Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 170

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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 170
Once a martial artist reaches the pinnacle of mastery, they gain the ability to soar through the heavens.
To be precise, through the technique of Void-Walking, one can literally leap across empty air, creating the sensation of flying through the sky.
In my past life, I naturally had considerable experience observing the ground from such heights.
But this.
‘I’ve never witnessed such a breathtaking vista before.’
The companions below appeared as mere specks from this altitude.
A height that even Void-Walking could never reach.
“Whoooee!”
I let out a cry without thinking, and a voice came from beside me.
“Brother, why did you suddenly do that?”
Ah. My body is still on the ground, right.
Feeling embarrassed, I responded.
“I’ve discovered the hawk’s ability.”
“Well, it’s certainly fast.”
“Beyond that. It might be faster to experience it directly.”
Concentrating my focus, I felt the spiritual thread connecting me to the White Hawk.
It was when I transmitted the intention to connect Chu Dal through that thread.
‘This creature? Still so arrogant?’
I was refused.
Typically, spirit creatures possess foul temperaments. Having transcended the limitations of lesser beings and possessed special abilities while living through countless ages, they tend to view other lifeforms as beneath them.
It was also why I came on so strong initially, threatening to devour or tame it.
It’s better to seize the initiative from the start—whether by actually consuming it or taming it.
Look at it now. It’s arrogantly refusing.
‘That’s not it? It’s impossible?’
Through the spiritual thread, a hesitant intention was conveyed.
Was there another reason?
In any case, I’d need to explain this verbally.
“I’ve connected spiritually with the hawk. Shared vision appears to be its ability.”
Like I had moments before, the entire group trembled with awe.
“This is incredible!”
“Such a thing is possible?”
“So it was an extraordinarily remarkable spirit creature!”
To observe the ground from such towering heights and perceive everything?
Throughout history, military strategists commanding great armies have placed immense value on ascending high mountains to survey the terrain and monitor enemy movements.
The very term “mountain fortress” exists because so many fortifications were built upon peaks for precisely this purpose.
In other words, a single bird could now provide us with tremendous strategic advantage.
“See? We nearly beat our chests in regret if we’d devoured it.”
“I never seriously intended to eat it anyway. Probably.”
Baek Heon-so and Chu Dal, clinging to my left and right arms respectively, craned their necks forward as if peering at something.
Why am I getting so irritated watching these two fools?
“You two, back off. You’re blocking the view anyway.”
I brushed off my sleeves and lifted the corners of my mouth.
“Anyway, let’s seriously search for Geom-gak Dok-eung now.”
As I issued a command through the spiritual thread, the White Hawk tilted its wings slightly.
Despite the high altitude, the landscape below shifted rapidly—the flight speed was absurdly fast.
‘Hmm. The further we go, the thinner the thread feels.’
Fortunately, Geom-gak Dok-eung’s nest wasn’t so far that the thread would snap.
The White Hawk descended onto a nest built into the cliff face of one of the blade-like peaks, fluttering its wings as it explained something.
-Kee-aah?
-Kee-aah-ah!
Geom-gak Dok-eung, whose eyes were filled with suspicion and wariness, rose to its feet.
Near the nest were scattered bones and skin that appeared to belong to Poison Creatures.
-Kee-aah?
-Kee-aah-ah!
Geom-gak Dok-eung remained unconvinced. The White Hawk continued fluttering its wings with an attitude that, had it been human, would have been drenched in sweat.
Perhaps a quarter of an hour passed like that.
Finally, the two hawks spread their wings and took flight.
“Oh. Looks like the persuasion worked.”
“Hwi’s Younger Brother, is that really true?”
“Yeah. For now, it’s flying this way with us.”
“Ohhhhh!”
Dang-gun let out a cry of joy and thrust one arm upward triumphantly.
Taming Geom-gak Dok-eung was quite an important long-cherished goal for the Dang Family.
The reason was simple.
If we could tame and study Geom-gak Dok-eung, which fed on various Poison Creatures, we might find a clue to transcend the Dang Family’s limitation of Hundred Poisons.
“I haven’t completely convinced it yet.”
“That doesn’t matter. Just being able to see it up close is more than satisfying enough.”
Soon the two hawks came into view.
The White Hawk landed near me, but Geom-gak Dok-eung perched atop a distant tree.
-Kee-aah. Kee-aah.
“Elder Dang. Since I’ve brought it here, why don’t you try taming it?”
