Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 409

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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 409
Wang So-pal ran a distillery in Honam that produced and sold Ho-gwang-ju, a premium liquor somewhat famous in the region.
In Baek-do’s domain, anything related to alcohol inevitably drew the involvement of Heuk-do.
In Honam, where Sa-pa and Heuk-do openly held sway, it meant Wang So-pal suffered constant harassment without respite.
‘Damn it, I can’t abandon the family trade passed down from my great-grandfather.’
It had been roughly a hundred years since the Geom Wang’s Blood Sect Leader took control, placing Honam under the indirect rule of the Hyeol Sa-ryeon.
Wang So-pal had watched his grandfather and father brew liquor while suffering from stress-induced illness.
For this reason, Wang So-pal had lived as a distiller for thirty years now, constantly muttering about quitting.
“Hey, Wang. Why not skip brewing today and come drink and enjoy yourself?”
His friend So Jung-heon, who ran a liquor shop in a nearby alley, had suddenly appeared.
Seeing him propose a drinking gathering out of the blue, Wang So-pal tilted his head in confusion.
“Do you have time to play? I have to reduce my sleep just to meet the quotas those Heuk-do bastards demand.”
“Ah, so your situation hasn’t changed yet? The Heuk-do man who handled me died last night.”
“What?!”
“Probably your turn will come soon. Injoong Sinma is making his way up here.”
Injoong Sinma—just hearing the alias was terrifying. He was clearly a master of either Sa-pa or Mado.
Yet his friend’s face remained oddly composed.
“Don’t worry. They say Madu types don’t harm common people. What was it again—something about poor quality?”
“…?”
Days later.
Wang So-pal became a free man.
More precisely, all those who had threatened him with beatings if he didn’t produce liquor had died.
In truth, Wang So-pal loved brewing liquor. Setting aside that it was his lifelong work, his heart swelled with pride whenever he saw people enjoying the liquor he had crafted.
If only those damn Heuk-do bastards hadn’t existed, he would never have entertained thoughts of quitting.
‘It’s like a dream… hoping to sell liquor without any connection to Heuk-do was a luxury.’
Yet the dream became reality.
Too natural for mere fantasy, and it happened in an instant.
“Say, did you hear? Injoong Sinma smashed the Jangsa Jeil Sa-pa this time?”
Following So Jung-heon’s chuckle, Wang So-pal’s lips curved upward as well.
Not just the two of them, but everyone in the marketplace shared a similar reaction.
“When that Blood Sect—whatever their doctrine was—spread their martial power in all directions, I was so terrified I wanted to flee in the dead of night.”
“For over a month after that, didn’t a bloody wind blow every single day? Hahaha.”
“And when I first heard the alias Injoong Sinma, I thought Honam would become a hell on earth.”
“That Injoong Sinma came and stirred things up… and life actually became easier. No one could have predicted it.”
Among those speaking, some had actually witnessed Injoong Sinma.
A pale-faced fiend wildly laughing while wielding pitch-black flames in all directions.
A master of Mado whose very sight made one’s skin crawl.
But.
“I hope he stays in our region for a long, long time.”
“I agree. Living this comfortably is a first for me since birth.”
When such awareness spread widely among the people.
Injoong Sinma suddenly began leading his subordinate demons southward.
“What? Why in the world! I told you to stay put for a long time!”
“It seems your devotion was insufficient…”
“Once you settle somewhere, you should plant your roots and stay, tsk.”
Since his emergence, Injoong Sinma had rapidly expanded his influence, now controlling nearly a third of Honam.
As a result, the peculiar sight of common people hoping the Mado master would never leave was witnessed in many places.

* * *
Yang Hwi, Seolha, and Chu Dal spent considerable time devising a strategy to utterly crush the Blood Sect bastards.
Summarized, it went like this.
“Kill all the Blood Sect bastards and receive orders to establish ourselves—what do you think?”
“Proceed.”
One might think the strategy was excessively simple for the time invested.
But it was a judgment made after accounting for every conceivable variable.
A swift strike to annihilate them all would minimize complications afterward.
Once decided, swift action was the only way.
“Phew, it’s been a while since I’ve come to Hyungsan Sect.”
