Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 252

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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 252
The Swordsman’s blade shattered.
While the outcome of the match hadn’t been decided, if one judged by a single technique alone, it was clear who had claimed victory.
“Waaaaaaah!”
“What an incredible technique!”
“The Dang Family’s martial arts are this formidable!”
Unlike the spectators who lacked knowledge of martial arts and merely saw something flashy and powerful, the expressions of those who had reached enlightenment were far more grave.
“It surpassed the late-stage realm.”
“I thought only the disciples of the Shaman and Shaolin, or perhaps the Gaecheon Geomryong of the Baek Family, possessed martial power of this caliber.”
The senior members of the Thirty-Six Great Sects of the realm all turned their heads, whispering to their neighbors or constantly moving their lips as they transmitted messages through spiritual sound.
The martial prowess Dang-gun displayed was that shocking.
However.
Dang-gun himself, the one directly involved, didn’t appear particularly satisfied.
Even as his opponent, Nang Hon, coughed and spat black blood.
“Soga-joonim, it appears you’ve ascended to the Realm of Toxic Qi.”
To Nang Hon’s words as he expelled toxins through bloodletting, Dang-gun replied.
“I was blessed with fortune.”
“Whether it was fortune or fate, I’m curious. At this level, there would have been no need to announce your use of poison arts beforehand.”
Strictly speaking, Dang-gun hadn’t used poison.
By ascending to the Realm of Toxic Qi, his very energy had taken on the nature of toxin.
“Just as a master Swordsman releases sword energy, a master of toxins commands toxic qi. I never imagined the Dang Family’s poison arts reached this level.”
“As I said, I was blessed with fortune.”
“Is that so?”
Nang Hon gazed pointedly around, looking at those seated in the upper positions.
“It seems no one predicted the Dang Family would receive such fortune. Myself included.”
Nang Hon coughed up blood and toxins once more.
“Quite painful indeed. My body lacks strong poison resistance. I thought a match with Soga-joonim would be entertaining, but it’s proving far more exhilarating than expected.”
As he continued speaking, Nang Hon staggered.
Yet instead of pressing his advantage, Dang-gun reinforced his defense.
He sensed an inexplicable danger from Nang Hon’s condition.
‘I clearly gained the advantage in this exchange. Yet why…’
“What is the name of that technique?”
Another question came flying at him. Dang-gun mobilized all his senses to probe for openings in Nang Hon’s stance as he answered.
“It is called ‘One Flying Blade Pierces Hundred Lives, Stealing the Soul.'”
“One blade pierces through a hundred lifelines and steals the soul. The name truly matched its tremendous power.”
“Yet you seemed to block it rather easily.”
Nang Hon deliberately swung the broken blade.
“How can you say I blocked it easily when a Swordsman suffered the humiliation of his blade shattering?”
Dang-gun’s lips curled slightly upward.
It was a smile of amusement and yet a bitter laugh simultaneously.
“No matter how I look at it, it seemed like you could have blocked it without letting your sword break. Why did you allow it to shatter?”
From Dang-gun’s perspective, Nang Hon’s capabilities were far superior to what he had demonstrated.
“If perhaps you were holding back within certain limits and not giving your all….”
That could only mean he had been insulting not just his current opponent Dang-gun, but everyone he had fought thus far.
It was on the same level as when Yang Hwi had toyed with his left hand while fighting Namgung Cheon-yeong.
“Please do not misunderstand. I was careless. I assure you it will not happen again.”
“…Careless, you say. A convenient excuse indeed.”
Dang-gun’s expression turned cold.
Whether his claim of carelessness was truth or falsehood, no one could truly know.
But for Dang-gun, it was an answer that could not possibly sit well with him.
“If you can afford to be careless against the Soga-joonim of the Dang Family, perhaps you could yield one more move?”
Interest flickered in Nang Hon’s eyes.
“If it holds such value, I would not hesitate to yield even two moves.”
“Excellent. Then let us do this. I shall demonstrate my supreme technique that I have been perfecting. If you block it, your victory; if you take it, mine. What say you?”
“Splendid! This should be most entertaining.”
Dang-gun assumed his stance once more.
With both hands tucked into the wide sleeves characteristic of Dang Family martial robes, he crouched like a tiger poised to leap.
It was the Crouching Tiger Stance, the signature posture of the Dang Family.
‘The number of hidden weapons I possess… seven hundred and twenty-four in total.’
A staggering number to fit within both sleeves, no matter how wide.
Yet it was insufficient.
‘I shall compensate for the shortage… with my qi.’
“Prepare yourself. This technique… cannot be blocked by a single sword alone.”
A new blade grew from Nang Hon’s shattered sword.
As if all color had been drained away, it gleamed with the pale ash-white of something born anew and then burned to cinders.
“Do not worry. Did I not say I would not be careless?”
“…Then so be it.”
Dang-gun recalled his conversation with Yang Hwi.
