Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 353

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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 353
“Y-Young Master.”
Baek A-yun asks with a bewildered expression.
“Are you truly rejecting the Baek Hwa-mun betrothal proposal because of a single word from Jegal Sojeo…?”
“Yes.”
Following Jegal Seol-ha’s lead, Yang Hwi spoke his mind freely as well, yet Baek A-yun failed to notice this.
“Why? I cannot fathom your reasoning.”
“Seolha says your heart is pitch black.”
“Of course Jegal Sojeo would despise me! Isn’t that natural?”
Yang Hwi clicked his tongue.
She pretended to be mature and well-raised, but a child was still a child.
“Seolha does not lie to me.”
“Even if it weren’t a lie, even if it were the truth! In Jegal Sojeo’s eyes, I would appear endlessly despicable. So she’s speaking nonsense, isn’t she?”
“No. Seolha does not harbor specific hatred toward anyone, regardless of circumstance.”
“…!”
Baek A-yun could not comprehend it.
The bond between Yang Hwi and Seolha.
“Besides, Seolha finds everyone despicable except me. The only exception would be Adu, perhaps… Ow!”
“Shall I punish you like a hawk?”
Yang Hwi rubbed his pinched forearm as Jegal Seol-ha continued speaking.
“Since we’re on the subject, let me ask you, Miss Baek. What possessed you to make such a proposal… No, never mind. Go fetch Elder Baek Sang-ji.”
“A young master of a renowned family is ordering an elder about? That’s quite disrespectful, even for you.”
Baek A-yun retorted sharply, but it fell on deaf ears.
“Miss Baek. If I, Eung-hyo Je-il, request a meeting, is there a single heavenly-ranked martial sect whose sect master would refuse?”
“….”
Baek A-yun could not bring herself to argue back.
The sleeping dragon of the Baek Family.
Eung-hyo Je-il, who had proven his own worthiness to ascend to heaven.
If he desired it, there was no one he could not meet.
That was what the future greatest under heaven truly was.
‘That’s right. I had forgotten my true purpose.’
The Gaecheon Sword Path, newly conceived while fighting Seon.
It was a new way created by reflecting once more upon the meaning of Gaecheon and one’s original intent.
Original intent.
Yes, I had forgotten my original intent.
‘When did I start worrying about the world’s judgment?’
If things go awry, overturn the board and start anew.
The original intent lost amid entangling circumstances.
Father’s counsel had helped me reclaim it with certainty.
“Go and bring him. I shall give a definitive answer to the betrothal proposal here and now. Ah, Chu Dal?”
Chu Dal crept out from the shadows with a slithering motion.
“Yes, Elder Brother. Shall I bring the Family Head?”
Quick as a wink, sharp as a blade.
“Do it. Father should hear this too.”
Chu Dal vanished, and I waved my hand dismissively at Baek A-yun.
“What are you doing? I said go fetch the Elder.”
“….”
Baek A-yun turned away, tears streaming down her face.
I watched her for a moment, then asked Seolha.
“Are those tears real?”
“No? Her self-control is remarkable. It’s an act.”
“I see.”
Seolha and I were alone together.
It felt awkward for no reason, but there were things that needed to be said.
“You were disappointed I didn’t refuse outright, weren’t you?”
“No? What would I have to be disappointed about?”
“Well, if it were me, I’d have been disappointed no matter how well I acted.”
“That’s because Elder Brother doesn’t possess the Flower Blossom Eye.”
“Hm?”
Seolha had never harbored disappointment toward me.
With the Flower Blossom Eye, she could see through emotions and the movements of one’s inner heart—there was no room for disappointment.
She was only unsettled by her own momentary anxiety.
“But may I ask one thing?”
“Ask two if you want.”
“If you betrothed yourself to Baek Hwa-mun, you could gain tremendous advantages. If Baek Hwa-mun’s young lady were a good person and sincere, would you have accepted the betrothal?”
After finishing, Seolha peered into my eyes.
To see into my inner heart and mind.
“…No.”
“Why not? The Baek Family could soar higher and faster with wings. And your dream is to become the greatest family under heaven.”
Talk had begun about the Baek Family’s incorporation into the Five Great Families, yet the Baek Family still had one chronic weakness.
Though we had grown rapidly, that very speed meant our middle ranks were thin.
Moreover, compared to the Five Great Families’ standards, our leadership was far too sparse.
The Five Great Families each possessed at least three or four Transcendent Masters.
