Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 173

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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 173
What is an alliance?
An alliance is a sworn pact between equals who pledge to support one another.
Therefore, one must carry oneself with confidence before the other.
One must never cower or diminish oneself out of deference.
To refuse to lower oneself despite differences in power.
‘That alone is proof of one’s qualification to be an ally.’
Objectively speaking, the Baek Family falls far short of being a true ally to the Dang Family by current standards.
So what? What of it?
I have every confidence that in the future, we will far surpass the Dang Family.
From a broader perspective, an alliance between our two families will ultimately benefit the Dang Family far more.
Therefore, there is absolutely no reason to bow and scrape simply because we are the smaller faction.
‘Even if that weren’t true… it was the certainty and confidence that it would become so that the Dang Family truly sought.’
“I, Dang Seong, head of the Dang Family, offer my apologies to the representative of the Baek Family.”
Watching the Dang Family Head speak words of apology, I confirmed my prediction had been correct.
And so I returned the gesture with a cupped-fist salute.
“I, Baek Yang-hwi, Young Master of the Baek Family, offer my apologies for the disrespect shown to you, the Dang Family Head, my senior and elder.”
The two family representatives exchanged cupped-fist salutes, facing one another.
Baek Heon-so, witnessing this from beside them, felt an involuntary shiver run through him.
‘As expected of my brother… his perspective is truly extraordinary!’
The Dang Family Head had attempted a one-sided test, applying pressure that felt almost coercive.
How would he himself have responded?
He would have lowered his head and stammered.
The Dang Family is a more powerful house than the Baek Family, and the Dang Family Head is a senior, an elder, and a master of martial arts.
Despite having done nothing wrong, he would have been flustered, his mind gone blank, nervously reading the situation.
‘My brother… saw through everything.’
His sworn brother, separated by merely a single year in age.
Yet their capacity and bearing were incomparably vast.
‘To keep pace with my brother, I must run faster and farther than ever before!’
As Baek Heon-so quietly steeled his resolve, Dang Seong felt genuine satisfaction.
He had not merely released his aura—he had even unleashed his poison.
He had deliberately applied excessive pressure.
There was but one reason.
‘Indeed. A vessel worthy of the Jegal Family’s admiration and desire.’
Yang Hwi did not know it, but behind the Dang Family’s seemingly one-sided support of the Baek Family lay the hand of the Jegal Family.
The Nine Paths that originated with the Dang Family, and the Five Great Families—among them, the Jegal Family, which held a place of prominence.
“A child destined for greatness. There is nothing amiss in walking this path together. I, Jegal Seon, vouch for it.”
‘We received great favor through the Dang Sect. Yet it was not enough to warrant a full decade of support.’
Kindness doubled, resentment tenfold.
Even by the family creed of doubling gratitude, the Baek Family owed no further debt.
I had already repaid my debts long ago and continued providing support, so now it was only right to receive something in return.
This was precisely why many of the Dang Family’s elders held skeptical views toward the alliance with the Baek Family and the ten-year pact.
That’s why I tested him.
I applied excessive pressure and twisted the conversation several times to glimpse his resolve and attitude.
A test for the Dang Family, and a stage for the Baek Family to prove themselves.
‘This should be sufficient.’
A mere youngster who hadn’t even ascended to the position of Soga-joonim, yet he demands an apology from the Dang Family Head?
This was an action that could not be undertaken without absolute confidence in oneself and one’s family.
It’s possible his courage simply exceeded all bounds, but if that were the case, he wouldn’t have been able to stand here in the first place.
‘At the very least, he possesses the qualifications to command the attention of the Jegal Family.’
With this, I could plant positive impressions even in those elders skeptical of the alliance with the Baek Family.
I had set up this stage precisely in anticipation of this moment.
Whether that boy knew of my true intentions remained uncertain.
-Thank you for granting me this opportunity, Family Head.
Upon receiving Yang Hwi’s transmission, Dang Seong’s eyebrows rose slightly.
‘Did he predict even this?’
“Hahahaha!”
Dang Seong suddenly burst into laughter.
Yang Hwi smiled enigmatically as he posed a question.
“What brings on such sudden laughter, Family Head?”
“Well, meeting the much-talked-about Young Master of the Baek Family filled me with such joy that laughter simply spilled forth.”
“Is that so? Everyone tends to say the same when they meet me.”
