WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

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◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈

Chapter 34: The Greatest Under Heaven

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Of all the organizations that dealt in information in the present-day Martial World, which was the greatest?

Ask a hundred people that question, and half would likely name the Beggar’s Gate while the other half would name the Heavenly Intelligence Gate.

When it came to information, those two forces unquestionably vied for the top spot in the entire Martial World.

The world was vast.

There were many people, and many beggars.

Six hundred years ago, the Beggars’ Sect, which had once enjoyed immense renown, was destroyed. The two organizations absorbed the countless beggars who had belonged to it.

In truth, almost no one knew what had happened six hundred years ago.

It was history that had been erased.

The Nine Sects and One Gang, which had once commanded the world, including Shaolin Temple, Mount Hua Sect, and the Beggars’ Sect, had all suffered devastating blows.

Some sects vanished overnight, while others survived. Yet in the end, it had only been a matter of time. Most were destroyed.

People called that event the Great Cataclysm, and there were still those who traveled the world investigating it.

Information organizations.

The Heavenly Intelligence Gate and the Beggar’s Gate were among them.

Both forces maintained branches throughout the Martial World. One man stormed into the Heavenly Intelligence Gate’s Wisu County branch in Jeok Nation.

Won Sun-sang, the branch head, had been seated inside handling paperwork when they practically toppled over. The branch head hurriedly rose and asked in a trembling voice,

“G-Great Hero... What brings you here...?”

The man called Great Hero burst into hearty laughter.

“Heh heh heh heh.”

Won Sun-sang gave an awkward laugh at the strange sound.

“You. I’m going to ask you a question. You’d best answer it properly. Do you understand?”

“Of course... Please ask me anything.”

There was a reason Won Sun-sang had no choice but to take such a lowly stance.

That man was the Great Elder of the Asura Sword Sect.

Only a madman would take lightly the Great Elder of the Asura Sword Sect, a sect famed for its Path of Hegemony.

What was more, because the Heavenly Intelligence Gate dealt in information, Won Sun-sang knew a little about the man.

He was certainly a martial artist who walked the Path of Hegemony.

Yet when he became angry, when he was truly enraged, there was no one who could stop him.

At such times, it would not be wrong to call him a demon who walked the Demonic Way rather than the Path of Hegemony.

There had once been ten clans that provoked Myo Man-ri’s wrath.

Within a single day, every one of them had been wiped from the world.

In short, he was completely insane.

He asked, “Where is that bastard Yi Do now?”

“W-Who?”

“Ahem. Do I need to repeat myself?”

“...Are you perhaps referring to the Cruel Demonic Way?”

“Yes, the Cruel Demonic Way. Heh heh heh heh. That brat... His first epithet has such a fine ring to it. Heh heh heh.”

“...To be honest, I don’t know where he is.”

Myo Man-ri’s laughter stopped abruptly.

“After he reduced the Assassin Fortress’s Suju County branch to ruins, we don’t know where he went. Still, if I had to make a guess...”

“If you had to guess?”

“...Wouldn’t he have gone to the black market?”

“The black market?”

“Yes. He took a considerable sum from Jangnyeong County and headed straight to the Assassin Fortress’s Suju County branch, so there seems to be nowhere else he could have gone. More importantly, he reportedly stole a large amount of money from the Assassin Fortress’s Suju County branch as well. Witnesses said he came to recover the money from the Sang-un Trading Company, which had originally commissioned his death, then...”

“Things didn’t go his way, so he killed them all?”

“Yes...”

“Heh heh heh heh. Isn’t that brat remarkable?”

“...Is he?”

“He clearly is. Isn’t that a course of action ordinary people like you would never dare imagine? That is the true Path of Hegemony. Heh heh heh. I’m in a very good mood.”

That sounded less like the Path of Hegemony and more like the Demonic Way...

Ahem.

“...If I may ask, why are you looking for the Cruel Demonic Way?”

“Why? You work with information, yet you don’t even know what martial art that bastard uses?”

“...When he swings his sword, it makes the sound of thunder. Surely...”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Myo Man-ri’s Five-Thunder Demon-Slaying Sword Art was known for bringing the sound of thunder. When Myo Man-ri, who had reached the Creation Realm, drew upon Natural Qi, he became lightning itself and struck down five bolts of lightning in an instant.

Won Sun-sang tilted his head.

“Don’t you strike down five bolts of lightning? I heard the Cruel Demonic Way only strikes down one...”

This was certainly different.

No one would ever think they were the same martial art. Martial artists were not idiots. They might assume the techniques belonged to a similar category, but they would never conclude it was the Five-Thunder Demon-Slaying Sword Art.

Myo Man-ri thought the same.

“There are two possibilities.”

“...Two?”

“One, he learned the Five-Thunder Demon-Slaying Sword Art in a strange way after I gave it to him. Or two, he made it himself as he pleased.”

“...There’s no chance of the latter.”

Myo Man-ri let out a disbelieving laugh.

“How would you know that? How can someone who handles information judge the limits of someone they’ve never even seen? Who do you think you are?”

“...I misspoke. Forgive me.”

