Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 408

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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 408
The moment Yang Hwi spotted Baek Moo-ryang, he spun around.
-Seolha, hide! No wait, run!
-Brother, get it together! We’re already discovered, so what good is running? Do something quick!
Right, of course. My mind, which usually spins schemes endlessly, had gone completely rigid.
That’s how shocking Baek Moo-ryang’s appearance was.
‘At least… I shouldn’t be recognized, right?’
I grabbed hold of my wits and checked my appearance first.
The pitch-black sword and the pure-white sword. Wrapped in bandages and darkened, they’d be unrecognizable.
A white mask, martial robes, and hair left loose and tangled.
‘For now, I’m Injoong Sinma, and Seolha is…’
Seolha had helped with the act, but her appearance remained unchanged.
Since she’d been playing the role of Seob Hon-ma-hu, she was wearing a pitch-black bamboo hat and a cotton veil.
-Brother!
-Don’t rush me, I’m thinking!
-If we get caught and Father comes to hate us, I won’t just sit still!
‘You’ll just be hated. I’m the one who’ll get beaten on the shins with a rod.’
“Twin Blade Swordsman Baek Moo-ryang. I didn’t expect you to come this far.”
I deliberately made my voice darker than when I usually played Injoong Sinma.
Still, he was my father, so I worried he might see through me.
“You know my alias. Since my reputation isn’t particularly high, most know me as the One-Wing Alliance Lord instead.”
“…”
“…”
Was Father’s reputation really not that well-known?
Twin Blade Swordsman—in Gangseo, that’s a name people recognize… ah, but this is Honam.
-Brother, are you doing this right?!
Seolha growled through sound transmission.
I felt a bead of sweat trickling down my back.
“You’re an important figure, so I’ve memorized the information I received.”
“Information received. So you have an organization?”
“Think whatever you wish.”
Energy began to slowly gather on Baek Moo-ryang’s blade.
-Oh no, Seolha! Father’s about to attack!
-What do we do! Should we just take it?!
-If we do that, our whole plan falls apart?!
Injoong Sinma had to suppress the increasingly powerful Gae-cheon-sin-eung and build even greater notoriety.
Based on that notoriety, I’d gather more Blood Demons and face off against Hyeol Sa-ryeon.
After that, I’d finally fall to Gae-cheon-sin-eung, raising his fame and making a beautiful exit.
What an absolutely perfect picture this was.
Whiiiing, boom!
Thanks to the signal flare my father had launched, my panic subsided.
-Ah, so he wasn’t planning to fight.
-But isn’t this dangerous? At this rate, all the Baek Family members will come rushing over….
Well, that’s true.
But it doesn’t matter.
I could have intervened at any point during the act of launching that signal flare, yet I chose not to.
-Better than subduing my father as his son.
Now I just need to find a suitable excuse to leave without killing my father, state it, and then escape.
“A signal flare, is it? So the Family Head wishes to slaughter even his own retainers?”
Baek Moo-ryang’s eyebrows twitched sharply.
“That shall not come to pass. I, Baek Moo-ryang, will surely prevent it.”
-Brother, what are you doing using your usual manner of speech with Father!
My heart had already shrunk to the size of a bean.
My father, who even in his usual anger carried affection at its root.
This was the first time I had witnessed him express such hostile, genuine wrath.
“You would sacrifice your very life to save your retainers? Indeed. Truly befitting the character of the Twin Blade Swordsman. Though our paths differ, I offer my respect for your resolve.”
“How would one of the demonic path understand righteousness and virtue? I have no need for honeyed words of respect.”
-Brother, it’s fine. Keep going like this. Father probably wants to buy time through conversation as well.
“I ask once more. Where is my son.”
-That doesn’t seem like an apology. He’s returning straight to the main point….
I had nothing to say.
Where is my son?
He’s right before your eyes, Father….
“Hehehehe, where do you suppose he might be?”
I laughed exaggeratedly to conceal my bewilderment, turning the question back on him.
I was grateful that the mask hid my ashen face.
“Speak at once.”
Killing intent began to form within Baek Cheon Baek Woo’s blade. Simultaneously, threads of will spread like piercing needles.
Pure murderous intent.
‘Father. No matter how worried you are that your son might be dead, how can you show genuine killing intent toward a Hwahgyeong-level Madu?’
