Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 190

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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 190. The Sword Demon Summons an Earthquake
Crack! Crunch-crack!
Whoosh!
The Weaving Qi that had been formed by the tight crossing of vertical and horizontal meridians suddenly unraveled, reverting to an unwoven state.
“Hmm…….”
Namgung Ho Yeon furrowed his brow.
‘Strange. No matter how little time has passed since my Breakthrough, I carry the experience from my time as a Sword Demon.’
Because of this, Namgung Ho Yeon understood the method of organizing Weaving Qi better than anyone else.
He controlled the thickness of the lines by adjusting their count, maintained balance in their direction, and created intersection points between vertical and horizontal meridians.
From densely woven broad silk to loosely woven tribute satin.
He had woven countless variations during his Sword Demon days, so he should have been able to weave with perfect freedom.
‘Yet my concentration keeps scattering, my focus keeps breaking. This shouldn’t be happening. It’s as if the experience from my past life has simply evaporated…… Wait?!’
“The Formless Wisdom Blade can cut what cannot be cut. Emotion, memory, will—or perhaps the soul itself.”
“……You’re saying it can resolve the imbalance between my body and soul?”
“I wouldn’t call it perfect. It’s a matter of carving down your immense soul to fit your body. You’ll have to surrender a portion of the karmic weight you accumulated in your past life.”
Namgung Ho Yeon suddenly recalled a conversation he’d had with the Sword Emperor.
‘Surrendering a portion of the karmic weight accumulated in my past life? Was that what he meant?’
At the time he hadn’t understood, so he’d let it pass, but now it seemed clear this was the cause.
‘The memories remain, but the intuition and will born from experience feel dull. Yes, that’s it. Damn.’
Namgung Ho Yeon clicked his tongue inwardly.
It was the thought that he’d paid quite a steep price for his Breakthrough.
‘Of course, given the choice again, I would make the same decision…….’
In truth, drawing forth Weaving Qi immediately after Breakthrough was itself an absurdity.
Normally one would work with Ordinary Qi, build experience, master the techniques, and only then begin to weave Weaving Qi.
But for someone who had wielded not just Weaving Qi but a dozen varieties of Forbidden Qi as a Sword Demon, the taste of such rudiments was bittersweet.
‘I’ll just have to cut more and kill more. It’s a path I’ve walked before. If I can recover that lost touch…….’
That was when Namgung Ho Yeon fell into such contemplation.
“Aaahhhhh!”
“Run! Run!”
“A, a monster!”
Tap-tap! Tap-tap-tap!
The Geumcheon Dae Moon soldiers who had surrounded Namgung Ho Yeon began fleeing as if they’d seen a ghost.
Hardly surprising.
There was no hope of victory against such a relentless monster who had dismantled the combined assault of two Realm-Breakers as easily as dealing with children.
“You cowards! Come back! Kill him! He must be exhausted by now!”
Jin Sang Bo, the Master of Geumcheon Dae Moon, rallied them, but it was useless.
The unknown and fear were synonymous.
As the shadow of a great martial master loomed tall against the wall.
The residents below the wall fled in blind panic.
“A dulled blade still cuts through flesh just fine.”
Namgung Ho Yeon set aside his thoughts about lost karmic weight for now and focused on reality.
“I, I…….”
Meeting Namgung Ho Yeon’s piercing blue eyes, Jin Sang Bo trembled like a rabbit before a tiger.
Jin Sang Bo himself had one foot planted at the pinnacle, bolstered by various elixirs and haphazardly gathered secret techniques.
But power purchased with gold was nothing more than a drop in the ocean compared to power built through blood.
“I gave you enough time. Those still remaining are nothing but blind dogs dazzled by the bounty on my head.”
Namgung Ho Yeon wore a desolate smile.
The Sword Demon was not merciful enough to spare those who had rejected his final offer of clemency.
“You said it yourself earlier? That I walked into a place of death of my own volition.”
“I, I…….”
“You were wrong. I walked into sandy ground.”
At Namgung Ho Yeon’s words, Jin Sang Bo’s face twisted in confusion.
The next instant.
Rumble! Boom-boom-crash!
As if thunder and lightning had sounded from nowhere, Cheonrae Gi began surging from Namgung Ho Yeon’s entire body.
Crackle! Crack-crack-crack!
The Thunder God descended into human flesh, and light blazed across heaven and earth in all directions.
