The Patriarch of the Northern Heavens - Chapter 52

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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 52

I couldn’t help but be genuinely astonished.
The one who had spoken to me was a sword.
I wondered if perhaps someone else hiding in this place was playing a prank on me, but….
No matter how thoroughly I looked around and examined my surroundings, there was no trace of any human presence.
That meant the Windgod Sword had truly spoken to me.
-Heheheh. You look surprised, so you can hear my voice. It seems you’ve obtained the Windgod Technique, haven’t you?
“How did you know?”
-Thoughts alone are sufficient. As long as we’re in contact, your thoughts reach me. And how did I know? If you hadn’t mastered the Windgod Technique, you wouldn’t have heard my voice, much less found me. Isn’t it natural that you’d figure out something this obvious?
‘Could you be the Founder?’
I asked respectfully.
The one I was conversing with could have been a fragment of the Wind God’s soul dwelling within the sword.
But the answer that came back was a denial.
-No, I’m not some fragment of that arrogant fool’s soul. I was more like his mentor, you could say.
‘His mentor?’
-It was I who gave him countless pieces of advice and assistance until he came to be called the Wind God. Well, that insufferable bastard, so full of himself, seems to think everything was thanks to his own genius talent.
‘….’
My jaw dropped.
Not only could I converse with the Windgod Sword, but the sword spirit dwelling within it was actually the Wind God’s mentor?
This was information that would shock the entire clan if they knew.
I was genuinely so stunned I couldn’t speak.
Then the Windgod Sword let out a laugh.
-Kekeke. It seems you didn’t receive any prior explanation from him when you obtained the Windgod Technique, did you? That guy has a habit of only saying what he wants to say.
‘What should I call you, Senior?’
-Just call me Senior. I’m older than I appear. Probably much older than you think.
‘Understood, Senior.’
-Then won’t you tell me how you came to find me? The Wind God is dead, and after that, I was lost to the world. You shouldn’t have known where I was, yet somehow you found me. How did the Wind God’s descendant manage to locate me?
‘That is….’
I revealed the circumstances I had never confided to anyone until now.
Starting from my memories of my first life, returning to the past, and struggling to change the future until I arrived here.
It was a story I could never tell another living soul, yet my explanation flowed forth surprisingly smoothly.
After all, the Windgod Sword itself couldn’t divulge this secret to anyone else.
And since it could read my thoughts anyway, there was no point in hiding anything.
-Heheheh. So that’s how it came to be. You’ve lived quite a tumultuous life.
The Windgod Sword spoke with an enigmatic smile.
-You’ve endured so much until now. I, more than anyone, understand the weight of your efforts. It must have been difficult, yet you’ve persevered remarkably well.
‘Senior….’
I found myself slightly moved.
No one had ever said such words to me until now.
Yet today, a sword I met for the first time acknowledged all my suffering and told me it was difficult—for me.
My chest swelled with emotion.
-But you’re choosing to walk down a thorny path once again. You could have lived comfortably on your own without any of this, so why did you choose such a road?
‘To be honest, it’s for complex reasons.’
-Complex?
‘Half is vengeance, and half is a sense of responsibility. I want to strike back at those who cast my life into the abyss of ruin, and I also want to protect my people.’
-Vengeance and responsibility… haha. There’s a contradiction in your thinking. Do you realize that if you’re not careful, you might achieve neither? Are you speaking with that knowledge?
I felt a pang of truth in those words.
Just as the Windgod Sword said, the path I was walking now was one where I might accomplish neither if I stumbled.
If I pursued vengeance carelessly, my people would be endangered.
If I focused only on protecting my people half-heartedly, the path to vengeance would grow distant.
The Windgod Sword was striking at that weakness with ruthless precision.
I fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.
But the Windgod Sword laughed it off as if it were nothing.
-Tch, why are you taking it so seriously? Young descendant of the Wind God. Humans are inherently contradictory beings. It’s not just you—everyone is like that. There’s nothing strange about wishing for desires that contradict each other.
He paused for a moment before continuing.
-And it is strength that makes it possible to achieve those contradictions. According to the promise I made with the Wind God long ago, I shall aid you. I will help you achieve your vengeance and grant you the strength to protect those dear to you.
‘…!’
-But that path will be extraordinarily arduous. You might fail to reach your goals and break along the way. In fact, that possibility is quite high. Still, do you wish to walk that path?
‘Yes.’
I answered without hesitation.
What the Windgod Sword was saying—
That was exactly what I desired.
The Windgod Sword laughed heartily and spoke.
-Excellent! Then the contract is established. I shall temporarily recognize you as my master. Now, let me tell you what you must do first.
‘Please, tell me anything.’
Anticipation surged within me.
How exactly was the Windgod Sword going to make me stronger?
Grueling training? Or perhaps some mysterious power dormant within the blade? Or perhaps a new martial technique?
Anything would do.
I was prepared to accept whatever came.
-What are you babbling about?
But what came from the Windgod Sword was entirely unexpected.
-Stop your noise and let’s go eat.
…Eat?
-I’ve been asleep for so long, and now I’m hungry. Kekekeke. I’m curious to see how much the culinary culture of the Central Plains has developed in the meantime.
The Windgod Sword spoke thus and emitted a resonant hum of anticipation.
I could only be genuinely bewildered.
‘Can I really trust this being?’

