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Translator/Editor: Alyo

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◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈

Chapter 11: Engulfed in Flames

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The Yi Clan was thrown into an uproar.

No, this time, it was not just the Yi Clan. The entire Jangnyeong County was in turmoil.

News that Cheonhwa Pavilion had burned to the ground spread throughout Jangnyeong County in an instant. Lady Sang and Yi Jeong, the Yi Clan's eldest son, had been enjoying a very sweet dream, if only briefly, but they were forced to wake from it.

"That crazy bastard!"

Yi Jeong smashed the table with his fist.

He could not control his anger at all. No one tried to stop him. Lady Sang was the same, as were Lady Yun and Yi Won, the second son.

Each of them had different thoughts.

Yi Won, in particular, was desperately holding back his laughter.

Serves you right.

It went beyond displeasure. He found it nauseating. It was not because Yi Jeong had taken something from the youngest.

That worm-like bastard had planned to swallow Cheonhwa Pavilion all for himself, and now he was tearing his hair out over it.

Still, Yi Won did his best to rein in his emotions.

Lady Sang, who had been silent until then, was the first to send the two sons away.

Once only the two ladies remained, Lady Sang spoke quietly.

"My younger sister."

"Yes, Elder Sister."

"I think we need to do what we discussed before."

There was only one thing she could mean.

"......Are you really going to make the request?"

Lady Sang nodded.

Originally, she had planned to hire an assassin to kill Yi Do earlier, not now.

That plan had been put on hold for a simple reason.

Clan Head Yi Se-geuk had entrusted Yi Do with the matter concerning Cheonhwa Pavilion and the Jang Clan.

That task was bound to fail. When it did, Yi Do's standing would hit rock bottom again, and they could send him into exile somewhere out of sight.

They had enough influence to make that happen.

Once he arrived at his place of exile, they could send an assassin after him and quietly dispose of him. That would be the ideal arrangement.

Then everything would end quietly, without causing any fuss.

That was why they had delayed it.

But not anymore.

Even if that bastard had acquired Cheonhwa Pavilion, it still belonged to the Yi Clan in the end.

And he had burned it down.

They needed to get rid of him as soon as possible.

The night grew deeper.

At that very moment, Yi Do was in Suju County, where the Sang-un Trading Company, Lady Sang's backing, was based.

* * *

Suju County.

To be honest, I did not know much about this place.

I had traveled to many places in the past, but I had never had the leisure to visit such a backwater.

Still, I had picked up information here and there, and I had lived long enough.

What was the foremost trading company in Suju County?

The Sang-un Trading Company.

Its leader, Sang Myeong-gil, was a self-made figure who had begun with nothing and built a massive trading company that encompassed all of Suju County.

It was impossible not to be impressed.

I lightly pushed off the ground and landed on the roof of a nearby building.

Then I slowly looked ahead.

That sprawling garden was the Sang-un Trading Company's main compound.

I gathered inner energy in my eyes.

People moved about below in orderly fashion. There were several martial artists as well. Martial artists at the Qi Entry Realm were common, and there were quite a few who had reached the Circulation Realm. A very small number had even attained Twin Sun Manifestation.

I shifted my gaze toward the places with the tightest security.

There were exactly three.

One was undoubtedly where the trading company's important figures stayed.

Several empty carts stood around the other two.

There was no need to look elsewhere. I only needed to inspect those two.

Slowly.

I stilled my breathing and relaxed my body. Blending into my surroundings took only an instant.

I moved.

With a little strength in my legs, I leaped into the air.

My body floated up and landed atop one of the Sang-un Trading Company's pavilions. I made no sound at all. Staying low, I moved again.

My body glided forward.

A wall stood in my way. I lightly planted a hand on it and vaulted over. Again, I made no sound.

Several Hired Escorts were patrolling nearby, but not one noticed my presence.

I arrived in an instant at a warehouse lined with empty carts. Three Hired Escorts stood guard at its entrance, so I circled around the side.

I placed my hand against the lowest part of the wall.

Slowly, I drew up my energy.

My energy flowed through my palm and seeped into the wall.

