Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 67

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Third-rate Martial Arts Family, Greatest Under Heaven – Episode 067
Generally, to face a single first-rate master using lower-tier warriors, one needs at least four second-rate experts at minimum.
Even then, they can only drag out the fight and endure—if you want to finish it decisively, you need at least five second-rate experts.
‘Yet she ordered Seolha and me to fight that bastard together.’
How am I supposed to win this?
My confident smile from moments ago when Eum Hu asked if I could do it now seemed utterly hollow.
“You two brats. Submit quietly, and everything will be resolved.”
Ignoring Heuk-sal-geom, I turned to Eum Hu.
“Master, what happens if we lose?”
“I never speak twice with one mouth. I would have to release him.”
Eum Hu continued in an unusual tone.
“In other words, I’d have to watch that Sapa bastard continue to be a thorn in my side… and out of disappointment, I’d probably want to keep Namgung Cheon-yeong by my side and teach him for a very long time.”
My half-hearted resolve vanished completely, replaced by an absolute determination to win.
-Sister. I’ll handle the main assault. You keep your distance and use sound waves to harass him. Your role is to shake his composure so I can gain the advantage. If you understand, nod instead of answering aloud.
Unable to use telepathy, Jegal Seol-ha nodded as instructed.
With the resolve of certain victory, I drew my blade and stepped onto Gicheonbo.
Swift and sharp, infused with a ring of force, I stamped the ground and prepared my sword technique with complete dedication.
Gaecheon Baekpal Geom, Sixth Form.
Wind-Swift Hawk Return.
Like a hawk soaring suddenly upon catching an updraft, I created the force to replace the wind by treading the pressure point.
My inner energy descended to the Yongcheon acupoint, amplifying through the meridians in its unique manner before surging forth.
‘Finish this in one strike if possible!’
“Die!”
I poured all the inner power I could draw through my underdeveloped meridians at once—six years of accumulated cultivation.
My blade, brimming with fierce force, simultaneously targeted Heuk-sal-geom’s vital points.
Shocked by the mysterious subtlety of a child’s sword technique, Heuk-sal-geom hurriedly swung his blade.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Four collisions in a brief moment.
I furrowed my brow.
“Damn it!”
I’d anticipated this, but none of my attacks were getting through.
Even at full power, I’m only second-rate. Against a first-rate master, it’s simply insufficient.
My opening move was blocked, so now it was Heuk-sal-geom’s turn.
“Impressive for a brat!”
Clang!
After blocking Heuk-sal-geom’s thrust, I was sent flying backward.
Even after landing, my robes fluttered violently as if caught in a headwind for a long moment.
I was venting the force I hadn’t fully dissipated.
‘He’s no amateur.’
Though Heuk-sal-geom was from a heterodox sect, he was a warrior who had properly learned martial arts and possessed solid fundamentals.
“Young brat, with Second-rate martial prowess at your age, you must have a sharp mind as well. But you cannot possibly defeat this elder. So let us end this easily.”
Heuk-sal-geom spoke while gazing not at Yang Hwi and Jegal Seol-ha, but at Eum Hu standing behind them.
A pair of children hardly seemed worth his attention.
‘This feeling… it’s my first time experiencing it.’
In my past life, I was already a supreme master when I first entered the Martial Arts World.
In other words, I had never been disrespected for my martial prowess anywhere.
My pride was subtly wounded.
“You call yourself an elder, yet you’re not ashamed to ask a young brat for a match?”
“…Truly an insolent little bastard.”
“When the elder can’t live up to his age, a little insolence is forgivable.”
As I provoked him, I simultaneously calculated the path to seize momentum.
‘There is a way. He cannot unleash projectile strikes.’
This meant I had to aim for suppression alone.
But since I held the offensive, I could gain advantage through the freedom of technique selection.
-Hawk, restrict his movements with your sound waves.
I launched my body simultaneously with the mental transmission.
Whoooosh!
My blade erupted with phoenix wing force. I leaped high and swung down mightily to seize the upper position.
‘Leaving the ground against a master is foolish, but—!’
