I Obtained Guan Yu's Martial Arts - Chapter 60

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

Obtained Guan Yu’s Martial Arts — Episode 060
The Cho Siblings (5)
‘He received recognition from the Shandong Ak Family Head?’
Cho Ryang stared at the other man with an expression of utter disbelief.
Ak Jin-seong, the Family Head of the Shandong Ak Family.
One of the hundred greatest masters under heaven who had reached the Peak Realm.
A towering figure who had led the Shandong Ak Family of this age to become the foremost clan in Shandong Province.
‘How could a third-rate Family Head from some backwater possibly—?’
No matter how he tried to picture it, he couldn’t fathom the image of a provincial Family Head from Yun City meeting face-to-face with the Family Head of the great Shandong Ak Family.
‘Wait.’
A hypothesis suddenly formed in Cho Ryang’s mind as his eyes narrowed in thought.
‘He said he helped suppress Yellow Heaven.’
More precisely, he’d said he’d “suppressed” Yellow Heaven, but Cho Ryang’s mind filtered the fact through its own lens.
Like all martial artists, he assumed the man was inflating and exaggerating his own achievements.
‘I’ve heard Yellow Heaven has its den on Mount Tai. So the Shandong Ak Family Head must have gone there to suppress them too.’
If recognition from the Family Head had come in that context, then—
‘The Shandong Ak Family Head is terrifying like a tiger, but when it comes to acknowledging merit, he’s said to be fair.’
What if it was merely a matter of official credit for suppression efforts?
What if he’d mistaken that acknowledgment for genuine recognition and elevated himself to the rank of a dragon?
‘Then this whole thing is nothing but his own elaborate fabrication, isn’t it?’
As the thought crystallized, the corners of Cho Ryang’s mouth curled upward with a thin smile.
‘Then I shouldn’t detonate it here.’
A bomb only has meaning when it goes off where there are many people to witness it.
Cho Ryang resolved to invest even more time and effort before detonating this particular bomb.
“So what you’re telling me is that your Family Head received recognition from the Shandong Ak Family Head?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“And as a member of the Five Dragons Three Phoenixes, no less.”
“……That’s right.”
The voice of Zhu Hu wavered slightly as he spoke.
‘Just as I thought!’
Cho Ryang clenched his fists, feeling his reasoning vindicated.
“Good. I intend to investigate everything you’ve just told me very thoroughly. If this turns out to differ from the facts, the Guan Clan won’t be able to escape responsibility. Do you understand?”
Cho Ryang, now swollen with confidence, thrust out his chest and straightened his posture.
“If this is a lie, be prepared.”
Cho Ryang pointed a finger in warning and departed with an air of unhurried assurance.
……
Cho Seol, watching her brother leave with that self-satisfied stride, let out a long, heavy sigh.
Sigh.
She’d come along because he said he merely wanted to see what this new dragon looked like.
She never expected he’d create such a spectacle.
She was already worried about what kind of scheme this ill-tempered brother of hers would cook up next.
Whoosh—
She turned her head to regard Guan Yu and his strategist.
“I apologize.”
Cho Seol offered her apologies with a fist salute and a bow before following after Cho Ryang.
“Wow……”
Zhu Hu’s jaw hung open as he watched her departing form.
“What is it?”
“No wonder she’s called the most beautiful woman north of the river.”
Cho Seol’s appearance was truly remarkable.
A beauty that mere words could not contain.
A radiance so dazzling it was as if the sun shone only upon her.
“Well. She is beautiful.”
Guan Hui nodded in acknowledgment and asked.
“So what’s next? What are you planning to do now?”
“There’s nothing particular to do.”
Zhu Hu stretched with an unhurried expression.
“He’ll call the Shandong Ak Family Head. We simply need to wait.”
“Call the Shandong Ak Family Head? Why in the world would he do that?”
Zhu Hu smiled faintly at Guan Hui’s bewildered expression.
“People only hear what they want to hear, you see. Give them a little time, and they’ll dig their own grave and hand you the shovel themselves.”

