The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 104

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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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The Declining Noble House’s Limited Lifespan | Episode 104

She’d known that the Geum Ga Jang would participate in Gyeong Hang Un Ryeon, but she hadn’t expected Geum Jong Ha to show up like this.
Yet Geum Jong Ha didn’t bother with greetings and rushed in urgently, wedging himself between Ak So Hyeong and Ryeon.
“No, no, absolutely not!”
“What are you—what are you doing?”
Geum Jong Ha shot Ak So Hyeong a look, then spun toward Ryeon and cried out.
“Miss Ryeon! It’s truly an excellent idea to train your martial arts at Gyeong Hang Un Ryeon. If you need someone to study with, I’ll join you!”
“What is wrong with you? What are you even talking about, jumping in here like that?”
Ak So Hyeong bristled to shove him aside, but the moment her eyes met his—burning with an intense, fiery light—she flinched.
“I am Geum Jong Ha of the Geum Ga Jang, and a friend of Miss Ryeon’s. Of course, if she needs someone to study with, I should be there.”
The implication hung heavy: that Ak So Hyeong would naturally fail at the task, and that she wouldn’t want to study with them anyway.
“A girl from some no-name house, of all people—!”
“Miss, we can manage our studies just fine among ourselves…”
Dan Mok Wan even added quietly, his glance at Ak So Hyeong carrying an unspoken message: ‘Why should she be included at all?’
“Indeed, Miss, you’re already busy looking after us. There’s no need to bring in anyone else…”
Seo Geuk Rim added in a low voice. Not that she wouldn’t hear it.
Ak So Hyeong’s face flushed red then drained white. She’d never had any intention of studying together in the first place, but suddenly hearing “you’re out!” made her chest burn with indignation.
There was something absurd about feeling as though she’d suffer some terrible loss if she couldn’t join this evening’s study session.
“I never wanted to study with you lot anyway! Why don’t you all go over there and show me how great you are?”
Ryeon made an expression of complete indifference and turned to look at Mae Sin Yu.
Mae Sin Yu, who’d been silent until now, furrowed her brow and stepped closer to Ryeon before speaking.
“You’re really going to include her too?”
Ryeon’s mouth fell open.
“Even you’re going to be like this?”
“But it seems wasteful, Miss…”
Her glance toward Ak So Hyeong was unmistakably pointed.
‘Are you really going to give bread to someone who says she doesn’t want it?’
“Still, we’re all Hundred Way Martial Practitioners now. It’d be good if we all grew stronger together.”
At those words, Dan Mok Wan’s eyes glistened with moisture.
The light in them seemed to proclaim that he’d never seen such pure kindness radiating from anyone in the world.
Embarrassed despite herself, Ryeon quickly looked away.
‘I’m just trying to make things easier when we face Blood Coral Valley and rack up some Fortune Value. If these people don’t get stronger, we’ll be in real trouble later.’
“If that is your will, Miss…”
Mae Sin Yu conceded and took a step back, then drew out the Wooden Sword she’d brought with her.
‘But how did she know?’
Mae Sin Yu gazed quietly at the tip of her Wooden Sword and reflected.
Among the three who’d come to Gyeong Hang Un Ryeon this time, she alone felt she’d obtained her qualification through underhanded tricks.
Dan Mok Ryeon and Dan Mok Hyeon U had praised her cunning and talent and effort, but Mae Sin Yu couldn’t bring herself to accept it so easily.
So right up until they departed for the Namgoong Clan, Mae Sin Yu had practiced again and again until she could leave not a single footprint. Otherwise, she couldn’t accompany them with confidence.
And now the fruits of that effort lay before her eyes.
What Ryeon and Dan Mok Hyeon U had said was true. With the correct stance and proper execution, one could infuse presence even without a shred of internal energy.
And how many Black Grain Pills had Dan Mok Ryeon made and fed her, accumulating steadily in her body?
With each step forward, the blade moved as if perfectly synchronized with her footfalls.
The movement was as fluid as a stream gliding smoothly over complex rocks and gravel, and at the same time, fierce Sword Wind rose to erase her footprints.
By the time Mae Sin Yu finally arrived at that distant point, everyone at the starting place had fallen silent. Ryeon turned her head sharply to look at Ak So Hyeong.
Ak So Hyeong, who’d been staring blankly, noticed the gaze and shuddered.
“That’s cheating!”
“Cheating how?”
“She didn’t fly from here to there!”
“I never said to fly. From the start, the question was whether you could get there without leaving footprints.”
“But that’s—that can’t be—”
“Our house specializes mainly in sword and saber techniques, but your Ak Clan’s primary weapon is the spear. Shouldn’t that be easier for you?”
At Ryeon’s words, Ak So Hyeong’s shoulders flinched.
“Of… of course I can do it! Just watch me right here.”
Ak So Hyeong cast a menacing look at Ryeon, then gripped the spear from her back and measured the distance with a deliberate expression. If a branch family daughter from another clan could manage it, there was no reason she couldn’t.
She’d grasped the essence: distance control, force modulation, the harmony of footwork and combat path.

