Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 96

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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 096
There is a common saying that circulates throughout the Gangho.
Revere Shaolin in the North, honor Wudang in the South.
Alongside Shaolin, the Taoist Priests and Wudang are called the pillars of the orthodox sects.
Yet Wudang, in truth, has a history spanning barely more than one hundred and fifty years.
‘And yet they boast the strength of one of the Nine Great Sects, even rivaling Shaolin in influence.’
If Shaolin is the most immovable sect under heaven.
Then Wudang is conversely the most mobile.
Unlike Shaolin, it also has the greatest number of secular branches among the Nine Great Sects.
‘For such a sect to journey all the way from Hubei to this place…’
It was a distance that required crossing nearly an entire province.
They must have come running at full speed.
Yang Hwi’s brows narrowed.
The unexpected appearance of Wudang. And their joining forces with the Namgung clan, no less.
‘This is a variable I didn’t anticipate. And seeing that Hyeon-hyeon is among them, it doesn’t seem like they brought along mediocre disciples either.’
Hyeon-hyeon. He was known as Wudang’s foremost rising talent.
His temperament and conduct were quintessentially Wudang—a man who seemed to have been nurtured by the very essence of Wudang Mountain itself.
Remembering how that wretch caused me suffering in my past life, I felt fresh anger welling up unbidden.
In any case.
‘Given the timeframe, it should have been difficult for them to muster proper forces. How did this happen?’
There was a specific reason I had set the deadline at exactly two weeks.
I wanted only the sects and martial artists from the northern regions of Anhui and southern Henan to gather—accounting for the time needed to receive information, verify its authenticity, and rush here.
‘Could it be that Wudang disciples happened to be dispatched to the area?’
There was no other way to explain it.
They could have arrived late, but being here already was impossible otherwise.
“Elder Brother. They’re clearly Wudang, but is their appearance also part of your plan?”
“No.”
“Then the situation seems to have become troublesome, Brother Hwi.”
“Not at all.”
“Hmm?”
Yang Hwi’s lips curled into a grin.
“If Wudang has joined with Namgung of all places, it’s fine. Those people are as black-hearted as the dark robes they wear.”
If Yang Hwi despised the Namgung clan most among the Five Great Families, then Wudang was what the Nine Great Sects despised most.
It was remarkable how similar the conduct of blood-centered martial families and sects connected by lineage could be.
“Those two won’t be laughing and getting along together. So it’s fine. In fact, it’s better this way.”
A mess. A complete mess is about to unfold.
So I’ll just watch the spectacle and pocket whatever benefits come my way.
“Kekekekeke!”
I laughed with genuine delight, but the sound came out louder than intended.
Several of the Taoist Priests in black robes turned their gaze toward me, exchanged brief words with the Namgung contingent, and then looked back in my direction.
-Hwi, younger brother. They’re approaching.
-Little brother! What if we draw attention?
‘Ugh, my eardrums.’
The sudden transmission resonated so sharply that my eardrums tingled painfully.
Making such a fuss over nothing.
Still, I needed to understand what these people were thinking by observing their expressions.
-It’s fine. Let’s just exchange brief greetings.
I sent a transmission and composed my expression.
‘I should appear as an admiring junior upon seeing a sufficiently renowned sect.’
Once the Taoist priests had closed the distance sufficiently, my eyes began to gleam brightly.
The emotions reflected in my pupils were longing and reverence.
My posture and demeanor became so respectful that I appeared to bow slightly.
“Is it possible? Could you be esteemed priests of the Shaman sect?”
“Infinite Buddha. It seems the young master recognizes us humble monks.”
“How could I not? The pristine Taoist temples, black Taoist robes, and even the Pine Pattern Sword! You are the Shaman priests painted straight from a picture!”
While the Namgung clan wielded their distinctive iron swords, the Shaman sect was symbolized by the black Pine Pattern Sword.
A straight sword symbolizing the noble way of Taoism, resembling the Shaman’s sacred Pine Pattern Ancient Sword.
