Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 88

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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 88. The Sword Demon Corrects His Flaw
Why was he so angry?
His head throbbed.
Did he really need to be this shaken?
No.
Not at all.
Whoooosh!
Crack! Crackle-crack!
At the Yintang Acupoint, Spirit Energy began to swirl like a typhoon.
The sight resembled a mysterious bird thrashing its wings inside an egg.
Each time the bird fluttered in frustration, the world seemed to stretch wider.
The shell—the Upper Dantian—expanded again and again.
Why? Why was his soul so stimulated?
Since becoming Namgung Ho Yeon, his soul had trembled only a handful of times.
When he sealed the Baihui Acupoint of those brats kidnapped by the Hwaedongjidan.
When he glimpsed Mo Yong Sang Cheon’s Broad Sword technique at the Janggang River.
When he staked his life against Yeom Bang Ju and his Luminous Spear technique, and so forth.
Of all those moments, his soul trembled most violently now.
Why on earth?
Jegal Ahyeon.
Was it because of that woman?
“Young Master Namgung. Let’s marry.”
“I don’t want you to misunderstand my heart. This is the first choice I’ve made freely in my own life…….”
“You shine.”
“Then, beside that light, could I be there too?”
“I want you. Ho Yeon. If you share even a glimmer of that light with me, I can give you everything I have.”
“This parting is only temporary, little lord.”
“From now on, it will be difficult to call you that, won’t it?”
The conversations he’d shared with Jegal Ahyeon flashed through his mind.
The white thread of karmic connection that had approached him shyly at first was now wound tightly around his ring finger.
Was this what they meant by a spiritual bond?
Was that why he burned with such rage at the thought of that thread tearing?
“Don’t come! You monster!”
“Murderer!”
“Finally showing your true colors!”
“I thought you seemed useful, so I took you in—but that was a mistake! Get out! I don’t need a freak like you!”
“Wi Myeong! Listen to me! Ga Ye wants to apologize to you!”
“Brother… What happened that day…….”
“In the next life, I pray you find good fortune…….”
Voices echoing through his mind.
All of it was worthless.
He needed none of it.
After all, solitude was most comfortable.
A single sword was enough.
Or perhaps many swords were necessary?
Whoooosh—!
“Oh… thank you for staying alive… Mother asks for nothing else. As long as our little one is healthy…….”
“Such martial prowess! I don’t need it! But if you were gone! How would I and your mother live!”
“Here, Ho Yeon’s favorite candied citrus!”
“If you insult my brother even once more, I fear I cannot forgive you.”
Four would suffice.
Even protecting them felt burdensome.
Right now, he didn’t have a thousand swords.
The fence was far too fragile.
No one else could enter.
Whoooosh—!
The Yintang Acupoint, which had been dormant for two years, expanded like the opening of the universe.
Correspondingly, his head felt ready to split, and the space between his brows burned scalding hot.
“Ugh, damn it all. What is this?”
In the reddened haze of his vision, he saw the flatfish bastard rising to his feet.
Right. Why complicate things unnecessarily?
The enemy stands before me.
Kill.
Murder!
That was a Sword Demon’s reason for existing.
Having found such a simple, crystalline answer, Namgung Ho Yeon broke into a grin.
* * *
“What in blazes—”
Chu Eum lifted his right hand to examine it.
His fingers were forced open, and then something unseen hurled him forward like a pebble skipping across water.
‘Void Seizing? It can’t be.’
Void Seizing harmonized one’s own Qi with an opponent’s, manipulating the flow of their energy.
Did he truly possess the control to interfere with Chu Eum’s Qi—that of someone who had already broken through the wall?
Such an impossible technique would be beyond even the legendary Sword Emperor who wielded the Azure Radiance Sword.
Unless he were one of those mythical Sword Demons who had mastered Uigi Yeondong—but that was unthinkable.
“Tch. So much for spoils. I’d better slip away before this gets any louder.”
Chu Eum glanced back at the situation and quickly decided to flee.
He needed to escape while his subordinates still held off their pursuers.
‘Hah. I’m done with these wretched Black Assassin Group. I’ll slip into Gucheon Fortress and become a protector under the Ten Thousand Celestial Emperors!’
The moment Chu Eum unfolded his footwork to spring away—using the Black Assassin Group as a sacrificial card—something erupted from the side.
Crash!
A razor-edged Killing Intent came screaming through the air.
“Wha—?!”
Clang!
He spun his Snake Fortune Sword up fast to block.
‘A blade?’
The assailant wielded a long, narrow black sword.
“Over here, you flatfish!”
“…?!”
Bang! Crack!
A young man with white lightning gathered in his palms came thrusting forward from the opposite side.
‘That bastard from before!’
Chu Eum spun his body, rode the reaction force, and thrust his palm back to meet the attack.
Boom!
Both men were sent flying through the air, landing hard and fixing each other with a stare.
Whoosh! Snap!
Namgung Ho Yeon had already reclaimed his Black Night Great Sword and sheathed it. Chu Eum eyed him with displeasure and let out a rasping chuckle.
