Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 318

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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 318
The Great River War began with the Baek Family’s surprise attack from the Suro Alliance.
One question had been circling in my mind throughout.
In the early stages, perhaps it was unclear, but by now the Great River War had grown to such a scale that four of the Five Great Families had thrown themselves into it.
At this point, it wouldn’t be strange to call it a war between the righteous sects rather than a mere conflict.
‘The higher-ups would want to end this quickly, yet there’s been no interference at all.’
Yeoilrakbul, the Great Sea Dragon King, Pacheon Eumhu.
The three Cheonmu-sip-jon were aware of the Cheonma’s existence.
They also recognized that the seeds of Mado were moving in the shadows.
Yet they don’t step forward even as a war similar to a righteous sect conflict shakes the realm?
‘The reason was the Cheonma.’
They didn’t want to act too aggressively and give the Cheonma an opportunity to move.
All three Cheonmu-sip-jon were needed solely to focus their gaze on the Cheonma and monitor its movements.
In other words, the Cheonma.
Is an absolute master that even the Cheonmu-sip-jon look down upon from above.
‘Swordmaster Yeo Dong-bin. Can I truly kill that bastard Cheonma?’
“Geom-ong, Venerable One.”
“Speak.”
“The Cheonmu-sip-jon. Until now, the ten greatest masters under heaven have been called by the title of Cheonha-sip-jon. However, the reason the ten greatest masters of this era are called the Cheonmu-sip-jon is.”
“Because our emptiness has touched the heavens.”
The Cheonmu-sip-jon are a position that requires a hundred years of cultivation to reach, possessing the capability to shake all under heaven.
Yet how can a human cultivate for a hundred years?
Even reaching the pinnacle of transcendence, the lifespan extends at most a hundred years.
The number of a hundred is too great for the brevity of human life.
‘Yet the Cheonmu-sip-jon are different. Just look at Geom-ong, Venerable One—he’s known to be over a hundred and ten years old.’
Beings who have transcended human lifespan itself, the mandate of heaven.
They are precisely the Cheonmu-sip-jon.
“Where exactly does the Cheonma stand?”
Anguish settled across the Taeguk Sword Master’s face.
An expression befitting his age.
“I don’t know. It’s unknowable. He was never fully visible.”
Even when he moved from Mu-han to Mineum and was exposed, it was the same.
Though I killed him, it was merely a shadow clone, was it not?
Who in this world could display the power to stand against three Cheonmu-sip-jon with merely a shadow?
“Venerable One. What exactly is that bastard Cheonma plotting?”
A gleam appeared in Geom-ong’s eyes.
It seemed strange to him that the Cheonma was referred to as that bastard.
“Ah, young one. You never shrink back. Even after experiencing the Cheonma’s divine position directly.”
If I’m strong, then I’m strong—what reason is there to be afraid?
One life, or rather, I’ve had two.
In any case, life is something we must push forward through once we’re born into it.
No matter how towering the mountain before us.
‘My goal in this life is to become the greatest under heaven. So I will break him. No matter how strong, I absolutely will.’
I muttered with a grinding sound.
“Are you scared, old master?”
“….”
Uuuung—the energy trembled and surged.
“Aha.”
Centered on Geom-ong, the imagery of the Taeguk flowed and connected.
“I will become a being that shines brightly in the light. I have not yet surrendered.”
“That’s all that matters then. Bah, what else is there to do but die?”
For a moment, it seemed a smile crossed Geom-ong’s lips.
“Just as I have not given up, Seon will not have given up either. So he will surely target you.”
My response was simple.
“Then I’ll have to kill him.”
By any means necessary, absolutely, whatever it takes.

* * *
After finishing my conversation with the Taeguk Sword Master, I returned to the Jegal Family’s Mu-han branch.
“Brother! How did it go? Did you learn it? Was it amazing?”
“…Seolha. A refined young lady doesn’t use the word ‘amazing’ like that.”
“Just tell me what happened.”
“…Yeah. It was amazing.”
The Taeguk Wisdom Sword was itself a supreme technique worthy of being called a divine art.
The mysteries of the wisdom sword and the half-sword intertwined, and already I could feel a strange heat building in my mind.
