Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 154

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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 154
‘When stars meet in the celestial sphere, destiny flows forth.’
This was the third time I had heard that voice.
The first was when I returned.
The second was when I learned the arrangement of the Sword King’s technique.
And today.
“Sa-mae. Did you hear the voice too?”
“A voice? No, I didn’t.”
“Then why were you startled?”
“Because the sword shattered.”
The shattering of the Blood Divine Demon Sword alone was certainly cause for alarm.
From Seolha’s perspective, she had merely drawn out the Primordial Qi carefully, yet the sword had shattered into pieces.
“Elder brother… what should I do? I’m sorry.”
Jegal Seol-ha glanced nervously at Yang Hwi.
Even though it was a demon sword, it was still the Baek Family’s property, so it seemed natural that she would apologize for destroying it.
“No. I wanted to destroy it anyway, but I didn’t know how, so I left it as it was.”
Baek Cheol would be delighted if he knew.
Such a thought crossed my mind briefly before I fell into contemplation.
When stars meet in the celestial sphere. Here, the star must refer to Seolha.
Stars have met. That means there are at least two stars.
‘The other star must surely be me.’
No. If that were the case, I should have heard the voice long ago.
I had met Jegal Seol-ha eight years ago.
Then could the other star be the Blood Divine Demon Sword?
I don’t know. For now, I lacked enough material for speculation.
But one thing was certain.
If the stars have met and destiny has begun to move, then something will change.
‘A new variable I don’t know about may have emerged.’
It’s good that I’ve gone against the flow of time, but this is frustrating.
I feel the touch of a being in a lofty place, and I feel like a chess piece.
Reverse heaven and restore fate, return to the source and follow the current, return to the point and move forward.
For something that said to go back and act as I wish, it’s interfering in things I never wanted.
Whatever the being, intention is always contained in action.
‘What is the purpose? What are they trying to achieve…’
“Elder brother. Your expression is serious. You’re not really angry, are you?”
My thoughts were interrupted. Worrying won’t give me answers anyway, so let me focus on what I can do right now.
“It’s nothing like that. What did you do wrong?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
But now, would it be impossible to use the Blood Divine Demon Sword for training?
I picked up one of the fragments of the Blood Divine Demon Sword.
“Hmm?”
The Bloodfiend Demon Blade had always made me feel the invasion of demonic spirits the moment I grasped it in my hand.
Thanks to possessing Primordial Qi, I could suppress it, but even so, I had felt the pressure on my psyche.
However, now I felt none of that.
‘It’s shattered, so in a way, it’s only natural.’
That said, the Bloodfiend Demon Blade hadn’t lost all its functions.
To be precise, the spiritual essence embedded in the fragments still remained.
“Seol-ha, try grasping one of the fragments yourself.”
“Won’t I be suppressed by the psyche if I hold it?”
“It’s fine since it’s broken. Hold it and try channeling your Spiritual Qi into it.”
Jegal Seol-ha carefully picked up one of the fragments.
Her expression changed immediately.
“How is it?”
“It feels strange. How do I put it… the fragment seems to respond to my energy?”
I was sensing something similar.
A peculiar sensation—as if it were absorbing not just my qi, but my will itself.
‘If this is the case… wouldn’t this actually be beneficial for Seol-ha’s cultivation?’

* * *
Namgung Cheon-hu, who had delayed his return by using his subordinates’ injuries as an excuse, came back, and the Baek Family and Dang Family completed their preparations for the expedition to Gilju.
Naturally, I tried to stay by Family Head Baek Moo-ryang’s side, but I was rejected.
“You drew upon Primordial Qi and fought just days ago. What makes you think you can follow along?”
“But Father, I am fine now.”
Baek Moo-ryang shook his head as if it were out of the question.
“Hwi, your father has opened the Middle Dantian and knows well. The consumption of Primordial Qi cannot possibly recover in mere days.”
Well, by common sense, that’s true. But I’m really fine.
Even if I’m not at full strength, I could still lend a hand in dealing with those Black Blade bastards in Gilju.
