Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 354

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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 354
Baek Cheon, the Greatest Under Heaven from centuries past.
He, who laid the foundation of martial arts within the Hwa-san Sect, yearned to become wings adorned not with scattered plum blossoms, but with feathers dancing in the wind.
Thus, the Cheon-u Geom-sin—the Thousand Feather Sword Deity.
The name of the single sword that bloomed was Gaecheon—Covering the Heavens.
Since the net of heaven has countless gaps, I shall spread my own wings to aid the masses.
Those who followed such ideals gathered, and thus the Baek Family of Gaecheon was born.
However.
Not all embraced the Way of Gaecheon Chivalry.
Righteousness that would not compromise.
Chivalry that would not abandon principles for gain.
For what refuses to bend is destined to break.
“If we continue this way, the very existence of our Baek Family will be endangered. Only by preserving the clan can we save more people!”
The Baek Family of Cheon-u Geom-sin Baek Cheon was the Greatest Under Heaven.
Yet it was evident that the future would not allow such glory to persist.
“Sword Deity, Family Head. After your passing, within two or three generations, we shall barely maintain our standing among the Five Great Families. Should two or three more generations pass, we would be nothing but a minor martial clan.”
When discussing the future, all becomes conjecture.
Yet sometimes, there are conjectures one can affirm with certainty.
To disregard the family’s interests and pursue only chivalry?
The current prosperity of the clan existed solely because of the Greatest Under Heaven.
“Family Head. No—Father. I shall depart. I will preserve your ideals through a different path.”
In a sense, it was rebellion, yet Cheon-u Geom-sin Baek Cheon permitted it.
Thus the Baek Family split in two, and Baek Cheon’s second son, departing Gangseong with his followers, founded the Baek Hwa-mun Sect.
A hidden history that the Baek Family itself refused to record, under Baek Cheon’s stern decree.
“Our Baek Hwa-mun shall endure through generations, even if we must compromise. Our path shall be the one that saves more people!”
Yet they did not know.
That once one begins to bend, one will continue bending—such is human nature.
Unlike the declining Baek Family, the Baek Hwa-mun surpassed the main line.
It became a renowned sect, ranking within the top thirty-six of Baekdo, a Heavenly-grade martial school.
However.
They had long forgotten the chivalry of Gaecheon.
The Baek Baek Man-hwa Sword Method.
One could see it in their representative martial art—the two characters of Gaecheon were absent.
And therein lay the problem.
“The Baek Baek Man-hwa Sword Method of our sect… contains a fundamental flaw.”
Gaecheon did not merely signify unyielding chivalry.
Its true essence was an unbreakable fortitude at all times.
In other words, Gaecheon was the spiritual foundation of the martial art itself.
By abandoning Gaecheon, the Baek Hwa-mun lost their spiritual essence.
“We, who once ranked among the highest of Heavenly-grade sects excluding the Nine Paths and Five Clans, now stand merely at thirtieth place.”
“How can this be? Have we been walking down the wrong path all along….”
It was inevitable that Baek Hwa-mun became obsessed with the ancestral legacy.
“The Divine Sword left by our ancestor. We must find the Black and White Twin Swords.”
According to the dying wish left by Cheon-u Geom-sin Baek Cheon for future generations, the Black and White Twin Swords contained the sword techniques of the greatest master under heaven.
“If we can only find the Divine Sword, we shall reclaim the glory of the past!”
Cheon-u Geom-sin Baek Cheon had split his beloved sword in half and hidden it, leaving clues to his first and second sons respectively.
What was given to Baek Hwa-mun was a clue regarding the sword spirit of the Black and White Twin Swords.
Decades passed as he wandered searching for the ancestral legacy.
“Sect Leader. Without a clue regarding the sword technique of the Black and White Twin Swords, we cannot find the sword spirit either.”
This was the conclusion Baek Hwa-mun had reached.
Cheon-u Geom-sin Baek Cheon had made it so that the Black and White Twin Swords could not be found unless the two clues came together.
Perhaps he hoped that his descendants would unite even in the distant future.
Then came that moment.
