The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family Chapter 39

The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family

Chapter 39

A certain massive palace hall.

This palace hall consisted of just one enormous room.

Its size was truly vast, appearing able to accommodate five hundred people standing comfortably.

From the entrance to the end of the room, a red carpet was laid out across this space decorated with elaborate ornaments and patterns.

And at the end of the room sat a grand and ornate throne that reminded one of a dragon’s seat.

The man sitting on the throne had red hair and eyebrows that resembled flames.

He opened his mouth to speak to his subordinate prostrating before him.

“That beggar… Is that old beggar still running wild?”

“Do you mean the Drunken Moon Elite?”

“Yes.”

“Y-yes… He’s been scouring the entire martial arts world, determined to find traces of our Demonic Cult.”

The man ground his teeth.

“We shouldn’t have taught the Supreme Law to those fools at the Hwanhyun Gate. I opposed it so strongly. What does the Cult Leader say?”

“Th-that… well…”

The subordinate couldn’t continue immediately.

He knew the man would surely become angry at his words.

“Neunghu! Did you not hear me?!”

But whether he spoke or not, the anger would pour out all the same.

“Great Lord! I deserve death. The Cult Leader said to watch silently. He ordered us to focus on completing the Supreme Law and not concern ourselves with outside matters for the next five years.”

Though Neunghu braced himself for another outburst from the man, no sound came.

When he carefully raised his head to look at his superior, the man was trembling with rage, trying to suppress his fury.

“G-Great Lord…”

“The Cult Leader is too soft.”

“What?!”

“Since when did we become fearful dogs just waiting for the Supreme Law to be completed?!”

“I’m worried someone might hear…!”

“Let them hear! Even if it’s the Cult Leader, he cannot silence me, Blood Sword Lord Chae Hyeong-seok!”

Blood Sword Lord Chae Hyeong-seok.

He was better known to the world by his title “Blood sword lord.”

Until 30 years ago, when the Demonic Cult ceased its activities and went into hiding from the martial arts world, he had been synonymous with cruelty and terror.

“How is that old man Namgung Mu-ryong of the Namgung Family doing?”

Chae Hyeong-seok asked Neunghu while running his hand over the deep sword scar on his neck.

This scar was a gift from Namgung Mu-ryong.

“After constantly investigating our Demonic Cult’s affairs, he’s been rather quiet lately.”

“Quiet?”

“Yes. According to our information, he’s busy teaching his grandchildren. The information came from a warrior who left the Namgung Family, so it should be reliable.”

Chae Hyeong-seok’s lips twitched strangely.

He barely swallowed his erupting anger and spoke.

“That old man… After reducing our Demonic Cult to this state, he’s playing house with children?”

CRACK-

The armrest he had been holding onto broke off from the throne.

“That bastard, I should right now…!”

“Great Lord…! You must endure. Have you forgotten the Cult Leader’s order not to touch Namgung Mu-ryong? He said it’s too early to deal with that monster of an old man before the Supreme Law is complete…”

“I know.”

The swirling energy disturbance calmed as if it had never existed.

Chae Hyeong-seok, seemingly having forgotten his previous anger, even smiled and said to Neunghu.

“We won’t touch Namgung Mu-ryong. Right! How could I not follow such an order? However…”

“However?”

“Just as Namgung Mu-ryong took away our Demonic Cult’s future, I will take away his future. He has grandchildren, you say? Find the right moment.”

“……”

As Neunghu hesitated to answer and just rolled his eyes, Chae Hyeong-seok instantly approached and grabbed his hair.

This time his tone was cold rather than burning with anger.

“You just need to do as I tell you. Find the right moment.”

“Y-yes! I understand!”

“Now you may leave.”

Neunghu hurriedly answered and scrambled out of the hall.

Blood sword lord Chae Hyeong-seok smiled deeply as if anticipating something entertaining.

For some reason, the scent of blood seemed to rise around him.

* * *

The Martial Arts Alliance located in Kaifeng, Henan.

The leaders of various martial arts schools and high-ranking masters of the Martial Arts Alliance had gathered for a meeting.

It was a discussion about the Hwanhyun Gate incident and whether it would truly end there, but coincidentally, since the complete destruction of the Hwanhyun Gate, the blood catastrophe across the martial arts world had stopped as if by magic.

“So, isn’t the fact that the blood catastrophe has stopped proof that the destruction of small schools until now was Hwanhyun Gate’s doing?”

Moyong Bisan, the head of the Moyong Family, known by the title “Cold Blooded Sword,” said sharply.