The Cheon Luan Cloud within Namgung Ho Yeon’s Gi Hae Acupoint turned pitch black, and the Yang Qi Circle and Yin Qi Circle collided, causing voltage to surge explosively.
Bang! Bang!
Whoosh!
As the Cheonrae Gi emanating from Ho Yeon spread across the ground, it began to circle and dance.
Black heat shimmer started to rise, wisping up from the earth itself.
“Just as I thought.”
Ho Yeon smiled faintly.
The iron sand was being drawn up far faster than anticipated.
“Danxia Landform. A sandstone sedimentary layer saturated with iron oxide compounds, they said. And so it proves.”
Shink!
Ho Yeon drew the Cheonrae Geom from its sheath.
―Wait—are you actually…?!
In that moment, as if sensing something from Ho Yeon’s muttered words, the Cheonrae Geom cried out in alarm.
Crack-crack-crackle!
The Cheonrae Gi spiraled and swirled around the Cheonrae Geom, conjuring a vortex of lightning.
The whirling vortex of thunder layered magnetic fields upon itself, generating tremendous magnetic force that pulled at the iron sand deposits buried within the Danxia formation.
Roooooar!
A black tide rose up from the ground.
Whiiiir!
The faster the wheel spun, the faster the black wave surged up from the earth.
And then it crossed the threshold.
Rumble!
Thunder roared through the air.
This time, it was not the sound from Ho Yeon’s Gi Hae Acupoint.
It was the earth’s scream, echoing from the depths below.
As the iron oxides that had served as the binding agent for the sandstone layer were stripped away—
The weakened bedrock subsided, and cracks spread through the sandstone.
What followed was inevitable.
―A ground collapse?! You absolute madman!
The Cheonrae Geom’s anguished cry was swallowed by the thunder.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-boom!
Crack-crack-crack! Crash-crash-crash!
The bedrock collapsed, an artificial earthquake tore through the land, and with the ground sinking beneath it, the buildings of the Geumcheon Dae Moon crumbled to ruin.
Crash!
Crack-crack-crack!
“Ahhh…! Ahhhhhhh…!”
Jin Sang Bo could not tell if this was a dream or reality.
The sight of everything he possessed crumbling in a single day seemed utterly impossible.
As if the ancient giant Pan Gu himself had stamped his foot, the heavens and earth in all directions were being laid waste.
How could a human body perform the miracles of a god?
“Oh, it really works? Knowledge is power indeed.”
―You fool! Did you think I told you about Danxia Landforms so you could do this?!
“Of course it works, old Gou Jian. The wisdom of ages cannot be ignored.”
―Alas! Alas! My karma of killing will reach heaven itself! Why does your mind focus only on destruction and upheaval?!
―Hahahaha! That’s because it’s so satisfying!
“Heh heh, are you amazed by this body’s adaptability?”
Watching Ho Yeon banter playfully with the swords, Jin Sang Bo muttered in a daze.
“This… this is a true lunatic… I made a terrible mistake…”
Jin Sang Bo had sought to expand his power beyond Anhui through the Nine Hundred Competing Powers.
Even when he seized control of Hongcun, famous as a retreat for nobles and officials, he had believed his choice was sound.
But that very choice had summoned the monster sleeping in Anhui into his own house.
The Geumcheon Dae Moon, now scattered to the winds, would never recover its former glory.
“Lunatic? Surely that means one of towering dignity and grandeur?”
―It means mad as a hatter!
―Hahahaha! Fierce and savage!
“Either way, I have no intention of letting a jackal who’s shown his fangs to the Namgung Clan live. I don’t leave loose ends.”
Ho Yeon extended his index finger.
Flash!
The Cheonrae Gi flared with brilliant light.
Iron sand flew through the air like black eyes.
Death’s lightning, using the iron sand as stepping stones, blazed across more than a dozen paces in all directions.
Crack-crackle-crackle!
In an instant, it swept across not only Jin Sang Bo but all the fleeing Geumcheon Dae Moon martial artists.
Whoosh!
A moment later, a Fire Demon erupted from the water.
It took merely a single time period for the Geumcheon Dae Moon to vanish into history.
* * *
Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Zhongyuan.
The vast expanse of water reflected moonlight so beautifully that anyone who didn’t know better might mistake it for the sea.
It was the rainy season now, so the lake’s water level was unusually high—when the dry season came, Poyang Lake would split into a hundred smaller lakes, such was its enormity.
Flap, flap!
“Sigh. How many times is this now?”
