Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 171

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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 171. The Sword Demon Receives Imperial Mandate
A fortnight had passed.
The unsettled mood that had pervaded the academy had settled back into its usual rhythm.
With eyes closed, Ho Yeon sat in lotus position, his consciousness fixed upon the Yintang Point.
Hum! Hum-hum!
The space between his brows grew warm, and waves of Spirit Energy surged through him, fluttering ceaselessly like wings in flight.
‘Good. I’ve finally reached it.’
A smile bloomed at the corner of Ho Yeon’s mouth.
The Spirit Energy that had reached eighty-eight swords had surged dramatically while he halted the explosion at the Three Gorges Formation, and now at last he had achieved Baekgeom—one hundred swords.
Baekgeom meant the ability to control one hundred blades for half a double-hour.
And by control, it meant far more than simply holding and moving them—it signified a realm of genuine combat capability.
‘Back when I was the Sword Demon, once I perfected one hundred swords, I could annihilate all but the greatest sects alone.’
Baekgeom was precisely such a symbolic milestone.
Though it was said to be merely a tenth of Dan Wee Myeong at his peak, it was nonetheless no shallow attainment.
‘I’ve reached it far faster than I expected. I’d thought five years given the changed circumstances.’
In his past life, every day of Dan Wee Myeong’s existence had been a struggle, a constant dance upon the razor’s edge between life and death.
By contrast, life as Namgung Ho Yeon had been an unbroken sequence of calm days.
Certainly a few matters had intervened, yet against the crucible of his years as the Sword Demon, they were nothing—mere drops in an ocean.
‘Was it the extreme telekinetic focus, the precise manipulation wrapping each Jincheonrae one by one, and above all that insight gained in a flash—was it these that expanded my very soul?’
Spirit Energy grew stronger the more one wielded it, the more one drew upon it beyond its limits.
Thus the Sword Demon, locked in endless struggle, had grown formidable with speed.
Yet there were paths to strengthen Spirit Energy beyond mere life-and-death combat and the torment of the mind.
‘What matters is the trembling of the soul. The growth of the spirit, one might say.’
There had been a moment when his Spirit Energy surged dramatically—the instant he witnessed Ahyeon ensnared by Chu Taek.
A connection woven slowly, like rain seeping into cloth.
And at that terrible moment when it threatened to be severed in one stroke, Ho Yeon’s spirit had grown.
‘This time follows the same pattern. The moment I grasped concretely what the Greatest Family Under Heaven means to me, my soul trembled.’
The Greatest Family Under Heaven.
At first it had been a shallow, surface-level aspiration he’d scarcely pondered in earnest.
Yet through the events that followed, Ho Yeon had come to establish a genuine vision of what that Greatest Family meant to him.
‘The Greatest Family Under Heaven I envision is not a tyrannical house built upon mountains of corpses, dominating all through force. Rather, it is one that embraces the forsaken within vast walls—yes, a family vast as the azure sky itself.’
Hum! Hum!
The Yintang Point resonated with his thought, and Spirit Energy danced with joy.
Perhaps it would have been simpler to conquer through strength and dominate all things.
Yet Ho Yeon, remembering his past when he was called the greatest under heaven, and how nothing remained in his hands, shook his head.
‘I renounce a fleeting life lived merely to survive. At least in this life, I wish to look back before death and say with pride that it held true meaning.’
Hum-hum!
The Yintang Point grew pleasantly warm.
With that warmth, Ho Yeon’s smile deepened.
‘Come to think of it…….’
Ho Yeon’s awareness, which had been examining the Yintang Point, descended lower to touch the Qihai Point.
A clear azure sky stretched vast as an ocean before him.
Within it, clouds like flocks of sheep drifted lazily past.
‘This half-Gapja of cultivation. Even I can see the pace is absurd.’
Should it be known that he’d accumulated a Gapja and a half of Nae Gong in merely three and a half years, surely all would point fingers and cry demonic cultivation.
Such an impossible achievement—the secret lay in the gradual expansion of his Danjeon through endless cycles of Jingi Yeonso and Yeomryeok Suphoe.
‘More Nae Gong is always better. Especially in my case, where each technique devours considerable reserves—this cannot be enough.’
Both Jingi Yeonso and Cheonrae Gi demanded vast quantities of Nae Gong.
Watching the Danjeon expand smoothly, Ho Yeon nodded to himself.
‘All well and good, but… damn. This one thing alone has no answer.’
His awareness, flowing through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, halted at the Gate of Life and Death—the threshold between the Conception Vessel and the Governing Vessel—unable to pass through.
