Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 187

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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 187
At the four martial sects, the assassins casually wielded their weapons in coordination, taking time to observe each other’s martial techniques.
It goes without saying that my sole interest lay in Jeomchang’s martial arts.
After all, I had witnessed Ami and Cheongseng’s techniques plenty in my past life.
‘Come to think of it… in my past life, I had remarkably little connection with Jeomchang and Yeon-yeon.’
Gu-pa, which could rightfully be called the center of the martial world.
So encountering warriors from Gu-pa wherever one traveled was hardly a difficult matter.
Of course, there were places like Shaolin that conducted themselves almost like mystical sects, maintaining their distance.
Jeomchang was one such place.
‘Once the greatest sword sect under heaven… a sect truly obsessed with the blade.’
For a swordsman, the sword is akin to a lifelong companion.
Most swordsmen cherish their blades as dearly as their own lives.
However, that’s merely a figure of speech—they don’t truly stake their lives on the sword.
‘Jeomchang is different.’
They truly stake their lives on the sword.
Among Gu-pa, the most rigorous in discipline, or rather, the strictest sect under heaven.
Even their pursuit of sword intent borders on the extreme.
‘The proof of that is the Four Suns Sword Technique.’
If Shaman has the Tai Chi Wisdom Sword and Namgung has the Eternal Spear Sword of Non-obstruction,
then Jeomchang has the Four Suns Sword Technique.
A sword that seeks to pierce through the very sun itself.
A thrust that disregards all else, a martial art pursuing only that singular goal.
“Nong-o Daoist, might I observe one exchange?”
“Of course.”
Nong-o, whose expression had wavered, quickly regained his usual composure.
A consistent expression accompanied by a faint smile.
Our blades crossed.
Clang! Screech!
“Indeed. The Four Suns Sword Technique is worthy of being called the singular sword technique under heaven.”
Even if it meant dying together, the will to pierce through the enemy ripples across the blade’s edge.
Considering Nong-o’s usual demeanor, it felt utterly incongruous.
‘Why did his reaction change when martial arts came up?’
“I shall learn from the others as well.”
As I spoke while looking at Jeomchang’s disciples, Nong-o stepped forward.
“Is that necessary? If you wish to observe martial arts, my blade should suffice.”
‘As expected. He did react to martial arts.’
“My intent is not merely to observe martial arts, but to match our rhythms together. Naturally, I must exchange blades with everyone, even if briefly.”
I deflected Nong-o’s objection and exchanged several bouts with all of Jeomchang’s disciples.
‘These bastards. Something’s off.’
All of Jeomchang’s disciples wielded the Four Suns Sword Technique.
Up to this point, there was nothing particularly suspicious.
In the case of the Huashan School, they first learn basic sword techniques like the Six-Harmony Sword Method and Seven-Plum Sword Method before advancing to the more sophisticated Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Method.
But Jeomchang was known as a sect that exclusively practiced only the Four-Sun Sword Method.
While the sword techniques permitted might be divided into early, middle, and late stages depending on aptitude and realm, they were all variations of the Four-Sun Sword Method nonetheless.
That’s why it was strange.
‘Except for Nong-o, everyone else… doesn’t seem to have trained.’
Jeomchang was a gathering of those who stake their lives on the sword.
More precisely, it was a den of sword fanatics willing to abandon everything for the sword intent of the Four-Sun.
This had been true for centuries, and the perception of Jeomchang spread throughout the martial world was certainly such.
-Elder Dang, did you feel it?
-I did. Jeomchang was indeed a martial art that tends to feel stronger than its realm and martial prowess would suggest, due to its extreme directional focus and the momentum it carries. But this is strange.
-It’s as if they learned it carelessly and haven’t actually trained.
-Your phrasing is exactly right. That’s the feeling I get.
Glancing around, the others seemed not to have noticed.
Well, it would have been too much of a leap to suspect Jeomchang just because their sword technique seemed incomplete.
