Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 108
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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 108
About half a quarter of an hour since Namgung and the Shaman’s assault began.
“Kill every last one of those villains!”
“Scatter! Fall back!”
“Unbelievers! Clear the way at once!”
Chaos. Pure pandemonium.
The Tang Siblings, Gu Ak, and Chu Dal—positioned to one side—all bore expressions of urgency.
“Damn it. Those cursed Blood Cult bastards.”
“At this rate, our defenses will crumble.”
“There are still so many wounded who can barely move….”
The Sixth District Defender Leader and the half-human monsters were desperately pressing forward, determined to pursue Hyeolanra who had vanished ahead.
With poison creatures and mechanisms rendered completely useless by Hyeolanra, they had no choice but to meet these maniacs head-on with blade and body.
To hold back the relentless tide of madness, direct combat was the only option.
“Everyone must stand united in defense! Otherwise, we shall all perish!”
“I beg of you! Please, just this once, stand as one!”
The only reason they could maintain any semblance of balance was thanks to the Tang Siblings.
They healed and saved wounded martial artists—those whom even the advisors had abandoned as unprofitable losses.
Though they prioritized the White Path, a considerable number of Black Path members also received the grace of rescue.
“Though our paths diverge, we cannot abandon those who have saved our lives!”
“We shall follow your command!”
“At least here and now, let us set aside the grievances of past and present!”
“Hyaaaah!”
The White Path and Black Path could not truly unite—their histories were too different, their trajectories too divergent.
Yet they could at least refrain from hostility toward one another when facing the common enemy of the Demonic Path.
With the Tang Siblings’ debt of gratitude as convenient justification, no one needed to swallow their pride or hurl insults.
Black and White held their ground against the Demonic Path solely through this grace.
“At this rate, we might even push forward and annihilate them, wouldn’t you say?”
“Haha, to think the benevolence of the Soga-ju would return to us like this. Perhaps virtue truly does come full circle.”
“Your words ring true, Baek Ik-gak-ju.”
Dang-gun, hearing the praise from Gu Ak and Chu Dal, wore a satisfied expression before glancing backward.
He sought to call for Namgung and the Shaman to join them—they were gathered at the rear, holding the line.
In that moment.
Dang-gun’s face twisted sharply.
“Namgung Soga-ju! Elder Cheong-so! What are you doing!”
If they united their strength, they could slaughter every last Madou bastard.
The tide had shifted so decisively in their favor that he felt certain of it.
If only Namgung and the Shaman would join them.
“Dang Soga-ju. I entrust the rear to you.”
“We’re going after the Madou leader.”
Hearing Namgung Cheon-hu and Elder Cheong-so’s words, Dang-gun felt his spirit suddenly deflate.
Going after the leader?
“Don’t spout nonsense! You’re not so foolish as to lack understanding of priorities, so how could you make such a decision?”
It would be far more rational to deal with the incoming Madou disciples first, then drive Hyeol-an to ground and kill her.
They don’t know that Yang Hwi is where Hyeol-an is headed, so they’re not making excuses about rescue.
In other words.
“No one knows what lies at the end of the Geom Wang’s Spear.”
“What if there’s an elixir and that Madou bastard returns even stronger?”
“We’ll handle the rear. We’ll take the front.”
Greed had clouded their judgment. With a moment’s breathing room, they’d begun coveting the treasures of the Geom Wang’s Spear.
And conveniently, the other martial artists were pinned down by the Madou disciples!
“You won’t be able to pass through the barrier. There’s no way you can go anyway.”
Namgung Cheon-hu and Elder Cheongseo wore sneering smiles.
“That one has proven useful for something at least.”
“Whether we pass through or not depends on our capabilities, so don’t worry.”
Dozens of martial artists from Namgung and the Shaman’s sect vanished beyond the barrier.
Dang-gun couldn’t hold back and spat out curses.
“Damn it…!”
* * *
What greeted Namgung and the Shaman’s sect as they moved to monopolize the treasure was another hell.
“There’s someone other than Madou?”
“This bastard…!”
Before Namgung Cheon-hu and Elder Cheongseo could even assess the situation, Hyeol-an moved.
“You damned fools!”
Yang Hwi also unleashed a sharp rebuke and kicked off the ground the moment Namgung and the Shaman appeared.
