The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family Chapter 51

The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family 

Chapter 51

“Huff, huff.”

“…..”

Namgung Hwan was breathing heavily, and Moyong Goe-san had lost his words.

This was because the situation was nothing like what he had expected.

Twenty exchanges.

Namgung Hwan had clashed with Moyong Goe-san for twenty exchanges.

Considering that Moyong Goe-san was a peak master well-known in the martial world, this was nothing short of an amazing achievement.

“Wow! So this is the Namgung Family? Amazing!”

“Did you all see that? That child has been pushing forward consistently!”

The spectators were all unanimously cheering for Namgung Hwan.

“Tch.”

Moyong Goe-san clicked his tongue once and raised his sword.

‘I can’t waste any more time here.’

He didn’t think he would lose, and the actual content of the duel was flowing that way.

Just looking at how Namgung Hwan’s breathing was completely disturbed, it was easy to tell that he was in a much more advantageous position.

However, this was only visible among martial artists who understood martial arts; it was separate from the thoughts of spectators who knew nothing about martial arts.

In a way, it was natural for them to be captivated by Namgung Hwan’s continuously flashy offensive moves.

‘I’ll end it this time.’

He pulled all the inner energy he could muster into his wooden sword, intending to end the duel as quickly as possible.

Heaven-Shattering Sword.

He decided to unleash the martial art that was essentially his signature technique, the one that had brought him to this position.

“Hoo…..”

Namgung Hwan, who had managed to catch his rough breath with a deep breath, seemed to notice that Moyong Goe-san’s intent had changed and gripped his wooden sword more tightly.

Swoosh- Slash!

Moyong Goe-san approached Namgung Hwan quickly, almost brushing the ground.

The Moyong Family’s movement technique, Falling Leaf, considered first-class in the martial world, unfolded at his feet.

Zing-

Namgung Hwan didn’t stay still either.

Vibrations could be felt from his wooden sword, infused with abundant inner energy.

“Hyah!”

“Hah!”

Crack-crack-crack-

When the two swords collided, a sound like something splitting rang out.

It was the sound of Namgung Hwan’s upward strike and Moyong Goe-san’s downward strike locked in a tense power struggle.

“Kugh.”

A battle of inner energy and strength.

But perhaps the power of time couldn’t be ignored; despite Namgung Hwan using so much force that his lip bled from biting it, he inevitably started getting pushed back.

Snap!

The conclusion of the power struggle, which had been like a long tug of war, ended with Namgung Hwan losing his sword.

“Hoo…. I lost.”

Finally, Namgung Hwan declared his surrender.

“Wow-! That was amazing. I never thought I’d see something like this in my life.”

“Well fought! That was incredible!”

Cheers erupted from the spectator seats.

However, these cheers were directed not at Moyong Goe-san, the winner, but at Namgung Hwan, the loser.

“Haha…..”

Namgung Hwan scratched his head awkwardly as he descended from the arena.

“You worked hard.”

“Thank you, father.”

Namgung Gi-cheol took Namgung Hwan’s hand.

“Phew. That was tough. But I think I did what I could.”

“Brother. You seemed to do even better than usual?”

“Really? But the gap was too big. Maybe it was an opponent I couldn’t have beaten anyway.”

Namgung Hwan laughed it off as if unaffected by the defeat and straightened his disheveled clothes.

At first glance, his attitude suggested he didn’t care about winning or losing.

“Hah…..”

But everyone from the Namgung Family knew but didn’t mention

that Namgung Hwan’s clenched fist was trembling slightly.

During this duel, and through his defeat, Namgung Hwan must have realized it himself.

That he too had the blood of a warrior flowing through him.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Moyong Family camp wasn’t very good despite their victory in this duel.

“Good work, Goe-san.”

“Family Head…..”

“Even if you feel uncomfortable, there’s nothing we can do. It’s all for our family.”

“…I understand.”

Even after hearing these words, Moyong Goe-san’s expression didn’t brighten.

“Now, let’s begin the next duel!”

At the referee’s voice, they naturally looked toward the Namgung Family’s side.

This time, gracefully stepping up to the arena was the Namgung Family’s only daughter, Namgung So-hwa.