Crack.

A person-sized hole opened in the wall.

I silently entered. I did not need any light. Everything was as clear as day.

Looking around, I confirmed it was a goods warehouse.

There were huge crates and grain. These were undoubtedly items meant to be transported somewhere tomorrow.

Quite the haul.

I did not know how much it was worth, but it had to be considerable.

Then I spotted several very small boxes.

I quietly approached and opened one.

"......Hmm......"

I could not stop myself from making a sound.

How could I?

I had not expected this, but these were definitely spiritual medicines.

Not mere elixir pills. They were spiritual medicines like Tae-eul Pills, Lesser Restoration Pills, Greater Restoration Pills, Azure Stone Milk, or hundred-year ginseng.

These elixir pills were called Golden Pellet Elixirs.

I never expected to find them here. Golden Pellet Elixirs were spiritual medicines made by the Gold-Emblem Pill Sect, but the sect had been destroyed long ago, and its formula had been lost with it.

As far as I knew, even people who possessed one were rare.

The amount of energy contained in a Golden Pellet Elixir differed by grade.

An elixir containing around fifty years' worth of energy was considered top-grade. The Golden Pellet Elixir before my eyes was exactly that.

I opened the boxes beside it as well.

They were all Golden Pellet Elixirs.

There were three in total.

That meant roughly one hundred and fifty years' worth of energy.

I could only laugh.

After pocketing the three spiritual medicines, I headed toward the piles of straw that looked most likely to catch fire.

I placed a hand on one and drew up my energy.

This was not like the tiny spark of Samadhi True Fire I had shown at Cheonhwa Pavilion.

Properly Aligned Qi surged explosively.

The straw pile caught fire in an instant. I scattered the flames around so they would spread more easily.

Before the entire warehouse could burn, I immediately slipped out through the hole.

Did I intend to return to the Yi Clan now?

No.

They had dared to covet what was mine and forced me into a position where I had no choice but to burn my own property.

Then it was only fair.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

They would lose as much as I had lost.

Lady Sang's backing was the Sang-un Trading Company.

I would burn every last item in its warehouses.

I would strike it hard enough to make the entire clan stagger.

I pushed off the ground.

But perhaps I had used more inner energy than expected while burning the warehouse. My body faltered slightly.

"Who's there?!"

A voice rang out. I ignored it and pushed off again.

"Chase him! An intruder!"

There was a corner ahead. I turned around it and pressed myself against the wall behind it. Holding my breath, I drew the dagger concealed in my right sleeve and switched it to a reverse grip.

Two martial artists appeared around the corner. Urgency was plain on their faces.

Without hesitation, I thrust my dagger.

Stab!

It buried itself in one martial artist's throat. I pulled it free at once and drove it toward the throat of the one beside them.

The other martial artist swung a sword.

Clang!

My dagger flew into the air, and so did their sword.

We had both left ourselves open, but I moved before they did.

I reached out with my left hand and seized their throat. Then I spread my right hand to the side.

The dagger that had flown into the air naturally fell into my right hand.

I gripped it tightly and thrust.

Stab!

I twisted it to the side at once.

Blood gushed out.

I silently threw the corpse aside and pushed off again.

The remaining warehouse.

Even if I died today, I would burn that warehouse to the ground.

Anyone who tried to stop me would die too.

The commotion behind me grew louder. That was not all. The area behind me became bright as day, and I heard explosions.

It seemed the warehouse I had set ablaze had begun burning in earnest.

I did not look back.

I arrived at the remaining warehouse in an instant.

Three Hired Escorts were waiting in front of its doors. One of them was about to blow a whistle.

I threw the dagger in my hand.

Stab.

The dagger embedded itself in their forehead.

My legs forcefully pushed off the ground. In an instant, I closed the distance to the Hired Escort beside them.

I stiffened my fingertips and thrust them forward.

Crack!

They pierced the Hired Escort's throat.

I immediately spun around and swung my foot at the remaining Hired Escort's head.

Boom!

The Hired Escort's head exploded.

After disposing of the three Hired Escorts in an instant, I threw open the warehouse doors.

