Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 351

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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 351
‘I’ve only just returned home after months away, so why can’t I get any rest.’
Yang Hwi stared blankly at the ceiling before lowering his gaze.
I could see Baek A-yun sipping tea with refined grace, and an Elder from the Baekwha Sect.
“Allow me to introduce myself again, Baek Family Head. Though unworthy, I am Baek Sang-ji, currently serving as an Elder of the Baekwha Sect.”
Baek Sang-ji was an old man with white whiskers, yet he rose from his seat to bow respectfully to Baek Moo-ryang.
Baek Moo-ryang returned the bow with the dignified bearing befitting a Family Head.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Elder Baek. But marriage, you say? The proposal seems rather sudden.”
“Hehe, understandably so. Marriage is indeed a matter of great importance, yet our Yun-ah was so eager that she spoke hastily.”
“To finally meet the one I’ve long admired… I fear I was discourteous.”
Baek A-yun set down her teacup with an embarrassed smile, and Baek Sang-ji chuckled warmly.
“When an innocent young girl meets a hero, such discourtesy is only natural, is it not? Please forgive her. Ah, and I must also apologize on behalf of this Baek Sang-ji to Eung-hyo Je-il.”
Rather than deflect the apology, I spoke plainly.
“At the moment, I am indeed a groom worth quickly capturing.”
“Hwi, that was discourteous.”
Baek Moo-ryang pointed out my rudeness, yet did not call it a lie.
Honestly, the Baekwha Sect’s movements were quite transparent in their intentions.
“My apologies. I come from the streets, so I lack proper refinement.”
“It is not untrue, so think nothing of it. There must surely be reason for Yun-ah’s urgency, Eung-hyo Je-il.”
Though I had deliberately been discourteous, Baek Sang-ji accepted it gracefully and made his proposal all the same.
“Privately speaking, Yun-ah is this Elder’s niece. She is also the precious jewel of our Baekwha Sect Master. Eung-hyo Je-il, I assure you she would be more than adequate as your wife.”
A formidable opponent. Not a single expression changed despite my mentioning my beggar origins.
Moreover, Baek A-yun maintained the same composed demeanor.
“Baek Gong-ja.”
Baek A-yun rose from her seat and approached with delicate steps.
Then, after a moment of hesitation, she placed her hand gently upon mine.
“Ah… I’m trembling. I’ve always wanted to meet you.”
When have we ever met that she wanted to see me?
All she would know of me is what rumors say.
“Why did you wish to see me?”
Despite my blunt question, Baek A-yun did not falter.
“I’ll be honest with you. Because you are magnificent. I have always cherished the dream of becoming a wise and virtuous wife. To meet a hero, serve him, and contribute even with these small, delicate hands, and to bear his… his…”
Her cheeks flushed softly. Her beautiful lips moved slowly.
“…children and raise them to become heroes like their father. I am shameless. I admire you because you are the greatest hero of this age. But I can promise you this: when it comes to supporting a hero, I will be second to none. I have spent my whole life preparing myself for this dream.”
Quite a passionate confession, indeed.
It was also remarkably effective logic.
To be honest, I like that you’re someone I didn’t know before.
But wouldn’t I be the best at being a supportive wife?
Honestly, any man would find such words hard to resist.
-Shouldn’t you respond?
-No, Seol Ha-ya.
I answered through sound transmission without thinking, then flinched and glanced away.
Jegal Seol-ha sat with her arms crossed. She had requested to attend as my betrothed, but had that been a mistake?
Her expression… was terrifying.
-Seol Ha-ya, won’t you soften that face a bit?
-This is my normal expression.
-I didn’t know you could make such a cold face.
-I’m only an exception when I’m with my brother. I’ve always had this expression otherwise.
‘…Now that I think about it, that’s true. I can’t argue against it.’
Jegal Seol-ha was not one to express emotions openly.
Her default was an expressionless face so cold it felt piercing, and she even went about with her face covered by a veil.
No wonder one of the epithets following her was “North Wind’s Cold Snow.”
-If you don’t answer, I’ll have to ask her instead.
Before I could respond, Jegal Seol-ha fixed her gaze on Baek A-yun.
“So then, Miss Baek. What exactly do you wish to say to a man who already has a betrothed?”
Her tone was businesslike and measured, yet simultaneously carried the air of “go ahead and try.”
Baek A-yun did not yield this time either.
“I wish for Young Master Baek to take me as his wife. I want to serve a hero and spend a hundred years together in harmony.”