“Enough. We need a peak master to guard the main house anyway. I’m entrusting that responsibility to you.”
When he put it that way, there was nothing I could say.
The phrase “a dog guarding the house” was commonly used as a derogatory expression, but conversely, it also meant a necessary existence.
“You must have been informed of the change in plans. The main house and Dang Family will swiftly eliminate the Black Blade in Gilju, so we ask that the Namgung Family guard against the Black Mirror Faction launching an assault from Won-ju.”
Namgung Cheon-hu gazed at Baek Moo-ryang silently, then nodded.
It was an abrupt change, but it was a decision made through consultation between the Baek and Dang Families during his absence.
Since the Namgung Family had previously stated they were merely a branch and would follow the decision, there was nothing else to say.
“I shall do so.”
Watching Namgung Cheon-hu give his assent, my brow furrowed slightly.
‘There’s no way that bastard would comply so readily. Given how late he arrived, he must have conspired with someone.’
Well, for now, there was no way to deal with it.
I couldn’t drive him away by saying I didn’t trust him, since he had legitimate grounds.
‘Sleeping with the enemy, as they say.’
A faint smile crossed my face.
While it sounded dangerous in words, it was actually the most efficient situation to sink the enemy.
After all, I wasn’t the only one who could strike from behind.
Just like how I properly dealt with the Hyeong-san School a few days ago.
‘They’ll be sharpening their blades after taking such a hit. I hope nothing goes wrong during the expedition.’
Realistically, it was unlikely that major problems would arise.
The Honam Black Blade bastards, who had suffered tremendous losses and retreated just days ago, couldn’t possibly come rushing in already.
No matter how capable Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol was or how much resentment he harbored, scheming would require time.
That’s partly why I hastened the expedition—to sweep away the Gilju Black Blades in the meantime.
‘Still, I feel a bit uneasy…’
The sudden thought made me tap my cheek lightly.
‘It’s not like I’m leaving a young child by the water’s edge.’
Normally, I wouldn’t have felt this much anxiety, but Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol’s existence was the source of my unease.
Perhaps because I retained memories of my past life, I found myself worrying about Father without realizing it.
‘If I’m going to feel anxious about not going myself, I should give up on building the greatest family under heaven.’
Besides, this expedition had Dang-gun, the Dang Family’s patriarch, and Baek Moo-ryang, the Baek Family’s head, going out personally.
‘I cannot achieve great things alone. So I must trust them. No matter what dangers arise, Elder Dang and Father will be more than capable of handling it.’
It wasn’t just that I should trust them—trusting them was only natural.
After all, they were among the most outstanding people I knew.
‘In any case, I should focus on cultivation for now.’
It worked out well. Since I’d grasped the essence of Living Vitality Qi and Void Absorption, I wanted to concentrate on meditation and energy cultivation for a while.
Besides, I needed to oversee Seol-ha’s martial arts training, and I even had work to do with the fragments of the shattered Blood Divine Sword.
I’d be quite busy for a while.
“Seol-ha. Let’s head to the training ground.”
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
After seeing off those departing for the expedition, Seol-ha and I headed straight to the training ground.
Adu naturally followed behind us.
“Seol-ha. Take out the fragment. Let’s begin training.”
“Yes.”
A small fragment held in Seol-ha’s hand.
The metal that had accepted the Flame of Transformation emitted a faint glow.
“It’s such a strange feeling. It’s merely metal, yet…”
“That’s understandable.”
Seol-ha looked at me with playful eyes.
In that moment, I felt a surge of Eum Hu’s presence rising intensely.
Even I, with my steadfast mental image and Spiritual Qi, felt a momentary dizziness.
“This little thing?”
“Hehe, it wouldn’t work on you anyway, Senior Brother.”
One of the fragment’s functions was amplification.
The targets of amplification were one’s aura and mental image.
Through this method, Jegal Seol-ha was cultivating control over her qi and willpower at an unprecedented pace.
To use an analogy, it was less like running and more like riding a horse at full gallop.
