Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 323

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Third-rate Martial Arts Family, Greatest Under Heaven – Episode 323
Immediately after Seon’s arrival, Jegal Seol-ha had concentrated all her attention on Yang Hwi.
The appearance of an absolute being who could never harbor goodwill—if she knew Yang Hwi at all, he would never remain idle.
Of course, even she hadn’t anticipated he would create such chaos against Cheonmu-sip-jon.
‘My brother… my brother…!’
My peer senior and brother had withstood a single strike from Cheonmu-sip-jon.
That alone was astonishing, but what truly made Seolha tremble was something else entirely.
‘The egg has hatched. It shattered and was reborn.’
To provide at least some assistance should a battle unfold, I had drawn my mental realm interference ability to its maximum.
Because of this, I could witness everything in perfect detail.
Feathers gathered in flocks to form clouds, and clouds embraced the egg to transform into form—the Feather Cloud Radiant Egg.
The egg had cracked.
Cracked, and thus awakened.
Hatching. Or molting.
‘It’s not merely a change in the mental realm. Or rather, should I say it is? This too….’
The mental realm is ultimately the form of the heart and the direction of one’s intent.
Yet the transforming mental realm of Yang Hwi was far too wondrous to dismiss as merely a shift in form and direction.
It was like witnessing a water serpent from the lower realms ascend to heaven and transform into a dragon.
In this moment, Yang Hwi was clearly transforming into an elevated existence.
Because I could perceive what others could not, I could vividly sense it.
The moment I thought this, a sense of déjà vu washed over me.
‘The feeling I got whenever I witnessed my Master’s mental realm… or perhaps even more than that….’
Seolha herself was one of those capable of discussing the greatest under heaven.
She stood entranced, her eyes gleaming with light, as she accepted Yang Hwi’s metamorphosis with her entire being.
The momentary transformation completed, and finally, the mental realm took its place.
‘A hawk.’
Its wings were so vast they seemed ready to cover even the heavens themselves, and its talons and beak appeared fierce enough to rend the sky asunder, while from its sharp and piercing eyes streamed rays of cyan-white radiance.
That is, a snow-white hawk reminiscent of Won-woo.
Yet truly, it could not be called merely a hawk.
For it did not possess a single pair of wings.
One pair, two pairs, three pairs… I could not count how many.
It appeared as one pair, yet seemed to exceed ten pairs.
Thus Seolha chose to call this new mental realm by a different name.
Too elevated an existence to be called a hawk, yet bearing the form of a winged creature….
‘A divine bird. The Heaven-Shattering Divine Bird.’
In that instant.
Yang Hwi’s mental realm—the divine bird—fixed its cyan-white gaze directly upon Seolha.
The moment Seolha’s body trembled with shock, the divine bird opened its beak.
-Kiiiiiiiiiiiii!
The divine cry of the divine bird.

* * *
In my previous life, I was a master of the highest caliber.
Though I experienced defeat countless times, I clawed my way back up, and eventually reached a level where I could kill Namgung Cheon-yeong, the greatest swordsman of that era.
A swordsman who surpassed the greatest blade of the Gu-pa Family.
In other words, I had become worthy of being called one of the Ten Greatest Swordsmen Under Heaven.
But.
Even as such a master, the Cheonmu-sip-jon were absolute beings I could never dare challenge.
Though I possessed the martial prowess and talent to find a path to victory against anyone, the Cheonmu-sip-jon were simply an insurmountable cliff.
That was certainly the case then….
“I see it! The path! The path to sever your neck cleanly! Kkhehehehe!”
‘It’s different! Unmistakably, it’s different from my previous life!’
To use an analogy, a cliff that humans could never traverse had transformed into a hill—difficult, but passable.
So I laughed and laughed again.
It was laughter that resonated with divine ecstasy.
“Cheonmu-sip-jon Su-sa-jae-seon. I, Eung-hyo Je-il, ask you: will you continue?”
Seon’s mouth twisted into a malicious sneer.
“You’ve improved, but only to this meager degree. You’re foolish enough to confuse confidence with arrogance.”
We’ve only exchanged a single move so far.
If we continue fighting, Seon’s victory is assured.
Yet I did not lose my confidence.
Beyond that, my usual demeanor emerged.
“Why does the greatest Seon under heaven have such a long tongue?”
“….”
The shock belonged to the others.
Seon, who had heard such insolence for nearly a hundred years, turned ashen, and even Geom-ong’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Regardless, I continued.
“You said I must die? Try killing me. I don’t think I’ll die squeaking like an insect anymore.”
I see the path. It was only one thread, but if I devoted everything to it.
I could achieve mutual destruction with Seon…!
‘Yes, it’s reckless. It’s like a nobody spouting bravado.’
Not victory, but mere mutual destruction? Should I really bare my chest and bet on that?
I can. No, I must.
‘Whether it’s Hyeol-hyeol-nyeo or that bastard Seon, they think they can toy with me now that I’ve become interesting?’
To stop the strong from acting as they please, I must show I’m not a weak creature who accepts being trampled.
The moment I retreat, I’ll appear easy prey, and the moment I appear easy, I’ll be devoured.
“You said I can’t distinguish between confidence and arrogance? Let me test it for you.”
Outwardly, I looked like I could collapse at any moment.
My entire body was drenched in blood, with only the pale blue gleam in my eyes appearing ominous.
Seon’s will moved.
“….”
“….”
“….”
In the brief silence, an exchange of moves unfolded. Neither body nor inner qi stirred, yet it was undoubtedly a clash of wills.