‘If I hadn’t been suspicious of Jeomchang to begin with, I would have let it pass without concern.’
Besides, strictly speaking, it had only become slightly more suspicious—there was no real basis to say or question anything further.
But.
‘If I’ve caught a glimpse of the tail, I should pull it immediately.’
I recalled the map I had handed to Cheongseon Seonpung Dosa.
In fact, I hadn’t written everything Won-woo had discovered onto the map.
“We’ve confirmed each other’s abilities adequately. Let’s move now.”
“Very well. We’ve already devised the general strategy. We can discuss the details on the way.”
The Chokrang Stronghold, which I had thought would be hidden in a remote mountain fortress, was located in an unexpected place.
Hamok Forest. Water flows through mountains as a matter of course, and Hamok Forest was a dense woodland situated where dozens of streams from a vast mountain range converged and flowed broadly.
Despite being at the foot of the mountain, it was characterized by a width of roughly a hundred to two hundred zhang, with water so shallow that it barely reached the knee.
“It was surprisingly close.”
“Well, for those bandits to conduct their raids, it was an unavoidable choice.”
Geomgak was such treacherous terrain that even warriors struggled to navigate it, so in a way, it was an inevitable choice.
“Let’s all go.”
“Thanks to the map, we might be able to finish the subjugation in just a day if we’re lucky.”
We had received a substantial sum and it was also a cooperative venture, but work was work regardless.
Finishing quickly meant our payment would multiply several times over, so there was no way not to feel good about it.
“Thanks to Baek Sohyeop, the work has become so much easier. If you ever have reason to visit Ami in the future, ask for this Regwha. I’ll treat you well.”
“Thank you, Monk.”
Unlike Ami, Cheongseng didn’t make a grand show of courtesy.
It was such a lofty and authoritative place, after all.
“From here on is Hamok Forest.”
“Indeed, just as marked on the map.”
The ground had become covered with gravel, moisture gradually increased, and before long, water had submerged our ankles.
If we advance much further, the water will rise to our knees.
Until now, I had been running using lightness of body, but the water made that impossible to continue.
Seonpung lifted his head and cast his gaze toward the distant horizon.
“If we approach like this, there’s no way Chokrangchai won’t notice us.”
“Let’s split up from here as planned.”
The subjugation force’s objective was ultimately the annihilation of Chokrangchai.
To capture and kill as many remnants as possible, encirclement was essential.
‘To be honest, I wouldn’t have done it that way.’
During the previous complete destruction of a bandit den, I had used an encirclement strategy together with the Tang Siblings.
However, Chokrangchai was different from that crude bandit den back then—it was a place where numerous fierce martial masters were stationed.
Since we didn’t have a clear numerical advantage, dividing our forces carelessly could result in us being defeated piecemeal instead.
Yet the reason the subjugation force was divided into four groups to proceed with the sweep.
It was the most efficient approach.
Though it was equally the most dangerous. No one dared to mention that.
With three sects of such high reputation and equally high pride gathered, it was perhaps a natural outcome.
-Elder Dang, let’s stay with the Supervisor.
-That’s what I was thinking. If something unexpected happens, it won’t do, so we should take on the escort duty.
The Dang Family couldn’t achieve great merit in this sweep anyway.
We’d only draw the ire and restraint of the sects.
Since we’d eventually join hands with Jin Yeong-gil behind the scenes through the Baek Family as intermediary, there was no need to offer unnecessary leverage.
Volunteering for escort duty was better for winning Jin Yeong-gil’s favor than rushing out to claim merit.
-Good then. It’ll be easier to observe Jeomchang that way too.
-Indeed.
Chokrangchai was a bandit den that adhered to military strategy.
What I mean is, with its back against a cliff, there were only three approach routes.
Of those, the front had water flowing across a hundred paces in width, making surveillance of approach easy, so realistically attacks were only possible from two directions.