“Sect Leader, the Baek Family Heir has acquired Spiritual Qi and mastered a pitch-black sword technique.”
For Baek Hwa-mun, who had been anxiously searching for a way to find the legacy, this was cause for celebration.
“We must acquire the sword technique of the Black and White Twin Swords by any means. Find a way.”
If things continued as they were, Baek Hwa-mun would only decline further.
Therefore, he absolutely had to obtain the sword technique of the Black and White Twin Swords—what the Baek Family called the Dark Technique.
“Sect Leader. What if we absorbed the Baek Family as well at this opportunity?”
“Though divided, are our roots not the same?”
“The Baek Family has already lost most of the ancestral teachings. We could easily bring them under our control by claiming that the ancestor’s will resides with us.”
It was then that Baek Hwa-mun was confidently planning the absorption of the Baek Family.
“Sect Leader! It turns out the Baek Family Head is the leader of the Yi-ik Alliance! The affiliated sects include Jegal, Dang Sect, Jeomchang, and many others!”
“What!”
“Sect Leader! The Baek Family Heir has reached the Transcendent Master realm! He proclaimed himself to become the greatest master under heaven and earned the epithet Eung-hyo Je-il!”
“What!”
“Sect Leader! The, the Baek Family Heir! Eung-hyo Je-il has slain Cheonmu-sip-jon Su-sa-jae-seon!”
“WHAT!”
Just one year after Yang Hwi acquired the Dark Technique.
In merely one year, the Baek Family had transformed beyond recognition.
To the point where all existing plans had to be completely scrapped.
“Find a way no matter what! We must obtain the Dark Technique!”
And thus a new plan was established: the betrothal.
Ultimately, the core of the Baek Family was Eung-hyo Je-il. The plan was to marry the Sect Leader’s daughter to him, win him over to their side, and obtain everything.
“Currently, the Baek Family has only three members of Baek blood. Eung-hyo Je-il is merely an adopted son.”
“If we mix our blood and become one, then through numerical superiority we can easily absorb them through political dominance.”
“Whether the signboard reads Baek Family or Baek Hwa-mun matters little. In the end, we were always one.”
This was the reason Baek Hwa-mun proposed the betrothal, offering his entire sect as a dowry.
It was a proposal packaged to gain justification, legitimacy, and practical benefits all at once, so everyone in Baek Hwa-mun waited confidently for the result.
But….
There was one thing no one had anticipated.
“I won’t marry! Why? Because I’m Eung-hyo Je-il, and it’s my choice!”
Yang Hwi was far more stubborn than they had imagined.
“Do you want this?”
And remarkably cunning.

* * *
Muk-pa. A legacy of the Cheon-u Geom-sin obtained from Payang Lake.
The sword qi cultivated within Muk-pa becomes increasingly sharp.
As if the jet-black sword hilt itself were a whetstone honing the blade.
Though it lacked a sword edge, it became a complete sword by using qi as its blade.
‘Yes, it was strange, now that I think about it.’
In the past, thanks to obtaining Muk-pa, I had killed a Transcendent Master while at the peak stage.
Considering such feats, it was worthy of being called a Spiritual Qi.
‘For the legacy of the greatest under heaven, its function seems rather weak, doesn’t it?’
At the peak stage, Muk-pa was an extraordinarily useful Spiritual Qi.
But beyond the Transcendent stage, it wasn’t quite so favorable.
It merely made handling powerful qi somewhat easier.
For the legacy of the greatest under heaven, it felt rather lacking.
‘Those Baek Hwa-mun bastards know something.’
“Without even a sword blade, just a bare hilt—why would you covet it so much as to propose a betrothal? Isn’t that right, Elder Baek?”
“Ahem. I’m not sure what you mean.”
Baek Sang-ji tried to maintain his composure, but it was already too late.
“Hehehehe. Is that so?”
I tossed Muk-pa into the air and caught it.
‘Even if it’s just a hilt, it’s an ancestor’s legacy, so Muk-pa must become a family treasure. And Baek Hwa-mun was trying to have me marry Baek A-yun and inherit the Family Head position.’
