Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 93

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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 093
A worn and faded scrap of paper, tattered at the edges.
Yet upon seeing its contents, the Ha O-mun Branch Manager could not help but gasp in genuine astonishment.
“This… this is…! Could it possibly be genuine?”
Approximately two hundred years ago from the present day.
A demonic force called the Demon City of Ten Thousand Evils had unleashed catastrophe upon the realm.
When all people suffered under the grip of the demonic path, the Sword King appeared like a comet and saved the world.
In other words, the Sword King’s Spear could only be a relic from at least two hundred years past.
Obtaining such a definitive clue was like plucking a star from the heavens.
“This is unbelievable. I thought all traces of the Sword King’s Spear had vanished after the Blood Slaughter Alliance’s incident regarding it…”
“The Blood Slaughter Alliance did gather and destroy most of the clues about the Sword King’s Spear scattered across the realm back then.”
I continued, shrugging my shoulders.
“But how could they possibly have destroyed every single clue?”
“Is this map of the Sword King’s Spear genuine?”
“Verify it yourself.”
The Branch Manager alternated between examining the map fragment and the newly drawn map, comparing their authenticity.
“The paper’s material and the ink’s color are certainly from that era. And the contents of both maps match perfectly.”
Of course they match. I had based the Jin Family’s map on the one received from the Old Man and redrawn it with corrections.
Incidentally, it was Chu Dal who redrew the map.
Thanks to learning the relevant techniques from Yeo Un-hyeok, who made his living restoring—not forging—ancient texts, his artistic skill had become quite respectable.
“The new one is a copy of the map I possess. Therefore, they must match.”
“You possess not just a fragment, but the complete map?”
“That’s correct.”
A lie. What I received from Yeo Un-hyeok was only this fragment.
But I nodded calmly.
“This should be sufficient to confirm its authenticity, shouldn’t it?”
“…Yes. Certainly, it’s information worth selling. However.”
The Branch Manager pointed sharply to the upper portion of the map.
“A crucial part is missing. There’s no marking indicating the exact location.”
“I’m aware.”
“Hmm. Two meanings to this, then?”
Conversations truly are best held with perceptive people.
There’s no frustration in dealing with them.
Indeed, one must be at least this level to deserve the position of Branch Manager.
“You deliberately omitted it despite knowing?”
“When the time comes, I’ll inform you. Don’t worry.”
If Ha O-mun acts independently, the plan falls apart.
For this reason, I must make them move precisely when I desire.
This is why I kept secret that the Sword King’s Spear is at Baek Su-san.
“It’s not a lie, is it?”
“Against the Ha O-mun, one of the greatest under heaven? You already know my identity, and the Main Residence has no desire to suffer from needless rumors.”
“Then you’re the fuse that lights the powder keg.”
“Precisely.”
The Ha O-mun Branch Manager twirled his wine cup in his palm, lost in thought.
‘The Main Sect swallowing this alone would be difficult.’
It was nothing less than the Sword King’s Spear. From Ha O-mun’s perspective, if he could consume it alone, there was no reason to sell information to other sects.
The Namgung Cheon-yeong before him had imposed restrictions as if aware of this fact.
‘The Main Sect has three choices.’
Extract it through coercion and monopolize it.
Inform the Namgung Family of this fact and extort compensation.
Or.
‘Ride the wave that Namgung Cheon-yeong has drawn and obtain maximum profit.’
As the Branch Manager entertained such thoughts, he was startled by Yang Hwi’s next words.
“Coerce me. Stab me in the back. Or dance together. Which will it be?”
‘He sees right through my intentions.’
“…You are truly a perceptive individual, Namgung Cheon-yeong.”
“I hear that often.”
“Your confidence seems equally undiminished.”
“I lack nothing.”
“Very well.”
The Branch Manager clapped his palms together with a sharp sound and grasped an abacus in his hand.
“Let us determine the price. How much do you demand?”
“Normally in such situations, shouldn’t the desperate party propose the price first?”
“That is precisely why I ask.”