“…White lightning. Ah. Krhehe! So you’re the one they call Seonjeon Noe Ah, Namgung Ho Yeon.”
Ho Yeon spoke.
“Look at me, would you?”
“What?”
“Look. At me. Where are you looking?”
“……”
“Heh. You flatfish bastard. When someone’s talking to you, you look them in the eye.”
Ho Yeon’s lips quirked in amusement, and Chu Eum’s jaw trembled with barely contained rage.
“Krhehe, trying to waste time with word games, are we? Pity. I can kill you in mere moments!”
Fsshhh!
Thrummmmm—!
Chu Eum’s Snake Fortune Sword quivered, then blazed crimson with Strong Qi.
‘Ahhhhh!’
It felt transcendent every time he used it.
Strong Qi!
He’d never dreamed he would wield such power.
Countless martial artists knelt before this barrier, but he—he had broken through the wall, triumphantly.
“Krahaha! Beg for your life if you want—it’s too late! I’ll grind you to dust!”
Chu Eum was certain that Namgung Ho Yeon, merely a later generation disciple, would flee in terror.
But Ho Yeon only furrowed his brow, watching Chu Eum’s Strong Qi with quiet attention.
“Here we go again?”
“What?”
“Where are you lot finding this garbage? Why does everyone want to take such a cheap shortcut?”
“Kch! The whelp has eyes to see, then. This old master’s Ten Thousand Snake Phantom Sword Method was originally derived from whip technique!”
“I’m losing my mind.”
Swish!
Ho Yeon drew the Heavenly Thunder Sword.
Rumble! Crash!
At the same moment, a Red Thunder Cloud erupted from his Qi Hai Acupoint, releasing torrents of Heavenly Thunder Qi.
Crackle-crackle-snap!
The released Heavenly Thunder Qi compressed into dozens of electric threads, racing up the blade like fire consuming an oil-soaked wick.
Whoosh-crackle-crack!
Though merely warp threads, those lines wrapping the blade formed a tangible layer—a woven surface entire.
“Qi Hardening?! How dare a green boy wield such a thing!”
Chu Eum’s eyes flew wide at the sight.
He himself had barely mastered Qi Hardening at fifty years of age, upon Knowing Heaven’s Mandate.
Even a young master of the Namgung Clan, for all their renowned orthodox lineage, should never—a youth not yet twenty, wielding Qi Hardening?
“……I must kill him. There’s no choice.”
Whoosh!
Chu Eum’s expression hardened, crimson flames dancing in his eyes.
It was a murky Killing Intent, tangled with jealousy and wariness.
Swish-swish-swish!
Chu Eum wielded the Snake Fortune Sword.
Scarlet Strong Qi bristled like scales across the blade as the Poison Fang emerged.
Clash!
Ho Yeon swept the Heavenly Thunder Sword upward in a swift arc from below.
In that fleeting instant when the Trailing Thunder reversed skyward, the One Flash Thunder Light unfolded with the subtlety of yielding motion, its brilliance blazing forth.
“Kch-ha-ha! I told you it was whip technique, not sword!”
At this, Chu Eum burst into raucous laughter and shook the impact from his blade.
Swish!
Then the Snake Fortune Sword, alive as a serpent, slipped past the One Flash Thunder Light and struck toward Ho Yeon’s heart.
Thud!
Ho Yeon planted his True Stance.
The Gan Step, rooted with the subtlety of Thousand Jin Weight, channeled its rebound through his waist.
As Ho Yeon whipped his torso without resisting that momentum, his waist power transformed into elastic tension, converging all his strength into a single point at the sword’s tip.
Flare!
The Falling Thunder Pursuit descended as though cleaving heaven and earth in two.
“Fool! You should have dodged!”
Chu Eum mocked Ho Yeon’s ignorance in choosing direct confrontation.
He had no doubt that Ho Yeon, like Ja Song and Dan Li Jeok before him, would collapse vomiting blood.
And yet.
Metal shriek!
Grating crunch!
“……!”
With a flash of white light, the crimson scales of Strong Qi peeled away, and three sections of the Snake Fortune Sword sheared clean off.
Clatter-clang-crack!
The Heavenly Thunder Sword, having sliced through even the iron threads within the Snake Fortune Sword, scattered rapidly and sent Heavenly Thunder Qi spraying in all directions.
Crash-crash-crash!
“Kh—wh-what—what is this?!”
Chu Eum hastily unfurled his Protective Strong Qi, blocking the torrent of Thunder Lightning Thousand Branches—a technique splitting the thunder-light into a thousand branches.
Boom-boom-boom!
As abundant Thunder Qi saturated the surrounding space, Ho Yeon began striking the void indiscriminately.
Crack-crackle!
Crash-crackle-crackle!
From within the Thunder Cloud that now encased Chu Eum came an ominous sound.
Dozens of Thunder Palms erupted like the hands of the Thousand-Armed Buddha.
A rain of thunder-shadows pouring down—countless strikes.
Boom-boom-boom!
Crack-crack-crack!
