The Supreme Who Rules the Boundless Sky - Chapter 47

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Spear Heaven Martial Emperor Episode 47

Yaksha Sword Namgung Jihak.

He was an outstanding martial artist who once served as the head of the Changcheon Sword Unit, and was the younger brother of the previous family head Namgung Gong and Namgung Jangcheon.

From Namgung Hyeok’s perspective, this meant he was his uncle.

However, he was not currently staying at the family estate.

This was because he was wandering throughout the Central Plains in search of strong opponents to hone his martial arts.

It had been almost ten years since he left the family like that.

During that time, he had defeated countless martial artists and earned the alias Yaksha Sword.

But even so, he seemed unable to find satisfaction and still had not returned. From the Namgung Family’s perspective, this was frustrating.

‘Having an uncle with that level of power away from home is a loss for the family.’

Moreover, he was said to challenge both orthodox and evil faction members to duels without distinction.

In other words, he would challenge anyone as long as they were strong.

In the process, he had earned the resentment of many orthodox martial artists.

From the Namgung Family’s standpoint, this was nothing short of a nuisance.

Because of Namgung Jihak, the family’s potential enemies had increased.

“So that’s why they’re saying to bring that uncle back.”

“Yes. That’s what I heard.”

“I wondered what kind of meeting they were having, but it turned out to be nothing special. They’re just trying hard to keep me in check.”

Namgung Hyeok chuckled.

“Jeon Wook. You’ve worked hard.”

“Not at all. What do you plan to do?”

“If they tell me to bring back the Yaksha Sword, then I should bring him back. Anyway, if it comes up as an agenda item in the family meeting, there’s no reason to refuse.”

Namgung Hyeok said this while gently stroking his sword.

“Also, I’m curious about how skilled my uncle, who’s called the Yaksha Sword, really is.”

“Understood. If my lord wishes it, I’ll investigate his whereabouts in advance.”

“Yes. I’m counting on you.”

At Namgung Hyeok’s words, Jeon Wook disappeared silently.

He was probably going to gather information about Namgung Jihak.

Since Jeon Wook was an expert in such matters, there was nothing else to instruct him about.

Namgung Hyeok closed his eyes and quietly fell into thought.

“Yaksha Sword…”

He tried to recall memories from the past.

Despite being uncle and nephew, there weren’t many memories that came to mind.

Well, Namgung Jihak had no particular interest in Namgung Hyeok.

Even when he was at the family estate, his only interest was martial arts.

That’s why he was stronger than even the family head Namgung Gong and Namgung Jangcheon.

There were even senior members who found this fact uncomfortable.

‘If he was like that back then, he must be even stronger now.’

Perhaps he might be the strongest in the current Namgung Family.

‘The uncle’s faction probably thinks I’ll fail to bring back Uncle Namgung Jihak, but…’

What if he brought him back and made him side with Namgung Cheon?

There would be no more reliable backing than that.

After all, the Namgung Family was a martial family.

It was a place where the words of the strong were law.

‘I’m looking forward to seeing how strong he is.’

Namgung Hyeok chuckled with such thoughts.

It felt like his emotions as a martial artist were stirring for the first time in a while.

* * *

When the next family meeting was held, the expected agenda item came up.

It was for Namgung Hyeok and the Pungun Unit to find and bring back the missing Yaksha Sword Namgung Jihak.

Quite a number of senior members opposed this.

The mission itself to bring back Namgung Jihak wasn’t the problem…

“What? Yunnan? You’re telling the Third Young Master to go all the way there?”

The problem was the location where his traces had been discovered.

Kunming in Yunnan Province.

It was a city located in the southwestern part of the Central Plains, so remote that going just a little further south would reach the region called the frontier.

It was also an enormous distance from Anhui, where the Namgung Family was located.

It would take at least several dozen days just to travel there.

And yet they wanted to send Namgung Hyeok to such a place. No matter how you looked at it, this was clearly an intention to deliberately get rid of Namgung Hyeok.

“Considering the current strength of the Namgung Family, I simply thought the Third Young Master was most suitable. The Third Young Master is not only highly skilled in martial arts but also has a great reputation in Jianghu, doesn’t he? So I thought he wouldn’t ignore him either.”

Maeng Seung said this and looked around as if seeking agreement.

Then voices of agreement erupted from among Namgung Jangcheon’s faction.

Gaining confidence from this, Maeng Seung continued speaking.

“Also, the Third Young Master is his nephew. So logically speaking, wouldn’t he have the highest possibility of bringing him back? That’s what I think.”

“Rather than sending the Third Young Master directly, wouldn’t it be better to send a messenger pigeon through the Beggar’s Sect?”

“That’s right. If it’s an order from the Acting Family Head, even he wouldn’t be able to ignore it…”

“To be honest, that’s not the case. We’ve contacted him several times to return to the family, but that fellow hasn’t come back.”

Namgung Jangcheon, who had been listening, denied the last opinion.

Everyone was at a loss for words. Indeed, Namgung Jihak ignoring the family’s communications wasn’t something that had happened just once or twice.

“Even when we really threatened to expel him from the family if he continued like that, it was useless. He has no intention of returning here unless someone comes to fetch him directly. That’s why I want to send Hyeok.”

“But that place is too far…”

“I’ll go.”

That was when it happened.

Namgung Hyeok stepped forward.

Everyone’s attention focused on him.

They all looked at him with surprised expressions.

Their faces showed they never expected him to step up.

