My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 57

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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 57. The Duel
‘…I never expected them to arrive so early!’
Peng Sejin hurried toward the Head’s Study.
It was because of the Sarimdан, who had come from the Murim Alliance.
He had already heard the rumors about them and knew them well enough.
Whether fact or fiction, even half-listening to the accounts made them sound far too vicious to be considered the declining remnants of an Orthodox Sect.
So when he learned that they were making their rounds through the Great Families, and that the Peng Family Estate would eventually come into their schedule, he had resolved to monitor them closely, exhausting though it would be.
And when word finally came that they would visit the Peng Family this time, Peng Sejin had prepared himself mentally in advance.
He had also estimated, based on comparing their speed of movement between other Great Families, roughly when they would arrive at the Peng Family Estate.
That time was supposed to be around midnight tomorrow.
But they had arrived at the Peng Family Estate far more quickly than he had anticipated.
And of all times, while Peng Sejin happened to be away from Yeo Yun-hwi’s quarters.
“Father!”
Peng Sejin hurried into the Head’s Study and found Peng Mugang.
“Ah, you’ve come. What is it? You look rather urgent about something.”
“They’ve arrived, sir.”
“They? Ah. Those arrogant whelps, you mean?”
Peng Mugang, contrary to his massive frame, had a fondness for tea.
Even now, he sat sipping it with unhurried calm.
He regarded Peng Sejin without apparent concern and nodded.
“Come here and have a cup of tea yourself.”
Peng Mugang displayed a composure quite unlike his son’s.
“Are you not concerned, sir?”
The servants must have already relayed the rumors about them to him.
Such ruffians had entered his own grounds, yet Peng Mugang’s face showed no particular worry—only ease.
“Concerned?”
Peng Mugang let out a soft chuckle at his son’s words.
“A handful of earthworms who’ve deluded themselves into thinking they’ve become dragons without understanding their own station—why would I be concerned about that?”
“But,”
“There will be some commotion, certainly. But how much trouble can they truly make?”
It was a reasonable point, to be sure.
Yet from the perspective of a Clan Patriarch, even small disturbances could prove deeply troublesome and loom large for the servants and ordinary martial artists under his command.
Moreover, he had heard that they had thrown their weight around at other Great Families without so much as choosing their opponents.
So Peng Sejin felt the situation was not one to dismiss lightly.
Yet something about his father seemed different today than usual.
“Is there perhaps some other thought on your mind, sir?”
“Hmm. Your instincts are sharp as always… I cannot say more just now, but the more of a spectacle those earthworm fellows make, the more welcome it may actually be to me.”
“Pardon? What do you mean…”
Peng Mugang spoke in riddles.
“In any case, such is the situation.”
Peng Mugang smiled wryly.
He then poured tea into the cup he had set before Peng Sejin.
“Try it. This is the tea your father has grown most fond of these days.”
“Father.”
“Did I not say I have thought it all through? Do not worry yourself overmuch.”
Peng Mugang refilled his own empty cup and began to drink slowly.
Whatever happened, his mind had already mapped out the events that would follow—he had a complete plan in place.
‘I look forward to seeing the look on those old fools’ faces.’
Where others might find it difficult and frightening to face the Murim Alliance, Peng Mugang harbored no such sentiment.
Rather, his heart was always brimming with the urge to settle accounts the moment any opening presented itself.
So he meant to seize this opportunity.
After all, chances to find fault with those wretched Murim Alliance dogs were rare.
Peng Sejin, unable to grasp his father’s true thoughts, wore a frustrated expression.
He sipped his tea halfheartedly and simply stared at his father’s face.
Then it came.
“Clan Patriarch!”
A voice called from outside.
Presently, one of Peng Mugang’s direct subordinates entered.
“What is the matter?”
“It is that matter, sir.”
The news that the messenger brought made Peng Mugang bolt from his seat.
“What? The Baekrang Unit?”
In that instant, Peng Mugang’s face crumpled.
Of all the places he’d hoped to avoid entanglement with, they’d become tangled this quickly.
It was utterly exasperating.
Peng Mugang found himself thinking that troublemakers must possess some invisible force that drew them toward one another.
And at the subsequent report,
Crash!
Peng Mugang roared in fury and shattered the massive dining table with a single punch.
“What? They beat a servant half to death and tried to lay hands on Yuli? Have I ever seen such madness!”
Peng Mugang looked ready to storm out and annihilate the Sarimdан on the spot.
Peng Sejin moved quickly to restrain him.
“Father, allow me to go first and assess the situation.”
“No! Let’s go together!”
Peng Sejin shook his head at his father’s words.
“I must respectfully disagree. If you’re there, matters will only escalate. Let me handle this first.”
“Hmm… very well, I suppose.”
Peng Mugang nodded reluctantly, clearly unhappy with the arrangement.
The moment Peng Sejin hurried from the room, Peng Mugang drew a long, deep breath.
“These cursed wretches…….”
He had gravely underestimated them.
These were madmen of the highest order.
How many offenses had they committed in such a short span of time?
Peng Mugang took another long breath.
“That they should dare lay a finger on my Yuli…….”
He turned to gaze out the window at the sky.
The heavens were remarkably clear today.
Perfect burial weather, he thought.
Truly. Every last one of these dogs was finished.
***
The Baekrang Unit and Sarimdан had by then moved to the Training Grounds that had been prepared within the Peng Family Estate.
Throughout the move, O Chaemu’s expression remained distinctly unpleasant.
Though he had accepted boldly enough, contrary to his intent, matters were only growing larger.
In the meantime, the injured servant had been taken to the physician, and Yuli had been escorted by one of the Baekrang Unit members to the room where Seo Yeon was.
“Since there are exactly ten of us, I believe it would be best to conduct duels one by one, in the spirit of mutual exchange,” Jo Min said with a bright smile.
Everything seemed to unfold according to this man’s designs, and O Chaemu was deeply displeased.
Yet he could hardly display his true feelings outright. Such was the burden of a Great Family’s warrior when receiving troublesome guests.
Moreover, these were no ordinary wearisome visitors—they were utterly beyond common sense, and merely remaining in their presence was a trial.
In any case, O Chaemu nodded in agreement.
He wanted nothing more than to protest that there was no need for so many people to participate in the duels, but he knew that whatever he said, he would only drag things out before ultimately proceeding as planned.
In situations like this, there was only one solution: start quickly and finish quickly.
The Training Grounds were equipped with wooden swords, wooden blades, and wooden staffs.
Those who were to duel would take one and enter the dueling arena.
First, one of the Sarimdан stepped forward.
O Chaemu then gestured to signal another.
It was Gu Taesan.
Seizing the initiative is paramount. In that respect, sending Gu Taesan first was entirely appropriate.
The first duel commenced immediately.
“Khrrrgh!”
Gu Taesan did not hide his fierce, menacing laugh—far removed from his usual hearty chuckle.
Facing him was a Sarimdан member wielding a wooden staff.
The Sarimdан member’s attacks came swiftly and sharply toward Gu Taesan.
Yet Gu Taesan’s tremendous strength parried every strike, lifted his opponent, and hurled him to the ground.
Though he did not slam him down with full force, the staff snapped and the opponent ended up sitting on the ground.
Gu Taesan had won.
“Hooraaaah!”
Gu Taesan let out a triumphant roar.
The duels continued, progressing far more swiftly and lightly than expected.
Ki Su, Ki Sang, and Do Kyung took their turns next.

