Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 100

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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 100
Four days had passed.
As expected, the martial artists of the Eastern Cave engaged in minor skirmishes, but nothing escalated into the kind of massive conflict that would leave corpses piling up.
It couldn’t have been otherwise.
‘Namgung controls the food supplies, and from the Shaman’s perspective, the longer time drags on, the more exhausted the Black Blade faction becomes.’
Conversely, the Nokrim Sip-ung representing Black Blade and several heterodox martial artists found their position strengthening with each passing day.
As hunger gnawed at them, the martial artists would have no choice but to submit to evil, at which point the four members of Nokrim Sip-ung with the highest martial prowess and reputation could consolidate all remaining fighters under their banner.
‘Quite the strategy.’
They and their subordinate forces possessed several days’ worth of provisions—whether through foresight or mere luck, I couldn’t say.
Yet they shared most of their food with the other martial artists.
It created an absurd spectacle: the White Blade faction hoarding their supplies while the heterodox faction displayed generosity.
‘Well, it’s all calculated strategy anyway. And thanks to it, I’ve both secured a provisional leadership position and cultivated hostility toward them.’
However, maintaining this stalemate was reaching its limits.
More precisely, it was the Black Blade faction that faced the limit.
‘The White Blade side still has ample provisions. They can maintain the standoff until Black Blade grows hungrier and more exhausted.’
Yet for Black Blade, now was the opportune moment.
Fighting immediately offered the highest chance of victory.
If their opponent hadn’t been Namgung and the Shaman—the two sword masters of the orthodox martial world—they would have torn into them long ago.
“Phew, it’s getting tense. We’re on a knife’s edge, aren’t we?”
“That’s right. The slightest provocation and fighting will erupt.”
Dang-gun and Dang-yeon, observing from the side, exhaled heavily.
“Hwi, I’m not sure this is the right thing to do.”
“Even if most are Black Blade and heterodox, about thirty percent must be White Blade. They’re innocent.”
I almost said that greed blinds the eyes and that blindness is sin, but I simply closed my mouth.
Well, I’d known the Tang Siblings had this nature even in my previous life.
That’s partly why I liked them.
“I understand Elder Dang’s heart. Don’t worry. I’m a son of the Baek Family too. When it comes to righteousness, I’m not inferior to the Tang family.”
“I know. I trust you, Hwi.”
Meeting Dang-gun’s gaze without flinching, I turned my head toward Chu Dal.
“Chu Dal, it’s time for us to make our move.”
“Brother. You’re not going to tell me your scheme until the very end, are you?”
“No.”
If it were urgent or absolutely necessary to share, I would have spoken immediately.
Since it wasn’t, I intended to keep the secret for now—for the amusement of the group.
‘…Elder Dang would probably object slightly, saying there must be a better way.’
Anyway, Elder Dang was far too rigid.
Having been raised in the Baek Family, which pursued righteousness strictly, I considered myself somewhat principled too, yet seeing Dang-gun sometimes made my tongue curl.
“Let’s go, Chu Dal.”
“Understood.”
After signaling the group, I climbed back up through the hole I’d descended from.
About an hour passed like that.
A ravine half-collapsed, water trickling down in thin streams.
A hand suddenly burst through the water’s surface.
“Phew! Ah, that’s refreshing.”
Yang Hwi seized the moment and threw himself into the pool, washing away every speck of dust clinging to his body.
The sensation of cleanliness was remarkably similar to lying down on fresh clothes and new bedding.
“Elder brother! I feel like I’m coming back to life!”
Only after completing his ritual ablution in the cold water did I emerge from the ravine.
“Hmm?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Where are all the martial artists?”
“Huh? Now that you mention it?”
I had spread word through Ha O-mun far and wide.
Besides those who arrived early and fell into Geom Wang’s trap all at once, the latecomers should have arrived by now and been lingering about.
Yet there was no one.
‘An unexpected variable has emerged.’
To be safe, I spread my qi sensing broadly to probe the surroundings.