What exactly was lacking?
His mastery of Qi spoke for itself; his understanding of the martial way was second to none.
Enlightenment.
That damned enlightenment.
Ho Yeon recalled a conversation he’d had a fortnight ago while descending the hillside with Geumjeong.
“You find Seungbyeok too difficult?”
“Yes, shouldn’t we have crossed over by now, in principle?”
“Heh heh heh, speaking as though you’ve already attempted Seungbyeok once.”
…….
Geumjeong regarded Ho Yeon with his pouting lips and spoke thus.
“It is difficult to say. The enlightenment that leads to Seungbyeok differs for each person, so seeking instruction from others will not bear much fruit.”
“Are you saying I must achieve Chanwo on my own?”
“That is the truth. Though…….”
Geumjeong paused, then continued, gazing at Ho Yeon with eyes full of meaning.
“In your case, talent so extraordinary may have become a poison instead.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“When a wall is high, it is only natural that it becomes difficult to climb.”
“A wall……that is high?”
“Knowledge and perception are not necessarily virtuous. They are also the source of attachment and affliction.”
‘My wall is high?’
Ho Yeon turned the words over in his mind.
When a wall is high, its strengths and weaknesses are pronounced.
From atop a high wall, one sees far more than from a low one.
Yet the higher it stands, the harder it is to ascend—that much was certain.
‘Why is my wall higher than others?’
Pondering this question, Ho Yeon arrived at a hypothesis.
‘Could it be that I already know what lies beyond the wall?’
Once, Ho Yeon had climbed atop the wall through Forced Breaking Through.
Not a true Seungbyeok, perhaps, but a Seungbyeok nonetheless.
He had witnessed clearly what existed beyond that wall.
‘Then, am I meant to climb so high that even that landscape I once saw becomes a distant memory? Is such a thing even possible?’
Ho Yeon’s expression darkened.
Indeed, if this hypothesis were true, it would explain the difficulty of Seungbyeok.
The problem was that he still lacked a solution.
‘……If this stagnation continues, I may have to seriously consider Forced Breaking Through again.’
Ho Yeon furrowed his brow.
His desire not to repeat past mistakes remained, yet he could not ignore the possibility of desperate circumstances.
He had achieved Baekgeom, but it was not invincible.
Above all, in this present world there existed a new school of martial arts called Mansang Yusim.
‘Mo Yong Sang Cheon’s Golden Light Sword. The King of Ghosts’ Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara. To stand against such foes, Seungbyeok is at the very minimum a necessity.’
Assuming all ten fingers and ten toes touched Mansang Yusim, at least twenty.
And considering eccentrics and wanderers like Du Il and Du Yi, scattered like grains of sand across the Jianghu, even double that would not be surprising.
‘If the worst comes to pass……I will not hesitate to cross over.’
Ho Yeon had made his resolve.
Now, what mattered to him was not martial prowess itself, but the family he must protect through that prowess.
If a master who had reached Mansang Yusim ever set his sights on the Namgung Clan’s walls.
He would cross that wall by any means necessary and slay that man.
“Sigh…….”
Ho Yeon exhaled deeply, troubled in spirit, and opened his eyes.
Before him, a white mochi mouse with two round eyes like black beans gleamed with light as it gazed upon him.
Crunch, crunch!
“Munch, munch.”
Baekseol O was busily cracking sunflower seeds and stuffing them into its mouth.
Both cheeks bulged as if they might burst from how much it had already stored.
“Does it taste good?”
“Squeak!”
“You have it easy. No cares at all.”
“Squeak?”
“Ah, to envy a little mouse. How miserable is the human condition.”
“Squeak! Squeak squeak!”
As Ho Yeon rose to his feet with a sigh, Baekseol O bounced in place, begging to be taken along.
‘Tsk, I ought to hand this one off before growing too fond of it.’
At that charming display, Ho Yeon found himself smiling despite himself.
Mo Yong Yul had no peace at the moment.
He was busy filling the gap left by Gongryeongmun’s departure.
“Squeak! Squeak squeak!”
Thump!
As Ho Yeon wondered when he should hand the creature over, Baekseol O chirped loudly and dropped a single sunflower seed.
“Squeak!”
Namgung Ho Yeon loosened his hair tie as he watched Baekseol O scramble to pick up the seeds he’d startled loose.
“All right, all right. Let’s go for a walk.”
“Squeak!”
Rustle.
The hair tie Namgung Ho Yeon had been wearing was made of thin, barely visible threads layered together.
