Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 298

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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 298
“Family Head, word has come that the Baek Family Head is mobilizing immediately!”
Namgung Il-geom, the head of the Namgung Family, immediately contorted his face.
“What! What in blazes is he thinking! Stop him at once!”
“The Elders have already stepped in to dissuade him, but we could not break his resolve.”
“Such incompetence!”
It was not a judgment upon the Elders.
It was a judgment upon the Baek Family Head, who had decided to assault Suchae in the dead of night.
A battle against mercenary henchmen, and not just anywhere—but upon the water.
If it were a small-scale clash between masters, day or night would matter little, but in a war between factions, such a choice could only result in greater casualties among one’s own forces.
“Father. The Baek Family possesses a rare treasure called the Myeong-jin Pa-jeok Cannon. Perhaps he places his faith in this.”
Namgung Cheon-yeong, the Soga-joonim, cautiously offered his opinion, but Namgung Il-geom immediately shook his head.
“We have already conducted a thorough investigation of the Myeong-jin Pa-jeok Cannon. It is indeed a formidable treasure, but not enough to turn disadvantage into advantage.”
According to what the Namgung Family had discovered, the Myeong-jin Pa-jeok Cannon had two conditions for use.
First: The cannon itself, crafted with painstaking effort by a master blacksmith who had reached the rank of ‘Artisan.’
Since the weapons wielded by the Baek Family’s martial artists in battle were of high quality, rumors had begun spreading that the Baek Family possessed a genius blacksmith, but this meant they could not produce multiple cannons in a short time.
‘The Jang River Campaign certainly began with the Water Alliance’s surprise attack on the Baek Family. There could not be many prepared cannons.’
In fact, after sending a retainer skilled in concealment techniques to investigate, it was discovered that there was only one Myeong-jin Pa-jeok Cannon per position.
Moreover, there was a second condition: activating the Myeong-jin Pa-jeok Cannon required a Sound Master who had reached the Realm of Transformed Sound.
Even for the Baek Family, only two Myeong-jin Pa-jeok Cannons could be activated simultaneously.
‘Baek Yang-hwi. Jegal Seol-ha. Those two must have been planning to operate five cannons while leaping between boats.’
Namgung Il-geom had discerned the Baek Family Head’s critical error.
Nearly a decade of unstoppable momentum in rapid growth.
Because of this, he had surely begun viewing the situation with biased optimism.
“The main branch shall also deploy! All prepare yourselves!”
“Understood!”
The outside suddenly became a flurry of activity.
“Father. Would it not be better for the main branch to proceed as planned in the morning?”
“You are mistaken, Cheon-yeong.”
The Namgung Family had already declared the annihilation of Yeo Hyong-chae and the occupation of Yegang.
In other words, if the Baek Family suffered a crushing defeat, the Namgung Family would have to execute what it had declared alone.
Otherwise, their reputation would be utterly destroyed.
“If we consider the casualties, it is right that we move together. The main branch’s reputation has already deteriorated considerably of late. We cannot afford further losses.”
Namgung Cheon-yeong, one of the primary causes of the damaged reputation, quietly lowered his head.
Namgung Il-geom regarded him. His expression was displeased—it could not be helped.
He himself was the one who had raised Namgung Cheon-yeong in such a manner.
“Cheon-yeong. My son. You shall face the Baek Family Head of Yeo Hyong-chae.”
He had commanded his son, at the Peak Realm, to defeat a Transcendent Master, but Namgung Cheon-yeong merely grasped the hilt of the sword at his waist and answered briefly.
“Yes, Father.”
When ordered to act, one acts.
That was the duty of the Soga-joonim of the Namgung Family.
Of course, Namgung Il-geom had no intention of driving his son and the Namgung Family’s future into ruin.
“I will assign three Elders, including a Transcendent Master.”
Namgung Cheon-yeong, who had answered immediately before, fell silent this time.
Then came a question that spilled forth.
“In my judgment, Father’s command appears intended to surpass Baek Yang-hwi’s achievements and renown. However, if we combine forces, wouldn’t that undermine the original intent?”
“Then can you defeat Yeo Hyong-chae in a one-on-one duel?”
“…I will accomplish it with my life on the line.”
It was an expression of resolve—if he failed, he would atone with his life, rather than mere confidence.
