The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

There were not few martial artists bearing the Namgung surname.

The former Clan Head Namgung Yu-baek and his son, Clan Head Namgung Won. Even excluding their direct descendants, this was still the case.

Namgung Shin was actually from a collateral branch of a collateral line.

His mother was a Namgung, but she did not practice martial arts. She wasn’t married through a significant inner marriage but had instead brought in a son-in-law from an external merchant family.

The man called his father had a gentle nature and was very fearful. He feared the Namgung Noble Clan so much that he didn’t take the Namgung surname, and even feared his own son who did.

However, the relationship between parent and child was not that bad.

Until one day, his father tried to take the Namgung Noble Clan’s secret information back to his original family and got caught.

Shortly after, Namgung Shin’s parents were imprisoned.

He couldn’t believe the clan would kill his mother, but his father might really die. Namgung Shin believed so.

Half out of his mind with worry, Namgung Shin was summoned by a senior of the clan.

He had no idea that the rarely seen former Clan Head would be waiting for him there.

Namgung Yu-baek closely examined Namgung Shin’s physique and then said, “I will give you an opportunity.”

“…An opportunity, sir?”

“Yes, the opportunity to atone for your parents’ crimes and to elevate Namgung in times of emergency.”

At that time, he couldn’t understand what that meant.

He had no choice but to accept that “opportunity” for the sake of his parents.

But later on, Namgung Shin regretted accepting the former Clan Head’s proposal.

Even if it meant letting his parents die.

The fish that lived in the cave lake had no eyes.

They were pale like corpses and their flesh was mushy. The fish had neither scent nor taste.

But hunger was the best spice. Namgung Shin diligently chewed and swallowed the fish.

Tiny bones scraped the roof of his mouth, tasting faintly of blood.

With a gulp of blood-mixed saliva, the meal was over.

“Let’s start now.”

Yi-gang did not give any more time.

So, Namgung Shin picked up his sword.

The condition was not to use the Blue Lightning True Qi. It wasn’t impossible.

Even without the ominous power emanating from the gem embedded in his chest, he was confident he could defeat Moyong Jin.

For the first time, the swords clashed.

Crash!

The power imbued in Moyong Jin’s sword was stronger than expected.

Feeling his sword being pushed back, Namgung Shin was taken aback.

However, he prided himself on being the most diligent in practicing swordsmanship among all the successors.

The Emperor King Sword Style he had mastered flowed out majestically.

Moyong Jin’s sword thrusted towards Namgung Shin’s solar plexus.

Namgung Shin did not dodge. Not sparing his body was also one of his characteristics.

Such an approach usually caused the young successors of the orthodox factions to panic unconsciously.

Even if they didn’t show their discomfort on their faces, the sharpness of their swords tended to falter.

In an instant, Namgung Shin pushed Moyong Jin’s sword, which had lost its force, with the back of his own sword.

Crack—

The blades of the swords slid against each other as their bodies came closer.

The sword Moyong Jin was holding was caught by Namgung Shin’s. When the center of gravity was pushed back, the arm would be pushed back as well.

Namgung Shin, without losing his momentum, pushed Moyong Jin.

“Ugh…!”

The strength of the Emperor King Sword Style lay in its relentless advance.

An ancient emperor leading thousands knows not retreat. Standing before an emperor who leads a great army, one’s body was bound to tremble and stiffen.

Moyong Jin’s upper body was fully exposed.

Pointing his sword at the neck, the match would end in Namgung Shin’s victory.

As it had always been.

“You…”

But the look in Moyong Jin’s eyes was not subdued at all.

“Do you think you’re the only one who’s desperate?”

Instead of avoiding, Moyong Jin took a step closer.

He showed no fear, even of his neck being pierced.

In the end, Namgung Shin’s sword cut Moyong Jin’s neck.

Flick—

Droplets of blood spurted out.

However, the sword had only grazed the side of Moyong Jin’s neck shallowly. Moyong Jin, bending his body, charged in.

The price of being off-guard was not light.

Namgung Shin hurriedly tried to recover his sword, but the flow of the Emperor King Sword Style had already been broken.

