Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 200

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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 200. Sword Demon Breaks Free from Asura’s Grip
His body hair bristled on end.
Heat flooded his head as Spirit Energy surged through the Heavenly Gate acupoint.
At the same moment, Ho Yeon could sense it through Uigi Yeondong.
Standing behind him was an Asura with three heads and six arms.
Crackle!
From skin like steel heated in flame, a metallic reek of blood emanated.
The three heads each bore fury, cold calculation, and madness as they fixed their gaze upon the enemy.
All six arms clutched flame-wreathed blades, writhing as though ready to rend the world asunder in the next heartbeat.
Now, one of the Eight Celestial Classes stood at his back.
Bang! Crack!
In an instant, Ho Yeon kicked off the ground and flew backward like a spark, creating distance between them.
The Asura did not move.
‘It has been a long time since I met someone who tempered their intent to such a degree.’
Ho Yeon’s eyes narrowed on the man with folded arms.
He was lean-framed, appearing to be in his forties, dressed in crimson martial robes.
Though shorter than Jong Ri Pae, he radiated a far more formidable presence.
‘Remarkable.’
Just as Ho Yeon had marveled at Jong Ri San, so too did Jong Ri San marvel at Ho Yeon’s momentum.
Whoosh—!
Killing Intent redder than blood materialized, rising from the youth’s shadow in the form of a ghost-specter.
The specter’s eyes burned with a single thought: to annihilate the enemy utterly.
Blood—thick and viscous from countless victims—dripped from the blade gripped by a thousand phantom hands.
‘Can this be the aura a Later Generation Disciple who has not yet reached twenty winters could emit? No. Never. This is the Killing Intent that only radiates from a War Demon who has claimed thousands, tens of thousands of lives.’
Thunder God Dragon?
Nonsense.
That is no dragon—it is a demon.
“Father…… how did you come to this place……?”
Then Jong Ri Pae spoke, his voice trembling.
Jong Ri San’s gaze turned toward his son, now a cripple with eight severed limbs.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk—you cannot even accomplish one task properly. I should have invested in that Ku fellow instead.”
“…….”
Not a word of consolation did he offer his ruined son.
Surah simply despised and mocked the weak.
Yet in Jong Ri San’s eyes as they turned toward Ho Yeon, a faint benevolence gleamed.
“But you—a truly useful young specimen.”
“…….”
“Enter into my service. I shall use you well and honor you greatly.”
Jong Ri San regarded Ho Yeon with covetous eyes.
Ho Yeon let out a hollow laugh.
“The Sect Master of the Heterodox Way proposing recruitment to a Young Master of the Orthodox Way—is your mind intact?”
“Orthodox or Heterodox matters not. What alone matters is strength.”
Jong Ri San’s lips curled upward.
“Only the strong seize all. Righteousness and justice are mere consolations for the weak.”
“Ah, words fit for the dark-hearted disciples of Tianshan.”
“I shall give you power—supreme over ten thousand men, answerable only to one.”
“You would have me become your second-in-command?”
“Death or the position of second-in-command—such a proposal is extraordinary. This is how much my favor you have earned. You bear the scent of one like myself.”
Ho Yeon answered Jong Ri San’s offer as though it held no merit whatsoever.
“I refuse.”
“Why?”
“What the Namgung Clan can provide, Surah Do Mun cannot.”
“Do you covet martial prowess? Or medicines? You seem greatly interested in weapons—I shall procure rare arms from the Dark Lands for you.”
“That is not it.”
“Then what? What on earth is needed to command a demon such as yourself?”
Jong Ri San asked.
A smile bloomed at the corner of Ho Yeon’s mouth.
“Love.”
“…….”
“That alone suffices.”
“…….”
“The Namgung Clan gave me unconditional love. That’s why I’ve sworn to repay them a hundredfold, a thousandfold.”
Clang!
Ho Yeon raised the Cheonrae Geom upright and continued.
“I own nothing but a sword. All I can do is cut men down. Since they’ve needed me for that, I’ll do it.”
“……I misjudged you.”
At Ho Yeon’s words, the warmth drained from Jong Ri San’s eyes.
In its place bloomed unconcealed killing intent.
“If you won’t join us, I’ll break you. Foolish child. Do you truly believe you can escape the Surah Do Mun’s grasp?”
“Of course!”
Crack-crack-crack!
Bang! Bang!
In the same breath, Ho Yeon’s entire body erupted with Cheonrae Gi, engulfing Jong Ri San in its electricity.
By constantly muttering incantations and cycling through lightning-first-then-forward movements, he’d recovered some of his inner strength.
“Pointless.”
Boom!
Crack-crack-crack!
Jong Ri San unfolded his arms and swept the torrents of electricity away like brushing flies, sending white currents plunging into the sandbar and flooding the surroundings with light.
