Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 183

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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 183. The Sword Demon Seeking Seungbyeok
The Hwang San Faction building, which had languished in dreary neglect, stirred with life.
Weeds that had grown to the knee were cleared away, and broken tiles swept up.
Above all, voices of people rang out across the grounds, filling the space with vitality.
Among all the structures, the Seven Star Pavilion was particularly bustling.
“How did it go?”
“Success. Thirteen temples in all—Bongrae Temple, Geumnung Temple, Cheondo Temple, Jigong Temple, and others—have agreed to lend their support.”
“Excellent. Their help will be invaluable in establishing the defense posts. They’re all rooted here in Hwang San, after all.”
“The Eighth Company has returned to full strength.”
“What of the progress?”
“According to the Myoshan Commander, since it’s a simple array formation, one week should suffice.”
“Swift work.”
“Commander! The적계 Sega Lord and Lord Jungdeok have arrived!”
“Show them to the inner quarters. Tell them I’ll be with them shortly.”
Jegal Ahyeon, the strategist of the Nakjeon Dan, remained at the Seven Star Pavilion, commanding the execution of the Samak Defense Plan.
“Phew—with this, the defenses on the Hwang San side should be secure for now. Once the array formation is complete, I’ll need to head down to Jeyun Mountain.”
Ahyeon murmured this to herself with a short exhale.
She had been no less busy than Namgung Ho Yeon of late.
Her days were consumed with constructing fortifications around Hwang San to cover one section of the Samak Defense Plan.
‘The Nakjeon Dan numbers two thousand—a substantial force, yet insufficient to encircle two mountains without gaps.’
For this reason, Ahyeon had sent out requisition notices to the neighboring temples and sects.
The surrounding powers, anxious about Gucheon Seong’s northward advance, nodded in agreement at the emergence of the Sword Demon and declared their willingness to participate.
‘The ultimate goal is to ensure the defenses remain viable even after the Nakjeon Dan withdraws in three months. Is it even possible?’
Countless strategies formed and dissolved in Ahyeon’s mind in endless succession.
For now, she was constructing defense posts throughout Hwang San to create an environment suitable for guerrilla warfare.
Moreover, with the aid of the Dan Ri Sega, she was simultaneously installing array formations at key locations to set traps.
As a result, the Nakjeon Dan soldiers these days seemed caught between being warriors and combat engineers.
‘I have to make this work. If I can’t manage even this much, I won’t deserve to walk beside him.’
Ahyeon gazed at the leather satchel resting in the corner of the room, her resolve hardening.
It was the satchel he had brought to her suddenly last night, tossed down, and left with just as quickly.
“What is this?”
“Money.”
“Money? What on earth—wait, how much?!”
“It’s not stolen. I won it.”
“Won? You actually…won it?”
“Use it for operating funds. You said money was tight.”
“…Heavens above.”
Ahyeon shook her head as she recalled the absurdity of it all.
“A gambling addiction, no less. I’m deeply worried about his future.”
Ahyeon continued with a heavy sigh.
“Ah…when your partner is too capable, you end up with problems like this.”
When Namgung Ho Yeon had mentioned the Riding Emptiness Entering Room technique last night, she’d nearly gone pale.
Slipping into a room when it lay empty—that was what he’d said.
Which meant striking deep into enemy territory alone, on his own.
“So Ho Jeop, Geumcheon, and Hyeol Yeom are positioned respectively on Okwha Mountain, Yongho Mountain, and Baekyun Mountain, yes?”
“It’s madness! Far too reckless!”
“Yongho Mountain, where Geumcheon Do Moon is located, lies close to where the strike force will operate near Poyang Lake. At full speed, it’s less than two days away.”
“Distance isn’t the point! If you venture that deep alone, you’ll—!”
“This is the best course.”
Namgung Ho Yeon spoke to her objections with quiet certainty.
