Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 174

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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 174
Dang Yang, an Elder of the Dang Family. A familiar name.
It wasn’t that we had any particular connection, but I remembered hearing his name quite often when I was close with Dang-gun in my previous life.
What was it again—the greatest eccentric and troublemaker of the Dang Family?
Yet his skills were undeniably solid, making him difficult to restrain?
“Elder. What would you like to do?”
“Human experimentation!”
“Pardon?”
“Human experimentation!”
“Sir, this is our first meeting.”
“Precisely why I’ll be as gentle as possible to minimize pain! Please grant me permission!”
“….”
I gazed up at the sky for a moment.
‘True to the Dang Family name.’
Was changing the Dang Family’s reputation through the Dang Gate actually a mistake?
Human experimentation? On a young master from another family?
‘I knew the Dang Family was serious about martial arts development because of Cheonmu-sip-jon….’
All of the Dang Family’s martial techniques originated from Gu-pa and the Five Great Families.
Naturally, they had no desire for a family that wielded poison and assassination techniques to threaten their position.
They passed down martial techniques with clearly defined limitations from birth—techniques that could never reach the pinnacle.
Because the foundation itself was twisted, one could never reach the pinnacle without essentially reconstructing them to the degree of creating entirely new martial techniques.
Therefore, the Dang Family’s long-cherished wish was to reach the pinnacle realm, or in other words, the realm of Intent.
It was such a desperate wish that the tradition was for the most talented martial artist of each generation to inherit the position of Family Head and enter indefinite seclusion.
‘No matter what, human experimentation? Well, this is probably why the Dang Family calls him an eccentric.’
“So to summarize. The Elder of the Dang Family is proposing human experimentation on me, the Young Master of the Baek Family who is also an ally, despite this being our first meeting—is that correct?”
Even with my hint, Dang Yang remained confident.
“When my intentions are so clear, why dress it up with excuses? It’s better to speak honestly!”
Well, he’s not wrong, but….
As I had that thought, a sharp striking sound echoed.
Smack!
It wasn’t the sound of a cheek being slapped. It was Dang-gun striking his own forehead with his palm.
“Elder. How many times must I tell you to show courtesy when dealing with outsiders….”
“I am showing courtesy!”
“Not just in tone, but in content too… please….”
Hearing Dang-gun’s words, I immediately understood how Dang Yang was treated within the Dang Family.
So he was just an older Chu Dal.
Shameless and stubborn, refusing to listen to reason, causing nothing but headaches.
-Elder brother? Suddenly your gaze toward this younger brother seems rather disrespectful?
-My boy, is “disrespectful” really the right word to use toward your elder brother?
-There was no more fitting expression.
Look here. Dang Yang is essentially an older Chu Dal.
It became certain.
“Elder Dang.”
“My apologies, Hwi’s Younger Brother.”
“It’s fine. But does the Dang Family conduct human experimentation?”
Dang-gun was taken aback.
“What kind of heretical nonsense is that! We don’t do it on other people’s bodies! Even if we did, we wouldn’t do it without consent!”
“…So you obtain consent through coercion, then?”
Dang-gun jumped up and desperately waved his hands in denial.
“That’s not it! Absolutely not! Baek Family Elder! Look at this! Haven’t I prevented Hwi from harboring strange thoughts!”
“A gentleman need only be upright in his own conscience!”
“Uncle!”
Pushing aside the protesting Dang-gun, Dang Yang sent a gaze ablaze with fervor.
“I’ve heard the gist of it, Young Master. At such an age, you’ve already accumulated inner power approaching four decades of cultivation? Though fortune played a role, such a miracle could never occur without Heaven’s blessing! This is unprecedented even in the age of the Great Sea Dragon King!”
Peng Fan, the Great Sea Dragon King, is one of the Cheonmu-sip-jon.
I’ve heard that the inner power he possesses is enough to split the heavens.
“At such an age, at such a realm, to possess four decades of inner power? Please, allow me to examine your body!”
‘Well, it’s true that I’m remarkable enough to provoke such an intense reaction from this man….’
The amount of inner power a warrior can possess is proportional to the completeness of their physical body.
If one could accumulate inner power simply by consuming spirit pills, wouldn’t the wealthiest person in the world immediately become the strongest?
