The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - 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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Chapter 200
The warrior across from me answered lightly.
“He seems to be having difficulty contacting us while traveling. If he encountered the same rain last night, his journey would have been delayed.”
Namgung Wan started to cross his arms but stopped himself, lowering them again.
Judging from how he’d instructed me last night, his arm had indeed healed, but he was still being cautious nonetheless.
“The sky still looks overcast—it might pour again. For now, send someone swift-footed to the path leading into Ak-yang. I heard he’s nearly here, so we shouldn’t have to go far to meet him.”
“Understood. If it’s someone swift-footed… oh, poor fellow.”
“Suddenly?”
“You said there would be a martial contest today.”
“What about it? Ah yes, you’re so eager to watch the children spar?”
“Children? This is a contest between late-stage cultivators. Besides, what I heard was different. So Ga-ju, you said the Young Master wouldn’t let this slide…”
“Of course not. Why would I let it pass?”
“You call it children sparring, yet you’re being so serious about it?”
“I think it’s best if you go.”
“Pardon?”
“What are you doing? Get ready.”
“So Ga-ju…!”
Just then, Namgung Wan glanced at me. I bowed respectfully in greeting.
Now that I thought about it, I’d occasionally watched Namgung Ryu-cheong and Yalyu spar, but it wasn’t something one could easily witness.
I saw their faces every day, but if I hadn’t known them and heard that a Young Master of the Namgung Clan and a disciple of Cheonsan Yeom-je were sparring somewhere, I would have wanted to watch.
As time passed, people streamed into the inn’s courtyard. Eventually, it seemed nearly everyone staying at the inn had gathered.
‘I never expected it to grow this large.’
It was inevitable from the moment word spread that the two would spar. Even though I wasn’t the one fighting, I felt slightly overwhelmed.
I observed Yalyu.
He looked as composed as always. His expressionless face met my gaze, and he smiled faintly.
“Why didn’t you bring your sword? Want to borrow mine?”
“It’s fine.”
“…?”
Seeing that my expression lacked explanation, Yalyu held up his empty hands and answered casually.
“This is enough.”
“….”
It seemed he meant to fight using martial techniques alone… but it was exactly the kind of statement that invited misunderstanding.
Sure enough, cold gazes pierced through the crowd like daggers. They were all Namgung Warriors. Of course—it was practically an insult to their young master.
“…We look forward to the Young Master’s prowess.”
As a guest of the Baek Li Family and benefactor of So Ga-ju, they let it pass with restraint.
‘He’s got nerves of steel.’
What was surprising was Namgung Ryu-cheong’s reaction. His brows furrowed slightly, but that was all. He remained composed and undisturbed, maintaining his calm before the contest.
After mentioning a few precautions, Namgung Wan moved to the edge of the courtyard.
“Then, begin.”
Boom!
The moment the words left his mouth, a powerful collision of qi erupted with a sharp crack.
The wind from the impact sent my hair whipping backward.
Both Yalyu and Namgung Ryu-cheong recoiled from the shock before immediately clashing again.
Rumble! Crash!
Bare hands meeting blade sounded like thunder descending from the heavens.
Someone murmured in amazement.
“Remarkable—at such a young age, already blocking sword qi with bare hands.”
Yalyu’s black sleeves billowed roughly as crimson vital energy shimmered like heat waves above both his palms.
He was concentrating his protective qi—the energy that normally guarded the body—into his hands and wielding it like blade energy.
To manipulate protective qi in such a manner required internal power of extraordinary depth.
Yalyu’s eyes gleamed with the same radiance as the vital energy swirling around his hands, the color of the materialized qi visible through the thinnest parts of his skin.
“How is his protective qi strong enough to withstand the Namgung Clan’s sword techniques? Is it because of yang-attributed martial arts?”
Whether yang or yin, energy skewed to extremes possessed destructive power and density far beyond the ordinary.
But it was correspondingly far more difficult to control. I understood this when I wielded natural qi.
There was a reason people avoided such techniques despite knowing they possessed greater destructive force.
Yet if one could master such difficulty, the power became proportionally more formidable.
“He carries a sword with him. It seems his primary martial art is spear technique after all.”
“That makes sense—Cheonsan Yeom-je also employed fist technique as his foundation. Besides, look at that heat. No ordinary blade could withstand it.”
“He’s parrying the Namgung Clan’s sword techniques so effortlessly. Was it called the Nine Transformation Crimson Flame Sword? Truly a name worthy of its reputation.”
Watching him counter the Namgung Clan’s ultimate techniques, it was impossible to deny he deserved the title of divine martial art.
Such a technique had been lost simply because no one remained to inherit it.
