The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 107

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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 Fall of a Declining Clan — Limited Lifespan 107

“It’s been far too long, Namgung. I trust all has been well?”
“Everyone has been waiting for you and the Moyong Clan. Please, make yourself comfortable, Elder.”
“How could I be so formal with the head of a sister clan?”
Before Namgung Gyeong Hae could respond to the elderly woman, Moyong Chwi Ryeo, his companion Namgung Hwan—standing beside her—suddenly cut in.
“Does teasing a man younger than your own children amuse you?”
“Ha ha ha, you’re nearly at the age when Yama himself will beckon, yet you still burn with such vigor.”
“A thousand years yet before that day!”
While Namgung Hwan and the old woman traded jabs back and forth, the children from Gyeong Hang Un Ryeon—who had already arrived—watched the Moyong Clan delegation with keen interest.
‘They’re from a clan in the north, yet their bearing is quite different from what I expected.’
The eyes of Moyong Chwi Ryeo, bearer of the White Dragon Divine Sword, had grown clouded with age, yet a peculiar blue radiance gleamed beneath.

Moyong Chwi Ryeo
Trait: Harmony Like Fish and Water

/ Swift / Duplicitous Grace / Fluid /
Aptitude and Talent Grade: Upper-Lower
Qian Kun Wu Di Gong

: 12 Stars
Qian Kun Bai Jue Jian Jie

: 12 Stars
Liu Xing Zhi

: 11 Stars
Yi Ye Luo

: 11 Stars
Dou Zhuan Xing Yi

: 9 Stars
Concern: After so long apart, everything feels awkward. How can I break the ice?

Yet that blue brilliance shone more vividly in another—a young man standing directly behind Moyong Chwi Ryeo.

Moyong Seol Ho
Trait: Bamboo Shoot / Shy / Serene / Deliberate / Measured Steps and Metered Pace

Aptitude and Talent Grade: Upper-Middle
Qian Kun Wu Di Gong

: 4 Stars
Qian Kun Bai Jue Jian Jie

: 5 Stars
Yi Ye Luo

: 3 Stars
Concern: Where can I practice tonight? Will I get to meet those children from the Dan Mok Clan?

A boy with milk-white skin and strikingly blue eyes that seemed almost mysterious. While the other children did not stand out this way, his eyes alone were remarkably clear and azure.
The others noticed too. ‘His eyes are blue.’ ‘Jade-Eyed Demon

‘Same thing?’ ‘The Moyong Clan are people—what nonsense is this!’ she whispered.
Even as the muttering reached his ears, Moyong Seol Ho kept his gaze fixed straight ahead.
“So where is the Moonless Sword? He came as well, did he not?”
‘Grandfather?’
Ryeon tilted her head. She hadn’t known the Moyong Clan and the Dan Mok Clan had any connection.
‘When we dealt with Blood Coral Valley, nearly every prominent clan and sect lent their strength. Did he see us then? Moyong Seol Ho is singling out the Dan Mok children too, curious about them.’
The North Sea Ice Palace had even sent reinforcements, so by that logic, it made sense. The thought had barely formed in Ryeon’s mind.
Moyong Chwi Ryeo’s gaze swept across the gathering, then fixed directly upon Dan Mok Ryeon and Dan Mok Seong standing side by side. Her eyes settled squarely on Dan Mok Ryeon.
Ryeon was startled when their eyes met, but she quickly offered a respectful bow.
“How do you do, White Dragon Divine—oof!”
Before she could properly lower her head, Moyong Chwi Ryeo stepped forward and lifted Ryeon clean off the ground.
Ryeon’s eyes went wide in shock, and Moyong Chwi Ryeo, still holding her aloft, brought her face close.
“Ah, now I see. So you’re Ryeon.”
This time Ryeon was truly astonished. How could she tell at a glance?
‘Could she also see something like prescience?’
Moyong Chwi Ryeo smiled gently and set Ryeon down.
“Your eyes are the image of Seol Eon’s—I knew at once. Like stars shining in the night…….”
Moyong Chwi Ryeo trailed off mid-sentence, patted Ryeon’s head once, then slowly turned away.
Not far off, Dan Mok Cheon Gi stood with his jaw clenched tight, his expression hard as stone.
Ryeon understood now who the ‘Seol Eon’ that Moyong Chwi Ryeo had spoken of was.
Her grandmother. The one she had never seen.

