Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 136

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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 136
There’s an old saying: you cannot spit at a smiling face.
It was undoubtedly all a lie.
“Seolha, I’m smiling.”
“So what?”
“I’m expressing with my face how terribly sorry I am to you.”
“I see. You’re just going to smile once and move on? Did my brother become some peerless genius or something?”
…The peerless genius here isn’t me—it’s you.
“Sigh.”
“A sigh? I think I’m the one who should be sighing right now?”
The reason Jegal Seol-ha was so indignant and snapping at me was simple.
I had sent a letter to the Jegal Family without warning, summoning Uncle Jegal Seon.
I had no doubt she must have suffered quite a bit.
Especially since not only Father, who dotes on his daughter, but also my brother Jegal Hwa-un, who dotes on his younger sister, came along as well.
“I trusted you, brother. I received betrayal in return for my trust, and this wounded heart needs medicine.”
“…In what way?”
“Repay kindness twofold, and grudges tenfold!”
“….”
To change the mood, I suddenly raised my voice.
“Adu, you bastard! You said you were training!”
The startled Adu turned his head toward the window.
For some reason, he had been emitting qi from inside the room all along.
It was undoubtedly to hide Jegal Seol-ha.
“I trusted you! Now pay the price for betraying that trust, you bald monk!”
“That’s. That’s.”
Watching the flustered Adu, I shouted again.
“What did you receive? What did you get paid to sell me out?”
“Heh.”
Jegal Seol-ha answered instead of Adu.
She spread both her hands like a fan. Between her fingers were all sorts of rice cakes.
Bean cakes, red bean cakes, steamed cakes… what kind of cake is that?
Anyway, she had every expensive cake imaginable.
“This fool sold out a sentient being for a few cakes? And you call yourself a monk?”
Adu answered with a resolute expression, as if this was the one thing he could answer confidently.
“Yang Hwi is not a sentient being!”
“…?”
“Amitabha Buddha. This humble monk walks the path of hell only for the weak….”
Just as I was about to express my exasperation with a helpless look.
“Don’t say anything to our poor monk. Shouldn’t you be talking to me instead?”
“Seolha’s right! Absolutely right!”
“That’s wonderful, Monk!”
As Jegal Seol-ha tossed a rice cake, Adu caught it mid-air like a well-trained hunting dog.
When did you two become so close?
“Enough nonsense, Senior Brother. Let’s discuss compensation properly.”
“…Fine.”
“You sold me out, Senior Brother. You admit it, don’t you?”
“The way you phrase it makes it sound like I sent a letter to some horse merchant.”
“Tsk. Stop quibbling and just admit it.”
“…I admit it.”
“This junior disciple trusted you, Senior Brother. Why? Because we’re martial siblings! I believed in the bonds and loyalty between us!”
“….”
“In other words, your actions were a betrayal. A betrayal!”
Was this really something to declare so solemnly?
“But think about it, Junior Sister. Didn’t I relieve Uncle’s worries on your behalf? It was filial piety by proxy, if you will.”
It was a reasonably solid excuse and logic, but Jegal Seol-ha’s response was simple.
“Punishment for the traitor! Betrayal deserves immediate execution!”
“….”
“Monk, I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Absolutely right!”
“Consequences for the traitor!”
“Immediate execution!”
“….”
This is getting irritating.
Now that I think about it, I haven’t properly repaid her for mocking me when I was showing off at the Dongpa Inn.
If she’s going to be like this, then I’m becoming a rogue too!
“Junior Sister, you don’t think I’ll let this slide with empty words, do you?”
“Of course not.”
“Then here’s what we’ll do. I’ll perfect your physical body.”
“What?”
“You’re already at the first-rate level. To breach the wall of the peak, you’ll need to perfect your physical form.”
“That’s true, but….”
Suddenly, Jegal Seol-ha’s delicate brows furrowed.
Perfecting the physical body—easy to say, but it was essentially equivalent to giving her a spiritual elixir.
