The Fortunate Sword God of the Zhuge Clan - Chapter 67

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 67.
Yeollin opened her mouth in a measured tone.
“Your sparring matches were all masterful. Especially that reversal in the final round—even witnessing it firsthand, the skill on display was almost beyond belief.”
Mu Heun offered a gentle smile.
“You’re too kind. I hardly know where to put myself.”
“Not mere flattery, I assure you. Only honest impressions. But it’s given me something I’d like to ask you about.”
“What is it?”
Yeollin continued, a faint smile playing at her lips.
“You mentioned that you overcame your severed meridians and reached the Peak stage by obtaining Empty Blue Stone Oil from Blue Star Mountain.”
Mu Heun nodded.
“That’s correct.”
“And you also said you broke through several formations in the process. Yet….”
Yeollin’s eyes gleamed slightly.
“You glossed over the part where you lost consciousness. Would it be all right to ask you about that?”
Mu Heun nodded slowly at the question he’d anticipated.
‘Nothing’s changed at all.’
But it made sense—he’d come back to the past.
Yeollin had always made tireless efforts to hunt down detailed information whenever she heard rumors of an opportunity or legacy.
To revive the Tianmo Divine Sect—the roots her family had destroyed before she was even born.
Her participation in this Dragon Phoenix Gathering, and her first conversation with Mu Heun in her past life, had both been for this reason.
‘She must be furious from this Dragon Phoenix Gathering.’
The Black Guard had spread malicious rumors about the Tianmo Divine Sect.
She’d likely been incensed enough to search for the source of those rumors.
He was curious about what she’d found, but he couldn’t ask directly now.
He had no prior connection with her yet, and the lengthening silence was making Yeollin’s expression turn questioning.
“If it’s a difficult matter to discuss….”
“No, that’s not it at all.”
Mu Heun made a light gesture and continued.
“It’s something I should tell you about anyway.”
“Yes?”
Yeollin tilted her head, not following.
“In the formation where I lost consciousness, I was able to meet my teacher Jungdal.”
Shock flickered across Yeollin’s eyes at his words.
***
Mu Heun recounted in detail how he’d received the formation blueprint from Jungdal.
Listening to this, Yeollin regarded him with an expression of skepticism mixed with belief.
It was a tale that could be dismissed as lies, yet Mu Heun drew out the blueprint himself and explained it.
Half the blueprint that Sama Do-yun—who’d cared for her since childhood—had spent a lifetime searching for.
There was no way Yeollin wouldn’t recognize it.
And yet, because the story remained almost too incredible to accept, Yeollin deliberated for some time before reaching a conclusion.
“I should discuss this blueprint with my family’s elders. If you don’t mind, would it be possible to meet again at a later time?”
Mu Heun nodded at her words as if it were only natural.
“Of course. Though I suspect we won’t see each other again for at least a month.”
“A month….”
Disappointment crossed Yeollin’s face.
A day would be enough to reach a conclusion, and since she was already in Hubei, it would have been best to visit the Jegal Family Estate while here.
“How could I presume to set a schedule for the New Dragon? I only worry that I’m stealing the time of someone so busy.”
But the disappointment was hers, and she herself was aware of it, so she simply nodded quietly.
“You need not say such things. I too wish to return this to you as quickly as possible. However….”
Mu Heun drew his blade halfway from its sheath.
It wasn’t a treasure blade, but a sword from the Jegal Family Estate, forged from fine steel.
The blade was so chipped and damaged that it was no longer usable.
“Unfortunately, I must have a new sword made.”
This wasn’t a problem that could be solved simply by bringing a new blade.
Mu Heun was still at the Peak stage, but now that he’d perfected his technique, reaching the Ultimate Peak was only a matter of time.
From the Ultimate Peak onward, an ordinary blade couldn’t withstand the force of his strikes.
Yeollin understood this as well, and she nodded in comprehension without even mentioning the eternal iron she’d been prepared to offer.
“I see. I hope you’ll obtain a worthy blade befitting your talent.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
Yeollin smiled brightly, as if it were nothing.
“You must be exhausted, but I’m grateful you answered my questions so thoughtfully. I won’t take any more of your time—perhaps we can meet again another day.”
“Of course. Next time, then.”
The two exchanged a light farewell and moved on.
Though it was a conversation with an old connection, in this life they had no history yet, which made it far easier than it might have been.