“Ahhhhh!”
Crack-crack-crack!
Crack-crack-crack!
Ho Yeon swung the Cheonrae Geom ceaselessly, unleashing slashing arcs of white lightning in rapid succession.
Yet Jong Ri San didn’t budge an inch, effortlessly deflecting every lightning strike.
“Hmm, you’re running out of strength. Your judgment’s failing too.”
“Huff! Huff!”
“Squandering what little inner power remains like this. Have you lost your reason to fear?”
“……Hah!”
Just as Jong Ri San spoke with contempt, Ho Yeon laughed.
Whoosh!
With his left hand hidden behind his back, Ho Yeon curled the Geom Gyeol Ji and flicked it upward.
Then something remarkable happened.
“Hmm?”
Shwoooosh—!
Black sand-iron particles rose as one from the sandbar.
Poyang Lake is a vast reservoir fed by countless rivers—the Ganjiang, the Xinjiang, the Ramu, the Wuhe, the Yaohe, and more.
Over eight thousand tons of sediment accumulates here annually.
The Ssang Jong Sa Ju itself is a sandbar formation where those sediments concentrate and settle within Poyang Lake.
Dense sand-iron particles, having found stable terrain on this sandbar, could accumulate over centuries.
Moreover, since the Ssang Jong Sa Ju is isolated within the lake, external forces couldn’t erode or scatter it away.
Crack-crack-crack!
Crack-crack-crack!
When the Cheonrae Gi spread across the ground, black dust erupted violently upward like volcanic ash.
“Ha-ha-ha! See you next time!”
“……You!”
Sensing the danger, Jong Ri San tried to kick off the ground.
But nothing could outpace lightning.
Crack!
A tiny spark bloomed.
The black sand-iron particles responded to it.
Oxidation began instantly—the iron particles’ surfaces bonded with oxygen, triggering a sudden surge in temperature.
Whoosh!
The combustion speed of the dust accelerated sharply, and a massive explosion erupted with tremendous force.
Crack-crack-crack-crack—!
A colossal fireball rose up, bright enough to illuminate the entire Ssang Jong Sa Ju.
“Hngh!”
Having already lightened his body using the Gyeong Shin technique,
Ho Yeon rode the scorching blast unleashed by the thermal expansion.
Whoosh!
Simultaneously pushing his Uigi Yeondong to its absolute limit, his silhouette became too fast for the eye to follow.
Thud!
“Kyaaah!”
“Whoosh!”
In the chaos, Ho Yeon snatched Mu Ga Yak and hurled them both across the dark expanse of the lake.
‘Dust Explosion! The phenomenon I discovered when I destroyed Geumcheon Do Mun!’
Truth was, Ho Yeon had never intended to set fire to Geumcheon Do Mun.
He enjoyed playing with fire, yes—but never on purpose.
The flames had simply come into being of their own accord.
Right up until he’d applied the Cheonrae Gi to the iron dust he’d drawn from Danhajimoae, his thinking had been simple.
‘I thought that if lightning traveled along the iron powder, I could unleash a wide-area attack.’
But he’d been wrong.
That action had triggered an explosion of unforeseen magnitude.
It was a foolish move—one that would have ended in disaster without Uigi Yeondong.
‘But thanks to that, I discovered it! When fine iron particles scatter through the air, even a tiny spark can trigger a chain reaction.’
Crash-crash-crash!
The explosion didn’t stop at one.
A second blast followed, then a third, until the entire area was consumed in flames.
‘Heh, and fire feeds on the oxygen around it, swelling in size!’
Ho Yeon had multiple reasons for triggering the dust explosion.
He could use the heat wave to escape, dazzle his opponent’s eyes with spectacular flames.
And most crucially, a dust explosion created oxygen deprivation across dozens of paces in all directions.
‘No matter how skilled one is, sudden oxygen starvation would stiffen the body……!’
As Ho Yeon watched the flames receding swiftly behind him, he felt certain of his escape—
Crash-crash-crash!
Whoooosh!
Four crimson arms burst through the inferno’s fury.
“Where do you think you’re running to!”
The Surah Do Mun King, Jong Ri San, stretched his hand toward Ho Yeon, who was already vanishing into the sky like a distant speck.
Screeeech!
In that instant, his Four Arms began to elongate in unison, stretching like the staff of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
“This is insane!”
“What—what is that?!”
Ho Yeon stared in shock at the Surah arms hurtling toward him, while Mu Ga Yak’s eyes went wide.
‘Man Sang Yu Shim! It’s similar to Grandmother Geumjeong!’
Ho Yeon recalled Geumjeong’s Man Sang Yu Shim—the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara.
The difference was that Geumjeong’s arms numbered forty-two, whereas Jong Ri San possessed only four.
