Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 104

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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 104
The Tang Siblings and Gu Ak reunited with Adu and Chu Dal, who had broken through the passage.
“There don’t seem to be any other escape routes. It looks like the only ways out are the original passage the Sect used and the hole we found at the beginning.”
“That’s unfortunate news.”
Now that the Blood Sect had appeared, having multiple escape routes would be ideal to save more lives.
Numerically speaking, the more scattered they became, the higher their chances of survival would be.
“What should we do now? And without my brother here either.”
Gu Ak, wrestling with the same dilemma, crossed his arms.
It was the Tang Siblings who answered Chu Dal’s question.
“Though we came here driven by greed, innocent people are dying and suffering as we speak.”
“I believe it’s right for me to save them, however meager my strength may be.”
Gu Ak and Chu Dal were also members of the Baek Family, which pursued righteousness.
While they didn’t possess genuine benevolent hearts, they couldn’t become cold-blooded enough to only look after themselves when people were dying before their eyes.
“I hear people in pain. If there are people in pain, we should help them.”
Adu’s statement was decisive.
“Even the monk speaks thus.”
“Let’s proceed as carefully as we can.”
Fallen martial artists lay scattered everywhere.
Setting aside those already dead, there were countless others hovering at death’s door.
“Fortunately, both the first and second gates are related to poison, which works in our favor.”
“That’s right. Thanks to that, we should be able to save many more.”
The group hastily began emergency treatment.
Most were dying from poison poisoning, but as the two from the Tang Family took action in earnest, they were able to rapidly improve the martial artists’ conditions.
“Th-thank you… Huh?”
A man who had been in such agony he couldn’t even open his eyes regained consciousness and expressed gratitude, then suddenly looked confused.
He was a martial artist of the Namgung Family.
“Y-you’re the Dang Soga-ju…”
“The urgent treatment is done. Rest and recover. I’ll be going now.”
Dang-gun didn’t bother listening to the man’s continuing words.
There was no point in hearing them anyway.
But one thing puzzled me.
“Where did the Namgung Soga-ju go?”
If he were dead, that would be one thing, but he was merely poisoned and unable to move.
It was strange that the Soga-ju would abandon his own family members and leave.
‘Surely not… he didn’t abandon them. No. He wouldn’t.’
No matter how much ill will existed, he was still of the Namgung Family and its Soga-ju.
He wouldn’t do such a thing.
Dang-gun’s question was answered when they passed through the second gate—the poison gate—and arrived before the third gate.
“Dang Soga-ju. The Namgung group and the Shaman are here. And there are quite a few Dark Sect members too.”
Most of those who had fled earlier had gathered in this place.
Upon spotting Dang-gun and his companions, Namgung Cheon-hu narrowed his eyes, while Elder Cheongseo of the Shaman sect standing beside him waved his hand warmly.
“Ah, Dang Soga-ju! I wondered where you’d disappeared to, but here you are! Come quickly! Many are poisoned! We need treatment!”
Dang-gun glanced at Elder Cheongseo, who called out as though it were obvious, then slowly surveyed the Baek Do warriors.
“Both the Shaman and Namgung forces have been reduced to roughly half their numbers.”
An expected outcome. I had witnessed countless fallen bodies along the way.
…Not merely corpses, but the living as well.
“I must ask one thing. There are many wounded collapsed along the road. Should we not go and save them together?”
Elder Cheongseo, whose face had been bright, suddenly stiffened.
“You saw correctly? Wounded, not corpses?”
Dang-gun felt a moment of bewilderment.
Such a statement from the Shaman elder’s lips was difficult to believe.
“There are many still alive. I provided emergency treatment on the way, but they require assistance.”
“….”
He also directed a word toward Namgung Cheon-hu, who stood in silence.
“I discovered more than four Cheongcheon Sword Disciples still clinging to life. We must go and save them.”
“….”
The agitation among the standing Cheongcheon Sword Disciples became visible.