But he was too far away to stop Hyeol-an, who was closer.
Shhhhwooosh!
From the five remaining claws—having lost one arm—a crimson aura surged forth, piercing through the hearts of five incoming martial artists.
“Gahhh!”
“Ugh…!”
Blood flowed along the claws toward Hyeol-an, dripping and splattering.
The five martial artists’ corpses rapidly withered into mummified husks.
“Damn it!”
“Heon-a! Myeong-a! Ahhhhh!”
“Save Hyeon-sang and Hyeon-ho!”
“Elder, our blades aren’t working!”
Among the newly arrived martial artists, there were two peak masters.
Namgung Cheon-hu and Elder Cheongseo unleashed their sword qi and descended upon Hyeol-an, but it was insufficient.
Boom! Boom!
Even as peak masters, they weren’t pierced through the heart in a single strike, but both ended up crashing into the wall.
The blood spraying from his mouth was merely a bonus.
“Kkhehehehe, to think I’d feel gratitude toward the faithless.”
Color and vitality returned to Hyeol-an’s previously ashen face.
Yang Hwi felt a surge of urgency.
“Adu! Kill him before he fully recovers!”
“Right! Haaaah!”
Five strands of qi bent erratically like lightning, battering the space in all directions.
It was clearly a move to block our approach.
‘I’ll break through even if it costs me wounds…!’
Gae-cheon-bak-pal-geom, Eighteenth Form.
Hawk Feather Scatter!
Hawk Feather Scatter was a technique that unleashed sword strikes in all directions to dominate the space.
Now that I’d reached the pinnacle, every sword strike carried sword energy, colliding with the qi strands that had claimed the space first and erupting in catastrophic shockwaves.
Kwaaaang!
Through the opening I’d created, Adu charged forward like a wild beast.
“Mara! Go to hell!”
A fist no larger than an ordinary woman’s head blazed with fist energy ten times its size.
Hundred Step Divine Fist, Arhat Mandala!
Adu seized the opening created by my sword strikes and drove his fist strike precisely into Hyeol-an’s solar plexus.
Paaang!
“Well done, Adu!”
I couldn’t afford to give him any openings or breathing room.
I had no intention of offering him another chance.
I couldn’t make the same mistake as Hyeol-an, who’d invited disaster through arrogance and overconfidence.
‘If I simply copy what I’ve witnessed, I’d be too ashamed to call myself a supreme talent!’
Keeeeaaa!
I constrained Hyeol-an’s inner energy flow as much as possible with the Heavenly Flame Seon-gi filling my Responding to Heaven’s Clarity.
Simultaneously, I wrung out my remaining power to prepare the final technique to end this.
Gae-cheon-bak-pal-geom, Fourteenth Form, White Feather Pressing Stability
Divine Variation Form, Heavenly Wing Pressing Peak
An illusion painted the surroundings—a colossal wing descending from the heavens pressing down upon a towering mountain peak.
Heavenly Wing Pressing Peak. A new variation form of Gae-cheon-bak-pal-geom.
A technique that melded the mysteries of Heavenly Pressure from the Heaven Escape Sword Method with the martial principles of wielding Seon-gi.
“Now die!”
Charalalalang!
Wings extending from the heavens, thousands of feathers friction against each other, exhaling a melody infused with the mysteries of sound martial arts.
Simultaneously, a devastating pressure bore down upon Hyeol-an, crushing him.
“Kugh, khaaaaah!”
Red energy flashing like lightning resists the Heavenly Wing Pressing Peak.
Five fingernails at the end of his single arm tear desperately at the wing’s feathers.
But.
“Die!”
I squeezed out the last remnants of my qi from my dantian and poured it into my blade.
From the sword emerged a technique, each feather of the wing infused with even greater mastery.
And then, the final strike.
“Yang Hwi! I’m with you!”
Prajna Great Power, Hundred Paces Divine Fist, combined.
The secret technique, Formless Awakening Single Sweep.
The subtlety of Prajna Great Power, a technique of overwhelming force, was embraced by the Hundred Paces Divine Fist, a technique of striking power.
Stepping on true ground to channel Earth through the Yongquan point of my feet.
Extending one hand above my head to channel Heaven through the palm center.
Between Heaven and Earth stands Humanity. Stillness within motion—a single fist containing the principle of Life itself.