‘Besides, I have no intention of repeating the past in this life.’
Mu Heun turned toward the table where the Cheon応 Group had gathered, his expression tinged with relief and regret.
As Mu Heun approached, all eyes of the Cheon응 Group members turned to him.
‘Now is the time to focus on this.’
Mu Heun accepted their gazes lightly and joined in the group’s conversation.
***
Even the members who hadn’t known their target was the imperial court eventually agreed to join the Cheon응 Group.
Fundamentally, they were all disciples of the Orthodox Faction, and so the prospect of devoting themselves to cooperation was not something they feared.
The fact that the current Martial Alliance Master, the Grand Strategist, and the Family Head of the Tang Clan all stood behind them proved to be tremendous support.
Sun-yeon wept openly and hesitated until the very last moment, but….
—Then, are you saying you’d be perfectly content if there wasn’t a single martial artist from the Wudang Sect in the Cheon응 Group, Daoist Sun-yeon?
At Mu Heun’s words, Sun-yeon—a man who lived by pride in the Wudang Sect alone—reluctantly joined the Cheon응 Group through tears.
Yang Mujin harbored some doubt about Sun-yeon’s reluctance, but Mu Heun believed she would acquit herself well.
‘After all, she displayed the greatest achievements in my past life.’
The timeline had been pushed forward slightly, but with the Cheon응 Group members—including Mu Heun himself—helping her, she was certainly capable of rising to the occasion.
The first task given to the fully assembled Cheon응 Group was information gathering.
Mu Heun, who knew the future, had suspicions about several behaviors that suggested the Black Guard, but he could not act without confirming the facts.
It was obvious that if he wasted time investigating the wrong places, the Black Guard’s schemes would only deepen.
Mu Heun first asked Jinyu to gather information from each region.
‘That much is settled, and as for the Jinsa House….’
When Mu Heun returned to the Jegal Family Estate, he boldly asked Geum Dae-yun not only for Yang Mujin’s sponsorship, but for the Cheon응 Group’s as well.
Geum Dae-yun looked at Mu Heun incredulously, but the moment he received the letter Mu Heun handed him, his expression changed.
The letter contained a densely written list of merchant houses that would see significant growth from this point onward.
It wasn’t merely a list—it included the names of merchants that the Jinsa House itself held in high regard, which made it impossible to dismiss lightly.
After deliberating for a moment, Geum Dae-yun said he would first verify the information, and if it proved true, he would gladly offer his support to the Cheon응 Group.
‘For all of this to be accomplished will take roughly a month.’
It was a timeframe that aligned perfectly with when Mu Heun needed to forge his new sword.
‘Of course, that’s assuming everything proceeds smoothly.’
Even so, he would need to convince the man he was about to meet as quickly as possible.
With that thought, Mu Heun quickened his pace once more.
Though the winding mountain path was treacherous, Mu Heun—standing at the threshold of the Peak Stage—navigated it with ease.
Gwak Tae-gang: the man to whom Jegal Cheonseong had entrusted the eternal cold iron, and the man who would forge Mu Heun’s sword.
The Iron-Heart Ghost Craftsman—Gwak Tae-gang.
“Hmm.”
As Mu Heun climbed rapidly up the mountain, he halted before a cliff face that seemed to drop away into nothing.
“Well, I’d heard tales of it, but….”
This was his first time seeing it in person.
Indeed, without prior knowledge, it was a cliff so impossibly high one would never even consider attempting it.
Without hesitation, Mu Heun hurled himself off the edge as if possessed by madness.
Click.
Remarkably, instead of plummeting into an bottomless void, Mu Heun walked through the empty air between the split cliff faces.
‘Just as Father would arrange it—meticulous and precise.’
It was a formation devised by Jegal Cheonseong for Gwak Tae-gang.
Having navigated the familiar formation with ease, Mu Heun soon came upon a modest straw cottage.
A straw cottage, just one.
Simple as that sounded, its size rivaled that of any grand manor.
Draped across the enormous roof was a signboard that spoke volumes about Gwak Tae-gang’s character.
—To forge a sword is not to temper steel, but to cultivate the heart; only then can the blade become sharp.
‘…Ha.’
At the sight of it, Mu Heun let out a hollow laugh.
‘I knew he was no ordinary man, but….’
Even his workplace bore such peculiarity.
As Mu Heun gazed at the inscription, a faint sound reached his ears.