In other words, Muk-pa was the true objective.
This made the proposal to merge the sects seem suspicious as well.
“Could it be you planned to marry me first, then seduce me into coming to Baek Hwa-mun?”
“That couldn’t be. The marriage proposal contains not a shred of deception—it is Baek Hwa-mun’s sincere intention.”
-Seolha.
-That’s a lie.
“Hehehehe, exactly.”
A gain and a loss, heaven and earth. It seemed I needed to investigate Baek Hwa-mun more thoroughly.
With that in mind, I should scratch at their intentions to ensure they think twice.
“Seolha.”
At my sudden call, Seolha’s eyes widened.
“Father, I wish to hold a betrothal ceremony with Seolha at this victory banquet.”
Seolha’s eyes grew even wider.
“O-older brother?”
“I’m sorry for deciding this on my own. You helped me by pretending to be Jeong In back then, so I’m collecting that debt now.”
“If we’re talking about debts, I’ve incurred far more than you, brother.”
“So you don’t like it? Besides, you treat all other men like insects anyway. Just humor me a little.”
Seolha fell silent.
I decided to interpret her silence as consent.
“Since that’s settled, members of the Baekwha Sect, you may withdraw. This is now a matter for the main family.”
“…One day, you will come to understand the true intentions of our Baekwha Sect.”
“Young Master Baek… I will try harder to convey this young girl’s sincerity…”
Well, it seems they haven’t given up yet.
After Baek Sang-ji and Baek A-yun left following my command.
Baek Moo-ryang opened his mouth.
“Hwi. A betrothal ceremony, so suddenly?”
“I have no intention of entering into a political marriage. To be honest, haven’t I already done more than enough for this family? I’ll handle my own marriage.”
“…Are you saying you’ll marry Seolha?”
I didn’t notice, but Seolha’s eyes were trembling fiercely.
“No, that’s not it. Neither Seolha nor I are in any rush to marry. I’m just doing this as a temporary arrangement to ward off those annoying betrothal proposals.”
Seolha’s eyes turned cold.
I still didn’t notice.
“It’s fine, isn’t it, Seolha? We’re both young enough to live another hundred years anyway, so there’s no rush to marry.”
“…For now.”
“For now?”
Smack!
It felt like my back had caught fire.
She’d even infused her inner energy into that strike.
Well, I did bring up the betrothal ceremony on my own, so this was fair.
“Fine, let’s do the betrothal ceremony. The main family won’t object anyway.”
“Father, since Seolha agrees, shall we proceed?”
Baek Moo-ryang pressed his forehead.
“You brat. Even so, for a betrothal ceremony, the elders of both families should discuss it first.”
“I’ll leave the formalities to you, Father!”
“Is that any way to speak to your father?”
“Hehe, Father. The injuries I sustained from killing Seon haven’t fully healed yet.”
It wasn’t a lie. I still hadn’t determined what kind of adverse effects Seon’s orb might have on my body.
“And after suffering so much throughout the Janggang Tournament, surely I deserve some rest?”
“What? Hehehehe.”
It was somewhat disrespectful in a way, but Baek Moo-ryang laughed with genuine delight instead.
Yang Hwi had always been respectful and acted as though he owed a debt.
Seeing his son treat him so comfortably now, Baek Moo-ryang couldn’t help but feel pleased.
“Then I’ll be going? Seolha, let’s go! All the annoying business is done, so let’s go have some fun.”
But.
Yang Hwi and Seolha could not venture out.
A report of death had arrived.
“Family Head! It is said that Cheonmu Sip-jon Baek Heon-nang-wang has passed from this world!”
“…!”
“…!”
News of the death of Cheonmu Sip-jon Baek Heon-nang-wang. This meant another upheaval was about to unfold.
Before that, it was a matter that demanded expressions of mourning.
“Father.”
“Yes. We must postpone the victory banquet. Immediately arrange a delegation to offer our condolences.”
It was then.
“Family Head. A special message has arrived from Nangsi, addressed specifically to the Young Master.”
“What is it?”
“The Venerable One left a will for the Young Master, and requests that he must attend the funeral.”

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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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