Now it was time for Moyong Jin’s Star Cloud Sword Technique to shine.

Unlike the Emperor King Sword Style, the Star Cloud Sword Technique was neither fierce nor tyrannical.

The sword technique, created following the orbit of constellations, was delicate.

It was majestic and expansive. It wasn’t as bright as the sun, but the stars embroidered the entire sky.

Just as one cold not avoid the starlight in the sky, it was impossible to evade the spread Star Cloud Sword Technique executed with extreme speed.

“This is the sword of Moyong!”

The swords of the Namgung Clan and the Moyong Clan were not well matched.

The vigor of the Emperor King Sword Style broke the momentum before the Star Cloud Sword Technique could display its delicate intricacies.

However, Moyong Jin managed not to be subdued.

His sword sharply targeted Namgung Shin’s vital points.

Clang- Clang- Clang!

Sparks flew continuously as Namgung Shin was pushed back.

Gradually, Namgung Shin’s body lowered, and Moyong Jin’s sword came from above.

Was it Namgung Shin’s illusion that the glow-worms adorning the ceiling looked just like starlight?

Eventually, Moyong Jin’s sword broke through Namgung Shin’s defense.

“Never like that time…!”

The cold blade was directed at Namgung Shin’s face.

Just as he had cut Moyong Tak’s face. Was Moyong Jin intending to repeat the same act?

But Moyong Jin did not do so.

The tip of the sword scratched Namgung Shin’s forehead and stopped.

A drop of blood trickled down, but the face was not cut.

Moyong Jin successfully stopped his sword at Namgung Shin’s forehead.

“…”

“The Star Cloud Sword Technique is not a vulgar sword that cannot control its own power. Unlike you back then.”

Namgung Shin had not held back when he fought Moyong Tak.

After cutting the face of a senior martial artist and being splattered with blood, he had been tormented for a long time.

Moyong Jin’s swordsmanship was clearly more advanced than Namgung Shin’s had been at that time.

Namgung Shin realized unintentionally.

The Moyong Tak he had fought must have held back. There must have been several opportunities to cut Namgung Shin’s body before his face was cut.

“…I won,” Moyong Jin said, as if to confirm, and then sheathed his sword.

Namgung Shin froze, kneeling on one knee.

He had not thought he would never lose in his lifetime. But this was his first defeat since he had the Blue Eye Gem embedded in his chest and awakened the Blue Lightning True Qi.

Even though he had not used the Blue Lightning True Qi, this was an unexpected turn of events.

Cold sweat streamed down.

It was an all too unfamiliar feeling.

“…Ugh.”

Yes, that was the identity of the feeling of defeat.

He had not cared about his pride as a martial artist, but perhaps such a thing had existed in his heart all along.

“Are you frustrated?” Yi-gang asked.

“You look like you shouldn’t be opening your mouth after losing a match.”

“…”

“Do you think you lost because I imposed a restriction, preventing you from using all your power?”

Namgung Shin did not answer.

It was exactly as Yi-gang pointed out. If he had used the Blue Lightning True Qi, he was confident he could have beaten Moyong Jin.

“Then try using it.”

“…What?”

“Try it. I will use it too.”

“You will too…?”

The Blue Lightning True Qi was the exclusive secret technique of the Namgung Clan. No, only a selected few among the Namgung could use it.

And among the current young descendants, only Namgung Shin had the secret ability to use it.

“You said Blue Lightning True Qi. Do you know exactly what that is?”

But Yi-gang really drew his sword.

Namgung Shin stood up. The previous match had ended quickly and cleanly, so he had no issues with stamina or internal energy.

“The power to imbue the sword with lightning.”

“You’re wrong.”

“…How would you, not being a Namgung, know anything to say that!”

“I may not be a Namgung, but there was a Namgung around me.”

Namgung Shin furrowed his eyebrows. He couldn’t understand what Yi-gang was saying.

His gaze suddenly shifted behind Yi-gang.

His eyes widened. There was a fox sitting there.

A fox with shimmering blue eyes.

Upon closer inspection, it was a doll. However, it was equally strange for a doll to be placed here.