“…The fifth time, ma’am.”
“So we’re being raided once a day.”
A woman exhaled heavily as she watched the supply ship burn.
In the flickering firelight, her appearance struck an unusual figure.
At her waist hung a crescent-shaped curved blade—the Wol Ah Do, known as the Moon’s Fang.
The cavalry saber was an odd choice for use on horseback, but even more peculiar was the woman’s very appearance.
Whish!
The wind that blew past ruffled her short hair.
Her clothing differed from Zhongyuan dress, leaving her right shoulder bare, and dark patterns were inscribed on her bronze skin, creating an otherworldly air.
“No casualties among the crew. They burn only the grain and disappear…”
The woman murmured to herself.
Her subordinate then spoke up.
“According to witness testimony, despite wearing a mask, the attacker’s voice was very young and courteous.”
“Hmm, that confirms it.”
The woman shook her head as she spoke.
“They’re students from Baekmu Academy. They must have infiltrated Dochang to cut off our supply lines.”
“But something troubles me. Dochang is our Ho Jeop Dae Moon’s front yard. We should have noticed any outsiders.”
“Did you search every tavern, inn, temple, pleasure house, and grain merchant in town?”
“Of course. We thoroughly searched everywhere related to the basic necessities of life, but we found no trace of them.”
“Clothing they could have brought with them, and food—they can use Poyang Lake’s abundant water resources. But shelter… how on earth are they managing that…?”
The woman furrowed her brow as she pondered aloud.
No matter how skilled a martial artist is, they cannot forgo sleep entirely.
Moreover, if they’re sleeping in enemy territory, the strain on their mental energy would be immense, so securing a safe residence is fundamental.
“The only possibility is that they’ve received help from locals.”
“Then…”
“Look into the prominent figures of Dochang.”
“Understood.”
Tap!
As her subordinate departed, the woman sighed and murmured to herself.
“Sigh… perhaps this is a stroke of fortune after all…”
The supply ships had been raided for several days now, but the damage was manageable.
The supplies being transported didn’t belong to Ho Jeop Dae Moon, after all.
“At least it’s given me an excuse. If I can just hold out ten more days…”
Mu Ga Yak, the leader of Wol Young Moon, bit her lip and shook her head.
“The fact that Jong Ri San’s faction is leaving doesn’t solve anything. I can’t protect my people with temporary measures forever. I need to… become stronger.”
Shrink!
Mu Ga Yak drew a short blade from her bosom—one that fell just short of being a proper dagger.
Shimmer!
The short blade gleamed softly under moonlight, ethereal and mysterious.
Forged from bronze of uncertain origin, it appeared more ceremonial than practical for actual combat.
For a short blade, its flat expanse was wide, covered with countless dots and golden lines connecting them together.
“Ga Yak. I entrust you with the Yue Wang Gou Jian Sword. It is the legacy of Gou Jian, the great Martial King of the Yue Kingdom. This blade holds the secret of the full moon within it.”
Mu Ga Yak had pleaded earnestly with her mother: “Mother, please help me. How can I achieve the full moon?”
But the blade could offer no answer.
“Sigh… even if heaven’s fortune granted me the secret, I could never master it. The wall of the Hwa Gyeong realm towers impossibly high.”
Click!
Mu Ga Yak sheathed the Yue Wang Gou Jian Sword and slipped it back into her bosom.
The habit of withdrawing this blade whenever her heart grew heavy had begun after her mother’s passing.
“Perhaps… if I accepted Jong Ri San’s marriage proposal, everything would become easier?”
Jong Ri San, the Sura King.
A grand elder even in standing above her deceased mother, yet the Martial World was ruled not by age but by strength.
If I enter the Concubine Position and bow my head, Wol Young Moon’s safety would be assured.
But during Jong Ri San’s lifetime, Wol Young Moon would inevitably fall to become a subordinate faction of Sura Dao.
“Ah…… What am I to do…….”
It was then that Mu Ga Yak’s sigh deepened.
Flutter! Flutter!
A carrier pigeon flew in from the shore.
‘A carrier pigeon from Father! Has something happened to the family?’
Mu Ga Yak, recognizing the pigeon’s identity, quickly reached out her hand.
The carrier pigeon landed precisely on her wrist.
She hurriedly untied the note bound to the pigeon’s ankle.
“What, what does it say?!”
Then she gasped.
“Ho Jeop Dae Moon destroyed! Geumcheon Dae Moon burned to the ground?!”

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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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