Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 1

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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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Third-rate Martial Arts Family, Greatest Under Heaven – Episode 001
The First Sword Among Wanderers.
A sobriquet meaning one possessed the finest swordsmanship among all drifters.
It was a title I had earned after leaving my family and wandering the Martial Arts World for over a decade.
Yet I was not satisfied with my own sobriquet.
“These verbose socialites are the real problem. They slap a prefix on everything and call themselves the ‘First Sword.’ What nonsense.”
The First Sword of Sichuan, the First Sword of Wudang, the First Sword of Huqi, and so on.
“At this rate, even some third-rate nobody from a back-alley Black Island will claim to be the First Sword. They squabble among themselves and suddenly someone’s the First Sword of the Black Assassin Sect.”
Behind me, my fellow wanderer Baek Ri-chudal chuckled as he walked along the mountain path.
“Still, Elder Brother, isn’t it something to be called the First Sword while living as a wanderer? Honestly, doesn’t it feel good?”
“Chu Dal, Chu Dal, written with the character for pursuit and the character for mastery.”
Baek Ri-chudal, or Chu Dal for short, bristled.
“It’s the character for pursuit and the character for mastery! It means I’m a master who never lets slip any existence within a hundred li in all directions, one who has achieved mastery in pursuit!”
“Right, Chu Dal. So why do you think your sobriquet is prefixed with ‘hundred li’ and not ‘ten thousand li’ or ‘thousand li’?”
…
“It means you’re only worth that much.”
“Blast! Is that any way to speak to your younger brother!”
“Why not? I can say it to myself too. I’m still just the First Sword Among Wanderers.”
I spoke with a smile, but there was unmistakable self-mockery woven through my words.
Yet Chu Dal simply snorted.
“And at your age, you’ve already reached the pinnacle?”
Chu Dal was certain of one thing.
If my sworn brother had revealed all his true martial prowess, he would have earned a different sobriquet.
“There’s no point in putting on airs.”
“You’ve seen through it?”
“Coming from a third-rate martial family and reaching the pinnacle before forty? That’s not easy.”
Besides, the wealth I had accumulated was enough for three generations of my family to live in comfort.
Any complaint would feel like mere deception.
But.
“It’s not enough. There’s still a long way to go before I can transform this third-rate family into a true great family.”
My dream and my purpose.
It was to elevate my humble family to the ranks of the great families.
“Elder Brother, you’re truly ruthless. Wandering as a drifter for twenty years, saving money and innovating martial techniques.”
I chuckled and continued.
“Pathetic, isn’t it? So what do you say, Chu Dal—why not invest all the money you’ve saved into your elder brother?”
“Goodness! You’re coveting the marriage fund of a poor bachelor who’s already missed his chance! Where did you learn such shamelessness!”
“In exchange, I’ll make you an elder of the Baek Family Estate.”
“I’m confident I could receive better treatment anywhere else!”
I immediately countered Chu Dal’s words.
“A man worth only a hundred li thinking he’ll get elder treatment elsewhere? Just come join our family, boy!”
“I refuse!”
“Then how about this? We split the reward from the Namgung Family’s commission—I take seven parts, you take three.”
“You keep spouting nonsense!”
“Nonsense, you say?”
I slowed my pace deliberately.
At the same moment, my hand moved to the hilt of my sword.
“You haven’t noticed yet, have you?”
Chu Dal’s body went rigid.
“What do you mean?”
“That’s right. Get ready.”
*Shing!*
Chu Dal and I drew our blades simultaneously.
The undergrowth rustled, and more than a dozen masked figures in black emerged from all directions.
‘Eleven of them. By their bearing, they’re well-trained. But why ambush us with a full encirclement?’
I opened my mouth casually, betraying no concern.
“Black garments seem to be fashionable among the bandits these days, I see?”
“So the rumors are true—the finest swordsman among wanderers has keen senses.”
“My swordsmanship may be merely the finest among wanderers, but my sense of smell is unparalleled under heaven. The stench is so overwhelming I can barely stand it. Wouldn’t you agree, Chu Dal?”
Chu Dal seized the opening immediately.