* * *
“You’re going to confront the Ak Family Head?”
“Yes. I’m taking that lying strategist and the Family Head himself. We’ll expose the truth there, openly and before everyone.”
“Do you really have to go that far?”
Cho Seol frowned at the furrow between her brows as she listened to Cho Ryang’s plan.
“Of course. He’s a fool who doesn’t know his place and dares to stand on equal footing with us.”
“Does it really matter whether it’s the Five Dragons Three Phoenixes or Six Dragons Three Phoenixes?”
Cho Seol couldn’t fathom it.
Five Dragons or six—what difference did it make?
Wouldn’t another Post-Generation Expert in the Path of White martial world benefit all of the Path of White?”
“Cho Seol. Stop talking nonsense. Have you forgotten how the other Dragons and Phoenixes looked down on us?”
“That’s…”
“Why were we disrespected? Because we don’t belong to the Tianzhao Five Families.”
In the Five Dragons Three Phoenixes, every Post-Generation Expert except the Cho siblings belonged to the Tianzhao Five Families.
Perhaps because of that.
Whenever the harmony gathering of the Five Dragons Three Phoenixes convened, the other Post-Generation Experts scorned and belittled the Cho siblings.
It was not a matter of skill, but of low status.
Bang!
Cho Ryang slammed his fist on the table, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Cho Seol.
“We’re from the Jonghwa Sect, the foremost school in Shaanxi, and even we’re being disrespected. Do you understand what will happen if such a country bumpkin enters our ranks?”
“…”
“We’ll be dismissed several times more. Or worse—we might be expunged from the Five Dragons Three Phoenixes altogether.”
The scions of the Tianzhao Five Families, who wielded enough power to move the world at will.
They could erase the Cho siblings from the Five Dragons Three Phoenixes tomorrow without hesitation.
If they desired it, they could do far worse.
“Is that truly the only reason?”
“What?”
“It doesn’t seem like it’s just that one reason.”
“…”
After a long glare, Cho Ryang looked away first.
“No, it’s not just that. I’m disgusted. The very idea that such a pathetic wretch is spoken of in the same breath as me.”
Thinking of Guan Hui, Cho Ryang clenched his fist so hard his knuckles whitened.
“That worthless insect from some backwater standing at the same level as me. I can’t stand the sight of it.”
There is such a thing as rank.
Just as objects are divided into superior, middle, and inferior grades, so too do people have their grades.
“When you place someone of the lowest grade beside someone of my superior rank, the very standing itself appears diminished. Do you understand?”
Cho Ryang tapped Cho Seol’s forehead twice with two fingers.
“You act according to your own rank.”
“…”
“If you do anything that lowers your standing, I won’t spare you, sister or not.”