However, Namgung Hyeok didn’t mind and stood up from his seat to continue speaking.

“This is a dangerous time when we might have conflicts with the Evil Path Alliance. In such circumstances, I think the family needs as many strong masters as possible. Regardless of his personality, since my uncle is a master acknowledged by the martial world, having him by our side would be a great help.”

“C-certainly…”

“That may be so, but does the Third Young Master necessarily have to go?”

“Because if I go, the probability of bringing him back increases. For the sake of the family, I should be willing to endure even a long journey.”

“My word!”

“As expected of the Third Young Master. To think you would undertake such a long journey for the family…”

Exclamations of admiration erupted from various places.

At this, the eyebrows of Maeng Seung and Namgung Jangcheon’s faction subtly furrowed.

They had clearly been the ones to suggest sending him, but somehow the atmosphere had shifted to make it seem like Namgung Hyeok was sacrificing himself to go.

“However, when I go to find Uncle Namgung Jihak, I won’t go with the Pungun Unit. The Pungun Unit is also an important force for the family, and if so many people move together on such a long journey, the speed will inevitably be slow. If my uncle leaves for another place in the meantime, it would just be a wasted trip.”

“Then who do you plan to go with?”

“I plan to take only minimal escort. One of my comrades, either Ho Young or Jeon Wook, should be sufficient.”

“My word.”

“Wouldn’t that be too dangerous?”

“It’s fine. No matter how dangerous the journey is, could it be more dangerous than the northern battlefield?”

Namgung Hyeok said with a slight smile.

Namgung Cheon, who had been quietly listening, nodded in agreement.

“That’s certainly true. If you take everyone, the speed would be too slow.”

“Yes. Two people and two horses will be sufficient to bring Uncle back. Oh, and money to rent new horses along the way.”

“Travel expenses should naturally be provided generously. I’m sorry for always giving you such difficult tasks.”

“Not at all. For the family’s sake, I don’t consider this degree of difficulty challenging.”

Thus it was decided that Namgung Hyeok would take on the mission to bring back Namgung Jihak.

After the meeting ended, Namgung Hyeok approached Namgung Cheon and spoke secretly.

“I’ll entrust Ho Young, So Yeon, and So Geomlip to Elder Brother, so please take care of those friends while I’m away. Use them for the family’s reform.”

“Understood. But will one escort really be sufficient?”

“Yes. Uncle wouldn’t like a large group rushing over either. In that case, it’s better for just the person with business to go and bring him back.”

“What if… Uncle refuses to come?”

Namgung Cheon quietly asked about the worst-case scenario.

Namgung Hyeok chuckled and answered.

“Then there’s no choice.”

And his eyes turned menacing.

“I’ll have to bring him by force.”

* * *

Namgung Hyeok and Jeon Wook left the Namgung Family Estate the next day before sunrise.

They rode the two finest famous horses from the family and moved at a terrifying speed.

Since their destination was far, they intended to travel as quickly as possible.

However, there were those secretly pursuing them from behind.

“The target has moved, they say. Let’s go.”

They were Evil Path Alliance troops who had obtained information from spies within the Namgung Family that Namgung Hyeok was moving.

While the Evil Path Alliance’s main force was much farther away, their branches existed in various provinces, allowing them to position themselves ahead.

But they soon found themselves in a predicament.

The plan was surely to follow secretly and strike from behind…

“T-the speed is too fast! We absolutely cannot keep up with their movement!”

“What!?”

It was because the speed the two were maintaining was so fast that they couldn’t possibly catch up.

Moreover, even trying to wait ahead, it was difficult to pinpoint and track two people across the vast Central Plains.

No matter how many messenger pigeons they sent, communication between branches increasingly failed, and troop movements became tangled.

In the end, the Evil Path Alliance branches that had intended to strike Namgung Hyeok could only drink bitter water.

They cursed while thinking of Namgung Hyeok, who had disappeared to who knows where.

“Where the hell did they go? Damn it…”

* * *

“Pursuers?”

“None. They seem to have given up the chase.”

The two who had left Anhui, crossed through Hubei, and arrived in Hunan exchanged words.

They had known from the beginning that the Evil Path Alliance would target them.

Because they would have naturally done the same if they were on the Evil Path Alliance’s side.

“We should change horses soon. Let’s stop by a nearby Martial Alliance branch and see if we can leave these ones there.”

“Yes.”

The reason they could escape the encirclement was purely because they could move before the encirclement was formed.

It was all thanks to their godlike horsemanship developed through battlefield experience and the Namgung Family’s finest famous horses.

Of course, even that had reached its limit and they now needed rest…

Since they would be changing horses anyway, that didn’t matter. They first arrived in Yueyang and took a boat across Dongting Lake.

Two days like that.

The two who arrived in Yiyang south of Dongting Lake sought out a nearby Martial Alliance branch.

It was to let their hard-working horses rest and obtain new horses.

Was it still because they were members of the Ten Great Families?

When they mentioned being from the Namgung Family and showed their identity tokens, an official from the Martial Alliance branch came out to greet them.

However, the two were able to hear unexpected information there.

“You’re saying Uncle Namgung Jihak is currently in Hunan?”

Namgung Jihak, who they had heard was definitely in Kunming, Yunnan Province…

The news was that he had moved to Hunan Province where they currently were.

At this unexpected fortune, the two looked at each other and grinned.

‘Perhaps we might complete the mission faster than expected.’

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