The Patriarch of the Northern Heavens - Chapter 42

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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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Master of the Bukcheon Sword Family – Chapter 42

“What did you just say!”
Thud!
Dang Ye-rin shot to her feet, her chair scraping backward.
Shock was written plainly across her face.
It was indeed a startling revelation.
But I remained composed and serious.
Besides, I was not the sort to jest about such grave matters.
“Please, sit back down. And compose yourself. If you raise your voice too loudly, even with the sound barrier in place, the noise may still escape these walls.”
“Ah, I understand. But I must ask you to explain properly what you just told me.”
“Of course.”
I nodded, and only then did Dang Ye-rin settle back into her seat, her breathing gradually steadying.
I offered her a cup of warm tea.
She needed to calm her mind first.
“Phew. Thank you.”
“Not at all. It’s only natural to be shocked by such news. Had I heard of assassination plots against my father or Great-Uncle, I would have reacted the same way.”
“I appreciate your understanding. Now… will you explain everything?”
“I shall.”
Clink.
I set down my teacup and spoke in a low, measured voice.
“The Black Night Fortress I mentioned is a shadowy organization shrouded in secrecy. As a hidden force, their true objectives remain unclear. But one thing is certain.”
“What is it?”
“They are attempting to plunge the martial world into chaos. Why, I cannot say for certain. Perhaps chaos makes their operations easier, or perhaps they pursue some other hidden agenda. But this much is undeniable.”
“That would explain why they sought to control the Bukcheon Sword Family. With such a clan under their influence, the chaos would only deepen.”
“Precisely. That is my assessment as well.”
I met Dang Ye-rin’s eyes directly as I continued.
“And they target your grandmother for the same reason.”
“Hah…”
Dang Ye-rin’s expression grew conflicted, as though she could not bring herself to believe it.
And understandably so.
Her grandmother was one of the Thirteen Venerables and a candidate for the title of greatest swordmaster under heaven.
It seemed absurd that anyone would seriously attempt to assassinate such a figure.
“They do not target only the greatest swordmaster of Sichuan. They are plotting the assassination of other Venerables as well. Their research into the Inface Demon’s poison to create an ultimate toxin was surely part of this scheme.”
“What? The Inface Demon?”
“Ah, I haven’t mentioned this yet. The Inface Demon was present at the location where I obtained these documents. Allow me to explain what happened…”
I gave her a condensed account of what had transpired at the Wuzhu Sect.
Of course, I omitted certain details and altered others as needed.
There were aspects of the story that would have sounded too strange if told directly.
Yet even that alone seemed to have dealt Dang Ye-rin a considerable shock.
“Such a thing happened…”
“I, the Iron Blood Sword Captain of the main family, the Blue-Eyed Sword Demon Moyong Hyun-rak, and my escort Sagong can all testify to this fact. That those villains attempted to abduct the villagers and conduct poison experiments on them.”
“No, I’m not doubting you. It’s simply such a shocking story.”
“I understand. It is indeed an astonishing tale. To further substantiate my account, I shall show you the poison spring of Inface Demon later. I couldn’t bring it here for security reasons, but if you wish, I can guide you to it.”
“The poison spring of Inface Demon…”
Dang Ye-rin swallowed hard.
No matter how accomplished a swordmaster she was, inheriting the martial techniques of Sichuan’s greatest swordsman, she was simultaneously a member of the Sichuan Dang Family, who dealt in poisons.
She understood well what value such a poison spring possessed.
Thus she seemed somewhat excited by the revelation. Yet she quickly composed herself and spoke again.
We were discussing something far more important than Inface Demon at this moment.
“However, poison would be ineffective against her. Even if she hasn’t delved deeply into the Dang Family’s poison arts, she possesses formidable resistance to toxins.”
“That would be so. Whether it’s the greatest swordsman of Sichuan or the other Venerables, they have all transcended the Heavenly Martial Realm and reached the Martial Extreme Realm. What I mentioned is merely one possible means of attack against them.”
“Then?”
“They will likely mobilize an expert comparable to the greatest swordsman of Sichuan. Only those who have entered the Martial Extreme Realm can face others of that same realm.”
“Such…!”
Dang Ye-rin’s eyes widened considerably.
“Do you mean there are experts among them comparable to the Thirteen Venerables?”
“It’s possible that even among the Thirteen Venerables themselves, there may be those affiliated with Black Night City. Since they operate as a clandestine organization, their true scale and numbers remain unknown.”
“…”
Her eyes trembled slightly as she seemed momentarily at a loss for words.
But I remained composed.
The disappearance of Dang So-hye, the greatest swordsman of Sichuan.
It was something that had actually occurred in my first life.
