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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Chapter 48
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‘Grandpa! Grandpa! Look! I learned sword techniques from Uncle Black Dragon today!’
The child first held a wooden sword when she was about four years old.
She didn't even know how to properly hold a sword, spinning around with it; that image is still vivid in his mind.
If she ever fell and got a scratch, she would usually burst into tears.
Yet, she would still run to him, saying she liked it, and pester him for sword practice.
The child who returned after eight years had become an assassin.
And not just any assassin, but one meant to destroy the Namgung.
“This grandpa is sorry I couldn’t find you sooner.”
Namgung Mucheon’s expression was bitter as he gently stroked the hair of his granddaughter, who slept peacefully in his arms.
The child’s martial prowess surpassed his expectations. His heart ached thinking of how much she must have suffered to achieve it.
How anxious she must have been, hiding her sword techniques even after returning to the Namgung.
Now he could understand why the child had been so uneasy even after coming back to the Namgung.
Raised as an assassin to destroy the Namgung, how anxious she must have been, knowing there were forces targeting it.
“Mmm…”
The child stirred in his arms, her brow furrowed.
Whatever she was dreaming, her expression was deeply troubled.
Namgung Mucheon infused a little more of his energy into the child’s body.
At that, the child’s expression miraculously relaxed.
Soon, the child slowly opened her eyes.
After blinking blankly for a moment, the child’s eyes widened as she saw Namgung Mucheon.
*Thud.*
Namgung Mucheon lightly blocked the child’s thrown punch with his palm.
“Did you sleep well?”
The child’s eyes widened further.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright.”
Seolhwa sat up.
She was a little surprised to realize she had been lying in Namgung Mucheon’s arms.
‘Blue Dragon.’
In her dream, Seolhwa killed and killed again on a blood-soaked field.
The faceless figures swarming from all directions were endless, no matter how many she killed, and the dead clung to her ankles.
Then, from somewhere, a blue dragon appeared.
The moment a massive dragon, large enough to cover the sky, roared above her head, the endlessly swarming figures, the spirits clutching her ankles, and even the blood covering the ground vanished completely.
Instantly freed from a hell she couldn’t escape, Seolhwa looked up at the Blue Dragon.
At that moment, someone whispered in her ear.
‘Kill.’
‘That is your target to kill.’
‘Kill it! Now!’
That cruel voice filled her mind.
Seolhwa instinctively threw a punch.
And now.
The moment she saw Namgung Mucheon, the voices tormenting her vanished like mist.
‘My body feels refreshed.’
Just like the dream where the Blue Dragon appeared and cleared everything, her body felt invigorated.
“I’ve completely severed the *amsi*.”
Seolhwa looked back at Namgung Mucheon.
“Try performing *ungijo-sik*. I said I treated your internal injuries, but it’s better for you to confirm it yourself.”
Seolhwa nodded and sat down.
Then, just as she was about to perform *ungijo-sik* using the Namgung’s heart method—
‘…Should I tell him I learned the heart method from Father?’
As that thought crossed her mind and she raised her head, Namgung Mucheon’s voice came a beat sooner.
“It seems you know the Namgung’s martial arts quite well.”
“…!”
Seolhwa froze.
‘In the end… I used it.’
The Namgung Countering Martial Arts were techniques Seolhwa had created in her previous life by studying the Namgung’s martial arts.
Although she hadn’t practiced them in this life, her subconscious had, predictably, brought forth even the martial arts from her previous life.
“Were you raised as an adversary to the Namgung?”
Seolhwa quietly nodded.
“Are there many who learned those martial arts?”
“I personally researched the Namgung’s martial arts and created these techniques myself. I haven’t taught them to anyone.”
In her previous life, her epithet wasn’t *Cheonmyeolgeom* (Heaven-Slaying Sword) for nothing.
A sword that slays the heavens.
It was an epithet she earned by creating martial arts that countered the Namgung’s techniques.
“That’s fortunate.”
Namgung Mucheon stroked his chin.
He let out a hearty laugh.
“…?”
“I understand now why they’re pursuing you. How furious they must be to have lost such a remarkable talent.”
*Hahahaha.*
It was a laugh of both satisfaction and pride.
“Can your martial arts be of help to the Namgung?”
“Help?”
“Your martial arts pierce through the weaknesses of the Namgung’s techniques. While it might not be a big issue for those who have mastered a Namgung martial art, mastering a single technique is no easy feat.”
Seolhwa nodded.
There were even those who dedicated their entire lives to mastering a single martial art.
“Wouldn’t your martial arts serve as a good stimulus to complement those aspects?”
“…!”
Martial arts that counter the Namgung’s techniques. What if those countering arts were used as a negative example to compensate for the Namgung martial arts’ weaknesses?
“Then, the Namgung’s martial arts could advance another step.”
Namgung Mucheon looked at Seolhwa with an appreciative gaze.
“The roots of the Namgung you spoke of might become even firmer.”
Seolhwa was surprised at herself.
