Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 188

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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 188. The Sword Demon Enters Through the Void
Jiangxi Province, Yushan County, Dexing City.
A city known for hosting Yuhua Mountain, part of Sanqing Mountain.
The force that controlled this place was the Butterfly Blade Gate, one of the Jiangxi Five Tyrants.
The blades they wielded were Twin Single-Handed Blades.
Two scimitars that curved with a supple, rippling grace—their wielders moved like butterflies in flight, and so they earned the name “Butterfly.”
Bang!
“Damn it!”
A middle-aged man with a goat’s beard shouted, venting his fury.
“Five days have passed and we still haven’t broken through? How in blazes does that make sense?”
“That is… the enemy’s resistance has proven stronger than anticipated.”
“Stronger? Our opponents are mere novices from Baekmu Academy! You should be ashamed, losing to schoolchildren!”
Tak Ryang, wielder of the Butterfly Illusion Dream Blade, trembled with rage as he bellowed.
The Butterfly Blade Gate’s master did not rank among the generals, though this was merely a matter of reputation.
In actual skill, he was confident enough to number himself among the Hundred Eight Pinnacles of the realm.
“The Blood Blade Gate devoured Shi Tai, and Geumcheon Blade Gate seized Hong Village! Why are we still dawdling here in this county?”
Tak Ryang’s anger was justified.
Though the Jiangxi Five Tyrants were bound together under the name Blade Heaven, they had long competed among themselves.
Depending on the results of this Gubaek Sheng Pae, the existing hierarchy could be overturned—he could not help but be sensitive to his sect’s poor progress.
“By now, we should have seized Huangshan and expanded our territory to Jingji, Jingde, and Ningguo… yet here we are!”
Grind.
Tak Ryang gnashed his teeth.
All of this was because of that cursed King of Fighters.
The King of Fighters, Yang Mu Cheon, happened to reside at Huangshan, and the Butterfly Blade Gate’s vanguard—their elite shock troops, the Butterfly Shadow Squad—had run afoul of him and been completely annihilated.
Everything had gone wrong from that point onward.
“Hmph. I heard the King of Fighters had already left Huangshan. Besides, we dispatched the Immortal Sect Squad, Drunken Martial Squad, and Blood Butterfly Squad as reinforcements—so why haven’t we received word of victory?”
Tak Ryang drew a deep breath and composed himself slightly before speaking.
Jwa Ki, master of the Butterfly Blade Gate’s intelligence network, replied while beads of cold sweat rolled down his face.
“The enemy were not merely Baekmu Academy students.”
“Then who?”
“They circulated a Joint Signature Document to neighboring sects throughout the Huangshan area and beyond, extending as far as Jingzheng Mountain.”
“What?”
“The forces that rallied to their cause exceeded ten thousand. Moreover, they’ve been conducting guerrilla warfare in the mountainous terrain, laying traps with formation techniques, and waging what amounts to ghostly tactics. Our casualties have been substantial.”
“This is…”
Tak Ryang was speechless.
When he had heard that the King of Fighters had left Huangshan and given the order to advance, he had never anticipated such an outcome.
“This won’t do. Summon Yao Can, Yun Gwang, and the Seven Color Squadron Leader at once.”
“No! Master! You cannot! If we withdraw any more forces, our sect’s defenses will become fatally compromised!”
Jwa Ki objected.
Already, more than half of the Butterfly Blade Gate’s forces were committed to the Gubaek Sheng Pae.
The reinforcements sent a half-month ago had strained them enough; to dispatch another contingent now would be reckless.
Slash!
“Silence!”
In response to Jwa Ki’s objection, Tak Ryang drew his precious blade, the Butterfly Dream Blade.
Zing! Zing!
The Butterfly Dream Blade was a Ring Blade, its spine studded with several hollow rings that chimed with an ethereal, dreamlike resonance each time Tak Ryang’s hand trembled.
“With this Butterfly Dream blade in this place, who would dare covet the Butterfly Blade Gate?”
“……”
“If we fall any further behind, we’ll fall out of favor with the Blade King. Jong Ri San is a man of severe reward and punishment.”
Tak Ryang shuddered, recalling the wrathful, demon-like presence of Jong Ri San, the Asura Blade King.
“We cannot follow the Moon Shadow Blade Gate into ruin. Summon them now!”
“Yes, of course……”
Just as Jwa Ki bowed his head in reluctant acceptance—
Boom!
A tremendous explosion erupted from outside, cutting their conversation short.
“What in the world is happening?”
“I… I’m not sure……”
“Move!”
Bang! Clatter!
Tak Ryang shoved Jwa Ki aside and rushed toward the main gate where the explosion had torn through.
“How dare you! What fool has attacked my gate! The Butterfly Blade Gate is not to be trifled with!”