It was Cheoncansa Silk—the same material that Chu Taek, the Blue-Eared Rat, had possessed.
It was a new hair tie Namgung Ho Yeon had had made, replacing the leather cord that would snap whenever he activated the Cheonrae Gi.
Knot.
Namgung Ho Yeon tied the Cheoncansa Silk around Baekseol O’s armpit.
“Let’s go.”
“Chirp!”
Patter, patter!
* * *
“What? What’s that over there?”
“You haven’t seen it yet? It’s been a few days already.”
“Eek! A rat—isn’t that a rat?”
The maids murmured and stared at one spot.
There unfolded the bizarre sight of a young master as beautiful as a painted portrait, taking a white rat for a walk.
Tap-tap-tap!
“Squeak!”
Now that they were outside and spirits were high, Baekseol O bounded across the veranda with vigorous energy.
His nostrils flaring, Baekseol O’s black eyes gleamed, and he suddenly darted off at speed toward somewhere.
Tug!
“Nope. Can’t do that.”
“Squeak!”
Namgung Ho Yeon pulled on the Cheoncansa Silk, and Baekseol O pawed the air as if pleading to be released.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to—trying to sneak into someone else’s room again.”
“Squeak!”
“Don’t give me that innocent act. Who else would steal nothing but nuts from the refreshment platters?”
“Squeak-eeee……”
In response to Namgung Ho Yeon’s firm rebuke, Baekseol O’s spirit dampened, and he worked his puffy cheeks in dejection.
―You two get along well. Wasn’t it said you met as enemies?
At the Cheonrae Sword’s question, Namgung Ho Yeon shrugged and answered.
‘Meeting as enemies was about the Kang family’s debt. What fault does he have? He was probably just following whoever fed him.’
―Hmm? So you do have that much discernment.
‘A murin may hold a grudge against a man, but no one holds a grudge against the blade he wielded. Same principle.’
Step, step, step.
As Namgung Ho Yeon walked while conversing with the Cheonrae Sword, sharp shouts reached his ears from a distance.
“Ha! Haah!”
“Cha-ha!”
“Again!”
“The Hwasan Sword Technique is ever-changing—our movements are too rigid!”
“The Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Method is said to embody speed, change, and circulation. We’re definitely missing something.”
“Ugh, there they go again.”
Hearing those voices, Namgung Ho Yeon turned his feet toward the back gate.
By now, the training ground near the front entrance would certainly be occupied by the Hwasan Sect disciples.
―Do you know why they train here?
‘Of course I do.’
Namgung Ho Yeon answered the Cheonrae Sword curtly.
At some point, the Hwasan Sect disciples had begun showing off right before his eyes.
It started after Un Am revealed that he was the one who had helped restore the Seryup Flag.
‘Tsk. Why did I even help them?’
―The situation is pitiful—wouldn’t you help? You’re diligent with nightly instruction and sparring for the Chunha students, so why are you cold toward them?
‘It’s my preference.’
At Namgung Ho Yeon’s words, the Heukya Tae Geom, which had been quiet, spoke.
―It must be because of Pyeong the Elder.
―Pyeong the Elder?
―Pyeong Mu-tan—a carpenter from Shaanxi three hundred years ago. Someone the Oga regarded like a father……
‘Shut it.’

Namgung Ho Yeon cut off the Sword Heart Resonance abruptly, his voice rough.
A memory he’d rather have forgotten had surfaced unbidden.
“Tch, that soured my mood. Let’s go grab some pastries instead. I’ll buy you some nuts too.”
“Chirp!”
He slipped out through the back entrance and was crossing the threshold of the academy when—
A woman in white robes came rushing toward him, her hair cut in layers rippling behind her.
Patter-patter!
“Namgung Ho Yeon!”
“Jegal Ahyeon?”
“What are you doing here?!”
“Taking a walk.”
At his answer, her chestnut eyes flicked toward Baekseol O for a moment before returning to him.
“Haven’t you heard the news?”
“What news?”
“The imperial carriage has arrived!”
“Imperial carriage? Why would a fishmonger come here?”
“Not a fishmonger—the imperial carriage! The Emperor’s own conveyance! It came straight from Beijing!”
“And?”
Namgung Ho Yeon merely blinked at her, and Jegal Ahyeon’s cheeks flushed crimson as she pointed at him and cried out.
“It came to take you! A privilege the Emperor would only grant a Victorious General! Go wash up this instant and change into your finest clothes!”
“Uh… what?”
“Chirp?”

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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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