Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 317

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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 317
“Ja-bang. What do you think I desire?”
At Seon’s sudden question, Ju Ja-bang, who had been diligently reporting strategies, lifted his head.
“….”
Just as Ju Ja-bang was about to say, “You have the right to desire everything, Seon,” Seon issued a warning.
“Ja-bang, if you spout nonsense, I’ll cut off your arm.”
“…!”
Now that he thought about it, Seon’s mood seemed unsettled.
His complexion was the same as always, but he was not stroking his beard.
‘In times like these, honesty is the greatest weapon.’
“I cannot say, Master. It seems utterly impossible for my humble intellect to discern what lies in your heart.”
“Is that so.”
His arm remained intact. He had chosen the right answer.
With a measure of newfound confidence, Ju Ja-bang continued.
“Previously, you commanded me to seize Mu-han, and now Mu-han has fallen into the hands of the Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng. Naturally, we must prepare for attempted reclamation, but surely your desire is the weightiest matter under heaven. Act according to your will, Seon.”
After finishing, he kept his head bowed and swallowed hard.
For a mere strategist to dare offer counsel to Susa Jaeseol, one of the Cheonmu-sip-jon, that Mu-han required his personal intervention—it was audacious beyond measure.
His neck could be severed on the spot without surprise.
‘Seon, if you do not step forward, I cannot fathom any stratagem to stop the Taeguk Sword Master….’
The Taeguk Sword Master was an existence equal to Seon.
To defend Mu-han against the Mudang led by such a figure, Seon absolutely had to intervene on the Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng’s behalf.
Or, neither of the two Cheonmu-sip-jon would step forward.
“The Taeguk Sword Master will not intervene.”
“Pardon?”
Ju Ja-bang, whose face had brightened, quickly regained his composure and bowed his head again.
“We made an accord. In exchange for my not slaying the Mudang disciples, the Geom-ong will likewise refrain from stepping forward.”
To Seon, the Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng was merely a worthless piece on the board.
To Geom-ong, the Mudang were disciples he must protect at all costs.
He had cleverly exploited this difference to bind Geom-ong’s hands.
‘Though my own hands are bound as well….’
Ju Ja-bang asked respectfully.
“Does the accord include the Jegal Family and other Baek Do forces as well?”
“It does not, Ja-bang.”
As expected. Susa Jaeseol was a Cheonmu-sip-jon renowned for cunning as much as martial prowess.
In a sense, he had extracted one-sided advantage.
“Understood, Seon. Then I shall devise strategies accounting for the existence of other Baek Do Cheonmu-sip-jon such as Pacheon Eumhu, the Great Sea Dragon King, and Great Master Yeoilrakbul.”
He rephrased his question—whether the others could be stopped—through several layers of courtesy and asked it respectfully.
Seon shook his head.
“That will not be necessary, Ja-bang. The Baek Do call this coming battle the Jang Gang War. The only Cheonmu-sip-jon who will step forward in the Jang Gang War shall be myself.”
It was fortune among fortunes.
“What kind of underhanded dealings has Seon been making…? Gack!”
Without thinking, I let slip a crude word that only scheming merchants would use.
Underhanded dealings? It wouldn’t be strange if Seon got angry enough to sever my neck….
“Ja-bang.”
“I beg your forgiveness! Please, I implore you to spare my life!”
The blades of water and wood energy sliced through Ju Ja-bang’s forearm, then reattached it.
“Ja-bang. If you scream again, I’ll cut it off once more.”
“Ugh, ugh….”
“I have something I wish to ask you.”
“Y-yes… please ask.”
“Why do you think I spread the Hyeol-ki throughout the Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng?”
More than nine of the Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng’s masters were currently learning a mysterious inner cultivation technique clearly transmitted from the Mado faction.
The Hyeol-ki obtained this way possessed an excellent function in amplifying martial prowess.
“How could one as insignificant as I fathom the intentions of such a great one?”
Ju Ja-bang’s forearm was severed and reattached once more.
“Spare me the flattery. Answer my questions briefly and honestly.”
“Yes, ugh, yes….”
“I shall tell you first. I spread the Hyeol-ki to strengthen our forces and to seek out possibilities.”