“She may have a dark heart, but wouldn’t it be better to form a betrothal and absorb her family? Elder Brother is no less dark-hearted yourself, so you and the Baek young lady might be a match made in heaven.”
So she was disappointed after all.
Judging by how carelessly she spoke.
But.
“That’s impossible.”
At my blunt answer, something flickered in Seolha’s eyes.
“Why?”
Her gaze was scrutinizing, as if peering into my very soul. She was definitely reading my emotions.
My father’s words echoed through my mind.
‘He told me to contemplate why I couldn’t immediately refute Baek Hwa-mun’s proposal.’
“Seolha. I’ve discovered a new advantage of your Dohwa Eyes. Lies don’t work on you. That’s why I think I can be honest with you.”
Baek A-yun and I could never be destined for each other.
Even if she treated me with pure affection, she could never be right for someone like Baek Yang-hwi.
“A child abandoned by his parents at birth cannot trust people.”
Seolha’s pupils trembled.
“…Brother.”
“If even parents abandoned you, how could you trust a stranger who shares no blood?”
Only Baek Moo-ryang was different.
My father, who defied everyone’s opposition and took in a beggar child as his adopted son.
My father, who guarded the values he believed in until his final breath.
Because of this, I—this street urchin—lived to make the Baek Family the greatest under heaven.
Through what my father gave me, I became able to trust someone else.
“All strategic marriages are exchanges of gains and losses between families. And Baek Hwa-mun made her betrothal proposal to me, not to that girl.”
Legitimacy? Practical benefit? Bloodline concerns?
No matter how it was packaged, Baek Hwa-mun wanted the existence called Baek Yang-hwi.
“Seolha. I will probably live my entire life alone. I cannot be with any woman except one who would never abandon me, no matter what circumstances befall me.”
I gazed into Seolha’s eyes.
Those beautiful eyes with their violet gleam.
“I have one question for you, Seolha. Set aside this betrothal arrangement—it’s nothing but superficial packaging—and answer me. If I lost all my martial prowess tomorrow. If I suddenly went half-mad. Would the Jegal Family still want to maintain the betrothal with me? Could you marry me even if the Jegal Family fiercely opposed it?”
I couldn’t hear her answer.
Baek A-yun arrived simultaneously with Baek Moo-ryang and Baek Sang-ji.
“Elder Baek Sang-ji. I must decline the betrothal proposal.”
My speech level had shifted from formal to semi-formal.
Baek Sang-ji’s eyebrows twitched as he looked at Baek Moo-ryang.
“Family Head. Is the Young Master’s statement something that was discussed beforehand?”
Baek Moo-ryang stared at me for a moment, then replied calmly.
“Hmm. Let me hear more first.”
“…I understand. Young Master Baek. May I ask the reason for your refusal?”
It was simple.
“I don’t want to.”
“What do you mean by—?”
“I don’t want to. Do I need another reason?”
“Young Master Baek!”
“Ah, if that’s insufficient, I can simply fabricate reasons.”
I stroked my chin thoughtfully as if to make a show of it, then continued.
“How about this: the dowry is inadequate.”
“…Are you insulting Baek Hwa-mun right now?”
The price of this betrothal was Baek Hwa-mun itself.
As an elder of Baek Hwa-mun, it was an answer that even felt insulting.
But Baek Sang-ji held back once.
“Think carefully, Young Master. This betrothal brings tremendous gains to the Baek Family.”
In other words, it was pressure—suggesting that a single refusal would result in massive losses.
But here’s the thing.
“Elder Baek. I am Eung-hyo Je-il.”
Eung-hyo Je-il—the Hawk’s First Cry.
The hawk who proclaimed himself the greatest under heaven of the next generation.
A title earned on the first day of the Infinite First Confrontation, when I slew Dong Jeong-il-gun at the peak of transcendence.
“I killed a member of the Cheonmu-sip-jon at twenty-three. So tell me—at what age do you think I’ll surpass them?”
“….”
At most, twenty years. Baek Sang-ji couldn’t voice such thoughts aloud.
Speaking would only disadvantage him.
“Even Seon, that ancient monster who’s lived over two hundred years, never dared call himself the greatest under heaven. So what of me?”
Though they stand as absolute beings in heaven, not a single member of the Cheonmu-sip-jon has claimed the title of greatest under heaven.
Not even those who were called the next greatest under heaven during Hu Gi-jisu’s era.
This was an achievement no one but Swordmaster Yeo Dong-bin had accomplished throughout all of history.