“It’s enough that you know. A black market, you say... From now on, narrow down a list of black markets he might visit.”

“Right now?”

“Then what, will you do it after you die?”

A chill ran down Won Sun-sang’s spine.

It sounded like a joke, but Myo Man-ri was more than capable of doing it.

“I’ll find out at once.”

“Good. Once I bring my disciple back, I’ll introduce you to him too. It will be a very good meeting. Heh heh heh heh.”

Won Sun-sang cursed inwardly.

You fucking bastard.

* * *

Not only the Heavenly Intelligence Gate, but every organization dealing in information concluded that Yi Do’s next destination would be a black market.

There was no other reasonable conclusion.

Setting aside the unreasonable act of robbing the Assassin Fortress, he had taken one hundred and twenty Gold Taels from the place, along with Silver Taels worth roughly another thirty Gold Taels.

That made one hundred and fifty Gold Taels in total, and he likely had the funds he had brought from Jangnyeong County as well.

The exact amount was unknown, but it was surely considerable. What else could he possibly do with it?

Naturally, he would buy spiritual medicine.

Or martial weapons.

Any martial artist would do the same.

He was already being pursued. The best course was to aim for the next realm, even if that meant taking spiritual medicine.

But.

This was not the first time Yi Do had been chased.

Although Yi Do was known as a newcomer to the Martial World, he was in truth a seasoned martial artist who had risen as high as one of the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven. That title did not refer only to the Martial World of Jeok Nation. It meant the ten strongest martial artists across all three nations: Jeok Nation, Yan Kingdom, and Wi Kingdom.

Above all, Yi Do had built no faction.

He had reached that position alone. If everyone could easily predict his movements, he would have died in some alley long before he ever came close to becoming one of the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven.

He did intend to buy spiritual medicine.

Still, he had no intention of taking such an obvious route.

Travel southeast from Suju County, and one reached Wi County. It was a port city where commerce had flourished.

Yi Do was there now.

Wearing a black gat and a black robe, Yi Do looked vastly different from his known appearance.

His eyes had become narrow and slanted, while his lips had thinned. His nose, on the other hand, had grown quite high. Anyone who saw him would think he looked exceptionally shifty.

Like a thief.

No one would see this face and think of Yi Do.

“Mom, look. That mister is really ugly.”

Yi Do turned at the innocent voice of a child.

The child’s mother flinched when their eyes met. She considered offering a smile, then simply walked away.

For once, a faint flush colored Yi Do’s face.

* * *

Opportunities came to everyone.

Whether one could seize them was another matter. What mattered was that they came.

I seized mine.

After leaving the Yi Clan in my previous life, I came to Wi County.

I wanted to board a ship and go somewhere no one knew me.

Yan Kingdom or Wi Kingdom.

Or even some backwater village in a corner of Jeok Nation.

I didn’t want to be connected to the name Jangnyeong County itself.

That was how I came to Wi County, where I met my master.

I learned so much from my master.

If something blocks your path, break it. If you live with regret, you’ll regret it until the moment you die. Even if you are branded the Martial World’s Public Enemy and the whole world turns against you, do not run. Face them and fight.

If someone wrongs you, make them pay.

There was much more.

People didn’t change. I never thought I had changed. Only the way people looked at me had changed.

When I lived in the Yi Clan, I spent every moment with my head bowed.

I didn’t want to live that way, and my master thought highly of that resolve.

I had never forgotten my master’s teachings in my entire life.

Even if I died tomorrow, I would live without regret.

Bowing your head once is difficult, but doing it twice or three times is easy. The fourth time is easier still, and the fifth goes without saying.

Before regression and after it.

Not once had I resented my master.

I had never blamed my master, nor had I ever hated my master.

When the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven came at me together, I could have escaped. I could have yielded. I had chances.

The Heavenly Emperor offered me the position of Vice Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance. The Flame Emperor offered me the position of Vice Sect Leader. The Heavenly Dragon Divine Emperor offered me the position of Gate Master of the Heavenly Gate.

I refused them all.

Whether I liked them or not was beside the point. Why had those bastards come to kill me?

The excuse that I was the disciple of the Martial World’s Public Enemy was only a pretext they made up.

Their true goal was one thing alone.

[Asura Heaven-Breaking Five Arts]

They coveted this martial art.

That was all.

The Asura Heaven-Breaking Five Arts were my master’s legacy.

They were the only link between my master and me left in this world. It was a relic I would never exchange for all the gold in the world, a symbol I would not trade even for the entire world.

How could I give it to anyone else?

My thoughts would remain the same even if I died a hundred times, a thousand times, or ten thousand times. My life was nothing.

Better to break than bend.

How could I bow my head if I wished to live without regret? Even if I could not reach the end, it was enough if I had lived without regret.

That was why I fought those six bastards.

It had been a satisfying life and a satisfying death.

Even in this life that had begun anew, I would make the same choice.

That was why.

Today, I had to meet my master.

I wanted answers.

I walked on in silence.

The smell of the sea and the bustling sounds.

The sounds were pleasant to hear.

After walking for some time, I stopped.