“Ever since I first grasped a sword in my youth, I have longed to meet the esteemed Shaman priests! The greatest sword sect under heaven! The Shaman sect supreme! It is an honor to meet you!”
I performed the fist salute with an attitude somewhere between sincerity and flattery.
Contentment and pride settled across the priests’ faces.
“Haha, if the young master diligently cultivates and refines yourself, you too can reach the heights of swordsmanship. But… is the person behind you truly from the Tang Family?”
Yes. It was indeed the right move to discover the Tang Siblings and approach through the Namgung clan’s connections.
‘Since they didn’t come directly, it seems they’re not particularly suspicious.’
In truth, there was no reason for suspicion.
The Jang Bo-do I spread through the Ha O-mun was based on the genuine version, so it differed from the authentic one.
They likely thought they had rushed here upon hearing the rumors.
“Haha, my humble sect is most grateful for the care of Elder Brother and Elder Sister!”
After exchanging brief greetings, I deliberately became louder and more clingy, handling the Shaman sect members alone.
And I made certain they grew so sick of it that they departed.
“Thanks, younger brother Hwi.”
When Dang-gun expressed his gratitude, feeling my consideration, I shrugged casually.
“This much is nothing.”
“Your pride must have been hurt. I know you went through the trouble for me.”
“It’s nothing for Elder Dang.”
Smiling wryly, I reflected on the information I had gleaned from the conversation with those Shaman sect members.
‘So you’re also hoping to profit from the chaos. Understood perfectly.’

* * *
The exact location of the Sword King’s Tomb entrance that Jang Bo-do indicated was a basin halfway up Baek Su-san Mountain.
In other words, all the information we had was that the entrance existed somewhere within that basin.
“This is going to take ages just to find the entrance.”
“Indeed, Gu Daehaep.”
Baek Su-san was quite a substantial mountain range, and the basin situated there was equally expansive.
Which meant we’d have to excavate hundreds of paces of earth across the entire basin just to locate the entrance.
Watching the martial artists scattered about, warily eyeing one another as they dug up the ground, I stretched out lazily beneath the shade of nearby trees.
“Brother So. Aren’t you being far too relaxed? What if the others discover the entrance first?”
“How am I supposed to win a digging contest against groups of dozens? Just rest easy.”
Though his words weren’t wrong, Gu Ak fidgeted restlessly, bouncing on his feet.
He was worried that after taking such risks to orchestrate this situation, if we lost the initiative, we’d end up with nothing but scraps from inside the Sword King’s Tomb.
But.
“It’s all according to plan. I didn’t gather all these people for nothing.”
Looking at Jang Bo-do’s estimate, even a rough calculation suggested it would take several months to find the entrance.
The primary reason for creating this chaos was to make fools of the Namgung clan, but we also desperately needed plenty of laborers to dig.
“Brother Hwi’s reasoning is sound. Shall we cultivate our inner energy then?”
Dang-gun immediately sat down in a cross-legged position beside me.
Cultivating inner energy in a situation like this—truly, Elder Dang possessed nerves of steel.
‘Then again, all the Tang Family members do have remarkable courage. Perhaps it comes from handling poisons and hidden weapons.’
“Chu Dal.”
“Yes.”
“Sneak over and observe which direction the martial artists are primarily excavating.”
“So the older brother rests while the younger one does the work?”
“Youth is when you willingly endure hardship.”
“…?”
Chu Dal grumbled something about me thinking I was still young as he walked away.
When he returns, I’ll have to give him a good flick on the forehead.
Shortly after.
“I’ve observed. If we divide it into four directions, the martial artists are concentrated mainly in the southwest.”
“Hmm. What about the northeast?”
“There are many rocks and the soil contains plenty of stones. It’s difficult to excavate, so they’re starting with the easier areas first. Besides, there’s a valley on one side with water flowing through it.”
These days, everyone’s the same—they’ve all lost their edge.
They only want to tackle the easy tasks first.
‘Things were different in my time. Back then, we were different.’
“What are the Namgung clan and the Shamans doing?”