Namgung Il-geom clicked his tongue with a tsk.
‘I’ve raised him only with the sword. A Family Head must be able to decide everything. But it’s fine. I am here.’
“Baek Yang-hwi’s renown and standing cannot be surpassed in a single stroke. They have grown far too high.”
The Gae-cheon Jeil-ryong of the Yongbong Assembly. The Unwol Pabyek Dragon who toppled a Transcendent Master single-handedly.
The Gae-cheon was where mere loaches played, yet a dragon had emerged, and that young dragon proved strong enough to break even the opponent atop the wall, demonstrating exceptional potential.
Some connoisseurs had already fixed Baek Yang-hwi as the Cheonmu-sip-jon of twenty years hence and the greatest under heaven thirty years hence.
Namgung Cheon-yeong, the sword the Namgung had devoted their heart to cultivating, could never defeat the dragon of the Gae-cheon.
‘If he cannot win, then gnaw away and drag him down—that is the order.’
“Do as I command. I am providing you with Elders, so you must win without fail. Do not hesitate about taking the final strike yourself.”
Regardless of the facts, he intended to make Namgung Cheon-yeong into an Elite Master who had defeated a Transcendent Master in combat.
Many would question the process, but such doubts could be smoothed over with time and effort.
By gradually placing them at the same level one by one and dragging the opponent down, they would eventually reach equal heights.
‘Well, realistically, it’s unlikely Yeo Hyong-chae will come to defend the main family.’
The Baek Family had struck first.
Yeo Hyong-chae would also covet even a thread of the renown that the Unwol Pabyek’s dragon could not surpass him.
Thus, the Namgung Family would succeed in their original plan of robbing an empty house.

* * *
The Namgung Family hastily completed their preparations for departure and boarded their vessels, heading east toward Dae Ryeol-il-hong’s territory.
Most of the henchmen’s warships were moored at the western docks.
There were patrols and defensive positions in the surrounding areas, but they numbered only the bare minimum required for vigilance.
“Attack! Close the distance as much as possible and board the enemy vessels!”
Though we suffered some losses, the Namgung Family managed to land in the eastern sector of Dae Ryeol-il-hong’s territory without difficulty.
However, as Namgung Il-geom, I found the progression far from satisfactory.
‘As expected, fighting these henchmen at night incurs heavy casualties.’
We suffered three to four times greater losses than we would have in daylight.
Yet for the great Namgung Family, such losses were merely trivial.
Still, a loss is a loss.
“The Changcheon regiment takes the vanguard! Their attention will be focused westward! We seize the heart of Suchae in one decisive strike!”
But.
The battle unfolded in a direction entirely contrary to my expectations.
Elite forces from Dae Ryeol-il-hong’s faction emerged, led by a master radiating an intense and overwhelming aura.
“Who might you be? It seems the reputation of the undefeated Geom Wang was built upon night raids?”
Dae Ryeol-il-hong, master of Suchae. A Transcendent Master had appeared.
“Dae Ryeol-il-hong.”
“The Family Head of Namgung knows even the names of such insignificant henchmen and personally leads their subjugation. What an honor?”
In ordinary warfare, a faction’s leader commands from the safest position.
However, a Family Head of a martial clan cannot operate thus.
A Family Head is the strongest master, and martial artists show no respect or reverence to those who retreat and withdraw from the fight.
“Was our Namgung name so terrifying that you fortified the east while the west remained in chaos? How you greet our main force.”
“A question wrapped in provocation. Are you curious why I appeared in the east?”
Rather than answer immediately, I fell silent and fixed my gaze upon Dae Ryeol-il-hong.
His expression was far from ordinary.
There was no competitive fire in his eyes. This was not the face of one who had decided to fight because victory was assured.
Rather, it resembled someone resigned to their fate, desperately thrashing about to cause as much chaos as possible.
‘If he wished, he could flee. Why would a Transcendent Master wear such an expression?’
An Elite Master can become the hegemon of a province.
A Transcendent Master can become the hegemon of an entire state.
A thousand years ago, a Transcendent Master could have ruled as king of a small nation.
So why did such a being appear resigned and defeated before the battle even began?
‘This is not the time for such thoughts.’
“Cheon-yeong. Step forward.”
