Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 305

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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 305
Namgung Il-geom stared down at his younger brother’s head lying at his feet.
Recalling the last memory before losing consciousness.
Exploding demonic energy.
Dae Ryeol-il-hong attempting mutual destruction.
The Baek Family Heir who had awakened him.
Namgung Sa-geom’s head stained with demonic energy.
Namgung Il-geom was undoubtedly exceptional.
He had grasped the position of Family Head of the Great Namgung, which had maintained the status of the Five Great Families for centuries.
Therefore, it was not difficult.
Though there were gaps, there was enough to paint the picture.
And he also knew what choice he must make.
‘The sword of Namgung must inherit the blade of the Azure Heaven.’

* * *
The sword of Namgung seeks to contain the Azure Heaven—the blue sky itself.
Yet how could a mere human contain the heavens from the very beginning?
Therefore, the ancestor of the Namgung Family began with that which originated from heaven, seeking to touch the heavens.
Thunder, that is.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
Lightning streamed forth in torrents from Namgung Il-geom’s blade.
The Namgung Family’s Primordial Qi technique was not a meditation method for controlling thunder, yet his sword technique blazed like lightning.
‘The power of visualization. Is this Namgung Il-geom’s manifestation of inner vision?’
It appeared as lightning, yet it was a sword.
The sword had transformed into lightning.
“My son, receive the sword of Namgung!”
In response, Namgung Cheon-hu extended tendrils of blood energy.
At first glance, it seemed similar to Namgung Il-geom’s sword-lightning, yet it should be called tentacles rather than lightning.
The sword-lightning and blood-tentacles clashed.
The dark night sky flashed crimson and azure, then turned white.
“Good. You know your father’s visualization is the Complete Sword-Lightning. What is yours?”
“I have named it the Crimson Shallow Spring.”
“A blood-red sky and a shallow spring. What a pity.”
Namgung Il-geom clicked his tongue, expressing genuine regret.
“You should have ascended on your own. Your singular path would have transformed that shallow spring into a deep well. It required time.”
“There was no time, Father.”
“This too is the fault of my lack of virtue as a father, so how could I resent my son? Come.”
The visualization of Complete Sword-Lightning and Crimson Shallow Spring clashed once more.
The abandoned Soga-joonim Namgung Cheon-hu fought evenly against the Sword King of Undefeated Battles, one of the greatest masters under heaven.
No—rather, he was overwhelming his opponent.
‘Impressive, even with Namgung Il-geom injured.’
Though the power was cultivated from accepting blood vitality, it is Namgung Cheon-hu who wields it.
He possessed talent truly worthy of being called a prodigy.
‘He’s beginning to decline.’
Even if Namgung Il-geom exhausted every last shred of his Primordial Qi, his body’s condition was catastrophic.
With far more damaged meridians than intact ones coursing through his body, manipulating his energy itself would be arduous.
Yet Namgung Il-geom appeared magnanimous on the surface, genuinely savoring this life-or-death duel with his son.
“Is this all? If you’ve accepted such corrupted power, you should defeat an aging, wounded father in a single stroke!”
Old and infirm though he was, he remained the Undefeated Sword King.
A warrior who lived by the blade, defeated only by the Taeguk Sword Master across hundreds of duels.
Namgung Cheon-hu’s blood tentacles were severed with sharp cracks, while sword lightning embedded in his chest seared his flesh.
‘The bastard’s even regenerating.’
Among the Blood Sect’s techniques, many consumed blood vitality to heal bodily wounds.
At the pinnacle, one could even regenerate severed limbs.
It seemed he had trained diligently with the Blood Sect during his time in hiding.
Meanwhile, the time granted to Namgung Il-geom was desperately short.
‘At most, half an hour remains.’
Namgung Il-geom, aware of his end, burned himself ever more fiercely.
Like a candle flickering before extinction.
“This is the end! This father, the Undefeated Sword King Namgung Il-geom, unveils his final ultimate technique!”
Boundless Sword Method, Single Sword School variation, Lightning Fills Heaven Sword Becomes Sword
A mental image unfolds.
Though lightning naturally blooms from dark storm clouds, here the sky was azure.
Sword lightning born and filling infinite, boundless space.
Yang Hwi clenched his fists, etching the mental image before his eyes, the sword principle, into his vision.
‘Lightning Fills Heaven Sword Becomes Sword. When lightning saturates the sky, the sword is merely sword.’
The image Namgung Cheon-hu wove was equally extraordinary.
Dozens, hundreds, finally a thousand.
Blood tentacles gathered and bloomed into flowers.
Boundless Sword Method, Blood Heaven Variation, Thousand Blood Flowers Become Heaven!
For some reason, that form evoked the heavens themselves.
‘Flowers become heaven. A mental image invasion.’
As crimson flowers bloomed, a thousand became heaven itself.
It might seem absurd, but such was the mental image a warrior carved.
Imposing human will to inscribe impossible principles upon heaven and earth.