Condensing four decades of inner power into a body not yet in his twenties was thanks to training my body based on memories from my previous life, and furthermore, by actively utilizing Seon-gi’s abilities.
‘Sigh. Regardless, they’re probably thinking it’s some secret technique from an external sect, and they’re asking so shamelessly to learn about it. And on top of that, even suggesting human experimentation as a means.’
“It seems my talent has piqued the Elder’s curiosity. I understand.”
“Indeed! I knew you would understand!”
“Still, human experimentation is out of the question. I’ll need to make it a secret art of the Baek Family later.”
“…An alliance. We are allies, are we not? How could it be impossible?”
Dang Yang deflated at once.
“We’re allies, but…in old tales, when people form alliances, they even make blood oaths and live like brothers and such….”
Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to have the disposition to recklessly cross every boundary without knowing where the line is.
Indeed, if he had such a personality, the Tang Siblings wouldn’t have shown such affectionate attitudes even while finding him troublesome.
“Still, human experimentation seems a bit much.”
“Then I’ll do it on my body first. After that, it would be fine, yes? Ah, what if we conducted human experimentation on each other’s bodies?”
“No, what——”
Ah. My head’s spinning.
While thinking such thoughts, my gaze suddenly fell upon Dang-yeon.
Come to think of it, Dang-yeon wasn’t actively trying to stop Dang Yang like Dang-gun was.
‘Wait. Didn’t she say not to give him time to recover from his travels? She’s not stopping him, but…’
“….”
“Sister Dang?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Sister, why don’t you seem to be stopping me as fiercely as Elder Dang does?”
“…Hehe.”
“Don’t tell me?”
Now that I thought about it, Dang-yeon was receiving the essence of the Dang Family’s poison arts.
“Sister. Who did you learn martial arts from?”
“Uh, huh?”
Dang-yeon silently turned her gaze toward Dang Yang.
As expected.
“No, Hwi’s Younger Sibling. I can be curious, can’t I? At that age, displaying such extraordinary talent! How could I, as a physician, resist!”
It didn’t seem like he was speaking as a physician.
If I allowed it, he’d probably inject all sorts of poisons to observe the reactions.
Thwack!
Let me say it again—it wasn’t the sound of a cheek being slapped. It was the sound of Dang-gun striking his own forehead.
Meanwhile, Dang Yang began negotiating in earnest.
“Yes! What if we do it this way? This elder wasn’t planning to ask with empty words anyway. Let us adjust the terms together.”
Adjust the terms? What warrior would adjust the terms regarding their own body?
…But a thought suddenly occurred to me.
‘Hm. Could I use this as a pretext to gain access to the Dang Family’s secrets?’
They call it a live experiment, but I have no intention of being dissected. I can simply adjust the scope of the experiment as needed.
If I pretend to reveal some of my own secrets while obtaining the Dang Family’s techniques in exchange, and then offer improvements—
‘It was dark, but suddenly light is shining through.’
The means are somewhat extreme, but for Elder Dang’s family, it’s more than worth the sacrifice.
“To be honest, I’ve also wanted to understand my own constitution and body from a medical perspective.”
Dang Yang jumped up from his spot.
It was a different kind of movement from Dang-gun’s earlier jump.
“Exactly! I knew it! I heard the Young Master of the Baek Family isn’t of Baek bloodline, so there’s no way it could be a hereditary constitution… Oh, my mistake.”
Dang Yang, who had just said “You’re not your father’s biological son” right in front of the person involved, crouched down and gauged my reaction.
Well. At least he’s not a complete eccentric who crosses every line.
“My current body has changed greatly through various fortunate encounters. The Dang Family, renowned as one of the finest physicians under heaven, might discover things even I don’t know.”
It was flattery, but half of it was true.
I’ve learned various things about Seon-gi, but a physician with deeper expertise might find something else I’ve overlooked.
‘Thinking about it this way, it’s not entirely a loss.’
“However, there is a condition. Regardless, my body is the Baek Family’s asset and secret technique. Do you agree?”
As permission seemed forthcoming, Dang Yang nodded eagerly.
“Of course! The Young Master’s body is truly a treasure beyond price!”