* * *

While the adults stepped away, the younger ones kept stealing glances at the Moyong Clan’s children from a distance.
Then Moyong Seol Ho walked over and stood before Ryeon. His blue-tinged eyes fixed on her as he spoke.
“I apologize for my grandmother’s rudeness.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Ryeon was caught off guard that Moyong Seol Ho would apologize first, but she shook her head calmly.
An awkward silence fell between them.
“Well, I’m Dan Mok Ryeon. This is my cousin Dan Mok Seong. And these are Seo Geuk Rim, Dan Mok Wan, and Mae Sin Yu. We’re all relatives.”
“Hello. I’m Moyong Seol Ho.”
It was a rather stiff greeting. When he nodded curtly, awkwardness settled over the group once more. Then Namgung Seo Geon, who had been watching quietly, stepped in naturally.
“I’m Namgung Seo Geon. Was the journey here difficult?”
Moyong Seol Ho glanced at him once and shook his head briefly. It might have seemed rude, but Namgung Seo Geon took no offense.
“Would you like me to show you around the estate?”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Huh……?”
The flat refusal caught even Namgung Seo Geon off guard, and he flinched slightly.
But Moyong Seol Ho offered no further explanation, only silence. A discomfort even more strained than before settled over them all.
Unable to bear the tension any longer, Ryeon awkwardly touched her cheek and spoke up.
“Um, so…… do you have any plans to train separately in the evening?”
“Hm?”
“We—I mean, some of us interested in learning have decided to gather separately in the evening to study. Would you like to join?”
Perhaps because this was something Moyong Seol Ho had been pondering himself, his face brightened noticeably compared to when he’d refused Namgung Seo Geon’s offer.
“How do you plan to study?”
Suddenly pressed about the curriculum, Ryeon answered confidently.
“We each demonstrate what we can do, and exchange ideas about the difficult parts. Since the White Dragon Divine Sword will be here soon, there will be lectures—during those, we thought we’d review together as well.”
“Does studying in a group actually help?”
The question was asked without the slightest regard for the mood around them, and Ryeon fell silent for a moment before nodding.
“Of course.”
“Then may I join as well?”
Moyong Seol Ho spoke in a stiff, reluctant tone, yet his blue eyes gleamed with unmistakable eagerness.
Ryeon was about to simply agree, but asked something else instead.
“But aren’t you interested in seeing the Namgung Clan’s estate? There are lots of interesting things here.”
“That should come after I attend to my grandmother and pay respects at the reception hall.”
“Your grandmother…… won’t it take the White Dragon Divine Sword quite some time to come back out? I think you could look around in the meantime.”
“But that wouldn’t be proper duty to my grandmother.”
Hearing Moyong Seol Ho’s answer, Namgung Seo Geon, now understanding why he’d refused the tour, softened his expression and asked.
“Then what will you do while you wait for your grandmother?”
“Going over the basics in my head.”
“……!”
Hearing those words, Ryeon’s heart suddenly warmed and steadied.
The ‘Upper-Middle’ aptitude was every bit as remarkable as the Daoist Yeop Un she’d encountered before. The fact that he was already training so earnestly at this age made her chest swell with pride.
‘If he keeps growing like this…… he’ll become one of the pillars of the northern Martial Arts World and settle accounts with Blood Coral Valley.’
How magnificent a future that was!
Ryeon’s eyes sparkled as she leaned forward eagerly.
“That’s genuinely impressive. What are you reviewing? Swordwork?”
At her question, Moyong Seol Ho seemed somehow flustered, even startled. He regarded her with an odd expression before answering.
“Swordwork…… I’m always drilling that, but lately my grandmother has been teaching me about the Turning of Stars technique—er, our clan’s secret art—and I haven’t grasped it perfectly yet, so I’m reviewing it.”
‘The clan’s secret art?’
Ryeon blinked. A technique of the Moyong Clan that began with ‘Turning of Stars……’
‘Could it possibly be the Turning of Stars technique’

‘
She’d heard whispers of it before—a legendary art among the Moyong Clan’s secrets, said to reflect back any technique, poison, or attack.
‘And she’s already teaching him that?’
Yet considering his aptitude, ‘already’ hardly seemed the right word.
‘Well, it only makes sense to teach him everything. Especially with how diligently he’s working at it. If I could help him……’
The thought of assisting a child with such exceptional talent, and imagining the fortune that would flow from it, and the future where he’d grow into a brilliant martial artist capable of facing Blood Coral Valley—her heart felt ready to burst.
“There’s so much more I still need to learn, beyond just the clan techniques. My foundations are still quite lacking.”
The last part had that particular quality of deception clever children were prone to, yet at this level it was rather endearing.
She wanted to drag him off and study together right then, but before she could, Ryeon felt an intense stare and slowly turned her head.
Namgung Seo Geon was looking at her intently, his expression marked by something resembling profound displeasure.
“Would you like to study with us this evening too, Seo Geon? Together with Seo Jin.”
“……Seo Jin as well?”
“Yes. Does that bother you?”
Ryeon regarded him with steady eyes.
“He’s my brother—of course not. It’s better with everyone. I’d have been hurt if I hadn’t invited him.”
“Weren’t you already hurt?”
Ryeon posed the question as if in jest, and Seo Geon nodded with a smile.
“Perhaps a little. You only invited Seol Ho at first.”
“I thought you weren’t interested, Seo Geon…….”
Moyong Seol Ho found himself caught between Namgung Seo Geon and Ryeon, his stolid expression unchanged.

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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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