The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 232

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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 232
Namgung Ryu-cheong had already advanced to the main tournament after passing the preliminaries.
Seo Ha-ryeong, who hadn’t yet recognized Namgung Ryu-cheong, urgently asked the Young Man beside her.
“Has the preliminary round already started?”
The Young Man belatedly came to his senses and spoke.
“Oh, no. The martial arts match happening now isn’t the preliminary!”
“It’s not? Then what are they doing over there?”
At that moment, the conversation of others answered instead of the Young Man.
“A martial arts match between the Namgung Prince and the Hwangbo Prince! We came to watch the preliminaries and got quite the spectacle!”
“But why are the two of them suddenly doing this here?”
“There seems to have been some kind of dispute, but I couldn’t hear it properly. What does it matter? We get to watch! The atmosphere is heating up even before the preliminaries start!”
Only then did Seo Ha-ryeong understand the situation in the Tournament Arena.
“What? What! Ryu-cheong and the Hwangbo Prince? They’re fighting?”
I finally realized who the opponent was.
“Hwangbo? Hwangbo Chan?”
“Yeah, you know him?”
“I’ve heard of him.”
The Hwangbo Family—a prestigious clan located in Jinan, Shandong Province, and one of the Ten Great Families called so since the founding of the Murim Alliance.
Naturally, such a family held a seat on the Martial Arts Alliance Elder Council.
The sects and families of the Elder Council repeatedly experienced good and bad relations depending on their shifting alliances and separations.
‘Of course, for now they’ve set aside their conflicting interests and gathered as one due to the Wi Alliance Leader and the Demonic Cult.’
In any case, given the long history, there were families that had maintained poor relations across generations.
The most prominent rivals were the Hwangbo Family and the Namgung Clan.
The distance between the two families was so vast that their interests rarely became entangled, yet the reason for their poor relations stemmed from martial arts.
The Hwangbo Family had traditionally produced masters of palm techniques, while the Namgung Clan produced masters of sword techniques. Typically, palm techniques competed with palm techniques and sword techniques with sword techniques—when martial arts differed in nature, no confrontational dynamic arose.
However, for reasons lost to time, the two families subtly checked each other, and in the previous generation, an event occurred that made them complete rivals—
Two men fell in love with the same woman.
‘Truly, all is fair in love and war.’
The victor was, well, Uncle Namgung Wan.
The Hwangbo Prince of that time, now the Hwangbo Family Head, bearing the pain of unrequited love, married early and had three daughters and one son. The one fighting Namgung Ryu-cheong here was Hwangbo Chan, the Hwangbo Family Head’s only and youngest son.
Raised as a precious jewel as the heir of a prestigious family, Hwangbo Chan received a tremendous shock upon arriving at the Murim Alliance. People showed far more interest in Namgung Ryu-cheong than in him.
Witnessing people’s attention focused on Namgung Ryu-cheong, Hwangbo Chan grew envious and jealous, and whenever he encountered Namgung Ryu-cheong, he didn’t hesitate to provoke and trip him up.
‘I thought there might be no issues because of the Wi Alliance Leader situation…’
Yet between Uncle Namgung Wan and the Hwangbo Family Head, who were both currently at the Murim Alliance, there was indeed tension.
Though compared to those two, the age difference was too great. Did they understand the concept of the bigger picture?
In the meantime, Namgung Ryu-cheong pressed Hwangbo Chan into a corner.
Hwangbo Chan, who had some talent worthy of championship hopes, was no match for Namgung Ryu-cheong. Moreover, Namgung Ryu-cheong hadn’t even drawn his sword.
Thud, thud, thud! Crash! Whoosh.
Despite fighting with only palm techniques, Hwangbo Chan was relentlessly pushed back.
Seo Ha-ryeong, having endured quite enough, cried out in anger.
“That bastard—I knew something like this would happen eventually. Ryu-cheong! Well done!”
Wait, well done at what?
