Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 132

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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 132
Hundreds of warriors from the two combined forces gathered in one place.
As a result, people from the surrounding areas began to flock to the scene.
Some wore expressions of intrigue, while others bore anxious and fearful faces.
Some came to witness an uncommon spectacle, while others positioned themselves to flee faster than anyone else should the need arise.
Their numbers exceeded a hundred.
Enough for rumors to spread and become the talk of the people in the days to come.
Amidst this, Baek Moo-ryang, the Baek Family Head and Twin Blade Swordsman, spoke in a measured tone.
“The Main Residence came to Nanchang because there are people who need our aid.”
“Ha, so you resort to such trivial excuses! It is we of the Baek-ui-mun who aid Nanchang’s people!”
“Trivial, you say.”
Baek Moo-ryang felt laughter rising within him, which he forcibly suppressed.
Trivial.
Those were not words one who walked the Baek Way should utter.
Yet instead of rebuking him, Baek Moo-ryang simply asked.
“Then what matters greatly to the Baek-ui-mun Head?”
“Why speak of it! The barbarous acts you commit are what matter most!”
The Baek Family had led their forces into the Baek-ui-mun’s territory.
It was indeed a grave matter, one that damaged the sect’s dignity.
However.
“This Baek…”
Baek Moo-ryang, who habitually humbled himself, paused for a moment.
After surveying his surroundings, he continued.
“My thoughts differ greatly from yours, Baek-ui-mun Head.”
“I care not for your thoughts. So explain yourself. Why do you dare violate this sect’s authority!”
“Explain, you say?”
To explain was a command from superior to inferior, or words used when the guilty confess their crimes to their accuser.
Yet Baek Moo-ryang spoke thus.
“Very well. I shall explain. Every warrior of the Baek Family, including myself, has acted solely for the peace of Nanchang’s common people.”
“Excuses that merely circle back to the same point. Not worth hearing further.”
The Baek-ui-mun Head, declaring his righteousness, raised his voice once more with intensified momentum.
“You are nothing but deceivers. In the name of the Baek-ui-mun, I shall mete out punishment!”
However.
A louder voice, a stronger aura, suppressed the Baek-ui-mun Head.
“But!”
“Ugh…!”
Shock flashed across the Baek-ui-mun Head’s eyes.
The man before him, the Baek Family Head, had been merely a second-rate warrior just years ago.
The family he led was but a third-rate martial clan, far too insignificant to warrant the Baek-ui-mun Head’s attention.
Yet such overwhelming power?
‘A master at the peak of perfection… and one whose realm surpasses even this Gong Ya-hyeok’s…!’
It was inevitable.
The years Baek Moo-ryang had spent as the Family Head were incomparably denser than Gong Ya-hyeok’s.
The family fortune that had flourished day by day since accepting Yang Hwi as an adopted son.
Yet Baek Moo-ryang had been consumed by a single concern.
Was he truly worthy of being the Baek Family Head?
To this question, Baek Moo-ryang could not nod with confidence.
‘That is why I spent most of the past nine years in seclusion.’
I refused to become an inadequate Family Head, overwhelmed by the Baek Family’s power that soared beyond reach.
So that when standing before my family members, I could proclaim with certainty: I am Baek Moo-ryang, the Baek Family Head.
And today.
Baek Moo-ryang realized that his path as Family Head had reached a crossroads.
“This Family Head proposes to the Sect Leader. Since our main residence has always acted for the peace of common folk, please allow us to lend a hand in cooperation with the Baek-ui-mun.”
The response came immediately.
Naturally, it was a refusal.
“We have no need for the aid of martial incompetents! Do not obscure the order of matters under the guise of cooperation!”
It was a fair point. Logic difficult to refute.
In the current situation, it was the Baek Family forcing the issue.
But still.
“Then make this promise. The moment our main residence withdraws, we will punish the dark path factions that stirred in rebellion.”
“Baek Family Head, do you understand propriety? By what right do you make demands of promises? It is laughable that you think you can commit such unrighteous acts and withdraw gracefully!”
“I see. Make this promise. If you do, our main residence will also apologize for what we have done.”
The Baek-ui-mun Master paused for a moment.
A faint bewilderment crossed his face.
Because Baek Moo-ryang was speaking words different from what he had anticipated.
‘The Baek Manor withdrawing quietly with an apology is problematic.’
If that happened, I could not overturn the current situation where the Baek Manor was expanding its power in Nanchang based on Yeongnakro.
