The Reformed Genius of the Sichuan Tang Clan - Chapter 52

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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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Episode 52
Meanwhile.
The leaders of the Orthodox Factions watching the match could not hide their astonishment.
“Remarkable. To end the match in a single breath. Truly astounding Martial Prowess.”
“I’ve been hearing the name Dang Youxuan lately, but it seems those rumors were no exaggeration.”
“Such extraordinary skill. This boy will surely make a great name for himself.”
They uttered their admiration and praise with apparent sincerity.
Yet their eyes gleamed with unmistakable wariness.
‘The attacks were identical. Did he deliberately hide his true strength because it was only the preliminaries?’
‘Peng Jingmin is no weak opponent. But to overwhelm him to that degree?’
‘Were the rumors exaggerated after all?’
Even after the Orthodox Factions conference, some refused to trust Dang Youxuan’s ability.
No matter how outstanding he was, wasn’t it possible that Dang Gangheon had orchestrated everything if they hadn’t witnessed it themselves?
Moreover, the great sects belonging to the Nine Sects One School and the Five Great Families surely possessed talents that represented their sect’s future.
Thus the leaders’ thoughts naturally converged to one conclusion.
‘No matter how exceptional Dang Youxuan is, the Heavenly Pinnacle Rising Star is my disciple.’
But Dang Youxuan’s performance had overturned that certainty.
It was no longer a simple dichotomy between the Nine Sects One School and the Five Great Families.
There was real danger that the title of Heavenly Pinnacle Rising Star itself might slip from their grasp.
In the blink of an eye.
‘I cannot simply sit idle.’
‘I will not surrender honor to some young upstart.’
‘Since I don’t know when I might face that boy, I need to prepare now…….’
‘What was that footwork? I must commit it to memory from this moment on.’
While other leaders’ minds churned with schemes to counter Dang Youxuan, Dang Gangheon watched them in silence.
Having been seated near the lowest position, he could see every shift in their expressions with only a glance.
‘They must be quite busy.’
Dang Gangheon was among the youngest of the leaders.
The Dang Clan, fallen and stripped of its former glory.
A clan head younger than his peers.
There were ample reasons for him to be dismissed.
But with Dang Youxuan’s brilliant display, the subtle contempt they had harbored quietly vanished, leaving only vigilance in its wake.
So the old saying went: one well-raised son equals ten ordinary ones.
He had never imagined he would grasp its truth in this manner.
‘There is still more to come, I suspect.’
Dang Gangheon sensed it instinctively.
That boy Dang Youxuan—what he would display did not end here.
A child who had fooled everyone through mere pretense, reclaimed the family’s hidden legacy, expanded the Dang Clan’s influence, and restored its honor would not halt at this point.
‘Go forth and unfold yourself freely. Pursue whatever your heart desires.’
He found himself curious about how far Dang Youxuan would advance now that he faced a world beyond Sichuan.
* * *
While the leaders were occupied with the sudden emergence of a dark horse, Dang Youxuan returned to his brothers only to face their grinning faces.
“Who do we have here? The legendary Dang Youxuan who defeated Peng Jingmin in a single move?”
“One unfit even for the Hidden Blade to face, such magnificence!”
“That’s not quite…….”
“I shall follow my brother’s example—insult my opponent while crushing them with overwhelming superiority!”
“Stop talking nonsense. You are never to do such a thing.”
Those eyes and ears eager to demean others over trifles were beneath his notice.
They surrounded him like he was their sole source of entertainment, chirping away without pause.
Dang Youxuan stood among them like prey being pecked at by birds.
“Speaking of which, brother. Have you ever watched our matches?”
“Never.”
Since taking this body, he had been too occupied; and in the memories, everyone had fought without their true strength due to the Council of Elders’ oversight.
‘They must have been cautious of the Council of Elders.’
The Council of Elders did not wish for a secondary patriarch to emerge from the direct line.
Had anyone shown promise from childhood, they would have been dead before fully mastering the martial arts.
With each elder wielding considerable power, a united opposition from the Council could kill a single direct descendant without difficulty.
‘But here, with no watching eyes, I can see their true matches.’
The ones he would display his strength against were not the Council of Elders, but those of the Central Plains.
They had no need to hold back in their pursuit of the Heavenly Pinnacle Rising Star title.
“Watch this time. We haven’t just been sitting idle all these years.”
“That’s right! Those shiny-headed fools and their arrogant selves, we’ll show them a thing or—!”
“Yai! Not out here!”
Dang Eunho clapped a hand over Dang Young’s mouth in alarm.
Even muffled, she continued to grumble, and Dang San let out a soft chuckle.
“Ha. I may have lost the first move to you, but the Dang Clan must show we are not weak.”
Dang Youxuan’s eyes widened.
The Yongbong Conference was a grand gathering designed to identify the most promising martial talents to lead Gangho and foster unity among the Orthodox Factions.
The Prestigious Great Sects and Families fought to protect their standing, while the rest strove to make their mark.