I wanted to train, practice, and internalize it as soon as possible.
‘Still, first things first—I need to organize my thoughts.’
“I’ll break down the wisdom sword and share a bit with the main family…”
“Seolha. Susa Jaeseol is going to kill me.”
“What? Who?”
“Seon. The Water Merchant Alliance Leader.”
“That old man is after you, brother? Why?”
“Probably frightened by the sprout of brilliant talent.”
Honestly, my own mind was quite complicated.
I wanted to organize my thoughts while talking with Seolha.
“During the Yangtze River Tournament, Baek Do overwhelmed everything during winter. But the moment spring arrived, the Mu-han was stolen from us.”
In other words, the Water Merchant Alliance had not revealed their full strength.
I had suspected it was too easy from the beginning.
Even considering their scale—equivalent to combining three or four organizations of Gu-pa level—the Water Merchant Alliance, which had even elevated their martial prowess through their leader’s influence, withdrew far too easily.
“On the surface, it looked like a struggle between subordinates. But it seemed different at the top.”
Within a year, Seon will come looking for me.
So before that happens, I must be completely prepared to kill Seon.
“…So what you’re saying is, older brother, you could die within a year? You’re living on borrowed time?”
“Yeah.”
“….”
A face crossed by every conceivable emotion. Seolha forced a smile.
“I should ask the Young Scholar to write me a novel in two years. How about the title: ‘How a Doomed Genius Survives’?”
“Oh, that does sound entertaining?”
Though I lacked the ability to perceive the mind’s landscape like Seolha did, I could still feel what lay in her heart.
“If you cry, I’ll tease you for the rest of your life.”
“…Seriously? That’s what someone with less than a year left to live says?”
“No? I’ve got at least a hundred years ahead of me.”
My body hasn’t even reached the Transcendent Master realm.
Cheonmu-sip-jon Susa Jaeseol is a being that dozens of Transcendent Masters cannot defeat even if they all rushed at him together.
But.
I will overcome this.
‘Kill something to gain victory from the king. Perhaps this is what it means.’
Did they want to tell me from the start that if I didn’t want to die, I had to kill something and seize it to meet the conditions of victory?
If you’re going to tell me, tell me properly, you bastard.
“Seolha. What does my mind’s landscape look like?”
Seolha, who had been staring intently at me, answered.
“Clouds and rain in chaos. It remains the same.”
“Is that so? Too bad. If it had changed, I could have elevated my realm.”
Transcendent Master? I can reach it whenever I want.
The problem is that merely reaching the Transcendent Master realm won’t change much.
So I must wait. Crouch and crouch, until finally I rise.
So that when I reach the highest place, I can spread my wings wide.
“If I fail, I die. Nothing’s changed from before or now.”
“Older brother….”
“Don’t make that face. I won’t die. In fact, the situation has improved.”
“You’re marked as prey for Cheonmu-sip-jon and you say that?”
“Yeah. It’s actually easier now.”
Since I’m already marked, I don’t need to worry about appearances and can act freely.
“Seolha.”
“Yes, older brother.”
“I need your help. You’ll help me, won’t you?”
Her eyes, which had grown slightly moist, curved into crescents.
“Of course. I’d give everything.”
I recalled when Eum Hu threw me off the cliff.
Back then, the man before me risked his life to save me.
‘Since he’s my older brother, he must have calculated the benefits and acted accordingly.’
So this must have been what he meant.
Saving you brings me profit.
You are a being of value to me.
From that tender age of seven, Yang Hwi regarded Seolha in such a light, and Seolha came to regard Yang Hwi the same way.
“I’ll help you especially. If I create a debt with my older brother, tremendous benefits will come my way.”
If we walk this path together, it will be profitable.
So even if I lose a little, I want to be together.
That’s the kind of relationship I want.
“You’ve already announced our betrothal, and if my older brother dies, I’ll become a widow. I can’t become a widow before marriage while being called the most beautiful woman under heaven.”
Seolha spoke playfully, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re right. I can’t make my future wife a widow. Let’s go, my lady. We must train.”
“Yes, my lord….”
