Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 162
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Third-rate Martial Arts Family, Greatest Under Heaven – Episode 162
Vivid Intent-Force was one of three enlightenments necessary to reach the pinnacle of martial arts, and a realm unto itself.
Weaving qi and intent into one, making them vivid and alive.
As a result, realizing intent through qi.
For example, it worked like this.
‘I decided to cut, and I cut.’
Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol’s true secret art was hand techniques including the Quan Zhang method, and he was a master of the highest caliber who could wrap hand-qi from his fingers all the way to his forearms.
Just moments ago, I severed that man’s arm with a single blade.
My will to cut had become one with my qi and manifested into reality.
‘Vivid Intent-Force. The enlightenment of realizing will through qi.’
A realm that could only be embodied when the unity of qi and intent was established as a prerequisite.
In this life, since Hwa-cheon qi and Seon-gi had merged into Hwa-cheon Seon-gi, I had not yet obtained Vivid Intent-Force.
But thanks to Seong Cheol’s ability to amplify both qi and mental imagery, I succeeded in forcibly manifesting Vivid Intent-Force.
‘I amplified both qi and intent, and forcibly merged them.’
To use an analogy, it was like boiling water pushing up a pot lid.
It should have been absolutely impossible, but it became reality thanks to the enlightenment from my past life supporting it.
The result was Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol’s death.
“…Ugh…Ah….”
The fine line drawn across Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol’s neck gradually widened.
Droplets of blood beaded up, then flowed down like a waterfall.
Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol’s severed head on the ground stared with wide eyes, unable to believe his own death.
“Hahaha, boasting only of cooperation—how pathetically base!”
“Of all the Si-hyeop-il-jeol I know, you’re the most worthless!”
Words from my past life—mockery that Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol had hurled at Father—flashed through my mind.
The death of my family, the most precious people in the world, born from that man’s actions, surfaced like a recurring nightmare.
‘Father. I have finally succeeded in my revenge.’
In this life, Father was alive and well, yet I felt overwhelmed with emotion.
Cleanly severing Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol’s head had been one of my life’s goals.
“Ugh…!”
Suddenly my strength drained away, and I dropped to one knee, leaning on my sword like a cane.
‘Is this the price of drawing upon a realm I haven’t fully embodied?’
Though I hadn’t detonated my hidden potential, I felt exhaustion that matched it.
Every meridian in my body thrummed with pain, and my head felt numb.
“Jang Moon-in!”
“Kill him!”
“No, wait—capture him alive!”
Pursuing Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol had brought me to the center of the Black Blade formation.
Seeing my exhausted state, the Black Blade warriors swarmed around me like a pack of dogs.
But then.
“Seolha.”
Ding-ling-ling!
My blade still trembled, and Jegal Seol-ha’s sword, infused with her sound-wave technique, unleashed a formidable force.
Perfect resonance—Jade Sound Generates Hawk’s Roar!
“Krraaaagh!”
“How can this exhausted bastard still possess such power…!”
The beautiful jade-like tones resonated endlessly.
The melodic current—both energy and sound wave—was absorbed into my blade like lightning striking a lightning rod.
-Shrieeeeek!
The amplified force from resonance tore through the surroundings.
And that was sufficient.
“Adu. You’re late.”
Adu, a giant figure wreathed in brilliant light, had positioned himself to protect me.
“Sorry. Yang Hwi, are you alright?”
“Yeah. Take me back.”
Instead of answering, Adu lifted me into his arms and unleashed his brilliant radiance.
Prajna’s Great Power, Golden Light Repels Evil!
As Adu retreated with thundering steps, cradling me in his arms, I sensed his energy and let out a soft chuckle.
‘Come to think of it, this monster truly is a monster. He’s already embodied the Vitality Qi.’
Indeed, without that, he could never have served as a training partner for Jegal Seol-ha’s sound-wave cultivation.