* * *
Three days passed.
In that time, Cho Ryang moved with feverish activity.
He sent an urgent letter to Ak Hu-myeong, the elder of the Ak Family, requesting an audience, and delivered a threatening missive to Guan Hui demanding his presence at a gathering to determine the truth.
The greatest effort, however, went to the Hao Organization.
“Heh.”
Through a commission, he spread rumors across the nation that the Guan Clan’s Family Head was nothing but a charlatan peddling lies and deception.
“This is insane. What if it turns out to be true?”
At Cho Seol’s worried words, Cho Ryang let out a harsh laugh.
“Have you been drinking in the morning? You’re talking like a madman.”
In Cho Ryang’s eyes, the probability of Guan Hui receiving recognition from the Ak Family Head was nonexistent.
“The Ak Family Head is known for his severe and upright character. He dismisses even Peak Realm masters as snot-nosed children. There’s no way he’d acknowledge some first-rate nobody.”
Cho Ryang was more triumphant than ever.
“I’ve done my own investigation. I commissioned the Hao Organization to look into it.”
“The Hao Organization?”
“Yes. Apparently, the one who destroyed that heretical Yellow Heaven sect was some Daoist.”
The Hao Organization’s information, however, bore no resemblance to the truth.
This was because the so-called Great Sage and Good Teacher Zhang Chuoshan, wary of possible retaliation from remnants of the Yellow Heaven, had ensured that all rumor pointed to him alone.
“That arrogant schemer lied through his teeth.”
Admittedly, the Hao Organization had qualified the information as uncertain, but Cho Ryang heard only what he wished to hear.
“Just watch. I’ll expose those con artists’ true nature thoroughly.”
Cho Ryang’s gaze, already brimming with anticipation, turned toward the Guan Clan’s estate.
As it happened, Guan Hui and Huang Xiaoxiao, who served as his escort, were just stepping out.
“Out early, I see. Have you been waiting long?”
“Long enough. Long enough to expose your lies clearly. You’re about to get a thorough beating.”
Guan Hui answered Cho Ryang’s provocation with a quiet scoff.
A beating, he said.
It was clear who would be receiving one.
“Fine. Then let’s depart. We have a long road ahead.”
From here to Jinan in Shandong Province would take a good seven days on horseback.
Whether they wanted it or not, they would have to spend a week riding together, looking at each other’s faces the entire time.
‘This should be interesting.’
Though he kept it hidden, Guan Hui found himself quite looking forward to what would happen a week from now.
The mere thought of what fate that arrogant Cho scoundrel would befall was already proving rather entertaining.
Besides, knowing the nature of the Ak Family Head, he doubted the man would let this fellow off gently.
‘Will he be smashed to pieces?’
How the Ak Family Head would punish him was itself quite the anticipated scene.
Ah, but what he looked forward to most of all was the Spiritual Medicine.
Once they arrived at the Shandong Ak Family, the Family Head would have prepared Spiritual Medicine to greet Guan Hui.
‘I should have brought some Roasted Peanuts along.’
It was then, as he felt the sting of such inadequate preparation, that—
“Here.”
Huang Xiaoxiao extended a pouch from her pocket.
Inside were Roasted Peanuts and Dried Meat.
“Hm?”
“The so-called schemer said. He said the Family Head would want these later.”
So that was what marked a true schemer.
The sharp-witted Zhu Hu had seen straight through Guan Hui’s mind.
Honestly, it was creepy enough to raise goosebumps.
He was talented, certainly—but when Zhu Hu did it, it felt somewhat perverted.
“He’s not a pervert,” she said, “and he also told me to tell you that the Family Head is simply someone whose emotions are transparent.”
……
Guan Hui rolled up his sleeve and looked at his arm. Sure enough, goosebumps had risen.
“By the way, that must be the famous greatest beauty north of the river.”
Huang Xiaoxiao cast a fresh-eyed glance toward Cho Seol.
“She is quite beautiful, isn’t she?”
“Hmm. Yes, she is.”
“Is she?”
“Huh?”
Huang Xiaoxiao’s eyes narrowed with displeasure.
“Do you really think she’s beautiful?”
“Well……”
Guan Hui opened his mouth to answer when—
A cold wind swept past his nape.
The keen senses of a Peak Realm master sent alarm bells ringing in his mind.
He couldn’t say why, but he felt an overwhelming premonition that answering would be a mistake.
“I, well. Honestly, I’m not sure.”
Hmm.
Guan Hui avoided Huang Xiaoxiao’s gaze, looking up at the sky instead.
If he met her eyes now, she’d surely catch him in the lie.
“……The weather is nice today, though.”
“It’s overcast.”
“W-well, dark clouds are nice.”
Cornered, Guan Hui hastily scrambled onto his horse.
“L-let’s depart!”
And so began an awkward journey.
Two women bearing subtle tension, one man seething with anger, and another man consumed by thoughts of Spiritual Medicine.
The four of them arrived in Jinan in four days, driven forward without conversation, sparing no effort on the road.
After entrusting their horses to the stable, they made straight for the Shandong Ak Family compound without even stopping to shake off the weariness of travel.
“Ah…….”
“Hmm……!”
Upon reaching the grand estate of the Shandong Ak Family, all of them stood transfixed, their eyes wide as they took in its splendor.
An aristocratic family of power with close ties to both the military and the imperial court was indeed something else entirely.
The walls that divided the estate from the world soared so high they seemed to touch heaven itself, and the main gate was broad and towering enough to allow three carriages to pass through side by side.
It was the kind of place that overwhelmed you the moment you set foot at its entrance—unmistakably a great house.
While the others stood in awe, Cho Ryang was the first to gather his wits and approached the gatekeeper.
“What brings you to our door?”
“I have come to meet with the Family Head of the Ak clan. I am Cho Ryang, called the Defense Dragon, come from Xi’an.”
“Please, wait just a moment.”
The gatekeeper, having made his courteous request, swung open the main gate that had stood closed and gave a signal to another guard.
The guard who received the signal nodded and vanished into the depths of the compound.
“Someone seeks me out?”
Moments later, a man with the bearing of a massive black tiger emerged before the gate.
With half his face buried beneath a wild, bristling beard, he was Ak Jin-seong, the Family Head of the Shandong Ak Family.
“It is an honor to meet you, Family Head.”
Cho Ryang clasped his fists in proper salute and crossed the threshold into the compound.
“I am Cho Ryang, known as the Defense Dragon. The reason I have traveled this far is none other than——”
“Yooooooow!”
Ak Jin-seong’s face flushed crimson as he bellowed, the veins in his neck standing out like cords.
“You impudent wretch, spouting courtesy like someone who chews manners for rice!”

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