I Obtained Guan Yu's Martial Arts - Chapter 36

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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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Obtaining Guan Yu’s Martial Arts 036
The Greatest Swordsman of Shanxi (1)
“I cannot agree with this.”
Jang Seong shook his head.
“With what?”
“Your plan hinges on the assumption that the Clan Head of the Yang Estate will hold a Martial Contest for us.”
“That’s right.”
“But how can you be certain of that?”
Ju Ho’s plan was predicated on Yang Mu Won, the Clan Head of the Yang Estate, forcing his own son, Gwan Hui, and Jang Seong into a Martial Contest.
In other words, without that contest, the entire plan would crumble to nothing.
“I’ll grant that your plan is superior to mine. But a plan without the premise of a Martial Contest is nothing but paper scraps.”
“I guarantee it. He’ll definitely call for a Martial Contest.”
“That’s precisely what I’m asking—how can you be so certain?”
Ju Ho let out a quiet scoff.
“How could I not know?”
In that instant, hatred flickered across Ju Ho’s pupils.
“Because he’s just like my father.”
Before his brothers’ scheming and discrimination drove him out, Ju Ho had been an Illegitimate Son of the Baeksi Clan, a family of considerable standing in Jung Gyeong.
The father Ju Ho had witnessed in the Baeksi Clan resembled the Clan Head of the Yang Estate in nearly every aspect.
“That’s why I recognized his methods so early, even when I was merely a gatekeeper. His actions are identical.”
……
“The Yang Clan Head will certainly have called us here for a Martial Contest. And if not, what other reason would there be to summon Jang Xiao and our Clan Head all this way?”
“To suppress us with his authority.”
“Yes. And that culmination is the Martial Contest. He won’t want to hand the Successor Position of Shanxi’s greatest to anyone else.”
……
Sensing that the conversation with Ju Ho would not end, Jang Seong turned his gaze toward Gwan Hui.
“What do you think, Clan Head Gwan?”
Two pairs of eyes fixed upon Gwan Hui.
“Hmm.”
Gwan Hui, who had no particular thoughts on the matter, scratched the back of his head.
In truth, this sort of cerebral scheming was hardly to his taste.
Gwan Hui preferred to wield his Guan Dao and fight with a clear mind.
Plotting strategies from the shadows was not his way.
‘Strategy doesn’t suit our family.’
Even history bore this out.
His ancestor, the honored Yun Jang, possessed extraordinary martial prowess, yet his tactical acumen was rather lacking.
Even Sima Yi’s advisors had assessed Guan Yu.
They said he had courage but was deficient in strategy.
Blood tells, after all.
“The boy Ju Ho seems to be right.”
“Clan Head Gwan. You must think rationally. Rational judgment, not trust in a subordinate, is what matters most here.”
Jang Seong’s words carried weight.
“I trust this man.”
Gwan Hui answered with eyes that wavered not in the slightest.
“……You’re saying you’re certain?”
“This man may lack the credentials to be called a true strategist.”
“……Brother!”
“But if he is this confident, then I will stake my very life on my faith in him.”
“But if by some chance he fails……”
“Should that come to pass, I will stake my life and answer for it.”
……!
At those words, both Ju Ho and Jang Seong’s eyes widened in shock.
Neither had imagined such words could ever come from his lips.
“Br……brother……”
Ju Ho’s pupils trembled with emotion, quivering uncontrollably.
“……Very well. If you’re willing to take on such responsibility……”
Jang Seong yielded, nodding his head without further protest.
“Then we shall meet tomorrow.”
Jang Seong made a light fist salute and departed toward his quarters.
And in his ear, the voice of Ju Ho rang out clearly.
“Yes, I’m moved, brother! You believed in me! Even though you said you didn’t, you’ve acknowledged me as your strategist, haven’t you!?”
“You’re insane. I just told you—this time only.”
“Heh heh. Your heart wasn’t saying that, brother.”
“……A madman needs a beating, that’s all.”
“Eek!? Ahhhhh!”
“…….”