The realm of mental image invasion.
Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack
Bundles of lightning and crimson flowers sought to destroy one another.
The energy waves grew more violent as they drew closer.
At their center stood Namgung Il-geom and Namgung Cheon-hu, blades aimed at each other.
Finally, the shadows of the two figures overlapped, becoming one as they plummeted.
A fall, yet perhaps it was the descent of a falling flower.
“Cheon-hu, my son.”
“…Father.”
Namgung Cheon-hu’s upper body, torn open enough to expose his heart, was rapidly regenerating.
In the end, it was because he had failed to destroy the heart itself.
Conversely, Namgung Il-geom’s chest bore the youthful blade of Namgung Cheon-hu’s blood essence.
“Well done. I am proud.”
“….”
“Truly, how remarkable. My son has turned the Undefeated Sword King into the Twice-Defeated Sword King.”
“Father.”
“The victor must rightfully claim what belongs to the vanquished. I shall impart to you the Sword Principle of Boundless Heaven.”
Namgung Cheon-hu’s eyes widened.
The Sword Principle of Boundless Heaven.
It was the enlightenment passed down only to the Family Head, the very embodiment of sword technique itself.
“You mean to make me the next Family Head?”
“No. Not yet. The Namgung Family has two subsidiary heads.”
The one who was a subsidiary head. The one who is a subsidiary head.
Namgung Cheon-hu and Namgung Cheon-yeong.
Qi erupted from Namgung Il-geom.
The energy became sound and seeped into the two, and though intent lingered such that it could not become direct enlightenment, it was carved as a seed of understanding.
“All who stand beneath the banner of Namgung!”
Family Head Namgung Il-geom delivered his final proclamation to his retainers.
“I have imparted the enlightenment inherited by the Namgung to subsidiary heads Namgung Cheon-hu and Namgung Cheon-yeong. Therefore, all who follow Boundless Heaven shall serve the victor as your Family Head!”
Namgung Il-geom’s eyes began to lose their light.
“For only the strong may become master of the Boundless Heaven Sword Family….”
What remained was but a single murmur.
No—there were two more lines spoken, yet they reached only three people.
Thus.
Namgung Il-geom, the Boundless Heaven Sword Master of the Namgung Family, the Undefeated Sword King, departed from this world.

* * *
Yang Hwi stood in silence, observing the Namgung father and son.
The final words echoing in his ears.
-Cheon-yeong. You are the greatest blade ever forged by our Namgung Family.
-A blade, after all, is a tool that must be carefully maintained, wiped with oil-soaked cloth.
-Yet it is also a precious treasure tempered in the crucible of battle, honed by blood and human fat.
-Cheon-yeong. Prove it.
-That you are the greatest blade.
He was not eavesdropping.
No matter how keen one’s perception of sword intent, it would be impossible to intercept a transmission technique at his current level.
So this was both words Namgung Il-geom spoke to his son and a message he wished to convey to Yang Hwi himself.
‘He’s asking for help. So the blade doesn’t break.’
Yet Yang Hwi himself had chosen to minimize his involvement because he wished to observe.
If he had been clinging to the path he once walked, then he needed to find a new way forward.
So it was not yet time.
His heart desired to watch a little longer.
At that moment.
Namgung Cheon-yeong rose to his feet.
“Seolha.”
“Yes, brother.”
“When you fought Namgung Cheon-hu, what was Namgung Cheon-yeong’s demeanor?”
“He hesitated. His blade wavered.”
Namgung Cheon-yeong was one who could not raise his blade against his own brother.
Even if he had betrayed the family, they were still blood; he was the one who called the Family Head father and the Elders uncle, after all.
But.
Now it was different.
The sword point directed at Namgung Cheon-hu.
It did not waver.
‘It wasn’t help he was offering. Even if he wanted aid, that would come after this.’
His gaze shifted to Namgung Cheon-hu. He too seemed to have heard something.
-Cheon-hu, my son. I congratulate you on your victory. Yet your next hand shall be defeat. Your defeat shall be your younger brother’s victory.
As Yang Hwi had anticipated, Namgung Il-geom had left a final message for Namgung Cheon-hu as well.
Congratulations to the son who defeated his father.
Simultaneously, the father’s final pronouncement to his son.
“…Cheon-yeong.”
“…Namgung Cheon-hu.”
“You are no longer my younger brother, are you?”
“….”
He hesitated but did not waver.
His eyes hardened and grew resolute.
Namgung Cheon-yeong made his declaration.
“As the next master of the Changcheon Sword Family, I speak thus. The criminal Namgung Cheon-hu must face rightful judgment.”
“Is that so? Father, you are truly worthy of the name.”
Namgung Cheon-hu laughed toward the sky, then extended his blood-touching fingers in all directions once more.
Yet the momentum differed markedly from before—his fierce battle with Namgung Il-geom had consumed his will, inner qi, and spiritual power at a staggering rate.
