I Obtained Guan Yu's Martial Arts - Chapter 30

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Obtained Guan Hui’s martial arts. Chapter 030
Guan Family Estate (5)
Noh Hae-sang, the Black Phantom Ghost.
He bore the alias of a wraith clad in darkness, a martial artist who had won all hundred of his hundred battles.
A martial artist who had ascended to the First-class realm’s perfection—a difficult height to reach even by the Dark Martial Way.
And recently, owing to the fruits of his closed-door training, he had even surpassed one great barrier.
The Extreme Realm, spoken of as the very edge, shimmered before his eyes.
“So you’ve slaughtered all my men, it seems.”
A voice dreadfully low and resonant filled the street.
“Ahhh…….”
“Eek, eek?!”
People recoiled in terror, scrambling backward.
They were fleeing from the wrath of Noh Hae-sang, notorious for his savagery and malice.
“No matter. I can simply raise more.”
Yet Noh Hae-sang remained unmoved.
There were plenty of Dark Martial Way practitioners in the world anyway, and organizations like Hei Yan Fang could be rebuilt with ease.
“I was planning to kill about half of them anyway. You’ve done me a service.”
Noh Hae-sang regarded Guan Hui with cold eyes.
“You seem to have considerable skill for your age.”
As Noh Hae-sang’s pupils narrowed to slits, he studied Guan Hui and spoke.
“Join me. I’ll teach you my secret martial arts. A man of your caliber would make a fine practitioner of the Dark Martial Way.”
“Are you insane?”
Guan Hui couldn’t help but blurt out his incredulity.
To propose the Dark Martial Way to the lord of the venerable Guan Family Estate, a house of the Righteous Martial Way?
This man had clearly lost his mind.
In some sense, it was almost impressive.
“My lord. Noh Hae-sang has spoken those very words before to a Buddhist monk who was a former disciple of Shaolin.”
“He’s definitely insane.”
Guan Hui nodded with certainty.
If he spoke such things even to a Shaolin warrior-monk, then the man was surely mad.
He must have mistaken poison for an elixir and eaten the former, leaving him unhinged.
“That’s me you’re talking about.”
Guan Hui felt annoyed upon reflection and glared at Noh Hae-sang.
“So you’re refusing?”
“Yes. I refuse.”
“A foolish choice.”
Steel sang as it left the sheath.
Noh Hae-sang drew the blade from his waist.
“Then die.”
In a single breath, Noh Hae-sang closed the distance and swung his sword.
The man, his thigh muscles defined with effort, raised the blade cleanly overhead and brought it straight down with perfect form.
Power rising from his stance, strength through the hips, internal force layered upon it—one flawless strike.
His swordwork was nearly flawless, as if proving the rumors of his breakthrough beyond the barrier during closed-door training.
“……?”
Guan Hui watched the blade descending slowly, bewildered.
At first, he thought the man was toying with him.
The strike felt as sluggish as a tortoise.
But Guan Hui quickly understood.
In this very moment, time was flowing slower for him alone.
‘Isn’t he First-class realm? Why does the blade move so slowly?’
Guan Hui was unquestionably a martial artist who had entered the early stages of the First-class realm.
For a martial artist, realm is a barrier that cannot be breached.
Noh Hae-sang’s blade, having surpassed the midpoint even within the First-class realm, should have been invisible to Guan Hui’s eyes.
-Had I not told you? The Heaven Martial Body renders realm meaningless.
The Heaven Martial Body possesses perfect natural gifts for the practice of martial arts, blessed by heaven itself.
The realms men divide are, to heaven, merely lines drawn upon paper.
The Heaven Martial Body could not be constrained by such crude boundaries.
‘Indeed.’
Guan Hui gripped the Azure Dragon Staff lightly, flooding his forearms with strength.
The Azure Dragon Staff trembled faintly, unable to bear the full weight of Guan Hui’s grip strength.
The sight was like a weapon recognizing its master.
‘End this with Consecutive Strike.’
After clashing with the entirety of Hei Yan Fang moments ago, he was growing weary.
Guan Hui had devised a plan to fell his opponent with a torrent of savage blows before his stamina gave out.
Whoosh—
The azure-blue staff swung through the air.
Screech—
The blade, disproportionately small against the staff, cut through the air and aimed at Noh Hae-sang’s sword.
‘Deflect the blade, exploit the opening.’
The Heaven Martial Body was a physique specialized not only in body but also in mind for martial arts.
In Guan Hui’s mind, dozens of exchanges with Noh Hae-sang unfolded in perfect clarity.
At the same time, Guan Hui’s halberd, reading the flow of battle, clashed with the black sword blade in the air.
Clang—
The deflected blade spun in a wide arc and flew upward through the void.
Crack—
Noh Hae-sang’s head split cleanly in two.
He died instantly, his neck severed, without even managing to react to Guan Hui’s strike.
“……?”
“……Huh?”
“Wait……?”