All the while, she didn’t miss a single pebble Yang Hwi tossed her way, catching each one in her palm.
“At this rate, she’ll really reach the peak.”
“Wasn’t that the whole point of this training from the start?”
“Seol-ha, you’ve been stagnant for years without progress, so how could you possibly reach the peak already?”
“But it feels like I’m about to.”
“Who would have thought a single piece of metal could wield such tremendous power.”
Originally, Yang Hwi had planned to shatter the Blood God Sword and then reforge it into a proper divine weapon.
The blacksmith Baek Cheol had said the material itself was a rare metal difficult to find in the mortal realm, so I thought we could forge a blade worthy of representing the family if we did it right.
But my thinking changed.
‘It would be a waste to forge something with such remarkable properties into just a single sword.’
As one could see from Jegal Seol-ha’s case, the metal fragments were an excellent tool for masters of the first rank, helping them break through the wall to the peak realm.
The metal fragments themselves were already a superior divine weapon.
‘The true depth of the Nine Sects and One Faction reveals itself from the second generation disciples onward.’
Righteous cultivation—the kind that builds slowly but steadily—was their defining characteristic.
Because of this, martial artists from orthodox sects grew exponentially stronger as time passed.
Using the earlier analogy, it was like gathering every single pebble one had to pick up while walking slowly.
While the demonic and heterodox paths ignored the pebbles and ran quickly, the orthodox sects moved slowly but could eventually wield those pebbles as weapons.
‘That’s why later-generation disciples tend to be stronger in the dark path, while the core members are stronger in the righteous path.’
Of course, even the orthodox sects maximized their speed through elixirs and efficient training methods.
But the time gap was something the rapidly ascendant Baek Family could never overcome.
However, the fragments of the Blood God Sword would make the impossible possible.
‘Hehe, this alone means I owe Seol-ha another debt. An enormous one at that.’
Meeting Seol-ha in childhood seemed to be one of my greatest strokes of fortune in this life.
Thanks to her, I could make good use of Uncle Jegal Seon and the Jegal Family, and I even formed a connection with Pacheon Eumhu, one of the Cheonmu-sip-jon.
“Seol-ha, after training today, let’s go eat something delicious….”
I stopped abruptly. Something was wrong with Jegal Seol-ha’s state.
I raised my finger to signal Adu and quietly observed her.
‘Mushin state.’
Could it be today?
Really?
‘Truly, she’s a genius even Sa-mae would marvel at.’
She was already grasping the concept and falling into the mushin state?
It was possible that today, Jegal Seol-ha could truly reach the peak realm.
Saaaa—
Centered on the metal fragment, the spiritual qi shimmered. A faint tremor accompanied a pleasant melodic resonance that began to fill the air.
This was also the characteristic of the Sacred Sound Qi that Jegal Seol-ha harbored in her lower dantian.
Cha-ra-rang, cha-ra-ra-rang!
Ding, di-ring, di-ri-ring.
A sigh full of admiration escaped me.
‘Really, today?’
Without a single instrument, the melodies of multiple instruments resonated through the air.
Even if the same pitch were produced, the sound of a drum and the sound of a geomungo were distinctly different.
Yet Seolha was flowing forth a variety of tones without possessing a single instrument.
‘The Realm of Sound Transformation.’
Eum Hu was a possessor of Spiritual Qi who could conjure the rhythms of multiple instruments with merely a flick of her fingers.
This was in fact an ability that masters of sound cultivation attained upon reaching the pinnacle.
Just as a swordmaster grasped the essence of the sword and drew forth sword energy, a sound cultivator moved their qi with powerful control to transform the shape of sound itself.
“Haaa….”
How much time had passed?
Jegal Seol-ha opened her eyes and gazed at Yang Hwi with a dazed expression.
“Congratulations, Seolha. You’ve escaped the station of a third-rate master.”
I offered my congratulations with a slight smile.
“….”
Jegal Seol-ha suddenly rushed forward and wrapped her arms around my shoulders.
Then she burst forth with a cry of joy.
“Kyaaaah! I’m finally a pinnacle master!”

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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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