And with it, Namgung Cheon-hu’s expression grew increasingly rigid.
“Impossible.”
Dang-gun felt shock. Though I had anticipated this situation, I could not help but be startled.
“Impossible? Our fellow disciples are dying, and you say it’s impossible?”
“A leader of men must not become entangled in sentiment and lose the opportunity.”
“Think greater, not smaller, Dang Soga-ju. There are many wounded here as well.”
Namgung Cheon-hu and Elder Cheongseo appeared to have already made their decision firmly.
To save more lives, they rationalized abandoning the stragglers by holding back tears and gritting their teeth.
“Dang Soga-ju. Come quickly. The poisoned ones’ conditions are worsening!”
“….”
“Dang Soga-ju!”
I looked at my younger sister Dang-yeon. She nodded, indicating she would follow my decision.
“I cannot do that.”
“What are you saying!”
“Dang Soga-ju! Come here at once! This is an order from the Dang family!”
“Going back only means facing those Madou bastards! Do you truly mean to press the order?”
My jaw tightened. I ignored them and turned to leave.
Dang-yeon, Gu Ak, Chu Dal, and Adu followed behind me.
“A wise decision, Soga-ju.”
“Hehe, let’s save the injured!”
Suddenly Chu Dal chuckled beside me.
“I’d have understood if those bastards were the Nokrim Sip-ung. Now that I think about it, where did all those Nokrim dogs go?”
“They’re likely dead. When the Madou appeared, they attacked the Black Sword faction first—specifically the Nokrim disciples.”
“Ah. I see.”
“…And their words aren’t entirely without merit either.”
With my face still rigid, I continued speaking.
“It’s obvious we’ll encounter the Madou before long after we leave.”
For now, they seemed preoccupied with slaughtering and devouring the stragglers, not pursuing us closely.
But it was certain they would eventually swarm down upon us and massacre everyone.
“Gu Daehaep. Take Chu Dal and Adu with you and head up through the dog hole.”
“Hmm? What do you mean, Soga-ju?”
“The three of you don’t belong to the main family. You’ve chosen to face danger, but there’s no need for you to stay with us.”
Gu Ak snorted.
“If Young Master returns and hears about this, we’ll catch hell for it. Stop talking nonsense. If things get truly dangerous, we can escape through the dog hole then.”
We divided our roles.
The Tang Siblings would naturally handle emergency treatment, while Chu Dal, Gu Ak, and Adu would move the treated wounded to the third gate.
“Adu is playing quite a significant role.”
“Indeed. With such a massive frame and tremendous strength, he can move five or six people at once.”
“Hehehehe.”
Chu Dal, who had moved nearly twenty warriors, wiped his sweat and gazed at the Namgung and Shaman’s martial artists.
As more wounded were brought to the third gate, guilt visibly accumulated on the faces of those waiting there.
Namgung Cheon-hu and Elder Cheongseo maintained deliberately expressionless faces, but their subordinates were different.
“But why don’t those bastards run away and just wait here?”
“There must be a mechanism installed.”
“A mechanism?”
“There were corpses riddled with holes lying in the corridor. They’re searching for a way to disarm it safely.”
“If we drag this out and those blood-crazed maniacs reach here, won’t we all die?”
Just as Gu Ak was about to shrug and respond.
Shiver—!
My entire body erupted in goosebumps, and simultaneously, a tremendous aura swept down from behind.
“Chu Dal! Hide behind me!”
“D-Dang Soga-ju…!”
“Just listen to me first!”
Gu Ak immediately shielded Chu Dal and pressed against the wall.
Immediately after, a blood wind swept past them.
Sinister and vicious, violent and explosive in its momentum.
It was unmistakably the leader of the Madou.
‘Damn it…!’
Gu Ak prepared for an attack while trying to hide the trembling in his hands.
But Hyeolanra swept past as if the living held no interest whatsoever.
Soon Hyeolanra disappeared beyond the corridor.
