Chapter 1 – Kang Yu-jin (1)

Near Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province, there resided a martial arts family of profound history.

The name of that family was the True Dragon Sword Clan. It was a prestigious clan among prestigious clans, having produced outstanding swordsmen, including its current patriarch, Kang Yu-hyeon.

Hundreds of years ago, a young swordsman from the north taught the sword to villagers who were being harassed by pirates running rampant on Poyang Lake.

The young swordsman, along with the villagers he taught, eliminated the pirates on Poyang Lake, bringing peace to the area.

Afterward, the young swordsman established a small family with the villagers, accepting talented individuals and expanding their influence. The family thus created was the True Dragon Sword Clan.

The young swordsman’s name was Kang Myeong-un, the founder of the True Dragon Sword Clan, who was still revered by many even after hundreds of years.

However, the True Dragon Sword Clan became even more renowned for another reason. In every generation, at least one member would reach the Profound Realm—a state the world called absolute—and make their presence known in the martial world.

For this incredible feat, which no other martial family or sect could claim, people did not hesitate to call the True Dragon Sword Clan the greatest sword clan under heaven.

But even a clan like the True Dragon Sword Clan had a problem.

There could only be one patriarch, but there were far too many sons who could be his successor.

Nevertheless, everyone believed without a doubt that the second son, Kang Yong-hoon, would be the one. His martial arts and character were both impeccably perfect.

But what was this? Kang Yu-hyeon, the patriarch of the True Dragon Sword Clan and the Divine Sword Emperor, publicly announced that his eldest son, Kang Yu-jin, had the highest chance of becoming his successor.

While this didn’t officially confirm the successor, it was an event that baffled everyone associated with the martial world.

This was because the Kang Yu-jin whom Kang Yu-hyeon mentioned was known to be an incomparably worthless figure compared to his younger brother, Kang Yong-hoon.

So much so that he was called the Lecherous Sword.

The present-day True Dragon Sword Clan was a colossal power that encompassed three provinces: Jiangxi, Fujian, and Zhejiang.

To think that the master of such a power, a master who had reached the Profound Realm, would hold his eldest son, Kang Yu-jin—a man with the disgraceful moniker “Lecherous Sword”—in such high regard.

The eyes of the world were now on Kang Yu-jin.

“The eldest son of the True Dragon Sword Clan is the successor? I heard he’s quite the womanizer. Unlike other rising stars of the martial world, he hasn’t been very active, has he? Aren’t his accomplishments lacking even compared to his younger brothers?”

In response to one man’s question, another nodded.

Discussing the True Dragon Sword Clan itself wasn’t a big deal, but to speak carelessly of its direct line within Jiangxi Province—the clan’s sphere of influence—was to risk one’s life.

Perhaps knowing this, the two men lowered their voices.

“That’s true. Just look at Kang Yong-hoon, the Flying Sword Dragon, who is only a year younger than the eldest son. He has already achieved a great reputation, far beyond his years. His martial skill is high, and his character is exemplary.”

“So why would they push aside Kang Yong-hoon and put forward that ‘Lecherous Sword,’ Kang Yu-jin, as the successor? Because of what the patriarch Kang Yu-hyeon said, Kang Yu-jin’s moniker was changed to Crouching Dragon Sword. How absurd. It’s not like the Flying Sword Dragon is the only great one, either, right?”

While Kang Yong-hoon was indeed the most remarkable, Kang Yu-hyeon had many other excellent children.

The eldest son being the successor was the most stable option, but in the martial world, strength was paramount. Thus, even an eldest son could be overthrown if he lacked power.

Moreover, patriarchs themselves would sometimes cast aside an incompetent eldest son and name another child as their successor.

If even common people were this curious, the curiosity of martial artists was bound to be even greater.

They began to investigate Kang Yu-jin.

The investigation, however, concluded that there could be no man more pathetic than him, and that Kang Yu-hyeon had clearly made a mistake.

This was largely due to the assessments of Kang Yu-jin made by the leaders of the Underworld Sect and the Beggars’ Sect, the fastest gatherers of information. They both said that no matter how they looked at it, the situation was incomprehensible.

“His martial skill is known to be high, as befits the grand young master of the True Dragon Sword Clan, but once he reached a certain level, he began to pursue only women. I cannot fathom why they would make such a man the successor. It is a prime example of using martial arts for the wrong purposes.”

This was the word of the Beggars’ Sect’s leader.

“Womanizing and drinking are his hobbies. And he spends so much money that when he shows up, the brothel can make nearly a month’s revenue in a single day. The strange thing is, the True Dragon Sword Clan would never give a man like that money, yet he spends it so freely.”

This was the word of the Underworld Sect’s leader. Though the sources of information were different, the meaning was the same.

For the first time, they spoke with one voice, declaring that Kang Yu-jin, now the Crouching Dragon Sword, was unfit to be the successor, and that there must have been some kind of mistake.

The people of the world thought so too and lost interest. They simply wrote it off as a momentary lapse in judgment.

* * *

Kang Yu-jin, who had fallen asleep imagining himself as the protagonist after finishing his novel, woke up the next day in the world of the story he had completed, *Supreme Martial God*.

Unbelievably, his fantasy had become reality.

Except, he hadn’t become the protagonist, Kang Yong-hoon, but his older brother, Kang Yu-jin.

‘If I knew this would happen, I would have just named the protagonist after myself.’

At first, he felt a twinge of regret, but Kang Yu-jin soon came to his senses.

‘Then I’ll just become the protagonist, won’t I?’

And a few years later.

