Chapter 424

Chapter 424 – Finding a Path of Life in the Path of Death (3)

"Heave-ho!"

Namgung Yeong-hwi walked toward the campfire carrying an armful of dry branches. Near the clearing where the campfire was blazing, Namgung Seon-hwi was diligently learning the martial arts of the Namgung Family.

Bang Jin-bo was cooking near the campfire, with Nok Su-bing helping beside him.

Namgung Yeong-hwi put down the branches he had gathered near the campfire and looked around. He was looking for Dam Ho.

"Hehe!"

A smile quickly appeared on Namgung Yeong-hwi's face. Because he spotted Dam Ho sitting alone on a rock not far from the campfire.

Dam Ho's face was shrouded in deep shadow. Because of this, it was impossible to tell whether his eyes were closed or open. Naturally, there was no way to know what he was thinking. Still, Namgung Yeong-hwi thought it didn't matter.

Just the fact that Dam Ho was nearby made Namgung Yeong-hwi feel his heart fill up.

From the perspective of the entire Namgung Family, Dam Ho was no different from a mortal enemy. But the still young Namgung Yeong-hwi didn't think such complex thoughts.

The Namgung Family had already fallen anyway, and it was time to start everything over from nothing. They had to shake off past grudges and only look ahead. In such a situation, there was no need to be antagonistic toward Dam Ho.

Above all, Namgung Yeong-hwi liked Dam Ho.

He spoke extremely little and his gaze was also terrifying, but he still liked him. Just the fact that Dam Ho was nearby made him feel secure.

After hearing Dam Ho's advice, Namgung Yeong-hwi had many conversations with his brother Namgung Seon-hwi. When Namgung Yeong-hwi said there was a way for him to learn martial arts, Namgung Seon-hwi was very confused, but still tried to understand.

The brothers talked for a very long time, and thanks to this, they were able to share some of the huge burden they had been carrying on their shoulders. Namgung Seon-hwi's sense of burden had also decreased.

Namgung Yeong-hwi left Dam Ho to be alone and approached Bang Jin-bo.

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"No!"

"Huh?"

"It's fine, so you rest too."

Bang Jin-bo said with a smile. Even while talking, his hands didn't stop preparing ingredients.

Namgung Yeong-hwi nodded and sat down near the campfire. Then he began practicing the Great Expansion Mind Technique, one of the secret mental cultivation methods of the Namgung Family.

The Great Expansion Mind Technique wasn't the highest-level mental cultivation method of the Namgung Family. It was a mental cultivation method that anyone of direct Namgung Family bloodline could learn. However, there weren't actually many within the Namgung Family who had learned the Great Expansion Mind Technique.

The Great Expansion Mind Technique was created during the early days of the Namgung Family. Its characteristics were that it was stable and had extremely broad versatility.

The foundation was solid enough to convert to any internal energy mental method without difficulty, and it was stable enough that there was almost no risk of qi deviation. Instead, the speed at which internal energy accumulated was very slow.

Over the past several hundred years, the martial world had developed greatly. Many mental cultivation methods had been improved from the past to allow internal energy to accumulate much faster, and the Namgung Family had also followed this trend, creating many internal energy methods that could quickly build up internal power.

Above all, there was a strong preconception that the Great Expansion Mind Technique was old-fashioned martial arts. Because of this, it was precisely the Great Expansion Mind Technique that was being abandoned even within the Namgung Family.

The reason Namgung Yeong-hwi chose the Great Expansion Mind Technique over other highly efficient mental cultivation methods was because he knew of its special effects.

Although the Great Expansion Mind Technique was slow to achieve results, like Shaolin Temple's Muscle-Tendon Classic, it had the effect of changing and training a person's muscles and bones to make them suitable for learning martial arts.

Someone who mastered the Great Expansion Mind Technique could easily learn any martial art of the Namgung Family. There was just the caveat that completing the Great Expansion Mind Technique itself was difficult.

Namgung Yeong-hwi knew very well how terrible his physical condition was. Rather than immediately learning the Namgung Family's ultimate techniques in his current state, he judged it would be much better to seek qualitative improvement of his body through the Great Expansion Mind Technique first, even if it took a little longer.

Above all, because the Great Expansion Mind Technique was stable, it had the advantage of not needing to be practiced in a separately isolated space.

Namgung Yeong-hwi quickly immersed himself in the Great Expansion Mind Technique.