Even if she couldn’t pull it off on the first attempt, a few tries would likely suffice.
‘If I can’t do it, well, it’s just because I’m trying it for the first time, so…….’
But wasn’t she the heir to the Ak Clan of Sandong?
It would be unacceptable to fail on the first attempt what a branch family girl from another clan had managed after several practice runs.
Ak So Hyeong glanced at Mae Sin Yu for no particular reason, then took a deep breath and adjusted her grip on the spear.
“Now, watch carefully.”
“Okay! I’ll watch hard.”
For an instant, starlight seemed to shimmer across Dan Mok Ryeon’s eyes, and Ak So Hyeong flinched, quickly looking away.
“Hmph!”
Ever since the Gyeong Hang Un Ryeon was decided, Ak So Hyeong had been relentlessly pressured by her household.
‘I can manage this much!’
She stepped forward cautiously, one foot after another, but without gaining speed, the weapon wouldn’t generate wind to erase her footprints.
She needed to build momentum while keeping her footwork and the clan’s spear technique from tangling, sweeping the ground with confident force, advancing forward, and then…….
It was her first time focusing on something other than the opponent directly ahead while unleashing spear technique, so the moment her brief trance broke, her concentration scattered.
‘W-what comes next?’
Then her feet caught. She nearly fell, and while staggering through several missteps to regain balance, three or four footprints remained on the ground.
Ak So Hyeong stopped in place and stared blankly at the chaotic footprints she’d left, her face growing increasingly flushed.
“I, I, I……!”
Part of her wanted to drop the weapon and dash away, but with so many eyes watching, she couldn’t.
Ak So Hyeong’s lips trembled. That’s when it came.
“Wow! You’re amazing. Even though you’re trying this for the first time, you made it more than halfway without leaving footprints!”
“What? That…… well, that’s just…… naturally, of course it is.”
Ak So Hyeong looked at Ryeon with a bewildered expression. Ryeon continued with a smiling face.
“When you wielded the spear like this in that section—was that a movement meant to handle multiple opponents?”
“Y-yes, exactly. W-we’re a clan with history and tradition, so we have many movements designed for war…… combat preparation!”
“I see! Then the movement from here to there—that’s targeting a distant opponent?”
“Oh? Y-yes. Originally it’s supposed to be thrown…… but that technique can only be used after mastering Empty Air Grasping…….”
As Ryeon asked questions, Ak So Hyeong’s interest kindled, and she began speaking excitedly about what her clan’s spear technique pursued, the mysterious principles it embodied, and the lofty ideals of the ancestors who had created it.
She snapped to awareness when Peng Ju Ran pulled her back from behind.
Only then did Ak So Hyeong realize she’d talked far too much, and she closed her mouth smoothly, gauging the atmosphere.
She half hoped she might get away with brushing past an awkward apology, but when her eyes met Dan Mok Ryeon’s—eyes that seemed to say ‘I trust you’—she felt inexplicably ashamed.
“I…… what. That…… sorry… I’m sorry…….”
…….
…….
“Sorry about the branch family thing. It’s just that our clan’s branch family kids are, no, wait…… I’m sorry…….”
She started to make excuses, but that didn’t feel right, and saying ‘our branch family kids can’t manage it because’ somehow wounded her pride, so Ak So Hyeong swallowed her words quickly.
After a brief, awkward silence, Seo Geuk Rim, who had caught the eyes of Dan Mok Wan and Mae Sin Yu, stepped forward and spoke briefly.
“It’s fine.”
Ak So Hyeong rolled her eyes, gauging Ryeon’s reaction. Her expression seemed to be asking permission—is that enough?
Ryeon smiled warmly and looked at Ak So Hyeong.
“Next time, don’t say things you’re not sure about!”
“Ah, I got it. I won’t do it again…….”
“Do you want to study together this evening?”
“Y-you said to.”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I was just asking.”
Not do it?
Ak So Hyeong hesitated for a moment.
“Young Miss…….”
Seeing Mae Sin Yu call out to Ryeon with a frown still etched on his face, Ak So Hyeong steeled her resolve.
What could this study be that they kept trying to do it among themselves?
“No, I’ll do it! We’ll do it too.”
But before that, Peng Ju Ran suddenly spoke up. Ak So Hyeong looked at her in surprise.

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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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