I Obtained Guan Yu's Martial Arts - Chapter 70

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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 Yu’s Martial Arts — Episode 070
A Life of Principles (2)
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Guan Hui slung the Green Dragon Crescent Blade across his back.
Gunyamnim Forest, named for the stones that formed its groves, had transformed into a landscape that conjured visions of hell itself.
Roughly thirty corpses lay scattered across the ground, and not a single one remained whole.
All of them bore the gruesome marks of torn limbs, severed legs, and shattered skulls.
The martial tradition of the battlefield, one that pursued the Path of Supremacy.
The Guan Family Estate’s martial tradition was ruthless enough to overwhelm any who witnessed it.
“Indeed…… the Guan Clan’s martial tradition is much like witnessing the old general’s own.”
Yang Yunshang, examining the bodies, flashed a look of interest above his eyes.
“It pursues supremacy rather than righteousness. Yet unlike the Dark Path, it does not resort to murky expedience. Truly formidable.”
“Is the Yang Family’s martial tradition not the same?”
The Yang Family Head, too, descended from a martial line rooted in the old general’s teachings.
Even now, several of the Yang lineage served in the imperial court or in Shanxi Province’s administrative ranks.
“It is. But we have lost much and changed much with the passage of time.”
A martial tradition cannot simply be preserved as-is merely because secret manuals exist.
The enlightenment and principles of the founders gradually fade in later generations, sometimes weakening altogether.
“A general’s martial tradition grows stronger through actual combat. A tradition untested in real battle can only deteriorate.”
Martial traditions rooted in Daoism or Buddhism can advance through understanding alone, but a general’s tradition is different.
Its foundation and entirety lies in spilling blood, breathing the iron-scent of battle, and earning mastery through such trials.
“I envy you. I never knew there existed a martial tradition bearing such ancient roots outside of the Five Great Families of Heaven.”
Yang Yunshang, seeming to harbor some regret, clicked his tongue lightly and brushed the blood from his spear.
“In any case, you’ve worked hard. Thanks to you, I’ve gained unexpected insights, and that alone is most welcome.”
“Again, my thanks. I shall repay this debt someday.”
“Hah. No need. I’ve already received my reward.”
Yang Yunshang flourished the white spear that Guan Hui had once wielded.
Judging by the gleam in his eyes, this alone seemed sufficient.
“Ah, that’s right.”
Yang Yunshang, who had been walking toward the edge of Gunyamnim Forest, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“I nearly forgot. I’ll have someone send everything we’ve obtained today to the Guan Family Estate.”
“Everything we’ve obtained?”
Guan Hui’s head turned slightly to one side.
From this bloody clash, all he’d gained were minor wounds and one poisoned leg.
“Today didn’t the two of us annihilate an entire branch of the Hei Ying Wen? Their branch ought to have considerable funds hidden away.
“Mm.”
And they may well have spirit medicine besides.”
“Mm-mm.”
Guan Hui’s pupils dilated, and his expression brightened considerably.
Money and spirit medicine.
Both were things he desperately needed.
One for his clan, the other for himself.
‘I still need more spirit medicine.’
Though his inner energy had deepened enough to approach the peak realm, Guan Hui’s reserves still fell short.
Wu Long and the Three Peaks, also late-stage martial masters, enjoyed ample support from their families and sects, maintaining a level of inner energy that surpassed Guan Hui’s.
“Heh. Now that’s a face that brightens. So you favor spirit medicine…… noted.”
Yang Yunshang filed that information deep in his mind with a nod.
Inwardly, he’d already resolved to procure spirit medicine the moment it became available and deliver it himself.
“There’s no need to give us everything. We fought together, so we should split it equally.”
Yang Yunshang shook his head in a gesture of indifference.
“What our family needs now is neither money nor spirit medicine.”
“Then what do you need?”
“We need honor to restore our tarnished reputation…… and thanks to you today, I’ve obtained that.”
Yang Yunshang smiled with the magnanimity of a great man.
He was certainly far removed from his own father, who had walked the dark path with such self-interest.
“If that is so, then I am truly grateful. When next we meet, I shall buy you a drink.”
Before departing Gunyamnim Forest, Guan Hui executed a proper martial salute.
But in that moment, Yang Yunshang’s eyes flashed with sudden brilliance.
“When exactly?”
“……?”
“When would you like to have that drink? Tomorrow? The day after?”