Kang Yu-jin was now holding a woman in his arms.

“Aah!”

As the large man entered deep inside her, the woman instinctively clung to him, wrapping her legs around him and swaying her hips.

Their tongues tangled together. The woman’s mind went blank, and unable to form a coherent thought, she cried out.

“Y-Young Master! More, more, hold this servant tighter. Ah, aaaaah.”

Moans escaped the woman’s lips endlessly. He wasn’t her real husband, but the woman didn’t care at all, crying out for the Young Master.

She already loved this young man, who gave her an uncontrollable amount of pleasure, more than her own deceased husband.

“Hngh, I’m coming!”

With Yu-jin’s cry, he emptied himself inside the woman’s body.

“Wow, a Guardian’s body really is something else.”

Yu-jin smiled, fondling the breasts of the woman, Jin Ah-rin.

Jin Ah-rin was a woman in her mid-forties who wielded a sword so filled with killing intent that she was known in the martial world as the Blood Butterfly Sword.

However, her killing intent was directed only at men who forced themselves upon women. Thus, there was a saying in the martial world.

-Do not force yourself upon a woman in front of the Blood Butterfly Sword. Not unless you want to experience losing your manhood and your life at the same time!

The True Dragon Sword Clan had a Guardian Hall, an organization not composed of those with the Kang surname, but of martial artists recruited from the outside.

Jin Ah-rin had married Ho Yeon-jae, one of the masters of the Guardian Hall, and joined the Hall herself. And now, such a woman had become the lover of Kang Yu-jin, the eldest son of the True Dragon Sword Clan.

She knew that Yu-jin was the one who had killed Ho Yeon-jae, but she did not refuse his embrace in the slightest.

“Then, I shall take my leave…”

Jin Ah-rin blushed as she dressed and hastily leaped away.

“What a fine body. Anyway, you can come out now, Yeon?”

There was no one around, but Kang Yu-jin spoke. Then, a beautiful woman slowly revealed herself. It was Yeon, one of the four handmaidens who served Yu-jin.

Though people never understood why these beautiful women followed Yu-jin.

“The Madam is calling for you.”

At Yeon’s words, Yu-jin rose from his spot.

The True Dragon Sword Clan’s estate, which could be called Yu-jin’s home, was terrifyingly large. It was so vast that it was called a small imperial palace in the Nanchang area—a residence befitting a family that had conquered three provinces.

“Open the gates.”

Yu-jin entered the mansion with Yeon and headed for a place deep within its interior, known as the inner hall, where his mother, Ye Un-hyang, resided.

The surrounding handmaidens and warriors who saw Yu-jin moving about hastily bowed and moved away quickly.

Many handmaidens had lost their virtue after catching Yu-jin’s eye, and many warriors had been beaten.

To them, Yu-jin’s presence was like a disaster to be avoided at all costs. But today, as always, one handmaiden fell into Yu-jin’s clutches.

“How strange that a girl like you has escaped my notice until now.”

The handmaiden whose hand was caught by Yu-jin turned deathly pale at his words. But Yu-jin paid her no mind and slipped his hand inside her clothes.

And he lightly squeezed the woman’s breast, which, while not large, gave a distinct feel.

“Ugh…”

The handmaiden couldn’t show any resistance to the grand young master Yu-jin’s actions and could only submit. The surrounding handmaidens and warriors, while relieved they weren’t the ones chosen, looked at her with apologetic faces.

“Brother.”

Just then, Yu-jin turned at the sound of a voice calling him. A handsome young man with a relaxed smile had appeared behind him.

But Yu-jin, who had already sensed the young man’s presence, looked at his younger brother, the third son Kang Hyeon-woo, with an annoyed expression.

“What is it?”

“You are on your way to see Eldest Mother. Is it alright to delay by harassing the handmaidens like this?”

The current patriarch of the True Dragon Sword Clan, Kang Yu-hyeon, had seven wives, and from them, six sons and four daughters. It was presumed he had other women and children as well, but that was the patriarch’s private life, so we’ll move on.

Yu-jin was the son of the first wife, the Grand Madam Ye Un-hyang, while Kang Hyeon-woo was the son of the third wife, Lee Eun-hee.

While the first wife, Ye Un-hyang, also came from a distinguished family, Lee Eun-hee was the second daughter of the leader of the Central Plains Merchant Guild, one of the three most renowned merchant guilds in the Central Plains.

On top of that, Kang Hyeon-woo was doted on by his maternal grandfather, Lee Geon-yeong, and received tremendous support from him.

‘Still, without the power of his third mother and his maternal family, he’s nothing.’

Though only nineteen, his martial skill was outstanding, and with his wealth, many women flocked to him. But from Yu-jin’s perspective, he was just a child who had grown older, not worth his time.

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

When Yu-jin spoke with annoyance, Kang Hyeon-woo frowned slightly, but it was only for a moment. He quickly resumed his smile and continued.

It wasn’t the first or second time he had seen his eldest brother act like this, so there was no need to get worked up over every little thing.

“You should let Eldest Mother rest now. As the eldest son of the True Dragon Sword Clan, must you continue to break her heart like this?”

“Ah, I didn’t realize you were so concerned about my mother. I’ll be sure to tell your third mother about your profound filial piety later. This brother of yours is busy, so I’ll be on my way. Oh, and don’t hide things like that in front of your older brother.”

Saying that, Yu-jin pulled his hand from the handmaiden’s clothes.

“I’ll give you the proper treatment next time.”

As Yu-jin said this, the handmaiden’s face grew even paler.