But precisely because his power wasn’t dispersed, it remained concentrated, allowing him to extend the limbs’ length.
‘Disaster! If he grabs me, it’s over……!’
Whooooom!
Crash-crash-crash!
Ho Yeon felt his Ui Nyeom burning at his brow.
He drained every last shred of Spirit Energy—real or imagined—and poured it into Yeondong Seom.
Zip-zip-zip!
Yet the Surah Four Arms defied the laws of physics, closing in with terrifying speed.
‘No—I’m caught——!’
Despair flickered across Ho Yeon’s features when—
―Draw me, my liege!
‘What?’
―Now!
At the cry of Weol Wang Gu Cheon Geom, Ho Yeon drew his blade with desperate speed.
Ching!
―Channel every ounce of your Nae Gong into me!
“Huurgh—AAAAHHHHH!”
Crackle-rumble—!
Without hesitation, Ho Yeon triggered Jin Ki Yeonseo, and a roar tore from his throat.
His Ki Hae Hyeol contorted.
Crack! Crackle!
Fissures spider-webbed across Chang Cheon Baek Oon, and the recklessly burned Nae Gong channeled into the Weol Wang Gu Cheon Geom in his right hand.
―Concentrate! Point joins with point to form a line; line overlaps with line to form a plane; bend the plane and press it upon itself at every angle, and that—that is the Full Moon!
“What kind of nonsense is that!”
―Begin with the first point!
“Ugh—ugh……!”
At the crossroads of life and death, Namgung Ho Yeon’s vision sharpened, and countless dots and line segments etched into the surface of the Weol Wang Gu Cheon Geom came into focus.
‘The first dot…… there it is!’
Whoomph!
The majestic Chang Gung Ki arrived at the first dot marked on the Weol Wang Gu Cheon Geom’s surface.
—Follow the line segment to the next dot!
Whoom-whoom!
The Chang Gung Ki traced from dot to dot, drawing lines between them.
The Weol Wang Gu Cheon Geom’s guidance continued.
—North next! Then west! Now one face should be complete!
Zing!
Just as the Weol Wang Gu Cheon Geom said.
A polygon began to shimmer with blue light across the blade’s surface.
Points and lines that began in one dimension had now formed a plane, manifesting in a two-dimensional space.
—I’ll keep going! Next is……!
Ho Yeon fell into a state of complete absorption, channeling his Nae Gong according to the Weol Wang Gu Cheon Geom’s guidance, again and again.
The result:
Boom-boom-boom!
Whoom-whoom!
The surface of the Weol Wang Gu Cheon Geom blazed with geometric shapes in brilliant blue.
—The final piece! Connect them all as one! Then a sphere will be born!
‘Connect them…… all into one……?!’
Ho Yeon’s eyes flew wide open.
When he’d first encountered the Weol Wang Gu Cheon Geom—in that moment when he gazed upon it without preconception or bias—a fleeting image had crossed his mind, and now it returned.
The shapes that appeared on the blade’s surface each had matching edges, like the pieces used in a Tangram puzzle.
If a Tangram uses seven pieces to form a square, this was simply forming a sphere with many times more pieces—the principle was identical.
The fundamental logic was exactly the same.
Snap! Click-click-click!
Ho Yeon layered the shapes that appeared on the Weol Wang Gu Cheon Geom one by one.
As the two-dimensional shapes joined together, curved surfaces formed.
Soon, in three-dimensional space, a perfect sphere of blue jade materialized, gleaming like a polished orb.
Whoom—!
“Ah……!”
Mu Ga Yak, witnessing that beautiful blue sphere, gasped in wonder from within Ho Yeon’s embrace.
“The…… full moon……!”
At the tip of the Weol Wang Gu Cheon Geom’s blade, a Gang Hwan the size of a fist manifested.
Bending and compressing Nae Gong into a single sphere.
Gang Ap Eung Ju—the exclusive martial technique of Weol Clan passed down from the ninth heaven itself. It was the secret of Manwol.
—Release!
“Damn it all!”
Ho Yeon unleashed the Manwol toward the Surah assassin’s hand that had crept within inches of his face.
Thunk!
The Manwol, traveling like a silent water droplet, collided with the assassin’s Sa Bi.
Crack—!
Boom-boom-boom—!
A tremendous explosion erupted, transforming the dark sky in an instant to a pale blue.
Crash-bang-bang!
“Ugh……!”
Blood streamed from Ho Yeon’s mouth and nose as he began to plummet.
His closing eyelids trembling, Ho Yeon murmured weakly.
“Peace…… peace…….”
Splash!
The last thing Ho Yeon witnessed as he sank into the lake
was the waters of Poyang Lake rapidly freezing, cradling him like a cradle.
Crack-crack-crack!
‘You bastard…… well done…….’
Blackout.

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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
—————