Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 16

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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 016
At the Central Training Ground of the Baek Family, the three Baek siblings glistened with sweat as they devoted themselves to their practice.
“Hah! Hah!”
“Yiyah! Yiyah!”
Against the backdrop of Baek Heon-so and Baek Yeon-yeon’s spirited shouts, I repeated the first through third movements of the Heavenly Blade Technique at an extraordinarily slow pace.
Only after completing ten full repetitions did I release my stance.
Though my martial robes were thoroughly soaked with perspiration, I smiled with profound satisfaction.
‘With this, I have achieved perfect mastery of the Heavenly Blade Technique.’
True mastery of swordplay is far more than merely grasping its secrets.
All martial arts ultimately manifest the principles of heaven and earth through the body.
Without sufficient physical conditioning as the foundation, one can never achieve true mastery.
‘I have accumulated a year of diligent training, and my physical development is more than sufficient to execute the Heavenly Blade Technique.’
A young, vibrant body. I know the shortcut because I have touched that distant peak before.
In my previous life, it took three years to reach this level of attainment.
Since I arrived at the Baek Family Estate three months ago, I have achieved this milestone dozens of times faster than before.
“Phoooooo….”
As I exhaled deeply, Baek Heon-so, who had abandoned his own practice to observe my sword technique, cried out loudly.
“Brother, that was incredible! Your demonstration just now reminded me of Father. Could it be….”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
“That’s right. I have achieved perfect mastery of the Heavenly Blade Technique.”
“Wow!”
In Baek Heon-so’s face, filled with genuine admiration, there was no trace of the jealousy from before.
What filled his youthful features was nothing but wonder and admiration for his older brother.
I found myself smiling warmly.
‘Grow straight and true like this, Heon-so.’
I never expected building a relationship with him could be this effortless.
Why couldn’t I have done something so simple in my previous life?
‘Because I was young then. I lacked so much.’
But from now on, things will be different.
With such thoughts, I opened my mouth.
“Heon-so and Yeon-yeon, I’m stepping out for a while. Continue your training diligently.”
“Brother, you’re going out again?”
Baek Yeon-yeon’s face fell. Her expression plainly revealed her desire to accompany me.
“When I return, I’ll bring you candy and chicken skewers, so train hard, alright, Yeon-yeon?”
“Alright….”
Seeing her continued sullen expression, my resolve wavered slightly, but I could not take her with me.
I was going to meet Yeo Un-jeok, the Heuk-do-pa’s leader.
I straightened my appearance and headed directly to Han Supervisor.
“Supervisor, I intend to step out for a while.”
Though outings were once difficult, the household members had all grown accustomed to my frequent absences.
Han Supervisor nodded readily.
“Very well, Young Master Hwi. By the way, when do you think you’ll bring back news?”
“News of what?”
“This, I mean this.”
Han Supervisor formed his thumb and index finger into a circle.
‘Ah, money….’
I laughed awkwardly.
“I’m working hard on it.”
“Please do your best. In our Baek Family, only you and I concern ourselves with household finances.”
“Isn’t Father also working hard at it?”
“The Family Head spends every coin he earns.”
It wasn’t wrong. Baek Moo-ryang had a particularly soft heart, constantly making charitable donations, leaving barely enough money for the household to eat after each act of kindness.
“Father is simply purchasing things that money cannot buy. In any case, the Main Family will soon bid farewell to the word ‘poverty.’ With that in mind, I shall take my leave!”
“Bring back the God of Wealth!”
Upon leaving the Baek Manor, I headed straight to the place I had promised to meet Yeo Un-jeok.
Yeo Un-jeok had arrived early and was waiting for me.
“Young Master, you’ve arrived.”
“I hurried, yet you arrived first. Have you examined all the countermeasures I provided?”
Previously, I had written down the martial arts countermeasures for all the Black Island factions established in Ak-an County, including the Red Bridge Hall.
Yeo Un-jeok had requested to verify whether the countermeasures were genuine for the sake of mutual trust.
Yeo Un-jeok nodded gravely.
“Over the past time, I tested all the countermeasures by provoking fights without drawing attention.”
I asked the question despite already knowing the result.
“What were the results?”
“All of them… were perfect countermeasures.”