“Just like that? You, Senior Brother? You don’t have some ulterior motive, do you?”
“Ulterior motive?”
“For example, suddenly remembering that I mocked you the other day and wanting to get revenge.”
How did she know?
“A man of honor shouldn’t be so petty. You understand, right?”
A man of honor? Petty?
A contented smile bloomed across Yang Hwi’s face.
I know, I know very well.
“Unlike my younger sister who doesn’t let even trivial matters slide, I as the elder brother am magnanimous and broad-minded. What could I possibly begrudge when it comes to helping my younger sister?”
“Oh my. Is that so? I was a bit sorry that something so substantial suddenly appeared, but it seems there’s no need for that.”
“Follow me.”
Yang Hwi led the way forward. Jegal Seol-ha tilted her head curiously and followed behind him.
‘Is he really going to give me a genuine elixir?’
To be honest, Jegal Seol-ha had been satisfied with merely grasping one weakness, or at most extracting some promise using that weakness as leverage.
But suddenly an elixir?
When I thought about it, I wasn’t in a position to fault Yang Hwi for his mistake, so this situation was becoming rather awkward.
‘If Father finds out, he’ll probably scold me for causing trouble over nothing.’
As I walked with such thoughts, I suddenly noticed one thing.
“Elder brother, why did we come here?”
The place I arrived at following Yang Hwi was not an elixir storage chamber.
It was the Training Grounds built in the back garden of Baek Family Estate.
“Why? I said I’d perfect your body.”
A sudden surge of unease. I hesitated before asking the question.
“Now that I think about it, how exactly are you going to perfect it?”
“You know I possess a mysterious energy called Seon-gi, right?”
“I do.”
“Seon-gi has one special function. It guides the physical body in the correct direction.”
“…And then?”
Yang Hwi moved like a flash of light and unleashed a strike at the Chugwak and Blood acupoint.
Words that I couldn’t believe came from the mouth of an absolute beauty spilled out.
“Seolha. I hesitated because this method is somewhat harsh for you, but hearing your words, my hesitation is gone.”
“Elder brother?!”
“What? A true man shouldn’t be so petty?”
Thanks to that, I realized, Seolha.
That a true man should never let his heart be caught up in small and trivial matters.
Because I’m not petty!
“Elder brother, I was wrong—Elder brother! Kyaaaaaah!”
Physical training overflowing with sibling affection had begun.

* * *
A month had passed.
It was the time it took to dismantle Baek Ui-mun, who had once controlled the massive city of Nanchang, and it was the time Yang Hwi and Jegal Seol-ha deepened their bond as sworn siblings.
“Elder brother… I shall never forget this grudge….”
Yang Hwi snorted dismissively.
“Grudge? Didn’t you misspeak? You’ve gained tremendous achievements in just a month.”
“Ugh….”
Jegal Seol-ha couldn’t bring herself to refute and let out a frustrated groan.
There was no fault in what Yang Hwi said.
Seon-gi’s skills were remarkable. In just a month, she had completely rebuilt Jegal Seol-ha’s body from the ground up.
Of course, from the perspective of the one being treated, it felt quite different.
“I absolutely won’t let this slide….”
“Sure, sure. Repay me tenfold later.”
Yang Hwi wiped the sweat from his sleeve and left Jegal Seol-ha behind, heading up to the guest quarters.
The Young Scholar was already waiting in the guest room, summoned beforehand.
“Young Master. You summon someone and then arrive late—what’s the meaning of this?”
“Sorry. It took longer than expected.”
The Young Scholar’s face was so haggard that one wouldn’t think him a boy in his prime growing years.
To be precise, it was the complexion of someone ground down by work.
“You look quite worn out. Shall I prepare some medicinal tonics for you?”
“How can the very person who made me this way say such things!”
The Young Scholar burst out, unable to contain himself.
It was only natural for him to react this way.
The Young Scholar’s inability to sleep more than two hours a day and his suffering under work were all because of Yang Hwi.