Ting! Ting!
Jegal Seol-ha’s sound waves restricted Heuk-sal-geom’s movements.
In that moment, I condensed nine techniques centered on the fourth form of Gaecheon Baekpal Geom into a single strike.
‘White Feather Pressing Position!’
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Any blade strike executed from above to below possessed the greatest power among all techniques.
As Heuk-sal-geom recoiled in surprise at the fiercer-than-expected force, I pivoted and unleashed a second strike.
Gaecheon Baekpal Geom, fifth form.
Eagle Feather Scattering.
A technique that attacked in all directions, or rather, one that could compress the most exchanges into a single clash.
And with Jegal Seol-ha’s support added to this—
-Hawk, sound waves!
Ting!
A sonic wave faster than any blade strike, infused with force, struck Heuk-sal-geom’s lower body.
Simultaneously, Yang Hwi delivered multiple blade techniques to his upper, middle, and lower sections.
Splash!
“Ugh!”
I succeeded in leaving a shallow wound on Heuk-sal-geom’s forearm, and my lips curved upward.
“Elder, how does it feel to bleed at the hands of a young brat?”
“…Brat. This elder also has limits.”
“What will you do if I cross them? Kill me? You can’t. Anyway, all you have is your mouth.”
“….”
Heuk-sal-geom fell silent. His gaze grew even more piercing.
Clang!
He closed the distance in an instant, thrusting his blade forward.
I managed to block it because I had fully awakened my qi, but.
I felt a sharp sting in my wrist.
‘Both physical strength and qi cultivation—he surpasses me in every way. The only reason this fight is even possible is….’
Jegal Seol-ha’s support. And the depth of martial knowledge I had cultivated.
The swordsmanship Heuk-sal-geom had mastered was legitimate, but only reached the first-rate level.
It could not compare to the Gae-cheon-bak-pal-geom, which held the potential to reach the pinnacle.
‘Even so, the disadvantage is overwhelming.’
How could I seize the advantage?
What did Eum Hu want me to understand in this situation?
I changed my strategy.
Instead of attacking, I continued to create distance and focused solely on blocking his blade strikes.
—Four Directions, Resonant Sound!
Whoosh!
Thanks to Jegal Seol-ha’s support, I managed to maintain balance and endure for dozens of seconds.
“This won’t do.”
Heuk-sal-geom looked at Jegal Seol-ha with an irritated gaze.
It seemed he was about to change his priority target.
‘That can’t happen.’
No matter how low my martial skill was, as long as his attacks weren’t directed at me, exploiting the openings he revealed wasn’t difficult.
Clang!
Heuk-sal-geom blocked my blade aimed at the back of his head and ground his teeth.
“Two brats. I have no choice then.”
In that moment, a fierce aura erupted from Heuk-sal-geom’s entire body.
A qi wave with the effect of freezing the body merely upon contact.
‘This is troublesome. He had already realized the Ui-gi-sang-in.’
Ui-gi-sang-in. Projecting one’s will as qi to harm others.
One of the three realizations one must achieve to reach the pinnacle.
If its intensity is strong enough, it can inflict shock directly upon the spirit.
“Honored elder, I beg your forgiveness. I have done my utmost to prevent my disciples from suffering spiritual wounds.”
After speaking, Heuk-sal-geom walked toward me.
I desperately circulated my true qi and held my blade upright.
“Do not resist. Surrender quietly, or the shock to your spirit will only grow worse.”
“Damn it, you bastard from the Sapa.”
“You persist in disrespecting me.”
Having experienced regression as a martial artist, I’ve encountered countless unfamiliar situations.
Never did I imagine I’d find myself on the defensive against a mere first-rate master, desperately blocking attacks.
But.
Precisely because of this, there were advantages I could seize.
Clang!
‘Tempering is what makes me stronger.’
Such is the nature of mankind.
Climbing a gentle hill versus scaling a treacherous mountain.
Which path allows for faster growth?
Obviously the latter.
Clang!
A merchant of will? The shock inflicted upon the spirit?
I’m accustomed to such things.