“Ha, you’re right, brother. I’ve been noticing a foul reek since earlier—seems to be coming from their faces.”
“They seem to know it themselves, judging by how they’ve wrapped those cloths around their heads.”
“If you ask me, their faces must be as ugly as they smell, so they’re covering them up.”
“That makes sense! Hahahaha!”
“Not just sense—a hundred miles of sense! Hehehehe!”
The two of us exchanged insulting jests with raucous laughter.
Several of the masked figures couldn’t contain their anger and reacted instinctively.
In that instant, Chu Dal and I seized the opportunity and launched ourselves forward.
Our targets were the two masked men who had revealed their emotions.
*Thunk!*
“Gahhh!”
One masked figure, having paid the price for his exposed flank, departed for the underworld.
Next, I raised my blade and parried the attack of another masked assailant coming from the side.
*Clang!*
“Go, Chu Dal!”
“Understood!”
Using my shoulder as a springboard, Chu Dal leaped high and burst through the encirclement, then unleashed his lightness technique.
Chu Dal’s silhouette vanished in an instant. I spoke with casual indifference.
“Whew! That Chu Dal—his lightness technique is truly unmatched. If you don’t want word of this ambush spreading through town, you’d better chase after him, you dogs.”
One masked figure gave a hand signal, and nine of them took off in pursuit.
Only one remained—the leader of the masked group.
‘This is quite unexpected.’
I had planned to break through the encirclement, scatter the group, and create an unpredictable variable—but I never expected only one would remain.
“They call me the finest swordsman of Nangzhong, you know. Are you confident?”
The masked figure drew his sword without a word.
“Ah, so you’re also a swordsman. It seems you’ve earned the title of finest blade somewhere as well?”
“….”
The masked figure remained silent.
Seems like a mute—let me deduce this myself.
“Wearing a mask in this sweltering summer heat… You must be the finest swordsman of Chuzhou! The one who wields the blade best among them! That’s your true identity!”
“…Now that I think about it, you’re not the finest swordsman of Nangzhong—you’re the finest talker of Nangzhong.”
“Ah, my tongue does have a way with words, doesn’t it? Want me to surprise you further?”
Yang Hwi continued speaking.
“Why is the Namgung Family—your employer—ambushing us?”
I didn’t observe the sword techniques or recognize the forms.
Nor did I discern the unique qualities of their internal energy through the aura.
Yet despite this, I saw through my opponent’s identity at a glance.
“…You are truly dangerous, I must say.”
The masked figure removed his mask. In that instant, I was struck with shock.
“You are?!”
“First” means the foremost among many.
Therefore, the only true “first” that can exist is the greatest under heaven.
The Greatest Family Under Heaven—the Great Namgung.
My opponent was the young patriarch of that very Namgung Family.
“Young Patriarch. What in the world are you doing?”
The young patriarch, Namgung Cheon-yeong, replied with a grave expression.
“I cannot stand idle while the Baek Family—once a pillar of the Five Great Families—recovers its lost martial arts.”
The true reason I left my family and wandered the Martial Arts World.
It was to restore the lost family techniques.
“You’ve not only reached the pinnacle with merely third-rate martial arts, but elevated your understanding to rival divine techniques. I apologize, finest swordsman of Nangzhong.”
Rather than ask how he discovered what I had always concealed, I let out a scoff.
“Well, I have accomplished something remarkable. Something even the young patriarch of the Great Namgung could not achieve.”
‘Though I paid the price with demonic possession and nearly died for it.’
Had the demonic possession not damaged the meridians throughout my entire body—
I might have glimpsed even greater heights than I do now.
In any case.
“That the Great Namgung would take such interest in a mere third-rate family. Is this meticulous attention the secret behind the Greatest Family Under Heaven’s dominance?”
Namgung Cheon-yeong did not deny it, only smiled bitterly.
“Gangwon and Anhui are too close. I cannot simply overlook this.”
“Removing the mask means I intend to kill you without fail.”
“But it is also a mark of respect for you.”
“Do you have the confidence to kill me?”
“….”
Namgung Cheon-yeong did not answer, but his silence was affirmation.
