Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 163

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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 163. The Sword Demon Meets the Twin Demons
Patter! Patter-patter!
The monsoon season, which had reached its peak, was beginning to wane.
“W-what did you just say?”
“As of this moment, Gongryeong Mun is to withdraw completely from Uichang,” he said.
“What do you mean by—!”
“Inform the disciples. Gongryeong Mun has fulfilled its role. Withdraw from Uichang by midnight.”
Mo Yong Hak appeared suddenly and spoke without warning. Facing him, Mo Son, the leader of Gongryeong Mun, flushed red with anger.
“This is absurd! We’ve only just begun our counterattack! If we continue to retake our positions with the strength of the Twin Demons—!”
“The Twin Demons will have received word as well.”
“…What?”
“Heh heh, this was always the plan. Allow me to reveal the true nature of this operation—the real intentions of Lord Kwon So-gun.”
Mo Yong Hak continued, the burn scar on his left cheek twitching as he spoke.
As he laid bare the operation’s true design, Mo Son’s face drained of color with each passing moment.
When Mo Yong Hak finished, a stricken Mo Son cried out.
“Have you gone mad?! If you do such a thing—!”
“If I do?”
Flare!
A crimson fire flickered to life in Mo Yong Hak’s eyes.
“Are you refusing to comply with the will of the Society?”
“…No, that is not my intent.”
“This operation has been in preparation since before Baekmu Academy ever opened its doors. The explosive growth of Uichang’s population was a blessing to us.”
“…”
“The Commander said this: rather than sit passively on a board another has arranged and be pulled about like a puppet, he would overturn the board itself. Thus Baekmu Academy will now begin its descent into closure.”
Gulp.
Mo Son swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he murmured in response to Mo Yong Hak’s words.
“A frightening man, indeed.”
“Heh heh heh, I too was shocked when I first heard it. No man with a human heart could devise such a scheme.”
Mo Yong Hak continued with a thin smile.
“That is why I welcomed it. With such a Commander, I was certain he would use us without regard for our origins or sentiment, crafting the finest results imaginable.”
“…I see. Gongryeong Mun was merely bait.”
“Not only Gongryeong Mun. Detonating Shaking Heaven Thunder at Hyeobgang Daru and allowing the Yin-Yang Twin Demons to rampage freely were both meant to fix everyone’s attention on the streets of Uichang.”
“Everyone has been dancing in the palm of the Commander’s hand…”
“Make haste. Time grows short. Once this operation concludes, we must lie low for some time.”
“Well, of course. If we are discovered, our entire clan will be eradicated.”
“Do not worry. Whatever losses we suffer in this affair, we shall recoup tenfold.”
Tap, tap, tap.
Mo Yong Hak walked with laughing steps.
“Heh heh, is it not thrilling? We shall remain in history eternally.”
* * *
Whoosh!
The man racing forward like a tempest had anguish written across his face.
Though he had distinguished himself since the practical evaluation began, his body and mind moved as if detached from one another.
A conversation from ten days ago refused to leave his thoughts.
“Look, let me be clear about this much—I have no particular interest in the Student Council presidency.”
“…If the presidency isn’t your goal, what exactly are you after?”
“Heavenly Supremacy.”
“Heavenly Supremacy… I see.”
To hear a man speak so brazenly of Heavenly Supremacy as his own aspiration.
It sounded like something a reckless child might say—immature, childish, utterly divorced from reality.
And yet.
Ak San Gun’s heart had raced.
Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump!
‘When I was young, I too dreamed of Heavenly Supremacy. I imagined crushing all the masters of the age and standing alone at the summit.’
But at some point.
He had stopped dreaming such dreams.
In his youth he had earned the sobriquet of Azure Dragon, and for nearly two decades after, he had built his renown by wandering the Jianghu.
Shandong was a region of ceaseless conflict with the Pashun Blood Sect, and Azure Dragon had quietly become a Strong General.
One of the Hundred Eighty Stars of Heaven.
Though he had become one of the elite that martial artists everywhere dreamed of becoming, Ak San Gun felt no sense of accomplishment.