“It’s the method that achieves maximum gain with minimum casualties. If the operation succeeds, their attention will shift from the Samak Defense Plan to the rear—exactly where we need it.”
“…Namgung Ho Yeon.”
“You do what you can do. I’ll do what I can do.”
“…”
“I have a way of living that’s developed over years. You don’t change that overnight.”
As he spoke, his expression hardened, then softened into a faint smile.
“You paint the grand design. I’ll rampage within it in my own way. The reason this is possible is because I trust you.”
“…”
“The more their attention focuses on Poyang Lake, the safer I become. I’m counting on you.”

“Sigh, if you put it that way, how can I refuse?”
Jegal Ahyeon steadied her resolve, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Namgung Ho Yeon, who had once found Nakjeon Dan tiresome, was now pouring affection into them.
If Ho Yeon were to breach the enemy’s forward line and ravage their main camp, the burden on Nakjeon Dan would naturally lighten.
Ho Yeon truly has a tender heart.
‘Still, that’s better than before when he wouldn’t open his heart to anyone.’
In some ways, Ho Yeon carried himself like someone older than her; in others, he had the vulnerability of a child.
That’s why she needed to try harder—to ensure he wouldn’t be hurt again.
“Perfect! I’ll turn the area around Poyang Lake into a wasteland for you!”
Whoosh!
Jegal Ahyeon turned her head toward the window.
“Are you listening?”
Perched on the windowsill was a small bird with a white body, yellow crest, and rosy cheeks, grooming its feathers.
“Yul!”
“Yul?!”
At Jegal Ahyeon’s cry, the bird’s head snapped up and its beak clicked rapidly.
“Yul! Yul! Listening! Yes!”
The bird spoke.
A talking bird.
It was a Cockatiel, a messenger she had received from Mo Yong Yul, whom she’d met in Yi Chang.
“Alright, Yul. I need information about the area around Poyang Lake.”
“Poyang Lake! Information! Yes!”
“And I need your people’s help as well.”
“Help?”
“To be precise, the Seon Mun’s help. Can you have them recruit the boatmen around Poyang Lake?”
“Seon Mun! Boatmen! Possible! Yes!”
“Hehe, you’re quite capable, aren’t you?”
“I! Capable! Yes!”
“Good. I’ll tell Ho Yeon things got easier thanks to you, Yul.”
“Chirp-chirp-chirp! Thank you!”
* * *
“Ha!”
Crash!
Peng Gu Pae charged forward with a roaring battle cry.
Gray Qi Force rippled unstably across his blade, as if it might rupture at any moment.
‘He’s not losing control—he’s choosing not to restrain it.’
Whoosh!
Stepping the Gam Bo, Namgung Ho Yeon flowed past like water, and Peng Gu Pae’s blade struck back at him like lightning, carving a sharp right angle through the air.
Boom!
With a deafening roar that warped the atmosphere, the crushing force of Thunder Heaven Descent came crashing down.
Clang!
Realizing he couldn’t dodge, Ho Yeon drew the Spear Bow Qi Force from the Cheonrae Geom, and the blue sky around him expanded in wave after wave.
Bang! Ting!
“Ugh!”
Peng Gu Pae couldn’t withstand the recoil and was sent flying, and in that opening stepped a Daoist with a sickly, pallid face and wind-tossed hair.
“Kehehehe! Now it’s my turn!”
Whoosh!
From the Daoist’s blade rose a strange, murky blue-black Qi Force, a mixture of azure and shadow.
‘Dark-Blue Demon Qi Technique. That twisted art… I haven’t seen it in ages.’
Namgung Ho Yeon smirked.
It brought back memories of the Mad Path practitioners of the Bokma Sword Brigade he’d cut down by the hundreds in the past.
The Daoist with the wind-tossed hair was So Gyu, the second-generation senior disciple of the Gongdong Faction, known as the Demon-Slaying Sword.
Slash-slash-slash!
