The Sword Emperor's Way of Establishing the Namgung Clan

Chapter 43 - Severed Meridians (2)

A collapsed woman and a man trying to protect her.

Martial artists aiming for them.

And Namgung Jun and Lee Se-ha, blocking them in turn.

The peaceful inn had become a pandemonium in an instant. In a way, it was also a daily occurrence for an inn.

The other customers retreated far away to create distance, and the waiter and the innkeeper had at some point disappeared into the kitchen and were not showing themselves.

As cases of martial artists starting a pandemonium inside an inn were so frequent, the current situation seemed very familiar to them.

“Who the hell are you bastards!”

“Get out of the way!”

“So you’re trying to sprinkle ash on a perfectly cooked meal.”

The martial artists, who had been suppressed by the auras of the master and disciple, each drew up their internal energy and resisted.

As they did, their voices grew louder, and it seemed they were trusting in their numbers.

Even with the angered martial artists before them, the master and disciple quickly exchanged opinions via a telepathic message.

—Master.

—Yes. I felt it too.

As the woman had collapsed, a faint cold energy had spread.

It was to the extent that an ordinary person would not have been able to feel it, but a martial artist with a sensitive Qi Sense could feel it right away.

And the conversation between the man and the other martial artists as well.

The master and disciple were thinking of the same thing.

—Furthermore, looking at the comprehensive symptoms that have appeared in her body, they are very similar to when I have an attack.

—I think so too. I will block them, so you go and check, Jun.

As Lee Se-ha stealthily stepped forward, Namgung Jun, who had nodded, approached the collapsed woman.

At that, the gaze of the man, whose eyes were already wide with fury, was shot toward Namgung Jun.

It was the moment the man was about to use his hands on Namgung Jun.

—Was the collapsed lady born with severed meridians?

At Namgung Jun’s telepathic message, the hand of the man holding the jade vials flinched.

Though he had not heard an answer, Namgung Jun realized that his guess was correct.

—I was born with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians in a man’s body. That is why I have learned an internal art that handles Hot Yang Energy. I can suppress the lady’s Cold Yin Energy, if only for a short while.

At Namgung Jun’s telepathic message, the man opened his mouth without realizing it.

“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?”

Namgung Jun, who had expected the man’s reaction, held out his wrist. Seeing this, the man’s hand trembled slightly.

It was extremely rare for a martial artist to offer up their own wrist. This was because one could have their lifeline seized if they made a mistake.

Despite this, the expression of Namgung Jun, who had held out his wrist, was very tranquil.

The man, who had realized the meaning of this, took Namgung Jun’s Pulse Gate and sent his internal energy flowing.

Along with a clear Hot Yang Energy, a chilly cold energy leaked out from the intermittently blocked meridians.

It was certain. There was no room for doubt.

‘Truly, severed meridians? How can it be in a man’s body?’

The man, who had withdrawn his internal energy, glanced at Namgung Jun with eyes full of astonishment. But Namgung Jun was only observing the woman who was suffering from the attack.

“I will take that as your permission.”

“Hmm.”

Namgung Jun, who had confirmed his own Nine Yin Severed Meridians to the man, took the collapsed woman’s Pulse Gate.

In the middle of all this, the expression of the man clad in the green grand robe was complex.

It was not a look of complete trust in Namgung Jun, but one of acknowledging that he had no other way.

Crackle!

The lightning energy writhing from Namgung Jun’s fingertips began to suppress the Cold Yin Energy that was rampant in the woman’s body.

As the internal energy of the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Art circulated through her meridians, Namgung Jun became certain that the woman had been born with severed meridians.

‘The Three Yin Severed Meridians.’

Though it was a case of severed meridians, compared to Namgung Jun’s Nine Yin Severed Meridians, it was a much more favorable condition. Only three meridians were blocked, and the Cold Yin Energy being emitted was also much weaker.

Thanks to that, he was able to smoothly suppress the Cold Yin Energy with his lightning energy alone. Namgung Jun, who had confirmed the severed meridians, began to generate the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Art in earnest.

VROOOOM!

‘Go straight down from the Kidney Shu Point to the Corridor Walk Point, then detour from the Hidden Gate Point to the Heart Shu Point and press down on the cold energy.’

The Qi circulation path that Namgung Jun was employing was only the beginning. An ever more elaborate and complex circulation of internal energy spread out as if taking root in all corners of the young woman’s meridians.

Namgung Jun, through having experienced his own attacks until now, had realized the knack for suppressing the Cold Yin Energy of severed meridians with relative ease.

As he mixed this experience with the experience of circulating internal energy as the Sword Emperor, he was able to construct a new technique for responding to the attacks.