“Possibilities, you say?”
“I sought to find seedlings that displayed unusually strong power against the Hyeol-ki.”
Thus, one faction caught my eye.
The Baek Family of Kangso, in the eastern sky.
The Yongdam clan, which harbors the Gae-cheon Jeil-ryong, expected to become the greatest under heaven in future generations.
“Baek Yang-hwi. That boy has encountered the Hyeol-hyeol-nyeo.”
Hyeol-hyeol-nyeo. Though it was a title I had never heard before, Ju Ja-bang instinctively thought of the Namgung Family.
For he knew that the Dae Ma-du who appeared there was a woman of crimson beauty.
“That the Hyeol-hyeol-nyeo has moved means that one’s gaze has turned toward him.”
Though Ju Ja-bang had been tense from having his arm severed twice, he could not help but ask in return.
It was nearly a question born of shock.
“That… that one, you say?”
He had never imagined that there existed in this world a being whom even the Cheonmu-sip-jon must address as “that one.”
“Yes. That one. The Gae-cheon Jeil-ryong survived his encounter with the Hyeol-hyeol-nyeo. He possesses the Geom Seon’s technique and even the ability to break through the Hyeol-ki’s functions.”
In other words, the Gae-cheon Jeil-ryong is a possibility.
A possibility not permitted even to Seon.
“Ja-bang.”
“Yes, Seon.”
“I shall set priorities for you. First, devote all your strength to destroying the Mudang. Second, devote all your strength to destroying the Baek Family of the eastern sky.”
And lastly, the third.
“You may burn everything of the Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng to ash. But you must absolutely protect the first and second priorities.”
“….”
It was excessively cruel and merciless command.
For Seon, Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng was merely a pawn in the truest sense.
Yet Ju Ja-bang lowered his head.
For him as well, Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng was nothing but a pawn.
“Yes, Seon. I shall carve it into my mind and act accordingly.”
“Withdraw.”
Seon watched Ju Ja-bang retreat backward for a moment, then shifted his gaze toward the heavens.
I must dissect the Mudang of the Taeguk Sword Master and taste the budding possibilities I have discovered anew.
Perhaps I could achieve the unfulfilled aspirations that even a monster of two hundred years could not accomplish.
‘Cheonma. It seems Bin-do cannot be abandoned under any circumstances.’
Five-colored Five Elements energy danced and swirled through the empty space.

* * *
“Impossible. At most, one year.”
A bombshell had dropped without warning.
I had to defeat Seon within a year at most?
Impossible. They call me Bul-wol Pa-byeok because I make the impossible possible, but this is genuinely impossible.
“Elder, does Seon take interest in me?”
“He does. Young one, did you not obtain the Geom Seon Scripture and defeat a Transcendent Master with a perfected body? You should have fled and survived instead.”
So he believes my reputation as Bul-wol Pa-byeok originated from the Geom Seon Scripture?
It is rare for a Master at the peak to defeat a Transcendent Master, but Seon is the Cheonmu-sip-jon himself?
‘What kind of person takes interest because an ant defeated a soldier ant and then tells it to defeat him too!’
The gap between my current self and Seon was that vast and immeasurable.
It made no sense by any rational standard.
“Regardless of the circumstances behind the reputation I displayed, it must be trivial to Seon. Why on earth?”
“Because you received the Geom Seon Scripture. Seon’s interest lies with the Geom Seon Scripture.”
Anger surged in an instant.
‘Damn it, it seems he’s known for quite some time. And he’s telling me this now?’
Could this old geezer have orchestrated even putting the Geom Seon Scripture as the reward for the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly?
‘I need to confirm this and move forward.’
If he deliberately spread this mess, I will repay the Taeguk Sword Master with far more of the same, regardless of who he is.
What good is living if one just endures such treatment?
“Did you give it knowingly?”
The Geom-ong shook his head.
“I hoped Hyeon Geom would obtain it. He failed to do so.”
“I apologize, Master.”
“It is fine, Hyeon Geom.”
So there was no intention to deliberately cause trouble.
“Why does Susa Jaeseol take interest in the Geom Seon Scripture? It has no practical use whatsoever.”