“I couldn’t get close, so I only watched from a distance, but they seemed to be simply waiting.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
‘They haven’t suddenly changed their plans then.’
Indeed, it’s standard practice to conserve strength rather than exhaust oneself prematurely—better to remain composed for now.
Still, I couldn’t shake the thought that we were from a prestigious martial family.
“Everyone should rest well. Once we enter, we won’t be able to sleep properly and it’ll be nothing but hardship.”
Upon hearing this, Adu came trudging over and placed his boulder-like head upon my outstretched legs.
“Hey! That’s heavy!”
“But there’s no pillow.”
“Monk, what are you talking about pillows for? Even monks in temples sleep with wooden neck rests.”
“That’s not true. I slept with soft cotton pillows before.”
Anyway, he’s not a child, though mentally he’s closer to one.
Whether he was using some technique from the Flower Grafting Method or not, his head wouldn’t budge even when I kicked at it.
‘Wow, this bastard. I’m not one to back down when it comes to stubbornness.’
Adu was one step ahead of me in that regard.
“But Little Brother, is it really alright to just rest like this? Truly?”
“Elder Brother.”
“Speak.”
“You’re like a dog desperate to relieve itself.”
“….”
Gu Ak’s brow furrowed as he glared at this third-rate upstart.
Should I establish some discipline right now?
There was time to spare, and it seemed like a perfect opportunity to properly instill the dignity of a master of the highest realm.
‘…Sigh. It’s like reading scripture to a cow.’
Establishing discipline was one thing, but the Yang Hwi I knew would certainly retaliate in some form.
In the worst case, he could run straight to my wife and daughter and tattle.
…Now that I thought about it, it was depressing.
What was so appealing about this annoying upstart that my wife and daughter would beam whenever they saw Yang Hwi?
‘…Come to think of it, I myself was influenced by Little Brother and ended up joining the Baek Family Estate.’
Really, I wanted to hit him once out of spite.
But then again, his character didn’t seem entirely lacking.
Gu Ak sighed and sat down beside me.
“Elder Brother.”
“What now.”
“Move just half a foot to the right. Since you’re sitting anyway, could you block the sun for me?”
“….”
Just as Gu Ak was about to explode in anger, having decided today was the day to establish discipline—
“Oh, now that I mention it, I’m getting hungry. Should we all cook some rice?”
Before I knew it, I had seized the initiative from Gu Ak and began walking away.
“Where are you going, Little Brother?”
“To fetch water.”
There was supposedly a valley to the northwest, so there was no need to use the water we’d brought.
I’d fetch plenty of water and make a pot of rice porridge with dried meat and provisions.
I didn’t have a bucket, but that wasn’t a problem.
‘Let me see. A reasonably thick tree… there it is.’
I leaped across several boulders in the ravine and descended before the towering tree, immediately drawing my sword.
I stripped away the fallen branches and fashioned a sizable wooden scoop.
‘Still, this ravine truly possesses remarkable beauty.’
Serene yet abundant with flowing water, it was a sight worth beholding.
A modest waterfall in the distance came into view… wait?
My expression hardened as I walked toward the waterfall.
Simultaneously, I extended my distinctive keen qi perception to its fullest extent.
‘Behind the waterfall… something is there.’
After surveying the surroundings and sweeping through them once more with my qi perception to confirm no one was watching,
I thrust my body beneath the cascading water.
There was no cave located behind the waterfall…
‘But there is a crevice.’
And from that crevice, a thread-thin current of qi was flowing forth.
An exceptionally pure qi, bearing its own distinctive righteousness.
It was immortal qi itself.
‘The Sword King was… a disciple of Geom Seon. That’s why I came all the way to the Sword King’s Tomb searching for traces of immortal qi.’
I never expected to discover traces of immortal qi before even entering the Sword King’s Tomb.
It was certain that the entrance to the Sword King’s Tomb lay somewhere nearby.
I muttered without thinking.
“If that’s the case… everything changes.”
This could create an even greater mess—no, an absolute catastrophe.

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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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