“……It was only a formality, I assure you.”
Guan Hui found sincerity slipping from his own lips without his meaning it.
“…….”
Yang Yunshang’s face fell.
With his head bowed low, he looked almost boyish.
“Then…… come find me in about a month. I’ll have some Bamboo Leaf Green waiting for you.”
“Excellent! A month from now! I shall call on you exactly one month hence!”
Yang Yunshang’s spirits lifted in an instant, and he bounced on his heels with sudden energy.
“……This is harder than it looks.”
Guan Hui turned and walked forward, muttering softly to himself.
“See you soon!”
Yang Yunshang waved his hand in farewell as he called out.
Guan Hui made a silent vow to himself.
‘When he comes, I’ll be nowhere to be found.’
He would have to keep his distance from this madman.
* * *
Yun City. The Guan Family Estate.
The atmosphere within the estate had grown heavier than ever before.
As the predawn sky brightened, the weight pressing down within the walls seemed only to deepen.
It was as though gravity itself bore down upon every shoulder in the compound.
“……Miss Huang.”
Zhang Cheng, who had been lost in thought while absently touching the sword at his waist, rose to his feet.
At the same moment, Huang Xiaozhe, who had been sitting in cross-legged meditation, stood as well.
Already equipped with her bow and arrows, she was prepared to depart.
“That won’t do, Zhang Cheng.”
Zhu Hu stepped forward to block her path, his face unyielding.
“The Family Head gave us orders. Protect the estate.”
“The fact that assassins haven’t come by now means they have no intention of coming.”
It is a cardinal rule that assassins finish their work before the night ends.
No assassin begins their strike at dawn.
“Even so, it cannot be. There are many eyes watching our family. We need martial artists here to guard it.”
Zhu Hu gestured to Gu Man.
Gu Man, who had been biting his lip with anxiety, stepped forward to block Huang Xiaozhe’s way.
“Step aside.”
“No, I can’t allow it, miss. You know this yourself! Myeong Cheon Gak has us under watch!”
Myeong Cheon Gak.
A dark path force entrenched in Shaanxi Province—and not content with their recent title as Shaanxi’s preeminent dark organization, they were spreading their influence in all directions.
The land they had set their sights on next was the neighboring province of Shanxi.
Three of Shanxi’s dominant dark organizations had been annihilated, leaving a power vacuum—and that empty seat was what they hungered for.
“Zhang Cheng. You must reconsider this.”
Zhu Hu spread his arms wider, blocking the way as he spoke.
“Several of Myeong Cheon Gak’s officers have already been spotted in Yun City. Moreover, they are not the only ones eyeing us.”
For more than a decade, the Shandong Three Great Dark Gates had ruled Shanxi—and their destruction had left many vultures circling.
Those who had been waiting for their chance began to show their ambitions one by one.
“For now we are safe. They are all watching each other for opportunities, so none of them will move first. And if you’re truly worried about them, then shouldn’t we go rescue the Family Head instead!”
Zhang Cheng’s anxiety sharpened, drawing his brows together.
“If the Family Head dies, do you think there’s any hope left for the Guan family? Can we stand against Myeong Cheon Gak and the others?”
“…….”
Zhu Hu did not answer readily.
Within the Guan family, Guan Hui was far more than a Family Head.
He was the spiritual anchor and hope that had pulled their dying clan back from the brink of extinction.
If Guan Hui were to fall here, the future of the Guan family would be forfeit.
Those who fell into despair’s abyss would never rise again.
“Your brother…… that is, the Family Head will be fine. We must have faith now.”
“Faith? You have your faith. I’m going to get him out of there.”
Zhang Cheng gave a bitter laugh and shoved past Zhu Hu, pressing forward.
“If you leave as well, there will be no one left to protect the Guan family.”
Zhu Hu’s eyes went cold as he watched Zhang Cheng’s retreating form.
“Do you truly mean to betray the righteous spirit of mutual aid?”
“…….”
Zhang Cheng stopped in place for a moment.
After exhaling several breaths.
He moved toward the door and spoke.
“Rescuing a friend—that too is righteousness.”
Zhang Cheng and Huang Xiaozhe left Zhu Hu’s protests behind and stepped out of the estate.
Their footsteps grew heavier still, weighted by Zhu Hu’s words.
Then both their pupils dilated sharply.
“……?”
“……!?”
Seeing something tear toward them through clouds of dust, the two hurried into the Qi-raising stance.