A tragedy of the Jianghu.
‘Though perhaps… it wasn’t entirely unfortunate.’
Cheonsan Yeom-je had said the Nine Transformation Crimson Flame Sword could only be learned by those with an extreme yang constitution.
But to be precise, it was possible to learn, merely extraordinarily difficult—with over ninety percent of students falling into demonic cultivation and dying in the attempt.
He said that if one brought a hundred children to master it, only one or two would survive.
The martial art would fundamentally transform one’s inborn constitution, and survival depended on enduring the change into a body similar to an extreme yang constitution; failure meant death.
A technique that saved those with extreme yang constitutions became a killing art for ordinary people.
Cheonsan Yeom-je himself was said to be one of the orphans taken in to learn the Nine Transformation Crimson Flame Sword who had survived.
Generally, the more skilled a martial artist, the longer their lifespan. As internal power deepened, aging slowed and chronic ailments became rare—a natural consequence.
Yet Cheonsan Yeom-je was already approaching the twilight of his years.
This was entirely different from my grandfather, Baek Li Family Head, and Namgung Mu-cheol, Namgung Family Head, of similar age who remained active.
‘It must be… the effect of his constitution being transformed by the Nine Transformation Crimson Flame Sword.’
Had Cheonsan Yeom-je truly wished to take a disciple, finding a suitable child would not have been difficult.
The government had long ceased functioning properly. Bandits ran rampant everywhere, and orphans were abundant.
Moreover, despite the risk of death, it was a divine martial art. Even with a ninety percent mortality rate, people would have lined up to offer their own children.
Yet before my return, Cheonsan Yeom-je had ultimately taken no disciple. Perhaps he had his own standards.
I suddenly realized something odd and asked.
“Now that I think about it, why didn’t Mak-gae come?”
He was absolutely the type to miss such a spectacle or opportunity to gather information.
“I’m not entirely sure either. When I woke up this morning, he was already gone. That’s why I came rushing here instead.”
The large, muscular man—too imposing to be mistaken for a beggar—scratched the back of his head as he answered. Despite his intimidating frame, he possessed a remarkably gentle demeanor.
“And So-gae hasn’t been seen anywhere either….”
A low rumble echoed through the air.
I turned my attention back to the martial contest.
Though Yalyu displayed formidable technique, Namgung Ryu-cheong held his ground without yielding an inch.
Yalyu’s Blazing Flame Palm technique carried yang and fire essence, making it easy to disrupt an opponent’s internal energy flow with each collision. Yet Namgung Ryu-cheong had not wavered once from beginning to end. He was no longer a child struggling to channel his sword energy properly.
He wielded his blade with stability—no, with overwhelming aggression.
Yalyu’s alternating palms struck fiercely against Namgung Ryu-cheong’s sword. Normally, such strikes would have twisted the blade’s trajectory. But Namgung Ryu-cheong’s path remained unchanged. He had withstood Yalyu’s force.
A white flash of sword light tore through the air, thrusting toward Yalyu. His brow furrowed slightly as the energy in both his palms deepened. His thicker, more densely layered protective energy collided with the white blade light.
Boom!
Another tremendous shockwave rippled outward. Black and blue robes fluttered, leaving long trails across the floor.
Just as both fighters, pushed back by the impact, prepared to clash again….
Both Namgung Ryu-cheong and Yalyu turned their gaze toward the inn’s entrance.
A man dressed in refined attire stood there—though no one had noticed his arrival.
Not a single presence had been detected as he crossed the inn’s threshold. A chill ran down my spine.
The man spoke at a leisurely pace.
“That was quite entertaining.”
Namgung Wan spoke.
“Who are you?”
In that moment, I felt the surrounding atmosphere grow heavy and oppressive. It was a dark, murky aura.
A master. And moreover….
I swallowed hard.
The middle-aged man fixed his gaze on Namgung Wan, then let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha, so it was true.”
“….”
Namgung Wan’s hand gripped his sword hilt. The martial artists in the inn tensed, each assuming a ready stance.
The middle-aged man, appearing around the same age as Namgung Wan, slowly surveyed the inn before his gaze settled on me.
His expression showed slight surprise. I met his gaze with suspicion in my own eyes.
It was as if I had seen this man somewhere before.
The man spoke.
“Girl, do you know what you’ve done?”
“…What do you mean, what I’ve done?”
That was when it happened.
“T-t-the Third Young Master!”
Mak-gae’s cry rang out.
“The Third Young Master? Which Third Young Master?”
“J-just the Third Young Master. That’s what those people call him… In other words, the Demonic Cult’s Third Young Master.”
“…!”
“…!”

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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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