Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 159

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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 159
Ethereal light enveloped the entire Baek Manor.
Serpentine streams of radiance traced an intricate pattern.
There was only one reason why light, which normally traveled in straight lines, could flow in such undulating curves.
“Bastards, I told you to watch out for traps.”
I had already known that the Hunan Black Blade forces would assault the Baek Manor with overwhelming numbers, enough to devastate it even with our main forces absent.
Yet despite this knowledge, the reason I chose to face them without requesting aid was simple.
If I could seize the geographical advantage, I was confident in overwhelming superior numbers with a smaller force.
For reference, geographical advantage in the Martial Arts World did not merely refer to the structure of terrain and landscape.
There existed a far more critical and devastating element.
The formation array itself.
“Formation technique! Everyone, be careful!”
Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol’s shout rang out, but it was already too late.
The moment they surged toward the main gate of the Baek Manor, they had already entered the formation’s sphere of influence.
‘In ages past, Jeongal Ryang deployed formation arrays to overcome numerical disadvantages.’
By this era, the descendants of the Jegal Family had earned their renown throughout the realm through their mastery of formation techniques.
And Jegal Seol-ha was one such member of that illustrious clan.
Moreover, she was a direct descendant who had inherited the Hyeonwon Upper Dantian Divine Art.
“Fools, with the Jegal Family’s young lady present here, how could you fail to anticipate this?”
The Hyeonwon Upper Dantian Divine Art—a supreme technique that awakened the upper dantian from the very moment of initiation.
It was peculiar indeed.
Ordinarily, all martial techniques began with the lower dantian as their foundation, and any deviation from orthodox martial doctrine inevitably brought numerous side effects.
Yet despite this contradiction, the Hyeonwon Upper Dantian Divine Art was the supreme technique that elevated the Jegal Family to the rank of one of the Five Great Clans.
“Seol-ha! Jei Jin formation, execute the variation!”
“Yes, Senior Brother!”
Jegal Seol-ha activated the Hyeonwon Upper Dantian Divine Art with full force.
As her upper dantian opened, the flow of Spiritual Qi—imperceptible at her current level of cultivation—became visible before her eyes.
It was said that when Jeongal Ryang demonstrated his divine techniques, he told those who marveled at him that he could merely perceive the Heavenly Qi and thus read the Spiritual Qi to respond accordingly.
‘If one can read the flow of the Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Realm, then by necessity, one can interfere with it as well.’
That was the essence of formation arrays.
They allowed one to perceive the natural flow of heaven and earth that humans could not ordinarily see, and through specially inscribed objects imbued with peculiar power, they distorted natural harmony itself.
All formation masters manipulated the upper dantian and calculated nature through human mathematics.
Through this, they wielded harmony as a weapon.
Through this, they wielded harmony as a weapon.
“When a leader makes a miscalculation, the subordinates suffer for it. Pay the price with your lives.”
Pale mist descended upon all directions.
A fog so dense that one could not see even an inch ahead.
Hearing Yang Hwi’s voice echo faintly from the distance, Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol gnashed his teeth.
“How can mere Baek Family dogs command such a powerful formation technique!”
There was no way they had overlooked formation techniques when assaulting a martial family’s manor.
The formation laid out in the manor was within Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol’s calculations.
I had anticipated it all.
The problem was that the formation proved far more powerful than expected.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh crack!
“Arghhhh!”
“Argh!”
Screams of subordinates echoed from all directions.
‘The Baek Family—a place where the bloodline had been severed to such a degree that even the family martial arts they treasured most amounted to nothing but third-rate techniques! And yet, how is this possible!’
It should have been absolutely impossible for a single direct descendant of the Jegal Family to orchestrate such a marvel.
“Curious, are you?”
A voice rang out, taunting and provocative.
Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol’s eyes widened.
“Silence! I will surely chew out your entrails and devour them!”
Yang Hwi let out a soft chuckle upon hearing the furious roar.
“Seolha, he says he wants to suffer more severely?”
“Then shall I show him the taste of fire?”
Jegal Seol-ha plucked the strings of the Heavenly Sound Jade Lute in an intricate pattern.
Though nothing was physically connected, the mechanisms installed throughout the formation responded in unison.
“Arghhhh!”
“Fire, it’s fire!”
“Get a grip! It’s an illusion!”
“But it’s really hot, arghhhh!”
Jegal Seol-ha stuck out her tongue playfully.
“Telling someone to snap out of it when they’re trapped in an illusion within an illusion—how foolish.”
