The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family Chapter 53

The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family

Chapter 53

At first, there was only silence.

Everyone present needed time to grasp the current situation.

And once they did…

“No way! How could this happen? The Silent Flower Sleeping Dragon lost to a child like this!”

“As expected of the Namgung Family. The Moyong Family is no match for them!”

“Isn’t it too early to jump to conclusions when this is just the Namgung Family’s first win?”

“But the renowned Silent Flower Sleeping Dragon was knocked unconscious by the Namgung Family’s youngest?”

The reaction from the common people was explosive.

Those who knew even a little about the martial arts world were pretending to be knowledgeable, discussing how unprecedented this situation was, and even those with no interest in martial arts were applauding Ha Hyeon, perhaps due to the visible age difference between the two.

“The winner is Namgung Ha Hyeon of the Namgung Family!”

The Gentleman Sword also assessed the situation and declared Ha Hyeon’s victory.

Ha Hyeon bowed once to the Gentleman Sword and once more to the audience before returning to his place.

‘Namgung Ha Hyeon. I was called Namgung Ha Hyeon.’

Though it was nothing special, his heart couldn’t help but flutter.

It felt like he had finally become a true member of the Namgung Family.

“Ha Hyeon. You did well.”

“Well done. That was impressive. Impressive indeed.”

“Not bad at all.”

As praise poured in from his family members, Ha Hyeon sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

Seeing this, Namgung Gi-cheol clicked his tongue internally.

‘He’s like a completely different person compared to when he was fighting.’

Ha Hyeon’s demeanor on the training ground was markedly different from now.

When provoking Moyong Cheong, he had been sharp, and when attacking him, he had been merciless.

“I was lucky. I was able to win easily because my opponent let his guard down. If we were to fight again, I might not win.”

Ha Hyeon spoke calmly.

His words were true.

No matter how talented Ha Hyeon was, if his initial attack hadn’t succeeded, if Moyong Cheong hadn’t lost his composure and had fought with a cool head, it was clear that at his current level, Ha Hyeon wouldn’t have matched up.

However, once results are out, assumptions become meaningless.

What matters is that he won and came back now.

“You did well. Is your arm alright?”

“It’s fine, Grandfather.”

Namgung Mu-ryong gently massaged Ha Hyeon’s arm, which was slightly swollen from blocking the wooden sword.

Though such minor injuries would become like shadows to those who lived by the sword, Namgung Mu-ryong seemed concerned about Ha Hyeon’s injury.

“That was dangerous. If it had been a real sword, your arm could have been cut off. And even with a wooden sword, if there had been a bit more force behind it, your arm could have been broken.”

“Yes. I’ll be more careful next time, Grandfather.”

Ha Hyeon answered brightly.

Namgung Mu-ryong, still proud of Ha Hyeon, patted his head.

“You did well despite the difference in skill level with your opponent.”

Ha Hyeon smiled brightly, still feeling his heart pounding.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Moyong Family was gloomy.

It was clear that Moyong Cheong wasn’t the strongest among them.

That was certain.

However, who he lost to was what troubled them.

‘This throws off our calculations.’

To be honest, Moyong Bi-san had expected Moyong Cheong to be either equal to or slightly stronger than Namgung Min.

Therefore, he had planned to secure victory in this martial arts competition by somehow defeating all four of Namgung Mu-ryong’s grandchildren, but now his plans had completely fallen apart. “Hmm…”

“Cheong! Are you conscious?”

“F-Family Head… Did I lose?”

“Yes…”

“Hah…”

Moyong Cheong clutched his chest, feeling pain as if it would split open.

The physical pain was one thing, but the mere fact that he lost to Ha Hyeon was enough to torment him.

“He was no ordinary child. Though I let my guard down, his skill level was beyond imagination from the start.”

“I understand. Go get treatment first.”

“Yes, sir.”

Moyong Cheong disappeared outside the training ground, supported by servants.

“Then let the next contestants come to the training ground! This time, starting with the Moyong Family!”

Following the Gentleman Sword’s direction, a warrior from the Moyong Family stepped up.