So Gyu stepped the Seven Kill Step and accelerated seven times, driving hard into Ho Yeon’s space.
Most sword practitioners lead with the blade, but So Gyu did the opposite.
‘Throwing his body into the enemy’s attack range to force his way in, with the blade following behind—the Human-Ghost Same Path technique!’
It was a perilous fighting style that one couldn’t even attempt without the resolve to kill with a single strike and sever all retreat.
“Huh, still mad as ever!”
“Kyahaa! Demon-Slaying Sword!”
So Gyu’s eyes rolled back as foam flecked his lips, and he thrust his blade rapidly in three directions at once.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
The killing strike of the Three Pure Demon Suppression, pressing down upon the Jade Pure, Upper Pure, and Great Pure realms, dominated the surrounding space and sealed off every avenue of retreat available to Ho Yeon.
“What ‘Demon-Slaying Ascetic’? Whether by hand or appearance, anyone can see you’re the greater demon!”
Thud!
Ho Yeon struck the True Angle with Gam Bo, drawing forth the rebound force as he swung his blade with the grave weight of a mountain.
The heavy blade of the Spear Bow Unobstructed Sword Method concealed its explosive momentum within stillness, cleaving the air in succession like parting a sea of clouds.
Cloud Sea Cleansing Light.
Crash! Boom-boom-crash!
Bright flash!
With the eruption of blue radiance, So Gyu coughed up blood and tumbled across the ground.
“Cough! Hack! Ack-ack-ack! Damn it! Eeeeek!”
“Well then. Are you ready?”
“Amitabha. We are, thanks to you.”
Ignoring So Gyu, who lay sprawled on the ground muttering like a man possessed.
Ho Yeon straightened the Cheonrae Geom upright and assumed his stance.
Facing him stood a shaven-headed monk in a yellow robe, settling into a Fist in Well Technique posture as he steadied his breath.
“Huuuh!”
Beom Seok’s stance was the same as it had been in his childhood, standing in the Horse Stance at the edge of a well, driving his fist toward the water’s surface.
Back then, though his friends had progressed to flashier disciplines like the Five Form Fist and the Arhat Eight Hands, Beom Seok had stubbornly devoted himself to the Fist in Well Technique alone.
‘My vessel is small as a cup. Pour too much into it and the water only spills over. The discipline that fits my vessel is the fist in the well, and nothing more.’
Then came the day.
His fist passed through the well water and touched bottom.
The next morning, Beom Seok had become the eighteenth—the youngest—of the Eighteen Arhats: the Arhat of Awakened Foolishness.
Whooom!
Golden light flickered in Beom Seok’s eyes.
Unlike Peng Gu Pae and So Gyu, he did not unleash his Qi Force outwardly, yet Ho Yeon knew he was the most troublesome opponent of all.
‘He’s coming!’
Burst!
Beom Seok’s form multiplied into five.
In Sukhavati, the grades of attainment are divided into three ranks—upper, middle, and lower—and within each are further subdivided into three, for a total of nine stages.
Beom Seok had reached the realm of Middle-Grade Middle-Birth, Fifth Grade—the level where Amitabha Buddha himself comes to welcome the reborn.
“One Fist One World!”
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
Five versions of Beom Seok surrounded Ho Yeon and unleashed their fists in unison.
Then unseen fist force, carrying momentum enough to reduce a monument a hundred paces distant to dust, streaked toward Ho Yeon.
“Hah! Splendid!”
Sensing the approach of five fist forces, Ho Yeon smiled and hurled the Cheonrae Geom skyward.
Crack!
Thrum-thrum-thrum!
At the same moment, layered blue clouds gathered in his clasped fists—the Layered Cloud Ten-Thousand Kalpas.
Crack-crack!
Then Ho Yeon’s arms seemed to spin nearly one and a half rotations before the twisted muscles suddenly released like a drawn bowstring.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
Ho Yeon’s fists, condensed with Rotating Thread Force to its absolute limit, tore through the air and struck the void.
