Return of the God of War - Chapter 13

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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 13: All Grown Up
Muk Yeojin smiled brightly, masking the turbulence beneath the surface.
“Mother, I’m truly grateful.”
The words emerged from genuine feeling.
Setting aside the complicated history between his mother and the Namgung Clan, if one looked at it objectively—
the Changgung Daeyeon Jinsul was, without exaggeration, the study he needed most urgently right now.
Over the past year spent in Biyeon Cave,
his total Naeryeok had grown far beyond what was typical for his age once he’d fully absorbed the Baeksu Shindan.
Yet the Simbeop he currently practiced lagged behind that accumulation in terms of the quality of his Jingi.
What coiled in his Danjeon now could fairly be called half-formed Naegong.
And for good reason.
Before his return, Muk Yeojin had built his martial foundation alone, without a single teacher.
The Geombeop, Jangbeop, Gwonbeop, and Bobeop he wielded were all self-taught,
as was the Naegong Simbeop he’d learned.
It was a crude patchwork of insights gathered from countless battlefields, gleaned through brushes with death—a Simbeop lacking any coherence whatsoever.
‘During the war with the Woneum Sect, I was too busy swinging a sword every other day to even consider learning a new Simbeop.’
This was the very thing his sworn brothers had lamented most.
—Little brother, you’re the direct descendant of that Sado Heaven lord—why is your Simbeop in such a pathetic state?
—Because of your Simbeop, your martial talent isn’t even half displayed.
—What does Naegong matter?! Little brother, external strength is supreme! And when it comes to external strength, nothing beats the Mabo—come on, little brother, today we’ll drill the Mabo for three hours! Hahaha!
‘Brother Maeng…’
Maeng Ak of Namman Yasugung, who’d been an evangelist for external power.
Yet he himself had mastered the ascending Simbeop that descended from Yasugung.
Moreover, as a boy he’d consumed every elixir said to be good for Naegong, and among his sworn brothers, he boasted the finest Hyeolgi output—
Still, for any martial artist, the importance of Simbeop could never be overstated, no matter how many times it was repeated.
Yet the Naegong Simbeop that all warriors held dear as life itself—
there was no chance an elite Simbeop like the one Muk Yeojin needed would simply fall from heaven.
Moreover, Sado Heaven’s lord, Muk Uumyeong, was not a man who taught martial arts directly to his sons.
In a situation where he could only rely on fortunate chance, his mother had resolved this dilemma in one stroke.
How could he not be overjoyed?
Namgung Ryeongryeong also felt the corners of her mouth lift as she saw her son’s joy exceed her expectations.
“By year’s end, commit the entire technique to memory and focus on grasping its true meaning. Then on your birthday next year, I’ll guide you through the initial opening myself. We’ll settle on beginning practice at that time.”
Namgung Ryeongryeong’s reasoning was indeed sound.
But it seemed his thoughts lay elsewhere.
“I’ll begin today, Mother.”
For a moment, Namgung Ryeongryeong’s expression suggested she’d misheard him.
“What did you say?”
“I’ll begin the opening today. Please give me just two hours, Mother.”
‘Time is pressing. I cannot afford to spend a whole year with my head buried in texts.’
* * *
Two hours later.
As promised, Muk Yeojin sat directly before Namgung Ryeongryeong.
She still could not dispel the glimmer of doubt in her eyes.
To memorize all the verses of a Simbeop in merely two hours would be a shocking achievement in itself—but to grasp their true meaning on top of that?
By her understanding, it lay in the realm of absolute impossibility.
Yet knowing her son as she did, aware that he was not one to engage in empty boasting over such matters, her confusion only deepened.
‘Still… the verses alone exceed three thousand characters. How could…’
She could only conclude that her son, child as he was, had given way to youthful arrogance.
‘But then again…’
Watching that self-assured expression on his face, an unexpected flutter of anticipation quietly kindled within her heart.
Namgung Ryeongryeong leaned forward, her expression taut with tension.
“…Very well. Recite the verses for me.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Before the words had fully left his lips, Muk Yeojin calmly began reciting the verses.
His voice was measured and precise.
Flawlessly, from opening to conclusion.
He recited every verse perfectly.
Shock bloomed in Namgung Ryeongryeong’s eyes, and with a sense of disbelief, she spoke again.
“Then, what is the meaning of the verses of the Third Section?”
Muk Yeojin, without the slightest pause for reflection, fluidly expounded the true meaning of the verses.
In the process, he even attached interpretations of all the formulae from entry to culmination.
It was truly astonishing.
Namgung Ryeongryeong’s eyes trembled violently, as though an earthquake had struck.
‘Could someone have taught him…… No, that’s impossible.’
Even as she thought it, the very assumption made no sense.
Who in Sado Heaven would teach her son the interpretation of the Changgung Daeyeon Jinsul formulae?
Moreover, when interpreting the sixth formula, the depth of understanding had seemed even greater than her own.
How could such a thing be possible?
No matter how she puzzled over it, there was but one explanation for this extraordinary phenomenon.
And that was——
‘Talent.’
By then, Namgung Ryeongryeong found herself nearly laughing at the sheer futility of it all.
‘I wonder what those acclaimed disciples of my clan would say if they saw this——the ones who used to call me a monster woman.’
She had lived believing herself gifted, yet now, confronted with genuine talent before her eyes, she felt as diminished as a firefly standing before the sun.
And yet——
That brilliant being was none other than her own son.
The creeping hollowness and inferiority that had begun to surface sank soundlessly away, replaced by a joy so overwhelming it flooded her entire chest.
“How was that, Mother?”
Her son’s voice pulled her from her reverie.
Namgung Ryeongryeong answered with a smile spreading across her face.