My father is truly something. A good father, I must say.
Except for the fact that his killing intent is directed at me.
“How insolent.”
I unleashed a pitch-black aura to suppress my father.
Yet I controlled it with such precision that while it created oppressive pressure and made him feel threatened, it would cause no actual harm.
The aura itself was so overwhelming that my father failed to notice anything amiss.
“Ugh… Indeed, you live up to the grand title of Injoong Sinma.”
“You flatter me.”
-Seolha, think of an excuse to escape! An excuse to escape!
-I don’t know! Brother, have you thought of anything yet?
—Damn it!
I need to buy time by spouting whatever comes to mind.
“Gae-cheon-sin-eung. Just a fool with high martial prowess and nothing else. A genius intoxicated by his own talent becomes no different from an idiot.”
“Hwi is not a child to be spoken of in such manner by a creature of the demonic path.”
I could feel the presence of the Baek Family’s elite forces drawing near.
I had perhaps twenty breaths of time remaining.
“The victor has the right to judge the vanquished as he sees fit. Are you curious about your son’s whereabouts?”
—Ah! I just remembered! A brilliant idea!
—What is it! Tell me first before you do anything!
—Me as a hostage!
I stretched out my hand and pointed toward the opposite ridge still shrouded in dust.
“I haven’t killed him. I was planning to consume him after he grows a bit more. However, if you don’t rush over there immediately, he may well perish.”
Baek Moo-ryang bared his teeth, released a fierce wave of killing intent, and immediately rushed toward the dust-covered ridge.
—This is our chance! Let’s flee!
—Yes!
As I threw myself into motion alongside Seolha, I scattered a plausible excuse across all directions using the Six Harmonies Celestial Voice technique—that the Baek Family was not yet destined to fall, and should enjoy their reprieve.
—Let the Baek Family savor their borrowed lives! Hahahahahaha!
In that instant, Baek Moo-ryang’s roar tore through the air.
“Injoong Sinma! I will never forget what happened today! By my name, Baek Moo-ryang, I swear I will repay this debt!”
Seolha and I locked eyes.
—Brother, something feels off.
—It does.
—Should we take a few hits first?
—Huh? Why?
—Because we need to be wounded and collapsed in the dust storm, don’t we?
Seolha grinned wickedly and linked her arm with mine.
For some reason, it felt like I’d become her target to vent the confusion from moments before.
—Wait, hold on, Seol Ha-ya.
—Why? We don’t have time if we’re going to lie down!
…I felt nothing but wronged.
—Please, gently….
Sharp impacts soon echoed through the air.

* * *
Yang Hwi was rescued by Baek Moo-ryang, his entire body battered and torn.
Carried on the Family Head’s back to the Baek Hwa-gak’s base, I didn’t regain consciousness until a full day had passed.
At least, that was the story I was sticking to.
‘Ugh, pretending to be unconscious all day long has left me stiff and sore.’
I feigned waking up in front of the servants and was stretching my aching body this way and that when the door suddenly burst open.
“Hwi!”
“Ah, Father.”
Perhaps because I’d been so anxious playing the role of Injoong Sinma, I couldn’t help but startle at the sight of my father.
“Are you alright! You’ve been unconscious for an entire day.”
“Mmm… A whole day has passed? I do have some lingering injuries, but it seems I’m recovering well.”
“Sigh… What were you thinking, trying to face Injoong Sinma alone? And there was even another master standing beside him.”
Rumors of Seob Hon-ma-hu had not spread through the world.
Since Seolha bore no demonic aura, I had been careful to ensure no rumors would circulate.
“She merely observed. She seemed to be a subordinate of Injoong Sinma. Shamefully, I lost in a one-on-one confrontation.”
“To become one of the Cheonmu-sip-jon at your age would be unprecedented throughout history, so what shame is there? It was reckless, Hwi.”
Seeing my father’s face, a wave of emotion washed over me.
To think he would worry for me so deeply.
But now was the time to maintain my act.
“I apologize, Father. I will conduct myself with more humility from now on. It seems I became arrogant after reaching the Hwa-gyeong realm.”
“That’s enough. Do you know how much I worried when I realized you had erred? Don’t let it happen again.”
“Yes, Father. By the way, I have something to report.”