Then, the only woman among those selected from the Moyong Family rose.

“Hah…. Father. I’ll go this time. This child was supposed to be my opponent from the start anyway.”

“Go ahead, Do-cheong.”

Moyong Do-cheong, daughter of Moyong Bi-san, nodded lightly and stepped onto the arena.

“Senior! Please take care of me. There’s no need to go easy.”

So-hwa said with a bright smile.

“Heheh. Right. I was planning to give it my all anyway.”

Swoosh Namgung So-hwa slightly raised her sword and took a stance.

‘I heard she was only thirteen…!’

Moyong Do-cheong swallowed her gasp internally.

This was because she felt an aura that couldn’t belong to a mere fourteen-year-old girl.

‘I might need to give it my all…. No, I must give it my all.’

Though she felt pathetic for being tense against a girl far younger than herself, she had no intention of holding back.

“Begin!”

Clang!

As soon as the referee’s voice fell, the two warriors’ weapons clashed and separated.

“…!”

Grin-

One was surprised by the unexpectedly strong force.

The other smiled, thinking this was more manageable than expected.

‘How can someone that age have such inner power…!’

Moyong Do-cheong thought while shaking off the numbing impact from her hand.

Until just moments ago, she had thought So-hwa’s face looked young and cute, but now she had completely abandoned such thoughts.

Warrior.

The So-hwa before her was neither a woman nor a child, but simply a warrior.

Thud-!

So-hwa finally lost her balance and fell to the arena floor, signaling the end of the prolonged duel.

Given that she didn’t get up again, she seemed to have lost consciousness.

“Mo… Moyong Do-cheong wins!”

The referee’s voice trembled as he announced the duel’s result.

“So-hwa! Are you alright?”

“Namgung So-hwa!”

“Sister!”

Namgung Gi-cheol quickly used his movement technique to carry So-hwa down from the arena and check her condition.

“Hah…. There’s nothing seriously wrong. The external injuries aren’t severe either.”

“Father, but why did she collapse?”

Namgung Hwan asked with a worried face.

Namgung Gi-cheol patted Namgung Hwan’s head as if to reassure him and said,

“She gave it her all to the point of exhaustion. She’ll wake up soon.”

“Sigh, that’s why I always told her to take it easy…. But thank goodness.”

The Namgung Family members were relieved that So-hwa’s condition wasn’t as bad as they feared.

“Do-cheong. You worked hard.”

“Yes, Father…..”

Moyong Goe-san spoke to Moyong Do-cheong as she returned to the Moyong Family’s side, clutching one shoulder and limping on one leg.

Moyong Do-cheong’s face as she answered was literally like she had eaten something terrible.

She had nearly lost to So-hwa.

She had definitely been pushed back in terms of momentum.

The duel between So-hwa and Moyong Do-cheong had been incredibly intense.

Yes. Rather than words like flashy or spectacular, ‘intense’ was the most fitting word for this duel.

Objectively speaking, So-hwa’s skills were indeed inferior compared to Moyong Do-cheong.

But So-hwa was absolutely relentless.

‘How, how can someone be so tenacious!’

Namgung So-hwa never let go of her sword, even when it grazed her head or when the impact tore at her grip.

No, rather, as if willing to sacrifice flesh to strike bone, she actively employed techniques to attack more rather than defend.

“Winning is enough. More importantly, get your wounds treated quickly.”

Moyong Do-cheong hung her head.

She, the winner, was far more severely injured than Namgung So-hwa who had lost.

Her shoulder and leg.

If they had used real swords, these would have been fatal wounds.

“…..”

The crowd in the arena was unusually quiet.

Probably because they had never seen such an intense duel before.

It was a match that gave people who had only thought of duels as entertainment a glimpse of what a real warrior’s duel was like.

‘This, this isn’t right.’

Moyong Bi-san noticed something was going wrong.

Though the Moyong Family had won both previous duels, he hadn’t expected them to be this evenly matched.

‘If the Sword Saint had said three years at the Murim Alliance instead of one year…’

He thought they might lose.

No, to be more honest, he thought they would have been utterly defeated.

That’s how tremendous the potential of Namgung So-hwa and Namgung Hwan was.

Though they had won two matches, the situation wasn’t necessarily good.