Yet some said that at each Heavenly Pinnacle Rising Star ranking, one’s ceiling was already determined.
For instance: the championship always went to Namgung or Shaolin, and for the Dang Clan, specialists in poison, simply passing the preliminaries was achievement enough.
But these descendants had a different truth to tell.
The Dang Clan’s legacy had not ended in decline.
They had already turned the tide and would climb to heights yet unseen.
‘What splendid descendants these are.’
Dang Youxuan loved those who refused to surrender.
Even more so those who carved their own path when everyone else declared it impossible.
“I shall watch from the front.”
“Very well.”
Behind Dang Youxuan’s faint smile came Won So’s voice.
“The fifth match: Jin Seoha of the Qingcheng Sect against Dang Young of the Sichuan Dang Family!”
“Then I’ll be going!”
“Young. Mind your tongue.”
“……Yes!”
Her answer came late.
It meant she would not be careful at all.
Dang Young bounded up onto the arena floor.
The murmurs praising Jin Seoha shifted to curiosity about Dang Young.
“An unfamiliar face…. Is this her first tournament?”
“Yes. A rising new talent. In Sichuan, they call her the Phantom Butterfly.”
“Hm. The Dang Clan’s been quiet these past years. Seems they’ve been sharpening their fangs.”
Jin Seoha, wielder of the Clear Wind Sword, bowed first, and Dang Young returned the courtesy.
“I am Jin Seoha of the Qingcheng Sect. I look forward to learning from you.”
“I’m Dang Young of the Sichuan Dang Family. I look forward to learning from you.”
“Let the match begin!”
Jin Seoha immediately took her fighting stance.
“The Dang Clan has dealt Qingcheng many defeats over the years. Today, through this match with you, I shall avenge my seniors!”
“Wow. Listen to you sound so proud.”
Dang Young tilted her head mockingly.
“Tell me, Daoist. Do you know something?”
“What?”
“Even now you’re assuming I’ll use poison because the Dang Clan’s my family, aren’t you? That’s all you’re thinking.”
Dang Young slipped a Hidden Blade between her fingers as she spoke.
“That’s why you and your seniors can never beat the Dang Clan.”
“…….”
“Frogs in a well, the lot of you.”
“Miss!”
Jin Seoha drew her sword and pointed it at Dang Young.
“Take back what you just said, or you’ll regret it.”
“Regret? That’ll be for you, not me.”
“I gave you a fair chance.”
“So did I.”
When Dang Young refused to give an inch, Jin Seoha’s jaw clenched.
‘I’ll make you pay for disrespecting me and my seniors!’
The Seventy-Two Breaking Sword—Thunder Light Storm!
Lightning and thunder cascaded like torrential rain as sword light erupted in relentless waves.
“Kuh! There it is! That continuous chaining blade—isn’t that the signature of the Clear Wind Sword!”
“The sword energy gives the opponent no room to breathe! Truly, the swordsmanship of Qingcheng is flawless!”
“How will the Phantom Butterfly counter this?”
Jin Seoha pressed forward without pause, flooding the arena with blade light.
Like lightning falling in succession, the Thunder Light Storm grows faster and more powerful with each strike it stacks.
Against the Dang Clan, masters of poison, a young lady from Gangho was not remotely in her league.
‘A poison-wielder dares to disrespect Qingcheng?’
Confident in her victory, Jin Seoha’s lips curled into a smile.
Yet even as the tidal wave of sword energy crashed toward her, Dang Young laughed it off lightly.
“You were just thinking I’m nothing but a poison-wielder, weren’t you?”
“……!”
As Jin Seoha flinched at having her thoughts read, Dang Young deployed the Lightness Footwork.
While the technique was typically known for its light, agile movements, the way Dang Young executed it resembled the flight of a butterfly.
“How is she moving like that……!”
“Indeed…… the name Butterfly Dance must have come from somewhere!”
Tap!
Dang Young leaped high into the air, her arms sweeping wide as she released the Hidden Blade.
Whistle-whistle-whistle! Whistle-whistle-whistle!
Evading Jin Seoha’s sword energy, the Hidden Blades flew left and right.
Jin Seoha hastily raised her blade edge, preparing to block.
‘In any case, she can’t do much with Hidden Blades. At worst, it’ll just be a nuisance.’
But then—
As if mocking Jin Seoha’s assumption, Dang Young’s Hidden Blade struck her sword edge.
Clang! Ching!
“Ugh!”
Jin Seoha lost her grip on the blade in an instant.
Dang Young seized the opening, her footwork bringing her right before Jin Seoha’s undefended form.
Thwack!
Dang Young drove her heel straight up into Jin Seoha’s jaw.
“Urgh!”
As Jin Seoha tumbled backward, Dang Young planted herself in the Victory Stance with grace.
“Hmph! And who told you to look down on me?”
Sichuan Dang Family’s Prodigal Who Turned Over a New Leaf
Author |
Lee Il-young
Published by |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Editor-in-Chief |
Editorial Department
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books
Address |
7F, Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260615052
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter(X) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written consent of Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books.

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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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