“Hmm, no. I’m giving Ha O-mun a chance to set foot in the game.”
“….”
From my perspective, Ha O-mun was not strictly necessary.
I could simply find one of the countless beggars scattered throughout Taiyuan and contact the Beggar Clan instead.
‘Though truthfully, going through the Beggar Clan would be troublesome in many ways, which is why I sought out Ha O-mun.’
If information about the Sword King’s Spear spread far and wide, bloodshed would inevitably follow.
The Beggar Clan would move to keep the board as small as possible.
In the worst case, there was even a risk of being misunderstood as having entangled the Baek Family in a blood vendetta.
The Beggar Clan primarily spreads information through orthodox martial sects.
But.
‘Having chosen the third option, I hold the advantage.’
“Very well. Let us dispense with unnecessary haggling. One hundred gold taels.”
Ten thousand silver taels. A substantial sum capable of establishing a respectable inn in a prosperous city.
Yet Yang Hwi shook his head as if it were absurd.
“Didn’t we agree not to haggle?”
“As a merchant, I must probe at least once.”
“We know each other well enough. Let’s move quickly.”
“Very well. One thousand taels.”
The price jumped tenfold in an instant.
Yet I crossed my arms with obvious displeasure.
“…How much do you want?”
“Five thousand taels. In gold, naturally. All in promissory notes for easy transport.”
“Impossible.”
The Branch Manager’s expression made clear this was out of the question.
“Setting aside the absurdity of such a sum, we simply don’t possess that much capital.”
“Look, let’s not waste time with this tug-of-war. Is there a way to reach Hangzhou?”
“….”
I snorted as I watched the Branch Manager fall silent, struck by my point.
Taihua in Anhui and Hangzhou in Henan.
Both cities, positioned near Taiyuan, shared the common distinction of being transportation hubs with nearby canals and major roads.
‘There’s no way the Taihua branch handles less than five thousand taels in gold.’
Well, it wasn’t insignificant—five thousand taels in gold, not silver—but it was hardly an impossible sum.
“With lightness technique, I could reach Hangzhou in just four hours. Might as well go see Henan while I’m at it.”
As I made a show of rising from my seat, the Branch Manager quickly grabbed my sleeve.
“I understand. I do. This has become a habit of mine. I won’t haggle anymore, truly.”
When I sat back down, the Branch Manager clicked his abacus back and forth.
“Without further dispute, I’ve calculated down to my absolute limit. Two thousand taels. How is that?”
“Let’s meet in the middle.”
The midpoint between one thousand and five thousand.
Three thousand taels.
“Hmm… If we do that, the risk of loss becomes far too great….”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure the stage is set properly. You’ve seen the Nok-lim members yourself.”
In that moment, the Ha O-mun Branch Manager’s eyes changed.
“Will you truly orchestrate such a grand spectacle?”
“Regardless of how it concludes, I need to create chaos.”
“In that case….”
When things truly begin to move, the Nok-lim are the group that stands out most visibly.
When those who’ve been holed up in the mountains come down below, there’s no way to hide their presence.
In other words, there will be quite a few followers watching the developments.
Which means Ha O-mun will have two or three times as many places to sell information.
“Hmm. Very well. Three thousand taels. It will take three or four days to prepare all the promissory notes.”
“That’s fine. I plan to idle away in Juru anyway.”
I secured Jang Bo-do.
“The transfer happens only after payment is received.”
“Of course. Even as you see us, Ha O-mun survives on integrity.”
I know. That’s precisely why I’m attempting to deal with Ha O-mun, which belongs to the dark path.

* * *
Yang Hwi descended to the first floor with Chu Dal.
“Elder Dang. I’m back.”
Gu Ak, pleasantly drunk, waved his hand cheerfully.
“So you went to see Sophie, took quite a while. Looks like you handled something big while you were at it?”
“Elder Brother.”
“What is it!”
“Please don’t use such crude language in front of our Hwa-hwa.”
“…I absolutely won’t. Our Hwa-hwa should only hear beautiful and kind words.”