Boom!
White light and blood radiance clashed, and in that gap, golden flames erupted.
The cavern filled with brilliant light in an instant.
“Deluded wretches!”
I was already straining to resist the sword strike pressing down from above with all my might.
A massive fist energy came flying, exploiting that opening.
Just as I extended my other arm to tear apart the fist energy with five claws.
‘My arm…!’
Humans possess reason and intellect, yet remain mere animals, forever bound by instinct and habit.
After more than a century living with two arms, Hyeol-an finally recognized his mistake in this final moment.
The left arm that had been severed long ago. There was no means to block the incoming fist energy.
Crash!
The fist energy struck my chest directly. And the tremendous force contained within tore my body asunder.
With barely replenished blood qi, I began a contest of inner strength, but this became yet another mistake.
Clatter!
Hundreds, thousands of feathers descended.
The pressure of the Heavenly Wings touched Hyeol-an’s body.
‘…!’
I could not die like this.
I had walked the path of the non-human, despairing of my inborn talent.
I had hoped that by abandoning myself and choosing servitude, I could reach even greater heights.
Yet the end was so meaningless.
To meet my final moment at the hands of two mere whelps who possessed what I lacked.
‘This cannot be!’
The fading light. Silence and stillness filled the void.
“…”
“…”
Hyeol-an stood with a hole pierced through his chest.
But that too was brief. The remaining arm fell away with a dull thud.
Hundreds, thousands of lacerations covered the body, transforming the torso into nothing more than scattered fragments of flesh.
“It cannot end like this….”
A hairline fracture traced across the neck.
Hyeol-an’s crimson gaze extinguished completely.
“Great Blood God… once more….”
A final death rattle spilled from the severed head as it rolled away.
Thus ended the Demon—born human, having devoured hundreds of humans, ascending to a realm it should never have reached.
Only then did Yang Hwi release a breath of relief.
‘Thank heavens. If I’d let the blood soul separation technique seize control of those Namgung Shaman bastards’ spirits… I would have died.’
It wasn’t an exaggeration—I truly would have perished.
Had Hyeolanra replenished her blood qi and added two supreme masters plus dozens of first-rate experts to the fight, there would have been no path to victory.
“You idiotic bastards!”
My shout tore through the cavern, striking the eardrums of the Namgung Shaman warriors.
Vacant expressions bloomed across the faces of those still struggling to comprehend the situation.
Though the expressions worn by Namgung Cheon-hu, their leader, and Elder Cheongseo differed somewhat.
“A-are you addressing us?”
“Yes! Because of you bastards, I nearly died, cough, hack!”
I spat out a mouthful of blood mid-sentence.
Moreover, my entire body began trembling like an aspen leaf.
‘I’m still far too weak to withstand the mysteries of Heavenly Pressure.’
I could see with my own eyes that not only I but Adu as well was deteriorating rapidly.
That bastard must have pushed himself considerably to finish the fight.
“Damn it. If only you hadn’t come.”
That was the moment.
“Baek Yang-hwi.”
Namgung Cheon-hu stepped forward, his gaze sharp as a blade.
“Why are you here? Explain yourself.”
This bastard really knows how to get under my skin.
“Explain? Why are you here? Same reason as me, isn’t it? Shouldn’t you be asking yourself that?”
“You? Did you just address me as ‘you’?”
“Does it bother you? Does it upset you?”
Namgung Cheon-hu’s eyes shifted in turn between the golden crown at the back of the cavern, the iron rings split in half and now hollow, and the blood-stained sword held in my hand.
“Elder Cheongseo.”
“Speak, Soga-ju.”
“Observe the sword in that man’s hand.”
“I’ve already taken notice. It’s clearly a demonic blade.”
“This man was originally unable to display his aura before me. Yet seeing his demeanor has changed so drastically….”
Elder Cheongseo grasped Namgung Cheon-hu’s implication.
‘We entered the Sword King’s Pagoda and endured countless hardships, losing nearly half our disciples in the process.’
To return to my main sect without facing ridicule, I needed at least some merit to show for my efforts.
No, it was absolutely necessary for my own pride as well.
“Namgung Cheon-yeong. I won’t ask how you came to be here. Instead, put down the Demonic Blade. I need to examine it carefully to assess its danger.”