‘Everyone calls me a genius, but I know the truth. As a warrior, I’m nothing but ordinary.’
This wasn’t self-deprecation—it was an objective assessment of his own limits.
He simply possessed natural talent, that was all. There was nothing extraordinary about him, nothing that truly warranted the title of genius.
‘So did I give up? On reaching Heavenly Supremacy?’
At some point, he’d begun to feel as though he were running without purpose.
To escape that frustration, he’d manufactured a reason.
‘Mad Wind Cloud Break Spear Ak Bul Gun. A true genius—that’s what the old man is.’
No matter how high he climbed in Shandong, he could never escape his father’s shadow.
Was that it?
Was it his father all along?
This suffocation—where did it come from?
If he surpassed his father, would this weight finally lift?
‘Then I heard that Baekmu Academy was opening. I threw caution aside and threw myself in.’
If Shandong wouldn’t work, then Hubei would.
If he became Student Council President and faced off against Gucheon Seong, he could become a cornerstone of what would become the Baekdo Murim Alliance in years to come.
For that, what did it matter if he rolled through blood and dirt, if his hands were stained red?
But then……
“Heh heh heh. I thought the mad wind was howling, yet all it was was a gentle breeze?”
Ak San Gun muttered to himself with bitter irony.
He was trampling over younger Later Generation Disciples, vying for the position of Student Council President.
Yet his competitor—twenty years his junior—had no interest in the role at all.
“Of course. A man aiming for Heavenly Supremacy wouldn’t give the Student Council President position a second glance.”
Ak San Gun let out a dry laugh.
Suddenly, he felt contempt for himself.
What am I even doing here?
“Tch. Forget it. Stop thinking about this. At this rate, a Heart Demon will find me.”
Whoosh!
After turning his head, Ak San Gun arrived at his destination shortly after.
This was a desolate slum in the northern region of Iling District.
Step, step, step.
“Just like a young noble to skulk in a dark place like this.”
Ak San Gun, who had been wandering through the slum, stopped walking.
Someone was approaching from ahead.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Retreat? The Gongryeong Mun leader deceived us? Argh! That pig of a bastard!”
“Brother, please calm yourself.”
“Du Yi! How can you not be angry? That creature’s inner core was exactly what you needed!”
“I’m fine, really. There will be other opportunities. More importantly, let’s leave this place quickly. We’re far away now, but we can’t be too careful.”
A massive figure with two heads emerged from the moonlight, accompanied by the murmur of a man and woman conversing.
Slice!
Ak San Gun drew his spear from behind his back.
“Those crazy bastards! Are they seriously going to do it? If they pull something like that……wait?”
Du Il, upon spotting Ak San Gun blocking the path ahead, twitched his eyebrows.
“Who are you?”
“This junior pays respects to the Yin-Yang Twin Demons. My name is Ak San Gun.”
“Ak San Gun?”
“Brother, he’s one of our targets. Well, he was one.”
Du Yi looked down at Ak San Gun and spoke.
“Ho ho, young one. We have no business with you now. Won’t you step aside?”
“I’m afraid I cannot. Over a hundred students from this academy have been beaten down by your hands in the past few days.”
Whoosh-whoosh!
Boom-boom-boom!
As Ak San Gun began to swing his spear in concert with his words, a fierce wind rose up with a sound like a swarm of insects taking flight.
At this display, Du Yi narrowed his eyes and spoke.
“So you’re the one called the Explosive Heaven Strong General in Jianghu? You think the world is at your feet because you benefited from that absurd title, the Hundred Eighty Stars of Heaven?”
“Heh heh. For someone of the previous generation, you have a sharp tongue indeed. Did you earn your place among the Ten Demons through such eloquence?”
“What did you say? You whelp! How dare you speak such nonsense!”
At Ak San Gun’s words, Du Il cried out with an expression as fierce as that of a demon.
“We do not forgive those who call us demons! To us brothers and sisters, it is you lot who are the true demons!”
“Brother, please calm yourself……”
“Du Yi! You’ve held back long enough all this time! Today, at least, I’ll teach that rule-breaking bastard a proper lesson!”
