Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 280

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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 280
-Kiiiiaaaa!
Won-woo flew down from afar and perched on my forearm.
I tossed him a piece of dried meat, stroked his head, and untied the letter bound to his leg.
[Message received. Visit the main residence tomorrow.]
A reply that had come back from Namgung Cheon-yeong.
Thus, I would be storming into the Namgung Family—a place no different from enemy territory—entirely alone.
‘Now that it comes to it, I’m a bit frightened.’
The Namgung Family, which follows the Way of Cangcheon, possesses a lineage as lofty and arrogant as the heavens themselves—literally “Cangcheon” meaning the sky.
Having humiliated them multiple times, it would be no surprise if they tried to kill me the moment I stepped through the door, given their nature.
‘There’s no justification, but… at the level of the Five Great Families, justification becomes unnecessary.’
They possessed the power to suppress any questions someone might raise.
Therefore, visiting together with Jegal Seol-ha, Adu, and Neung-o would have been safer in that regard.
“Life—you come alone and you go alone.”
I couldn’t incur any more debts. My companions wouldn’t consider it a debt, but the sects they belong to would think differently.
Neung-o, who had become the sect leader by surpassing the elder ranks despite being a first-generation disciple, whose position was inevitably unstable.
Jegal Seol-ha, who despite being of the direct line was neither the Family Head nor the daughter of the Soga-joonim, and had the calculating, cold-blooded Jegal Family Head as her grandfather.
With the Dang Family, I had built strong bonds, and they called me their benefactor, so there was no room for problems to arise, but in terms of power, they fell short of Gu-pa and the Five Great Families, so they couldn’t completely block the Namgung Family’s covert moves.
‘Alone is sufficient anyway. Even if the Namgung Family acts extremely, I have separate means to employ.’
I sat in lotus position and closed my eyes.
Bringing my hands together so my fingers touched, I assumed the posture and felt my breathing throughout my entire body.
“Huuuh, haaah.”
Time was never abundant.
To run swiftly down the path, one needed the stamina for it—in other words, the capacity.
Especially if I didn’t want to see those running alongside me fall and be wounded.
‘I’m fortunate to have Seon-gi.’
Most believe the essence of martial arts lies in internal cultivation, but the truth is different.
The essence lies in external cultivation—the refinement of the body among spirit, energy, and body.
The reason was simple.
A healthy mind grows from a healthy body.
There is no way to cultivate the spirit as effectively as through the pain of pushing the body to its limits.
‘My case is different, though.’
I faced death in my late thirties and now live a second life, reversing the flow of time.
Even if energy could be explained away, my spirit had become excessively bloated.
While my spirit remained unchanged, only my body had reverted to that of a child—there was no helping it.
That’s why I postponed and postponed reaching the peak that would normally take three years, and didn’t reach it until I was fifteen.
‘Without Seon-gi’s function of correctly guiding and strengthening the body, I would have spent more than half my training time just building my physique. In other words, thanks to Seon-gi, my training time doubled.’
My consciousness descended deep within my body, to a place where the distinction between spirit and body became ambiguous.
I would run even faster.
I would clear the thorny brambles from the very front.
Twelve hours passed like that.
I opened my eyes after spending an entire day immersed in meditation.
-Kee-aaa!
Won-woo, who had been perched on the window frame, suddenly leaped and landed on my shoulder.
“Were you bored, little one?”
-Kee-aa.
Won-woo shook his head as if complaining of hunger.
The creature could hunt and feed itself, yet still threw tantrums.
Though to be fair, well-prepared jerky was likely more delicious than raw game meat.
“I’ll give you some jerky… ah, we’re out. Let’s stop by the butcher on the way back. How’s that?”
-Kee-aaa!
I tapped his head with my finger a few times before rising to my feet.
Since I was about to visit one of the Five Great Families, proper etiquette would demand ritual purification and refined attire.
‘But do I really need to show courtesy to those Namgung bastards?’
Whoosh!
I released a wave of qi energy to brush away the dust and grime adequately.
In truth, this alone left me cleaner than most people could achieve through bathing.
“Then let’s go. If anything seems dangerous, fly up immediately and alert me. Understood?”
-Kee-aaa-aaa!
Won-woo patted his chest with both wings as if to say I could trust him completely.

* * *
The Namgung Family’s main gate was taller than most clan halls.
It seemed to symbolize the authority of a prestigious family that had maintained its position among the Five Great Families for centuries.
