Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 244

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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 244
The martial arena was a vast space spanning fifteen zhang in both length and width.
By area alone, it could accommodate over a thousand grown men lying flat.
Yet for two late-stage masters who had transcended age itself to reach an exalted realm, it was an infinitely cramped stage.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
‘Hwi, you’re showing your true strength from the start, I see.’
A composed expression. Movements brimming with profound depth.
Yet the sword strikes that accompanied them were unexpectedly fierce.
‘So you’re going to give this your all.’
There was no intention to end the match quickly.
Instead, he seemed intent on maintaining constant offense, extracting advantage from each exchange of blades.
“Namgung Clan Head. If you rampage like that from the beginning, you won’t last until the end.”
Energy distribution was also one of the crucial elements for victory.
“I don’t take my training lightly, you see.”
Namgung Cheon-yeong replied indifferently, then swung his blade once more.
Crash!
The Namgung Family’s signature overwhelming sword—heavy and domineering.
“And can you yourself endure until my frustration is spent?”
Well, I never thought I’d hear such words from a well-bred son of a prestigious clan.
Though it’s rare to find an opponent who can last long against the Namgung blade.
It’s simply too domineering in nature.
“Why speak of such things!”
With the shout, I unleashed my sword technique.
-Screeeee!
The hawk shrieked and pushed back Namgung’s blade.
The force was so tremendous that even the Namgung sword, famous for its overwhelming power, was driven back. Namgung Cheon-yeong retreated sharply, regaining his balance.
“Indeed. You are no easy opponent.”
“You say that as if you’re only now realizing it? How disappointing.”
I spun my blade in a showy arc and grinned.
A light provocation. Rather than respond, Namgung Cheon-yeong aligned his sword point with Yang Hwi’s throat.
Intent seeped forth slowly. The momentum to pierce through at any moment was palpable.
“I have a question.”
“During the match?”
“It seems there will be no other opportunity.”
“True. A clear mind makes for clear swordplay.”
“Baek Yang-hwi. Why do you hate the main branch? Why do you hate me?”
It was an unexpected question in many ways.
“You’re curious about that now?”
“I thought it natural. But recently, I gained an insight and doubts arose. I became curious about the origin.”
I slightly parted my lips and scratched my head with my right hand.
At this point, what does the beginning matter? That’s what I thought.
But there was no reason I couldn’t tell him.
“In the future, you—Namgung Clan Head—will try to kill me.”
“…So you just don’t want to say.”
“If you won’t believe the truth anyway, don’t bother asking.”
I let out a scoff and continued.
“Think about it yourself. Does my words sound like a lie? Do you really think the Namgung you know would simply leave the Baek Family alone?”
“….”
Namgung Cheon-yeong, who had been pondering for a moment, replied.
“If. Things hadn’t become so twisted. If I had become the Family Head. Then it would have been so.”
“You’re discussing an impossible future. Even if your older brother had become Family Head, would he have left the Baek Family alone?”
“….”
Namgung Cheon-yeong couldn’t counter.
There was nothing he could say.
“Namgung Clan Head. You were quite fond of your older brother, Namgung Cheon-hu, weren’t you?”
“….”
“Then you would know well. That Namgung Cheon-hu could never have simply watched the Baek Family grow with such momentum. No, even back when your father, Namgung Il-geom, was Family Head, it would have been impossible to simply ignore it.”
The reason was simple.
The Namgung Family’s objective was to reclaim the position of left seat among the Five Great Families and restore the title of greatest under heaven.
“And the Baek Family’s location in Kangxi…”
“…is far too close to Anhui.”
“What, you were asking about something you already knew yourself?”
He couldn’t have not known.
Even if he’d grown up sheltered like a hothouse flower, he should have understood his family’s circumstances.
“Yes. From birth, we were destined never to coexist.”
It was a murmur tinged with a hint of regret.
Hearing it, my mood became strange.
“Don’t mutter as if you’ve only just realized it now. Even if we could have coexisted, I had no intention of it.”
Even if the distance between our families had been vast, I would never have joined hands with the Namgung.