“Hahaha! Not yielding an inch! Truly audacious. Don’t you all agree!”
The Dang Family’s elders each added their own remarks.
“An unyielding spirit. That alone is more than sufficient to call him a talent.”
“Judging by how he dispelled the Family Head’s aura, his martial prowess also appears exceptional.”
“A dragon grows within our allied family—this is a blessing for our main house.”
“A blessing, indeed. Well said. But if we’re being precise, it’s merely a small blessing.”
Dang Seong’s expression turned serious as he made a proposal to Yang Hwi.
“Why not become a son-in-law of our main house? I’ll match you with whichever daughter you desire.”
“Pardon?”
“Even two is possible.”
“Pardon?”
“Three?”
“….”
Yang Hwi felt cold sweat trickling down his back.
Oh no, had I been too impressive?
Judging by the greed gleaming in Dang Seong’s eyes, he was deadly serious.
“I-I apologize. Since childhood, I’ve dreamed of meeting my destined one and spending a hundred years together….”
A way of saying he didn’t wish to enter into a political marriage. Yet Dang Seong showed no signs of relenting.
“Connections form where none existed before.”
“….”
I should probably be more careful with my movements for a while.
Considering the temperament of the Dang Family members, I’d better make sure to lock my door securely at night as well.
‘Change the subject! I need to redirect this conversation!’
“By the way, what should my younger brother and I do here at the Dang Family?”
“Ah yes, originally I intended for you to polish your martial arts alongside the family’s promising disciples, and I would have personally overseen your training from time to time… but that’s become impossible now.”
If plans changed so suddenly, there could only be one reason.
Geom-gak Dok-eung.
“Now that I think of it, I’m late in expressing my gratitude. I received word that with your assistance on the way here, we succeeded in taming Geom-gak Dok-eung. I’m truly grateful.”
‘Just as I expected.’
I knew Geom-gak Dok-eung was one of the Dang Family’s long-held aspirations, but judging by his reaction, it held far greater significance than I’d realized.
“For the time being, all the senior masters of the main family will be absorbed in researching Geom-gak Dok-eung. Therefore, I’m afraid I cannot provide direct instruction.”
“If we walk the same path, surely all can become our teachers. I believe that simply exchanging knowledge with the Dang Family’s promising disciples will be of great benefit.”
“I appreciate you saying so. Ah, regarding Geom-gak Dok-eung—I will certainly repay this debt of gratitude. We can discuss how to do so in due time.”
“Understood, Family Head.”
The conversation had naturally reached a pause. We’d spoken sufficiently, and at this rate, the Dang Family Head would likely dismiss me soon.
But there was one thing I wanted to ask before that happened.
“If I may be so bold, might I ask to satisfy one curiosity?”
“By all means.”
“You mentioned that all the senior masters of the Dang Family will focus on researching Geom-gak Dok-eung for the time being. Could the reason perhaps be related to Harmonization?”
Dang Seong and the Elders’ expressions stiffened slightly.
“It’s not exactly a secret, but… it’s a sensitive matter. You’re correct.”
I fell silent for a moment, observing Dang Seong.
Recalling the momentum he had displayed earlier, I probed him with keen spiritual sensitivity.
‘As I thought. He hasn’t reached the Transcendent Realm.’
The Transcendent Realm is the stage where one freely manipulates intent.
Yet Dang-gun’s poison was clearly physical in nature.
‘He hasn’t achieved the spiritualization of poison.’
Among the families counted on one hand across all the realm, the Dang Family’s Head is merely at the Peak Realm?
This is a paradox. It makes no sense.
The limitation of martial families without Divine Arts—the Transcendent Realm—was absolute.
‘It must be thanks to the unique nature of wielding poison and darkness, along with support from Gu-pa and the Five Great Families.’
But this is where it ends.
The Dang Family cannot grow further, cannot ascend to greater heights.
Permission from Gu-pa and the Five Great Families? Beyond that, the family martial arts themselves do not permit it.
‘The creation of Divine Arts. Through it, the Dang Family’s ascension among the Five Great Families. The wish Elder Dang harbored in my past life.’
The Dang Family is acutely aware of their limitations.
That is why all the senior masters are being mobilized for Geom-gak Dok-eung research.
“We anticipate that the harmonizing properties inherent in Geom-gak Dok-eung will be of great benefit to our family’s martial arts.”