“Indeed.”
Jegal Seol-ha was a direct descendant of the Wa-ryong Family, the foremost masters of formation techniques, and a true disciple of the Seongeeum Okryeong School.
And as evidenced by the Jeong-eum Ogwan test used to evaluate their disciples, the Seongeeum Okryeong School possessed unparalleled mastery in the art of mechanical formations.
‘Even now it’s dizzying. They use such a powerful illusion formation—one so strong that even I could fall into it—merely to test their disciples.’
Within that illusion formation, I had once encountered Namgung Cheon-yeong from my past life and fought a life-or-death duel.
Though I ultimately prevailed and escaped the formation, it remained true that the formation was of such a high caliber that even I, possessing enlightenment up to the transcendent realm, could not have broken through it.
“You’ve worked hard these past three months, Seolha.”
“It was nothing. Since it was the Baek Manor, it wasn’t particularly difficult.”
Upon hearing Jegal Seol-ha’s response, I gazed down at the main gate below.
Dozens and hundreds of clouds carved into black steel wood doors.
I recalled my father’s words.
“The main gate is quite distinctive, isn’t it? It’s a gate that our family’s founder personally crafted and carved.”
Though the Baek Family had fallen into decline, it had once held a seat among the Five Great Families Under Heaven and was a martial clan founded by none other than the greatest master in the world.
For a family of such standing, it was standard practice to construct the very buildings of the manor according to formation principles, and the Baek Family never abandoned their manor even as they declined.
“The arrangement of halls centered on the main residence, and the main gate—though all the formations of the past had been destroyed, the gate alone retained its power as a formation-based mechanism,” she explained.
“That’s only fitting. After all, it was personally crafted by the greatest master of that era.”
This was why Jegal Seol-ha could construct such a formidable formation array single-handedly.
The remnants of a glorious past.
A legacy that the Baek Family had protected and passed down through generations even as they fell into decline.
It was now shining brilliantly in the face of the family’s crisis.
‘The only regret is the instability—that one cannot fight within the formation array itself.’
It would have been ideal if our forces could enter the formation and remain unaffected while slaughtering the enemy.
With more time, it would have been possible—then I could have annihilated them all with minimal casualties.
‘Well, what can’t be done simply can’t be done.’
“Elder brother. The formation nodes are being destroyed. The array will be breached soon.”
“Already? Well, there are only fifty peak-stage masters, after all.”
A peak-stage master could read the distorted flow of spiritual qi and locate the formation nodes maintaining the array.
Had I constructed a more sophisticated and unfathomable formation, even peak-stage masters would have been like frogs boiling in water.
But that was beyond my current capabilities.
“You’ve worked hard. This is more than enough.”
“Yes. Then I’ll prepare the next phase.”
“I’m counting on you, Sa-mae.”
Jegal Seol-ha smiled brightly and moved to another position.
Meanwhile, the surviving Black Sword practitioners were revealing themselves in the distance.
“Baek Yang-hwi. You’ve resorted to petty tricks.”
I was somewhat taken aback.
Petty tricks?
I tilted my head and asked.
“If you call it that, I almost feel sorry for your subordinates who died to such petty tricks.”
Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol seemed to have no intention of continuing the conversation.
The Black Sword practitioners reformed their ranks, spread out widely, and climbed onto the Baek Family’s walls in unison.
One of them swung a blade at Yang Hwi, who was sitting above the main gate. I severed his neck and launched myself into the air.
My body traced a parabola as I spun, landing gracefully on the roof of the Baek Manor’s main building.
“They won’t charge. I thought if I stood at the front, even if Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol wouldn’t attack, at least one of your subordinates worth killing would rush forward.”
I clicked my tongue in disappointment, but Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol continued issuing orders to his subordinates.
“There must surely be formation arrays set up inside the walls as well. Proceed cautiously and eliminate all of them!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, sir!”
Seeing this, I couldn’t help but smile.
‘Unfortunately, there’s no formation inside.’
At my request, Jegal Seol-ha had invested all the distortion from the internal structure into strengthening the formation array outside the walls.
The moment they crossed into the compound, they would gain no advantage from the array.
‘Though that doesn’t mean I won’t gain the advantage of the formation itself.’
“Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol. Try to answer one question.”
I had been consistently ignored, but it didn’t matter.
Now he would have no choice but to respond.
“What is the fastest way for a martial sect with numerous low-level warriors to strengthen their forces?”
The answer is simple. Formation arrays.
More precisely, combined formation arrays.
