The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 112

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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 Clan’s Limited Lifespan Legacy — Episode 112

‘The Nam Gung clan isn’t having an easy time of it either.’
She could see how hard the eldest, Nam Gung Seo Geon, was working.
But if effort alone could solve every problem, the Martial Arts World would never have birthed half its troubles.
If both brothers lacked talent, that would be one thing—but no matter how she looked at it, the second brother Nam Gung Seo Jin possessed an understanding and instinct for martial prowess that was anything but ordinary.
It appeared Nam Gung Seo Geon knew this fact well enough himself. The eight young men who’d taken a thorough beating from him rose groaning and helped prop each other up where friendships lay, but the Nam Gung brothers kept their distance from one another.
And then came the final group—the one everyone had been waiting for.
“You two have been whispering away earnestly. Are you ready now?”
“We’ve prepared well!”
Geum Jong Ha bellowed the reply. Paeng Mu Hyeok chuckled and hefted his saber with a flourish.
“Come on then!”
What good could children do, whispering and conferring for a moment when they’d never learned or practiced Hap Gyeok Jin? None whatsoever.
When Paeng Mu Hyeok had divided them into groups, he was really setting up for a Master Playing Multiple Pawns game—where a skilled player faces multiple inexperienced opponents.

‘Interesting. They’ve got some skill.’
Paeng Mu Hyeok, who’d been about to swing his saber with force against the two boys charging at him headlong, leapt lightly upward with one step to parry the sword thrusting in from his right.
As if they’d been waiting for that very moment, his son Paeng Ju Ran and a collateral member of the Dan Mok clan burst in from behind.
“Oh, so you’re trying to circle around me?”
In a situation like this, it was rather bold thinking. But then again, that’s only how things work when amateurs fight amateurs.
“Ha! Not a chance!”
The world of the master is one where movement can be swift as light itself.
Paeng Mu Hyeok parried the swords hurtling at him from the front with crushing force, then pushed back the saber coming from behind in a way that obstructed the child standing beside it.
‘What…?’
Yet the stern-faced boy, the moment he was attacking Paeng Ju Ran, had already boldly lunged forward a step, and now—sidestepping the stumbling Paeng Ju Ran—he pressed his own attack instead of being blocked!
Right as Paeng Mu Hyeok dodged that strike and was catching his breath, Dan Mok Ryeon’s sword thrust in from precisely that opening. The point was aimed at a spot that would have been lethal had internal energy and strength been behind it.
“…!”
After a few more exchanges of blades, the children fell one by one flat to the ground. The last two standing were Mo Yong Seol Ho, pressing forward from the front, and Dan Mok Ryeon, carving in from the side.
But that too was short-lived; Mo Yong Seol Ho couldn’t withstand the force of the saber Paeng Mu Hyeok drove down and simply sank to his knees.
This humiliation seemed fresh to him—his eyes blazed with fire—but Paeng Mu Hyeok turned to the last one standing, a small girl, his face alight with intrigue.
The girl’s arms holding the sword trembled slightly, yet her gaze remained as sharp and clear as it had been from the start.
Paeng Mu Hyeok leveled his saber at her and asked.
“How many more exchanges can you manage?”
“At the current intensity… seventeen more.”
Paeng Mu Hyeok felt a light chill run through his arms. His own calculation had been exactly that.
“Your strength doesn’t look that formidable. How did you hold out?”
He asked knowingly. This too was a lesson. The girl, sweat beading on her face, answered.
“Since I cannot bear such a force, I did not resist it. I let it pass through.”
“Good. So seventeen exchanges, you said. Let’s continue then.”
“Sir?”
Dan Mok Ryeon seemed slightly startled but didn’t hesitate, resetting her grip on the sword. Paeng Mu Hyeok, hoping his son would watch this sparring carefully, began moving in a way somewhat rougher than before.
One exchange, two, three, four…
The small girl’s sword and Paeng Mu Hyeok’s saber danced together like partners.
‘That’s right—she’s letting it flow through, letting it flow, letting it… counterattack!’
That lasted until Paeng Mu Hyeok, startled without warning, suddenly exerted his full force and sent Ryeon flying completely.
Ryeon, her whole body pushed back by the saber’s momentum, tumbled backward three full rolls. With dirt smeared on her cheeks and hair, she stared at Paeng Mu Hyeok with wide eyes.
Paeng Mu Hyeok himself appeared flustered at having suddenly hurled her away so violently.
“That… I mean, thinking about it, teaching just you alone would be unfair to the others!”
“Ah, yes……”
The surprised girl blinked her round eyes several times, then nodded in understanding, and at the sight of her, the back of Paeng Mu Hyeok’s neck flushed deep red.
She’d fought him together with seven other children her age, and afterward had been standing alone, utterly exhausted. Her attacks had been limp with fatigue.
Yet they had been terrifyingly, precisely targeting his weak points. So much so that he’d felt compelled to drive her back with force.
It was as if she were looking down at his saber technique from directly above, and with a needle’s point, marking the most vulnerable spot.
Paeng Mu Hyeok felt shame at having been startled by one movement from such a small, frail child and letting it escalate to this—though he expressed nothing beyond his reddened face.
As Ryeon stumbled and struggled to her feet, not only her teammates rushed to help her up, but also Dan Mok Seong and Dan Mok Bi from a distance away, along with the collateral branch children, all hurried over to support her.
Paeng Mu Hyeok regarded the commotion with rather pleasant amusement and took a moment to catch his breath.
‘So she’s the daughter of Dan Mok Hyeon Seong….’
That genius had died young, becoming a shadow that warriors of his generation could never surpass in their lifetime.
Did a shadow not fade in the light, but rather resurface?
Paeng Mu Hyeok found himself glancing unwittingly at his own son.
To live alongside a peer one could never defeat in a lifetime was a cruel punishment, yet for those who could accept it, it was a blessing.
Watching Mo Yong Seol Ho’s eyes already glimmering as he gazed upon Ryeon, Paeng Mu Hyeok could easily guess what he was thinking.
‘No, no, no!’
Paeng Mu Hyeok quickly shook his head to dispel his thoughts. He couldn’t allow himself to think his son would already be defeated by another family’s child.
“W-well then. Let me give a brief review and conclude my lesson.”
Paeng Mu Hyeok deliberately avoided Ryeon’s gaze fixed upon him and rambled on with whatever came to mind.