Watching Seolha answer with flushed cheeks felt oddly awkward.
This girl—I’ve teased her so much that her comebacks have gotten quite skillful.

* * *
“Comrades! Today, we! Once again establish righteous valor in Mu-han!”
“Roooaaaar!”
“For Baek Do!”
“Roooaaaar!”
A deafening roar. Countless martial artists raised their weapons and bellowed.
It was a cry of victory, and also a desperate struggle to bolster their own morale.
“I, Jeongal Pae! As the Head of Wa-ryong Jegal, I declare! I shall honor the one who achieves the greatest merit as a benefactor of the Jegal Family!”
“Roooaaaar!”
“Wa-ryong Jegal!”
“A benefactor of the Five Great Families! How noble!”
Desire mixed into the roars and desperation.
Watching this, I smiled quietly.
“Your grandfather certainly knows how to read people well.”
“Doesn’t he?”
“Yang Hwi, I’m hungry.”
I tossed a rice cake to Adu and continued.
“A benefactor of the Jegal Family. That’s quite tempting.”
“But you’re already their son-in-law?”
“That’s exactly why I want it more. I need to earn the benefactor’s position so they can’t control me freely.”
So today, I plan to make a real name for myself.
I will become the first hero of the Mu-han reclamation war.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dozens of ships advance in unison.
The Jegal and Mudang-led rescue force planned to launch attacks from both land and water routes.
And I boarded a vessel alongside Seolha.
Naval combat against mercenaries was perilous by nature, but for Seolha and me, the river was the optimal stage to maximize our power.
“The mercenaries are starting to pour out.”
Mu-han’s wharf. True to its status as a vital junction of the Yangtze River trade route, it was immensely vast.
Over a hundred vessels could engage in naval warfare here with room to spare.
“We should make the initial suppression spectacular, don’t you think?”
“Absolutely. Let’s give those damned water demons a taste of our steel.”
I felt the Spiritual Qi. I also sensed an even greater will.
Among the mercenaries, there appeared to be at least three Transcendent Masters.
The rescue force had Transcendent Masters as well, but our overall strength seemed insufficient.
The main force of the rescue army was concentrated on the land route.
‘Well, that’s precisely why we chose the water route.’
If a discarded piece plays an unexpectedly crucial role, it becomes all the more conspicuous.
If we’re to create a ripple, we must shake it like an earthquake—violently and decisively.
“Seolha. Let’s kill one first and begin.”
Would killing one man change anything?
…Yes, it would.
If that target was a Transcendent Master.
-Kiiiieeeeee!
-Kiiiieeeeee!
Two blades drawn in an instant. The hawk shrieks.
“Adu.”
“Yes!”
“Throw.”
“Yes!”
Adu, radiating brilliant light across his entire body, hurled me into the air.
The wind tore at my face so fiercely that I had to wrap myself in protective Spiritual Qi—the speed was that immense.
-Seolha!
-Here!
Cha-rang, cha-ra-rang, cha-ra-ra-rang!
A melody rang out from the vessel on the water’s surface.
Though sound spreads in all directions, this was a note concentrated at a single point—only I could hear this melody.
“Gaecheon Blade, the Transformation of Changing Techniques.”
The blades in both my hands embraced the mysteries of the Twin Hundred and Eight Heavenly Transformations.
But that was not all.
“Twin Wings, Twin Birth, Three Talents.”
Two wings in mutual generation—this is the Taeguk.
With melody added to the Taeguk, with Seolha’s power, they became three—this is the Three Talents.
Thus: Twin Wings, Twin Birth, Transforming into Three Talents.
Seolha and I had not yet stepped into the realm of Transcendent Mastery.
Yet Seolha could interfere with another’s inner landscape, and though I could not inscribe my inner landscape upon heaven and earth, my will alone was resolute enough to sever it.
‘Interference with the inner landscape. An intensity of will so potent it could carve itself into existence.’
In other words, this was it.
“Twin Wings, Twin Birth, Transformation of Three Talents—Hawk’s Descent Shatters Heaven!”
Yang Hwi and Seolha.
Together, we could manifest the realm of Transcendent Mastery.

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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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