Guan Hui, who had launched the attack; Ju Ho, who had watched from behind; and Hwang So-so, who had kept an arrow nocked in case of trouble—all three were taken aback.
Given the menacing aura he’d radiated upon arrival, his death had been far too easy.
“……What is this bastard.”
Guan Hui was dumbfounded.
He’d tensed up, wondering what trump card the man might possess, but he turned out to be nothing more than a common foot soldier.
“Hmm. Seems his confidence was somewhat overblown, brother.”
Ju Ho, sensing much the same emotion, scratched his chin.
“His closed-door training is finished, he’s gained enlightenment. He probably felt like he could beat anyone.”
Ordinarily, the heavier the ear of grain, the lower it bows.
But those who walk the Dark Martial Way know nothing of such humility.
The stronger they become, the more arrogant and presumptuous they grow—such is the nature of the Dark Martial Way.
“We see fellows like this from time to time. Among ourselves, we call it Closed-door Training Syndrome.”
“Indeed.”
Guan Hui nodded in agreement.
Closed-door Training Syndrome.
“Truly a pathetic affliction.”
It was just the sort of sickness those Dark Martial Way practitioners would contract.
“Well, it worked out. He was someone we’d have to fight anyway. And we haven’t lost anything, have we?”
Crack—
Before those words even finished, the blade fitted onto the Azure Dragon Staff shattered.
“…….”
“…….”
Guan Hui and Ju Ho’s eyes met in midair, both at a loss for words.
Guan Hui’s gaze said, ‘You got me unlucky.’ Ju Ho’s gaze replied, ‘How is that my fault?’
Whoosh—
The staring contest stretched on until Guan Hui raised his fist to end it.
When you had a fist thick enough, logic became unnecessary.
“Tch. Let’s go.”
Guan Hui, clicking his tongue at the unsatisfying fight, turned his back.
At least there had been people offering praise before.
Looking at the empty marketplace, he found no desire to linger.
He simply wanted to return home and eat with his family.
“Huh? Wait, brother. What about the meal? You said the guest house would provide it.”
“We’ll all eat together at home.”
At those words, Ju Ho and Hwang So-so’s faces fell.
They did not bear the surname Guan, and they were not family.
“Then it seems Miss Hwang and I will have to eat separately.”
“What are you saying? I meant family.”
“Huh? But then wouldn’t that mean just the two of us…….”
“Ju Ho. Stop spouting nonsense.”
Guan Hui regarded Jo Gwi with an expression tinged with annoyance.
“If we’ve wielded a blade together, then we’re family.”
“……! B-brother!”
Jo Gwi’s eyes reddened with emotion so profound it vibrated through his chest.
Recognition he had never once received from his own household.
Overwhelmed, Jo Gwi rushed forward to embrace Guan Hui, but—
“Disgusting. You bastard!”
Crack!
He became a meal for the Azure Dragon Staff instead.

* * *
Un Seong City. The I Cheop Guest House.
The I Cheop Guest House, where one cup of wine came with two side dishes, was packed with patrons as always.
“Did you hear? The lord of the Guan Family annihilated the Hei Yan Fang?”
“……!? Is that…… is that true? That pint-sized family lord destroyed the Hei Yan Fang?!”
The Hei Yan Fang was unquestionably the foremost Dark Martial Way faction in An Seong.
To exaggerate only slightly, they wielded power enough to be called the tyrants of An Seong itself.
Even the magistrate’s office dared not provoke them—yet the Guan Family Estate had brought them to ruin.
The shock that seized the crowd was entirely justified.
“Heh…… heheheh! The Hyeol Gang Mun, the Hon Yak Fang, and now the Hei Yan Fang? Then…… then our An Seong is……!”
“That’s right. No longer a city under the Dark Martial Way’s heel. Both those cursed factions are dead or fled!”
Living beneath the shadow of the Dark Martial Way was brutally, suffocatingly hard.
They took what you earned, wielded violence without hesitation, and rarely paid for anything they took.
Moreover, as the competition among Dark Martial Way factions intensified of late, the common folk endured ever-deepening suffering.
“Ha-ha-ha! Magnificent. Truly magnificent!”
“I…… I always believed in them. I believed the descendants of the Yun Masters would one day show their mettle!”
“At last…… at last we are free!”
With eyes glistening, the people smiled with joy and raised their cups.
“What is the name of the lord of the Guan Family?”
“Yes, tell us! We must know the name of An Seong’s greatest master!”
“Tell us where his house is! I must send him a grand gift at once tomorrow.”
“I must send one as well.”
“So must I!”
The destruction of the Hei Yan Fang—An Seong’s last remaining Dark Martial Way faction.
Through this act, those who had known nothing of the Guan Family Estate and Guan Hui gained new understanding, and their respect for the Guan Family deepened.
And at last.
“Long live the Martial Dragon!”
“Long live Guan Hui! Long live the Guan Family Estate!”
