

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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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