As Huang Xiaozhe nocked an arrow and Zhang Cheng drew his blade, slowly gathering his power.
“Huh?”
Zhang Cheng’s jaw fell open, his brow furrowing.
An utterly unexpected figure had appeared.
“Wait……? What are you doing here?”
With a dumbfounded expression, Zhang Cheng sheathed his blade again.
His eyes wide as saucers, he studied Guan Hui.
“A-are you hurt?”
Anyone could see wounds covering him everywhere, yet he asked if he was injured.
It was a measure of how badly Zhang Cheng’s composure had shattered.
Or perhaps shock had muddled his senses a little.
“No. Nothing serious,” Guan Hui replied casually.
Guan Hui spoke as if it were nothing at all.
The minor wounds had stopped bleeding well enough with time, and the poison in his thigh had been neutralized by an antidote Yang Yunshang provided.
He had strained his inner energy and suffered some internal injury, but that required only a brief period of cultivation rest to heal.
“Ah, no—the assassins? Where did those murderers go? How did you get here?”
“……?”
Guan Hui regarded Zhang Cheng’s foolish prattling with a bewildered look.
“I dealt with them and came here.”
“……? You—already?”
“The Hei Ying Wen Shanxi Branch closed its doors today. Forever.”
“……!”
At this shocking news, not only Zhang Cheng but Huang Xiaozhe’s eyes widened in alarm.
This was no petty street gang—one of the Five Great Dark Organizations itself.
Even with the Shanxi Branch being smaller in scale, it was a force comparable to a mid-sized sect.
To have destroyed such an organization single-handedly.
‘No matter how matchless his martial strength……’
It was beyond belief.
Though Guan Hui had already demonstrated impossible feats before, this struck even harder.
“Family Head, you really…….”
Zhang Cheng’s words faltered.
At this point, the word “prodigy” seemed insufficient.
This bordered on the monstrous.
“I’d like to hear the details, but now hardly seems the time. Come inside—if you fought alone, you must be exhausted.”
“Ah, I didn’t fight alone. Fortunately, I had help.”
“Help?”
“Yang Yunshang, the new Family Head of the Yang Family, aided me.”
“……The Yang Family? You mean that Yang Family from Taiyuan?”
Zhang Cheng’s expression glazed over like something had broken.
His mind felt as if it had malfunctioned from hearing one impossible tale after another.
“Ah, no—why would he help the Family Head? Wouldn’t he help the Hei Ying Wen instead?”
“From what I gather, he’s a different man from his father. He possesses integrity, and—a righteous spirit of mutual aid.”
“……??”
Zhang Cheng still couldn’t grasp it.
“You mean that same Yang Yunshang who crossed blades with me? That arrogant prick with nothing but pride?”
Martial artists learn each other’s nature through the clash of steel.
The Yang Yunshang Zhang Cheng had faced that day was prideful to the point of obscenity—a swollen young man drunk on his own importance.
Much like himself, truth be told.
“The very same. He has done me a considerable service this time.”
“I can hardly believe it.”
“In about a month, I’ll come by for a drink. You’ll see for yourself. It’ll be quite a surprise.”
Guan Hui’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.
He had found a replacement for Yang Yunshang’s drinking engagement.
For Guan Hui, it was a gain.
“Well… let’s see how it goes. Ha! So Yang Yunshang really is changing.”
Zhang Cheng, oblivious to Guan Hui’s sinister calculation, nodded readily.
At the sight of him, a smile played across Guan Hui’s lips.
“……?”
Huang Xiaozhe, who had been watching Guan Hui in silence, tilted her head slightly.
“Ha! The Hei Ying Wen Shanxi Branch annihilated by just two people… the world will be shaken by this.”
Zhang Cheng, still reeling from shock; Guan Hui, wearing that sinister smile; Huang Xiaozhe, her wide eyes conveying relief.
Just as the three young martial artists were about to step back into the Guan Family Estate.
Thud—
Footsteps reached the ears of all three.
Leather shoes sodden and dark with dripping blood.
As the squelch of blood and sand mingled with each step, all three froze.
The faint metallic reek of blood touched their nostrils, and their faces went cold.
Those who bore the scent of blood rarely brought good tidings.
Shring—
Zhang Cheng drew his blade from his waist once more.
“……!”
“……!!”
The moment they recognized the blood-soaked visitor, all three faces drained of color in shock.

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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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