‘Yet it crumbled during the Demonic Cult invasion.’
From that point on, the Namgung Family likely fought the Demonic Cult members with the determination of a life-or-death struggle.
With such thoughts, I regarded the gatekeeper.
“I am Baek Yang-hwi, the Gae-cheon Jeil-ryong of the Gae-cheon Baek Family. Please inform those inside.”
The gatekeeper entered, and perhaps a quarter hour passed.
A small side gate attached beside the main gate creaked open.
‘So they want me to enter through the servants’ entrance. They have no intention of treating me as a guest.’
I raised the corners of my mouth slightly and moved forward.
A broad avenue paved with pristine white stone stretched before me, revealing the estate’s landscape.
A spacious training ground occupied the central area, with clean and orderly pavilions arranged on either side.
‘Interesting. The killing intent is practically piercing my skin.’
Hundreds of warriors, belonging to the Namgung Family and appearing to be the elite Changcheon Sword Brigade, stood arrayed in the training ground.
The formation suggested they were preparing an encirclement.
Unbothered, I walked straight to the center of the training ground.
‘If they’re going to such lengths with their hospitality, I should reciprocate appropriately.’
“Namgung Cheon-yeong. I don’t see the Namgung Family Head present?”
My killing intent surged, becoming two or three times more powerful in an instant.
Well, it was a natural reaction.
I had spoken disrespectfully to the Soga-joonim in the main hall of the Namgung Family.
“Gae-cheon Jeil-ryong. The Family Head is in his office.”
“What I requested of the Namgung Soga-joonim was an audience with the Family Head, you see.”
Unable to contain himself any longer, a sharp rebuke came flying.
“How dare you speak with such disrespect to the second-in-command of Namgung in the Namgung hall!”
I deliberately wore an amused expression before turning to look at the one who had spoken.
With his white beard so thick and full, he was clearly an Elder.
“My learning is shallow, and I am unfamiliar with the customs of the Namgung Family. Therefore, I merely followed what I observed. But what offense have I committed?”
I had simply rephrased the principle that if you treat me that way, I’ll respond in kind—just half a turn of the wheel.
The Elder’s face, that of Baek Soo-jeong the Hundred-Sword Swordmaster, was filled with rage.
It was then.
“Enough. Elder Namgung Ju-an, please compose yourself.”
“Yes, Soga-joonim.”
“However, Soga-joonim….”
“Elder. Are you trying to disgrace the Soga-joonim before our guest?”
Namgung Ju-an closed his mouth upon hearing Namgung Cheon-yeong’s continued words.
Namgung Cheon-yeong’s position was immediately apparent.
Though he had risen to the position of Soga-joonim as the family’s second-in-command, Namgung Cheon-yeong remained merely a beautiful flower within the Namgung greenhouse.
‘Still, he has developed. Before the Dragon-Phoenix Conference, he would have simply obediently followed the family elders’ words as Soga-joonim.’
Before the relationship between Soga-joonim and Elder came the relationship between young man and family elder.
Was it the same during Namgung Cheon-hu’s time?
“Namgung Cheon-yeong. I would appreciate it if you could resolve my question. When is an audience with the Family Head possible?”
“Baek Yang-hwi. Before an audience, you must first prove your qualifications.”
Whether to call it amusing or predictable.
In any case, these martial artists were excessively particular about qualifications and such things.
“You are surely aware of your past actions that have been observed. Furthermore, as someone who has not even reached the position of Soga-joonim, you have requested an audience with the Family Head of the Great Namgung. Naturally, a verification procedure must follow.”
“I accept.”
Two of the lined-up martial artists suddenly sprang up and descended before Yang Hwi.
One was Elder Namgung Ju-an, and the other, judging by his bearing, was clearly also an Elder.
“Two Elders of the Great Namgung will draw their blades against you. Should you fail to prove your qualifications, tomorrow will be the day of your memorial service.”
They were openly trying to kill me.
Conversely, if I killed the Elders here, it would be outright war.
“But I ask this. Was it you, Namgung Cheon-yeong, who proposed this verification procedure?”
“…It was a decision made at the council of senior members.”
“I thought as much. Did you object?”
“After deliberation, I agreed that the procedure was necessary, so my opinion remains the same as it is now.”
This time I deliberately raised my voice.
So that all the retainers of Namgung could hear.
“I knew it would come to this!”
If the Soga-joonim of the Namgung Family had been the one to relay my request and desired such formalities,
I would have gladly complied and observed proper protocol.