“Ahhhhhhh!”
With each direct hit from the thunder-shadow rain, his crimson Protective Strong Qi cracked like parched earth, and the Heavenly Thunder Qi seeping through those fissures seared Chu Eum’s entire body with agony.
‘W-what… what is this?!’
Qi Hardening breaking through Strong Qi?
It made about as much sense as saying a frog had swallowed a snake.
Namgung Ho Yeon spoke to Chu Eum, whose face showed utter bewilderment.
“I don’t know what business you had with Gwang Bi Chang or anyone else, but as someone who came before you, I’m telling you—you’ve taken a wrong path.”
“W-what are you saying…!”
“Are you some cursed orphan? Didn’t your mother teach you to walk the straight road?”
Thunder rumbled.
Namgung Ho Yeon, scoffing at Chu Eum for stepping onto that foolish path, rushed forward like Electric Light Stone Fire with the sound of thunder.
“Ugh, uuugh!”
Swoosh! Swish-swish!
The unknown breeds fear.
Chu Eum shifted from offense to defense, spinning the Snake Fortune Sword wildly above his head.
Crash-crash-crash!
Then a crimson umbrella of strong qi began spinning like a top in a conical shape.
The absolute defensive technique of the Ten Thousand Snake Phantom Sword Method—wrapping the serpent’s armor around the center of the world.
Snake Scales Heaven Center.
‘Tsk. He didn’t know what he was doing, but thanks to him, the flaw has vanished.’
Namgung Ho Yeon stopped moving.
He had filled the gaps between warp and weft threads with that rotation.
No matter how skilled one was, finding and piercing a flaw within that spinning vortex was impossible.
‘If I just leave it, he’ll exhaust himself eventually… but this is a good opportunity. Let me test something.’
Namgung Ho Yeon’s eyes blazed as he drew all his inner power from the Qi Hai Acupoint.
“Hnngh!”
A rumble shook the air.
Crackling erupted.
Electric threads began crawling up the surface of the Heavenly Thunder Sword, already wrapped in Qi Hardening.
This was a method that had suddenly come to him while developing the Layered Cloud Myriad Tribulation Technique.
What would happen if he layered Qi Hardening upon Qi Hardening?
A brilliant hum resonated.
The answer came.
A white broad sword blazed in Namgung Ho Yeon’s hand, as if refusing all darkness.
‘Layered Qi Hardening!’
—Ahh! Exquisite!
The Heavenly Thunder Sword sang with satisfaction, as though its body had sunk into a warm bath from the doubled Qi Hardening.
A step.
Treading the Hand Step, Namgung Ho Yeon reached Chu Eum with the speed and grace of wind.
His target was the center where the rotation’s radius was narrowest—the apex of the cone where centrifugal force was weakest.
“Hnngh!”
A sharp crack split the air.
Namgung Ho Yeon struck the tip of the crimson umbrella with a horizontal slash of Heavenly Thunder Striking Flash.
A grinding sound.
“Screeeeeee!”
Chu Eum wailed as his right hand, still gripping the Snake Fortune Sword, was severed.
But the cry did not last long.
A muffled impact.
“Gahhk!”
Namgung Ho Yeon’s grip closed around Chu Eum’s throat.
“Do you know what karmic retribution means? It’s a phrase I rather like.”
“Guh… p-please… spare…”
“Hmm?”
In that moment, meeting Chu Eum’s gaze eye to eye, Namgung Ho Yeon’s brow furrowed.
A faint hum.
A thread-thin qi began writhing like an insect toward the Yintang Acupoint.
“What’s this now?”
A sharp crack.
Namgung Ho Yeon twisted his lips and crushed that qi beneath his Spirit Energy.
Against the vast ocean of Namgung Ho Yeon’s Spirit Energy, that worm-like qi was powerless.
“Your Upper Dantian is in tatters. Did you also receive Jiseon’s Secret Art?”
“H-hah…!”
“That gives you one more reason to die.”
With a cold smile, Namgung Ho Yeon drove every last scrap of Heavenly Thunder Qi into Chu Eum’s body.
Crackle-crackle-crack!
“Grrrrgh!”
Chu Eum bit down on his tongue amid excruciating agony as crimson thunder marks began spreading across his skin like branching twigs.
Sizzle!
Only after black smoke wisped from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears did Namgung Ho Yeon release his grip.
Thud!
Namgung Ho Yeon gazed down at Chu Eum, now charred like a burnt log, and murmured.
“When you reach hell, your mother will teach you this — if you can’t keep your hands to yourself, they get cut off.”
* * *
“Hehehehe!”
On a distant rooftop, far removed from where white lightning crackled and blazed.
An old man stood watching the lightning bolts strike with perfect clarity despite the distance.
Anyone who had known the old man in ordinary times would have been utterly astonished.
His stern, weathered face was filled with rare, enormous delight and joy.
“Mo Yong Sang Cheon! What a remarkable grandson you have! I’m envious!”
The Sword Emperor Mo Yong Sang Cheon’s golden eyes flashed as he exclaimed in admiration.

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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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