Namgung Jun repeatedly filled and moved through her meridians, circulating his lightning energy according to the technique he had refined until now.

Around the time the fifth cycle was completed, the woman’s complexion gradually began to grow calm.

But Namgung Jun did not let his guard down and did not stop his circulation of internal energy. He scraped out all the Cold Yin Energy that was hiding at the very ends of her meridians and suppressed it with his lightning energy.

‘Just a little more.’

At some point, the woman’s trembling body had calmed, and her complexion had also returned to its original color.

He could tell that the attack had stopped without having to separately check her pulse. At this, the mouth of the man, who had been watching while biting his nails, fell open.

“Truly!”

Namgung Jun, who withdrew his internal energy from the woman’s body and opened his eyes, had beads of sweat trickling down his sharp jawline.

The Cold Yin Energy of the Three Yin Severed Meridians, said to be inferior to the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

Even so, the task of forcibly calming another’s attack and pushing out the Cold Yin Energy was not easy.

‘The consumption of internal energy is severe. Still, it was a great help.’

Calming the attack of the Three Yin Severed Meridians had also become another valuable experience for Namgung Jun.

Though it would not be exactly the same as his own Nine Yin Severed Meridians, he would be able to use this as a foundation to sharpen his techniques for handling internal energy.

While Namgung Jun was calming the woman’s attack, Lee Se-ha faced the martial artists who had stormed the inn.

THWACK!

A blue flash of light extended long, following Lee Se-ha’s double palm strike.

Two martial artists, who were struck in the solar plexus and collarbone respectively by a single move of the Heavenly Thunder Palm Style, were simultaneously slammed into a table.

But the other martial artists, as if they did not care, were rushing in with fire in their eyes.

“Surround her!”

“Does this wench know who we are!”

The martial artists moved separately and encircled Lee Se-ha as if to besiege her.

Though they each appeared to be individuals who walked the Martial World alone without belonging to a faction, they skillfully coordinated their combat distances and induced a joint attack.

Crackle!

Lee Se-ha still did not draw her sword.

The blue lightning-thunderbolt that flowed down along the black grand robe she wore on top only became clearer.

Clang-clang-clang!

Pouring out knife-hand strikes and palm strikes alternately, she fiercely struck away the rushing weapons.

The branching lightning energy writhed like dozens of streaks of iron chains and subdued the martial artists one by one.

Lee Se-ha showed movements that were on a completely different level from the martial artists in the inn.

The expressions of the martial artists, who felt that their joint attack was not working in the slightest, were colored with impatience.

“A black grand robe and blue lightning energy! Don’t tell me!”

“Why is the Wandering Princess of the Black Cloud suddenly in a place like this!”

“Damn it! Who the hell would know?”

A few of them, as if they had recognized Lee Se-ha, were rushing in but came to an urgent halt and showed signs of fleeing. But the slender, jade-like hands that extended with great speed did not permit their escape.

Crackle!

The streaks of lightning, which bloomed richly as if a tree branch were extending, held a resounding sound of thunder.

“Keu-heuk!”

Every time the windows of the inn that showed the outside flashed with a blue light, the martial artists collapsed in sequence.

By the time her fluttering black hair had slowly settled, there were no martial artists left standing around Lee Se-ha.

All the martial artists were in a state of being knocked unconscious, with one of their arms or legs broken.

Lee Se-ha, who had lightly subdued the martial artists, observed Namgung Jun.

As Namgung Jun nodded his head as if to say he was alright, Lee Se-ha raised her voice as she looked toward the inside of the inn.

“Sorry for the commotion. This should be more than enough for the food and the repair costs.”

Lee Se-ha, who had thrown the money pouch from within her robes toward the inside of the kitchen, looked at the woman who had still not regained her senses.

“Let’s move for now.”

“Yes, Master.”

The man, who had been hesitating at the exchange of glances between the master and disciple as to what to do, held the woman in his arms and nodded his head.

“Let us go together.”

……

Namgung Jun’s party hid themselves in a nearby cave.

“First, I would like to offer my thanks.”

The man, who had spread a blanket on the inner side of the cave and laid the woman down, bowed his head and paid his respects.

“My name is Tang Bo-seon. My younger sister’s name is Tang Ye-jin. We have come from Sichuan Province.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Young Hero Tang.”

Namgung Jun also returned the courtesy and introduced himself and Lee Se-ha. Once they had exchanged names, Tang Bo-seon asked about the thing he was most curious about.

“It may be a discourteous question, but what are the exact symptoms of your severed meridians, Young Hero Namgung?”

“It is the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.”

“The Nine Yin Severed Meridians!”