Watching this, Nok Su-bing muttered:

"The brothers are working hard."

"They have reasons to become strong."

"Everyone has reasons to become strong. It's just a difference between knowing how to become strong or not."

"It's also a difference in will. They have both reason and will."

"So they look admirable?"

"Yes!"

Bang Jin-bo answered without a moment's hesitation. Perhaps this appearance of Bang Jin-bo was unexpected, as Nok Su-bing stared intently at his face.

"Hmm! Quite resolute."

"Is that wrong?"

"No! It's just unexpected."

"What is?"

"I just didn't think Jin-bo would make such strong expressions. I thought you'd live gently, saying good things are just good."

"I used to be like that."

"Then you're saying you're not like that now?"

"I can't live like that forever. Life brings moments of choice, and sometimes you have to make harsh choices and say tough things."

Bang Jin-bo turned his head to look at the Namgung brothers. The two brothers were working desperately in their own way.

Although their paths were different and they might not be able to stay together until the end, and might even become enemies someday, Bang Jin-bo still cheered for their efforts.

Nok Su-bing suddenly smiled brightly.

"You're attractive."

"Huh?"

"I suddenly see you as a man."

"I already have someone."

"What?"

"I said I already have someone. I'll just accept your feelings, big sister."

"Tsk! Anyway, good men are snatched up like ghosts know about it. Who is it? Is she prettier than me?"

"Yes!"

Nok Su-bing wrinkled her nose and glared at Bang Jin-bo. But Bang Jin-bo was already focused on cooking. Such behavior from Bang Jin-bo looked slightly annoying.

'Hmm! This is the first time this body has been ignored like this.'

Nok Su-bing was a member of the Four Death Stars. She was one of the greatest rising talents after the Nine Martial Dragons and was famous for her beautiful appearance. She herself was very confident in both her martial arts and looks, and had never been ignored anywhere.

Whether young or old, all men looked at her with admiring eyes, and she was accustomed to such atmosphere. That's why Bang Jin-bo's way of treating her felt refreshing instead.

In the meantime, Bang Jin-bo had finished cooking.

"Alright, it's ready, so everyone gather."

At Bang Jin-bo's call, Dam Ho and the Namgung brothers stopped what they were doing and gathered around the campfire. Bang Jin-bo distributed the food he had just made to them.

"Phew!"

"Delicious."

The Namgung brothers exclaimed in admiration. There hadn't been a single day they hadn't been amazed since traveling with Bang Jin-bo. The food Bang Jin-bo made didn't just fill their stomachs but seemed to heal their tired minds and bodies.

Nok Su-bing also couldn't help but admire Bang Jin-bo's food inwardly. The more she ate Bang Jin-bo's food, the more vitality seemed to flow through her mind and body.

'Really amazing.'

She had to acknowledge Bang Jin-bo.

Creating such food from nothing in this barren wilderness was impossible for any chef in the martial world. It was something only Bang Jin-bo, who had wandered the martial world with Dam Ho for many years, could do.

Nok Su-bing ate the food Bang Jin-bo made deliciously.

"Ah! I'm full. At this rate I'll get fat. This is no joke."

"Hehe!"

"I'll do the dishes."

"Thank you."

"If you eat for free, you have to pay for the meal."

Nok Su-bing waited for everyone to finish eating before doing the dishes. When she finished washing dishes at the stream and returned to the campfire, it was after Bang Jin-bo and the Namgung brothers had gone to bed.

They seemed very tired and were sleeping soundly huddled together near the campfire.

Only Dam Ho sat alone at a place slightly away from the campfire. Although she couldn't see his face because of the darkness, she could sense that he was awake.

Nok Su-bing approached Dam Ho as if bewitched by something. When Nok Su-bing arrived nearby, Dam Ho looked up at her.

"May I sit beside you for a moment?"

"Sit."

"Thank you."

During the journey here, she had never had a proper conversation with Dam Ho. Not only was Dam Ho naturally taciturn, but the atmosphere flowing from him that seemed separated from the world created an invisible wall. So ordinary people found it difficult even to look directly at Dam Ho, let alone approach him.

Although Nok Su-bing possessed martial power at the highest level among rising talents, compared to Dam Ho she was no different from a child. There was that much of an enormous gap between the two.

Nok Su-bing looked at Dam Ho with eyes filled with awe before opening her mouth.

"How did Great Hero Dam learn such profound martial arts?"

