Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Third-Rate Martial Family Becomes World's Best
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By the time Yang-hui arrived at the Baek Clan Manor,
as expected, crowds of people had formed mountains nearby.
'Not just the summoned experts, but spectators who heard the news have flocked here in droves.'
Times like this really drove home the saying that rumors spread faster than a loosed arrow.
It was the middle of the night when they had faced the Black Faction forces and fought the great battle, and only half a day—six hours—had passed since then.
Yang-hui glanced at Namgung Cheon-hu.
At him, surrounded by his former subordinates.
It wasn't for protection. Those subordinates were now escorting the bound Namgung Cheon-hu.
Namgung Cheon-hu, tied with ropes, looked at the gathered crowd.
His eyes seemed utterly empty at times, or perhaps so filled with something that they appeared hollow instead.
'A blank white paper painted pitch black... is also a black paper with nothing written on it.'
In front of the main gate, beautifully embroidered with patterns carved by their ancestors.
Baek Mu-ryang spotted Yang-hui and immediately leaped forward.
"Hui-ya."
"Father... haha."
Yang-hui gave an awkward laugh in response to the call.
'Well, now it's time to pay the price.'
He had done so many things behind his father's back.
He was certain his father would at least sentence him to solitary confinement and make him write out the Three Bonds and Five Morals ten thousand times.
'But who am I?'
No one knew, but he was nominally the world's greatest prodigy who had even defied the flow of time.
He had prepared countermeasures for everything.
'Strike first. You can't spit on a smiling face!'
He deliberately grinned even wider and shouted.
"Your son has returned!"
"......"
Baek Mu-ryang said nothing.
Like Namgung Cheon-hu, he simply gazed steadily with eyes that seemed both empty and full.
'Uh... this reaction wasn't in my expectations.'
He had expected a mix of worry and anger.
But this calm, composed demeanor...
"Talk between father and son can wait. First, it seems you have something to say."
"Ah, yes."
He turned to Monk Beop-gak and continued.
"Monk. This is my father, the head of the Heaven-Covering Baek Clan. Father, this is Elder Monk Beop-gak of Shaolin."
"An esteemed guest has honored us. I am Baek Mu-ryang, the Twin Moon Sword Hero."
"Amitabha. I am Beop-gak. The masses have graciously given me the nickname Pure Heart Arhat."
After a brief introduction, he glanced at the gathered experts, spectators, and even Namgung Cheon-hu before looking back at Baek Mu-ryang.
To seek permission.
-Go ahead and do what you've planned.
His father's transmission. He had intended to explain first via transmission, but it was no longer necessary.
'Whew. This makes me even more uneasy. Is he giving permission because he trusts me, or telling me to see this mess through to the end?'
Spilled water couldn't be gathered back. Yang-hui gathered his inner energy and shouted loudly.
"To all fellow martial artists here assembled, the Soaring Sword Dragon of the Heaven-Covering Baek Clan speaks!"
Murmurs immediately arose amid the bustle.
"Soaring Sword Dragon, Soaring Sword Dragon. I've heard the rumors lately, and he's really young. No, 'young' isn't even the right word—he's just a kid."
"That child defeated the infamous Hyeongsan Blood Fiend!"
"Nah, he must've had help from other warriors."
"Hey, come on! Over a hundred people saw and heard about last night's fight!"
'They know pretty much everything. Rumors do spread fast, that's for sure.'
"Last night, a great calamity struck our clan!"
After explaining the events following the Baek Clan's declaration of total war against the Jiangxi Black Factions and the lingering suspicions,
Yang-hui pointed dramatically at the rope-bound Namgung Cheon-hu.
"Namgung Cheon-hu! Though I suspected him, I wanted to believe otherwise and tried to deny it! But he was behind every mystery that's happened!"
It was a lie. In truth, Namgung Cheon-hu hadn't done much of anything.
Everything had been preemptively blocked or disrupted beforehand.
Like how he had crushed the two hundred Black Faction warriors from Hyeongsan Blood Fiend who tried to annihilate the Baek Clan last night.
"Namgung Cheon-hu colluded with the Black Factions as their shadowy puppet master, and even tried to kill this young master at dawn today!"
He deliberately omitted the reason for Namgung Cheon-hu's villainy.
To maximize the crowd's curiosity and doubt.
Only after letting the tension build did he point at Namgung Seong-il and continue.
"Namgung Seong-il. Tell them why your young clan leader did such things."
The reason for making Namgung Seong-il speak instead was simple.
Namgung Seong-il, seemingly guessing it, opened his mouth with an even darker expression.
"Our young clan leader... was engulfed in heart demons, unable to make sound judgments. Therefore..."
"Everything was!"
Yang-hui cut in perfectly.
No need to let him spin excuses about the clan knowing and assigning watchers, or monitoring to prevent crossing lines.
"Everything was due to his personal heart demons!"
A brief silence. No one among the spectators spoke.
They didn't even dare whisper.
The Namgung Clan's prestige was immense, and chiming in carelessly could invite reprimand.
-Elder Monk Beop-gak. Could I ask for a word? Hehehe.
Monk Beop-gak, receiving Yang-hui's transmission, stepped forward.
"Everything the young hero said is true. This Beop-gak stands as witness."
Only after Shaolin's endorsement did the silence break.
The pent-up energy erupted even louder than before.
"Heart demons? A White Path warrior—a Namgung young clan leader—allying with Black Factions because of heart demons?"
"Heart demons?"
"Fallen to heart demons, betraying his own White Path clan and even trying to kill them..."
"That's just an ex—"
"Shh!"
"Even if heart demons struck, such villainy crosses the line! He must've been evil at heart from the start!"
"Ugh! For the Namgung young clan leader to do such things!"
"The Namgung Clan must make reparations for this!"