Every last one of them was nothing but bad luck incarnate.
-Forgive me, Nangjoong Jeil-geom. Your talent is far too dangerous.
Words Namgung Cheon-yeong had spoken at the end of my past life.
Too dangerous, so they’d nip it in the bud?
From the start, we could never walk the same path.
The Baek Family and the Namgung walked roads too different from one another.
“Abandon such futile thoughts. Don’t let hesitation dull your blade. I didn’t go through all this trouble to stage a boring performance.”
“That’s also true.”
Namgung Cheon-yeong nodded and regarded Yang Hwi with eyes grown deeper.
“I have a proposal.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Yang Hwi of the Baek Family. There is one more knot we must untangle between us.”
I understood immediately what he meant.
“The victor claims all spoils. I propose that the loser of this duel shall renounce Jegal Sojeo.”
An amusing proposition. Though I must admit, it’s rather absurd.
“Our positions are different, though. You’re the only one doing the pursuing, but Seolha and I care for each other. Even if I renounce her, would she renounce me?”
“….”
Rather than show emotional turmoil, Namgung Cheon-yeong simply held my gaze in silence.
In the past, I would have scowled and gnashed my teeth at such a response.
But now that I’ve shed that layer, the satisfaction of needling him has diminished somewhat.
“Well, fine. But I’m curious—do you truly believe your odds of victory are that high to make such an offer?”
Namgung Cheon-yeong had undoubtedly shed a layer himself.
Both in spirit and in martial prowess.
“If we speak of odds, mine would not exceed fifty percent. But did not Nong-o Daoist of Jeomchang not prove something?”
Nong-o, who slew the Sect Leader of his own faction.
What are the odds a master at the peak can claim victory against one at the transcendent peak?
To be frank, it would not exceed one percent.
“Odds are meaningless. What matters is whether there exists even a possibility of victory.”
Hearing his answer, I laughed.
If I were to lose despite having far superior odds,
I would have no choice but to renounce Seolha out of sheer shame.
“Very well. Let us do this. If you win, Namgung Clan Head, I shall not see Seolha again.”
It was a quiet conversation, yet it spread sufficiently among the spectators.
“Did you hear that!”
“Hahahaha! This duel just became far more entertaining!”
“A contest wagering the most beautiful woman under heaven!”
The roar of excited spectators filled the air.
But that was not all.
“Brother! Who do you think you are to decide whether I’m given up or not!”
Jegal Seol-ha’s cry pierced through from one side.
I might end up taking a blow to the back even if I win this.
“I shall begin again.”
In any case, the conversation ended there. Namgung Cheon-yeong resumed his stance.
‘Judging by the energy signature, it appears to be the Flash Lightning Thirteen Sword Thunder.’
The Namgung Family, also known as the Changtian Sword Clan, has the Changgung Boundless Sword as their signature technique.
Yet what manner of family is Namgung?
‘Though they have lost their position as the First Family Under Heaven, they are far from unworthy of being called the First Sword Family Under Heaven.’
The Namgung Family possessed several sword techniques worthy of being called secret transmissions of the martial world.
One of these was precisely the Flash Lightning Thirteen Sword Thunder.
‘If Changtian—that is, heaven itself—serves as the mental image, then naturally what follows is lightning.’
As the name suggests, the Flash Lightning Thirteen Sword Thunder is a sword technique founded upon thunder.
Therefore, the key principle was speed.
Craaaack!
Though it was merely a blade held in human hands, a sound that should only echo from the heavens reverberated across the arena.
Grasping thunder itself, Namgung Cheon-yeong brought his arm down in a sweeping arc.
‘Like lightning falling from the sky itself.’
Could a human, merely flesh and blood, truly embody the forces of heaven and earth?
The answer was yes.
The enlightenment that made this possible was Living Resonant Qi—the principle of life flowing through intention and energy.
An enlightenment and realm that transformed the impossible into the possible.
When qi embraced intention and came alive, it transformed into a manifestation matching the warrior’s inner vision.