“I’ll give it a try.”
Dang-gun rummaged through his robes and pulled something out.
A brilliantly colored frog that was clearly dead, hanging limply.
My expression grew slightly uncomfortable.
Where does he keep the corpses of Poison Creatures in his robes like that?
‘Truly the Dang Family. They certainly have something different about them compared to ordinary people… but would Elder Dang feel hurt if I said that?’
Dang-gun cautiously approached Geom-gak Dok-eung.
As the distance narrowed, Geom-gak Dok-eung’s demeanor sharpened, and about five paces was the limit.
Dang-gun carefully threw the frog carcass onto a nearby treetop and retreated.
‘So he’s trying to lure it with bait.’
Geom-gak Dok-eung tilted his head back and forth, lost in thought for a moment, before flying toward the tree branch where the frog hung.
Ordinary wild animals typically refuse food offered by humans.
Their wariness runs so deep that some species won’t even touch dead carcasses.
Yet Geom-gak Dok-eung, despite hesitating and scratching at the frog carcass with his talons, soon began pecking at it repeatedly.
It seemed the White Hawk had earned him at least a modicum of trust.
‘He’s eating poisoned meat without hesitation.’
Well, Geom-gak Dok-eung was a creature that survived by hunting Poison Creatures after all.
The Dang Family probably wanted to study his unique trait of consuming various poisons without dying.
“Everyone, bring out any Poison Creatures you have.”
“Understood.”
“Understood.”
“Elder Brother, here’s one.”
Once Geom-gak Dok-eung finished the poisoned frog, Dang-gun carefully approached again with another Poison Creature carcass.
This time, he managed to get slightly closer.
After repeating this several times.
Finally, the distance had closed enough that Geom-gak Dok-eung came down to eat the Poison Creature carcass from the ground.
“Follow me, and you’ll be able to eat as many of these as you wish. The people at the Main Residence will catch Poison Creatures for you every day.”
Comparing the lives of livestock and wild animals, one could say without doubt that livestock enjoyed a superior quality of life.
They didn’t have to wander mountains and fields foraging for food, and they were given safe shelter.
Cattle and pigs might face the risk of being eaten, but Geom-gak Dok-eung would never face such a fate.
-Kee-aw!
Finally, Geom-gak Dok-eung perched on Dang-gun’s forearm and began tearing into the Poison Creature.
Blood dripped steadily, and an intense toxic aura wafted forth.
Yet Dang-gun smiled with genuine delight regardless.
Affection practically radiated from his gaze toward Geom-gak Dok-eung.
-Kee-aw-aw!
After greedily swallowing the last Poison Creature, Geom-gak Dok-eung waddled up Dang-gun’s arm and settled on his shoulder.
With the creature now closer to his respiratory system, even Soga-joonim Dang-gun had to take out an antidote pill.
“Hwi’s Younger Brother, could you ask the White Hawk to find out what Geom-gak Dok-eung is thinking?”
“Got it. Hey, what’s he saying?”
-Kee-aw-aw!
“He says he’ll follow us? The food was delicious, apparently.”
“Is that really true! Ahahaha!”
‘Oh. This is the first time I’ve seen Elder Dang laugh so loudly.’
In fact, it wasn’t just Dang-gun—all the Dang Family members erupted in excited cheers.
Taming Geom-gak Dok-eung seemed to be a long-cherished wish for the Dang Family.
“Thank you so much, Hwi’s Younger Brother!”
“Don’t mention it. I didn’t really do anything.”
“If it weren’t for the White Hawk, Geom-gak Dok-eung would never have eaten the Poison Creatures we offered in the first place. I’ve tried similar approaches many times and know well how it works.”
“Well, if you’re going to say it like that, then do speak well of me to the senior members of the Dang Family.”
“Of course. They’ll all be genuinely delighted.”
Just watching Dang-gun, whose mouth was stretched so wide I worried his face might split from grinning, made it seem likely enough.
‘It’s like I was sleeping—no, cultivating my martial arts—and suddenly fortune fell into my lap.’
With that thought, I gazed at the White Hawk.
Sensing my gaze, the creature turned its head and glanced at me cautiously.
A pang of guilt stirred within me.
I had been rather cold to it earlier.
“Hey. What will you do?”
-Kee-ahhh….
“If you want to return, I’ll set you and all your friends free.”
I had received a favor from Geom-gak Dok-eung.
So I couldn’t treat it the way I had before—hunting it or anything like that.