"Of course! Aren't they one of the top righteous clans?"
Namgung Cheon-hu closed his eyes, listening to the surrounding murmurs.
Today's events would spread across the world like a legless rumor.
Flesh would grow on the rumor, staining the Namgung Clan's name.
'The clan head has gotten what he wanted.'
The clan head Namgung Il-geom, who wanted his son to tarnish his hands.
In any case, they were stained.
'Black isn't just ink.'
Charcoal is black too.
The moment Baek Mu-ryang's voice rang out, Namgung Cheon-hu intuited it.
The rumors would become charcoal to set the Baek Clan ablaze.
"To the martial artists of the four seas, the head of the Heaven-Covering Baek Clan has words to share."
Baek Mu-ryang swept his gaze over the packed crowd.
It was heavy. Not his eyes, but the weight of Baek Mu-ryang himself.
And people called such an aura dignity.
"The Baek Clan's past pledge to eradicate the Black Factions. Though success may be premature on the tongue, I dare to declare it now."
The crowd fell silent, awaiting Baek Mu-ryang's words. Just as before, due to the Namgung Clan's authority.
'Father... has grown so much too.'
Baek Mu-ryang, instilling authority in the masses with just a look, was flawless as clan head.
"The five Black Faction gangs under the Corridor Lords. And the support from the Hunan Black Factions led by Hyeongsan Sect."
Baek Mu-ryang's voice grew louder, booming across the area.
"Our Baek Clan! The main Baek Clan following Heaven-Covering's righteousness! We have emerged victorious!"
It was at that moment.
"Waaaaah!"
A thunderous roar erupted.
Praise for the Baek Clan filled the air from all directions.
"Heaven-Covering Baek Clan!"
"How long has it been since a sect truly cared for us common folk?"
"Since Baek Cheon, the Heaven-Defying Sword God of old!"
"Hahaha! Baek Cheon was of the Baek Clan too!"
"The founder who established the Baek Clan!"
"For those who rightly inherited his will to grow this strong—it's the fortune of Jiangxi!"
"Twin Moon Sword Hero! Twin Moon Sword Hero!"
"Twin Moon Sword Hero! Twin Moon Sword Hero!"
The crowd began chanting Baek Mu-ryang's nickname in unison.
The excitement soon shifted to another.
"Soaring Sword Dragon! Soaring Sword Dragon!"
"Soaring Sword Dragon! Soaring Sword Dragon! Soaring Sword Dragon!"
"Showing a hero's bearing at sixteen—another fortune for us Jiangxi folk!"
"Not even twenty, and he crushed that Hyeongsan Blood Fiend!"
"Honestly, when I first heard 'Soaring Sword Dragon,' I thought at that age he couldn't be a dragon, not even an imugi!"
"Me too! I thought the rumors were exaggerated!"
"But he's already a true dragon!"
"Truly worthy of being counted among the dragons who will shake the world!"
In the martial world, the title of "dragon" held special meaning.
Like "phoenix," only young later-generation talents who transcended age could earn dragon or phoenix nicknames.
Today, Yang-hui had become a dragon in the truest sense.
"Does the Baek Clan have only the Soaring Sword Dragon as its hero? There's more! One Day One Hero!"
Gu-ak, who had been listening contentedly, was suddenly startled.
"To immerse in the Black Factions yet reform completely and show such heroic valor!"
"It's harder to cleanse a naturally dark body than one born white!"
"The Baek Clan started reforming Black Faction members because of Great Hero Gu-ak! They saw the potential in him!"
"One Day One Hero! One Day One Hero!"
"One Day One Hero! One Day One Hero!"
It was then.
"Hey, folks, isn't 'One Day One Hero' a bit of a mouthful?"
It was the cry of a famous nickname enthusiast from Jiangxi.
"Right!"
"The ring isn't great!"
"Let this old Zhang suggest one! From black to white, showing immense righteousness! How about calling Great Hero Gu-ak the White Transformation Great Hero from now on?"
"That's good! Easy to say and hear!"
"White Transformation Great Hero! White Transformation Great Hero! White Transformation Great Hero!"
Gu-ak's mouth split into a wide grin.
Yang-hui didn't miss the chance and sent a transmission.
-Brother Gu. That happy about it? You're not a kid anymore, getting so thrilled over a nickname?
He tried to tease, but surprisingly, Gu-ak nodded readily.
-Heh. It's perfect. Anyway, little brother.
-Yes?
-Thank you for suggesting I join the Baek Clan back then. Truly... the best choice of my life.
Yang-hui fell silent for a moment.
Gu-ak's sincerity touched him.
-I was going to tease you, but you thank me so earnestly—what am I supposed to do now?
-What do you mean? You're the personality-wrecked guy who loves teasing people without regard for time or place.
He took a hit. But it didn't feel bad, or like he needed payback.
He just smiled.
Today was the moment he reaped the fruits of over a year of planning and effort.
'Perfect.'
So he thought, but it got even better.
"The Gyeongju-san clan elder from the Corridor has words for the head of the Heaven-Covering Baek Clan!"
The crowd's eyes turned to one side.
Baek Mu-ryang recognized the speaker and his eyes lit up.
"Is that not the Gyeongju-san clan head?"
Yang-hui immediately transmitted to Chui-dal.
-Chui-dal, who's that?
-The guest clans are scattered across the vast Corridor but form associations to look after their bloodlines. Gyeongju-san is one such clan head.
"Baek Clan Head. First, we offer boundless gratitude for eradicating the Corridor's Black Factions."
Hearing Gyeongju-san's words, Yang-hui realized one thing.
The guest clans had indeed refused the Baek Clan's protection before.
But judging by Gyeongju-san's attitude...
'The timing is perfect, like it was meant to be.'
Today felt like a day blessed by heaven itself.