Many had searched for her traces, but even until my death, she never reappeared.
“Of course, even if such were to occur, it remains uncertain what could be done about your grandmother. I merely mean that caution can do no harm. That is why I share this with you.”
“Sigh…”
Dang Ye-rin pressed her forehead as if her head ached, exhaling a long breath.
But soon she took a deep breath and assumed a respectful posture.
“You’re right—caution can do no harm. I’ve received a tremendous favor from you, Clan Master. I shall repay this debt without fail.”
“There’s no need. It is enough that the master of the Sichuan Sword Gate, the greatest swordsman of Sichuan, remains steadfast as she is now. That alone will greatly diminish their momentum.”
“Clan Master…”
Dang Ye-rin smiled as she looked at me.
I returned her smile and rose from my seat.
“Shall we depart then?”
“Pardon? Depart where?”
“Did I not mention showing you the poison spring of Inface Demon? Since the subject has come up, let me show you now.”
“If that were possible, it would be an honor.”
“Allow me to guide you.”
We made our way toward the location where the corpse of Inface Demon and his poison spring and thread spring were being kept.
I spoke while gazing at the severed corpse of the Inface Demon.
“This was incredibly difficult to bring back. The poison gland and silk gland, along with the inner core, I could simply collect, but the carapace had to be cut into a size a person could carry. It was also challenging to deceive the clan members so they wouldn’t notice.”
“Wow….”
She was nearly speechless.
She seemed overwhelmed by the size of the poison gland, which gleamed with an ominous violet hue.
As someone from the Sichuan Dang Family, she understood that the research possibilities with such poison were virtually limitless.
“If you wish, I could sell it to you.”
“Really?! Is that true?”
“Of course. After all, there’s no use for it if we keep it.”
The inner core, silk gland, and the Inface Demon’s carapace each had their own purposes.
I had personally extracted the inner core, the silk gland could be used to craft sword-resistant garments and gloves, and the carapace could serve as defensive armor if properly processed.
But the poison gland was a dangerous object—even touching it could be lethal to anyone without poison resistance.
So keeping it on our side would only be a burden.
‘And besides, without knowledge of poisons, I couldn’t conduct research on it myself.’
However, the Sichuan Dang Family possessed poison techniques so exceptional they were called the ancestors of Central Plains poison mastery.
So they would certainly be able to use it far better than we could.
“We’ll buy it! If you sell this to us, we’d be truly grateful.”
“Of course. But given how precious it is, the price would be….”
“We’ll find a way to secure the budget. The poison gland of the Inface Demon is worth that much.”
Dang Ye-rin spoke with passionate intensity.
Her desire to obtain the poison gland was unmistakable.
“And what about entrusting the carapace and silk gland to us as well? As the Family Head knows, our Dang Family is also a house of master craftsmen. If you entrust these to us, you won’t regret it.”
“Oho. That sounds good.”
The Bukcheon Sword Family did have its own smithy, the Wolha Smithy….
But it couldn’t compare to the Sichuan Dang Family.
Still, I should reserve a certain amount so our own smithy could develop as well.
I brought her to Father and completed a detailed contract for the poison gland sale and the commission for crafting defensive armor.
The money we earned from this…was honestly astronomical.
Truly befitting a member of the Five Great Families, and especially the wealthiest among them—the Sichuan Dang Family.
At this point, I even felt grateful to that Shadowless Poison Spider for preparing the Inface Demon for me.
Well, since he’s my enemy, I wouldn’t hesitate to sever his neck if we met again.
Anyway.
A day later, she and her team members prepared to depart.
The large cart they were taking with them was loaded with various parts of the Inface Demon.
Their expressions were quite bright because of it.
“Family Head. The next time we meet will be at the Dragon Phoenix Conference.”
“Indeed. I look forward to that time.”
Dang Ye-rin and I exchanged meaningful glances.
And through a secret sound transmission, I conveyed to her quietly.
[Please be sure to deliver my warning to the First Sword of Sichuan.]
“Yes. Don’t worry.”
Dang Ye-rin nodded with a resolute expression.
After exchanging greetings with Father, they began to depart slowly.
I watched their receding figures and contemplated.
‘The Dragon Phoenix Conference.’
Now that I thought about it, I recalled that some incident had occurred around that time.
I hadn’t participated for various reasons back then, so I’d only heard about it secondhand….
Still, I knew the general circumstances and progression of the incident.
‘Perhaps I could turn this to my advantage?’
The Dragon Phoenix Conference would be held in Muuhan, where the Martial Alliance was located.
Perhaps I could use this opportunity to gather information about the Pungsin Sword.
‘I should make some preparations.’
With that thought, I moved forward.
My mind was already formulating the next plan.