But.
‘To stir up discord, it’s best to empower Namgung Cheon-yeong.’
“The Soga-joonim of the Great Namgung has mentioned no such procedure, yet if such is the will of the Great Namgung! This Gae-cheon Jeil-ryong shall gladly prove my qualifications.”
As I drew my sword, Elder Namgung Ju-an let out a sneer.
“I understand your technique employs two blades. Yet you dare face two elders of the Namgung and claim you won’t give your all? Such insolence borders on arrogance. Shall I render you unable to wield even a single sword for the rest of your life?”
How considerate of him to pick a quarrel with me.
“My left sword is a qi blade, and it is an unwritten rule that sword energy is not employed in qualification demonstrations. Should it prove necessary, I shall use it of my own accord.”
Elder Namgung Ju-an’s face flushed crimson once more.
Perhaps he should be called the Crimson-faced Elder rather than the White-faced Elder.
“You’re the type who learns humility only through bloodshed!”
Elder Namgung Ju-an’s form vanished.
In that instant, I unleashed my blade toward empty space where nothing existed.
Elder Namgung Ju-an’s sword materialized to block it.
‘The Great Harmony of Five Elements.’
The sword technique became vibration. The vibration became sword technique once more.
Boom!
Elder Namgung Ju-an was sent flying backward. Immediately, he swung his blade toward the opposite direction.
Clang!
‘Ugh, this hurts!’
I could block the other elder’s strike, but the rebound force was no joke.
So using vital force without sword energy is fair game, then?
‘Both are at least peak-level masters.’
Though called peak-level, if either gained just one fragment of enlightenment, they could ascend to supreme mastery. Yet from the start, there was no reason for the strongest to emerge—these must be the lesser elders, befitting the full strength of the previous generation’s greatest family under heaven.
‘Still, they’re just two commoners who haven’t reached supreme mastery.’
I’ve gained much since my regression.
I’ve laid the foundation for a vessel far broader and more resilient than in my past life.
Through Seon-gi’s function, I’ve obtained a body perfected beyond comparison to my previous existence.
And I’ve even internalized two martial arts of those who touched the heavens, plus a sword technique of the greatest throughout history that transcended touching the heavens and ascended into them.
Therefore.
I could state with certainty.
“Two peak-level masters cannot possibly defeat me.”
An extremely arrogant declaration.
It was not words a late-stage successor of a minor martial family should utter against the elders of the Five Great Families.
Both elders and all the Namgung warriors erupted in fury simultaneously.
“You brat!”
“Hastening your own demise!”
“You’re rushing your fate!”
The swords of the two elders fell simultaneously.
They descended with ferocious force capable of splitting a skull, and moved with such blinding speed that it evoked the legendary Seon-jeon technique.
Yet they were merely two strikes from ordinary martial artists.
-Kiiiiiiiiiiiii!
The sword cried out. The screech of a hawk poured forth.
The Gae-cheon-bak-pal-geom at its zenith, its very symbol.
The hawk’s cry of the Eung-hu realm.
Clang!
Three blades met, yet there was only one collision sound.
I had positioned my sword with perfect precision along a single line capable of deflecting both strikes.
That was not all.
I had not swung—merely positioned my blade—yet the internal force contained within it surpassed that of both their swords combined.
“Ugh…!”
“Cough! Cough!”
Blood trickled from the corner of one elder’s mouth.
I had succeeded in shaking their insides precisely as intended.
‘There are still many ways to use this without relying on sword energy.’
I wore an apologetic expression and spoke.
“My, your internal cultivation seems lower than expected. I apologize for my rudeness.”
“….”
“….”
Rage erupted like a volcanic explosion.
“You bastard!!”
“I’ll kill you!!”
Their expressions burned with genuine fury.
A chuckle escaped me.
These elderly gentlemen had lived so long, yet their composure was this shallow.
‘Though it does make the scene more beautiful.’
With this level of intensity, all the retainers would surely recognize that the elders were attacking with sincere intent.
I would end this in one move.
It was at that moment.
“Enough.”
A voice laden with oppressive weight as if the heavens themselves were collapsing echoed from all directions.
It was a Six Harmonies Perfect Form so powerful that my head throbbed.
‘Namgung Il-geom, the Namgung Family Head.’
I gazed at the middle-aged man who had revealed himself at the center of the main hall.
The appearance of that stubborn old fellow who required a sword duel just to show his face.

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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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