Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 196

—————
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 196
“So you said his name is Won-woo. If you’ve given him a name, that means you’ve been together with this bird for quite some time, hasn’t it?”
“I met him at Geom Gak. He responded to my energy and followed me. He’s also very obedient.”
-Kee-aw.
“If it’s energy, it must be Seon-gi. I see.”
“Do you know why Won-woo responds to Seon-gi?”
I posed the question, though I didn’t expect to get a clear answer.
I had discussed Seon-gi with Eum Hu before, and even then I hadn’t received a satisfactory explanation.
This time would likely be no different.
“He’s a spiritual creature raised by Geom Seon. Or should I say, a celestial beast?”
“Hmm? Could you explain that in more detail?”
“Spiritual creatures can never be created artificially. But Geom Seon was capable of it.”
“How can you be certain that Won-woo was Geom Seon’s celestial beast?”
“Hey. Were you raised by Geom Seon?”
-Kee-aw.
Won-woo let out a short cry and nodded, leaving me momentarily stunned.
Now that I thought about it, I had only been speculating all this time without ever asking directly.
No matter how intelligent Won-woo was, I should have had the experience of asking him something directly before.
“Both Seon-gi and this one—Namgung Cheon-yeong truly is inheriting Geom Seon’s arrangements.”
“Yes. It does seem to be the case.”
“If the Geom-ong of the Shaman sect knew this, he’d have a fit. Aha, thinking about it this way is rather satisfying.”
The Shaman sect was founded a hundred years ago by the Taeguk Sword Master, and they revere Jang Sam-bong, the Taeguk Sword Immortal, as their patriarch.
‘According to legend, Jang Sam-bong was either the master or disciple of Yeo Dong-bin.’
“Were the legends about Yeo Dong-bin and Jang Sam-bong true?”
“At least the Geom-ong believes there was a connection.”
Then he’d really have a fit, wouldn’t he?
What would happen if I showed him the techniques of Heavenly Escape Sword Art in front of the Shaman sect later?
“Then I could potentially be an elder of the Shaman sect. Come to think of it, aren’t I also something like a disciple of Geom Seon?”
“That’s not wrong. I believe that’s correct.”
A chuckle escaped me.
It was true, but it was definitely the kind of thing that would get me beaten if I said it in front of the Shaman sect people.
As I was thinking such things, Eum Hu suddenly let out a sigh.
“Geom Seon’s will was inherited, and the Geom-ong revered his master more than anyone in the world. How could the Shaman sect…”
Now that I thought about it, they had said the Shaman sect refused to cooperate when the trail of the Blood Cult went cold.
‘My master doesn’t seem to understand.’
From my perspective, what the Shaman sect aimed for was crystal clear.
It wasn’t because my mind was particularly sharp or my insight exceptional—most people would have noticed immediately.
“As your master, I command you. When you meet Hyeon Geom, you must achieve victory.”
“Yes. I will make the Shaman sect reconsider their path and set a new direction.”
“Namgung Cheon-yeong is always easy to communicate with, which is nice.”
“I’ve spent quite a long time eating the bread of servitude, so if I may be permitted one more word?”
“Go ahead.”
“The Shaman and Geom-ong are neglecting the visible dust before them, and that must be frustrating for you, isn’t it?”
Eum Hu released a deep sigh.
“Does it show? My discipline as a master is still lacking.”
‘Hmm. Sometimes I think my master is far too aloof.’
Though her years had granted her considerable depth of character, a recluse remained a recluse.
Her way of thinking was distant from the concerns of the secular world.
‘This works out perfectly.’
“Master, if you were to declare that you will not stand idle before any dust in all the heavens, might your disciple make use of you?”
It was disrespectful language, yet Eum Hu’s expression showed interest.
“So the schemer is scheming again? Tell me.”
“Moving the Shaman is quite simple. We need only add the prestige of Pacheon Eum Hu to Seolha’s family.”
The Shaman and Jegal are both located in the same province of Hubei.
The Shaman operates its sect with extreme rigidity, so conflict is inevitable.
In fact, the Jegal Family is already suffering hardship, and a confrontation will soon surface.
“So if I dislike creating a faction, you would force me to comply with your demands.”
As befitted a master of a single-lineage sect, Eum Hu disliked becoming entangled in power struggles and territorial disputes.
She who had been hesitant suddenly posed a question.
“But how does the stratagem Namgung Cheon-yeong mentioned become using me?”
“It’s simple. Because I intend to be the fisherman.”
Hubei also borders the Yangtze River, and Wuhan lies within its reach.
And Wuhan was the logistics hub where all the grain of southern regions converged.
“You’re plotting to gain the fisherman’s profit?”
“Exactly. However, the crane and the clam that will be caught by the fisherman are not the Shaman and the Jegal Family.”
“Then who?”
“You, Master.”
In that moment, Eum Hu exhaled a weary sigh.
She had realized she was already entangled in worldly affairs.
“I asked for permission, yet you’ve made it a declaration.”
“It is also an apology.”
“The moment I accepted Seolha and Namgung Cheon-yeong as disciples, this flow was already determined. Who could I blame? How far do you intend to go? It seems you have the Taeguk Sword Master in mind.”
On a small scale, the Shaman and Jegal.
On a grand scale, the Nine Sects and the Five Great Families.
From the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering onward, the heavens will be in turmoil.
Yang Hwi, smiling faintly, answered his master’s question.
“I’m not entirely certain myself.”
But there is one thing I know for certain.
“Master, if one of the Nine Sects is being infiltrated by an unidentified demonic faction, what would you do?”
“I would offer aid. If they refuse, I would respect their wishes, but if it cannot be undone, I would gather strength and annihilate the sect entirely.”
“I thought you would say that. But the Shaman will not intervene.”