She had intended to strengthen the Namgung using her memories from her previous life, so why hadn’t she thought of this?
Preoccupied with hiding her countering martial arts, she had overlooked the fact that these techniques could be used to complement the Namgung’s martial arts.
It seemed that revealing her martial arts to Namgung Mucheon, due to the *amsi* placed on her by Hyeolma, had ironically turned into a blessing.
“Alright.”
Seolhwa nodded repeatedly.
“Yes. I can do it.”
“Good. I’ll tell the Martial Arts Hall Master. He’s an eccentric fellow, but… he’s earnest when it comes to martial arts, so he’ll like it.”
‘Martial Arts Hall Master. Namgung Mugang.’
Seolhwa recalled Namgung Mugang, whom she had seen in her previous life.
He was a large man, like Namgung Cheongsan, Namgung Mucheon’s third son, and was Namgung Mucheon’s younger brother.
He was jovial and warlike, similar to Namgung Cheongsan, but one difference was his love for alcohol.
‘I remember his nose being red every time I saw him.’
His martial prowess was similar to, or slightly higher than, that of Seop Mugwang, a peak master.
Although their realms were the same, even within the same realm, skill varied wildly. Namgung Mugang was renowned for his strength even among peak masters.
‘Even in my previous life, he was considered someone who would have reached the *Hwagyeong* realm if not for his drinking.’
He had died by her hand.
On the day Namgung Mucheon died at Hyeolma’s hands, she had poisoned his wine with a dispersing qi-and-blood poison.
Drowned in grief, he didn’t realize there was something wrong with the wine.
Dealing with him, unable to exert his full strength, was easy for Seolhwa.
‘In this life, I should tell him to be careful with alcohol.’
Every single master was a vital force for the Namgung, and she couldn’t easily let someone ranked among the top three in the Namgung die.
“And as for those martial arts, let’s say you researched them after coming to the Namgung.”
Seolhwa tilted her head at Namgung Mucheon’s words.
“Will people believe that?”
That she researched and countered martial arts in such a short time?
“Because you’re my granddaughter.”
“That’s true.”
Being Namgung Mucheon’s granddaughter was a convenient position in many ways.
“Now, perform *ungijo-sik*.”
“Yes.”
Seolhwa straightened her posture and immediately entered *ungijo-sik*.
*Whoosh…*
Around her, the pure energy filling the training chamber began to gather.
Namgung Mucheon sat facing her, watching his granddaughter perform *ungijo-sik*.
Namgung Mucheon’s expression subtly stiffened as he saw the color of the energy rising around the child’s body.
‘Red energy.’
Even though she was clearly cultivating with the Namgung’s heart method, the energy surrounding the child was red.
‘…A blood-red sky, then.’
Countless Namgung members had learned the same heart method, but never before had anyone’s energy been red.
The child’s energy being red must be because death resided within her heart.
‘An ominous color. Yet, isn’t it a sky that inspires more fear than any other?’
The clear blue sky, the cloudy sky, the sunset sky—all are still the sky.
What’s important is merely that the child’s energy follows the energy of the sky.
‘*Changgungdaeyeonsingong* at 5th stage.’
Namgung Mucheon was genuinely astonished.
He had only loosened the reins, yet the child’s achievements were astonishingly remarkable.
Even if she already knew the Namgung’s martial arts, to reach the 5th stage in one go…
Only the color of her energy was red; the energy flowing from the child was otherwise exceptionally pure and clear.
*Whoosh…*
A moment later, Seolhwa, having finished her *ungijo-sik*, opened her eyes.
She looked down at her hands.
“It seems I can’t become a blue sky.”
“The color of the energy isn’t important. What matters is what you do with that power. Your will is already in the heavens, so don’t fret. How is your body?”
“It’s not bad.”
“Then let’s proceed directly with *Beolmo-sesu*.”
“Yes.”
“Lie down.”
Seolhwa blinked.
“Lie down?”
Not sitting?
“*Beolmo-sesu* is a grand technique that puts a lot of strain on the body. It’s best to receive it in the most comfortable position.”
Bones and muscles twist, and acupoints are forcibly opened.
Originally, there were cases where people fainted during *Beolmo-sesu* from unbearable pain. If that happened, it would be dangerous, so it was a grand technique not easily attempted.
‘I suppose I should be glad that she’s numb to pain.’
Namgung Mucheon sat beside his granddaughter, who was lying on the floor.
He chuckled, looking at his granddaughter, who lay there, gazing up at him with clear, bright eyes.
“Close your eyes, but don’t fall asleep.”
“Yes.”
Seolhwa closed her eyes.
Namgung Mucheon’s thick hand was placed on her *dantian*.
“If it hurts, don’t hold back; let it out. If possible, it’s good to feel the flow of *qi*.”
Energy rapidly gathered in Namgung Mucheon’s palm.
Soon after, a deep blue energy burst forth from where Seolhwa’s *dantian* and his hand met, spreading out.