In response, the masters who had visited Hwanhyun Gate, especially the Drunken Moon Elite, shook their head and replied.

“That’s not it. Haven’t you heard the saying ‘When a crow flies, a pear falls’? This situation is exactly like that.”

“Then in the end, how is this any different from saying we still know nothing about the destruction of the small schools?”

“Haven’t we learned that it’s connected to the Demonic Cult?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying I can’t believe.”

“What? Can’t believe?”

Although Moyong Bisan was currently the head of the Moyong Family, he was a generation below the Drunken Moon Elite and Namgung Mu-ryong.

It was impossible for the hot-tempered Drunken Moon Elite to tolerate such an arrogant attitude from Moyong Bisan.

*Swoosh-*

Someone stopped the Drunken Moon Elite with their arm as he tried to leap up from his seat.

There were only two people in the entire martial arts world who could calm him down.

One was the Dragon Head Leader of the Beggars’ Sect, and the other was Sword Saint Namgung Mu-ryong.

“Get this off me!”

“What are you trying to do by standing up here? Calm down.”

“What else? That youngster…”

“Here?”

Seeing everyone’s attention focused on their commotion, the Drunken Moon Elite calmed somewhat.

He sat back in his chair, crossing his arms and leaning back, muttering curses under his breath.

It seemed he was physically expressing that he wouldn’t pay attention to anything said from now on.

Yu Yeop-jinin of the Taoist sect, who had been quietly observing, spoke to Moyong Bisan.

“Master Moyong. I fully understand your doubts. However, Hwanhyun Gate lacked the strength to carry out such simultaneous actions in so many places. Just ten of us were enough to destroy their headquarters…”

He seemed to recall the pile of corpses drained of vital energy at Hwanhyun Gate, as he quietly chanted “Amitabha Buddha” before continuing.

“However, there was something suspicious. As you’ve heard, they appeared to be experimenting with the Soul absorbtion technique.”

“Soul absorbtion technique…”

“And now we suspect it was the Demonic Cult that taught this crude Soul absorbtion technique to Hwanhyun Gate…”

“Hmm…”

Everyone fell silent at Yu Yeop-jinin’s words.

As everyone frowned and remained speechless, the Drunken Moon Elite, seemingly displeased with the situation, spoke again.

“Why is everyone so hesitant? Will ghosts come for us if we talk about the Demonic Cult?”

The warriors couldn’t easily respond even to the Drunken Moon Elite’s outburst.

Everyone here remembered the Orthodox-Demon from 30 years ago.

Another great war that broke out just 20 years after the wounds from the Orthodox-Heterodox War 50 years ago hadn’t fully healed.

They couldn’t speak carelessly as they knew better than anyone the horrors of that time.

“Tsk tsk… Here’s what I think. Those devil-boned bastards from the Demonic Cult taught their Soul absorbtion technique to those Hwanhyun Gate fools to minimize its side effects. To experiment, you see.”

Juwon agreed with his words.

“Sigh… This humble monk thinks the same. As everyone here knows, the Soul absorbtion technique clearly carries tremendous risks.”

“Right. Juwon is correct. As dangerous as it is, its power is also incredible. Don’t you all remember? How terrifying the Demonic Cult Leader’s divine power was during the last Orthodox-Demon war?”

Everyone present shuddered as if getting goosebumps from recalling the past.

In their younger days, they had faced the Demonic Cult Leader.

The Cult Leader was terror incarnate back then.

Just when they thought he was tiring, he would absorb the energy of one follower and recover, and when it seemed he was about to die, he would revive – these scenes were clearly etched in everyone’s minds.

The Drunken Moon Elite read the fear lingering in their expressions and spoke in a blunt tone, as if displeased.

“But his blood and energy became increasingly turbid, leading to severe internal injuries, and he eventually fled. I suspect they used Hwanhyun Gate to experiment on minimizing such side effects of the Soul absorbtion technique.”

The Drunken Moon Elite looked at Moyong Bisan as he spoke.

“Hey, Cold Blooded Sword. Isn’t this reason enough to suspect the Demonic Cult?”

“But, but it’s still just circumstantial evidence, isn’t it?”

His words were true. While there were suspicions, there was no physical evidence.

“Right. There’s no physical evidence. But tell me, is it so difficult to strengthen our defenses whether there’s evidence or not?”

“That’s not the difficult part. If news spreads that the Demonic Cult has resumed activities, it will surely cause chaos throughout the martial arts world. I’m trying to prevent such confusion.”

The Drunken Moon Elite sneered.