The defeated one was me, Yang Hwi. An overwhelming defeat at that.
“Ah, boy. Did you see it? Did you feel it? Tell me yourself. Was it confidence or arrogance?”
“It was confidence, sir!”
The answer burst forth without hesitation. In that clash of intent mere moments ago, I had died dozens of times over.
Yet even in defeat, I could affirm one thing anew.
“Yes! Nine out of ten, no—ninety-nine out of a hundred, no! Nine hundred ninety-nine out of a thousand! I will die, sir!”
But there remained one unchanging truth.
“Only one thing. On one path, Seon dies alongside me. I ask again. Do you have confidence?”
I roared. It was a magnificent cry befitting my new epithet, Eung-hyo Je-il.
To that, Seon… could not bring himself to punish me.
He could not.
Because what I said was the truth.
“Unbelievable. You whelp of the Baek Family, how can this be?”
I let out a snort of laughter.
‘His form of address changed. I got under his skin, that bastard.’
Well, he had every right to be frustrated. When had the Cheonmu-sip-jon of all under heaven ever been treated this way?
“What do you mean, sir? Ah, realm?”
“Answer me.”
Even a master at the pinnacle of perfection was merely a plaything to the Cheonmu-sip-jon, nothing to fear.
There was no way a mere boy who had just reached the pinnacle could perceive the path.
‘Honestly, I have no obligation to answer him.’
“Why did you take interest in me?”
I continued without waiting for a response.
“Because of talent, wasn’t it? Overwhelming talent enough to have secured the next Greatest Under Heaven at this age.”
So this is what I meant.
“If you don’t understand something, it’s because your talent is insufficient.”
“….”
“…!”
“…What madness are you spouting, hah….”
The surroundings were so silent that a single word escaped from someone barely holding back.
I had essentially told the Cheonmu-sip-jon himself, “You lack talent.”
“After all, you lacked the talent to be chosen by the Taeguk Sword Master, didn’t you? So it’s only natural you don’t understand.”
Seon’s eyes filled with blood.
A dragon whose reverse scale has been struck spews fury and tears everything asunder.
Seon possessed both the power and the right to do so.
But.
“Are you planning to fight me? Shouldn’t you be worried about what comes after?”
The Geom-ong had positioned himself beside Yang Hwi without warning.
His drawn blade shimmered with the form of the Taeguk.
The Geom-ong had refrained from intervening earlier out of concern for collateral damage, but now the situation had fundamentally changed.
“Seon. If you resolve to fight, Mu-han will be split in half. But in exchange, you will certainly die as well.”
“….”
Originally, the Taeguk Sword Master harbored no confidence in defeating Seon in direct combat.
To be precise, he lacked certainty that he could capture and kill Seon even if he attempted to flee.
But now things were different.
A definite variable had emerged.
In the Geom-ong’s assessment, the current Yang Hwi was more than sufficient to serve as a wedge capable of pinning down and killing Seon.
“How can you charge into the enemy’s stronghold alone? It’s not as though you’re intent on dying.”
‘It’s nothing new, but that bastard’s tongue… Did he nurse on poison creatures? With a three-inch tongue, he could summon demonic possession and still have breath left.’
The Geom-ong was unaware that his fantasies had once become reality in the past.
“In the first place, why does the descendant of Jang Cheon-sa serve as the leader of these mercenary bastards? Why does the successor of the Dao Lineage debase himself so?”
He didn’t know, but he felt his fantasy transforming into certainty.
“What do you know? What could you possibly know?”
A low voice saturated with killing intent.
Seon’s white hair and white eyebrows shot upward into the void.
The radiance of the five elements—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—was merely a bonus.
“You speak carelessly with that open mouth. Descendant of Jang Cheon-sa? Successor of the Dao Lineage? Hehehehe.”
Seon’s gaze transformed.
“My secret ambition was to sever the Geom Seon Lineage, but I shall add you, Eung-hyo Je-il, to that list.”
‘Hmm? That bastard… why is he reacting like that?’
Seon Son Eun is the current successor of the Odumiedo school.
His personal martial art, the Five Elements Heavenly Master Divine Art, is proof of this.
‘His hostility toward the Geom Seon Lineage makes sense given his grudge, but…’
It was strange. It could only be strange.
The emotions Seon displayed—multiple hues blended together, making certainty impossible, but it resembled inferiority.
-Seolha. Can you tell me what Seon is feeling?
-It feels like jealousy, inferiority, rage, and stubbornness.
Since Seolha could directly perceive his inner landscape, it was certain.
Which made it all the more strange.
There was no reason for him to display inferiority toward me, Yang Hwi, let alone toward the Taeguk Sword Master.
‘If I scratch a bit more, I might get him to spill his guts… but it seems there’s no opportunity.’
Seon’s figure, engulfed in the Five Elements Qi, was rising into the air.
“Taeguk Sword Master. Baek Family brat. Remember this. I, Seon, will never forget what transpired today.”
“Can’t we finish what happened today… today?”
No answer came. Seon’s figure receded into the distance.
“Hey, don’t ignore me!”
Seon’s figure vanished. I shrugged my shoulders.
“Spouting off like you’re something special.”
Finally, Geom-ong could no longer hold back and delivered a rebuke.
“Your loose tongue will shorten your lifespan, boy.”
-Did the Shaman cast divinations as well?
I refused to back down to the end.
Though I used a whispered transmission, mindful of the gazes around us.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————