The inner Qi gathered in his hands and the natural outer Qi created friction, causing sparks to ignite with each punch.
Boom-crack!
Whoosh!
Beom Seok’s five fist forces were consumed by the Fire God Burning flames and never reached Ho Yeon.
“Huff. Hah.”
Whistle! Sheathe!
Beom Seok caught the falling Cheonrae Geom and shook his head as he watched Ho Yeon sheathe it.
“Amitabha. Your growth, Patron Namgung, is truly wondrous. At the time of the Yongbong Conference, I could have sworn we were equals.”
“Who said we were equal? Even then, if we’d fought, I would have won.”
“Hm-hm. That fierce competitive spirit is the wellspring of advancement. Until now, I believed true victory meant conquering oneself. Perhaps there is another path.”
“Honestly. There’s no getting through to you.”
As Ho Yeon shrugged, Peng Gu Pae walked over with his blade resting on his shoulder.
“Ha-ha! Qingjiang impressed me, but our cousin here is outright a monster!”
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call the person listening a monster.”
“So, then? Do we pass?”
At Peng Gu Pae’s question, Ho Yeon nodded.
“Well, at this level I won’t collapse on the road to anyone’s house.”
“Kekeke! Only you would describe a Jeol Jeong Go Soo that way, I’d wager. Though Peng Gu Pae and I are only at the threshold, ourselves.”
So Gyu came shuffling over with a laugh.
Peng Gu Pae, So Gyu, and Beom Seok were Jeol Jeong Go Soo affiliated with Nakjeon Dan.
They had been appointed as the leaders of the operation known as the Poahu Supply Line Blockade.
“We’ll need to push into Gangweo in a week, so make sure your preparations are solid.”
“Hmm? Why a week from now?”
Peng Gu Pae asked in response to Namgung Ho Yeon’s words.
“The separate contingent will move independently from the main force. There’s no need to synchronize our schedule with those heading toward Jeyun Mountain, is there?”
Namgung Ho Yeon smacked his lips and answered Peng Gu Pae’s question.
“Well, it’s a personal matter.”
“In a week I’ll be leaving Hwang San. If you achieve Seungbyeok by then, I’ll catch you a chicken or pheasant as promised. The future greatest swordmaster under heaven should be able to manage that much, shouldn’t he?”
Namgung Ho Yeon recalled Yang Mu Cheon’s words and pouted.
‘Wasn’t that obviously mocking? Should I just leave right now?’
Achieve Seungbyeok within a week?
If it were that easy, would he be stuck like this?
‘Training against martial artists from all manner of sects, learning Hwang San’s techniques from Jahashinggeom herself — and still not a peep of progress.’
It was while Namgung Ho Yeon was looking around in frustration.
“Ahh, I’m starving!”
“My belly and my back are touching!”
“Come here, you lot! I’ve made something delicious!”
“Wow! Pung Gae! What’s for dinner today?”
“Iron Pot Braised Chicken!”
“Iron Pot Braised Chicken?”
“A northeastern dish — you braise meat, potatoes, mushrooms, cabbage, and so on in an iron pot. Perfect for restoring your vitality.”
“Ah! Just like a seasoned wanderer’s skill!”
A group of people was heading toward the Supply Kitchen.
They were students who had been deployed to the fortification construction and had just returned.
“Well, I should grab a bite myself… hmm?”
Just as Namgung Ho Yeon, exhausted by his fruitless deliberation, was heading to eat.
“Huh, the day when the scent of cooking drifts through this faction’s grounds…”
A man moving alone from the rear caught his eye.
He was a stern-faced young man walking with an expression of overwhelming emotion.
‘Tuowang said the Sword Emperor was the man closest to being the greatest swordmaster under heaven. Gongsun Il-pi was that Sword Emperor’s disciple. Hmm? What if…?’
A spark of interest kindled in Namgung Ho Yeon’s gaze.

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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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