‘Not killing… just passing by?’
That meant something had taken priority over the slaughter.
Gu Ak felt both bewilderment and unease wash over me.
“Little brother…!”
I grasped it instinctively. That Madou creature was undoubtedly heading toward where Yang Hwi was.
That very moment.
“I must go!”
Before anyone could stop him, Adu launched his body forward.
His speed was so swift that even Gu Ak could not keep pace.
“Amitabul! I shall guide you…!”
A sinister blood wind surged forth, trailed by a solemn golden radiance that stretched like a long tail.

* * *
Gu Ak and Chu Dal reunited with the Tang Siblings, who had been treating the wounded between the first and second gates.
“Gu Daehaep!”
“Dang Soga-ju! Did you see anything?”
“Yes. That Madou creature passed by without even acknowledging the people.”
“It must have gone straight to the end of the tower where my younger brother is.”
“Where did Adu go?”
He pursued the Madou’s trail. It seemed impossible to catch up, so I came to regroup with you first.”
Dang-gun clenched his teeth as he gazed upon the numerous wounded still scattered about.
“Let us go to Hwi!”
The pursuit of the conspiracy? It mattered.
But what mattered more was protecting those dear to us.
“Dang Soga-ju, I am grateful for your resolve.”
“It is only natural.”
The group unleashed their lightness technique and propelled themselves forward.
Though guilt gnawed at my heart, Dang-gun’s steps forward held no hesitation.
Thus they arrived before the third gate in mere moments.
“Be cautious. There are mechanisms installed…Ah, that Madou creature has destroyed them all.”
The walls of the wide corridor were completely excavated, and the mechanisms within lay exposed grotesquely.
Thanks to this, they passed through the corridor without difficulty and reached the fourth gate.
The group encountered martial artists once more.
“It seems those Madou creatures passed through here as well.”
“The mechanisms were destroyed, so they advanced this far.”
That they stopped here meant the fourth gate existed.
The qi flow was twisted in peculiar ways, and its current felt unnatural.
“It is a formation. Given this is the Sword King’s Tower, it must be an ancient absolute formation.”
“That Madou creature has already entered the formation…Wait!”
A crimson blood wind rebounded and rolled across the ground just before the formation.
“Kraaaagh! How dare you! How dare you! A relic of such ignorant beings!”
A chilling aura consumed the surroundings.
My companions and all the martial artists waiting in the corridor tensed their entire bodies and drew their weapons.
However, Hyeolanra’s focus remained solely on the formation barrier.
“Destroy it! Everything!”
Crash! Crash! Crash!
As I watched the crimson claw energy ravaging all directions, someone spoke up.
“But where is Adu?”
“Could he have passed through the formation barrier? How did he move faster than that monster?”
While my companions voiced their doubts, Hyeolanra hurled himself into the formation barrier once more.
The crimson silhouette vanished in a blur. Soon, blood energy began erupting from various points within the barrier.
“It appears he’s attempting a forceful breakthrough by severing and corrupting the flow of energy with raw power.”
The fact that Madou chose such a method despite having other solutions available with time suggested an obsession so fanatical that something beyond that barrier demanded his attention.
“Breaching a formation that way would consume an enormous amount of vital energy and mental fortitude.”
The moment Gu Ak finished speaking, the wavering formation barrier regained its original state.
The blood energy vanished, and a clean silence returned.
Madou had finally broken through the formation barrier.

* * *
Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!
I tapped various spots on the vast iron door and even tried inserting my blade into the cracks.
Only after exhausting every possible attempt could I be certain.
‘This door absolutely won’t open. It requires a key or some other condition to be satisfied.’
In other words, running all the way here had been for nothing.
Thump!
Even now, my Seondan was appealing to me about something beyond the iron door pulling at it.
So what could I do? I couldn’t open the door.
It was truly a hopeless situation.
“I must be missing something. What could it be?”
I collapsed onto the ground and rested my chin in my hand, lost in thought.