He was a man with bulging muscles all over his body, as if he had trained in external martial arts.

“Father, I’ll go this time.”

Like attracts like, they say.

From the Namgung Family, Namgung Gi-hyeon, who had an even more massive muscular build than the Moyong Family warrior, spoke to Namgung Mu-ryong.

“Be careful.”

“Yes, Father!”

Namgung Gi-hyeon stretched his body to warm up and stepped onto the training ground with light footsteps.

“I am Namgung Gi-hyeon, the Great White Sword of the Namgung Family.”

“I am Moyong Hyeon-yeong, the Soul-Destroying Hand of the Moyong Family.”

The two bowed to each other.

Since Moyong Hyeon-yeong came up without any weapons, he appeared to be a martial artist who used palm techniques or fist techniques.

“Begin!”

At the Gentleman Sword’s signal, the two warriors clashed.

Bang-!

What collided with Namgung Gi-hyeon’s sword was Moyong Hyeon-yeong’s flesh palm.

As expected, he was indeed a palm technique practitioner.

Grin

From this single clash, Namgung Gi-hyeon could gauge Moyong Hyeon-yeong’s level.

‘Wasn’t the Soul-Destroying Hand supposed to be an elder of the Moyong Family?’

The Moyong Family was undoubtedly a renowned family in the martial arts world.

Their elder-level warriors could be considered on par with the elders of the Nine Schools, who were said to be a cut above other families.

But he was Namgung Gi-hyeon, the Great White Sword of the Namgung Family.

He believed that neither he nor his brother Namgung Gi-cheol should be evaluated at merely that level.

‘My brother and I… should be considered at least equal to the heads of the Nine Schools!’

Whoosh-

As Namgung Gi-hyeon finished his thought, he gathered energy throughout his entire body.

“Haap!”

He charged at Moyong Hyeon-yeong with a battle cry.

Bang!!

Another collision occurred.

While the martial arts competition between the Namgung and Moyong families was in full swing.

At the border region between Jilin Province and Inner Mongolia, a bloody scene was unfolding.

“L-Lord… Is this really okay?”

Neunghu asked, looking around at the horrifically transformed surroundings.

He gritted his teeth.

The corpses lying around numbered over a hundred.

“We told them we’d pass through quietly, but they wouldn’t make way. Death is all that awaits barbarians who won’t listen.”

Chae Hyeong-seok remained calm.

Seeing someone who had single-handedly slaughtered dozens speak so peacefully, Neunghu began to wonder if his own common sense was wrong.

“What if the world discovers that the Demonic Cult is running rampant in the martial arts world again? The Great Master said we still need more time.”

“Isn’t that why we came this way?”

“What do you mean…?”

Chae Hyeong-seok spread his arms as he spoke.

“These are barbarians. If this many people had died in the Central Plains, surely those hypocrites from the Nine Schools and Five Great Families, along with those palace folks standing idly by up high, wouldn’t have left it alone.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Chae Hyeong-seok looked at Neunghu with contemptuous eyes and spoke.

“But do you think they’ll care about what happens in Mongolian territory? The Central Plains people don’t care about Inner Mongolia, Southern Barbarians, or Western Tibet. They just see them as worthless barbarians.”

“Then… did you calculate all this when choosing to come this way…?”

Nod

Chae Hyeong-seok nodded.

Then he wiped his blood-soaked sword clean and sheathed it.

‘The Lord isn’t just cruel. There’s a reason why ‘wolf’ is part of his title.’

Neunghu felt chills run down his spine at Chae Hyeong-seok’s cunning schemes.

“Blood Sword Unit! Are there any wounded?”

“None, sir!”

The Blood Sword Unit was divided into ten squads.

It was a combat organization made up of three hundred warriors, thirty men per squad, carefully selected from among the believers.

Chae Hyeong-seok brought only ten of them.

His goal wasn’t to wage war, but solely to deal with the observers from the Moyong and Namgung families.

“Good. Liaoning is right ahead. We’ll make sure that old man remembers clearly that our Heavenly Demon Demonic Cult hasn’t disappeared yet!”