“Baek Yang-hwi of the Baek Family. Called Eung-hyo Je-il, destined to become the greatest under heaven in the near future. That is who I am. Do you understand now, Elder Baek?”
“….”
Again, Baek Sang-ji could say nothing.
A weight he hadn’t felt before. His body felt sluggish, though I wasn’t even radiating my aura.
The sheer presence of the man himself was overwhelming him.
“So I ask you. Can a heavenly-grade martial sect like Baek Hwa-mun compare to my worth?”
“….”
“The late Taeguk Sword Master elevated the Mudang Faction to prominence in just a hundred years. So how long do you think it will take me?”
During Hu Gi-jisu’s era, no one ever defeated the ten greatest masters under heaven in combat.
Even immediately after Geom-ong and Seon fought, such a feat would be impossible for an ordinary person.
Everyone under heaven knew this fact.
“Rejecting the marriage causes massive losses? Baek Hwa-mun cannot be a massive loss. I am Eung-hyo Je-il. So I refuse.”
Speaking decisively, I secretly sent a transmission to Seolha.
-Tell me what you sense from her.
-She’s anxious. I can feel desperation too.
As I thought. This isn’t a genuine betrothal proposal.
The fact that they’d hand over the entire sect was suspicious from the start.
Baek Hwa-mun wants something from the Baek Family.
‘The other descendants of Cheon-u Geom-sin Baek-cheon. These wretches who ignored us when the main branch fell, only to appear now. I already knew their founder was a branch of the Hwa-san Sect, unlike us.’
What do they want?
Why would they propose such a generous offer—handing over Baek Hwa-mun itself—to arrange this betrothal?
If I dig deeper, something will surface.
Well, I need to wrap up the current situation first.
“Father.”
“Speak, Hwi.”
“Forgive my unfilial conduct. I shall determine my own future. I have no intention of becoming the Family Head of the main branch. After all, you know this son will eat well and live well wherever he goes.”
Baek Moo-ryang could have shown anger, but instead he simply laughed with satisfaction.
“So be it. You’ve always been putty in my hands, and now you come at me like this—it’s refreshing and delightful. A son should know how to talk back to his father. Hahaha!”
Still brimming with laughter, Baek Moo-ryang turned his gaze toward Baek Sang-ji.
“Since that is how matters stand, I must decline your proposal.”
“…Family Head. The fruit merely wishes to return to its roots. Why must you be so heartless?”
“I have no intention of refusing the fruit into my embrace. I simply do not wish to force marriage upon my child.”
My, Father could say such things?
He’s trying to win over Baek Hwa-mun with mere words.
In any case, even if I rejected the betrothal, there was still more business with Baek Hwa-mun.
“From the beginning, Elder Baek. You said Baek Hwa-mun is a descendant of Cheon-u Geom-sin Baek-cheon. Do you have proof?”
“Are you suggesting you cannot trust the words of this Elder?”
“With mere words, I am already the greatest under heaven.”
Baek Sang-ji’s anger flashed for the first time.
Good, his emotions are shaken. Now let me cast out the bait.
“Even in the main branch, our ancestors’ transmission line was severed, and we forgot we were a cadet branch of the Hwa-san Sect. But Baek Hwa-mun seems to have inherited things quite well, so I wondered if perhaps he possessed some heirloom or sacred relic.”
Baek Sang-ji only showed anger and gave no answer.
Yet my keen senses detected a slight tremor in him.
‘Should I throw out one more word?’
“For instance, a sword broken in half?”
“…!”
There it was. I immediately asked Seolha.
-What’s your read?
-It seems like I’ve struck a nerve?
“There are indeed some sacred relics passed down in the main house, but nothing of that sort.”
“I see. I was merely speaking off the cuff, Elder Baek.”
-Seolha, what about now?
-It’s ambiguous. It feels like half a lie?
That’s it, exactly.
‘The Swordmaster’s decree… this time too, it was twisted and convoluted?’
A thought I’d harbored since first seeing those six characters of the initial response.
It didn’t seem to be simply an instruction to choose well between Seolha and Baek A-yun.
Even the final “Dragon Scales Reverse, Sound Becomes Fortress”—didn’t it include not just strategist Ju Ja-bang, but also my master Cheonma making Seon into a bead?
‘Gain Return, Calculate Heaven. For all swordsmen, return is the law of the sword.’
I drew the Muk-pa hanging at my waist and held it out.
“Would you like to have this?”
This time, there was no need to ask Seolha.
Because undisguised greed gleamed in Baek Sang-ji’s eyes.

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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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