“Excellent. Why bother becoming a warrior? You should take the civil examination instead. With your gifts, you’d pass as easily as spooning rice into broth.”
“I don’t care much for rice broth, actually.”
Namgung Ryeongryeong let out a soft laugh.
“There’s no need to wait even that long. Come, sit before me.”
“Yes.”
Muk Yeojin turned his back to Namgung Ryeongryeong and crossed his legs in a seated meditation pose.
Then Namgung Ryeongryeong placed her palm against the Myeongmun Hyeol, the gate of life at the center of his back.
“Slowly raise your Naegong according to the Changgung Daeyeon Jinsul formulae. I will guide you and help transform your Jingi into the Changgung form.”
“Understood.”
Whoom!
Muk Yeojin immediately drew his Jingi upward.
As the Naeryeok stored in his Danjeon began to flow forth like thread unraveling, Namgung Ryeongryeong let out a small gasp of admiration.
“Your Naeryeok is vast. Did you encounter some stroke of fortune?”
“I obtained the Baeksu Shindan from Biyeon Cave.”
“……I see.”
Namgung Ryeongryeong showed little surprise at this revelation.
Such immense reserves of Naeryeok could scarcely be explained without an elixir of that caliber.
What truly astonished her was how her son wielded that vast Naeryeok with such secretive and meticulous control——his command of Giui was extraordinary.
‘He has already reached the stage where he can manipulate his Naeryeok as freely as his own limbs.’
This was undeniably talent of the highest order.
Yet——
As she quietly sensed her son’s Gi, a deep furrow suddenly creased her brow.
“However, the Simbeop from Biyeon Cave seems rather crude——its flow is far worse than third-rate street techniques, and above all…… there is far too much killing intent.”
Muk Yeojin’s shoulders stiffened.
‘She sensed it after all.’
Just as every person, and indeed every creature, possesses their own unique nature and temperament, so too does Naegong carry its own character.
The nature of one’s Naegong diverges sharply according to the path one pursues.
This is why those who cultivate Domun share similar Naegong qualities with one another, just as those who master Magong bear resemblance to each other.
Then what path had Muk Yeojin pursued?
His Naegong had been born in the midst of the Sisanbyeolhae——that desolate field of corpses and blood, cruel beyond measure.
Sprouted only to kill his enemy, blossomed only for vengeance and annihilation——what fruit could such a Simbeop possibly bear?
There was no need to wonder.
‘Of course it would be a vicious Salsim.’
His mother had come face to face with the demonic killing intent he harbored deep within himself.
Once one became a practitioner of the way, perceiving such a truth was inevitable.
‘At least she seems to believe it came from the Simbeop learned in Biyeon Cave. That much is fortunate.’
The year he had spent confined in Biyeon Cave was proving useful in unexpected ways.
“A Simbeop saturated with killing intent will ultimately corrupt even the spirit. Fortunately, there is no taint of corrupted Gi such as Magi or Hyeolgi mixed within, so we can proceed with the Jingi transformation at once. Now, concentrate.”
Whoom!
After circulating her Jingi once through to fully assess Muk Yeojin’s internal state, Namgung Ryeongryeong’s own Jingi intensified significantly, and his body began to grow warm.
Muk Yeojin drew up his Jingi in response.
Zing!
Through the Myeongmun Hyeol in her Jangsim, Namgung Ryeongryeong’s Qi flowed steadily into Muk Yeojin’s body and began its journey along his Hyeoldo. And slowly, carefully, he followed in its wake.
Her Qi advanced with a mother’s concern—constantly glancing back over her shoulder, worrying he might lose his way, that he might stumble.
That even her Qi bore her nature, and a smile bloomed at the corner of Muk Yeojin’s mouth.
Wrapped in her gentle Naegong, his eyelids grew heavy with comfort—nearly drifting closed of their own accord.
‘So this is Mother’s Qi.’
He wished this moment would never end.
‘But……’
Even now, the Woneum Sect dogs were gathering strength in the depths.
Plotting to slaughter and raze all of Joongyeon.
And so.
‘I cannot afford such luxury.’
As his Jingi followed her Qi through the winding passages of his Hyeoldo, circling around the Baekhoe and gathering once more at his lower danjeon, completing a full Ilzucheon, in that very instant—
Whooom!
Muk Yeojin’s Qi surged and writhed.
‘Dangerous!’
Namgung Ryeongryeong thought his Qi had spiraled into chaos.
She pressed both palms urgently to his Myeongmun Hyeol, channeling her Jingi to suppress the rampage—but in that moment—
Zing!
Namgung Ryeongryeong sensed the change in her son.
His Qi thrashed with violent intensity, as though careening out of control.
Yet watching more carefully, she saw it was not merely scattering in all directions—amid that chaos, it held order, driving forward with unmistakable purpose.
‘……He’s controlling it?’
Her son was wielding this surging, overflowing Qi with perfect command.
Fierce beyond measure, yet infinitely refined at once.
It was a manipulation of Qi she had never witnessed in all her years.
Soon his Qi raced through his Hyeoldo in all directions, advancing without hesitation as though following a predetermined path.
Before long, his Jingi surged past even the Qi that had been guiding him—leaving Namgung Ryeongryeong’s power far behind.
Whooom.
His Qi, tearing through the Hyeoldo in frenzy, completed Ilzucheon after Ilzucheon again.
A deep azure hue—the blue of heaven itself—rapidly washed over his Jingi.
Soft.
Only then did Namgung Ryeongryeong realize her role was finished, and she withdrew her hands from her son’s back.
Standing quietly behind him, watching, she suddenly let out a soft laugh.
‘……He’s already grown so much.’
When she turned her gaze upward, a massive full moon had risen, bathing the entire night sky in brightness as brilliant as midday.

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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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