Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 319

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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 319
The Nine Sects and One Alliance, and the Five Great Families.
Across the entire martial world, or at least within the martial world of Baek Do, fifteen sects capable of claiming dominion over heaven itself.
In truth, judging by the current state of power, they could not be called the top fifteen sects.
After all, among the thirty-six celestial-tier martial sects alone, there existed forces rivaling the Nine Sects and Five Families, and fallen sects like the Hwa-san Sect still remained.
‘Yet the Nine Sects and One Alliance, and the Five Great Families, remain the Nine Sects and One Alliance, and the Five Great Families.’
What element granted their names such unwavering prestige?
The answer was simple.
‘The number of Transcendent Masters.’
One common thread existed among the fifteen sects.
All of them had produced more than one hundred Transcendent Masters since their founding.
In other words.
It proved conclusively that the martial arts of their founders could reach the Transcendent realm.
Even the Jegal Family, renowned for strategy and mechanical ingenuity.
‘In my past life, even my uncle Jegal Seon rose above the Cheonmu-sip-jon and silenced every doubter with overwhelming force.’
Martial prowess—only martial prowess was everything in the martial world and granted the right to stand above others.
‘When deemed unable to rise again, gossips would simply replace them with a new sect on the roster… but regardless. The Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng is as vast as several of the Nine Sects and Five Families combined.’
A first-rate master could become the hegemon of a single county.
A peak master could seize dominion over an entire province.
And a Transcendent Master was the bearer of a reputation capable of shaking an entire city.
Considering there were only a handful of great cities under heaven, the Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng possessed the potential to dominate the world itself.
‘The Ro-maeng’s Transcendent Masters deployed in Mu-han numbered five in total.’
Naturally, neither side could commit their full strength to Mu-han.
The Ro-maeng, the Shaman sect, Namgung, and Jegal each controlled vast territories, and concentrating forces here would leave gaps elsewhere.
‘So five. Merely five, and yet… simultaneously. Only five.’
Three on land, two on water.
Since the recovery force’s main contingent chose the land route, the Ro-maeng naturally concentrated their strength there as well.
‘Our side has four Transcendent Masters. We’re short one, and the water route has only one.’
It was due to Namgung’s withdrawal.
Because most Transcendent Masters were recuperating due to the Blood Sect’s foolish schemes.
I had to reclaim Mu-han under the condition of numerical inferiority in masters.
Because of this, the common people viewed the possibility of reclamation as low.
They believed it would fail unless the Cheonmu-sip-jon intervened.
‘In other words, an opportunity and the perfect moment.’
-Seolha. Let’s make a show of it.
-Yes, brother!
Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling-a-ling!
I steeled my resolve while savoring the gentle melody.
Already marked by Susa Jaeseol, what need was there for humility out of fear of the spear in the sheath?
I would carve my existence into the heavens themselves.
They say that Chu Overlord Xiang Yu, at the mere age of eight, spoke of conquering the world with such magnificent bearing that his aura could cover heaven and earth itself.
‘Cover heaven. I shall cover it as much as needed.’
So I must cry out. I must roar.
That I, Hu Gi-jisu, having just crossed into my twenties, am the future greatest master under heaven!
Twin wings, twin births transforming into three talents—the hawk’s sweep shatters the heavens!
As the hawk swings its wings, the sky fractures.
The meaning embedded within this sword technique, that is, the intent itself.
Had glimpsed a realm I had yet to ascend to.
It had been carved into my mental image.
[You wretch! Are you the Moonless Wall-Breaking Dragon!]
A cry—no, a shout in the form of qi-force battered my entire body.
Lowering my gaze, I recognized the face.
‘Yeo Tu-bong of Dong Jeong-il-gun.’
Dongting Lake—a lake renowned as one of the most famous in all the world.
As such, the mercenary bastards of Dongting Lake were known to be formidable, earning the title of the Three Talents of Dongting.
Yeo Tu-bong of Dong Jeong-il-gun was one of the three leaders among them.
In other words, a transcendent master.
One who had even surpassed the realm of embodiment and reached the stage of latent mastery.
[A mere brat acting recklessly without knowing his place! Taste the flavor of this old man’s harpoon!]