To reach the pinnacle, one’s very intent must become strong enough to manifest in reality itself.
‘Though this body is still young and my enlightenment not yet fully embodied.’
That doesn’t mean there’s no way forward.
Clang!
“To continue moving while receiving the momentum with your entire body. Quite the impressive brat, for all your poison.”
“Your momentum, heh, is simply too weak, you see.”
Watching Heuk-sal-geom’s bewildered expression, I unleashed the Sealed Sound once more.
Yes, tempering truly makes one stronger.
I found the method.
I understood it.
Whoooosh!
Clang!
Heuk-sal-geom’s complexion shifted dramatically as he parried the blade.
The essence of my sword technique was unmistakably different from before.
Seeing this, I let a faint smile cross my lips.
“Thank you. Because of you, I’ve awakened to it.”
Eum Hu had said this to me.
That a sword alone could produce countless sounds.
‘The Sealed Sound had trapped me within its confines.’
It was through clashing blades with Heuk-sal-geom that I could finally comprehend it.
The metallic ring of sword striking sword—that too was sound.
It was in that moment.
-Namgung Cheon-yeong. Remember this well. Sound itself is vibration.
-Since sound is waves, you can create waves with your sword.
My body trembled like lightning.
Though I could not yet embody and manifest this through martial arts, the enlightenment that remained in my mind from my former mastery as a pinnacle expert accepted this new revelation.
‘The collision of sword against sword differs based on the force and point of impact.’
A truth my body learned through fighting Heuk-sal-geom.
This was why the Sword Master said a blade alone could produce countless sounds.
‘The Gaecheon Baekpal Geom produces different cries depending on one’s level of mastery.’
Sword resonance. The cry a sword emits is also vibration.
‘Then, if I embody the collision of sword against sword through qi… and thereby produce different sword cries…’
The unity of sword and sound.
The convergence of sword force and sound force.
Booooom!
Qi infused the Bee Wing Sound, which had merely been a realm and phenomenon of the Gaecheon Baekpal Geom.
Each with different pitches and intervals.
Sound, vibration.
Resonating together with qi, it shattered Heuk-sal-geom’s momentum.
Yang Hwi wielded his sword as if possessed by something divine.
“What is this!”
Heuk-sal-geom, who had been infusing true qi into the sword in his hand to block Yang Hwi’s blade, suddenly realized one fact.
‘This! The flow of true qi!’
Booooom!
Yang Hwi’s sword did not wait for Heuk-sal-geom.
Clang!
Sword clashed against sword. Through the blade, Heuk-sal-geom felt the vibration resonating as if it were shaking his internal organs.
In other words, he received an impact as if his insides were being churned.
A new change that had not been felt until now.
Booooom!
The sword cries. It spews vibration in all directions.
Sword resonance transcended mere phenomenon and became a means of attack.
“What do you think? I’m thinking of calling it Resonant Tremor.”
Resonant Tremor. The cry shakes and resonates in all directions.
Different sword strikes and qi waves.
From their collision, each distinct sword resonance is born.
Layering upon layering, they create sounds of infinite transformation.
It was an enlightenment drawn from Eum Hu’s clue and elevated into a technique of its own.
“Now then, let us begin in earnest.”
Gaecheon Baekpal Geom, new ultimate technique.
Bee Wing Resonant Tremor.
Booooooom!
The sword strike imbued with the subtlety of Bee Wing Resonant Tremor aimed at Heuk-sal-geom’s entire body.
Heuk-sal-geom raised his sword to block the assault, but each time, he could not prevent the vibration of sword resonance from burrowing into his interior.
“Ugh!”
When a sword strikes a rock, the sharp vibration makes even the grip in one’s hand ache.
With each exchange of sword strikes, such impacts accumulated in his internal organs.
“Hack, cough!”
Heuk-sal-geom could endure no longer and spewed forth blood.
In that moment, my blade touched Heuk-sal-geom’s throat.
“Elder. How does it feel to be defeated by a mere greenhorn?”
A smirk played across my lips.
It was the instant when a warrior of the second rank had subdued a master of the first rank.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————