The young man spoke in alarm.
“Seo So-jeo, we need to stop Namgung Prince….”
“Stop him? As long as he doesn’t kill him, it’s fine.”
“But still. If tournament participants fight each other over personal matters….”
“This is the perfect chance to shut that mouth of his permanently!”
Crack!
The sound alone made one’s face wince.
Hwangbo Chan didn’t collapse but held his ground. However, his hands never even grazed Namgung Ryu-cheong’s collar. Judging by the fact that he hadn’t drawn his sword, he was still clinging to his last shred of reason.
‘At least that’s something to be grateful for.’
I nodded to myself, then doubt crept in.
‘Actually, the reason he didn’t draw his sword wasn’t to avoid bloodshed—it was to suppress Hwangbo Chan using the Hwangbo Family’s specialty palm technique, wasn’t it?’
“Are these not both young masters of prestigious families? How can the difference in strength be so….”
“From now on, I’m betting everything on Namgung Prince!”
“Hwangbo Prince’s skills are hardly lacking, yet how can this be so one-sided!”
I furrowed my brow.
‘There’s no one here to stop this.’
Since these were preliminary matches, the Martial Arts Alliance hadn’t sent anyone of high rank.
I smiled bitterly and stepped forward.
“Gasp!”
“Yeon!”
As the young man and Seo Ha-ryeong cried out in surprise, I had already wedged myself between the two locked combatants.
Even the spectators who had been watching the fight with rapt attention fell silent in shock.
“When did that happen! Did you see her slip in?”
“No, I blinked once and suddenly she was there. I thought I was seeing things.”
“Who is she?”
“Can’t you tell from the blindfold? It’s the Baek Family lady!”
Not everyone present was merely expressing admiration. Many young martial masters had come to observe the preliminary matches.
“As expected, the Gentle Heart Method is exquisite. Truly worthy of the Baek Family—that softness is unparalleled.”
“Remarkable. She blocked Namgung Prince’s attack in one move. Is this the Baek Family’s Golden Silk Technique?”
My palm was blocking Namgung Ryu-cheong’s fist. The natural qi I had generated gently pushed away the true energy he had unleashed.
‘He was striking with this much force? Is Hwangbo Prince really going to be alright?’
I spoke while watching Namgung Ryu-cheong’s wide eyes, the chaos fading behind me.
“That’s enough.”
His shock was brief. Soon, Namgung Ryu-cheong, who had been glaring at me, spoke coldly.
“What business is it of yours? Don’t interfere.”
Oh, his temper’s flaring.
“You’re right, it’s none of my business, but… you should know that if you use your hands any further here, there will be consequences.”
Hwangbo Chan was also an advancing participant. Private fights between tournament participants were strictly forbidden.
Namgung Ryu-cheong shoved my hand away as if pushing me back.
I stumbled backward and collided with Hwangbo Chan, who seemed to be half-bent over.
Namgung Ryu-cheong clenched his teeth and spoke.
“Get out of the way.”
Was this not enough to stop him?
I lowered my voice to a whisper toward Namgung Ryu-cheong.
“Ryu-cheong, we should meet in the finals. Shouldn’t we?”
“….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong stared at me with wide eyes.
I smiled faintly.
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s momentum gradually began to subside.
Namgung Ryu-cheong shot a cold glance toward my back and straightened his sleeves.
Namgung Ryu-cheong muttered quietly.
“You seem confident.”
I lifted my chin and laughed arrogantly.
Confident? Hell. Just this morning I didn’t even know I was competing.
Well, at least I’m grateful I learned the truth this morning.
Once the fight subsided, those who had been unable to intervene and could only shuffle their feet rushed forward toward Hwangbo Chan.
“Young Master Hwangbo!”
“Young Master! Are you all right?”
The young master, who had somehow ended up sitting on the ground, shoved away those trying to help him up and shouted.
“Let go of me!”
“Young Master!”