Fortunately, I detected nothing, but…
‘This makes me even more uneasy. What on earth happened?’
Yang Hwi’s expression hardened slightly as I unleashed my lightness martial art.
“Follow closely.”
My destination was Tae-hwa, the inn where I had stayed before and the Ha O-mun branch.
Originally, I had planned to buy provisions and necessary supplies at the marketplace in Gye-su and return, but now that I had discovered this variable, that alone wouldn’t suffice.
“I’ll be running faster. If you can’t keep up, tell me. I’ll carry you.”
“Carry me.”
“Shut up.”
As payment for his insolent attitude, instead of carrying him, I hoisted him onto my back and ran.
With each bounding step, Chu Dal’s breath caught, and he kept gasping out ugh and ack sounds.
When we arrived at Tae-hwa, it was then.
“…Elder brother. Wasn’t that inn over there? Where the Juru was located?”
“Yes. It was.”
The Ha O-mun branch, being the most splendid inn in Tae-hwa, was located in the most bustling part of the marketplace.
Yet now, all that remained in sight was a building reduced to ash.
‘The Ha O-mun branch has vanished. No—someone destroyed it.’
If the most foolish thing in the world was making Shaolin an enemy,
Then the second or third most foolish thing was making enemies of Gae-bang and Ha O-mun.
How did this happen?
“Chu Dal. Let’s ask around the locals.”
We scattered in different directions to gather information about what happened and the circumstances, then reunited.
“Elder brother. Two nights ago, the inn suddenly caught fire with a tremendous explosion in the dead of night.”
“I’ve heard about it too. They say there weren’t even any survivors.”
According to the rumors, not only the servants working at Juru, but even Lu Ju, the Branch Manager, was found as a charred corpse.
And there was one more suspicious detail.
“Have you heard too, Elder? They’re saying the Geom Wang Treasure is just a false rumor.”
The rumors had completely reversed in a short span of time.
It was a fire that had been burning for a full fifteen days with fuel constantly added.
Yet in those fifteen days, the direction of the rumors changed.
There was definitely artificial intervention involved.
‘The Ha O-mun branch that sold information about the Geom Wang Treasure has been completely scattered. And all related rumors have vanished without a trace.’
Could this really be a coincidence?
There’s no way.
“It might be good to find out who the culprit is?”
“We’ll draw attention if we act now. Let’s search the burned building at night.”
After waiting a few hours, the sun set.
I slipped into the Juru building with Chu Dal, keeping to the shadows.
That was when it happened.
“Hmm?”
“What is it?”
“The energy….”
Just now, my Seon Qi reacted.
Based on my experience so far, there was only one case when Seon Qi reacted.
When something sinister was present.
I closed my eyes and deployed my energy sensing at full power.
That wasn’t enough, so I drew out Hwa Cheon Qi filled with Seon Qi from my dantian and expelled it outward like a thread.
‘I haven’t reached the peak stage yet, but….’
Sword energy manifestation was impossible, but intent energy manifestation was possible.
With the memories and insights from my past life, I could even use the energy I expelled outward as a tool for detection.
After probing the surroundings for a while like that.
I could become certain of one thing.
‘Faint but definitely demonic energy. A heretical sect.’
“Elder, did you discover something?”
It wasn’t something to tell Chu Dal right away, so I kept my mouth shut for now.
“Let’s search more thoroughly.”
“Yes.”
Though more than half of Juru had burned, Lu Ju’s office located on the rooftop remained intact and standing.
I leaped up and carefully examined various spots.
Then I found it.
“This trace.”
Blood stains scorched by flames.
My experience as a wanderer allowed me to recognize it.
Lu Ju suffered catastrophic injuries, bleeding profusely, while simultaneously burning to death in the flames.
‘In other words.’
I traced the evidence to deduce the final location where the corpse would have been.
There, draped upon the ground, lay a charred scrap of cloth.
When I lifted it, characters written in blood became visible.
[Silence. Vengeance desired.]
Having spoken nothing, he desired retribution.