Not a recent matter, but advice Yang Hwi had given years ago when he came to Sichuan.
“Elder Dang. When the Dang Family’s martial arts reach their ultimate form, there should be similarities with the main family’s techniques.”
“After all, hidden weapons differ from swordplay in that they can number in the tens, hundreds, or even thousands upon thousands. Like the feathers of a hawk, you see.”
“So I shall teach you. It is merely a seed, but Elder Dang, you could cultivate it until flowers rain down across the entire sky.”
Rain of Flowers Across the Sky.
In the martial world, it is known as the Dang Family’s supreme secret technique, but in truth, no such technique called Rain of Flowers Across the Sky actually exists within the Dang Family.
‘According to what was passed down from previous generations, it seems the words left by the Hwa-san Je-il-geom at the time of the sect’s founding were distorted.’
The Dang Family mixed the plum blossoms of Hwa-san with their Flower Rain technique among their hidden weapon arts, and if properly cultivated, flowers would rain down abundantly across the entire sky.
This was the true teaching, and it was why one of the two branches of Dang Family hidden weapon techniques was the Flower Rain technique.
‘What a curious thing. Even I did not know this before asking the Family Head, yet how did Hwi’s Younger Brother come to know it?’
Needles, sand, nails, blades, butterflies, markers.
In other words.
Needles, sand, spikes, flying blades, finger strikes, throwing stars.
Among these, the Hwa-u technique utilizes needles, sand, finger strikes, and throwing stars.
Because the movements are not linear but resemble flower petals drifting through the air.
Therefore, there was one attack method that the Choo-hon technique could not execute.
‘Through dozens and hundreds of projectiles, one strike is realized.’
The Six Harmonies of the Three Tai Chi, the foundation of the Samwon Guiwon Divine Art.
Harmonizing yin energy, yang energy, and toxic energy, releasing them with movements in all eight directions—forward, backward, left, right, and up and down.
Pa-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-pak!
Dang-gun’s hands moved at a speed invisible to the eye.
He scraped needles with his fingertips, rotated his wrists to add spinning force to the finger strikes, gripped and scattered sand in all directions, and flicked the throwing stars to make them flutter chaotically.
Dozens and hundreds of projectiles lifted high into the sky.
“Haa-aap!”
One of the three supreme enlightenments, Void Grasping Objects.
Seven hundred and twenty-four projectiles.
Each soaring, spinning, and descending.
“M-Myriad Heaven Flower Rain!”
“The legend of the martial world was true!”
“Wow, wow-aaaa!”
The entire sky was filled with a rain of flowers.
Thus, Myriad Heaven Flower Rain.
Though incomplete and an inferior version, Dang-gun’s final strike was sufficient to evoke those four characters.
Literally, projectiles poured down from all directions.
Spatially it was so, and temporally it was inescapable—the barrage of projectiles continued for ten full breaths.
Swooooosh!
A sound like a sudden downpour echoed across the arena.
Dust thicker than rain clouds engulfed the entire martial stage.
“This is a victory for Eun Su-dokryong.”
“It’s over. If he doesn’t lose after taking such a supreme strike, I’ll acknowledge it.”
“What gives you the right to speak of acknowledgment?”
“Then will you wager on Nang Hon’s victory?”
…Ahem.
“See?”
Whispers confirming Dang-gun’s victory echoed throughout the arena.
Then an unexpected turn occurred.
“I concede defeat.”
Dang-gun admitted his loss.

* * *
‘Elder Dang… you’ve elevated it beautifully.’
The Myriad Heaven’s Multitude—one of the core secret techniques of Gaecheon Geomryong.
What I had taught him before, Dang-gun had transformed magnificently into the Dang Family’s own supreme art.
But.
That was precisely why I felt regret.
‘If his opponent hadn’t been Nang Hon… I could have made everyone gasp and grow wary.’
Look at them even now. A considerable number of the senior figures in the upper seats had risen to their feet.
They were the masters or core figures of thirty-six renowned sects counted among the greatest under heaven.
The martial technique Dang-gun had displayed was that extraordinary.
‘His opponent… was simply too formidable.’
As the dust settled, the reason why Dang-gun had admitted defeat became clear.
Throwing needles filled the entire arena. Yet there was one place where not a single needle had pierced the ground.
Where Nang Hon stood.
“That was a magnificent technique, Soga-joonim. I, Nang Hon, have truly learned much from this.”
The sword qi that Nang Hon had unleashed spread wide and curved in a circle, forming a sword barrier.
Not a single one of Dang-gun’s needles had penetrated Nang Hon’s sword barrier.
“Adu. Did you see?”
“Yeah. That Nang Hon is incredibly strong.”
Jegal Seol-ha also spoke up with a grave expression.
“That Nang Hon fellow has already transcended the need for a sword. Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah. Probably… that’s the case.”
Dang-gun on the arena wore an expression of both regret and relief.