Namgung Cheon-yeong took his stance.
The Elders who had agreed to join the assault followed behind him.
Watching this, Dae Ryeol-il-hong laughed.
“Ah, so you intend to crush me and grant your son fame equal to the Gae-cheon Jeil-ryong? Yet combined assault will not suffice.”
The aura radiating from Dae Ryeol-il-hong transformed.
Stronger? No, his essence had transformed.
Not the corrupt and twisted Demonic Qi… but rather an incomprehensible force that had merely grown in darkness, yet possessed an upright nature.
It was Twilight Essence.
“What in the world is that power?”
“…Blessing. Or perhaps I should call it a curse now.”
….
“You seem not to understand my meaning. Let me speak plainly. This is the power that elevated me to Transcendent Master and granted me the name Dae Ryeol-il-hong. And that is not all….”
Dae Ryeol-il-hong brought his hand to his lips.
Now I could see that what he held was not merely a weapon.
In one hand he wielded a harpoon distinctive to mercenaries, while in the other, a circular Dan-hwan was concealed within his clenched fist.
Not only Dae Ryeol-il-hong, but all of Yeo Hyong-chae’s elite had consumed the Dan-hwan.
“Hehehehe. Hehehehehehe. I accepted the blessing in pursuit of a dream of glory and fortune, yet the end is abandonment. Such is the measure of my vessel.”
Laughter hollow and devoid of hope.
Yet in stark contrast, his aura amplified with terrifying intensity.
The Namgung Family’s warriors drew sharp breaths.
“Latent Force Detonation?”
“It appears to be a Dan-hwan similar to the Explosive Demon Ring!”
“How could a Transcendent Master make such a choice!”
At the Transcendent Master level, even burning Primordial Qi could be recovered with proper recuperation.
Unless more than half was detonated, unleashing it not as power but as latent force.
Yet the aura Dae Ryeol-il-hong now released was far beyond such a measure.
In other words, Dae Ryeol-il-hong had wagered his life before the battle even began.
“This is my final struggle. If I could fall alongside the Family Head of the great Namgung, I would ask for nothing more.”
Demons weeping blood tears descended upon the Namgung Family.
Namgung Cheon-yeong, positioned at the front, immediately reacted and attempted to unleash his blade, but an Elder standing behind seized him by the nape of his neck.
“That will not do, Young Master!”
The Elder’s orders were not to aid the Young Master in striking down Dae Ryeol-il-hong.
His first duty was to protect the blade he had painstakingly cultivated from breaking.
Thus he acted according to his orders, and in doing so, created an opening.
“Come with us! Kahahahahaha!”
The elite of Il-hong’s faction blocked all of the Namgung Family’s elite.
Though Il-hong’s faction was a massive mercenary organization, they could not match the Namgung in direct military force.
Yet when one had wagered their life, when one had drawn upon latent force to become as fierce and terrible as a demon’s killing blow.
The impossible becomes possible.
This became the second opening.
Opening joined to opening, and light pierced toward the center.
Dae Ryeol-il-hong’s harpoon, aimed at Namgung Il-geom, the Family Head of Namgung.
“You were careless, Namgung Family Head. Kahahaha!”
“Ugh…!”
It had not reached the Cheonmu-sip-jon, and the distance yet to travel remained vast.
Namgung Il-geom, the Family Head of the great Namgung Family and a Transcendent Master of such formidable strength that he bore the epithet “Geom Wang of Undefeated Supremacy,” was no ordinary warrior.
Even if Dae Ryeol-il-hong had broken through to Elite Transcendent Master and unleashed his latent power, it meant he could not inflict a wound with a single strike upon the Undefeated Sword King.
And yet.
“Why do you go this far? Releasing not only your Primordial Qi, but your lower and upper dantians as well?!”
“I told you. I’m a discarded piece.”
Through the blade locked against the harpoon, all of Dae Ryeol-il-hong’s Primordial Qi, inner force, and Willpower Qi flowed into me.
A technique of mutual destruction so vicious that even a Transcendent Master could not fathom manifesting their own conceptual realm in response.
But that was not all.
“Divine Rebirth. Immortal Rebirth.”
With those final words, Dae Ryeol-il-hong’s entire body erupted in a torrent of blood.

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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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