Of course it was—Namgung Cheon-yeong was always the first name that came to mind when discussing the greatest swordsman of the future.
‘The Eternal Prodigy, called the greatest blade of Namgung across generations.’
But that was not Yang Hwi’s nature—to be intimidated by an opponent.
“I spent eighteen years reconstructing the Gaetian Sword from my family’s original design. If the legendary Emperor’s Sword Form truly exists, this will be the perfect opportunity to test the fruits of my labor.”
Yang Hwi’s lips curled into a fierce grin as he hurled himself toward Namgung Cheon-yeong.
Clang!
A duel to the death that began with a single, violent clash.
Two hours by the clock.
Nearly a thousand exchanges of blades.
After such an eternity, the final stroke was struck.
Thud! Thud!
Two sounds of flesh tearing.
One heart pierced through by steel.
One arm severed at the shoulder.
“Cough!”
Namgung Cheon-yeong spat blood and foam. His trembling hand reached toward Yang Hwi.
The hand that had approached as if to strangle fell limply upon Yang Hwi’s shoulder.
“Forgive… me….”
The moment Namgung Cheon-yeong’s eyes lost their light, Yang Hwi withdrew the blade from his heart.
Then, lacking the strength to stand any longer, he collapsed.
“Forgive? That’s absurd.”
Does an apology erase all wrongdoing?
If that were true, why would the Martial Arts World even have a most-wanted list?
Even as these thoughts crossed my mind, I felt a profound satisfaction flooding through my entire body.
‘I won.’
I had defeated the greatest blade of Namgung—one who had consumed every elixir since childhood and trained in the most transcendent martial arts—with the greatest blade from the Nangzhong region.
In other words, I had proven it.
That my family’s restored martial arts were supreme in the entire Martial Arts World.
‘Now I only need to report this to the family….’
That was when it happened.
“Young Master!”
“You bastard!”
The masked assassins who had pursued Chu Dal returned.
‘…Chu Dal.’
One of them held Chu Dal’s severed head in his hand.
I had thought that perhaps Chu Dal might survive if he fled, since their target was me.
‘They caught him and killed him after all. They didn’t want to leave any witnesses.’
I pushed myself up with great effort, my body screaming in protest.
Namgung Cheon-yeong was no easy opponent, and my body was already a wreck.
“You know what? Chu Dal’s only wish was to get married.”
Swoosh!
With a single stroke, one of the masked assassins’ necks was severed.
“You kill a boy like that? Aren’t you afraid of the resentment of a bachelor’s ghost?”
Clang!
A blade pierced my abdomen, but in exchange, I drove my sword through the attacker’s heart.
“Kill him! All six of you attack at once from the hexagon formation!”
“You fool, you’re not even using the Earthen Concealment Technique—how do you expect to attack simultaneously from a hexagon formation?”
I caught two blades on my back and drove my sword through both their mouths in return.
Now six remained.
The Hundred and Eight Heavenly Swords—a dazzling sword dance that covered the sky, embroidering all directions with its brilliance.
“Chu Dal, Chu Dal, Chu Dal written with the character for ‘pursue’ and the character for ‘otter.’ Are you watching?”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
I severed the lives of five of the six.
The price was wounds so severe I could barely take another step.
Now only one remained.
“Come on. Come at me, you bastard.”
Drenched in blood from head to toe, kneeling on one knee because I lacked the strength to stand, yet my aura was as fierce as a malevolent spirit.
“Ugh, ugh….”
Perhaps that’s why the last one chose to flee instead of attacking.
“Ah, damn it. Ruining the moment at the end.”
I gathered my last reserves of inner energy and hurled my sword.
The flying blade pierced through the assassin’s back.
Thud!
Confirming the assassin’s collapse, I finally let my body go limp.
“Chu Dal. I’m sorry.”
To avenge you, I’d need to destroy the entire Namgung Family, but that seems impossible now.
Strength drained from my entire body.
As the blood flowed out, my consciousness grew hazy.
“I need to return… to the family… but….”
I no longer had the strength to keep my eyes open.
My vision darkened.

* * *
A dungeon reeking of stench and wet mud from all directions.
Filthy as it was, it remained a familiar place to me.