The commotion the two of them stirred up in the dead of night.
Watching them from a distance, Jang Seong’s expression shifted subtly.
A faint melancholy. And something that looked like regret.
“……Was it trust, then.”
Seeing Ju Ho and Gwan Hui together, he found himself remembering the old subordinates he had killed.
Ho U was not the only one who had fallen by his hand.
In times past, many subordinates had lost their lives over a single mistake.
‘Is that so.’
If he had given them a chance.
If he had trusted them a little more.
‘Perhaps I wouldn’t be alone right now.’
Bitterness pressed down upon Jang Seong’s shoulders.
“…….”
On a night when not a single star could be seen, the sky felt unusually lonely.

* * *
The next morning. Yang Estate.
Before the sun had even reached its zenith, Yang Mu Won summoned his son Yang Yun Sang and gave him his instructions.
“When they arrive today, I will propose a Martial Contest.”
“Yes, Father.”
“You must defeat them without fail. You must show these guests who have come to the Yang Estate that you are Shanxi’s finest Successor, that there is no question about it.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Seeing the unwavering light in his son’s eyes, Yang Mu Won smiled with satisfaction.
“That’s right. A true man does not yield to fear.”
“…….”
Yang Yun Sang did not answer.
His expression, visible only when his father’s gaze had turned away, was more twisted than it had ever been.
“Before you fight, I will have our household warriors engage them first. You will only need to face those two once their strength has been exhausted—so have no concern.”
“……Thank you, Father.”
Yang Yun Sang nodded calmly.
“Good. Now go.”
“Yes, Father.”
He bowed respectfully, then turned and walked out.
“…….”
With his back turned to his father, contempt filled his face.

* * *
“Let’s go.”
After the midday meal, Ju Ho and Gwan Hui were summoned by the Clan Head and made their way to the Training Ground.
To the Training Ground, not the reception hall.
Knowing his intent, the purpose felt all the more blatant.
“Brother, you remember, don’t you? He must be the first to speak.”
“Don’t worry.”
Unlike Ju Ho, who fretted lest circumstances deviate from their plan, Gwan Hui remained unhurried.
Even if the plan did not unfold as intended, the outcome would be unchanged.
‘After all, the result is determined by martial skill.’
The Clan Head, Ju Ho, and Jang Seong all schemed and calculated, but in the end they all desired the same thing—a bout to settle things.
In other words, if one had confidence in his martial art, the plan mattered little.
The victor would claim everything in the end.
‘I have confidence in my martial art.’
Since meeting Guan Yu, Gwan Hui had pursued training more rigorous than anyone else.
He rose earlier than anyone in the clan to practice, and finished later than anyone else.
The intensity of his training was unrivaled, and he devoted far more time to it as well.
Because of this, Gwan Hui’s current realm was First-Class Perfection.
In merely half a year, his cultivation had shot upward from Third-Class to heights that defied expectation.
He could search this entire Central Plains and find no martial master with such extraordinary speed of advancement.
Six months was barely enough time to lay a foundation.
But Gwan Hui possessed the Tianwu Physique—a blessing bestowed by heaven itself—and received instruction from Guan Yu, the greatest general of all ages. Such progress was possible only for him.
‘Come to think of it, the General has been rather quiet lately.’
Ever since Guan Yu had spoken of finding the reason why misfortune befell only the descendants of Shu Han, he had taken to absenting himself frequently.
When Gwan Hui asked questions, there came no answer, and the General had grown sparing with his words.
‘He must be fine.’
-Your concern is unnecessary.
“Ah! General!”
Gwan Hui’s face brightened at the sound of that voice in his mind, rare of late.
“Are you well? I thought something had befallen you.”
-Heaven’s gaze has grown too keen. It is difficult to escape its sight.
Heaven forbids strictly any intervention by beings who do not belong to this realm.
This act of implanting fragments of soul to meddle with the mortal world falls under that prohibition.
That is why Guan Yu had lately kept away.
If he were caught in heaven’s scrutiny, both he and Gwan Hui would suffer grave harm.