It couldn’t have been otherwise. I could confidently say I understood the martial arts of the Black Island factions in Ak-an County better than those who had learned them.
“Where on earth did you obtain these countermeasures? How do you know all the countermeasures for the martial arts of multiple factions?”
I answered simply.
“I’ve watched the Black Island gangs of Ak-an County fight more than a hundred times while wandering as a beggar.”
“You devised the countermeasures yourself? That’s impossible. Young Master, you only started learning martial arts a few months ago at the age of eight.”
That was true. At least by common standards, it was an irrefutable statement.
But.
“Old Man, how many prodigies beyond the comprehension of common sense do you think exist in this world?”
“…Are you saying Young Master is one of those rare geniuses?”
I responded with an attitude so brazenly confident it was shameless.
“If not that, then how else would you explain the current situation?”
“….”
While maintaining an expression overflowing with self-confidence and conviction, I carefully observed how Yeo Un-jeok’s expression and demeanor changed.
To be honest, my logic wasn’t entirely airtight.
There were limits to making things fit together without revealing the truth about my regression.
However.
‘Logic alone doesn’t determine persuasion. In many ways, the speaker matters far more.’
When an ordinary commoner and a renowned figure of legend speak the same words, whose carries more weight?
Naturally, it must be the latter.
So for now, performing as someone possessed of transcendent talent rather than mere excellence would lend greater weight to my persuasion.
Fortunately, the actions I’ve already demonstrated were remarkable enough to seem incongruous with my eight years, even setting aside the method of countering martial techniques.
“…Truly audacious, yet I cannot explain it otherwise. So what do you intend now?”
‘Fortunately, he believes me.’
Yang Hwi answered with a faint smile.
“Old Man, suppose there are two Heuk-do-pa factions of roughly equal strength, yet bitter enemies. If one obtained the martial technique counter of the other, what would happen?”
“They would move to devour each other immediately.”
“And if you threw the counter to the opposite side at the moment of desperation?”
“I see. They would tear each other apart to the death. From the number of counters, it seems the young master envisions not a two-way conflict, but three-way, or perhaps even more.”
Yeo Un-jeok stared intently at Yang Hwi.
“Many would die. Are you truly at peace with that, young master?”
Was this a question meant to apply pressure, or one seeking his resolve?
Yang Hwi nodded without the slightest hesitation.
“Their deaths stem from their own greed. If they harbored no greed, there would be no war between the Black Island factions.”
“Your words hold truth, yet you may come to regret. The price of blood weighs equally on all, becoming karma that burdens the shoulders.”
Yang Hwi paused before responding.
“Do you know? In Ak-an County, even children cannot venture outside without difficulty.”
Han Supervisor, who had adamantly opposed my first attempt to take my younger siblings out without an escort, saying it was impossible without guards.
Ak-an County was such a place. Where anything could happen to children who went out alone, and none would find it strange.
“When the upper waters are fouled, the lower cannot remain clean. There are far too many Heuk-do-pa in Ak-an County. Even I, a martial family’s heir, suffer hardship—what of the common people?”
Yang Hwi had not spoken of his cooperation with Yeo Un-jeok to anyone.
Yet he held absolute certainty that even if my father, Baek Moo-ryang, learned of it, he would worry but not forbid it.
Nothing I intended to do had ever deviated from the principles of cooperation my father had taught me.
Perhaps such conviction showed upon my face.
Yeo Un-jeok, who had been silent, finally spoke.
“Young master, you are truly mysterious. Your martial prowess, your cunning stratagems, and your steadfast resolve—none befits your age.”
Yang Hwi merely smiled wryly.
“That is precisely why I call myself a prodigy of this generation. Then I rely upon you, Old Man.”

* * *
Gyo Cheol-jeong, the Vice-Master of Cheongsabang, sought sleep once more while gripping his numb legs.
‘Damn it. Damn it all. Those thieving bastards. If I catch them, I’ll tear them limb from limb.’
Gyo Cheol-jeong gnashed his teeth as he recalled the thieves who had stripped the hidden cache he managed.
Those damned scoundrels had used some young beggar as bait to plunder everything.
Because of them, Gyo Cheol-jeong had been beaten half to death by the Master, and even now, months later, his injured leg still throbbed with pain.