“Do you know someone named Namgung Seo-ryeon?”

“…I do not.”

It was a name Namgung Shin had never heard before.

“Right, I figured as much.”

Yi-gang had heard from the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon. The original name of Cheong Seo-ho, given by the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon, was Namgung Seo-ryeon.

It was a truth that had been thoroughly erased more than half a century ago.

A daughter of the Namgung turned into a demon.

And the jewel she had been carrying within her body was now embedded in a descendant’s body for martial arts purposes.

How could such a violation of filial piety exist?

“The Heavenly Thunder Bell is not just a technique to store lightning in the sword.”

In front of him, he could not admit that what he had learned was not the Heavenly Thunder Bell but the Blue Lightning True Qi.

Driven by an instinctive sense of crisis, he summoned the Blue Lightning True Qi.

He imbued his sword with inner Qi.

When the inner Qi was filled to its limit, the sword would soon resonate with the True Qi.

Rumble—

This sound, resembling thunder, could only be produced by using the Blue Lightning True Qi.

However, what happened next shocked Namgung Shin.

Yi-gang had also made the Sword Cry before.

But that sound wasn’t just a normal Sword Cry…

Zzzzzzzzt-!

Like a thunderstorm, the lightning striking an ancient tree hundreds of years old with a tremendous roar.

The Sword Cry produced by Yi-gang made this underground lake resound deafeningly.

Even amidst the roaring sound that vibrated the eardrums, Yi-gang’s voice was clearly audible.

“The true power is in embodying the power of lightning within oneself. It’s not just about storing it in the sword.”

The Heavenly Thunder Bell was taught by the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon.

Passing this secret technique to Namgung Shin was because it was what she had wanted.

Out of pity for her descendant.

“So, she wanted it passed on.”

Namgung Shin was not listening to Yi-gang’s words.

Just gritting his teeth, his skin splitting and bleeding as he converted yokai energy into lightning Qi.

Until the Blue Lightning True Qi gathered in the sword reached its peak and began to emit a blue light.

At a young age, just reaching adulthood, Namgung Shin was forming sword energy.

And then, Yi-gang’s figure blurred.

There was no need for sword energy to cut a person.

What was the use of imitating a Peak master by pouring out an enormous amount of true Qi?

Namgung Shin couldn’t catch up to the speed of Yi-gang, who had directly received the power of the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon and embodied lightning in his body.

Sparks flew.

Yi-gang had moved past Namgung Shin.

“Cough!”

The blue sword energy that was about to form on Namgung Shin’s sword dispersed like mist.

He knelt down and then collapsed entirely.

The pain caused his lungs to contract, and instead of words, only rough breaths were exhaled.

Yi-gang sheathed his sword.

The Shooting Star Fang was not stained with blood.

What had struck and passed through Namgung Shin’s abdomen was not the blade but the broad side of the sword.

For a moment, he had raised the power to the third star of the Heavenly Thunder Bell.

The most power Yi-gang could exert.

It was a burdensome task that exhausted all the true Qi he had accumulated over a fortnight, draining all strength from his body immediately after use.

But he did not show it.

There were things he needed to hear from Namgung Shin, and messages that needed to be passed on.

“Now, speak.”

Turning around, he saw Namgung Shin face-planted on the ground.

In front of him sat the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon, the fox doll.

They seemed to be looking into each other’s eyes.

“It’s not for an outsider like me to ask. The one who truly has the right to hear it desires to know.”

Namgung Shin, dazed, was blankly staring at the fox doll in front of him.

“Your great-aunt is asking.”

“Great… aunt?” Namgung Shin muttered blankly.

He could hardly believe the words that the fox wagging its tail and fidgeting in front of him was his great-aunt.

Moreover, the fox seemed to be getting angry for some reason.

「Don’t call me that!」

Even though he could see her, he couldn’t hear her voice scolding Yi-gang.

「I’m no great-aunt!」

Namgung Shin felt as if he were dreaming.

Perhaps that’s why his heart, which had been bolted shut, opened a little.

Enough to speak of things he had never been able to say in his lifetime.

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