Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 116

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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 116
Those who stand above must preserve their dignity.
Face and propriety are the crucial standards that distinguish superiors from subordinates.
Yet the moment Baek Ui-mun finished reading the letter, he couldn’t help but spring to his feet.
“What kind of nonsense is this!”
Changil Pyoguk was the largest courier house in Nanchang and had been operating actively enough to fulfill Baek Ui-mun’s requests just days ago.
But ceasing operations? Suddenly? Why?
“You there! Send someone to Changil Pyoguk at once and find out what’s happening!”
“Yes, sir!”
Baek Ui-mun settled back into his seat, grinding his teeth.
Despite being a luxury chair purchased for two thousand silver taels, it offered him no comfort.
‘What in the world is going on here!’
Changil Pyoguk was one of the essential pieces in the grand scheme I had devised.
As it held the first crucial step of my plan, if Changil Pyoguk ceased operations, everything would crumble.
That wasn’t all.
“Tch!”
I ground my teeth and sank into thought.
‘If something happens to Changil Pyoguk, the Elder Council will tear me apart. I must handle this.’
Organizations favorable to Baek Ui-mun each held their own connections.
Since the conflict between the Family Head and the Elder Council was known to run deep, each faction aligned themselves seeking greater advantage.
And Changil Pyoguk was the largest among the sects and organizations that had chosen the line of Baek Ui-mun.
In other words, the moment Changil Pyoguk took down its sign, my power as Family Head would weaken.
Fury surged within me.
The letter in my hand crumpled violently.
‘How dare they do this without my permission!’
Ceasing the courier business? By whose authority?
Roughly half of what Changil Pyoguk earned came from Baek Ui-mun.
Therefore, half of Changil Pyoguk was essentially mine.
‘I must change their mind. No, I should make Changil Pyoguk completely mine.’
They’re shutting down the courier business? Perfect timing.
Unless they’re fools, they’ll sell the business for money to someone.
I’ll use the influence Baek Ui-mun commands as leverage to acquire it at the lowest possible price.
I’ve been accumulating wealth secretly from the Elder Council, so funds are sufficient.
Since I plan to charge them with insolence, I won’t need excessive capital anyway.
‘Yes. I’ll simply turn this crisis into an opportunity.’
Just as Baek Ui-mun’s lips curled upward with such thoughts.
“Sir!”
“You’re back. What did Changil Pyoguk say? Why are they insisting on ceasing operations?”
“Pardon?”
The subordinate’s expression showed confusion. Now that I looked closer, this wasn’t the same person I’d sent out.
A fact I had overlooked because I paid little attention to those beneath me.
“This is not the time for that, Family Head!”
At the urgent tone of my subordinate’s words, I furrowed my brow.
“Not the time? Then what exactly is important?”
“The Baek Manor in Wuzhou has purchased all the slums near Nanchang’s North Gate Avenue!”
“What!”
Nanchang’s central commercial district was formed around four main thoroughfares.
Among them, the bustling district formed along the East Gate Avenue, known as Yonghuilu, was one of my primary sources of income.
“Are the Baek Manor fools? What would they want with land filled with paupers!”
“According to whispers from those clearing the district… they intend to create a street that surpasses Yonghuilu…”
“Impossible!”
The matter of the Changil Pyoguk was indeed unimportant.
A bolt from the blue had struck me down.