“Then, as you examine me, I wish to learn about the Dang Family’s martial arts as well.”
“Excellent!”
Dang Yang answered immediately. Meanwhile, Dang-gun and Dang-yeon were shocked.
“Elder!”
“Uncle!”
“That’s not something you can simply permit!”
“What does it matter? The main family’s martial arts are already spread across the records of Gu-pa and the Five Great Families anyway.”
“Even so, that’s not right!”
“Shouldn’t we obtain the Family Head’s permission first?”
“Ugh, tsk.”
Dang Yang looked at me with an apologetic gaze.
“True enough. Instead, how about I share the techniques I’ve independently researched myself?”
I never expected to gain access to the Dang Family’s martial arts so easily.
Because of that, I nodded without much concern.
“That sounds good. After all, it’s part of the martial arts exchange between the Yang and Dang families, a way to satisfy curiosity, and a means to develop in a better direction.”
“Hahaha! The Young Master truly has a magnanimous heart!”
With that, our group headed toward Dang Yang’s quarters—or rather, his experimental chamber.

* * *
“….”
“….”
“….”
In the silence that hung heavy, Dang-gun was the first to run out of patience.
“Elder!”
Now that I thought about it, this was the first time I’d seen Elder Dang so emotionally overwhelmed that his words stretched out.
He was always so easygoing and pleasant to deal with—I never knew he could be like this.
“What in the world is this! What are you doing within the family!”
In the vast experimental chamber, people were submerged one by one in massive jars that resembled bathtubs.
Each jar was filled to the brim with liquid that looked unmistakably like poison, and beneath them, weak flames flickered.
“Beon A! Yak A! Hu Ya! What are you all doing here!”
‘Thank goodness they’re all Dang family members. At least he’s not conducting live experiments on kidnapped victims.’
Watching the shocked Dang-gun, Dang Yang replied casually.
“Training.”
“How is this training!”
“Hmph. Does the Soga-joonim not know the saying ‘ten thousand paths lead to one destination’? It means there are countless ways to reach the pinnacle.”
Was that really what that saying meant?
“This is training to achieve ‘poison-proof body.’ We absorb specially formulated toxins through the pores of the entire body to transform into a poison person.”
That was the moment.
One of the people in the jars coughed violently.
“*Cough!*”
Dang Yang hurried over and wiped the person’s mouth with his sleeve, then glanced at me nervously.
“The air quality isn’t good because I haven’t been ventilating well. Ha! Ha!”
That’s not it. Anyone could see that was blood.
“…Your sleeve is red, Elder.”
“Hmm? Ah, my stomach hasn’t been feeling well… *Cough! Cough!*”
“Now is not the time for such theatrics! Beon A! Get a hold of yourself! Beon A!”
After spitting blood, Beon A’s face had turned a sickly blue.
Anyone could see he was overwhelmed by the excessive toxin.
Yang Hwi rushed forward urgently.
“Elder Dang! Let me handle this first! I’ll call the people from the Medical Poison Hall!”
“Understood!”
Seon-gi is the vital force that guides all things correctly.
It should surely demonstrate its efficacy even on a body invaded by toxins.
‘Hmm? The response is better than expected? It’s even drawing in Seon-gi like a magnetic force.’
Through my hand pressed against Beon A’s back, Hwa-cheon Seon-gi flowed in abundantly.
The Hwa-cheon Qi of Hwa-cheon-i-won-gong, which harmonizes all vital forces beneath heaven.
And the Seon-gi, which guides all things under heaven into the correct flow, the natural current.
“This cannot be! The, the toxin!”
The toxic liquid that had filled the jar was gradually becoming clear.
Moreover, changes were occurring in Beon A’s body.
“Young Master Baek! Step aside for a moment!”
Dang Yang, who had fallen before the jar, took Beon A’s pulse at various points, and even applied poison from his own medicine pouch and had him consume it.
“Mm… Elder? How is this possible….”
It was when Beon A regained consciousness and let out a groan.
In the next moment, Dang Yang’s eyes bulged wide open.
“Im, im, im, immune to all poisons…!”
Yang Hwi, having been pushed aside, awkwardly scratched his head.
‘Hmm. It seems I’ve caused an accident here.’

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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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