Roar!
Du Il’s fury ignited his Red Yang Divine Energy, which blazed a crimson inferno and began to radiate searing heat.
“Sigh, there’s no helping it.”
Du Yi knew all too well that once her older brother’s temper had snapped, there was no stopping him.
They had done everything together since birth, after all.
Crackle!
White frost began to gather on Du Yi’s body as she drew upon her White Yin Divine Energy, and with her eyes narrowed, she gazed at Ak San Gun and declared, “I’ll flatten him in an Il Gak.”
“Gahahaha! Let’s go!”
Whoosh!
The Yin-Yang Twin Demons’ massive frames moved with startling grace.
Slash! Clash!
Du Il drew his Ring-Pommel Sabre, and Du Yi unsheathed her slender Long Sword.
‘The Combination Technique of the Yin-Yang Twin Demons is said to be without peer in the Martial World. But now that the mad wind has already begun to blow!’
Whoosh-whoosh!
Gray force surged forth like a constellation of stars and lodged itself in Ak San Gun’s Hook Scythe Spear.
The Hook Scythe Spear is a weapon with a hook protruding from the side of the spear blade.
Infantry soldiers mainly wielded such weapons to drag mounted warriors from their horses or strike at a horse’s legs to rob it of mobility.
Boom!
Because of this, the whirlwind born from Ak San Gun’s explosive force had transcended mere wind compression, becoming as sharp and grasping as a hook itself—dreadful beyond measure.
‘No matter how perfectly two ultimate masters move as one through a Combination Technique, it cannot reach an Ascended Master…….’
Just as Ak San Gun had positioned himself to unleash the Piercing Spear of the Mad Wind First Appearance.
Whoosh!
Crackle!
From Du Il’s sabre erupted a torrent of red Sword Force, and from Du Yi’s blade surged a cascade of white Sword Force.
The sight was breathtakingly beautiful, as though sun and moon had risen together in the sky.
“Ascended Masters?! Both of you?!”
“Gahahaha! Did you think only you had climbed the wall?”
“Hohoho, fifteen years have treated us fairly as well.”
Boom! Crackle!
Sabre force and Sword Force crashed down upon the stunned Ak San Gun.
“Hgh!”
Ak San Gun withdrew his Piercing Spear and used the Blocking Spear to deflect and sweep away the assault of the Twin Demons, crying out as he was forced backward.
The cold, contractile nature of Yin Energy and the hot, expansive nature of Yang Energy detonated simultaneously, and his core field jolted violently.
‘If one masters both Yin-Yang Dual Energy at once, one becomes invincible under heaven—is this what it means?’
There are rumors that those who study the Two-Instrument Divine Skill, the supreme secret art of the Wudang School, can master Yin-Yang Dual Energy, but it has never been confirmed.
Yet the Yin-Yang Twin Demons were chosen from birth to be one and yet two, destined to wield Yin-Yang Dual Energy from the moment of their birth.
“Gahahaha! Why do you falter? Where has all your confidence gone?”
“Hohoho, the Spear King might be formidable, but his son—”
Boom!
Crackle!
“Agh!”
Trapped in the rhythm of scorching heat and bitter cold, Ak San Gun could not gather his wits.
After parrying several times, he realized that frontal combat offered no path to victory, and he began to rapidly spin his spear.
“Haaah!”
Whoooosh—!
Thus the Rotating Long Wheel of the Realm-Transcending High Spear created a massive vortex and, following the mysteries of the spiral, formed a Blocking Wind.
Crash-crack-crack!
Stopped by the Cutting Wind, Du Il and Du Yi gasped in admiration.
“Oh? You command the wind so freely?”
“This must be the Mad Wind Cloud Break Spear devised by the Spear King.”
“He amplifies the wind born from the spear’s rotation using internal force and will through the Linked Ring Spear technique?”
“Hohoho. Brother, do that!”
“Excellent idea!”
Slash! Clash!
Against Ak San Gun’s Rotating Long Wheel, Du Il brought his sabre down low while Du Yi raised her sword high.
