The Return of the Namgoong Clan's Granddaughter-Chapter 67

Seven Days Until the Celestial Martial Tournament.

Five days until the first round of the Outer Hall Warrior Selection.

On her way to the Red Dragon Division's training ground for dawn practice, Seolhwa was deep in thought.

“What kind of training would be best for today?”

Five days—long, if measured in waiting, but painfully short when aiming for real progress.

All she could do in such a brief span was push her external skills a little further.

“I could gain more experience through sparring. But... it feels like I could do more than that.”

“How did you do it?”

The question came the moment she stepped past the threshold of the Inner Hall and into the deserted corridor.

Seolhwa stopped walking and turned to look at Ryeong.

“What do you mean?”

The woman’s face looked uncharacteristically troubled.

“Yesterday. The Three Elements Sword Style...”

...

Truthfully, Seolhwa had noticed it since the day before—Ryeong had been acting like a dog with a full bladder.

A Peak Realm expert like her couldn’t possibly have mistaken what she saw. The sword technique Seolhwa used in front of the Red Dragon Commander hadn't been just a simple flurry of swings.

It looked like she’d been holding back this question for a while, hesitating because of the distance she’d kept until now. But at some point, her curiosity had finally gotten the better of her.

Seolhwa tilted her head slightly and studied her.

“That’s surprising. You didn’t seem the least bit interested in me.”

More precisely, she’d been actively avoiding it.

“Didn’t you have a problem with me?”

“...That...”

Ryeong flinched, embarrassed by how accurately Seolhwa had hit the mark, and looked away.

Seolhwa stared at her a moment longer, then said nothing. She turned and resumed walking.

Ryeong followed quietly behind.

When they arrived at the training grounds, the 11th Unit members were already there, stretching and warming up.

They greeted Seolhwa with cheerful energy.

“Miss, look at this! I added a full hundred geun to my lifts!”

“I stretched just like you taught me yesterday—my body feels amazing!”

Maybe it was because the results of their training were starting to show.

The team’s morale was sky-high.

“That’s great. You’ve all been working really hard.”

Of course, it helped that they had strong natural talent and a good foundation.

“Today,” Seolhwa said, “I think I’ll show you something special.”

“Something special... in our training?”

“Oooh, special training, she says.”

“Haven’t things already been special enough lately?”

Seolhwa turned and motioned to the woman behind her.

“This is the warrior currently assigned to guard me. She’s from the Black Dragon Corps.”

Ryeong looked briefly taken aback at the sudden introduction but offered a small nod to the Red Dragon unit.

“Namgoong Ryeong, First Unit, Black Dragon Corps.”

As an Inner Hall warrior, she naturally outranked them.

The Red Dragon members stiffened and quickly introduced themselves one by one, clearly nervous.

But in truth, they all already knew who she was.

The First Unit of the Black Dragon Corps—a legendary force among the Namgoong warriors.

And among them, the Black Dragon’s greatest three: the Black Dragon Three Swords.

Namgoong Ryeong was one of them.

Ever since Seolhwa had shown {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} up with a member of the Black Dragon Three Swords casually assigned as her escort, they had been reeling in disbelief.

“I didn’t get a chance to ask her yesterday since she left so quickly...”

“...But it’s really her. Namgoong Ryeong...”

“...No wonder the atmosphere felt so intense...”

Leaving the stunned warriors behind, Seolhwa turned to Ryeong.

“Ryeong. Yesterday, you said you wanted to know how I used that sword, right?”

“Huh? Ah... yes.”

“I’ll show you. Right now.”

Ryeong nodded.

She assumed Seolhwa meant to explain in front of the others, as a demonstration.

But instead, Seolhwa walked over to the weapon stand.

She returned with two wooden swords and held one out to Ryeong.

Ryeong took it with a puzzled look on her face.

“There’s no better answer than experiencing it yourself.”

“Ah...”

So she wanted to spar? With her?

Namgoong Seolhwa... and her?

Ryeong’s face briefly twisted with reluctance.

“Miss, I...”

“What’s wrong? Are you worried you might lose to a kid like me? In front of everyone?”

“...Excuse me?”

That wasn’t it at all. She was about to say so.

This wouldn’t be like sparring with the Red Dragon Commander.

Even if the Commander held a higher title, the Black Dragon Three Swords had long surpassed his level.

The reason Ryeong remained a mere unit member was simple—more missions, more freedom.

Seolhwa raised her sword.

Before the blade, the mind sharpens.

Ryeong’s eyes also grew sharper, serious now.

“You really don’t want to experience that sword for yourself?”

At that, Ryeong’s heart thudded.

She had clenched her fist just watching from the side yesterday.

It had been the Three Elements Sword Style—known as the most basic of all sword techniques.

But it had felt like she was witnessing the awakening of some profound truth.