Tang Bo-seon’s eyes went round.

Tang Ye-jin was suffering this much with only the Three Yin Severed Meridians. But he could not believe that Namgung Jun, who was born with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, looked this healthy.

‘Is it because he is a man born with yang energy, and because he has learned a Hot Yang Art? Even so, the pain must be severe.’

The boy before him must have also gone through a complex story that he could not easily fathom. Tang Bo-seon could only make a rough guess.

‘Wait.’

Tang Bo-seon, who was staring intently at Namgung Jun, suddenly realized.

That the Red-Veined Fire Ginseng could also be of great help to Namgung Jun, who was born with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

On top of that, did Namgung Jun not possess an internal energy of extreme yang?

It would not be strange for him to draw his sword right now to obtain the Red-Veined Fire Ginseng.

As Tang Bo-seon flinched with a sense of unease, Namgung Jun folded his hands.

“Do not worry. I do not covet the Red-Veined Fire Ginseng.”

“How can that be? Is this not a matter of life and death? Though you may not be able to cure your Nine Yin Severed Meridians with the Red-Veined Fire Ginseng, you will surely be able to extend your lifeline.”

Namgung Jun stroked the hilt of the sword at his waist.

“When one lives with a sword in hand, are we not always standing on the line of death? It is not something new.”

Namgung Jun’s clear gaze and his voice, filled with conviction, pierced deep into Tang Bo-seon’s chest.

Ever since he had obtained the Red-Veined Fire Ginseng, he had looked at the martial artists who appeared around him with suspicious eyes, and it was the same even now.

Despite this, Tang Bo-seon could not doubt Namgung Jun’s spotlessly clear gaze.

Though he could not know the exact reason, there was a certain clarity in Namgung Jun’s bearing.

‘This boy genuinely thinks that way.’

That death is the closest thing to a martial artist.

For that reason, it seemed Namgung Jun was focused not on how long he lived, but how he lived.

Namgung Jun looked back at Lee Se-ha.

“And if I were to prolong my lifeline through such a cowardly method, my Master would be greatly disappointed.”

Lee Se-ha let out a bright smile and merely gave a sharp nod.

Lee Se-ha, who was gently caressing Namgung Jun’s shoulder, asked.

“If a trust has been formed, I would like to hear the detailed circumstances.”

“You two are already my benefactors. What could there be to hide.”

Tang Bo-seon, who had caught his breath, opened his mouth.

“An old acquaintance gave me information about the Red-Veined Fire Ginseng, so I came all the way to Anhui Province. And I found it after much hardship, but that was where the problem began.”

“Martial artists who had noticed the existence of the Red-Veined Fire Ginseng appeared.”

Tang Bo-seon checked the jade vials and hidden weapons inside his green grand robe and added his next words.

“To be precise, the Martial Strike Sect was the first to notice, and at the Martial Strike Sect’s movement, the surrounding martial artists caught the scent and began to follow us like flies.”

The Martial Strike Sect.

The Unorthodox Faction that wielded the strongest influence in Zhejiang Province. It was also a great sect that belonged to the Eight Great Unorthodox Powers.

Namgung Jun mulled over the name, the Eight Great Unorthodox Powers.

‘The Eight Great Unorthodox Powers. They said it was the name for the great Unorthodox Faction sects that exist in the current Martial World.’

If the Orthodox Faction had the Three Sects and One Union and the Five Great Mountain Sword Sects, then the Unorthodox Faction had the Eight Great Unorthodox Powers.

Just like the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult, they were one of the major adversaries that the Azure Sky Society mainly faced.

‘We’re clashing with them sooner than I thought.’

As the name of the Martial Strike Sect came up, the conical hat of Lee Se-ha, who had been listening quietly, rose slightly.

“Do you know who from the Martial Strike Sect has made a move?”

“I have not seen them directly, but according to the rumors, the Second Young Master and the martial artists under his command are on the move.”

“Fortunately, it seems their main fighting force has not appeared.”

Tang Bo-seon nodded at Lee Se-ha’s muttering.

Thanks to his family’s secret arts of poison and hidden weapons, and his Lightness Skill, he had somehow managed to endure, but if those who were chasing him had been the elite of the Martial Strike Sect, he would not have been able to even make it this far.

However, his escape was now reaching its limit.

‘I have almost run out of poison and hidden weapons. I only need to go a little further.’

It was when Tang Bo-seon was lost in thought with a face full of concern.

Tang Ye-jin, who had been sleeping in the inner part of the cave, showed a sign of life.

“Older Brother?”

Tang Ye-jin, who had lost consciousness due to the attack of her Three Yin Severed Meridians, had finally come to her senses.