‘I cannot tell them to withdraw from Yeongnakro. Regardless of who stands behind it, the business entity is the Baek Seo-sang-dan, and that bastard Yeo Gu-wi.’
In other words, from the Baek-ui-mun’s perspective, continuing the confrontation with the Baek Family head-on was the best move.
Deciding the matter through overwhelming martial force was more comfortable and could yield the greatest gains.
Therefore, the Baek-ui-mun Master responded thus.
“…A promise? This sect will wait for the right moment to move. The most opportune time for a complete sweep.”
“I see. So you have no intention of dealing with the dark path factions.”
Baek Moo-ryang’s gaze turned toward Yang Hwi.
The precious eldest son who had drawn the entire picture, laid the foundation, and summoned him here.
‘Hwi, what is it you desire?’
In truth, I already know.
That my role is to be the final brushstroke that completes the masterpiece.
That everything is for the glory of the Baek Family.
But still.
‘Hwi had informed me that the Heuk-do Faction’s movements were the result of Baek-ui-mun’s intervention.’
Then, were the suffering and losses of the common people the fault of the Baek Family?
Did the Baek Family’s greed lead to the injury of innocent civilians?
‘Baek-ui-mun moved the Heuk-do Faction. The Main Residence was the root cause. Does it hold meaning to assign blame?’
Baek Moo-ryang recalled his late father.
He reflected on the old tale his father had shared while holding young him upon his knee.
“For generations, the lands south of the river have been dominated by the Heuk-do Faction, and the common people have suffered greatly. Thus, our ancestors of the Main Residence established themselves in Gangwon and proclaimed the founding of our school.”
Those who admired the greatest martial artist of that era gathered like clouds, uniting under the two characters of righteousness and justice. The people called them the Baek Family of the New Heaven, or the Baek Family Clan.
But.
“Bamboo that stands too straight will break. Though roots run deep, reeds can withstand storms that ancient trees cannot—such is the way of the world. The Main Residence fell.”
It fell and crumbled.
For refusing to compromise under the character of righteousness.
For refusing to bend under the character of justice.
“Moo-ryang. The reason the Main Residence declined was… because people no longer had need of it.”
Lacking necessity, the family’s influence did not grow.
Never ceasing to aid the unfortunate, even mountains of wealth were depleted.
They say a tower built over three years crumbles in an instant.
Those weary of an excessively rigid family tradition abandoned the clan.
Those gripped by fear at the family’s decline sought their own paths.
It was so.
The reason the Baek Family, once counted among the Five Great Clans under Heaven, had declined.
A truth passed down only to the Family Head.
“The Main Residence. The Baek Family. Fell because it would not bend before righteousness.”
And so this doubt could not help but arise.
What, then, is righteousness!
We pursued it and declined—is it truly worth following without the slightest compromise?
‘I am a Family Head before I am a man of righteousness. I must bear responsibility for those who follow me.’
But.
Can I hold my head high if I compromise righteousness with expediency?
Can I remain a spotless white page without even a speck of black?
If ash and ink stain this body.
If I become tainted and can no longer be called a white page—what meaning remains?
‘I do not know. I do not know.’
And so I closed my eyes and felt the blade in my hand.
From time to time, warriors and swordmasters speak thus.
The sword’s cry.
They say the sound a sword makes when it rings contains the conviction of the one who wields it.
Click!
As I flicked my thumb, the blade slid a hand’s breadth from its sheath.
As Baek Moo-ryang drew the sword fully, the startled Baek Family Head cried out.
“What is the meaning of this! Do you dare stand against the Baek Family?”
“Already, one has drawn their blade before the Family Head, yet you fret over trivial words and actions. A true leader must possess the virtue of balance and restraint.”
Baek Moo-ryang, having rendered the Baek Family Head speechless, simply gazed upon his own sword.
The Family Head’s blade—forged by Baek Cheol, the Master Craftsman of the Main Residence, through the Baek Lotus Tempering technique.
The pale white blade trembled with a faint shimmer.
As though it had something to say.
-Kiiiieeeeee!
I closed my eyes and listened to the voice of the sword.
I turned my ear to the faint whisper within my own heart.
‘The stirrings of the Black Blade Faction. Was it a reason, or was it the purpose?’
‘Why did I, why did the Main Residence, journey all the way to Nanchang?’
The answer flowed forth easily.
No—it had been decided from the very beginning.
Though I owed an apology to the eldest brother watching me from afar, his eyes gleaming with hope.
I possessed an unwavering path as Family Head.