“It’s not over yet! Who do you think you are to interfere!”
Namgung Ryu-cheong, whom I had barely calmed down, flared up again.
As I moved to stop him and turned to look at Hwangbo Chan, a group of burly martial artists came rushing through the crowd surrounding us.
“Everyone, step aside!”
“Make way! We are the Murim Alliance Security Force, everyone step aside!”
The martial artists shouted as they pushed through the crowd and immediately cried out.
“Who dares cause a disturbance at this sacred Martial Arts Tournament!”
“….”
“….”
Everyone looked at the Security Force with awkward expressions. Their arrival was too late, after all. It was the kind of expression one might have when someone arrives fashionably late to a party that’s already over.
The warrior who appeared to be the Security Captain, still unaware of the situation, shouted.
“A private fight in the Tournament Arena! The Namgung Prince and….”
I stood before Namgung Ryu-cheong.
The Captain looked slightly flustered upon seeing me, but his expression hardened when he saw Hwangbo Chan being supported.
The warrior stepped closer and shouted.
“What are you doing here, Seo So-jeo?”
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
‘Look at this.’
He must have rushed here after receiving a report of what was happening.
Simply by observing how I stood between Hwangbo Chan and Namgung Ryu-cheong, anyone could deduce that I was breaking up a fight between the two of them.
Yet the Hwangbo Prince was conveniently omitted, and only Namgung Ryu-cheong was mentioned?
I cupped my fists respectfully and spoke.
“I apologize for the disturbance. There will be no further commotion, so please do not worry.”
I grabbed Namgung Ryu-cheong’s sleeve and arm, pulling him downward as we descended.
“Stop right there!”
The warrior who had stopped us with his words turned to Hwangbo Chan and spoke.
“Escort the Hwangbo Prince to the Medical Chamber of the Murim Alliance at once!”
Then he turned back to us and bellowed.
“Don’t think you can brush past this with such words after causing such a disturbance. The Namgung Prince and the Baek Li young lady must both come with us to the Law Council!”
Namgung Ryu-cheong furrowed his brow and explained.
“Yeon merely intervened to stop the fight. If anyone must go, it should be only me.”
The warrior snorted derisively.
“Excuses will not suffice. If you wish to argue, do so at the Law Council.”
Hmm, so that’s why something felt off.
Namgung Ryu-cheong clenched his teeth and glared at the warrior.
“Great Warrior, the situation was actually….”
The warrior cut him off without hesitation.
“Those who commit wrongs must face punishment—that is the law! Do you think this is some street corner marketplace? This is the Murim Alliance, the sacred ground of the Orthodox Sect alliance. Whether you are a young master of the Namgung Clan or the Baek Li Family, you cannot escape the consequences of causing a disturbance!”
Brilliant! In an instant, he had transformed both Namgung Ryu-cheong’s and my rebuttal into an arrogant display of family prestige.
Namgung Ryu-cheong pointed to one location with an exasperated expression.
“The one who caused the disturbance with me is over there….”
The warrior answered as if he had been waiting for this.
“The Hwangbo Prince is not injured! Why, is it not enough that someone drew a blade without permission in the Murim Alliance? Now you wish to prevent his treatment as well? Everyone, what are you doing? Escort the Hwangbo Prince!”
A blade had not even been drawn, yet if I pressed the matter, he would simply claim there was no difference. I could see exactly how he was manipulating public opinion.
The Security Officers who received the order moved to support the Hwangbo Prince, while others turned toward us.
Namgung Ryu-cheong clenched his teeth and turned to me with an apologetic expression.
I patted his arm gently to reassure him that it was fine.
Namgung Ryu-cheong had indeed caused a disturbance, so he was probably resigned to going quietly to the Law Council. No one was seriously injured, and I had only intervened to stop the fight, so I thought the matter could be clarified there.
‘But that cannot be allowed.’
This entire affair had been a trap from the beginning.

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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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