Geom-gak Dok-eung is a poison creature that feeds on poison creatures, a spiritual being of remarkable nature.
It consumes countless poisons without perishing, growing only stronger—such is its defining characteristic.
The Dang Family likely sought to study this creature to transcend the limits of poison mastery.
“But how did you come to know this? Surely you didn’t hear it from Dang-gun.”
“The Dang Family is called the Hundred Poison Ancestor. I merely wondered why they are called the Hundred Poison Ancestor rather than the Ten-Thousand Poison Ancestor, so I inquired about it.”
The Dang Family commands exactly one hundred varieties of poison.
Though countless poisons derive from these original sources, knowing the antidotes to one hundred varieties allows one to neutralize all Dang Family poisons.
This was one of the leashes that the Gu-pa and Five Great Families held over the Dang Family.
“A misunderstanding. Our Dang Family’s poisons number nearly a thousand. Ten-thousand means both the numeral and fullness itself. To claim such an immeasurable title would be presumptuous, so we humbly call ourselves the Hundred Poison Ancestor.”
That much was true.
When praising emperors, one cries not “a hundred million years” or “a trillion years,” but rather “ten thousand years”—for ten thousand carries symbolic weight.
But.
‘They’re not ready to reveal everything yet. Well, I am still an outsider, after all.’
Still, I’d call today a success.
I’ve made a striking first impression and earned the goodwill of the Dang Family’s senior members.
“I see. Thank you for answering this junior’s shallow curiosity with such kindness.”
“It was nothing to thank me for.”

* * *
The Baek Family delegation was assigned an entire annex within the Dang compound as their residence.
The fact that they provided a whole annex rather than mere guest rooms from the reception hall was itself an expression of the Dang Family’s intent to treat the Baek Family with respect.
“But that doesn’t change the fact we’re outsiders. We can’t enter the inner sanctum even with permission, let alone without it.”
Chu Dal, lying beside me drawing pictures in the air with his Heavenly Silkworm Technique, retorted as if exasperated.
“What are you saying? For outsiders, this level of treatment is more than enough. What more could you want, Elder?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Baek Heon-so, maintaining a horse stance while practicing the Gae-cheon-bak-pal-geom forms with his palm strikes, also chimed in.
“Chu Dal, did you see Elder speaking nonsense? He’s yearning for it because his scheme requires access to those places.”
“That may be true, but… how about this then? Why don’t you just become their son-in-law for real?”
“What?”
“If you become family, you could enter the inner sanctum and everything, right?”
“Chu Dal, Chu Dal—the character for ‘pursue’ and the character for ‘water otter’—Chu Dal.”
“Ah, why? What? What’s wrong now?”
“You don’t understand what it means to be a son-in-law of the Dang Family, do you?”
I didn’t bother explaining in detail.
My mouth would only grow tired.
‘Wait. Do I really need to become their son-in-law?’
“Seo.”
“Yes.”
“What do you think of the Dang girl?”
“Yes, yes?”
I watched Baek Heon-so fumble about in confusion and smacked my lips.
He’ll become the Baek Family Head someday, so he certainly can’t become a son-in-law. Such a waste.
‘Since I have no clear path to overhaul the Dang Family martial arts, my mind keeps wandering to pointless thoughts.’
That was when it happened.
A commotion erupted from outside, and the door suddenly burst open.
“Young Masters of the Baek Family, are you present!”
“Uncle! I’ve told you repeatedly that’s rude….”
“Hwi’s younger sibling and Seo’s younger sibling just arrived today! You should give them time to recover from travel fatigue!”
“But Dang-gun, Dang-yeon! I cannot contain myself!”
Dang-gun and Dang-yeon stood with troubled expressions on their faces.
And a man whose face I was seeing for the first time.
“I am Dang Yang of the Dang Family! Though it may be presumptuous, I hold the position of Elder.”
“I am Yang Hwi of the Baek Family, paying my respects to Elder Dang Yang.”
“I am Heon-so of the Baek Family, paying my respects to Elder Dang Yang.”
After a brief exchange of names, Dang Yang immediately stated his business with an excited expression.
“Young Master Baek Yang-hwi! Forgive my rudeness, but would it be possible to conduct a live experiment on you?”
“…Pardon?”
A live experiment?

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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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