I recalled everything in my mind—the Jangbodo from Jin Ga, Yeo Un-hyeok’s Jangbodo original text, and everything about the Geom Wang Shrine.
“Sigh. I don’t think I’ve forgotten anything. What exactly am I missing?”
Since I’d ordered the passage to be opened, surviving martial artists and Blood Sect disciples would surely come flooding in soon.
The formation barrier that tested one’s virtuous heart would certainly delay them considerably.
But to think I could hold out forever would be the foolish mistake of overlooking a thousand possibilities.
‘I must open this iron door as quickly as possible. The problem is, I have no method.’
Wait, if my Seondan called me here, shouldn’t the door simply open the moment I pour my Seondan into it?
How convenient and wonderful it would be if life flowed as smoothly as street rumors and cheap novels.
“Damn it. Nothing in life is easy, is it? Huh?”
As I grumbled, a golden radiance began streaming from behind me.
That’s Adu’s energy, isn’t it?
“Yang Hwi!”
“Is that really you, Adu?”
“I’m here!”
“Yes, you’re here. But where are the others? Why did only you come?”
“I came to guide them, didn’t I?”
“Then where is the Madou you were supposed to guide?”
“Huh?”
Adu’s expression turned bewildered.
“I was definitely running ahead first, and he was following me. Where did he go?”
It seemed the Bishop had been trapped in the formation while Adu had passed through first.
Well, regardless of Adu’s intellect, his heart was as pure as a monk’s, so this outcome was inevitable.
“Perfect timing. See this iron door? We need to break it. Use your strength.”
“Got it!”
Adu drew upon his Prajna Great Ability.
Golden luminous energy coalesced throughout his body, concentrating into his fist and burning even more brilliantly.
“Hundred Step Divine Fist!”
Boom!
The iron door released a tremendous impact sound.
However, only shallow dents appeared—it neither buckled nor shattered.
“Tch. Hundred Step Divine Fist!”
Boom!
“Hundred Step Divine Fist!”
Boom!
“Hundred Step—”
“Stop. It won’t work.”
“Ugh… my fist hurts…”
It should hurt. He’d struck the iron repeatedly, not just once but several times.
As I was thinking this.
“…!”
Yang Hwi and Adu simultaneously stiffened, their gazes snapping backward.
Blood qi crackled and surged forth.
Hyeolanra emerged into view.
“Haa… finally.”
Unlike when I first saw her, her complexion was ashen like a corpse several days old, and exhaustion was evident across her entire frame.
Whoosh!
The Blood Demon’s strike was so swift and vicious that barely any reaction was possible.
‘Damn!’
I drew upon Hwacheon Qi at full power, channeling it into my blade and thrusting forward.
‘Please hold!’
Crash!
Fortunately the blade didn’t snap, but my body couldn’t withstand the impact and was sent flying, colliding violently against the iron door.
“Cough!”
My internal organs convulsed violently, and blood-tinged coughs spilled from my lips.
“Mara! I’ll guide you!”
Adu, who had charged forward with a brilliant golden radiance, was also slammed against the iron door in mere moments.
“Ugh, it hurts…!”
Regardless, Hyeolanra regarded me with an intrigued expression.
“Interesting. That fat monk is one thing… but how did you manage to block it?”
“Tch… you fool, don’t you understand? You blocked it because I’m weak.”
I deliberately curled my lips into a sneer, but truthfully, I had no idea myself.
It was Claw Qi—a technique of the highest caliber.
A sword merely infused with abundant energy should have been incapable of blocking it.
“Ah. I see. So that’s what happened.”
Suddenly, Hyeolanra’s expression shifted as if she had grasped something.
“Ahahaha! Ahahahaha! Great One! Do you grant such amusement to your humble servant! Ahahahaha!”
Hyeolanra laughed wildly toward the heavens, then turned her gaze back to me.
“So it is you—the prophesied adversary!”
…What nonsense is this?

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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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