Eum Hu regarded Yang Hwi with a questioning gaze.
“The reason is simple. If there is no dust, there is no need to clean.”
In other words, there would be no need to hire servants for cleaning.
“There is one who guards against the corruption of the Jegal sect and seeks to purify himself through his own strength. He speaks thus: Watch me. I will wash away the stains of this sect through my own power. How would you answer, Master?”
“….”
“The Master I know would not move either. You would respect his will.”
Though Eum Hu showed no mercy in punishing evil, precisely because of this, she would not immediately interfere with Jeomchang to root out the problem entirely.
She wished to witness directly the radiant goodness of a single human being.
This was the kind of person Yang Hwi had come to know her to be.
“I believe the Baek Family’s reputation among the people stems from protecting them against the likes of Seo’s faction and the Dark Path.”
If there were no groups committing evil acts.
If one could not defeat enemies and disguise slaughter as righteous deeds.
Then all martial sects would lose their reason for existence.
“Currently, the martial world is a mixture of darkness and light, appearing as a balance of equals. Yet in reality, the advantage lies with the righteous path.”
They held the advantage while outwardly displaying the balance of equals.
“The Shaman will not root out the problem. Even if blood must flow.”
As heroes emerge in times of chaos, great turmoil is an opportunity for great renown.
Missing such an opportunity would be foolish, and a sect of fools could never have risen to the highest seat among the Nine Great Families in merely a hundred years.
Then is the Shaman evil?
“If a truly supreme sect under heaven were born and controlled all the martial world under a single order, perhaps the realm would become more peaceful.”
The world is called the Primordial Chaos because good and evil are not clearly defined.
One person’s goodness may or may not be another’s evil.
“I have told you everything. Your disciple awaits your decision, Master.”
“….”
Eum Hu deliberated long and hard.
Then she reached a conclusion.
“Namgung Cheon-yeong.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Be prepared. Your life may be in danger.”
“What?!”
By any measure, she was saying she would work him to death.
Why did the conclusion head in that direction?
“I’ve decided. You will handle all the bothersome tasks in my stead. That is your Master’s command.”
Eum Hu smiled brightly.
For the first time seeing her smile like this, I felt fear.
But.
“Thank you, Master.”
The gratitude carried three meanings.
Yang Hwi steeled his resolve.

* * *
“In this era, the heavens are overflowing with geniuses. Both the Nine Schools and the Five Great Families each harbor those called prodigies, and I’ve already spotted half a dozen individuals who, in another age, would have undoubtedly become the greatest under heaven.”
Yang Hwi nodded in agreement.
Past life and present life. As the currents shifted, geniuses unseen in my previous existence were now revealing themselves.
Adu of Shaolin and Neung-o of Jeomchang. Prime examples.
“Namgung Cheon-yeong is among them as well.”
I agreed with this as well.
Had he been registered with a prestigious clan in my past life and received abundant support for his cultivation, by his forties he might have been gazing toward the transcendent realm and beyond.
“Originally, I intended to stop once I felt I could defeat the child called Hyeon Geom. But my purpose has changed.”
Defeating Hyeon Geom and shattering the Taeguk Sword Master’s convictions became inevitable.
Eum Hu saw in Yang Hwi the potential to shoulder the turbulence of the mortal world in her stead.
“So endure, Namgung Cheon-yeong. It will be agonizing, perhaps even fatal.”
“…Ugh. What I’ll gain… will be substantial….”
“That’s the right answer.”
Among my talents, martial prowess reigned supreme, and within that prowess, the foremost was the genuine joy I found in honing the martial way.
In other words, cultivation was a time of pleasure for me, and precisely because of this, I could drive myself into hell.
Yet even I felt fear for the first time facing this infernal training.
‘Endure.’
The reason was simple.
“As the current Sect Master of the Seongeeum Jade Spirit Sect, gazing upon the heavens, the celestial signs I discern speak of turbulence. Chaotic times are coming.”
‘Master, you can read the celestial signs too. And with such accuracy.’
Yes, chaotic times would come. Baek Do would soon begin to stir restlessly, and the Black Way would watch with bated breath.
And that was not all. With the Demonic Way rising, the heavens would face a blood calamity unmatched throughout all of history.
‘The Dragon-Phoenix Convergence is merely the beginning. Much will change.’
I had changed much already.
But.
Far more would change hereafter.
No matter how I reversed the currents of time, I remained alone, a single body.
Knowing this limitation, I had prioritized the Baek Family’s growth over my own cultivation.
‘Yet the Baek Family is but a single clan.’
Can a single grain of sand on a riverbed change the river’s flow?
Impossible.
So I must become a boulder. I must possess the mass and weight to dam the current and alter its course.
“Namgung Cheon-yeong. Are you suffering?”
“Yes. I feel as though I’m dying.”
“Your tongue still moves. Endure. Metamorphosis is inherently agonizing.”
When an insect sheds its shell to gain wings, it is called metamorphosis.
Eight or nine out of ten are devoured during the process, or perish crippled.
‘Transforming oneself is truly such a painful thing.’
But here is the truth: changing oneself is the easiest way to change the world.
For humans inevitably perceive heaven and earth through the lens of their own perspective.
What is a towering mountain before us, when one can ascend to a height greater still and gaze down upon it? Such a peak loses all claim to grandeur.
‘I shall climb higher than anyone else.’
In this lifetime, I swear it.
I will seize the title of the greatest under heaven.
“A splendid resolve, Namgung Cheon-yeong. Let us transform a single moment of yours into three years of growth.”
A moment stretched into three autumns—such is the way of genius, where a single year surpasses a decade of the ordinary.
And so.
Yang Hwi passed through three springs, and the year of the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering finally arrived.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————