* * *

On the road back to Sichuan.
Dang Ye-rin was conversing with the Nok Sa Captain who escorted her.
“This journey was fortunate indeed. Not only were we able to eliminate Dok-an-gwi before it was too late, but we even obtained the Inface Demon’s poison spring….”
“Indeed. The Family Head will be absolutely delighted.”
“Meeting the Young Master of the Bukcheon Sword Family was a stroke of fortune. Without him, we would have faced considerable hardship.”
The Nok Sa Captain nodded at Dang Ye-rin’s words.
From his perspective, there had been perilous moments during the pursuit of Dok-an-gwi.
If Jin Muyeol hadn’t been there, wouldn’t Dang Ye-rin have suffered grave wounds at Dok-an-gwi’s hands?
The thought of Dang Ye-rin—who received the affection of the entire Dang clan, including the First Sword of Sichuan—being injured sent chills down his spine.
For preventing such a catastrophe, the Nok Sa Captain felt he owed Jin Muyeol an enormous debt of gratitude.
“From what I observed, he seemed like a truly extraordinary individual. He was nothing like the rumors I’d heard before.”
“What kind of rumors had circulated about him?”
“I heard that the Young Master of the Bukcheon Sword Family was sickly and cowardly. But that wasn’t the case at all, was it?”
“Hehe. Indeed. The Young Master was nothing like that. What you heard was completely baseless gossip.”
Dang Ye-rin spoke with evident amusement, laughing as she did. Yet her thoughts turned inward.
‘If he were truly a coward, he wouldn’t have dared to reveal information about that Dark Shadow Force so boldly.’
But Jin Muyeol had warned her despite risking his own safety.
This demonstrated not only his righteous spirit of concern for others, but also his bold and magnanimous heart.
The talk of him being weak or fearful was nothing but baseless rumor.
“Don’t you think the martial world will come to know him in time? How exceptional a martial master he truly is?”
In Dang Ye-rin’s assessment, Jin Muyeol possessed the kind of potential worthy of widespread recognition.
Perhaps by the next time they met, he would have earned himself a distinguished epithet?
‘I look forward to seeing him again.’
Dang Ye-rin smiled, lost in pleasant imaginings.
The Dragon Phoenix Conference, which had always felt tedious, now stirred within her a sense of anticipation for the first time.

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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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