Chapter 35

“A shining talent.”
Elder Eight looked at the Grand Duke who had won the sword competition. He had been labeled as a wretch by everyone, and now he was able to shake off his bitterness by demonstrating his overwhelming prowess and superior abilities.
I thought it was pebbles on the road, but it was diamonds.
Nam Gung-Soon was the one who noticed the most.
“……How long have you been holding a sword?”
“Half a year.”
“……In half a year, you became a sword master. What an unbelievable achievement.”
Listening to the Iron Blood Sword Lord’s conversation with my servant, I realized that the Grand Duke’s talent was special.
Nangong Shun liked talented people.
Martial arts is only for the talented.
Even if you spend the same amount of time learning.
Even if you spend the same amount of time trying.
The difference in talent divided the ranks.
Nam Gung Soon’s path, which he hadn’t thought much about until the sword meeting, was clear.
The first Confucius.
Confucius 2 with the Sichuan Tang family in the background.
And the Third Gongfu with another Sixth Gongfu in the background.
I didn’t want to entrust myself to the poor future of the first duke.
But I couldn’t just join the second and third dukes’ supportive factions later, knowing that I wouldn’t have a guaranteed position.
Therefore, I supported the fourth duke, Namgunggae, but even that was not enough.
The fourth duke’s dog, who was neither him nor me, was literally just a child, and I could see that even without seeing the end of it.
So.
“If you can’t beat ’em, break ’em,” they say. Elder Eight. ”
Mrs. Ping’s hand moved as if it were plausible. The way she drew the twisted Great Duke, and forced herself to write the Emperor’s Sword Form, which she only knew the beginning of.
He wanted a surname that would solidify his position.
“The Emperor Sword Form, a martial art of the Southern Palace that doesn’t need to be explained.”
Until the Grand Duke revealed it.
“At the same time, it’s also a martial art with a twist.”
“The fact that there are three copies suggests that someone has not only secretly transcribed it, but that they’ve done something to it, like twisting it. It will surely become poisonous when cooked.”
The conspiracy of the Namgung family revealed at the sword council.
The details were drawn by Namgungsoon and myself.
At the same time, Mrs. Pai was captured, and the Fourth Duke’s dog was mesmerized.
They will probably never be able to lead a normal life in the Southern Palace again.
At the same time, rumors circulated that someone was behind this. After all, Mrs. Ping wouldn’t be able to play around with the secret rank all by herself.
Suspicion soon turned to Nam Gung-soon. Elder Eight was her only supporter, and at the same time, he said that he would be able to track her down by examining the handwriting on the billet.
He reached out to Namgungsoon.
“Isn’t it unfair?”
It was Elder Nam Gung-bon.
“You did what you had to do. The one who ordered it and committed it is the black tiger who fulfilled his promise to Mrs. Pang.”
It was a sweet story, but I didn’t like it. However.
“They’re an insignificant faction anyway, and they’re heading to the Green Forest with a small group of people. It won’t be surprising if something happens.”
At the mention of destroying the Grand Duke, Namgungsoon grew impatient, his eyes shining.
Namgungsun, more important than your own safety.
“I want to make that insignificant gemstone shine.”
The Grand Duke’s humble background was matched only by his talent.
The iron-blooded Anbaek supported the Grand Duke, but there were only external forces, no internal forces to support the Grand Duke.
Goro.
He could do it himself. A latent, deeply hidden desire burst forth.
It was unpleasant that the gazes of the Nine Elders and Ten Elders kept falling on the Grand Duke, but it didn’t matter. It would be far more beneficial for the Grand Duke to choose me over them if he had no inner drive.
A smart Grand Duke would know.
Furthermore.
This is Elder Nangongbon and the Four Elders.
As long as the Southern Palace is still in existence, the seat of the Grand Duke will remain unrivaled and untouchable.
It is the seat of an unprecedented patriarch in the Southern Palace Family.
One.