* * *

In any case, I returned to the Inn and ordered an extravagant spread of food.
So much that the table legs bent under the weight.
Dang Ye-rin and Chung Yun, who had come to visit, widened their eyes in surprise.
“Young Master Jin. Are you going to eat all of that?”
“No. Overeating is bad for your health.”
“Actually… I was planning to share it with everyone.”
-What are you talking about! This is all mine! Why would I share it!
I felt the Windgod Sword thrashing about wildly in my mind.
I sighed and asked it a question.
‘But Senior, you don’t even have a mouth. How exactly are you planning to eat?’
-From the moment you became my master, our senses became synchronized. In other words, I can taste everything you put in your mouth just as you do.
‘Ah….’
-Hehe, let’s start with that roasted pork over there. Come on, get those chopsticks moving!
At the Windgod Sword’s urging, I sighed softly and began sampling the various dishes one by one.
-Try that cold salad too, and drink the wine in gulps! Ahhh. Now this is it. I’ve missed this.
‘Goodness, I’ll get indigestion from all this talking during meals. Please be quiet.’
-Quiet yourself, you fool! Do you have any idea what it means to enjoy a meal for the first time in a hundred years?
At first I thought this was absurd, but honestly, from the middle onward I found myself enjoying it too, and it turned out to be quite a satisfying meal.
During this, one of the children who had come with the family asked while looking at the Windgod Sword.
“Young Patriarch, was that sword a reward from the Martial Alliance?”
“Really, the Martial Alliance went too far. Calling this an award when they gave such an old sword…”
Dang Ye-rin frowned with displeasure.
Chung Yun and Namgoong Gyeong didn’t add words, but seemed to share the sentiment. I placed some beef on a plate and spoke.
“I selected and chose this sword myself.”
“Really? Truly? There were so many other fine options. Why did you choose this one?”
“If you look closely, this one is quite excellent. Let me show you.”
I shrugged and drew the blade slightly from its scabbard.
A pristine white blade gleamed from within, revealing considerable spiritual energy despite the scabbard’s weathered appearance.
Seeing this, Dang Ye-rin and Chung Yun’s eyes sparkled.
Just as I said, the Windgod Sword’s blade possessed exceptional quality.
“How curious. The exterior is so worn, yet the inside is in such perfect condition…”
“It seems the Martial Alliance must have maintained it quite well. Though I can’t understand why they left the exterior like this.”
“Could it be they intentionally made it look old and poorly maintained so others wouldn’t covet it? If people don’t recognize the sword’s true value at first glance, they won’t desire it.”
“Hmm. That’s a plausible theory, Young Master Namgoong Gyeong. In that case, Young Master Jin essentially passed the Martial Alliance’s test, didn’t you?”
“Haha…”
I offered an awkward smile.
The truth was entirely different, but it was convenient enough that they were drawing their own conclusions.
I finished a satisfying meal, returned to my room, and took a brief rest.
I needed to organize my thoughts, and there were things I wanted to ask my senior.
-Things you wanted to ask?
‘The Founder hid his arrangements like Pungsin and you throughout the Central Plains. What was the reason for that?’
-Ah, so that’s what’s been bothering you.
My senior answered with a somewhat playful tone.
-Pungsin—the one you call the Founder—was called the greatest master of the martial world in his era. But he had a terrible enemy.
‘An enemy?’
-That creature was a monster beyond human comprehension. Only after Pungsin fought him desperately for three days and nights could he inflict a mortal wound. But the creature didn’t die in the end—it fled the scene.
‘The Founder didn’t pursue him?’
-To be precise, he couldn’t. That creature was also gravely wounded and dying at the time.
‘…!’
Could there really have been an enemy capable of bringing the greatest master of that era to such a state?
It was astonishing.
No matter how poorly recorded that era was in historical texts, I found it strange that I hadn’t even known of such an existence.
-In any case, Pungsin was wary of that creature’s return. He feared it might recover from its wounds and come back, or that its descendants might emerge and wreak havoc on the world. That’s why he left behind multiple arrangements.
‘I see….’
-Well, he did it half for fun, really. He said he’d always wanted to try something like that, and he seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.
My senior chuckled at that.
-Anyway, don’t obsess over it too much. The odds of that creature surviving to this era are virtually nonexistent, and even if it did, you don’t need to fixate on it. Isn’t your real enemy Black Night City?
‘That’s true.’
-Then you should focus on them. Don’t get caught up in some unknown enemy from the past. Do you understand what I’m saying?
‘Yes.’
My senior was right.
The enemy I faced now was indeed Black Night City.
It was time to focus.
While I was lost in such thoughts.
-Someone’s coming.
At my senior’s words, I sensed a presence from outside.
The footsteps stopped in front of my door.
It seemed my room was their destination.
“Elder brother. I think you need to come out now.”
And that person was Jin Cheon-hui. Something had apparently happened outside.
“What’s going on?”
“A guest has come to see you.”
“A guest? Who?”
“That is….”
I couldn’t help but be slightly startled by Jin Cheon-hui’s answer.
“The Namgung Family Patriarch has arrived.”
…He came already?

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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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