Guan Hui earned a new epithet, one that was not the Bone Separation Fist.
.
.
.
“You’ve heard by now, I’m sure.”
Atop the roof of the I Cheop Guest House.
Far from the clamor below, in that place where silence reigned, Jang Seong, bearer of the Absolute Shadow Blade, regarded his subordinate with a cold stare.
“My apologies…… sir.”
Ho Woo, the Cloud Fox, bowed so deeply his head nearly touched the roof tiles.
There were no words adequate to his shame.
He had thoroughly bungled the plan to kill Guan Hui using the Hei Yan Fang’s underground fighting pit.
“Not only did you fail—you elevated the bastard’s reputation? Are you in your right mind?”
“……I had no way of knowing he would capture Noh Hae-sang.”
It was Ho Woo who had brought the newly closed-door-trained Noh Hae-sang into the streets.
Judging that his own strength insufficient to kill Guan Hui, Ho Woo had employed the tactic of Borrowed Blade Murder.
Yet the result was utter catastrophe.
Guan Hui had gained from this affair the honor of being Un Seong’s foremost martial master.
What, then, had Jang Seong gained?
“Because of you, we return empty-handed. We cannot move against the Guan Family Estate when they command such public support.”
The Anmun Jang Family was unquestionably a faction of the Righteous Martial Way.
Should there be a pretext such as the Dark Martial Way, all might be permissible—but to move against a Righteous Martial Way family without cause was impossible.
To do so would be to lose the hearts of the people in An Mun itself.
“I’m so sorry…… truly sorry, Master of the Family.”
“Enough. An apology doesn’t change what’s done.”
The anger in Jang Seong’s voice had begun to subside.
Ho Woo, exhaling in relief, pushed himself to his feet and spoke.
“Thank you, Master of the Family. I will do my utmost to serve you faithfully from now on…….”
“But I have a question.”
Ho Woo flinched at the tone, even colder than before.
The anger had receded, but in its place came a chill he’d never felt from Jang Seong before.
“My order was the death of the Guan patriarch. Blood payment for my brother’s life.”
“Yes…… that is correct.”
Jang Seong’s frigid gaze pierced through Ho Woo’s eyes.
“Then why did you attempt to annihilate the entire Guan Family?”
“…….”
“It’s fortunate no one died. Innocent blood nearly spilled.”
Jang Seong had never ordered the extermination of the Guan Family, nor did he desire it.
What the family sought was to settle its blood grudge, and for that purpose, he had intended only to take the head of Guan Hui.
“Master of the Family. That wasn’t my doing—it was that bastard Jo Gwi who recklessly escalated things……!”
“Be silent.”
Jang Seong exhaled a sinister aura of vital energy, gripping his blade.
“The chaos that ensued is because of you. Who are you to cast blame?”
“I apologize…….”
“A worm like you. You still haven’t shed the skin of the Dark Martial Way.”
Killing intent blazed from Jang Seong’s eyes.
Whoosh—
A long blade with a wide edge pierced through Ho Woo’s heart.
“Gasp…….”
Ho Woo stared at the blade lodged in his own heart with eyes that refused to accept what they saw, then slowly raised his gaze.
“Sin must be paid for with death.”
A gaze devoid of all emotion, utterly unmoved.
“……Cough!”
With that merciless stare as his last sight, Ju Ho breathed his last.
“……Prepare to withdraw.”
“Master of the Family. Do you intend to retreat from here?”
Jang Seong gave a silent nod to his subordinate’s question.
“But if we leave like this, the patriarch will…….”
“Ju Ho has already made a grave mess of things. Any further action here will only bring shame upon the family.”
“But…….”
Jang Seong exhaled a deep sigh.
Lately, his spirit had grown weary.
Perhaps it was because he had to keep following things he never wanted.
“My investigation revealed that my brother’s rudeness knew no bounds. It would have been no surprise had he come to an untimely end anywhere, at any time.”
The intelligence he had gathered by traversing Un Seong City on foot differed greatly from the subjective reports that had reached the family.
Only now did he understand how recklessly his brother had carried himself.
“A martial artist’s blood grudge, it is said, ends with a single opportunity.”
Jang Seong wiped the blood from his blade, his gaze turning toward the Guan Family Estate visible in the distance.
Whatever they found so amusing, they were still holding a celebration deep into the night.
“We have spent our single opportunity, and the grudge is finished.”
Before he was Master of a Branch Family, Jang Seong was a martial artist.
His foolish subordinate had already made one attempt; he no longer wished to speak of blood grudges.
“……But the patriarch will certainly issue harsh orders. You may face great misfortune, Master of the Family.”
“It does not concern me.”
Jang Seong withdrew his gaze from the Guan Family Estate, where harmony reigned.
Watching their contentment stirred an inexplicable bitterness in him.
“We withdraw. Whether the family abandons them or not is no longer our affair.”
“……Master of the Family.”
“Let us go. Better to meet the blow halfway than to wait for it.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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