‘This message was meant for me.’
It meant he had refused to reveal the identity of whoever sold information about Geom Wang’s Vault.
Well, judging by the traces, it didn’t appear he’d been tortured either.
‘I suppose I was the only one he could think of. He wrote “silence” so I would carry out his vengeance in his stead.’
With a grim expression, I offered a brief prayer for the deceased.
Merely a Branch Manager of Ha O-mun, yet he met an unjust death.
‘I have no obligation to avenge him, but I will do so in his place.’
If the enemy was a member of the heretical sects, I would have to kill them anyway.
That was simply how one practiced righteousness.
“Elder Brother. So what’s the situation?”
“…Let’s discuss it on the way back. The others will be waiting.”
I deployed my lightness technique again and began my explanation.
“Chu Dal. Our original reason for venturing outside was to purchase provisions.”
“I figured as much. I couldn’t see any other way to cause trouble here. And spreading false information would be the cherry on top.”
Not long ago I’d thought him still immature, but it seemed Chu Dal had grown considerably in his own way.
“Correct. I intended to make things as difficult as possible for those Namgung bastards. But now doesn’t seem to be the right time for that.”
“Why? What did you discover?”
“Simply put, it appears those evil heretical sect dogs intend to exploit Geom Wang’s Vault to satisfy their own greed.”
Chu Dal’s expression darkened.
“The stakes have grown far too large. What happens now?”
“I’m not entirely certain myself.”
In the years to come, the heretical sect uprising would be caused by three major groups of these evil sect bastards.
The Blood Sect, Myeong Gyo, and Singyeo.
I couldn’t immediately determine which of these sects sought to involve themselves with Geom Wang’s Vault.
“For now, we’ll purchase as much food and medicine as possible and return. After that, we’ll adapt as circumstances unfold.”
Upon reaching Baek Su-san, the two of us descended through the valley’s opening to where the others awaited.
“Young Masters! Why did it take so long!”
“We were worried something had happened.”
“Yang Hwi. I’m hungry.”
“Did you two slack off out there?”
I shook my head and began my explanation.
“That’s not it. Something unexpected occurred outside.”
The murdered Ha O-mun Branch Manager. The direction of rumors, completely reversed in mere days.
“Moreover, the Ha O-mun Branch discovered traces of demonic qi.”
Upon hearing Yang Hwi’s words, the Tang Siblings, Gu Ak, and even Adu’s faces hardened with palpable dread.
“Demonic qi.”
“Then the seeds of the Demonic Path?”
The righteous and unorthodox paths coexist in their own way.
Orthodox and heterodox sects reject and kill one another, then boast of their victories.
But.
The Demonic Path was different.
The Demonic Path was, to all under heaven, a target for eradication and an object of terror.
The reason was simple.
Literally, the Demonic Path.
Those bastards were madmen treading the way of demons.
“Demons! They must all be converted!”
Adu’s face, always innocent and pure-hearted, now radiated overwhelming pressure.
Like an Arhat from Buddhist scriptures.
“So, younger brother Hwi. Did you obtain any other information?”
“Unfortunately not. But one thing is certain—those demonic bastards are definitely scheming something with all these martial artists gathered here.”
“I agree.”
Whether it’s the Blood Sect, Myeong Gyo, or Singyeo, none have shown their faces yet.
So there are two things we must do immediately.
“From now on, we’ll assault Geom Wang’s Fortress with all our strength.”
And one more thing.
Yang Hwi peered down at the martial artists in the valley through the crevice in the rock.
‘Whatever your plans are, they won’t go as you intend.’
I’ll slaughter them all, just like with Gwi-no Baek-ma years ago.
Feeling the celestial essence dwelling in my dantian and the immortal qi writhing within it, I smirked inwardly.
Whatever those bastards are planning….
“If I just ruin everything by going against the grain, it’ll work out somehow, right? Hehehehe.”
The genuine sabotage of a self-proclaimed master of chaos.
“….”
Chu Dal felt genuine chills watching Yang Hwi.

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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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