The ones who had faced Namgung Hwan and So-hwa, who had fought their hardest, were top-tier warriors of the Moyong Family.

Therefore, at a glance, it looked like they were oppressing children.

In fact, the spectators had all been cheering for Namgung Hwan and So-hwa.

‘If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have called the civilians.’

But it was too late for regrets now.

And there was one more bad thing remaining.

The next duel had to proceed, and the Namgung Family’s youngest was getting up to warm up, apparently intending to step onto the arena. “Who will go this time?”

But there was no answer.

Though they had resolved to win for their family by any means necessary, they were reluctant to appear as if they were oppressing a child like Ha Hyeon.

“Family Head. I will go.”

It was Moyong Cheong, the Black Harmony Hidden Dragon, the youngest among the Moyong Family’s participants.

He was the Moyong Family’s talented disciple who was acclaimed as the future head of the family.

“Cheong. Didn’t you say you wanted to face the Azure Divine Dragon?”

“I’ll put the family before my personal desire for victory.”

He too was someone whose talent was recognized in the martial world, evident by the word ‘dragon’ in his title.

In his mid-twenties, about five or six years older than Namgung Min, he had already participated three times in the Dragon Phoenix Assembly where talented disciples competed, showing impressive performances.

However, he was conscious of Namgung Min.

Of Namgung Min, who had only participated once in the Dragon Phoenix Assembly yet received the grand title of Azure Divine Dragon.

“Will you be alright with this?”

He nodded.

“I’ll go now.”

“Alright. I’m counting on you.”

He stepped onto the arena with a grave expression.

And ignoring Ha Hyeon who was on the arena, he stared intently at Namgung Min below.

‘Next time, I’ll defeat you.’

Namgung Min had participated in the Dragon Phoenix Assembly only once, four years ago.

Moyong Cheong had started participating from the next assembly.

However, whenever he performed well and showed impressive skills at the Dragon Phoenix Assembly, he always heard comparisons to Namgung Min.

‘Skills comparable to Young Master Namgung Min.’

‘It would have been a great spectacle if he had faced Namgung Min.’

From then on, though he had never actually met Namgung Min, he considered him nothing less than a rival.

“Begin!”

The referee announced the start after confirming both had stepped up.

However, Moyong Cheong still wasn’t focusing on Ha Hyeon.

Though it was just a momentary instant, he was trying to shift his gaze from Namgung Min to Ha Hyeon.

So he couldn’t know.

Thud-!

Ha Hyeon stomped his foot hard.

And in the blink of an eye, Ha Hyeon had deployed his movement technique so quickly it seemed like he had vanished from his spot, reaching right in front of him.

“Th-This Form Shifting Position?!”

Moyong Bi-san, who had been watching Moyong Cheong with worried eyes, jumped up from his seat in shock.

“Where are you looking?”

“Huh?”

Though Moyong Cheong finally noticed Ha Hyeon, it was too late.

Ha Hyeon, who had entered his blind spot, instantly swung his sword and struck Moyong Cheong’s side.

Whack-!

“Kuhak!”

It wasn’t any sword technique or form.

Ha Hyeon had simply struck with all his might.

It was fortunate this was a wooden sword; if it had been a real sword, it would have been a powerful blow that could have split his waist.

“Urgh!”

Moyong Cheong could only retreat several steps from Ha Hyeon while letting out an unsightly pain-filled scream.

“Y-You brat!”

Moyong Cheong, barely regaining his stance, clutched his struck side and glared at Ha Hyeon.

“Huh?!”

This time, the surprised exclamation came from the Namgung Family’s side.

It was Ha Hyeon’s angry face that none of them had ever seen before.

“Hoo…..”

Ha Hyeon was taking deep breaths as if trying to suppress his anger.

In all his previous duels, Ha Hyeon had respected his opponents and been respected in return.

That’s why they should respect each other and clash with sincere effort.

That was what Ha Hyeon believed a duel should be.

But he became angry, feeling insulted by M

oyong Cheong whose attention was focused on someone else even after the duel had begun.

“You brat…!”

Cutting off Moyong Cheong who was about to say something, Ha Hyeon spoke coldly.

“Can you see me now?”