“I ask of you all.”
Those whom Baek Moo-ryang gazed upon were common folk gathered in small groups, each regarding him with their own emotions.
“If any among you require the aid of the Baek Family, speak now.”
“There is none! There is none, so cease your nonsense!”
Contrary to the Baek Family Head’s bold proclamation, there was one who cautiously raised their hand.
A middle-aged man whose shabby attire suggested a life of hardship.
A family patriarch who, should the Black Blade Faction extort even a portion of his earnings, would be unable to feed his household.
He opened his mouth for his family’s sake, even as he feared the Baek Family Head’s retaliation.
“P-please, help us, my lord.”
“….”
“I cannot sleep from fear… Please, I beg you….”
That was enough.
“Gladly.”
As the Baek Family Head’s face twisted, Baek Moo-ryang’s calm voice resonated through the air.
“To pursue harmony while driving one’s own bloodline into hardship—our ancestors were truly foolish. Yet I too am of the Baek Family.”
-Kiiiieeeeee!
The sword’s cry. The blade, imbued with its master’s conviction, unleashes its voice.
In response, the members of the Baek Family drew their swords in unison.
“After long years have passed, today. The Main Residence declares anew that it shall raise its banner for the common folk!”
Yang Hwi was the first to respond to the declaration.
He spoke no lengthy words.
Indeed, there was no need for lengthy words.
He simply raised his sword-wielding hand and performed the salute of respect.
“We acknowledge your will.”
Following after, a thunderous chorus of affirmation poured forth.
“We acknowledge!”
“We acknowledge!”
“We acknowledge!”
“This Gu Ak swears before the Family Head to cast off the shackles of the past and never falter!”
After Gu Ak cried out with such fervent spirit that he could not contain his masculine pride before Baek Moo-ryang.
Baek Moo-ryang, overwhelmed with emotion, found himself gazing at his eldest son without realizing it.
And then.
The moment I saw Yang Hwi’s radiant smile, I felt relief wash over me without thinking.
I felt joy.
The final brushstroke. The crowning touch.
Though our blood did not flow together, our purpose aligned, and I felt we gazed upon the same horizon.
“Are you truly in your right mind! How dare you spout such nonsense before me! Do you not fear a confrontation with me!”
The Baek-ui-mun Master’s desperate thrashing continued.
Already overwhelmed by momentum and intent, his words sounded like nothing but the flailing of a drowning man.
Even to the ears of the Baek-ui-mun disciples.
“The path the Baek Family walks is Gaecheon—to cover the heavens and bring peace to all people under heaven! We shall never yield for righteousness and benevolence, and we shall not hesitate even if it defies reason!”
A true leader must possess the proper caliber.
Baek Moo-ryang and the Baek-ui-mun Master could not be compared—one born and honed to excellence, the other lacking such foundation.
“Members of the Baek Family! There are those who seek to obstruct our path! Shall we yield because they are numerous and formidable!”
“We shall not break!”
All cried out their unbreakable resolve.
“Then I, as Family Head, shall cast forth my declaration!”
A proclamation echoing from Nanchang, the heart of Gangwon.
“From this moment, the Baek Manor reclaims the name Gaecheon Baek Family!”
The path we walk is Gaecheon! To spread our wings above all people under heaven and cast our shadow of benevolence and righteousness!
“The common folk of Nanchang seek our aid! I command all members of Gaecheon Baek Family to provide relief!”
“We acknowledge!”
“We acknowledge!”
“We acknowledge!”
Truly benevolent, truly unyielding in spirit.
To the gathered common folk, Gaecheon Baek Family was.
The very ideal of the righteous martial clans they had dreamed of.
In contrast, the Baek-ui-mun.
“Disciples of Baek-ui-mun! Do not tolerate these villains who seek to tarnish our sect’s banner with flimsy pretexts!”
With the Baek-ui-mun Master’s desperate command, the disciples began to move in unison.
Unlike the Family Head standing at the forefront, the Baek-ui-mun Master remained at the rear.
Thus, two martial sects bearing different purposes were about to collide.
“Gaecheon Baek Family and Baek-ui-mun shall postpone your final battle!”
A man appeared alongside a lion’s roar that shook heaven and earth.
Behind him stood twenty warriors who appeared to have reached the pinnacle of martial mastery.
“The Young Master of the Waryong Family, Waryong Musang, poses this question to you all!”
Jegal Seon, the Young Master of the Jegal Family, unleashed another lion’s roar.
“Where is my daughter!!!”

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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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