Seeing him like that, I felt apologetic.
After all, Nang Hon had chosen Dang-gun because of me.
-Don’t make that face, Hwi’s Younger Brother.
As expected of the thoughtful Dang-gun. He had noticed my expression in that brief moment.
-I wanted to meet Elder Dang at a higher level.
-Indeed. Through our match, I wanted to demonstrate how exceptional the two feathers of the Ilkmaeng are to all under heaven.
Dang-gun’s transmission continued.
-But don’t worry about it. Seeing how those from the Gu-pa and those who had put a leash on the main family were shocked—it’s refreshing. I’ve accomplished my personal goal of imprinting the newly reborn Dang Sect.
-I’m truly grateful you say that.
-It’s all thanks to you, Hwi’s Younger Brother.
After finishing the transmission, Dang-gun performed a fist salute, and Nang Hon returned the courtesy.
The two warriors descended from the arena, and the referees began preparing the stage for the next match.
“Who’s next… ah, it’s Hyeon Geom. This should be interesting to watch.”
“Watch it for me and tell me about it later, Seolha.”
“Hm? Where are you going, brother?”
“I have somewhere I need to be.”
“Is that so? Adu, could you tell me about the match details later?”
“Huh? Huh!”
I glanced at Jegal Seol-ha for a moment.
“You’re coming along? I’d prefer to go alone.”
“You’re not doing something fun by yourself without me.”
“It could be dangerous, that’s why.”
“If it’s dangerous, I should follow even more. Surely you’re not saying I won’t be helpful?”
“….”
I couldn’t bring myself to say that. The current Jegal Seol-ha was no longer the little girl from before.
In my past life, perhaps not—but in this life, she would be of considerable help to me.
“Where are you going?”
“To find Nang Hon and designate him as my next opponent.”
“Why would that be dangerous?”
“If he refuses, I’ll cause a scene.”
“Ah, if it’s a scene my older brother creates, Jegal Seol-ha cannot possibly miss it.”
In the end, accompanying Jegal Seol-ha became unavoidable.
“Then let’s go. That bastard Nang Hon left without even watching the match.”
I followed Nang Hon’s trail and left the venue.
Nang Hon, moving lightly with his lightness technique, changed direction away from his usual quarters toward somewhere else.
-I’ve been discovered, it seems. I was suppressing my presence, but he’s quite perceptive.
Nang Hon left Mu-han entirely and headed toward a nearby wild mountain.
It was a distance that would take even a warrior’s pace half a double-hour to cover.
There, Nang Hon turned around.
“Yang Hwi, Namgung Cheon-yeong. Jegal Sojeo. Come out now.”
The two of us revealed ourselves without hesitation.
Nang Hon stared at Jegal Seol-ha for a moment before continuing.
“What brings you to follow this Nang Hon’s trail?”
“I have something to ask. Are you affiliated with the Hyeol Sect?”
A soft laugh came back with his answer.
“As I’ve said before, I am not.”
“I’ll ask again. You’re not playing word games by saying you’re not affiliated with the Hyeol Sect just because you’re the Hyeol Gyoju?”
“….”
After a brief silence, Nang Hon replied.
“How could a mere assassin become the Hyeol Gyoju?”
“Is that so? Then that’s that.”
I recalled Neung-o’s advice.
If there’s something frustrating, don’t hesitate—just shoot.
“Nang Hon. I’d like my next match to be with me.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not possible. There are two opponents I wish to face.”
Two. Based on the choices made so far, it would be Elder Dang and that bastard Adu.
“I’ll explain the options I’m offering you specifically. Accept my designation. If not, I’ll forfeit.”
“Do as you wish.”
“Very well? Seolha, let’s go.”
“Yes, brother.”
I turned without hesitation and walked forward, when Nang Hon’s voice reached my ears.
“Where are you going?”
“To withdraw from the Shaman Sect.”
I was genuinely intent on withdrawing.
It seemed I could resolve the source of my frustration through this withdrawal.
Grounds? None.
Still, I intended to do as I pleased.
After all, an arrow once loosed never pauses to think.
“I never speak with two tongues from one mouth. Figure it out yourself.”
I had advanced roughly fifty paces when it happened.
“Wait.”
I turned around.
Nang Hon wore an expression whose depths I could not fathom.
“Are you sincere?”
“Yes. Didn’t I say I never speak with two tongues from one mouth?”
“…I see. There’s no helping it then.”
Nang Hon laughed.
That was the moment.
“Oh, brother.”
Jegal Seol-ha grasped Yang Hwi’s collar with trembling hands.
“The flower…bud….”
Yang Hwi squeezed her hand firmly and continued speaking.
“I ask again. No, let me phrase it differently. Are you the Demonic Sect Leader? Answer only yes or no.”
“….”
No answer had yet returned, but I could perceive it.
The arrow I had loosed had struck its mark.

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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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