A harpoon? No, it was a colossal weapon that could not be described as such.
The Ruyi Staff of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven could freely alter its length and thickness, growing thick as a pillar, or so the legends told.
Gigantic Explosive Fishing Spear. The mental image held by that brutish bastard.
Concentrated qi gathered around the original harpoon, yet to the eye it appeared as though the harpoon itself had magnified into something colossal.
Having transcended mere manifestation, the intent itself had reached the realm of tangible reality.
‘Alone, I could never win. If I seize opportunities and flee while fighting for three days straight, perhaps I might barely achieve mutual destruction.’
I had defeated a transcendent master alone and earned the epithet of Moonless Wall-Breaking Dragon.
Yet I could not easily or carelessly defeat a transcendent master.
The Feathered Rain Severing Heart technique could certainly cleave even mental images asunder.
But against one who had transcended the level of embodied mental images and entered the stage of latent mastery, death could come at any moment.
However.
However, that is.
Yang Hwi was not alone.
-Brother! One more time!
A sharper resonance wove through the melody.
Clang! Clang! Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
I could feel her mental image, her heart.
Though we had coordinated this strategy beforehand, worry inevitably seeped through.
-Seolha. It’s me. Don’t worry.
Sending a brief transmission of thought, I drew forth my full power and complete spirit.
Ding! Ding! Ding-ding-ding-ding!
Clang! Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Seolha plucked the strings with spirited fervor, then cleared her throat and released a jade-like voice.
Ahhh! Ahhhhhhh!
The Lover Embraces the Green Zither. The one whom the young girl yearned for descended while cradling the guqin in her arms—
Down the Western Ridge of Mount Emei. From the western slopes of Emei Mountain, she came down to the young girl.
For Me, One Stroke of the Hand. That person plucked the strings once for the young girl, playing the guqin.
Like Hearing Ten Thousand Gorges of Pine. It was as though she heard the rustling of pine trees throughout all the valleys—
A Woman’s Heart Washed by Flowing Water. That melody washed the young girl’s heart like flowing water.
Thanks to my exceptional memory, I recognized it immediately.
This poem—it was the song Seolha sang when I first met Eum Hu and took the entrance examination.
The Monk Jun’s Guqin from Shu, composed after Li Bai, the greatest poet of the Tang dynasty, heard the sound. A poem of such renown.
Delicate jade fingers danced across the strings as if possessed by spirits, and a jade-like voice that even the moon would be ashamed to hide emerged, dyeing the entire battlefield.
Every melody and rhythm became strength itself, flowing into me.
‘That’s right. Perhaps I truly am.’
I believed without doubt that I could reach the pinnacle under heaven.
But if that were truly so, why had I never declared it to the world?
That I myself am the greatest under heaven.
That while I cannot yet be called the greatest under heaven, the greatest under heaven belongs to me.
Thinking about it, since my return, I had never revealed everything even once.
To avoid the folly of keeping a sword hidden in its sheath.
For it was an unspoken rule of the martial world to conceal a third of one’s strength.
That was what I had thought.
‘Perhaps I simply lacked confidence.’
Confidence. Believing in oneself.
Sound carries and transmits.
Seolha’s heart was transmitted to me.
Her sincerity within my mind’s eye.
Seolha genuinely believed that I would become the greatest under heaven.
A conviction far more steadfast than what I myself believed.
‘To be called a man, I must live up to that belief, mustn’t I?’
And so I roared.
I bellowed.
“Yeo Tu-bong of Dong Jeong-il-gun!”
“Yes! Come forth! This elder shall end your life!”
“I am! Baek Yang-hwi of the Baek Family!”
Hawk Sweeps the Heavens Asunder.
The hawk’s wings swung wide.
With a force that would shatter even the sky itself.
“I declare myself the greatest under heaven!”
Dong Jeong-il-gun’s eyes widened in shock.
The momentum contained within the Eungwhui Swae-cheon was far from ordinary.
‘Merely Hu Gi-jisu, yet how could he possess such power…!’
The energy itself could be explained away.
But the intention contained within it—no, the mental image itself.