It was a principle: if you receive something, you must repay it.
“Moreover, every year I’ll bring a mountain of meat here. Thank you for your help.”
The White Hawk shook its head left and right, contemplating something.
Then it cried out again.
-Kee-ahhh!
“Oh, really?”
-Kee-ahh!
“That’s unexpected. I thought you’d naturally want to escape. Alright then. From now on, your name is Won-woo.”
The character for distant, combined with the character for feather. It means feathers that reach far distances.
“Won-woo. From now on, you and all your friends are members of the Main Residence. I’ll treat you as well as Geom-gak Dok-eung. Of course, you’ll need to spread your wings and help out from time to time.”
One spiritual creature and dozens of hawks had suddenly changed their fortune.
Expensive meat at every meal and a safe nest without fear of predators awaited them.
In exchange, they’d have to serve as messenger hawks occasionally.
Well, that could just count as wing exercise, couldn’t it?
-Kee-ahhh!
As Won-woo let out a cry of affirmation, dozens of hawks perched nearby began crying out simultaneously.
-Kee-ahhh!
-Kee-ahhh!
-Kee-ahhh!
It sounded like laughter filled with affirmation.
At this, I too lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile.
“I’m counting on you, Won-woo.”
-Kee-ahh!
A light of emotion gleamed in Won-woo’s eyes.
It had been treated harshly at first, hunted and such, but now suddenly receiving kindness had transformed that sorrow into gratitude.
Won-woo suddenly spread its wings and soared into the sky.
“Huh? Where are you going?”
-Kiiiiaaaaa!
Seeing the other hawks remain still, it wasn’t an escape.
Did he have one last errand before departing?
As I pondered this, the spiritual thread connected.
‘Ah, I see. He’s heading to his nest.’
Won-woo, cutting through the wind in flight, descended upon his own nest located on a cliff face of the blade-like peak, just as Geom-gak Dok-eung had done.
Then he grasped something round with his talons.
‘That is…! Why is that in a bird’s nest?’
A metal sphere etched with intricate patterns and a single crack running straight down its center.
‘An Iron Orb!’
It was indeed an Iron Orb.
I had come to know of it while obtaining what was said to be the legacy of the Greatest Under Heaven during the process of saving Chu Dal.
At Geom Wang’s Residence, it had been used as a device to seal the Blood Sect’s Demonic Blade.
A sealing sphere containing a spiritual elixir compressed with Seon-gi within.
Only then did certain ambiguities begin to make sense, piece by piece.
‘This rascal Won-woo. He was connected to Geom Seon and Yeo Dong-bin.’
That’s why he rushed in during my cultivation, and that’s why he wept upon meeting me, saying it was sorrowful.
‘Is he some sort of spiritual creature that Yeo Dong-bin raised? If so, it makes sense that he possesses such tremendous abilities.’
Soon Won-woo returned to me.
The Iron Orb dropped onto my palm.
Judging by the aura it emanated, there was no doubt the spiritual elixir was contained within.
‘They say swallows bring seeds in their beaks, but hawks bring spiritual elixirs.’
“Brother? What is that?”
“By the mysterious energy it radiates, it’s clearly no ordinary object.”
Now that I thought about it, there was no one here who knew of the Iron Orb.
Chu Dal certainly hadn’t, and neither had Dang-gun seen one directly.
Except for Gu Ak, everyone was seeing an Iron Orb for the first time.
“Right. It appears there’s a spiritual elixir inside.”
As I infused Seon-gi, the Iron Orb opened with a click.
I offered the spiritual elixir to Chu Dal.
“Eat it.”
“Huh? This is clearly a spiritual elixir, isn’t it?”
“Since I said so, just eat it, boy.”
There was something I wanted to test.
Not wanting to waste words, I simply shoved it into his mouth.
“Brother, why so suddenly—ugh!”
Chu Dal, whose eyes had been a mixture of bewilderment and emotion, suddenly furrowed his brows.
He spat out the spiritual elixir, his mouth working.
“Brother. This is just like a stone, isn’t it? Shouldn’t a spiritual elixir melt smoothly on the tongue? It’s so large I can’t even swallow it.”
“….”
I accepted the Spirit Pill in silence.
Then I tossed it straight into my mouth.
The Spirit Pill melted away smoothly.
‘As I thought. Only I can consume a Spirit Pill condensed by Seon-gi.’
It seemed likely.
A suspicion I’d harbored for some time had become reality.

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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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