WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

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◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈

Chapter 23: Emperor Sword Sect

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The atmosphere within the Jang Clan was bleak.

It could not have been otherwise.

News had arrived that Jang Un-ryong, the second son, and Jang Mak-su, the Clan Head, were dead.

How had things come to this?

It was far beyond anything they had expected.

Was Yi Do’s strength simply more monstrous than anyone had imagined?

He had only reached the Circulation Realm, yet he had killed fifty members of the Danri Unit, the Jang Clan’s elite martial force, all by himself.

It was absurd.

If such a thing were easy, there would be no reason for martial realms to exist, nor any need for clans to work so hard to recruit powerful martial artists.

That was how unreasonable it was.

Above all, Yi Do had killed fifty Danri Unit members, then gone on to kill Jang Un-ryong and Jang Mak-su.

Both had been at the Circulation Realm as well.

How was anyone supposed to make sense of that?

Still, it had already happened.

They needed to prepare somehow.

There were two choices.

The first was to flee.

If they took the remaining members of the household and left Jangnyeong County, they might somehow survive. At first, they had considered that option.

Then a second choice presented itself.

Jang Tae-san, the father of Jang Mak-su, the Jang Clan Head, had handed the position to his son while still in his fifties, then spent his days in peaceful retirement.

Now, the second son was gone, and so was the Clan Head. The eldest son and Young Clan Head had gone to the Emperor Sword Sect, leaving Jang Tae-san with no choice but to take up the role of Jang Clan Head again.

As he looked at the man standing before him, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you... Thank you, truly.”

Whether it was coincidence or fate, it could only be called good fortune.

Won Hu, a first-generation disciple of the Emperor Sword Sect, had arrived at the Jang Clan about two hours earlier.

Jang Un-yeon was an exceptionally promising talent even within the Emperor Sword Sect.

He had already reached Five Dragons Honoring the Sage and stood on the verge of reaching Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.

He had begun the process of unifying his middle and lower dantians. Of course he was highly regarded.

Some even believed he was the strongest candidate to become one of the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven.

That was not all.

Those assessments only came from outside the Emperor Sword Sect.

Within the sect, he was already being discussed as the next Sect Leader.

And his character? There was no need to say more.

Why else would Won Hu be here?

Jang Un-yeon, too busy training to visit himself, had asked him to come.

Jangnyeong County had not been Won Hu’s destination, but he was passing through the area. Jang Un-yeon had asked him to stop by, tell his family he was doing well at the Emperor Sword Sect, and resolve any problems they might have. Won Hu had agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

Then this incident happened by chance.

The Jang Clan Head had died, as had Jang Un-yeon’s younger brother.

The Jang Clan’s martial forces had also been almost wiped out.

The clan stood on the brink of destruction.

This had to be resolved.

The dead could not be brought back, but at least the clan’s destruction could be prevented.

Won Hu tightly grasped Jang Tae-san’s hand.

“Please do not worry. I am a man of the Emperor Sword Sect, and Jang Un-yeon is one as well. I will make certain the Jang Clan does not fall. We will stand with the Jang Clan.”

“I am grateful even for those words...”

A presence could be felt outside.

The door flew open. A Jang Clan servant shouted, their face drained of color.

“The Yi... The Yi Clan’s martial artists are coming!”

Won Hu’s expression hardened.

Grasping the sword at his waist, he turned around.

Once he resolved this crisis, he would earn the trust of Jang Un-yeon, the man most likely to become the next Sect Leader.

All that remained was for him to soar.

He strode outside with confidence.

* * *

Yi Do, who stood at the front, slowly stepped forward.

“Supreme Clan Head Jang Tae-san, I did not expect you to still be in Jangnyeong County.”

“...You bastard... Enough. Withdraw your martial artists at once.”

“What are you talking about? The martial world has laws and order. How can we simply withdraw like this?”

“So you mean to see this through to the end? Do you think you will get away with what you are doing?”

“Of course I do.”

“Hah. What an insane bastard. The authorities will send an official. You have thrown Jangnyeong County into such chaos that you will not get away unpunished either.”