* * *

“It stings….”
Though not seriously injured, she’d tumbled across the earthen ground several times, so sand was falling from her hair and the scraped palms of her hands throbbed.
Only after moving away from the other children did Ryeon examine the scraped area when she suddenly startled at the sound of footsteps behind her.
Mo Yong Seol Ho, his face grave as though struck by some profound shock, stood right behind Ryeon, gazing at her quietly.
“Wow! You scared me. What, what is it? What’s wrong?”
“How exactly did you manage to hold your own against Master Paeng all the way to the end?”
Mo Yong Seol Ho asked her with a serious expression.
Ryeon looked at him while holding up her throbbing palms somewhat awkwardly and spoke.
“Well…?”
Mo Yong Seol Ho seemed somewhat disappointed but spoke earnestly.
“Could you explain it to me bit by bit? Please. I’ll naturally pay whatever fee is required for learning.”
His face was quite firmly set in resolve, as if prepared to pay any sum. Ryeon regarded him quietly for a moment before deflecting the conversation.
“Just like I said during the lesson, I simply let his attack flow past.”
“But you didn’t lose.”
“Didn’t you see me roll backward three full circles at the end?”
Ryeon showed him her palms, but Mo Yong Seol Ho seemed to notice none of that.
He continued his explanation in a bewildered tone and voice.
“I tried to block and counterattack, but it didn’t work well. How do you let an attack flow past? If you let it flow past, you can’t counterattack, so how….”
Ryeon gazed at his face and thought while smoothing back her tousled hair.
‘Mo Yong Family, the northern edge. Still relatively close to Bei Hai Bing Gung, and rigid in temperament.’
Too rigid, in fact, which made his words and behavior seem somewhat provocative, but given his aptitude and the achievements that followed from his diligent nature, those around him wouldn’t be able to object.
Moreover, seeing how Mo Yong Chui Ryeo willingly took on the role of Bei Hai Bing Gung’s errand runner, it was clear they were far more than mere acquaintances.
“Want me to show you?”
At Ryeon’s quiet whisper, Mo Yong Seol Ho nodded eagerly.
“You said you’d pay any price, didn’t you?”
“Y-yes.”
Mo Yong Seol Ho answered with a tense expression, his face seeming somewhat burdened as though he were already calculating the largest sum he could imagine.
Ryeon glanced around briefly, confirmed no one was nearby, and answered.
“If I teach you this, you and I become true friends from now on.”
“…True…friends?”
“Yes.”
“…Are there false friends too?”
“There are, indeed.”
“What makes a true friend?”
“It’s when you never betray each other, bare your true heart, never deceive your thoughts, and live close to one another while doing your very best for each other. For instance, like my helping you now.”
“…!”
“So when I ask for your help later, you have to help me too.”
“That’s, that’s only natural.”
Mo Yong Seol Ho stiffened slightly as he replied, his face flushed with something like excitement.

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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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