Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 316

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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 316
Heaven and earth. Male and female. Yin and yang. Black and white. Good and evil. Day and night. Heat and cold.
The world is composed of two opposing forces.
Yet the Taeguk Sword Master’s blade I had just encountered was singular and infinite.
Though I blocked with a single strike, it felt as though I had exchanged hundreds of blows.
‘Taeguk Wisdom Blade. Its meaning is… the wisdom of handling the cyclical flow of heaven and earth, expressed through the sword.’
The Sword Master’s technique was entirely worthy of being called a wisdom blade.
“Young one, would you not wish to learn the wisdom blade?”
It was a proposal so tempting I nearly bit at it without hesitation.
If I mastered that blade, I was certain I could ascend far more rapidly and reach even greater heights.
The current successor of the Swordmaster lineage.
Fourth-generation disciple of Swordmaster Yeo Dong-bin, and student of Taeguk Sword Sage Jang Sam-bong.
The Taeguk Sword Master.
‘I’m certain I’ve received this proposal before… yet it feels unusually compelling now.’
Well, it had to be.
Unlike our previous confrontation that ended in mere words, I had now directly experienced the wisdom blade with my own body.
And because of that, I could perceive one crucial truth.
He had said that his body was insufficient to bear the alias of his master, the Taeguk Sword Sage, so Sword Master would suffice.
‘I felt it clearly. The Taeguk Sword Master….’
Unable to become a complete heaven.
Born as one who stands upon the earth, unable to escape the ground beneath his feet.
Thus limited to pushing off the earth and briefly touching the sky before falling back—a being bound between heaven and earth.
“Hahahaha….”
“Young one, I am curious about the reason for your laughter.”
I could not bring myself to speak the truth.
‘How dare I harbor such thoughts about one of the Cheonmu-sip-jon.’
The Cheonmu-sip-jon. They were absolute beings, merely ten in all the realm.
Yet the Taeguk Sword Master, one of these Cheonmu-sip-jon, now appeared as an opponent I could surpass.
Despite being one of those great beings whose very connection I could not reach in my previous life.
So the path I had walked thus far was not mistaken.
I would climb even higher still.
Reaffirming my conviction, I replied.
“How could I not laugh when the Sword Master holds this inadequate junior in such high regard?”
In any case, I had laughed from genuine satisfaction, and the Sword Master harbored no particular suspicion.
“What say you then? Will you accept the transmission of Bin-do’s blade?”
“What aspect of this junior pleased you enough to extend such an offer?”
The Taeguk Sword Master regarded me quietly.
“You broke through it. Despite all the restrictions I placed upon it, you broke through this Sword Master’s technique.”
A cry of astonishment escaped him.
Mudang Jang-mun stared at Yang Hwi with eyes that could scarcely believe what they were witnessing.
A mere late-stage master breaking through the Taeguk Sword Master’s technique?
And he directly acknowledged it himself?
For him, this was absolutely unacceptable and incomprehensible.
In other words, something miraculous was unfolding before their very eyes.
Though for Yang Hwi, it was merely a tedious matter.
‘I blocked it, at least. Though it took everything I had.’
I had to compress hundreds of exchanges just to stop a single strike.
This meant the Sword Master’s one blade equaled hundreds of my techniques.
And that was even with the restriction of fighting at a late-stage master’s level.
Without the Namgung Family’s patriarch’s Taeguk Half-Blade, I could never have blocked it.
“I have one question for you, Taeguk Sword Master.”
Jeongal Pae rose to his feet and clasped his fist in salute.
It was the nimble movement of a strategist seizing the moment.
“You mentioned breaking through. How could a mere late-stage master possibly break through your technique?”
“Family Head Jegal!”
“Mind your words!”
“Do you not know the unspoken rules of the martial realm!”
Jeongal Pae paid no heed to the Mudang Sect disciples’ protests and demanded an answer from the Sword Master.
The Sword Master, despite his disciples’ objections, answered readily.
“Indeed, the Gae-cheon Jeil-ryong clearly broke through my single strike.”
“I see. I am truly grateful for your answer.”