Tak Ryang was certain that whoever had stirred up this commotion was either the Uiwhang Family or the Akan Sword Gate—one of the two powers circling hungrily around the Jiangxi Five Tyrants’ throne.
There were no other forces in the vicinity of Dexing City capable of challenging the Butterfly Blade Gate’s stronghold.
‘They must have heard that our forces crossed into Anhui and made their move. These dogs have lost their fear.’
Tak Ryang decided it was time to show them what true strength looked like.
Crack! Snap!
“What’s happened!”
“G-gate master!”
“A monster!”
“He’s torn through the main gate with a single finger!”
“What?”
Rumble!
Hiss—hiss—hiss!
The dust began to thin.
Tak Ryang sharpened his vision.
‘Alone?’
There was no massive army as he’d expected.
Instead, there stood an ordinary-looking middle-aged man, breathing heavily with deep sighs.
“Ah, my luck really is the pits. Looks like I’ve wandered into the wrong place.”
“Who are you!”
“Just a common gambler.”
“A gambler?”
“I lost a bet, you see. I came to pay off my debts by wringing a chicken’s neck.”
Tak Ryang’s lips trembled as he stared at the middle-aged man muttering incomprehensibly.
“Very well. I’ll tear you limb from limb!”
Whoosh!
Swish—swish—swish!
Tak Ryang rushed forward, brandishing the Butterfly Dream Blade in a graceful arc.
It was only a single swing, yet the Butterfly Dream Blade split and divided like a blooming flower, as if it would sever all five limbs in one devastating strike.
Clang—clang—clang!
The rings attached to the blade’s flat struck noisily against each other, meant to scatter the opponent’s focus—the hallmark of the legendary Butterfly Dream Blade.
This was the secret technique of the Butterfly Dream Blade: the Fei Fei Butterfly Blade Technique—a blade dance that carried death in its whisper.
Swash—swash—swash!
Tak Ryang fully expected the mysterious middle-aged man to be carved into five pieces by this strike.
But then—
Slip.
The middle-aged man reached out slowly, as though plucking a butterfly from a flower.
The motion of pushing his hand into the storm of blades seemed foolish, yet the result was entirely unexpected.
Tap.
“Noisy.”
“What?!”
“Compared to a nobleman’s parlor games, this is pathetically dull.”
“Y-you—!”
Tak Ryang strained with all his might to pull the Butterfly Dream Blade free from between the middle-aged man’s thumb and forefinger, but his weapon would not budge.
Instead—
Snap!
“Gah?!”
The Butterfly Dream Blade, worthy of standing among the great blades of legend, shattered like glass.
Only then did Tak Ryang understand that the man before him was no ordinary human.
“W-who exactly are you?!”
“Heh heh, a feeble blade gate, is it? That brat certainly knows how to entertain himself.”
Rumble—!
As Yang Mu Cheon began to deploy the Latent Power Explosive Body Qi Technique, a whirlwind erupted around him.
Boom—boom—boom!
A explosive torrent of force surged from Yang Mu Cheon’s body, its aura carrying the pale, ashen hue of an ancient gravestone—a grave ash color that spoke of death itself.
“No… surely not…?!”
Tak Ryang’s eyes widened in shock at the sight.
A rumor he’d heard in passing came rushing back through his mind.
Gray Smoke Passes—
Where the gray smoke flows, only desolation remains.
All Becomes Ruins
Everything left behind turns to desolation.
“The War King! Yang Mu Cheon?!”
“Unfortunately for you. You guessed correctly.”
Whoosh! Crack!
Yang Mu Cheon’s index finger placed the final punctuation mark on Tak Ryang’s life, at the bridge of his brow.
It was a technique of the One Finger Steel Severing—cutting through steel with nothing but a single finger.
* * *
“Chirp! Chirp!”
“It’s started?”
“Chirp chirp!”
“Well done.”
Namgung Ho Yeon stroked Baek Seol O as she poked her head shyly from the folds of his robe.
It had been two days since he’d gone into hiding in Yingtan City, where Longhu Mountain stood, waiting.
So Yang Mu Cheon had finally begun his assault on the Butterfly Blade Gate, heading for Yushan County.
“Time we made our move as well.”
Namgung Ho Yeon smiled beneath the shadow of the bamboo grove.
Before him loomed an enormous, magnificent stronghold sprawling like a constellation of stars.
The main gate, larger than even the Namgung Sega compound, bore a golden plaque.
[Geumcheon Blade Gate]
“A sect that buys masters with money and commands them. How peculiar.”
A hundred years ago, the wealthiest man in Jiangxi, Jin Baek Man, had founded this sect by purchasing skilled masters with his fortune.
Perhaps because of that history—laden as it was with scorn and ridicule—Namgung Ho Yeon found their current prosperity not only understandable but deserved.
“Money doesn’t lie, even if people do.”