“Ha!”
It was disrespectful. These were certainly not words to speak before one’s betrothed.
“I apologize to Jegal Seol-ha. However, even at the risk of rudeness, I could not bear to let this opportunity slip away. That is how sincere my feelings are.”
Jegal Seol-ha’s lips curved upward fiercely.
“A gate guard standing watch doesn’t prevent entry simply by existing. But deliberately attempting to force your way through when someone is actively blocking the gate? That suggests you found the gate guard rather easy to dismiss.”
In other words, she was asking: are you truly better than me?
Direct descendant of Wa-ryong Jegal among the Five Great Families of the realm.
Disciple of Cheonmu-sip-jon and the current inheritor of the mystical Seong-eum Okryeong School.
A genius who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts by the age of twenty-three through sheer talent alone.
But that was not all.
“Miss Baek. Allow me to ask you something. Do you know my epithet?”
“…Pye Wol-ok-bong of the Tanryul Parang. Or rather, I should now call you the Heavenly Immortal Maiden, the finest under heaven.”
A new epithet bestowed upon Jegal Seol-ha through the Great Yangtze River Tournament.
It meant that beneath the heavens, only one woman could be called an immortal maiden.
For she was unrivaled both in martial prowess and in beauty.
In truth, if Jegal Seol-ha were a gate guard, it would be as if the King of Hell himself stood guard at the gates of the underworld.
“I know. Jegal Seol-ha is the finest beauty of our age. I am but a girl with no right to aspire to your level. Yet… I cannot suppress this yearning heart….”
Baek A-yun’s face grew dejected. But Jegal Seol-ha let out a scoff.
‘Hmph, even when angry, she doesn’t usually respond this emotionally. Was she really that upset?’
In truth, as Yang Hwi, I found Seolha’s reaction somewhat puzzling.
I mean, I’m a tiger—would a rabbit hopping about really anger me?
If a bear of similar size came at me, that would be different, but a rabbit would just seem cute.
“Hehe, the Jegal Sojeo speaks only truth. However, we of the Baek Hwa Sect did not enter this battle without prospects.”
Baek Sang-ji gazed at Baek Moo-ryang with a gentle smile.
“Before making a formal proposal, I must ask the Baek Family Head: what are your intentions regarding the future succession structure of the Baek clan?”
“That is not a matter to discuss with outsiders.”
“Then, as a mere outsider, may I dare to speak my thoughts?”
“I do not mind if you choose not to listen.”
“It is enough that you simply hear me out.”
Baek Sang-ji bowed respectfully and continued.
“Ten years ago, the Baek clan was merely a martial family whose name few had ever heard. Yet now you are openly called the Baek Great Family, and discussions of joining the Five Great Families are underway.”
Baek Sang-ji’s gaze turned toward Yang Hwi.
“Eung-hyo Je-il Baek Yang-hwi. You, Young Master, have stood at the center of all these changes. I believe even the Family Head acknowledges this.”
Before Baek Moo-ryang could respond, Yang Hwi urged him on.
“Please, continue, Elder.”
“The Changjiang Great Battle resulted in victory for the Baek clan and the Yi-ik Alliance. You even slew Cheonmu-sip-jon Su-sa-jae-seon. I hear it would have been impossible without the Baek Young Master. Though many sects joined forces, this is a tremendous achievement—one that shakes the very heavens.”
I wondered if he was trying to win favor through praise, but such flattery was far too common.
He would not be the man he is if he did not understand that well-known accomplishments lose their effect no matter how they are dressed up.
“The Baek clan has proven itself. Yet you must prove yourselves further still. In that process, there exists one great source of anxiety. We of the Baek Hwa Sect can seal away such uncertainty.”
“Elder, what anxiety do you speak of?”
“Succession.”
“….”
Baek Moo-ryang fell silent. It was a truth that could not be denied.
“The Eung-hyo Je-il has accomplished great deeds and become so renowned that none in the world do not know his name. Yet the Baek Young Master is an adopted son, and the Baek clan has not appointed a Soga-joonim.”
“Wait.”
Yang Hwi frowned.
“That is because I did not wish it. The Baek clan must be inherited by my younger brother Seo.”
Baek Sang-ji received his words smoothly, as if he had anticipated this.
“Because you are adopted? The heart of an older brother unwilling to steal his younger brother’s position? In truth, it matters not which. That noble sentiment is precisely why we of the Baek Hwa Sect have ventured to propose this betrothal.”
What is he saying now?