Unlike Jeongal Pae’s simple thanks, the surroundings descended into chaos once more.
“Impossible! How… how could this be…!”
“The Taeguk Sword Master… was broken through by a sword…! This cannot be!”
….
Even if the late-stage master who received that strike was the incomparable Gae-cheon Jeil-ryong, it was still impossible.
A transcendent master defeating a supreme master?
That was possible.
The possibility of the Cheonmu-sip-jon’s technique being broken through, even unwillingly, was far more sensible than this.
“Child, I say again. Learn the Wisdom Blade. I shall teach you.”
The chaos subsided at the Taeguk Sword Master’s single word.
All waited for my response.
“…I have one question, Master.”
“Ask freely.”
“Why do you keep telling me to learn? Like last time?”
Last time, he probably wanted to make me a disciple of the Shaman out of desire, but now the Taeguk Sword Master would surely know.
Even the Great Sea Dragon King, who had transmitted his original martial arts, could not take me as a disciple.
“Because you will need it. And thus, I too shall need it.”
It was an answer completely different from what I expected.
“I need the Wisdom Blade? As a swordsman, it is natural that I require advanced sword techniques, but…”
“I wasn’t speaking of the necessity of perfecting sword techniques. What you need is the Wisdom Sword.”
At this moment, I couldn’t possibly understand what he meant.
‘Hmph, even the great-grandson of the Swordmaster Geom Seon seems to have something he knows alone.’
Geom-ong changed the subject.
“Do you have a secret strategy to face Seon?”
I didn’t want to fall for the topic change, but the absurdity of it made me respond without thinking.
“Since there are several esteemed masters present, I’m not concerned about Seon.”
With several of the Cheonmu-sip-jon belonging to Baek Do’s faction, why would I worry about facing Seon?
Expecting a late-stage master to have a secret strategy against an absolute being of whom only ten exist in all the heavens—wouldn’t that be strange?
‘…Why does that old man look disappointed?’
There was unmistakably disappointment in Geom-ong’s eyes.
This was unfair, making me feel wronged.
Even accounting for my regression, there had to be at least a hundred-year age difference between us, yet he expected me to prepare for a confrontation with Seon?
“Then all the more reason you must learn the Wisdom Sword.”
“…After receiving the transmission, may I keep it secret?”
“Absolutely not.”
Despite my efforts to maintain composure, I couldn’t prevent my face from stiffening.
‘Only I can master it, yet it’s necessary…?’
This meant I would have to use it directly.
With some maneuvering, I could deploy four of the Cheonmu-sip-jon for the Jang Gang conflict immediately, so why?
Unable to contain myself, I sent a transmission.
-Old master, this is frustrating. Please tell me plainly.
-I sense the melody of Namgung Seon in you. Did you obtain it from the Namgung Family?
I tried to probe but was probed instead.
-What do you mean, sir?
-So you don’t wish to speak. I understand.
The Taeguk Sword Master’s expression seemed to recall a moment from the past.
Namgung Seon, the founder of the Namgung Family’s lineage.
Even if the Taeguk Sword Master was generations removed—a deceased ancestor of many generations back—there would still be a difference of at least several hundred years between him and Namgung Seon.
Yet he called him a senior?
“Ah, you’re slow to respond. I shall give you the Wisdom Sword. Will you learn it?”
The Taeguk Sword Master asked again. Having made one of the Cheonmu-sip-jon repeat the same words three times, most would consider this a grave discourtesy.
This meant the casual talk was over.
“Must I become your disciple?”
“No. Accept it on the same terms as the Daehaeyongwangdo.”
“I see. Then I gratefully accept your instruction.”
I couldn’t fathom his intentions, but it was right to pick up money found on the road first.
Especially when the sum was far from insignificant.
Since I possessed the mysteries of the Taeguk Half-Sword, if I compared it with the Wisdom Sword, I would certainly gain far greater and loftier enlightenment.
‘The Taeguk Wisdom Sword! This is incredible!’

* * *
The decisive confrontation over control of the Infinite Escape Exchange concluded with the Cheonmu-sip-jon’s transmission of martial arts.