In other words, Namgung Cheon-yeong’s inner vision was lightning itself, and thus his qi mirrored the thunder of the heavens above.
Craaaack! Craaaack! Craaaack!

* * *
The arena echoed continuously with the roar of thunder.
Namgung Cheon-yeong pressed the attack while his opponent, caught in a tempest of lightning, swayed like a reed battered by the storm.
“Truly, the Namgung clan. Such overwhelming divine presence.”
“It’s as if the very ceiling of heaven has descended upon the arena.”
“A human wielding lightning itself—what a sight.”
The spectators watched with bated breath, their palms sweating as they chattered with their neighbors.
“To think Gaecheon Geomryong, who stood at the center of wind and cloud, is being pushed back so thoroughly.”
“Remarkable indeed. When Gaecheon Geomryong insulted Changcheon Geomryong, I never imagined it would come to this.”
“Can even Gaecheon Geomryong not overcome a direct descendant of a prestigious clan?”
“It’s only natural when you think about it. If the Namgung could be so easily surpassed, they wouldn’t be the Namgung.”
From the upper seats, Daehaeyongwangdo Peng Beom, listening to the conversations below, smiled and turned his gaze toward Pacheon Eum Hu.
-Eum Hu. Your disciple seems to be struggling quite a bit, doesn’t he?
She must have heard the transmission, yet Eum Hu showed no reaction whatsoever.
Daehaeyongwangdo continued sending transmissions undeterred.
-That boy Yang Hwi should have become my disciple instead. Had he done so, he would have already won by now.
Only then did Eum Hu respond.
The provocation laced with implications about how different the outcome would be with a different master had finally drawn her out.
-Don’t speak so carelessly about things you don’t truly understand.
-Hoh? But isn’t it the truth?
-Isn’t it rather transparent and crude to provoke so obviously when the answer is clear before your eyes?
Daehaeyongwangdo clicked his tongue.
There was nothing wrong with what Eum Hu said.
‘Such a waste. I must make her my disciple by any means.’
For a moment, he considered employing some scheme.
But that would only invite trouble.
‘If I can just win the wager staked on Jeil-geom, I can take her as my disciple… but it’s still too early to create conflict with Eum Hu.
Yang Hwi doesn’t strike me as the type to speak out of both sides of his mouth.
So as the Daehaeyongwangdo, I had no choice but to observe.
But the fact that I’m already thinking this way…
I’m coveting him.
‘Remarkable in every sense. Truly remarkable.’
Even now, that’s evident.
Though few seemed to have noticed yet, he dared to pull off such an audacious move.
He understands better than anyone how to maximize his own advantage.
-Eum Hu… you have two disciples, don’t you? Couldn’t you hand one over to me?
Eum Hu’s voice transmission doesn’t return.
It was an answer that meant she didn’t even feel it worth responding to.
‘What a shame. Truly a shame.’
Yang Hwi, still diligently wielding the sword in his left hand, parrying Namgung Cheon-yeong’s assault.
On the surface, it appears he’s being pushed into a defensive position.
But watching him, my regret only deepens.
‘I wonder when the Namgung boy will realize.’
When he does, it will be quite humiliating.
The insult he suffered in the previous team match would feel trivial by comparison.
‘Ah, now it is.’
-Kiiiiiaaaaaa!
Kwaaaaaang!
The hawk’s cry accompanied by a deafening roar that shook all directions.
Yang Hwi, having created distance, can be seen with a savage grin spreading across his face.
“Well then, shall we begin in earnest now?”
With those words, Yang Hwi transferred his sword from his left hand to his right.
The spectators watching this all gasped in unison.
“The sword…?!”
“Could he be right-handed?”
“You mean he’s been fighting with an unfamiliar hand this whole time!”
Namgung Cheon-yeong’s face twisted grotesquely.
As a warrior, he couldn’t possibly fail to understand what that previous action signified.
‘A cruel child, hehehehe.’
Daehaeyongwangdo Peng Beom stroked his beard in admiration.
Despite being a game between mere children, it was endlessly fascinating.

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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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