“A blacksmith.”
Can you be satisfied with that?
The Grand Duke may be a mature man beyond his years.
He is still only fifteen years old, and if you can become a mental support for such a boy.
When he becomes a patriarch, the seat he will sit in is.
“Elder Tae Sang.”
Gaju above Gaju.
Elder above elders.
The seat that would control the Southern Palace.
That was the seat he was aiming for.
* * *
“Take my hand. Grand Duke.”
Facing those eyes that glowed with greed, I could not help but feel sick to my stomach.
Among the countless human figures, those eyes that were blinded by greed had already gone bad.
One of the three poisons.
And one of the Ten Evils.
The disease of greed, deeply rooted in the heart, had taken control of Nan Gongsun.
“Excessive greed.”
“Why did you go to the elder instead of to me? What more is left for an old tiger? If it were up to me, I could make you a vassal.”
I realized that Nam Gungshun’s gaze was looking at something beyond Gazoo. I shook my head, realizing that he was discussing and indulging in an idealization of what he couldn’t have.
“Don’t cross the line. Elder Elder.”
“Do not cross the line, Elder Eight.
You will not be able to wear the surname of the Southern Palace,
You will never set foot in Anhui again.
His fears are unfounded.
“You who have no roots, the only way you can become a patriarch is by joining hands with me, isn’t it? You have talent, and I have the power to fill it, and I can make you so great that the second and third dukes won’t dare to cross it.”
Nam Gung-Soon’s greed knew no bounds; greed beyond measure hid in the name of instinct, and controlled him.
I drew my sword, and at the same time, I drew my thunderbolt.
“Grand Duke, let me speak to you.”
It was Black Tiger. At him, I shook my head.
“It can’t be stopped, that thing. Like.”
I raised the thunderbolt on the tip of my sword.
“Like the wheels of a wagon that has begun to roll downhill, unable to control itself, unable to break free of the bridle.”
At my words, Black Tiger’s dark eyes narrowed.
“There’s a reason you’re the elder and I’m not.”
Namgungsoon took a step forward with an empty air. On the outside, he was the epitome of a true martial artist, and his demeanor was fitting. Sometimes he looked like a bachelor, sometimes like a master.
His benevolent smile made anyone who looked at him feel like they were being kind.
“Black Ho, Dong Hui. You two draw your swords, and Wu Wen immediately follow your uncle’s path to help him. As best you can.”
I didn’t fall in love with the sight. I spoke in a serious voice, just as the South Palace Wall of my previous life had led the way on the battlefield.
At my stern expression, the three men heeded my words and did what they had to do.
Black Ho and Dong Hui raised the tips of their swords, and Kang Wumen began running in the direction of An Baek’s disappearance without a word.
“What a shame. Hana.”
Namgungsoon’s gaze shifted to Kang Woo-moon, who was stepping behind me with a smirk on his face, and then to Black Ho and Donghwi, who were both holding their swords, eyes alert.
“Since you seem to think you have something to lean on, we’ll see what happens when we get rid of them. Hoo-hoo.”
A clang.
The sound was eerie. There was an unrecognizable flicker of swordplay, and blood splashed on the tip of Nan Gongsun’s blade.
Blood in the blink of an eye.
I gritted my teeth.
“When elders become elders, they lay down their swords one by one and live to serve their families. But that’s a waste of time, isn’t it? I don’t want to live like that.”
Namgungshun, who was born with the surname Namgung, became an Eight Elder. He could only assume that he was more skilled than the ten elders.
The tip of his sword is as sharp as it has been for many years.
With a light slash, he cut through a dozen or so rainstorms.
Food for thought.
With a large slash across his back, he let out a pained groan and rolled forward.
His hair stood on end.
Elder Eight Elder Nam Gongsun was the strongest person I had ever faced in person, in this life and in my previous life.
“Don’t raise your sword against me. You don’t want to hurt my feelings unnecessarily.”