Yi Do gave a disbelieving laugh.

“The Jang Clan started this. Why are you holding us responsible? You tried to swallow the Yi Clan whole, so we had no choice.”

“No. You did have a choice. If you withdraw even now, I will not raise the matter...”

“It is not that simple.”

“...Not that simple?”

“Yes. You may not know this, but Jang Mak-su, the Jang Clan Head, murdered our Clan Head, who was respected by every martial artist and member of the Yi Clan household.”

It was like a bolt from the blue.

“What... what are you talking about?! Was Yi Se-geuk’s death not caused by an internal struggle within your own clan?”

“What strange nonsense are you talking about? It is true that the eldest and Lady Sang used poison, but that poison was, in fact, Qi-Dispersing Poison.”

“...What?”

“It was nothing more than a poison that disrupted one’s internal energy. Still, our Clan Head was shocked by the actions of Lady Sang and the eldest, people he had trusted deeply, and took to his bed. Yet he was such a magnanimous man that he forgave Lady Sang and the eldest. My second brother and I, however, could not forgive them. So we hunted down those two bastards. Then, the moment we heard that the Sang-un Trading Company was raising troops, we went there to suppress them. But while the Yi Clan was empty, the Jang Clan attacked it, and Jang Mak-su drove a sword through our Clan Head’s heart.”

“...How can you twist the situation like that? Do you take the officials for fools? Do you think they will believe such a flimsy story?”

“Supreme Clan Head.”

“...”

“It may be hard for you to believe, but this is the truth. I should have told you this earlier, though I am a little late. Jang Mak-su gave me the Jang Clan as a gift. Would it be right for me to come empty-handed? So I prepared a gift for you as well. Yeom Gil-seong.”

Yeom Gil-seong was a servant of the Yi Clan.

He had been assigned to clean Yi Do’s residence and bring him various bits of information. He was one of the few servants Yi Do remembered.

Yeom Gil-seong hurried forward from behind.

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Put what you prepared earlier down here.”

“Yes.”

Yeom Gil-seong immediately brought over two sacks and placed them on the ground. It was a familiar process.

The same thing had happened when the battle against the Sang-un Trading Company began.

Perhaps the sacks had not been tied properly. The cords came loose the instant they hit the ground, revealing what was inside.

The objects that rolled across the ground were the heads of Jang Mak-su and Jang Un-ryong.

“Ah... Aaaah!!”

Jang Tae-san collapsed where he stood.

“It seems you truly like the gift. I did not expect you to wail so loudly.”

There was a simple reason Yi Do could afford to be so relaxed.

Just as the Yi Clan had been empty, the Jang Clan was now practically empty as well.

A few martial artists could be seen, but they were weak.

It would certainly take only a few minutes to kill them all.

Just as Yi Do was about to begin, someone spoke.

“Hah... How can a martial artist be so wicked?”

It was a man in his mid-twenties, with long hair and a white martial robe.

Yi Do turned his gaze toward him.

The man answered the question in his eyes.

“I am Won Hu, a first-generation disciple of the Emperor Sword Sect.”

“So?”

“...”

“If you have nothing to do with the Jang Clan, get lost. Stop being a nuisance.”

“...It was discourteous of me to interrupt, so I will overlook it once. Your name is Yi Do, is that correct?”

“That is right.”

“Then are you the Yi Clan’s Young Clan Head?”

So that was what he wanted to say.

Yi Do snickered.

“How can someone who is not even the Young Clan Head speak as though he represents the clan? Does the Young Clan Head standing beside you have no spine? Why is he staying silent?”

Yi Won did not say a word.

He had long since been swallowed up by Yi Do. He had no intention of denying it or defying Yi Do, so he simply ignored the remark.

Yi Do seemed quite pleased by that attitude. He smiled and took a step forward.

“Stop dragging this out and get to the point.”

“The point... Fine. The Jang Clan has lost much today. Stop here.”

“Why should I?”

“I just told you. They have lost much. If you are truly a martial artist who understands righteousness and chivalry, you should stop here. More importantly, the Emperor Sword Sect and the Jang Clan are closely connected. Stopping now would be in your interests too.”