“Yes, sir!”

“We don’t need to kill everyone. I will hold back the old man Namgung. Then the rest of you find and kill the children. Fair and square? No need to think about such things. Think only of the Demonic Cult. Crave blood for the glory of the Demonic Cult!”

“Yes, sir!!”

Though there were only ten of them, their response was as thunderous as an earthquake.

One more day.

They had only one day left until they reached Liaoning Province.

“The winner is Namgung Gi-hyeon of the Namgung Family!”

The match between Namgung Gi-hyeon and Moyong Hyeon-yeong was rather one-sided.

Gi-hyeon calmly countered Hyeon-yeong’s relentless palm strikes, then began wielding his sword with magnificent inner force befitting his size, sweeping through his opponent’s techniques. When Hyeon-yeong’s energy was completely consumed by Gi-hyeon’s sword, the Soul-Destroying Hand had no choice but to take a hit without being able to use his strength.

Gi-hyeon’s somewhat anticlimactic match ended.

Already their second loss.

Though the Moyong Family had secured two victories and suffered two defeats, making the score even, everyone’s expressions were grim.

They had noticed the ominous atmosphere creeping in.

The fifth match was Namgung Gi-cheol’s turn.

His match was even more anticlimactic, ending in just one move.

Before going up, he had told Namgung Min,

‘Lightning Flash is a technique that gives the greatest advantage in the first move.’

And as if his words became reality, he defeated the Moyong Family warrior in literally one lightning-fast strike.

It was only natural that Ha Hyeon, who was witnessing Namgung Gi-cheol’s martial arts for the first time since joining the Namgung Family, didn’t take his eyes off him for a moment, trying to absorb every movement.

‘We’ve lost…’

Moyong Bi-san closed his eyes.

The Moyong Family had already recorded three losses.

Moreover, no one in the Moyong Family could defeat Sword Saint Namgung Mu-ryong.

Even he, the family head, couldn’t guarantee victory against him.

So this competition was as good as lost.

Glance

Moyong Bi-san slightly raised his head to peek at the Namgung Family’s side.

Now Namgung Min was warming up.

On the Moyong Family’s side, an elder-level warrior was preparing to go up against him.

Watching this, Moyong Bi-san felt anxiety creeping up.

‘What if we lose to Namgung Min too?’

Despite being new to the martial arts world, Namgung Min had already made a name for himself with the title Azure Divine Dragon.

If he wins here too, this competition will only end up raising the Namgung Family’s prestige.

‘Yes, even if we lose, we must secure one more victory before losing. That’s the minimum face our Moyong Family must save.’

Moyong Bi-san approached the warrior who was supposed to go next and whispered in his ear.

“I’ll go next instead.”

The warrior who was about to go up understood Moyong Bi-san’s intention and nodded.

However, he couldn’t stop his hands from trembling.

Because this meant his opponent would be Sword Saint Namgung Mu-ryong.

“Now, next contestants, please come up!”

The Gentleman Sword called out, looking at the Moyong Family’s side.

Moyong Bi-san stepped onto the training ground and waited for Namgung Min to come up.

‘Yes, this time I’ll give it my all from the start. If I can overwhelm Azure Divine Dragon Namgung Min, we can somewhat recover our face.’

At present, considerations like age difference with Namgung Min weren’t even factors in his mind.

His thoughts were focused solely on how to win this match.

Thump thump thump

Moyong Bi-san reflexively turned his head toward the warrior coming up to the training ground.

“Huh…?”

He couldn’t help but let out a foolish sound.

Before his eyes was Sword Saint Namgung Mu-ryong, approaching one step at a time with his hands behind his back and a gentle smile.

“W-Why is the Elder here now…?”

In contrast to his flustered voice, Namgung Mu-ryong spoke leisurely as if he was just out for a stroll.

“Hahaha. Didn’t I tell you a year ago? T

‏hat next time, we should have a proper match.”

At that moment, Moyong Bi-san felt a chill run down his spine for the first time since becoming the head of the Moyong Family.