This was where I first obtained a family.
‘Sigh, so the lantern of past lives truly appears before death. Then… will I soon see Father?’
A child who had begged as the youngest of a beggar gang, kidnapped to Black Island and destined to be sold into slavery.
That was who I was in those days.
It was my adoptive father who changed that fate.
Baek Moo-ryang, the Unparalleled Benevolent Knight.
The patriarch of Baek Family Estate in Muzhou, Jiangxi Province, and a man of righteousness renowned as unparalleled in dispensing benevolence.
‘Father will soon subjugate Black Island and come to rescue me.’
I recalled the past while in a daze.
“Child, you are now free. Go where you wish.”
Even after receiving Baek Moo-ryang’s rescue, I did not move.
With nowhere to go, there was no reason to move, and since my trade was begging, it mattered not where I laid my body—the sky would be my roof regardless.
To such a me, Father posed this question.
“Why do you not leave?”
‘What did I say then? That I would move of my own accord before starving to death, and that the benevolent knight need not concern himself?’
In that moment, Father’s voice from memory continued.
“I acted to save you through benevolence, yet your suffering has not vanished. How then could I simply abandon this?”
Baek Moo-ryang knelt on one knee before the boy.
“What is your name?”
Even on that day thirty years past, Father had asked my name.
A vision so vivid it was almost unbearable. Without knowing it, I opened my mouth.
“I have no name. Since childhood, I have only been called ‘this one’ and ‘that one.'”
“Born human, yet without a name? Perhaps… this too is fate. Then, how would this suit you?”
Baek Moo-ryang extended his hand.
“We met in a dark dungeon, but I wish for your life henceforth to be bright and radiant. So, Yang Hwi. I shall add my surname—Baek Yang-hwi.”
A large hand, calloused from labor yet somehow appearing soft and warm, filled my entire vision.
“I sense a connection with you. Yang Hwi, will you not become my son?”
On that day in the past, the boy who had been nothing gained the name Yang Hwi and a family.
“Yang Hwi, this is Baek Family Estate. It shall be your home from now on.”
Clean clothes and warm meals. A caring father and beloved younger siblings.
A happiness I had never known in all my life.
Naturally, Baek Family Estate became the most precious place in the world to me.
“Hwi, this father’s dream is for our Baek Family to rise once more to the ranks of the great families and command Jiangxi Province.”
Father’s ambition, revealed one day as he sat me down and drank his wine.
My father’s dream became my dream, and from that moment, I strove to elevate the Baek Family to greatness.
But.
‘The family’s martial arts were insufficient. No matter how exceptional my talent, the martial techniques were too shallow to reach mastery in merely three years.’
That was right. The Baek Family’s martial arts techniques were merely third-rate.
The essence of a martial arts family lies in martial prowess itself.
How could a family lacking such foundation ever rise to the ranks of the great clans?
‘After endless years of training, I finally created a technique worthy of being called divine martial arts….’
But what good was it? I never passed it on before I died.
Damn it all. I should have returned sooner if I’d known this would happen.
Yet something was strange.
Death was drawing near, so why hadn’t my life’s memories finished flashing before my eyes?
The moment that thought crossed my mind.
[Reversing Heaven, Changing Fate]
[The flow of reversal has altered your destiny]
[Return to the Correct Current]
[Set things right and flow as they should]
[Return to the Point and Fulfill Your Wishes]
[Go back and accomplish what you desire]
A voice burned into my eardrums—no, into my mind—no, into my very soul like a brand.
Yang Hwi instinctively realized that the current situation, the young father before his eyes, was no mere illusion of life’s final moments.
‘I’ve traveled back through time to the past? How is this even possible…?’
Yang Hwi gazed at his youthful father’s face as if entranced.
The sensation felt vividly real.
“Father.”
“Yes, from now on, I am your father, Baek Moo-ryang. Hahaha!”
I didn’t understand.
I couldn’t comprehend what had happened.
But if.
Another chance had been given to me.
‘This time, I will achieve my aspirations, I will realize my dreams.’
“I will make the Baek Family Estate into the greatest clan under heaven. I swear it.”

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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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