But.
“You were the one who asked to become the Baek Family Head.”
“That was a request for the Baek Family to support me! Not to tear Baek Ui-mun to shreds, scatter it, and make me worry about every single piece!”
“You came knowing all of this.”
“I thought the Young Master would recognize this scholar’s worth, but I never imagined you’d put me to work so thoroughly!”
“A man finds joy when there is one who recognizes his value. I understand your heart well.”
The boy, who appeared to be thirteen or fourteen, clutched the back of his neck like a middle-aged man in his fifties.
“Calm yourself. You’ll collapse at this rate.”
“And whose fault is that!”
“Now, now. Let’s talk about the work. It seems the time has come to put Baek Ui-mun to use.”
The Baek Family and Jegal Family had taken down the sign of Baek Ui-mun and divided its members by family units.
Instead of scattering them so they could never reunite, they had arranged for them to continue existing on a smaller scale.
Through this, they could now make use of Baek Ui-mun’s forces to some extent.
‘Well… honestly, this wouldn’t have been a choice I’d make without this fellow.’
The reason was simple. Beyond having too many concerns, it was fundamentally impossible.
It was the same principle as a bird being unable to swallow prey larger than its own body.
Even if chopped into fine pieces, overindulgence would only lead to indigestion.
‘But what if I used it for something other than consumption?’
The Young Scholar’s existence made that possible, and it was also his duty.
“Well then. Tell me what we must do.”
“Is this another test?”
“Not quite. I’m seeking counsel from my strategist.”
“…Hehehehe.”
The boy was still just a boy. Seeing how pleased he became merely from being called a strategist.
“Young Scholar. You’re clever, so you must understand how precarious our main family’s situation has become. Isn’t that right?”
“Of course. It’s exactly what you’d call internal strife and external threats.”
The Baek Family had consumed Baek Ui-mun.
Regardless of how justified the cause, this was an action that would bring upheaval to the Gangwon Martial Arts World.
The fact that Gangwon’s stronghold and master of Nanchang had changed hands was no trivial matter.
“In the Gangwon Martial Arts World, the Black Path dominates the west of Nanchang, while the White Path thrives in the east.”
“It couldn’t be otherwise. There’s Honam to the west of Gangwon.”
Decades ago, due to the Geom Wang’s blood catastrophe, the White Path martial arts of Honam had been utterly decimated.
By now, it wouldn’t be strange to call it the age of Black Path supremacy.
“The Black Path factions from the west will move to target our main family.”
“Since the Baek Family has proclaimed its banner of pursuing the righteous path, they’ll consider themselves justified.”
“Meanwhile, our main family, having consumed Baek Ui-mun, must still consolidate its power.”
Truly internal strife and external threats.
Within, the remnant forces of Baek Ui-mun would cause problems, while without, they had to worry about the Black Path’s invasion.
“To ask how to act in such circumstances. You’re truly at a loss.”
“So, you have no plan in mind?”
The Young Scholar, his lips curling upward, shook his head.
“How could I? For a strategist, chaos is nothing but opportunity.”
The Young Scholar’s plan that followed was simple.
“We must receive the Dang Family’s aid to pacify the Black Path martial arts of Gangwon. In that process, we strengthen internal unity through external enemies. Truly a plan that achieves two gains with one move!”
The Young Scholar finished speaking confidently and looked at me.
He clearly seemed to be seeking praise, but….
“Wrong.”
“Wrong?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, the Dang Family cannot help us.”
“What? Why?”
“The Namgung Family will be stepping in soon.”
“What?”
The Young Scholar’s eyes widened in shock.
“Why are you only telling me this now!”
Unlike the flustered Young Scholar, I simply smiled knowingly.
‘Quite some time has passed since the Geom Wang’s catastrophe. It’s about time those bastards made their move.’
I recalled Namgung Cheon-hu’s insufferable face.
That bastard wouldn’t take a beating and remain silent.
Thanks to him, I could turn this crisis into an opportunity.

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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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