‘Even the famous Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation of Wolong was ultimately a combined formation array built using soldiers.’
The character for formation itself carries the meaning of arranging soldiers.
In other words, the origin of formations is actually the combined formation array.
“Baek-a Unit Commander!”
Baek Heon-so responded with vigor.
“I await your command!”
“Deploy the Thousand Feather Blade Transformation Formation!”
A combined formation array where a thousand feathers transform into blades.
This was another strategy I had prepared.
“Hahaha! A combined formation array? You think you can stop us with merely a combined formation array!”
‘Of course he couldn’t resist opening his mouth.’
That bastard would never miss an opportunity to mock.
Moreover, not just Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol but most of the dark path warriors were snickering.
“True, combined formation arrays are a method for the few to face the many. But you don’t even know how to deploy a combined formation array!”
In fact, those skilled in combined formation arrays were primarily found among the dark path.
A natural result, since they felt no shame in having a multitude swarm a single strong warrior like a pack of dogs.
The dark path warriors moved in unison upon receiving Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol’s signal.
A combined formation array constructed with an absolute master as its cornerstone.
“We surpass you in both martial prowess and numbers! To think you would rely on such a formation array!”
“The young fool has made a grave miscalculation!”
“Hahaha, brat, your crimes are now revealed!”
“You hastened your own death—do not curse it even in hell!”
Despite the torrent of mockery, I remained composed.
“You surpass us in both martial prowess and numbers. But here’s the thing.”
There is one more factor that determines the strength of a combined formation array.
The level of the formation array itself.
“No need for long speeches! Attack!”
Following Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol’s command, the dark path warriors charged forward rapidly.
The fact that the constructed formation array did not collapse showed their proficiency was far from negligible.
But.
‘That’s all it amounts to.’
“Feathers! Blade Transformation!”
Upon Baek Heon-so’s command, the Baek-a Unit Members unleashed their momentum in unison.
Then something miraculous occurred.
The Baek-a Unit Members were all at most in their early twenties.
While a few had reached the first-rate realm, not a single one possessed the talent to master unified qi.
And yet.
They unleashed an aura infused with righteousness and conviction.
The clash that followed.
“This can’t be!”
“What manner of technique is this!”
“Sorcery! It’s sorcery!”
In both numbers and quality, the black robes held the advantage.
Yet despite this, the victor of the collision was the Baek Family’s Heavenly Harmony Formation.
“Why are you surprised? It’s only natural.”
Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol, that fool, had stopped responding like a ghost the moment his subordinates fell into a defensive position.
But Yang Hwi continued to wag his tongue.
“How dare you charge at the Heavenly Harmony Formation with such garbage-tier formations?”
In my past life, I wandered the realm perfecting family martial arts into a supreme technique.
During that time, I witnessed countless martial arts, and I dismissed no teaching that contained the principles of the Way.
‘You bastards, the Heavenly Harmony Formation was created by bashing your heads against Shaolin’s One Hundred Eight Arhat Formation.’
The One Hundred Eight Arhat Formation, constructed by one hundred eight Arhat monks, is a legendary formation said to be capable of restraining even one of the Cheonmu-sip-jon.
Most of Shaolin’s techniques are transmitted as legend, yet they are absurdly real things that exist in reality, and in any case, I had personally experienced even that One Hundred Eight Arhat Formation.
‘I nearly died that time.’
An overwhelming advantage in the quality and quantity of warriors?
A formation is precisely what overturns such advantages.
Of course, if supreme masters stepped forward directly, the situation would be different.
“Damn it! Supreme masters, step forward and dismantle that cursed formation!”
‘Moving exactly as expected.’
A formation is still a formation, and those who form its pillars are crucial.
Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol could not possibly be ignorant of this fact, and if he deployed supreme masters who, despite being reduced by the formation’s mechanics, still outnumbered our forces by more than two to one, even the Heavenly Harmony Formation could not endure.
‘Well, if the enemy called checkmate, I simply call stalemate in return.’
Moreover, it wasn’t merely a stalemate—I had a move prepared to turn the tables and call checkmate myself.
“Let’s move to the next phase, Sa-mae.”
“Yes, Elder Sister!”
Jegal Seol-ha briefly adjusted the necklace around her neck, took a deep breath, and plucked the strings of the Heavenly Sound Pipa, unleashing her innate talent to its fullest.
Ding-ling-ling!
The sound rises and swells, the spiritual qi riding the melody and spreading in all directions.
At the same time.
The necklace, forged from an unknown metal, began to emit light.

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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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