—What kind of money demon are you spouting, boy?
“It’s the truth. Honor can’t be bought with money? That’s not saying it’s impossible—only that there isn’t enough money being spent.”
At Cheon Noe Geom’s rebuke, Namgung Ho Yeon shrugged.
He preferred a transparent villain who acted wickedly right in front of your face to a hypocrite who spoke righteously in public while cracking seeds behind closed doors.
—Pfft! You’re just an outright villain, aren’t you?
—Don’t praise me!
“Ha ha, catching shoddy evil-sect dregs is my specialty. How dare they presume before the Sword Demon of the jianghu, that supreme fiend. It’s like teaching manners to puppae.”
Thud, thud, thud.
Namgung Ho Yeon moved toward the Geumcheon Blade Gate.
The sunset was slowly descending.
The Danxia Landform, with its red sandstone formations, reflected the twilight and bathed the surroundings in crimson.
—So this is the Danxia Landform. Proof that this place was once a lake or river in ages past.
“Is that so?”
—Certainly. The Red Waters of Guizhou and the Danxia of Guangdong are the same. The bedrock rose, and layers of red sandstone rich in iron oxide were exposed to view.
“Ah? How very learned you are.”
—Hmph! Wisdom earned through the ages. For this old one, such knowledge is trifling.
—Oh, Grandfather is amazing!
—Listen here, you barbarian. Stop your chattering. I’ve told you a hundred times not to call me that.
—But I want to.
Cheon Noe Geom and Heuk Ya Tae Geom did nothing but bicker between themselves.
They made no move to stop or worry about Namgung Ho Yeon as he approached the Geumcheon Blade Gate.
They couldn’t have, in any case.
The Namgung Ho Yeon who emerged from Huangshan was a wholly different person from the one who had entered.
“Ha ha ha, what a magnificent world this is! Ahhh! The air is sweet as honey itself!”
Namgung Ho Yeon drew a deep breath, his whole manner alight with excitement.
More than five days had passed since leaving Huangshan, yet his elation showed no sign of fading.
At a moment he’d never expected, from a person he never thought he’d meet, he’d found the key to Seungbyeok he’d so desperately longed for.
“Gongsun Il Bi! I’m taking you with me! You precious thing! Ha ha ha!”
“What’s that?”
“Why’s he laughing to himself like that?”
The gate keepers of the Geumcheon Blade Gate watched the lean stranger approaching while muttering to himself.
The man had begun to hum softly.
“Put on my new shoes and leap about, eight times over.”
“Must be mad.”
“Damn it, why’s he showing up right when the end of our shift is in sight?”
The gate keepers concluded that Namgung Ho Yeon was a madman and moved forward to intercept him.
In that instant.
Pop!
“What?!”
“What—what is this?!”
The man in the bamboo hat vanished from his seat.
Then came a strange, lilting song from the sky above.
“Over the high wall in a single bound. Fuhihi!”
“When—when did he—?”
“A master!”
Clang! Clash-clang!
The gatekeepers sensed the threat and drew their weapons.
Namgung Ho Yeon glanced at them, a smile playing at his lips.
“I’m in an exceptionally good mood right now. Those who flee—I’ll let them live.”
Slip-shink!
He drew the Heukya and began to channel the Weaver Heaven Great Circulatory Divine Technique.
The weaver’s qi flowed unimpeded through the Extraordinary Eight Meridians, passing through the Conception Vessel and Governing Vessel, circulating through every Hyeol Do in his body until the Grand Microcosmic Circulation completed.
Huum-whoosh!
A cluster of azure stars—as if the Weaver Maiden had woven the blue sky itself into her loom—wrapped densely around the Heukya’s elongated blade.
The formidable force that once required True Qi Combustion to summon now flowed as naturally as releasing Geom Gi.
The Life Death Hanging Barrier’s Penetration had increased the total quantity of qi he could expel.
“Gasp—what?! Formidable force!”
“Th-this is an Ascended Master!”
The gatekeepers fell back step by step, trembling before the terrible surge of qi that blazed with azure light like a tidal wave.
―Yes! Yes! That’s it! Now that’s what I’m talking about!
As the Heukya sang its exultation, Namgung Ho Yeon swept the blade downward.
Schwick!
Crack-crash-crash-boom!
The grand main gate of the Geumcheon Blade Gate collapsed with a deafening roar.
The ornate signboard split cleanly in two and tumbled into the dust below.
“Deep breath!”
Namgung Ho Yeon drew in a long breath and issued his declaration.
“I grant you a half hour. All innocent civilians unaffiliated with the Geumcheon Blade Gate—leave this place at once. After that time, this ground will become Blood-Stained Land!”
His voice rolled across the expanse like thunder, reverberating for dozens of zhang in every direction.
The scheme of Riding Emptiness Into Chamber had begun.

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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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