“The terrain is excellent. It’s the kind of place one of the old Gu-pa sects could have established themselves.”
Yang Hwi’s Blood Demon Corps reached the foothills of Hyungsan Sect in merely a day.
Quite a few Blood Demons were exhausted from deploying their lightness technique without rest, but so what.
‘Those bastards are just long-term assets if alive, eternal merit if dead.’
-Chu Dal, do the Blood Sect bastards show any sign of suspicion?
-Of course they do. Since we suddenly moved south, a few of them went out to investigate the reason.
-You captured and killed them?
-Yes. Besides, all the senior disciples who maintain contact with headquarters are stationed at the peak of Hyungsan anyway.
Then there’s no problem.
“All Blood Demon Corps, heed the command of Bon-jwa!”
As Yang Hwi’s cry rang out, Seolha unfurled her fan.
With a whooshing sound, the fan’s resonance became a profound melody that settled into the Blood Demons.
“Form an encirclement centered on the peak, advance upward and kill every mountain demon you see!”
“Understood!”
“Understood!”
“Understood!”
A command enforced not merely through fanatical heart technique, but through soul-binding sorcery as well.
It would be no problem for them to remain absent for a couple of hours.
-Now, let’s go too.
-Yes.
-Yes.
The core of the assault was to completely eliminate the Blood Oath Ascetics and several senior disciples who maintained contact with Blood Sect headquarters.
As for the lesser subordinates, losing a few of them wouldn’t truly matter.
The reason was simple.
The Blood Sect’s communication network operated as a cellular organization.
‘Those lower ranks can’t report to headquarters even if they wanted to. Hehehehe.’
-Keuuuuuh ahhhhh!
Releasing a ghostly wail instead of a normal cry, I leaped to the summit of Hyungsan Mountain in a single bound.
“Servants of the Hyeol-sin, the Bon-jwa has graced you with his divine presence! Prostrate yourselves in worship! Krahahahaha!”
-Brother, you’re overdoing the theatrics.
…This guy. Just moments ago he was laughing along with “ohohoho.”
-Seolha, if you use your true martial technique, you’ll expose yourself as Baek-do-in, so just slaughter any who try to flee.
It was considerate of me toward Seolha, who was still at the peak of her power, but she seemed to have her pride wounded.
-Tch, I’ll do it that way for now.
I had Chu Dal hold the token and suppress any reckless actions from the Blood Demons—that settled the role assignments.
Now then, shall we begin in earnest?
“Blood Oath Ascetic! Step forth before the Bon-jwa! If you kneel, I shall spare your life!”
As I scattered jet-black flames in all directions, a sharp aura erupted from below.
“Spirited, aren’t you? Krahaha!”
It was a strike so powerful that Sim Sang-i’s manifestation distorted space and dyed it crimson.
-Keuuuuuh ahhhhh!
Together with the ghostly wail, the black flames formed the shape of a human face, blocking every trace of that aura.
“One final word. Surrender before the Bon-jwa, Blood Oath Ascetic.”
Only then did the Blood Oath Ascetic unfold his void-treading technique and soar toward Yang Hwi.
“…Who might you be, honored one?”
This bastard knows full well but still asks. Even after tailing me, he plays dumb.
‘There are supposedly only three senior disciples who can exchange communications with the Blood Sect’s headquarters.’
That Chu Dal fellow—he merely handed over the token to command the Blood Demons, yet somehow he extracted such valuable intelligence. Truly remarkable.
His talent in this domain is genuinely miraculous, isn’t it?
“You have missed your final opportunity.”
“Wait, just a moment—”
The black flames distorted the Blood Oath Ascetic’s Sim Sang-i, engulfing all directions.

* * *
Having subdued all three senior disciples including the Blood Oath Ascetic, Yang Hwi gazed down with a satisfied smile.
The Blood Sect members were surrounded and being devoured.
The Blood Demon Corps, having learned the same Blood Demon technique, were diligently slaughtering the bastards in obedience to my command.
‘This is what true poison countering poison truly means.’
-Brother, at this rate, there’s no need for separate surveillance or monitoring, is there?
I nodded as Seolha appeared beside me with a soft rustle.