‘Curse it. I need to catch those thieves as soon as possible.’
The Master of Cheongsabang had ordered Gyo Cheol-jeong to capture the thieves after nearly beating him to death.
The deadline was three months total, and if he failed to catch the thieves within that time, Gyo Cheol-jeong was as good as dead.
The problem was that he had no leads whatsoever on the thieves.
‘I must catch them somehow. Otherwise, I’ll need to accomplish some other feat to cover up this failure.’
But how?
There was no way. With each passing day, the noose seemed to tighten around his neck.
It was precisely when Gyo Cheol-jeong felt this desperation.
Thunk.
Something flew through the air and struck his door. Startled, Gyo Cheol-jeong rushed outside and discovered a stone with several paper notes attached to it.
‘What is this?’
As Gyo Cheol-jeong unfolded the notes, he gasped in shock.
[I grant you the method to counter the first three moves of the Red Bridge Hall’s signature technique, the Cleaving Rock Axe Method.]
Having clashed with Red Bridge Hall countless times, Gyo Cheol-jeong recognized it immediately.
The notes contained the genuine counter-technique to the Cleaving Rock Axe Method, Red Bridge Hall’s primary martial art.
‘Who could this be from… But more importantly, with this…!’
What had been the reason Cheongsabang created the hidden cache and stored weapons and money there?
It was both for contingencies and as a weapon to devour Red Bridge Hall.
‘If I present this counter-technique to the Master, I can not only cover up my failure but earn great merit!’
The moment he reached this conclusion, the identity and intentions of whoever sent the counter-technique became irrelevant.
Gyo Cheol-jeong wanted to live longer, and having a means to extinguish the fire at his feet was what mattered most.
‘I must go to the Master immediately!’
Despite the late hour, Gyo Cheol-jeong left his residence and rushed to Cheongsabang.
“You there! Tell the Master that the Vice-Master has urgent matters to discuss!”
After relaying his message to the guard, he waited briefly until a middle-aged man with a displeased expression appeared.
A middle-aged man with a sickly complexion, resembling a sinister serpent.
The Master of Cheongsabang himself.
“You worthless wretch. I commanded you not to show your face until you brought me those bastards who stole the cache.”
Despite the immediate barrage of curses, Gyo Cheol-jeong bowed obsequiously.
“Master, I had something urgent to report, so I was forced to request an audience. Please, take a look at this.”
The Master of Cheongsabang snatched the papers Gyo Cheol-jeong offered.
“If this is nothing, I’ll have your head… Hmm? What is this…?”
Gyo Cheol-jeong, still bowed at the waist with only his head raised, grinned widely.
“Precisely, Master. The counter-technique to the Red Bridge Hall’s Cleaving Rock Axe Method.”
“Where did you obtain this?”
“While pursuing a thief, I came across an old man who was gravely wounded and on death’s door. I saved his life, and it turned out he was a master of considerable martial prowess. In gratitude, he bestowed upon me this method to counter Hong Gyo-bang’s techniques before departing.”
It was an excuse riddled with holes, yet such occurrences were not uncommon in the Martial Arts World.
The realm of martial arts was vast beyond measure, and it naturally harbored countless eccentric masters and unusual tales.
“Is this truth? Should you be lying to me, I shall execute you with my own hands.”
“As you have witnessed yourself, Hong Gyo-bang-ju, there is not a shred of falsehood in this counter-method!”
His words held merit. Even Cheongsa-bang-ju, whose martial prowess exceeded Gyo Cheol-jeong’s and who intimately understood Hong Gyo-bang’s techniques, could confirm the counter-method was genuine.
“Hmm….”
Cheongsa-bang-ju’s mind raced with possibilities.
‘This counter-method covers only the first three seconds of their opening stance, yet most of our members have only mastered those same three seconds. If….’
What if he disseminated this counter-method to all his members and waged war against Hong Gyo-bang?
Victory would be assured.
“Listen all! Send word to the Four Pillars—the Eastern Lord, Western Lord, and Northern Lord—summoning them to the hall!”
Thus, winds of change began to sweep through the Martial Arts World of Heuk-do in Ak-an County.
A tempest born from the grasp of a mere eight-year-old child.

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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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