A snort escaped my lips involuntarily. I fixed Elder Cheongseo with a cold gaze.
‘So that’s how it’s going to be.’
His thoughts were as transparent as spring water from a pristine valley.
This went beyond ingratitude—it was shameless audacity.
How could he be so oblivious to his own station?
“Hand over the blade now. Once our sect’s divination technique examines it, we’ll decide how to treat you.”
“….”
‘Damn it. I can’t hold back. These bastards are dragging out the demon inside me.’
I stared at the Divine Blade of Hyeol-an in my grip, then opened my mouth.
‘Namgung. And the Shaman Sect.’
Both martial sects were clearly destined to become massive obstacles to my main family’s future.
No, calling them mere obstacles would be fortunate.
Given Dang-gun’s nature, he wouldn’t have stayed idle.
Everyone in our group’s faces would have been exposed to them.
And since they witnessed me killing Hyeol-an, future retaliation was inevitable.
Perhaps it would go beyond retaliation into outright hostility.
‘My main family and the Dang family lack the strength to handle both Namgung and the Shaman Sect yet.’
Then I would need to employ strategy.
‘Namgung Cheon-hu. And Namgung Cheon-yeong.’
I’m not entirely certain, but the future Soga-ju is Namgung Cheon-yeong.
But would Namgung Cheon-hu have accepted his downfall so meekly?
Impossible. There must have been internal strife.
‘I need to undermine Namgung Cheon-hu’s position and accelerate their internal conflict.’
And the Shaman Sect. They seized the First Seat of the Nine Sects merely a hundred and fifty years after their founding.
They have one weakness.
‘Hyeon-hyeon, the Shaman Sect’s First Blade. If I set the Karma of Murderous Intent in motion.’
Blood will spill.
But it will be the enemy’s blood.
Blood they brought upon themselves through greed they cannot control.
“I will surrender the blade. But first, there is something I must say.”
“What is it?”
“This Demonic Blade attempts to control whoever wields it.”
“Then how do you remain unaffected?”
“My resolve is firm and my will unwavering.”
Elder Cheongseo and Namgung Cheon-hu’s lips curled upward simultaneously.
Even Hyeon-hyeon standing behind them held back a smirk.
“Our Shaman Sect is a Daoist school of renown. We excel at suppressing malevolent forces, so simply put down the blade.”
“Then give me my sword that’s lying nearby first. I need something I can actually trust.”
The faint mockery on my face shifted into something more contemptuous.
“Namgung Cheon-yeong. I am an elder of the Shaman’s order. You cannot trust me? Are you suggesting I might attack you after the Haesgeom incident?”
“Interpret it however you wish. Just hand over the sword. Then I’ll do exactly as you ask.”
“….”
Elder Cheongseo walked forward with heavy steps and kicked the sword through the air toward me.
‘Ha, one more point against the Shaman’s order.’
With a slight twitch at the corner of my mouth, I caught the blade and hurled the Hyeol-an’s divine sword in the opposite direction.
Clang!
“Examine it all you like. But I warn you—those who haven’t reached the pinnacle realm shouldn’t even touch it.”
“…I’ll remember that.”
Namgung Cheon-hu and Elder Cheongseo exchanged glances.
“Soga-ju, then from our main sect….”
“I’ll bring it for you.”
Before Elder Cheongseo could finish speaking, Namgung Cheon-hu launched himself forward.
In the instant Elder Cheongseo, caught off guard by the secret transmission they’d just shared, realized what was happening—
The divine sword of Hyeol-an was already in Namgung Cheon-hu’s grasp.
And that was the moment.
“What is this—ugh, gah—KRRAAAAAAAGH!”
Crimson energy erupted from the divine sword like flames, consuming Namgung Cheon-hu’s entire body.
Squelch!
“Soga… ju…?”
“….”
Namgung Cheon-hu, having pierced through his own retainer’s heart, began searching for his next victim with eyes blazing red.
His gaze fixed and locked. At its end stood a disciple of the Shaman’s order clad in black robes.
“Soga-ju! What madness is this!”
“KRRAAAAGH!”
“Soga-ju! Everyone, the Shaman’s disciples—prepare for combat!”
Chaos and pandemonium erupted once more.
Yang Hwi continued to observe the spectacle with cold, unwavering eyes.
The calamity I had summoned forth had begun its rampage.
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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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