“Ha! Fine. When real evidence appears, I’ll show it to you first. That is, if you, the Moyong Family, and the martial arts world are still safe by then!”

The Drunken Moon Elite was about to say more but stopped himself.

He remembered that continuing to argue with Moyong Bisan here would change nothing.

“Sigh. Alright. Both of you, please stop now.”

The current Alliance Leader, Iron Plum Blossom Yu Min-min, who had less than six months left in her term, held her head in her hands while barely suppressing a sigh.

“Understood, Alliance Leader.”

“Yes, Alliance Leader.”

She was Yu Min-min, the first female Alliance Leader in history, and was considered to have successfully served her term.

As a Plum Blossom Sword Master from the Hwashan Sect, she was not only highly skilled in martial arts but was also considered the best among all previous Alliance Leaders at mediating between numerous schools and families.

“We’ll decide to strengthen our vigilance. However, there’s no need to explicitly state the reason. Rather than saying we’re watching for the Demonic Cult, we can explain it as a regular period of increased vigilance that happens every few years, and everyone will follow.”

Everyone nodded at the Alliance Leader’s words.

This time, even Moyong Bisan had no reason to object.

“Understood. There’s no harm in being careful after all.”

Yu Min-min barely managed to suppress a sigh that was about to escape.

As a member of the orthodox martial arts world, she felt pride in it, but sometimes like now, she felt truly frustrated.

Like now, when principles, procedures, and saving face seemed more important than life itself.

Perhaps that’s why she respected the Drunken Moon Elite the most among all warriors.

“Well then, we’ll end today’s meeting here. Those who have anything else to discuss may stay, the rest may leave.”

As the warriors rose to leave in a group, Moyong Bisan stopped Namgung Mu-ryong as he was about to exit.

“Elder Sword Saint.”

“Cold Blooded Sword. What is it?”

“Have you perhaps not checked the letter I sent you?”

Yu Min-min’s expression twisted upon hearing their conversation.

‘That Cold Blooded Sword really did it.’

Before the Namgung Family achieved its greatest growth in recent decades and became known as the First Family of the martial arts world, the Moyong Family had been the leader of the Five Great Families.

That’s why the Moyong Family couldn’t stand the special treatment the Namgung Family now received.

So they had been picking both large and small fights for some time now.

‘Sending such an impudent letter and not even having the decency to feel shame.’

Yu Min-min had seen the contents of that letter before.

The letter stated that what distinguished martial arts families from other martial arts schools was their blood ties, and while Sword Saint Namgung Mu-ryong might be the strongest swordsman in the martial arts world, in terms of direct family strength, they were superior.

Moreover, it was a letter criticizing the Namgung Family, making the absurd argument that since they only gained recognition in the martial arts world after accepting and training talented warriors in the Blue Dragon Pavilion, they should change their name to the Namgung School.

‘Sigh… If that were all, it would be better.’

Yu Min-min almost sighed again remembering what was written at the end of that letter.

“You mean that absurd letter suggesting a competition between direct family members only?”

“I don’t think it was absurd at all, but yes, that letter.”

“I did check it.”

“Then why haven’t you replied?”

“Because I thought it wasn’t worth responding to.”

Namgung Mu-ryong said this with a calm face despite the harsh content.

This time, Cold Blooded Sword’s face twisted.

“Are you running away?”

“Running away?”

“What, running away? You young thing, I’ve been trying to treat you properly as a family head, but there’s nothing you won’t say?”

The violent reaction came not from Namgung Mu-ryong but from the Drunken Moon Elite.

Namgung Mu-ryong, as if it were someone else’s business, calmed the Drunken Moon Elite and spoke.

“Young man. There are many eyes watching now, so let’s talk separately.”

“That’s what I’ve been hoping for, Elder.”

“Alliance Leader. If you have time, would you mind being present while we talk? I’d prefer if it were just the three of us.”

Although Namgung Mu-ryong was a generation senior to Yu Min-min, he always showed her respect in official settings.

“Hah… Alright. Both of you follow me. I’ll serve some tea.”

“Thank you, Alliance Leader.”

“Haha. Thank you, Alliance Leader.”

Yu Min-min sprung up from her seat and led them to her tea room.

Though the Drunken Moon Elite tried to follow Namgung Mu-ryong, Namgung Mu-ryong told him he would go alone, leaving the Drunken Moon Elite to vent his inexplicable anger by stomping his feet.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

If you would like to support these translations or read advanced chapters, you can do so by unlocking them.

Your support will allow for the continued translation of this novel.