"……"

"Ah! It's not anything else, but I heard you learned martial arts at Mount Hua Sect, yet you don't use Mount Hua Sect martial arts at all."

"Why are you curious about that?"

"My master said so. That if Great Hero Dam truly created his own martial arts and became that strong, he must be a peerless martial artist of this generation."

In the darkness, Nok Su-bing's eyes became hazy. Dam Ho looked at her eyes indifferently and asked:

"Who is your master?"

"Master is a very mysterious person."

"……"

"One day he suddenly appeared and taught martial arts to me when I was still young."

Nok Su-bing's hometown was Qinghai Province, far from Central Plains. It was a small village near Kunlun Mountain at the western end of Qinghai Province.

It was such a remote place that besides the Kunlun Sect that existed on Kunlun Mountain, there wasn't a single decent martial arts sect. Naturally, Nok Su-bing was just a young girl far from martial arts.

One day, an old man suddenly appeared in such a place. And he said to Nok Su-bing:

"Child, your talent is very good. Would you like to learn martial arts from me?"

When the old man lightly waved his hand, a large rock turned to dust and a great tree was cut clean through.

To young Nok Su-bing's eyes, the old man looked like an immortal, and naturally she said she would become his disciple. After that, Nok Su-bing learned martial arts from the old man.

The old man called himself the Nameless One.

The Nameless One stayed in the village for only the first year to build Nok Su-bing's foundation, and after that occasionally visited the village to check her progress before leaving.

When about ten years had passed this way, the Nameless One performed an unknown great technique on Nok Su-bing, and after that her internal energy increased dramatically, allowing her to achieve her current level.

"Nameless One?"

"Yes! Master revealed himself that way. And he commanded me to meet Great Hero Dam. Actually, that's the reason for this martial world journey."

"……"

"Strange, isn't it? I thought so too. When I asked why, Master just said I only needed to meet him. That then I would understand."

Nok Su-bing tilted her head.

Her eyes were shining unusually brightly in the darkness. Dam Ho silently looked at her eyes.

She had eyes like she was dreaming. The focus had disappeared and her face had become emotionless like a doll.

"……"

Suddenly deep furrows appeared on Dam Ho's brow.

Woong!

Though there was no external stimulus, the Dark Soul Mind Technique suddenly moved.

The only people here were himself, Bang Jin-bo, the Namgung brothers, and Nok Su-bing in front of him. There was no reason for the Dark Soul Mind Technique to fluctuate.

Dam Ho's gaze turned cold.

The only one who had changed here was Nok Su-bing. He looked into Nok Su-bing's eyes.

Nok Su-bing's eyes were empty.

Dam Ho's face was reflected, but it only reflected without showing any fragment of emotion or intelligence.

Like a doll.

But Dam Ho saw it. Something else existing within the empty eyes. It was looking at Dam Ho through Nok Su-bing as a medium. And Dam Ho saw it too.

"Who are you?"

Dam Ho asked.

Instantly Nok Su-bing's red lips fluttered.

"Can you see me?"

It was definitely Nok Su-bing's voice. But it wasn't Nok Su-bing's voice. Someone else was speaking through Nok Su-bing's mouth.

"The… Nameless One?"

"Ho! You deduced that far?"

Nok Su-bing made a surprised expression. But her facial muscles were unnatural, as if someone was forcibly pulling them with fingers.

"What technique did you perform on your disciple's body?"

"This child is not my disciple. She's just an intermediary raised to be my eyes and ears."

"Intermediary?"

Dam Ho's gaze turned bleak.

The Nameless One was looking at him through Nok Su-bing's eyes.

He could feel his gaze. That persistently observing stare.

As if trying to grasp everything about Dam Ho, scanning, penetrating, and glaring at him. The opponent was observing and measuring Dam Ho through Nok Su-bing's eyes.

Dam Ho asked:

"Did you send this child to see me?"

"That's right! Because that's the child's purpose. She was raised to be used that way."

"Then I should be able to see you too."

Dam Ho raised the Dark Soul Divine Technique to its extreme. Then he could see it crouching behind Nok Su-bing.

That old and hideous something.

Suddenly a scream burst from Nok Su-bing's mouth.

"Huk!"

At the same time, Nok Su-bing collapsed like a doll whose strings had been cut. The connection with the unknown being had been severed.

Dam Ho looked at Nok Su-bing indifferently.

What he had seen behind her figure had already disappeared and was no longer visible. But its lingering presence and feeling remained vividly. ​