“If the Baek Young Master becomes a son-in-law to the Jegal clan, the Baek Great Family loses the future greatest master under heaven. Is it not already the case that the Jegal clan treats the Baek Young Master as a prospective son-in-law?”
“Ugh….”
A small sound escaped from Jegal Seol-ha.
Certainly she was a bride without equal, but in terms of the power dynamics between families, she did possess a weakness.
“Yet if the Baek Young Master inherits the position of Family Head, the Baek clan bears only the name while an entirely different bloodline continues—a truly grave problem.”
The essence of a martial family ultimately rests upon blood kinship.
Though the Baek clan did not have many members of Baek blood at present, one essential condition for a Family Head was certainly bloodline.
This was an undeniable principle.
‘…This is also why I refuse so adamantly to inherit the position of Family Head.’
I will not hear the words that an adopted son seized the position and stole the family.
For if I did, my heart would fade, the will I inherited from my father would lose its luster.
So that I might stand unblemished and righteous before myself, the Family Head must be Seo.
“That is precisely why we of the Baek Hwa Sect have stepped forward. If you agree to a marriage between Eung-hyo Je-il and our Yun-ah, all problems can be resolved, Family Head.”
In other words, summarizing Baek Sang-ji’s logic, it amounted to this.
First. If we marry into the Baek Hwa Sect, Eung-hyo Je-il Baek Yang-hwi remains as the Baek Family’s full strength.
Second. If we marry Baek A-yun, even should the adopted son ascend to Family Head, the bloodline remains unchanged.
“Moreover, the legitimacy becomes all the more unshakeable. A prestigious great family must possess such history. This too is one of our Baek Hwa Sect’s qualifications.”
“There is a flaw in that reasoning. What is your basis for thinking so, Elder Baek?”
If we choose the Baek Hwa Sect instead of the Jegal Family, everything changes?
On what grounds exactly?
Baek Sang-ji had kept the most crucial reason hidden as a secret.
“The reason is simple, Family Head. We are all of the Baek surname.”
Baek Sang-ji, judging that he had built sufficient suspense, dropped the bombshell.
“The Baek Hwa Sect is also descended from the Cheon-u Geom-sin Baek-cheon.”
“…!”
“…!”
It was literally a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
Baek Moo-ryang, eyes wide open, demanded clarification.
“You mean the Baek Hwa Sect is also a sect descended from our founder?”
“Indeed. Do you know? The founder was once a hidden disciple of the Hwa-san Sect. This is why our Baek Hwa Sect’s supreme technique is the Hundred Baek Full Blossom Sword Method.”
That the Cheon-u Geom-sin Baek-cheon was a hidden disciple of the Hwa-san Sect was a truth known only to the Baek Family.
To be precise, even Baek Moo-ryang and Yang Hwi had not known until recently.
They learned it while searching for the Silent Sect and the founder’s legacy.
In other words, the Baek Hwa Sect was indeed descended from the Cheon-u Geom-sin Baek-cheon.
“Now I must present the Baek Hwa Sect’s formal proposal. Please promise the betrothal between Eung-hyo Je-il Baek Gong-ja and our Yun-ah. On the day the betrothal is held, the Baek Hwa Sect shall become part of the Baek Family.”
“…!”
“What did you just say? The Baek Hwa Sect will become part of the Baek Family?”
“The fruit merely returns to its root. We waited because the fruit cannot replace the root, yet the Baek Hwa Sect has earnestly longed for the Baek Family’s banner to stand tall once more.”
Rather than merely a divine proposal, they would abandon the name of Baek Hwa and become simply a member of the Baek Family.
Baek Sang-ji, glancing briefly at Jegal Seol-ha, wore a victorious smile.
“If the Baek Hwa Sect is added to the current Baek Family, would not inclusion among the Five Great Families be assured? Legitimacy. Practical benefit. History. If the Baek Hwa Sect and the Baek Family stand together, we can obtain everything.”
“….”
“….”
“I can say with certainty. The Baek Hwa Sect can sacrifice everything for the Baek Family. But can the Jegal Family do the same?”
“….”
“….”
The silence lengthened. This time Baek Sang-ji looked toward Yang Hwi.
“Young Master Baek. You said you did not wish to become Family Head. If you were with our Yun-ah, would there not be reason to refuse?”
“….”
Instead of responding, Yang Hwi found himself gazing at Seolha without realizing it.
…Seolha was no longer confident.
Baek A-yun was a woman who could offer things that she could never provide.

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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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