It was not something a mere Transcendent Master could possess.
‘I must kill him! Without fail!’
The same thought that Sim Su-chimrang had harbored when he once gifted Yang Hwi the epithet of Unwol Paveok.
Dong Jeong-il-gun’s murderous intent grew even more intense.
Moreover, he now harbored the murderous will to absolutely slay his opponent.
Since that young fool was pouring everything into his technique without caution, he planned to achieve Sak-cho Je-geun through this opening.
‘Reacting exactly as expected. Well, if I were in his position and some insect dared challenge me with genuine intent, I’d be furious enough to kill him too.’
Chuckling, I drew forth Hwa-cheon Seon-gi—no, the Seon-hwa Gang-gi unified with intent.
Everything, all at once, completely unleashed.
The Howhwa Daehaeshin-gong amplifies inner energy.
Yet if it possessed only a single function, it could not be called a divine technique.
The mystery of the Great Sea lay in amplification while simultaneously crashing forward like waves.
Pouring all inner energy—even the amplified internal force—into a single second.
This was also why the Great Sea Dragon King had searched for disciples with robust bodies.
An ordinary body would shatter and break under such strain.
‘In merely one second. One second to strike down a Transcendent Master who has reached the realm of mental image domination.’
Through this, I would claim the renown that would shake all under heaven.
If I prevail, then the main family henceforth shall be called the Baek Family, greatest of the Five Great Families under heaven.
‘Father, I shall bring back a reputation befitting our name as spoils of victory!’
The harpoon enlarged to the size of a pillar and the twin blades transformed into hawk wings clashed against each other.
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!

* * *
The great battle between Il-ik Alliance and Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng unfolded over ten days and finally came to an end.
Yes, it was a war between Il-ik Alliance and Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng, not between the Baek Do coalition and Jang Gang-su Ro-maeng.
When Jeongal Pae proclaimed the reclamation, he raised the banner of Il-ik Alliance.
The Mu-dang Sect, which didn’t even belong to Il-ik Alliance, suddenly found itself fighting under their name, and though Mu-dang Jang-mun voiced genuine anger and objection, well.
The defeated have no right to speak.
“In the end, Il-ik Alliance reclaimed Mu-han.”
“Hehehehe, when we were under Ro-maeng’s rule, my heart was always in my throat, but this wine tastes so sweet now.”
“Indeed. For common folk like us, it’s Baek Do’s side that brings peace of mind.”
Only four days had passed since the Mu-han Great Battle ended.
Yet all of Juru’s guests were enjoying their drinks with relaxed faces.
It was strange considering that after war, the atmosphere typically remains frozen until the killing intent fades, but there was a reason.
“I still can’t forget the divine presence that day. Hehehehe.”
“Did you see it yourself? How? You didn’t risk your life going to the battlefield, did you?”
“I climbed to the peak of a small hill that overlooked the battlefield.”
“Huh, you went that far just to watch?”
“It wasn’t just me—there were dozens more. Even peddlers selling drinks were there.”
“…doing business in the midst of all that? Merchants are something else. Anyway, if you saw it, explain it to me.”
The middle-aged man’s eyes grew distant as he recalled the past.
“It was magnificent. Truly magnificent. Beautiful rhythm that didn’t belong on a battlefield. Overwhelming martial prowess that struck down Dong Jeong-il-gun of Dong-jeong Samchae with a single blade….”
Yeo Tu-bong had another title besides Dong Jeong-il-gun.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to call it a designation.
One of the Hundred Greatest Masters Under Heaven.
Yeo Tu-bong was certainly among the top hundred martial artists in all the realm.
“Hu Gi-jisu, barely in his early twenties, killed one of the Hundred Greatest Masters Under Heaven with a single strike….”
The birth of a new hero.
Or rather, it was hardly accurate to call it a new birth.
It was more precise to say that Hu Gi-jisu, whose fame had already spread throughout the realm, had simply proven himself.
“There’s no doubt, is there?”
“No, there’s no doubt.”
“He, Baek Yang-hwi.”
“Will be the Greatest Master Under Heaven of the next generation.”
Rumors spreading from Mu-han were shaking the entire realm.

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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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