No matter how much Shaolin martial arts one mastered, one couldn’t endure without the living qi responding and moving to attacks.
A supreme master who had awakened the Vitality Qi necessary to reach the pinnacle before even reaching adulthood.
Thinking about it anew, Adu truly was a terrifying monster.
‘No wonder rumors circulate that Shaolin is raising the greatest martial artist under heaven.’
After such thoughts, I shook my head firmly and hardened my gaze.
With the enemy commander Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol dead, victory had completely shifted to our side.
But the true battle was only beginning now.
The Baek Family’s true enemy had never been these Black Blade bastards.
‘For that… I need to recover first.’
But before I could begin circulating my qi, there were several orders to give.
-Chu Dal.
-Yes, Elder Brother.
-Go to the Namgung Guys.
The Namgung Family members were positioned far away to clear the path for the Black Blade forces.
From now on, it was crucial to monitor their positions and movements in real time.
-Elder Brother Gu.
-Speak, Little Brother.
-Please handle the cleanup.
It was best to capture and eliminate as many of the Hunan Black Blade bastards as possible.
With Gu Ak leading the charge, he could handle the aftermath cleanly.
-Seolha.
-Yes, Elder Brother.
-You’ve done well. Thank you, truly.
-Think nothing of it.
-Now comes the final act. I must go welcome our distinguished guest who has traveled so far.
Only after watching Jegal Seol-ha launch herself into motion did I settle into a cross-legged position.
‘Though it may seem obvious, I’m truly fortunate to have Seol-ha.’
To drive a dagger through Namgung Cheon-hu’s throat, I would need one devastating strike.
This time as well, Jegal Seol-ha was destined to play a crucial role.
‘The problem was that I had only four days.’
Well, if it cannot be done, then it cannot be done.
‘In any case, at this point it’s essentially nothing more than a gamble. I’ll do my best and leave the rest to heaven.’
To accomplish that, I needed to recover my physical condition as much as possible.
Even with Hyeong-san Eum-hyeol dead, dozens of the Black Blade forces remained.
Though the battle was far from over, I immediately began circulating my energy.
‘I’m fortunate to have Seon-gi.’
Seon-gi. The vital force that guides all things in order and righteousness.
As Hwa-cheon Seon-gi, a fusion of Hwa-cheon and Seon-gi, circulated through my meridians, both my inner energy and the depleted mental fortitude surged back.
It was when I opened my eyes after recovering roughly eighty percent of my body and spirit.
“Hehehehe, benefactor. You possess such a pure aura indeed.”
A middle-aged monk smiling warmly.
For a moment, I felt utterly bewildered.
‘How did the monk get here?’
I had moved to the deepest part of the Baek Manor’s grounds to circulate my energy.
Not only during normal times, but while battle raged outside, an outsider had entered?
I had even asked Adu to stand guard, but this bastard Adu was… ah.
‘He’s smiling?’
The middle-aged monk even had his hand resting on one of Adu’s shoulders as he sat.
As if they were close acquaintances.
Only then did I notice the robes the visitor wore.
A kasaya dyed like mud.
In all the realm, only Shaolin monks wear such garments.
‘No, more than that… this madness!’
The moment I detected the outsider, I instinctively heightened my perception.
Yet I felt nothing at all.
The meaning was simple.
The martial monk before my eyes had achieved the state of returning to one’s true nature.
In other words, he was a master of the highest pinnacle.
‘A disciple of Shaolin, and a supreme master?’
“Monk, might I be permitted to ask your dharma name?”
“Of course. This humble monk is called Beop-gak.”
Shaolin monks receive their dharma names according to generational cycles: Hui, Beop, Gong, Gye, Mu, Myeong.
If his generational character was Beop, that meant he held the rank of elder within Shaolin.
But that wasn’t what mattered.
I remembered clearly—his dharma name was Beop-gak.
‘The next Shaolin abbot! The next among the Cheonmu-sip-jon! This madman!’