Whine—
It was barely audible, yet Mu Heun knew exactly what it was.
‘A mechanism?’
At the familiar mechanical sound, Mu Heun’s body twisted instinctively away from the direction of the noise.
And then.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whack!
Clang-clang-clang!
As if they’d been waiting for the moment, five blades shot past Mu Heun’s back and buried themselves in the rocks beside him.
Had he taken one more step forward, those blades would have pierced his body.
He could have blocked them with his protective energy, but the fact remained that this was rather crude for a welcome greeting.
‘What in the…’
Mu Heun turned toward the direction from which the blades had come, his expression shifting to mild bewilderment.
There stood a middle-aged man already preparing the mechanism to fire again.
“Blast and damnation! You were supposed to be unable to enter! Yet here you walk, plain as day! Jegal Cheonseong! Have you lost your mind in your dotage?”
Gwak Tae-gang, a middle-aged man whose thick, unkempt beard and massive frame gave him the appearance of a bandit, met Mu Heun’s gaze and his expression turned to one of dismay.
“Damn it all. What—what are you? Where did you come from? Are you trying to harm me because I won’t forge weapons?”
Mu Heun smiled with a touch of resignation before answering.
“That is not the case. I am…”
“Who are you?! Ah, so you’ve come for this formation array? This array was created by Jegal Cheonseong! So if you desire it, then he… eh?!”
Gwak Tae-gang, who had cut Mu Heun off mid-sentence, paused after mentioning Jegal Cheonseong and narrowed his eyes at the young man.
“…You bear a resemblance to Jegal Cheonseong. Your features are gentler, perhaps, but that build and those eyebrows…”
“…Jegal Cheonseong is my father.”
“…That man… no, you’re saying you’re his son?”
Mu Heun’s face remained composed as he performed a respectful bow.
“Yes. Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Jegal Mu Heun.”
At Mu Heun’s introduction, Gwak Tae-gang’s expression quickly hardened into alarm.
***
“I deserve to die a hundred deaths for such discourtesy. I beg your boundless magnanimity to overlook this wretch’s transgression.”
Gwak Tae-gang prostrated himself before Mu Heun in such a deep bow that he seemed ready to drill through the floor.
“I am unworthy—my crime in failing to recognize the young master of the Jegal Clan and in attempting to take your life merits death—but I have a son not yet past childhood…”
“…Please, compose yourself.”
At Mu Heun’s words, Gwak Tae-gang lifted his head slightly to gauge the young man’s reaction.
“Does this mean… you forgive me?”
“…”
Mu Heun offered no answer, only a soft smile.
At that smile, Gwak Tae-gang bowed his head once more.
“My own son is not yet of age…”
“Neither am I, as it happens.”
“…Ah…”
Gwak Tae-gang, his mind racing desperately, seemed to seize upon an idea and asked urgently.
“Ah! Then—if the young master of the Jegal Clan has come here, it must be to find it! Eternal Han Steel! Eternal Han Steel, is it not!”
Mu Heun nodded slowly, his smile never fading.
“Indeed.”
“Ah, how fortunate you are! You see, save for the Ice Palace, I am the sole craftsman in all the realm capable of working Eternal Han Steel! My, what remarkable fortune smiles upon you!”
Mu Heun watched Gwak Tae-gang fawning with his hands clasped together, and finally let out a quiet laugh.
“Yes, that is certainly true. Without Master Gwak, I would never be able to inherit my mother’s legacy.”
Gwak Tae-gang bobbed his head repeatedly in agreement.
“Just so! Just so! You speak with perfect clarity!”
Mu Heun decided to stop tormenting the man.
While it had been unpleasant to have his life targeted, Gwak Tae-gang had never imagined anyone would breach the formation array in the first place.
As it turned out, Gwak Tae-gang truly was the only craftsman capable of refining Eternal Han Steel.
That much could be overlooked…
“However, there is one thing I find curious.”
“Ah, what might that be? Please, do tell!”
Mu Heun glanced around the workshop before meeting Gwak Tae-gang’s eyes once more.
He had been searching since the moment he arrived, yet one thing remained conspicuously absent.
“There is no Eternal Han Steel here. Where is it?”
A treasure of such rarity should have emanated the distinctive aura that only precious materials emit, yet no such scent reached him.
Mu Heun’s pointed question caused Gwak Tae-gang’s expression to darken once more with troubled concern.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————