It was the same as before.

There were surely other warehouses besides these. It did not matter.

My target had only ever been the goods warehouses located in the Sang-un Trading Company's main compound.

That was how the world worked. The most important goods were kept in the most important place.

I picked up a torch beside one of the Hired Escorts and threw it at a pile of straw without hesitation.

That was not enough.

I forcefully drew up all the energy in my body and transferred it to my right arm.

My right arm began to redden, then flames flared up around it.

This was a divine technique called [Red Dragon Divine Technique], a technique that powerfully drew upon the fire-aspected energy among nature's energies.

It was also the signature martial art of [Red Dragon Divine Lord], the leader of the Martial Alliance's Azure Dragon Corps, who should have been quite famous by this point.

How did I know it?

Because I had killed [Red Dragon Divine Lord].

The manual for the Red Dragon Divine Technique had been on their chest. It looked useful, so I learned it. I had not expected to use it like this.

I looked around for more boxes containing spiritual medicines, but none caught my eye. I did not want to search through the place just for that.

I left the warehouse.

Gathering energy in my legs, I pushed off. Now all I had to do was escape.

The instant I pushed off, every hair on my body stood on end.

I changed the movement of the foot that had landed on the ground.

Heavenly Steed Divine Steps.

At the same time, I tensed my waist and neck.

My neck and waist bent backward as my body spun in place.

A sword passed right over my face.

I immediately readied myself and widened the distance.

A man stared at me with eyes full of shock.

My brow furrowed for a moment.

When I had looked down on the Sang-un Trading Company from the roof earlier, I had sensed three masters at Twin Sun Manifestation.

This man was clearly one of them.

"......You're quite skilled, brat."

I looked around.

No one was there.

"Who sent you?"

"Who knows?"

"Hah...... You look young, yet you show no mercy. How can you be so vicious? Answer me at once. Who ordered you to do this?"

I looked around again.

Still no one. Not even a trace of another presence.

No witnesses meant good fortune for me.

And bad luck for that man.

"I'll admit that you know how to keep your mouth shut. But you won't endure torture. I'll subdue you first, then we'll talk."

The man pushed off the ground.

He was fast.

He was undoubtedly much stronger than Jeong Rin, whom I had killed at Cheonhwa Pavilion not long ago.

He swung his sword. With this pathetic body, I could not properly follow its trajectory.

But I had experience.

I knew where it would descend and from which direction it would swing.

My instincts screamed.

I twisted my body to the side.

Slice.

A sword lightly cut away the hair beside my head.

I immediately put strength into my legs to steady myself. Even then, I checked the surroundings once more.

No one was there.

That would do.

Properly Aligned Qi boiled up from my dantian.

It amplified through the rings.

Energy surged from my entire body. Massive inner energy filled my narrow meridians.

My eyes turned red.

The man's eyes went wide.

"W-What...... what is that......?"

The man could not say another word.

My hand had already reached his heart.

[Asura Heaven-Breaking Five Arts]

[Purple Sun Demon-Flame Hand]

Amplified Properly Aligned Qi burst from my hand and seeped into the man's body.

Then...

Boom!

The man's body exploded.

I turned away.

The energy inside my body began gnawing at my flesh and meridians. My brow creased. It had been a while since I had felt this much pain.

My current body and cultivation realm were far too weak. My own energy was about to consume me.

I quickly opened one of the boxes I had taken and swallowed a Golden Pellet Elixir.

Operating the Primal Unity Qi Technique, I sent all the elixir's energy into my collapsing meridians.

I stabilized them as much as possible.

Breathing heavily, I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth.

It was time to return.

I gathered strength in my legs and pushed off.

My body floated into the air.

I pushed off again.

Then again, and again.

Intent on releasing all the inner energy in my body, I poured it all out.

After changing direction eight times in the sky, my feet touched a massive tree. I pushed off once more.

The Cloud Dragon Eight Forms of the long-destroyed Great Kunlun threw the skies over the backwater of Suju County into chaos.

That was how I returned to Jangnyeong County.

Footnotes:

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