A mountain stood before me.

This place was called Hwaseong Mountain.

My heart pounded for the first time in a long while. Just as I was about to climb the mountain, a man happened to be coming down from it.

The moment I saw him, I stopped.

I had never seen him before, yet his appearance felt familiar.

For one thing, he was quite small.

Around five cheok tall. The sword on his back, about four cheok long, was striking as well.

More than anything, the middle of his black scabbard bore golden letters.

Central Plains.

A memory flashed through my mind.

“Master. You don’t look well today.”

I did not know much about my master. It might sound like bullshit, but it was true.

As I had said before, whenever my master’s body recovered, my master went somewhere. Then my master returned to the safe house covered in wounds. It had happened more times than I could count. Even just the times that came to mind immediately numbered around fifty.

No matter how often I asked who my master had fought, I was never told.

“You do not need to know yet.”

“It would be better if you never knew.”

At that time, my master had been extremely firm.

Yet there had been one occasion when my master returned with an especially poor expression.

That was when I asked.

My master said this to me.

“Debts and grudges are truly painful matters.”

I asked what that meant.

“There was a man who gave me all kinds of help, saying he was repaying a kindness. I heard he has died.”

I asked who it was.

“Cheon Yeo-bi, the Central Plains One Sword. You have likely never heard of him.”

The man coming down from the mountain before me was Cheon Yeo-bi, the Central Plains One Sword my master had spoken of.

After noticing me, he smiled.

“This mountain is rugged and not well suited to travel. It is rare to see a climber here.”

I silently watched him.

The Central Plains One Sword.

Cheon Yeo-bi came from the Perennial Snow Palace in northern Wi Kingdom and wielded an immensely destructive sword art that did not match his small frame.

“You are a quiet one. Yesterday’s rain has made the mountain even more treacherous, so be careful.”

I watched Cheon Yeo-bi as he passed by.

I had once asked my master whether that man’s death hurt so deeply.

My master had said it did.

“A rare man. Though it was only a small debt of gratitude, he threw away his life to uphold it. I heard that even until the moment he was captured by the Yin-Yang Divine Gate and tortured, he did not reveal a single thing about me.”

I asked what his end had been like.

“While the man torturing him looked away, he burst his own heart.”

He had taken his own life.

I could tell how much my master had trusted him from what happened afterward.

That night, my master went out, saying there was somewhere to visit. My master returned in the morning.

The Yin-Yang Divine Gate was destroyed that day. Its family members, General Steward, servants, and porters.

Everyone belonging to the Yin-Yang Divine Gate died.

That was enough.

I asked Cheon Yeo-bi, who continued walking in silence, “Are they inside?”

“...Pardon?”

“I asked whether my master is inside.”

Cheon Yeo-bi’s brow twitched.

“I do not understand what you mean.”

I spoke calmly.

“This is the third time I’ve asked, but I’ll let it slide. Is the person with the surname Jeok, written with the character for accumulation, and the given name So-ryeon, written with the characters for revive and unite, inside now?”

Cheon Yeo-bi scratched his chin and looked around.

There was no one nearby. Not even the usual mountain beasts.

He asked me, “Where have you come from?”

“A disciple has come looking for a master. Does it matter where I came from?”

“I see.”

He scratched his chin as though nothing had happened.

I blinked.

In that brief instant, Cheon Yeo-bi had drawn the sword from his back and charged at me.

He closed in before my eyes in an instant. I turned my head and kicked out.

Boom!

His sword grazed my cheek, while my foot struck his abdomen.

Yet he did not budge.

His sword changed direction and plunged straight down toward my head.

Tsk.

Clicking my tongue, I stretched out my hand.

My blood-red hand caught the Central Plains One Sword’s blade.

Cheon Yeo-bi’s eyes widened.

My blood-red eyes reflected in his.

I did not care.

I clenched my right fist and threw it forward.

[Asura Heaven-Breaking Five Arts]

[Sun Asura Fist]

A fist carrying tremendous light like the sun struck Cheon Yeo-bi in the side.

Yet, as a master who had reached Five Qis Return to Origin, he immediately pushed off backward and spun through the air. After turning roughly five times in an instant, he landed on the ground.

He was extremely agile, and his judgment was remarkable.

The Properly Aligned Qi that had been entering his body scattered in every direction.

Not bad.

With shocked eyes, Cheon Yeo-bi touched his side.

“...That martial art... Good heavens.”

Flustered, Cheon Yeo-bi immediately dropped to his knees.

“I apologize for failing to recognize you. I did not know you were that person’s disciple.”

I withdrew my energy.

I asked calmly, “Is my master in there?”

Cheon Yeo-bi did not mind my change in tone.

“Your honored master has not returned yet.”

My master was the Martial World’s Public Enemy.

The Thousand-Year Demon God was my master’s epithet, and the name was Jeok So-ryeon.

When people spoke of my master, they did not place Martial World’s Public Enemy before the name. There was another modifier they always used instead.

The Greatest Under Heaven.

The strongest martial artist under heaven.

That was my master.

I had come prepared to take one blow.

Footnotes:

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