What if she received that blade head-on?

...

Ryeong felt her grip tighten unconsciously around the wooden sword.

“...Very well. If you insist, Miss. But don’t expect it to be easy. My blade isn’t one made for sparring.”

A slight smile touched Seolhwa’s lips.

“Not made for sparring,” huh.

In other words, a blade meant for real combat. A blade that had cut, had killed.

“Good,” she said. “That makes it more fun.”

****

A Few Days Ago.

Ryeong was stunned.

“What... what did you just say? Guard duty?”

The words struck like a bolt from the blue.

Guard duty? For a thirteen-year-old girl who had only just returned to the Namgoong Clan—and hadn’t even begun her martial training?

“Why me? There are plenty of other warriors available! I’ve still got more missions than I can handle—why me, of all people?!”

“The Clan Head treasures the young lady deeply.”

“...!”

Ryeong had heard the rumors—that the Clan Head had performed Bone Cleansing and Marrow Washing on the child upon her return.

Still, even so! No matter how much he cared!

“This isn’t fair! You know why I’ve stayed in the First Unit of the Black Dragon Corps, don’t you, Commander? I want to be out in the world, completing missions!”

Her dream had always been to make a name for herself under the Namgoong banner, to become a renowned martial artist acknowledged by the world.

That was why she remained a unit warrior—more missions, more freedom.

And now they wanted to shackle her to a bodyguard post within the clan?

“This isn’t fair!”

“Ryeong.”

Namgoong Hyeok, Commander of the Black Dragon Corps, narrowed his eyes.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

He stood at the peak of mastery, his cultivation nearly touching the threshold of the Transcendent Peak Realm.

The pressure that poured from his gaze was formidable.

“This is the Clan Head’s command. Do you truly not understand what that means?”

Assigning one of the Namgoong clan’s key combat assets to protect a thirteen-year-old girl—

This was not some menial task. It was a sign.

“...But what danger could she possibly be in—?”

“If you won’t do it, I’ll find someone else.”

“...No. I’ll do it.”

And just like that, Namgoong Ryeong was assigned to guard Namgoong Seolhwa.

Surely, there was meaning behind the Clan Head’s decision. And the Commander’s as well.

“Maybe she really does have talent, if she received Bone Cleansing...”

She felt a flicker of curiosity. But that disappeared the moment she saw Seolhwa for the first time.

Crossing the main gate of the inner residence, the girl’s qi barely registered as Second-Class.

Strong, perhaps, for a thirteen-year-old—but nowhere near enough to spark Ryeong’s interest.

“She went through Bone Cleansing and she’s still only Second-Class?”

From the very beginning, Ryeong couldn’t bring herself to like her.

The more time she spent observing Seolhwa, the worse it got.

“Does she even know she’s being looked down on?”

They told her to practice the Three Elements Sword Style, so she struck a few wooden poles and kept her head down. Didn’t even complain to the First Young Master.

And even after such open humiliation, she went back to the training grounds again.

“Is she stupid? Slow-witted? Maybe it’s because she grew up outside. No pride at all as a Namgoong heir.”

To Ryeong, Namgoong Seolhwa was just... frustrating. Pathetic.

But that judgment didn’t last long.

“...What was that...?”

The sword technique Seolhwa had used in front of the Red Dragon Commander...

The moment Ryeong saw her move, she was mesmerized.

Just horizontal and vertical slashes. That’s all it was.

And yet, she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

“That’s... that’s the Three Elements Sword Style?”

Could someone at the Second-Class level even produce swordplay like that?

She couldn’t hold back. She had to ask.

She knew Seolhwa had noticed her resentment—but as a martial artist, Ryeong simply couldn’t stay silent.

She never expected the girl to challenge her to a duel, though.

“What kind of bodyguard ends up dueling the person she’s supposed to protect?”

Now, standing face-to-face with Namgoong Seolhwa on the sparring platform, Ryeong began to grasp the absurdity of it all.

Crossing swords with the very person she was assigned to protect.

Who was the guard now?

If the Commander or the Clan Head found out—

“...I’ll just go along with it, play nice, and end it quickly.”

Whether Seolhwa knew her thoughts or not, she turned calmly to the Red Dragon unit watching below and spoke in a light, breezy voice.

“Watch closely. Even if you can’t follow everything, try to focus. Just seeing this is part of your training—and this duel will become your own flesh and blood.”

“Yes, Miss!”

“Understood!”

As the members answered in unison, Ryeong found herself wondering something.

Yesterday, Seolhwa had only dropped by the training ground briefly to give a few pointers, so she hadn’t noticed it before.

“Why do they follow her so easily? She’s just Second-Class.”

She was a Namgoong by blood, sure. And they were Outer Hall warriors.

But even so—wasn’t their martial skill still above hers?

Then why... why were they letting her lead them?