Yi Do looked behind him.

They remained silent, but most of them looked shaken.

The Emperor Sword Sect.

The name of that sect, one of the Eight Great Sects of the martial world, was what unsettled them.

Yi Do looked back at Won Hu.

“The Yi Clan has lost more than the Jang Clan, yet you tell us to withdraw? To think the Emperor Sword Sect has fallen to such a level.”

“...What did you say?”

“The Jang Clan murdered the Yi Clan Head. They occupied the empty Yi Clan and killed its servants and martial artists. Yet you tell us to withdraw? Would the Emperor Sword Sect retreat if the same happened to it?”

“I am sorry, but the Yi Clan is not the Emperor Sword Sect. How can you compare yourselves to one of the Eight Great Sects? Do you still not understand? Touch the Jang Clan, and you will earn the Emperor Sword Sect’s enmity. Who is the Jang Clan’s Young Clan Head? Jang Un-yeon, the man most likely to become the next Sect Leader. He and his master, the Golden Heaven Divine Sword, will surely come in person and destroy the Yi Clan. Can you withstand their enmity?”

“Withstand it... So if we retreat now, will the Emperor Sword Sect’s enmity disappear?”

Won Hu was left speechless for a moment.

Yi Do let out a dry laugh.

“Of course not. No matter what we do here, the enmity that has already formed will remain. It is not the kind of enmity that can be settled by words from a nobody like you. And...”

Yi Do silently stepped forward.

He stopped right in front of Won Hu and looked down at him.

“If I could not withstand the likes of them, I would never have started this in the first place.”

“...Watch your words. I may kill you here.”

Won Hu already had a hand on the sword at his waist.

The Emperor Sword Sect was skilled with the sword.

Their sword draw? A cut above.

As for cutting down an opponent, that went without saying.

A first-generation disciple of the Emperor Sword Sect learned one of its secret arts, the Firmament Extreme-Speed Sword Art. It was an ultra-fast sword art that drew and cut down an enemy in an instant.

Won Hu was confident that if he drew his sword here, he could take Yi Do’s head.

But Yi Do felt the same way.

“I will warn you once, and for the last time. Get lost. Unless you want to see even the Emperor Sword Sect fall.”

“...You are no different from a demonic fiend. This will not do. I will feel more at ease if I kill you here...”

“By the way, you said Jang Un-yeon and the Golden Heaven Divine Sword would come if I destroy the Jang Clan. Then who comes if I kill you?”

Won Hu fell silent.

“Will the Sword Emperor, that old man, come?”

“...I clearly told you to watch your words, yet you have thrown away every chance you were given.”

Won Hu had made up his mind.

He drew his sword.

To cut off Yi Do’s head, he unleashed one of the Emperor Sword Sect’s secret arts, the Firmament Extreme-Speed Sword Art.

No.

He tried to.

Crack-!

Those watching could not even comprehend what had happened.

Won Hu knew.

At the instant he drew and swung his sword, Yi Do’s fist moved.

That fist struck Won Hu’s throat.

His breath caught.

Yi Do’s other hand immediately seized the wrist of Won Hu’s sword arm.

“By the way, does that old man still go around violating maidens?”

“Wha... Cough, what are you...”

“Enough.”

Yi Do’s lower dantian stirred.

The Properly Aligned Qi that rose within him immediately traveled through the ring and into his middle dantian.

In an instant.

Nearly explosive Properly Aligned Qi gathered in Yi Do’s fist.

He pulled his arm back, then drove it forward.

Boooom-!!

Won Hu’s head exploded. Everyone was horrified as Yi Do casually tossed the headless corpse aside like garbage.

Yi Do spoke.

“What are you all doing?”

The Yi Clan martial artists came to their senses.

Looking at Jang Tae-san, Yi Do continued.

“Kill everyone with the surname Jang.”

The Yi Clan martial artists charged forward at once.

A fist right in front of one’s face was always more frightening than a sword in the distance.

The threat of the Emperor Sword Sect?

They did not care about that.

Yi Do was more frightening right now.

Footnotes:

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