“You’re right. Let’s just enjoy the spectacle for a while.”
“Though it’s rather excessively cruel for mere appreciation, wouldn’t you say?”
“…Fair point.”
Yet Yang Hwi was genuinely savoring this sight without a shred of pretense.
The Blood Sect’s Bishop, the Blood Oath Ascetic. This bastard had come alongside Hyeol-hyeol-nyeo back when Dang-gun died in my place in my previous life.
‘Even without prior grievance, it would have sufficed. But regardless, this is vengeance from my past life, you bastard.’
Two hours had passed.
The Blood Sect cultists were annihilated, and the Blood Demon Corps had dwindled to a third of their original numbers.
But it mattered not. Increasing numbers was hardly a difficult task.
Besides, the survivors who absorbed the essence from the countless corpses scattered about would grow even stronger.
“Time to finish this.”
The only fitting end for these bastards was death.
Though before killing them, I intended to extract maximum information through torture.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve tortured with Seon-gi.’
Blood Sect cultists never divulge information even when captured, thanks to their fanatical devotion to the Hyeol-sin.
But.
I had already discovered seventeen years ago that using Seon-gi could easily extract confessions.
Even Gwi-no Baek-ma, who would have become a major figure in the Blood Sect, had submitted before Seon-gi.
‘The Blood Oath Ascetic is troublesome as a Bishop-rank, but well. I have Seolha.’
Seolha’s compatibility with soul-binding techniques was exceptional.
The progress was so swift it reminded me eerily of Seob Hon-ma-hu from my past life.
Weakening body and mind through torture with Seon-gi, redirecting the object of the demon’s fanatical devotion using spirit techniques, and adding Seolha’s soul-binding arts on top of that.
“D… Divine… Being…”
Staring into the Blood Oath Ascetic’s unfocused pupils, I asked what I was most curious about.
“Blood Oath Ascetic. Do you know of the mysterious force operating in the shadows of Honam?”
Three characters tumbled from the slack mouth.
“E… vil… Valley…”
The mysterious force I had been calling by the provisional name Unnamed Valley.
Seeing it ended with the same character for valley confirmed it.
But where is Evil Valley?
-Chu Dal, do you know where?
-First time hearing of it, grunt.
“Is there anything else you know besides the name?”
“There’s… nothing.”
I couldn’t help but click my tongue in frustration.
This was less rewarding than I’d hoped.
‘I’ll have to extract whatever else I can from him instead.’
I continued interrogating the Blood Oath Ascetic, extracting the secret incantations of numerous Blood Sect techniques.
Moreover, I pried out every method of communication between the Blood Sect’s main headquarters and its branches.
-Brother, I think we’ve gotten everything we can from him at this point.
-Right. We could easily pass ourselves off as a Blood Sect branch leader instead of a Blood Oath Ascetic.
Chu Dal, concealed in the shadows and grinning wickedly, suddenly noticed Yang Hwi’s expression and asked.
-Brother, you don’t look well. Is something wrong?
-Ah, it’s nothing serious.
It was doubt that had sprouted from the secret incantations within the Blood Sect’s techniques.
Something felt off.
There was something that nagged at me, a creeping suspicion.
Now that I’d obtained the high-level Hyeol-ma-gong, I could finally see something.
‘All the Blood Sect’s techniques and martial arts don’t seem to exist for the purpose of becoming stronger.’
They didn’t appear to be created to accumulate blood essence and grow more powerful.
Rather, there was an intent to increase blood essence itself… or perhaps to ensure that as many people as possible possessed blood essence.
There was a dissonance to it. Vague, but all the more unsettling because of that vagueness.
[One choice determines arrival—what is obtained in the west.]
[Certain death brings life—life brings certain death.]
[Stake your life, do not die.]
The words of the Geom Seon’s secret formula suddenly came to mind.
Something that must be obtained from the west, even at the cost of one’s life.
I wondered if this dissonance might be connected to that.
‘If that’s the case, how should I find out… Ah!’
My lips curved upward in a grin. Then I shouted.
“Chu Dal, let’s send a letter to the Blood Sect’s main headquarters!”
If you don’t know, you simply ask.

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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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