Wrinkles formed between the Taeguk Sword Master’s brows.
Was it too rude of me to say that the Grand Master’s records were useless?
“Young one. It seems you’re making good use of them, though.”
“That can’t be. I haven’t gained anything from it.”
Though I was following the directive, it was true that the Geom Seon’s Manual itself provided neither insight nor reward.
“Why can’t I just throw it at Seon and postpone the fight?”
Even as Yang Hwi spoke of handing over the Mudang sect’s martial arts records to a rival faction before the Mudang sect’s founding patriarch, he showed no shame whatsoever.
“That should be fine, right? Since you gave it to me, it’s mine now.”
“…How disrespectful. Shall I teach you manners, old as I am?”
“No! I’ll go learn from Master Eumhu!”
It was a retort implying that if I had complaints, I should take them up with my master, Pacheon Eumhu.
Yang Hwi had been respectful toward Pacheon Eumhu and the Great Sea Dragon King, but the Taeguk Sword Master was somehow so much like a raccoon that I wanted to keep scratching at him.
Perhaps because this old man harbored so many hidden schemes, I felt a rebellious urge and kept wanting to provoke him.
“Is it allowed? Or not?”
“…Do you know why Susa Jaeseol calls himself an immortal?”
The Taeguk Sword Master changed the subject.
“He once came close to becoming my senior martial brother.”
“What?!”
In other words, Susa Jaeseol, Son Eun, had been one of the candidate disciples of the Taeguk Sword Master, Jang Sam-bong.
“It is merely a distant connection from the past, faded and barely visible. So do not be surprised, young one.”
“How could I not be surprised! He wasn’t qualified to become the Taeguk Sword Master’s disciple and never even received instruction, yet he became one of the Cheonmu-sip-jon? The logic doesn’t add up!”
Could he have failed the character assessment?
If so, I’d admit it. A man who earned the title Susa Jaeseol doesn’t seem like he was virtuous as a child.
“Seon harbors deep inferiority toward Bin-do and the Mudang sect. A natural emotion for one who was not chosen.”
“Then why did he suddenly pick a fight with me instead of playing with the Mudang sect?”
The Taeguk Sword Master gazed at Yang Hwi quietly before answering.
“It is the same reason Bin-do wishes to pass Hyeon Geom to you.”
The reason for giving Hyeon Geom was not Seon’s suggestion.
After organizing my thoughts through three breaths, I asked the crucial question.
“Is Seon also, like you, an existence that wished to shine brightly in the light but could not?”
A crackling sound echoed—the sound of something cracking.
No, the atmosphere itself, the very space was cracking.
“Young one. Truly disrespectful.”
A crushing pressure descended as if my life could end at any moment.
I endured it, blood trickling from my mouth.
“I never thought I’d have the chance to ask so directly, but if it’s an opportunity, one mustn’t miss it.”
Yang Hwi—a being of brightness.
One destined to shine in the light.
Including myself and Adu, I had identified four candidates.
I wanted to hear the answer.
“Is Seon, the Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng, a faction that arose from the Cheonma’s involvement?”
“….”
Instead of waiting for an answer after the silence, I asked again.
“Does Cheonma take interest? Are you paying attention to the Janggang Grand Tournament?”
“….”
“Is the reason you transmitted Hyeon Geom also because I am destined to shine among those in the light?”
“Master Eumhu, Venerable Daehaeyongwang, and Great Master Yeoilrakbul—are you all refraining from the Janggang Grand Tournament to guard against the movements of Mado?”
Finally, the Taeguk Sword Master offered one answer.
“One answer covers them all. Young one, you are correct on every count.”
This time, I fell silent.
I had deliberately asked multiple questions, and the Taeguk Sword Master had taken the bait I had hidden.
Three of the Cheonmu-sip-jon had committed themselves to blocking Mado’s movements.
But my past life proved that Mado does not move openly by nature.
In other words, perhaps Cheonma was….
‘Indeed, Cheonma is a being more powerful than the Cheonmu-sip-jon. Literally the greatest under heaven. The absolute authority of this age.’
Then why does the world not fall into Mado’s grasp?
How did the heretical sects of my past life persist for ten years?

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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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