Roughly thirty years from now, the middle-aged monk standing before me would ascend to become Shaolin’s abbot and claim a position among the Cheonmu-sip-jon.
A colossal figure had suddenly materialized.
‘Why now? Could it be because of Adu?’
Beop-gak’s next words answered my question.
Though the answer was far from reassuring.
“Benefactor, it appears my disciple has been causing you trouble.”
“Adu is… your disciple, Venerable One?”
“Yes. Young and inexperienced, but precious for that very reason. Amitabha Buddha.”
I repeated the same thought for the third time.
‘This madman! Adu was a disciple of the Cheonmu-sip-jon?’
Beop-gak was known as a disciple of the current Shaolin abbot, and throughout generations, Shaolin’s abbots had held the first seat among the Cheonmu-sip-jon.
A truly magnificent achievement, befitting the thousand-year legacy of Northern Shaolin!
“Master, may I ask what brings you to visit our humble household?”
“To retrieve my disciple, naturally.”
“Ah? But wasn’t Adu in the midst of his traveling practice?”
Martial sects send their junior disciples out at certain ages to gain experience in the martial world.
Shaolin calls this practice “traveling practice.”
“My disciple was not permitted traveling practice. He remains a novice monk who has not yet received his dharma name.”
For a novice monk, he was remarkably tall—a giant standing eight feet—but that was secondary.
I had found it odd that he introduced himself as Adu when the character “A” didn’t appear in Shaolin’s generational naming system, and now it made sense—it wasn’t his dharma name at all.
‘And a novice monk at that. So he hasn’t undergone formal initiation. There must be quite a story behind this.’
I had first met Adu in a city near Anhui.
The fact that he was in the secular world without having been sent on traveling practice suggested there were complicated circumstances involved.
But.
What mattered to me was something else entirely.
‘Beop-gak himself! What fortune is this!’
I had intended to leave my final gamble to heaven’s will, yet a windfall the size of a house had rolled right to my feet.
My mind raced urgently.
‘The opportunity has come—I must seize it!’
“Venerable One, so you’ve come to our household specifically to retrieve Adu?”
“That is correct… ah.”
A different kind of awkwardness crossed Beop-gak’s face.
“Since you did not invite me, I am an uninvited guest, and as an uninvited guest, I have entered deep within your home without permission. I have been discourteous. Please forgive me, Benefactor.”
In the martial world, strength is law itself.
What supreme master would apologize for something so trivial?
There was even the excuse that hundreds of people had engaged in a massive battle at the very place where the Patriarch was said to be staying.
Beop-gak’s character was as upright as they came.
‘Shaolin, as expected.’
In truth, I had mentioned visiting the main temple precisely because I anticipated this kind of reaction.
“Adu is my friend, and the Patriarch is my friend’s elder brother, so I could never be an unwelcome guest. However, if it troubles you, might I impose upon you with one small request?”
“Patriarch is too grand a title for this humble monk. A request, you say? Since the Patriarch has already done much for me, I shall grant any reasonable request without hesitation.”
“Ah, it is truly a trivial matter. You need only follow me.”
“Pardon? That is all?”
Watching the pure innocence in Beop-gak’s eyes, I couldn’t help but smile wryly.
“Yes. That is all. Shall we go?”
“Y-young master?”
Through Chu Dal and the others at Baek Manor, I had learned the location where the Namgung Family members were encamped.
I dashed forward with only a single sword at my side.
‘This has dragged on far too long, Namgung Cheon-hu. Let us end this today if possible.’
Even as I ran, I continuously received messenger birds, writing my responses on the back before sending them off again.
After running for about two hours.
I encountered the Namgung Family warriors gathered around a campfire.
“Hm? Baek Yang-hwi?”
Seeing the frost that settled over Namgung Cheon-hu’s expression, I finally let loose the words I had been holding back all this time.
“You son of a bitch!”
Namgung Cheon-hu’s face twisted hideously.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————