‘The father balanced the scales to grant his two sons an equal contest.’
The former Soga-joonim and the current Soga-joonim had both inherited the secret techniques of Changcheon.
Regardless of appearances, Namgung Il-geom had orchestrated a confrontation between his two sons over a single position.
A sudden thought struck me.
‘Father would never have made such a choice, even if Seo and I stood in opposition.’
Though both were fathers, Namgung Il-geom chose differently than Baek Moo-ryang.
The paths they had walked differed, so the paths they would take must also diverge.
‘Then what of me?’
I had reversed the flow of time.
Until now, I believed I had merely retraced my steps, yet perhaps I had stepped onto an entirely new path.
And yet I thought I had run the same road swiftly.
This might have been a misunderstanding from the very beginning.
Writhing, I felt the stirrings within my heart with complete awareness.
Yang Hwi watched the brothers with blades crossed against each other.
“Namgung Cheon-hu. You must surely face the price of your crimes!”
“Impossible, younger brother. Have you forgotten? You have never once defeated me.”
Namgung Cheon-hu and Namgung Cheon-yeong differed in age by roughly ten years.
Even if their talents were worthy of discussion as supreme under heaven, such a gap could not be easily overcome at a young age.
Before receiving the blood qi, perhaps—but the current Namgung Cheon-hu was an opponent Namgung Cheon-yeong could never defeat.
Yet Namgung Cheon-yeong never surrendered.
When the blood-touching fingers pierced halfway through his arm, he severed the strands and charged forward.
Against the dense mass of blood-touching fingers with seemingly no gaps, he raised a sword barrier to meet them.
‘Both of them are transforming their martial principles.’
The secret techniques of Changcheon that both had inherited were being embodied through actual combat.
Yet the speed differed between them.
‘Namgung Cheon-yeong’s overwhelming disadvantage. Yet… the speed of embodiment overwhelmingly favors him.’
Embodiment naturally accelerates with desperation.
A clash between strong and weak. Desperation belongs to the weak.
Moreover, the talent was so exceptional that the Namgung Family had abandoned their grown Soga-joonim for him—Namgung Cheon-yeong.
Crash!
“…I held it back, Namgung Cheon-hu.”
Namgung Cheon-yeong’s blade directly intercepted the blood-touching fingers.
This meant his sword had grown heavier.
It also meant he had approached the essence of the Changgun Unobstructed Sword Technique—the weight of heaven itself, the mystery of heaviness.
‘Namgung Cheon-yeong. In your past life, you undertook an assassination at your family’s command. Yet you apologized for it.’
In other words, the ambush was not Namgung Cheon-yeong’s true intention.
Yet despite this, Namgung Cheon-yeong proceeded with the ambush.
Because his own will had been broken.
Because he was one who could not refuse a command from his family—from his blood.
‘Such a man… is genuinely trying to defeat his brother.’
Something within me stirred once more, writhing like a serpent.
Perhaps it resembled a dragon’s awakening.
“The jest ends here, younger brother. This is the last. Forgive your elder.”
“Namgung Cheon-hu. The Sword of Boundless Heaven shall never break.”
It had been polished with oil-soaked cloth.
But now.
It would be honed by the blood of brothers and the grease seeping into their veins.
Boundless Heaven Sword Art, Crimson Heaven’s Transforming Strike, Thousand Crimson Flowers Become Heaven!
Boundless Heaven Sword Art, Tenth Form—Solitary Peak of the Azure Sky
Two blades born from the Boundless Heaven Sword Art, yet divided at the crossroads of righteous and unorthodox paths.
They collided.
‘As expected, I am still woefully inadequate.’
Crimson light devouring the azure sky.
A future materialized where Namgung Cheon-hu slew his younger brother and became the Family Head of Namgung.
The Namgung Family would no longer be a beacon of righteousness, but a part of the Blood Sect.
In that moment.
—Namgung Cheon-yeong. Pierce through the center. The source of life itself.
—To kill one possessed of blood vitality, you must pierce through with nothing less than absolute precision and certainty.
Absolute precision and certainty.
In other words, so heavy it cannot miss its mark.
Though light scattered across the distant space, Yang Hwi clearly witnessed it.
A strange gleam crossing Namgung Cheon-yeong’s eyes, his wrist trembling.
And thus the result revealed itself.
“Cough… Cheon… yeong. I’m sorry….”
“Gasp. Gasp.”
Namgung Cheon-yeong looked down at Namgung Cheon-hu with trembling eyes.
“Brother. I missed you.”
Only then did he speak a fragment of genuine truth.
Namgung Cheon-hu’s eyes closed, and in this moment, the next Family Head of Namgung was born.
And also.
Something stirred!
I felt something within me transform.
Alarm flashed across Seolha’s eyes as she stood beside me.
‘Oh, my brother’s inner landscape…!’
A scarred yet unyielding stone.
Everything was transforming.
Everything was changing.
To become anew.

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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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