All of them were strong warriors the Baekrang Unit took pride in.
They too leveraged their advantages and claimed swift victories.
Once again, the Baekrang Unit won the duel.
The defeated Sarimdан member descended carefully, gauging the mood.
The others mocked him openly, snickering among themselves.
In that moment, the nature of their relationship became plain.
After roughly four duels had progressed in this manner, Jo Min’s face hardened.
“Do it properly!”
When Jo Min shouted irritably, every member of the Sarimdан froze.
“Think of each of your defeats as a defeat for the Murim Alliance. Do you understand?”
Heh.
O Chaemu, watching from a distance, let out a hollow laugh.
After all, this was nothing more than an ordinary duel—not a life-or-death match where lives hung in the balance, nor one where either side’s honor was truly at stake.
Yet Jo Min was pressing his members with such grave severity over this mere training bout.
There was a real risk the duel would become overheated.
‘This will spiral.’
As a result, the atmosphere among the Sarimdан members was no longer what it had been before.
It had grown more serious, their eyes now gleaming with intensity.
The one stepping forward from the Baekrang Unit this time was Peng Dohwan.
“Dohwan, you’ve got this.”
O Chaemu, Gu Taesan, and the other unit members cheered enthusiastically as Peng Dohwan came forward.
“Come on! What’s with the cheering for a simple duel? Ha!”
Despite his words, Peng Dohwan stepped forward with a small, composed smile.
But the moment he recognized his opponent, his face went cold.
“You?”
His opponent was the very man who had sparked this whole commotion.
The man who had beaten a servant mercilessly to a bloody pulp when the servant had accidentally splashed water on him, and who had then tried to lay hands on Yuli.
The man smirked.
“What? You planning to do something about that glare?”
Faced with such arrogance, Peng Dohwan simply took up his wooden blade without a word.
The duel began almost immediately.
Without preamble, Peng Dohwan narrowed the distance slowly as if making a brief reconnaissance, then launched into a rapid assault.
Thwack, thwack, thwack!
His lightning-fast strikes pierced toward the man’s body in three successive thrusts.
Caught off-guard by the sharpness of the attack, the young man barely managed to evade.
“Y-you’re… pretty good?”
Having underestimated Peng Dohwan, he now found the man’s blade quite swift.
But the man too was carefully selected talent, nurtured by the Murim Alliance since childhood.
His counterattacks were far from trivial.
Screeeee! Thwack. Crack!
Though his strikes came in straightforward arcs, the solid foundation of his Internal Energy and Martial Arts forced Peng Dohwan into a defensive struggle.
The Baekrang Unit members’ faces grew anxious as they watched the duel unfold.
“Don’t worry. Our Dohwan is no ordinary fighter.”
As O Chaemu spoke, time passed, and Peng Dohwan’s movements began to shift.
He had quickly discerned the simplicity of his opponent’s offense and turned the momentum in his favor.
From that point on, Peng Dohwan began to dominate.
Soon the man who had bullied everyone relentlessly found himself being driven back without mercy.
“Y-you! You wretched bastards!”
Sensing defeat, the man’s face grew desperate.
And in that instant, a flash of killing intent gleamed in his eyes.
“Do you think I’ll lose? Die!”
He unleashed a Killing Technique toward Peng Dohwan.
In that moment, Peng Dohwan’s eyes widened.
Splash!
“D-Dohwan!”
Blood sprayed across the Training Grounds in all directions.

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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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