“How shameless of you to use the surname Namgung. Don’t say it anymore.”
“Hmph.”
Namgung Sun smiled instead of answering.
“Seoguk, seoguk, seoguk, seoguk!
Namgung threw a sword that didn’t have the weight worthy of his name.
“Ouch…….”
“Damn…….”
I couldn’t even say anything.
Three sword strikes sliced through the air, splattering blood on my shoulder, slicing a diagonal line through Black Tiger’s abdomen, and slashing at Dong Hui’s calf as he tried to advance on Kang Wumen.
“You can’t get stronger quickly by following Elder Sun’s old-fashioned sword techniques. How long will you continue with your old-fashioned methods?”
Nan Gongsun took a step forward, and I exploded the thunderbolt that was still at the tip. The thunderbolt energy that had begun to linger at the tip of the sword flowed down the hilt.
“You’ve absorbed the Thunderbolt’s energy. Haoh.”
I swung my sword at Namgungsoon, who admired it briefly. The sword wind mixed with a faint thunderous energy. Seven flashes of thirty-three lightning bolts exploded. At the same time, countless stars rained down from the tip of the sword, rubbing against the ground and sweeping away.
Nangong Shun’s sword met the outpouring of sword qi.
Kagagak! Kwaang!
Sparks flew here and there, and Nam Gungshun retreated a few steps in the instantaneous momentum.
“You’ve grown so strong in such a short time. It’s only been a month, or have you been hiding it?”
A look of curiosity and interest filled Nam Gongsun’s eyes.
Then.
Swoosh.
A swooping blow from behind my sword struck Nam Gung-soon in the side, leaving a light scratch. I couldn’t make a deep wound because she instinctively twisted her side to avoid it.
“……Is it a black sword?”
A small dagger was clutched in the hand of Black Ho, who usually used a sword rather than a sword.
I sighed heavily at the sight.
We’d never been in sync before, but we had trust in each other, and I knew that the attack he’d just delivered would be a good one.
Even if it wasn’t fatal.
“You two are quite the pair.”
The sight of Namgungsoon standing there, looking so unharmed, made me curse.
Damn it.
* * *
“I always wondered where you came from. Now I know. You’re from Salsu.”
“That’s …….”
“After hiding it for so long, there was no other way but to reveal it, huh.”
At Namgungsoon’s leisure, Black Ho spoke up in a cold voice.
“I told you to stop.”
“Didn’t you also abandon my master and leave to find a new one?”
As Nam Gung Soon spoke, the three-pronged aura that Black Ho extended was dark and sinister, aimed only at the wound that would kill.
Pababat!
With a smile on his lips, Nam Gongsun brushed off Black Lake’s dagger with his sleeve, while at the same time, with a swift movement, he kept a distance that the dagger couldn’t reach.
“I’m on my way to receive my punishment.”
“How convenient. Even if you pay for your sins, do you think the family will understand what you’ve done? One knows and the other doesn’t.”
Nan Gongsun clicked his tongue and looked at Black Lake.
“If Nan Gongsun can’t become the head of the family, you’re nothing more than an existence that needs to disappear. Follow me. Follow me and make Namgungban a province, and you will live, and I will live.”
Black Lake’s sharp dagger stopped.
So be it.
The corners of Nan Gongsun’s mouth twitched into a smile at the sight of Black Lake.
“I’ll make Namgungban my province. With you and Iron Blood Sword City’s help, and Nangong Ban’s talent, he will surely become a provincial governor……!”
Black Lake’s words were muffled as he listened to Nangong Shun’s voice.
“In the end.”
“……hmm?”
“After all, I’m struggling to live.”
Black Ho looked at Nam Gung-soon’s gradually distorted expression and released a black aura that spread like a cloud from the tip of his dagger.
“I only came here to save my own life, and now you’re nothing but a hypocrite and a fugitive.”
Hiss.
With those words, Namgungsoon’s calm face turned into a demonic evil.