He pulled out a chair and plopped down heavily.
“I sold information to Ha O-mun.”
Dang-gun, who had been raising his cup, froze and glanced toward where Adu sat.
Adu paid no attention, inhaling his rice cakes.
“Huh? Why are you looking at me?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Yang Hwi waved his hand dismissively.
“Whether he’s actually foolish or just pretending doesn’t matter. Shaolin won’t get involved anyway.”
A towering tree that practices benevolence and righteousness. That’s precisely what Shaolin is.
Even if he learned of Jang Bo-do, he wouldn’t step forward.
“Is that so? It seems like he might intervene under the pretext of stopping the blood massacre.”
“If that were the case, he would have stepped in during the Sword King’s Spear blood massacre before. Saving those blinded by greed who rush forward is far from what Shaolin pursues.”
“That’s true.”
Dang-gun, who had been stroking his chin for a moment, continued speaking.
“You sold information to Ha O-mun. Won’t that be dangerous?”
“It is dangerous. But there’s no helping it. Time is short.”
My purpose is to obtain clues about the Immortal Technique from the Sword King’s Spear.
However, my companions’ purposes were somewhat different.
The Tang Family, for instance, was focused on stabbing the Namgung Clan in the back.
So from Dang-gun’s perspective, he couldn’t help but worry.
“Younger Brother Hwi. It seems like you must have anticipated to some degree that things would unfold this way.”
“Yes. My master gave me a hint. I had the plan drawn up from the beginning.”
“Then from the start, if we had prepared more strength… No, that would have aroused the Namgung Clan’s suspicion.”
The reason for organizing the expedition lightly while keeping the Sword King’s Spear in mind from the outset.
“If excessive strength moves with a mere expedition, it inevitably draws attention. This was exactly the limit.”
Then Gu Ak raised a question.
“Little Brother. By that logic, wouldn’t it also be overreaching for this humble self—who has reached the pinnacle realm and contends for the position of greatest master in the Baek Family—to accompany a mere expedition?”
…Setting aside the truth of the matter, his tone seemed brimming with arrogance.
“Elder Brother is fine. I’ve put you to work on all sorts of tasks up until now.”
….
In fact, I had been throwing Gu Ak into every task imaginable.
All the work that Baek Moo-ryang, another peak master, couldn’t do because of his position as family head, I had dumped squarely onto Gu Ak’s shoulders.
Thanks to that, I had extracted considerable benefits.
“I put you to work with great purpose behind it all. Now do you understand this younger brother’s deep scheming?”
“….”
Gu Ak simply gazed at the sky in silence.
This brat… my younger brother never changed, no matter how much time passed.
“What’s wrong? Are you upset?”
“Little brother! Speak plainly! What martial sect in this world treats a peak master so poorly!”
It was then that Gu Ak, fuming with indignation, began to rise.
“I compensated you fairly for your work. Can the Crown Prince’s authority reduce your salary?”
I continued speaking while looking at this resolute man—a father to a child and a husband to a woman.
“Besides, you reached peak mastery thanks to me.”
“….”
Gu Ak couldn’t bring himself to refute it.
Because it was the truth.
If I hadn’t acted as a martial arts scholar, refining his techniques and offering guidance, there was a high probability he’d still be at the first-rate level.
Yes, it was certainly true, but….
‘I really want to punch him once. With all my strength.’
Instead of Gu Ak, who was grinding his teeth, Dang-gun stepped forward with a chuckle.
“Little brother Hwi. Stop teasing and tell us more about the plan. Are you planning to hand the information only to Ha O-mun?”
“No, that’s not it. That would give Ha O-mun too much influence. To create chaos, I need to expand the board so more factions can form and dissolve.”
In that sense.
“Elder Brother Gu, I have a favor to ask.”
“Hmph. I won’t do it.”
“Come now. A real man sulking? Once you hear it, you’ll want to do it.”
I continued with a grin.
“Go exercise some authority and vent your frustrations, then come back.”

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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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