* * *
Whoosh!
Jeon Seo-gu descended from that vast sky and landed on the hand he extended.
Yang Hwi untied the knot around the hawk’s leg and unfolded the letter, looking toward the Woman Leader.
“As promised, the rehabilitation members from the main family have begun the cleanup. It seems they expect to complete it in about a month.”
“Hmm. Merely a month? Your efficiency is truly remarkable.”
“They are all from the Black Path, so they are quite skilled at such work.”
“I have heard as much. The Baek Manor is renowned for offering even Black Path members the chance to correct their wrongs and live righteous lives.”
I answered by shrugging my shoulders.
‘That is not quite accurate.’
In the early days, the main family accepted Black Path members purely to rapidly increase our numbers.
I had also thought it best to make full use of them, having already brought Gu Ak into our ranks.
‘I never expected such an advantage would emerge from this.’
I raised my cup and gazed down at the landscape below.
Being on the top floor of Juru, the highest building near North Gate Avenue, I could clearly see the surrounding slums.
“By the way, Baek Sohyeop certainly has bold ambitions. To purchase and reorganize North Gate Avenue, which has been Nanchang’s chronic problem.”
The larger a city, the more impoverished people it harbors.
To survive by scrounging for scraps, one must live where the wealthy gather.
The slums formed by those who congregated there were one of Nanchang’s most serious problems.
“Until now, no martial sect in Nanchang has dared attempt to reorganize the slums. Offer them carrots and they eat and flee; wield the whip and they hide only to reappear.”
But the Baek Manor was different. They were reorganizing the slums far faster than I had anticipated.
Many of the rehabilitation members came from impoverished backgrounds, so they understood the nature of the slums intimately.
“One can provide relief to the poor, but reorganizing the slums is another matter entirely. Truly impressive.”
“No, it would be difficult for an ordinary Baek Do sect, but for the main family, it is not so challenging.”
“That is precisely what makes it impressive, haha!”
The Woman Leader burst into laughter, then lowered her voice and continued.
“Still, I’m uncertain what Baek Ui-mun will do about this.”
The slums are located right next to Yeonghwi Road, which Baek Ui-mun created and nurtured.
Once the slums are organized and proper streets and commercial districts are formed, Yeonghwi Road’s influence and profitability would decline significantly.
“They will certainly attempt to interfere. We should anticipate their moves and prepare countermeasures in advance.”
“Your insight is truly admirable, Woman Leader. You’re absolutely right. One must always be prepared for all possibilities.”
“Haha, I’m no longer the Guild Master, am I? Please call me the Family Head. And I shall henceforth address Sohyeop as the Crown Prince.”
I replied with a subtle smile.
“As you wish, Family Head.”
“Haha, even with a lower position, it sounds more pleasant to the ear. Quite remarkable indeed, Crown Prince.”
Yeo Gu-wi stroked his beard and continued.
“In any case, let us discuss what schemes Baek Ui-mun might employ and devise our countermeasures.”
The reason Yeo Gu-wi was so invested in the Baek Family Estate’s endeavors was simple.
It was personal interest.
‘Having invested three thousand gold taels, I’m naturally anxious about potential failure.’
Days ago, during my first meeting with Yeo Gu-wi.
I handed him three thousand gold taels and made him a proposal.
A tempting offer to suppress Baek Ui-mun and seize the position of Nanchang’s foremost power.
‘Benefiting from both sides, gaining everything—I truly do have a sharp mind.’
Organizing the vast slums would require enormous capital.
The anticipated costs alone exceeded five thousand gold taels minimum.
Upon hearing my proposal, Yeo Gu-wi returned all three thousand gold taels he received.
To ascend to a higher position and enjoy greater rewards.
This was why Yeo Gu-wi pursued the slum reorganization even more actively than I did.
“We must prepare thoroughly. While we present the justification of relieving the poor and beautifying the streets, this is war between Baek Ui-mun and us.”
War. An apt description.
Instead of clashing swords and spears, we wield money and power—but it remains war nonetheless.
A struggle of white against white, different from conflicts where one can seize pretexts to exercise force.
I tapped my cup thoughtfully and continued my thoughts.
‘Baek Ui-mun… considering the future, I must reduce them to near-annihilation.’
The reason for treating Jeong Wol-mun and Baek Ui-mun differently—one to be incorporated as a branch, the other to be destroyed—was straightforward.
Their longer history granted them excessively entrenched influence, and their ambitions were excessive.
“Once we organize the slums and create the new street, shall we call it Younglak Road?”
A street of eternal pleasure—a name that directly targets Yeonghwi Road.
“By using Younglak Road as a means to suppress Yeonghwi Road, we’ll significantly diminish Baek Ui-mun’s power. The cards they can play to prevent this are limited.”
Obstruction through accumulated connections and networks.
Petty conflicts funded by their reserves.
“I’ve already considered the specifics of how they’ll respond, but it’s premature to discuss now.”
“Haha, you certainly know how to pique the Family Head’s curiosity.”
I chuckled softly and retrieved brush, ink, and paper.
“Since we’ve come this far, shall we follow the example of ancient precedents?”
“Sealed Strategies, you say?”
“Indeed. The tale of Zhuge Kongming.”
“Ah! You mean the Sealed Strategy Scrolls?”
“Precisely.”
In ages past, Zhuge Kongming, fearing what would come after his death, inscribed numerous stratagems upon parchment, sealed them within envelopes, and entrusted them to Liu Shan.
The divine mechanisms within those sealed scrolls proved so masterful that they sustained the fate of Shu Han countless times over.
“How delightful. If the Crown Prince is the Crouching Dragon, then the current Family Head must be Liu Shan—haha.”
“How could I ever compare the Woman Leader to Liu Shan?”
I gilded the words appropriately and filled the page.
Then I cut it into several pieces and folded them neatly.
“There will be times when I must absent myself. Should difficulties arise, open these.”
“Hahaha, to find joy even as crisis looms—how admirable.”
The two of us gazed at each other and laughed warmly together.
The door to Juru’s guest chamber suddenly burst open.
“Woman Leader!”
The figure who appeared, seething with fury, was Gong Ya-hyeok, the Baek Family Head.
Yeo Gu-wi’s expression shifted to one of alarm upon seeing him.
“Master Gong. How did you… what brings you here…?”
“Is that what matters now! After all you’ve done to me, is that truly the first thing you say?!”
“That is…”
Watching Yeo Gu-wi stammer before Gong Ya-hyeok, I felt a smile creep across my face.
Yeo Gu-wi had switched his allegiance from the Baek Family Head’s faction to the Baek Manor.
He had even invested three thousand gold coins to make the transition absolute.
Yet the moment he faced the Baek Family Head, such deference came naturally to him.
It made sense—bonds forged across generations and refined over decades were not easily shed in a single moment.
“Master Baek Family Head. It seems I am invisible to you?”
“You brat, stay out of this! I’ll deal with you properly after I settle accounts with him!”
Brat, he called me—from an old man half a foot shorter than myself. The irony was rather amusing.
“I’m afraid I cannot withdraw. Surely a guest telling the host to leave is hardly proper etiquette, is it?”
“What?!”
The Baek Family Head glared at me, his eyes blazing.
“Host? What host are you talking about?!”
I turned my head slightly.
The slums being reorganized. Beside them stood the Eastern Gate Avenue and the manor of the Changil Pyoguk.
“Look.”
At precisely that moment, the workers below were replacing the signboard.
The plaque of the Changil Pyoguk that had hung above the gate came down, and in its place, a new one was raised.
[Gaecheon Pyoguk – Nanchang Branch]
“Gaecheon Pyoguk? What in the world…?”
Watching the Baek Family Head’s expression turn to utter bewilderment, I smiled wickedly.
“What? You came here without knowing anything?”
I thought he would have grasped the full context by now, but it seemed I was mistaken.
This fool was more dim-witted than I expected.

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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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