-But I have learned certain things.
“What, sir?”
-I have discovered why only the descendants of Shu Han have declined. It is most peculiar.
The houses of Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and even Dong Zhuo continue to thrive and hold power.
Only the heirs of Shu Han have withered.
This was plainly artificial rather than natural. Avoiding heaven’s notice, Guan Yu had investigated and found the cause.
-Someone is manipulating the flow of the stars.
“Sir?”
-The fate of stars. The destiny that is necessarily imposed upon mankind—someone is twisting it.
The Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends.
These one hundred and eight ill-omened stars bestow fate upon humans, bringing chaos and turbulence to the world.
This flow of destiny is something even heaven cannot resist.
Therefore, heaven created a new star in the world to counter it, imposing a destiny of its own.
-The star bearing heaven’s will is called the White Light Star. In this world now, that is you.
“Me, sir?”
-Yes. That you were born with the Tianwu Physique, that you were able to meet me—all of it stems from that.
“I see…”
Gwan Hui’s expression went blank without his realizing it.
“I understand that much, but how does that relate to the decline of Shu Han’s descendants?”
-To say you have received heaven’s will as your destiny means your life should overflow with blessing and smooth prosperity.
Think about it. It is true.
The White Light Star is the star that carries heaven’s will.
Then the human chosen by that star must prevent the world’s chaos, and so their path must be smooth and unobstructed.
But yours was not.
You faced the threat of your clan’s annihilation and death itself more than once, and had you not met me, you would have fallen to those villains from the Black Factions.
-The White Light Star’s fate is granted only to the virtuous. Until now, many—including the descendants of Shu Han—received this fate, yet all were slain.
“…!”
The revelation hit harder than expected, and Gwan Hui’s eyes widened in shock.
-Do you remember what I said when we first met—that I had a wish concerning you?
“Yes. I remember.”
At their first meeting, Guan Yu had told him there was a task he must perform.
“You said I must defeat ‘that one’ and achieve Ascension.”
-Yes. I suspect that person is involved in all of this.
“That person… who is it?”
-That person is Feng—
Crack—
A sharp pain shot through his mind like a sudden spark of lightning.
“Ugh!”
The agony of his skull tearing apart sent Gwan Hui staggering.
“General? General!?”
But no matter how many times he called, there came no reply from within his mind.
It was as if—
The connection of the soul itself had been forcibly severed.
“Damn it. Still not yet?”
Gwan Hui’s face twisted as he let out a heavy sigh.
This state of half-knowing, half-not felt somewhat suffocating.
It would be better to understand everything clearly, whatever the truth.
—That man is seal…….
The name he never managed to hear lingered in his thoughts.
‘Right. No. For now, focus on the Yang Estate.’
There was nothing he could do immediately anyway, no matter what he learned.
Defying heaven itself—the Against Heaven art—was only possible in the Transformation Realm, the realm called Entering Immortality.
‘Either way, the immediate goal remains the same. Become stronger, make the clan stronger.’
Once he’d gathered his thoughts, Gwan Hui’s gaze settled into calm focus.
An ordinary person would have been reeling from such a flood of shocking information for days, but Gwan Hui was different.
That singular purpose—to fix on one goal and drive toward it relentlessly—became his greatest weapon, regardless of circumstance.
“……Brother? Are you all right?”
Just as he steadied himself, Ju Ho glided over.
“You’re not mad, but why do you keep muttering to yourself like that? Are you hurt somewhere?”
Ju Ho pressed his palm to Gwan Hui’s forehead, his brow furrowed with concern.
“Hmm. No fever though. Why are you like this? Did you ingest poison yesterday?”
But then he remembered—Gwan Hui was immune to poison thanks to the Soul Contract Pact.
To poison Gwan Hui would require at least the deadliest toxins the Five Poison Gate could produce.
“Ah!”
Ju Ho clapped his hands sharply and assumed a grave expression.
“Brother. Tell me honestly.”
“……?”
“Have you gone mad?”

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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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