An unknown force I had named the Nameless Valley.
The Il-ik Maeng faction must also be made aware of them.
This was a perfect opportunity.
“I discovered something while fighting Injoong Sinma. That bastard was not affiliated with the Blood Sect.”
“What? According to what you’ve told me, Injoong Sinma was the master dispatched by the Demonic Sect.”
“Even that information appears to have been a counter-operation. He said directly that Honam belongs to the Valley.”
“The Valley? The Valley, you say…”
“An unknown force we haven’t identified seems to be operating covertly in Honam. What if we provisionally call them the Nameless Valley?”
“Let’s do that. My head is pounding. The Hyeol Sa-ryeon, then the Blood Sect, and now the Nameless Valley.”
I think I’ve reported everything… Oh, there’s one more thing.
“That’s not all, Father. I’ve learned that the Blood Sect is targeting the main family.”
“So the Blood Sect’s followers were hiding in Honam as well.”
“To be precise, it seems a Bishop-level master and several blood-soaked disciples released the Hyeol-ma-gong, and in the chaos that ensued, they rapidly gathered followers.”
Baek Moo-ryang’s expression grew grave.
“It never rains but it pours. I must convene an emergency council immediately to address this. Hwi, I wish I could stay longer with you, but your father must go now.”
“No, Father. I too will complete my recovery and head straight to Honam.”
Baek Moo-ryang, who had been about to leave, paused.
His son had faced the brink of death just yesterday.
Yet as the Family Head, Baek Moo-ryang could not stop his son from heading toward the four limbs of danger.
“Father. I do this because I wish to. My devotion to the family is no less than yours. Please, don’t make that expression.”
My son, as always, reads my heart and understands it.
It was truly grateful and poignant.
‘…Father. If you look at me with those eyes… my conscience will prick so sharply that a hole might tear through my chest. Ugh. Control your expression, control it.’
While Yang Hwi desperately tried not to show his discomfort, Baek Moo-ryang continued.
“Hwi. Swear to me. That you will never stake your life.”
Here I go, about to lie again.
The Geom Seon’s Oath demands staking one’s life, after all.
‘Hmm… Let me stake the Injoong Sinma’s life instead of the Gae-cheon-sin-eung’s.’
After rationalizing it somehow, I answered.
“Of course, Father. How long do you think my lifespan is?”
“I’m always grateful. I ask this of you.”
Baek Moo-ryang closed the door and left.
“…Father, really. When you speak like that with such an expression, it makes a grown son quite embarrassed.”
Well, at least. It seems I’ve safely overcome the greatest crisis of the year.
‘I should pretend to be ill for a day or so, then head back to Honam.’
I entrusted the cards to control the Blood Demons to Chu Dal, but it’s awkward to be away for too long.
If I return late, Seolha will surely nag me relentlessly.
“Anyway. I survived.”
I nearly got beaten by his strong fist.
At this rate, Father might even create a whip technique martial art.

* * *
From the moment I staged the life-and-death duel between Injoong Sinma and Gae-cheon-sin-eung until my return to where the Blood Demon Disciples were stationed, merely four days had passed.
Yet the mental exhaustion was as severe as if I had endured nearly three months of hardship.
“Phew. I’m back.”
According to my perception, all the Blood Demon Disciples were seated with a corpse each, cultivating their inner energy.
I spoke casually without affecting Injoong Sinma’s distinctive manner of speech as I entered the secret chamber.
“Brother!”
“Elder brother!”
The way they shouted the moment they saw me suggested something had happened again.
‘Sigh, and I’m still exhausted.’
“What’s going on? Your expressions suggest good news.”
“It’s about those Blood Sect bastards in Hyeolsan. If we kill every last one of them, we could impersonate them!”
Well, this wasn’t the time to be tired.
“What? How is that even possible?”
“Hehehehe, while you were away, brother, we laid some groundwork.”
In just four days, Chu Dal had brought back an extraordinary haul of information.
“Excellent work, you bastard! Explain it in detail!”
“We discovered how those bastards communicate with each other. The specifics are as follows….”
After hearing the full explanation, I made my declaration.
“From now on, Cheonmu-sip-jon’s Injoong Sinma belongs to the Blood Sect!”
This is looking quite promising.
Posing as Blood Sect cultists, we can create proper chaos.

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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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