-With Ami and Cheongseng striking left and right, and Jeomchang holding the front, we should position ourselves behind Jeomchang and provide support.
Offering support meant we were already assuming Jeomchang would fall into crisis.
It couldn’t be helped. Based on observations through Won-woo, this subjugation would not be easy.
‘Let’s see how they respond.’

* * *
Everything written on the map Yang Hwi had given me was true.
Not a single falsehood had been recorded.
There was only one thing he knew but chose not to write down.
‘I never imagined so many forces would gather at a single mountain stronghold.’
Neither Gu-pa nor the Dang Family were fools, and each sect had gathered intelligence on Chokrang Stronghold’s military strength, which could become a thorn in their side.
Thanks to cross-referencing, it wasn’t difficult to deceive them.
And there would be no problems arising later either.
The reason was simple.
The current dramatic increase in Chokrang Stronghold’s forces was merely a temporary variable.
“Krahahahaha! You foolish bastards!”
“Acting all noble when you’re perched on the same mountain!”
“Today I finally get to teach you a lesson!”
“Remember this well and tell them in the afterlife! That you lost your lives to the Heuk-nok Dae-do!”
“I also have the Geoshin Iron Plate Blade!”
“Don’t forget the Gwae-gwa Blood Suppression technique either!”
A strategy to strike both flanks and block the front, encircling and annihilating them.
The strategy failed from the start.
The ambush had succeeded, but Chokrang Stronghold harbored three of the Nokrim Sip-ung.
The ten strongest among nearly ten thousand bandits of the Nokrim Seventy-Two Strongholds, and loyal subordinates of the Nokrim King.
With all of them at the peak realm and leading dozens of subordinates each, their forces were two to three times stronger than anticipated.
“Damn it!”
Cheongseon Seonpung Dosa cursed in a manner unbecoming of his noble appearance.
He and Ami had attempted a surprise attack from both flanks but were instead driven into a corner, barely escaping death before rejoining the main force—such a reaction was only natural.
“Why are they even at Chokrang Stronghold?”
“Baek Sohyeop! What is the meaning of this!”
The answer came from the Nokrim Sip-ung.
“As unlucky as always, you’ve had terrible luck!”
“If you’d arrived just four days later, we would have already left!”
The Nokrim Seventy-Two Strongholds regularly sent some of the Nokrim Sip-ung to the top ten strongholds to verify loyalty and conduct various inspections.
It only occurred for a few days out of the year, yet they had arrived at precisely the wrong moment.
Truly, their luck was abysmal.
“Kill them all!”
“Time to taste the flesh of monks and daoists!”
A crisis. A situation where it wouldn’t be strange if they all died here.
In other words, it was a sufficient situation to draw out what Jeomchang had hidden.
“Die!”
“Shut your mouth, you bandit scum!”
Jeomchang’s disciples wielded their blades.
A sword technique completely different from the Four-Character Swordsmanship they had demonstrated before.
Yet despite this, an extraordinarily formidable sword technique.
‘That is…!’
My suspicion of Jeomchang proved worthwhile, trusting in that threadbare thread of doubt.
That technique unmistakably carries the profound mysteries of the Illuminated Sect’s martial arts.
The Illuminated Sect. Quite literally, a congregation of fanatics who revere light as truth itself and the object of their faith and pursuit.
All their martial knowledge is imbued with enlightenment and mysteries regarding light.
‘A sword that would even cleave light itself. How intriguing.’
Now that I possessed concrete evidence, it was time to resolve this situation.
Treading the Gi-cheon Step, I hurled myself into the midst of the bandits.
“You brat, what are you doing!”
“Do you wish to die!”
I had voluntarily chosen to be surrounded, and alone at that.
-Kiiiiiiiii!
I bared my teeth in a savage grin and plunged my sword into the water’s surface.
“Respond to my command, gather.”
-Kiiiiiiiii!
Every bandit lost consciousness and collapsed.

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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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