Neither the Shaman sect nor the Jegal Family suffered losses—a clean resolution for both sides.
In the neat and quiet guest chamber, I gazed at the Swordmaster seated before me.
‘He must have orchestrated this entire involvement with this outcome in mind. Cunning old fox, this venerable master.’
Still, I harbored no real complaints.
If neither the Shaman sect nor the Jegal Family lost anything, then I had gained tremendously.
‘Now I’ve become someone of such extraordinary talent that even the Cheonmu-sip-jon openly desires to teach me.’
I was to receive the transmission of the Taeguk Wisdom Sword, the pinnacle of the Shaman sect’s sword arts.
And without even establishing a formal master-disciple bond.
Now I could venture anywhere and claim to be the successor of the Swordmaster’s lineage—another card had been added to my hand.
‘I’ve obtained gains so immeasurable they cannot even be converted to currency.’
It was the sort of joy that would justify leaping about wildly.
Yet an unease accompanied it—that was the drawback.
‘The reason for this transmission is far too unclear. The Great Sea Dragon King bestowed the Magnificent Sea Divine Art upon me without establishing a formal bond because I alone was worthy of being his disciple, but…’
The Geom-ong’s situation differs greatly. Hundreds, thousands of disciples have branched out from him.
His direct successor, Hyeon Geom, was likewise a master of martial prowess worthy of discussion among the greatest under heaven.
I shifted my gaze to Hyeon Geom, seated beside the Geom-ong.
“Current Sword Daoist, if things stand this way, should I address you as senior brother?”
I attempted levity, but the response was cold.
“Since no formal master-disciple bond was established, I see no such necessity, Baek Dou.”
He had always been rigid, but now there was a chill to his words as well.
Hmm, had the Geom-ong said something unfavorable to him?
“Very well. I shall recite the verses of the Wisdom Sword. Commit them to memory.”
“Yes. One recitation will suffice.”
The verses that followed resembled less a sword technique and more passages artfully depicting the principles by which the world operates.
Yet.
As I listened, I found myself drawn deeper in.
‘The more I contemplate these verses, the deeper my enlightenment becomes. Extraordinary.’
Truly befitting the Taeguk Sword Master, one of the Cheonmu-sip-jon.
I felt admiration akin to what I experienced when receiving the Thousand Winds of Pacheon Eumhu and the Magnificent Sea Divine Art of the Great Sea Dragon King.
“Thus it concludes. Have you committed it all to memory?”
“Yes. One recitation will suffice.”
The verses of the Taeguk Wisdom Sword were as lengthy as all four classical texts combined.
It was only natural, given that heaven and earth—the world itself—formed the core mystery of this sword technique.
‘Without the caliber of talent worthy of discussion among the greatest under heaven, one could not even begin to learn it.’
“Now that you have memorized it, the next step is practice. Demonstrate it.”
An immediate command to display the technique upon completing the verse transmission.
It was excessively harsh, but for Yang Hwi, it was nothing unusual.
“Yes.”
I spread my fingers, tracing a path through the void with my sword energy.
Whoooosh—
A formless circle materialized.
A circle represents the absence of beginning and end.
Thus it cycles infinitely.
“You’ve grasped the fundamentals. Your talent truly reaches toward the heavens.”
“Thank you for the praise.”
I bowed slightly while glancing at Hyeon Geom.
His expressionless face suggested the old master had offered him similar words before.
Tch, so it’s not high praise after all.
“Master, I am truly grateful for your instruction.”
Had he taken offense at being called “old master” rather than “teacher” or “honored one”?
Hyeon Geom, who had remained impassive throughout, finally frowned.
He must hold his master in considerable love and respect.
The Taeguk Sword Master himself, however, remained unmoved.
“It was necessary. Now I shall convey Seon’s message.”
“Yes?”
Seon, the leader of the Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng. Why would the Taeguk Sword Master deliver his words?
Before my confusion could fade, shock crashed over me.
“Ahai, you must fight Seon and emerge victorious.”
What?
Me?
Against the Cheonmu-sip-jon?
“Could you… tell him I need ten years?”
“Impossible. At most, you have one year.”
I’m finished.

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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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