Roar!
Crackle!
Then, simultaneously, red Sword Force and white Sword Force surged forth explosively, and in their divided form of Yang and Yin, they resembled the Tai Chi itself.

Swoosh!
‘What the—? Hmm?!’
Ak San Gun, observing the Twin Demons’ peculiar stance, felt an uncanny dissonance and furrowed his brow.
Crash!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
He felt an artificial wind current threading through the Blocking Wind’s flow generated by the Rotating Long Wheel.
“Krahaha! Do you know this? Hot air rises naturally!”
“And cold air sinks just as naturally, you see. Hohoho.”
“…!”
Ak San Gun’s eyes widened as he grasped the Twin Demons’ design.
Whoooosh!
The ascending warm current and descending cold current met in the middle and began to swirl together.
The Red Yang Divine Energy expanded, forming a low-pressure zone, while the White Yin Divine Energy contracted, forming a high-pressure zone.
This technique, utilizing the pressure differential, was none other than the Yin-Yang Convection Rotation.
Crash!
Before the Twin Demons materialized a massive turbulence, swirling chaotically like a tempest.
“Hrah!”
“Chah!”
Flash!
Du Il’s sabre rose in a semicircle overhead, while Du Yi’s sword descended in a matching arc below—they had reversed positions.
As they did, the tempest they’d scarcely maintained exploded forward like dragon’s breath.
Boom!
“Urrgh!”
Ak San Gun swiftly spun his spear, reinforcing the Rotating Long Wheel, but it was not enough.
‘I can’t… control all of it…’
Shatter!
Finally, the Blocking Wind of the Rotating Long Wheel, which had held back the Twin Demons’ advance, collided with the Yin-Yang Convection Rotation and dissipated.
But the destruction of the Rotating Long Wheel was not the only problem.
The Mad Wind Cloud Break Spear relied on the continuous, unbroken force of the Mad Wind through the Linked Ring Spear technique—and that flow was severed in the middle.
“Krahaha! I’ve got you!”
“Ohoho, Il Gak lasted quite long.”
Slash, slash, slash!
Ak San Gun gritted his teeth as the Twin Demons pressed their advantage without hesitation.
‘There must be a way…’
Buzz!
His brow burned white-hot, and the rushing movements of the Twin Demons suddenly seemed to slow.
Yet their movements had not truly slowed—it was Ak San Gun’s thought that had accelerated.
‘With the Mad Wind sealed, the Linked Ring Spear is useless. What do I do? The Forty-Nine Form Evil Song Spear? The Azure Dragon Heaven-Drop Spear? The Heaven-Breaking Nine Spear?’
Ak San Gun’s mind began to marshal every martial technique at his disposal against the Twin Demons.
This was Ak San Gun’s Innate Talent: Speed-Thought Slow-Flow.
True to its name—swift thinking and sluggish passage—it was a unique gift that accelerated his cognition, allowing him to contemplate with multiple times the effort others possessed.
Ak San Gun, who regarded himself as mediocre, was praised by others as a genius precisely because he devoted tens of times more effort through Speed-Thought Slow-Flow.
‘Damn it! Facing two Ascended Masters was never winnable from the start. I’ll have to cut my losses and flee… wait?’
Then.
In the world slowed by Speed-Thought Slow-Flow.
A beam of light nonetheless shot forward with terrible speed.
Rumble! Flash!
White lightning fell from the sky, and the gently falling rain and the damp earth below responded, as the ground for a dozen paces around erupted into a festival of light.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
A man clad in white lightning from head to toe landed and cut down the Twin Demons with his gleaming Light Sword.
Boom! Crackle!
The man knocked the Twin Demons back, left furrows in his wake, then turned to face them—his back now to Ak San Gun.
Speed-Thought Slow-Flow ended.
“Namgung Ho Yeon?!”
“You treacherous bastard!”
“…What?”
“Hogging such a fun opponent all to yourself? Let me have a piece!”
Ho Yeon turned his head to face the bewildered Ak San Gun and declared it.
“I’m calling dibs on the woman!”
…….

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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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