WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Alyo
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈
Chapter 42: Yaksha
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Dokgo Dan-ya liked Yi Do.
“I would like to speak with him alone. Would you all give us the room?”
At those words, the elders, including Chodong, left without complaint. Elder Chodong’s gaze lingered on Yi Do for a while before he too departed, but Yi Do did not care.
Whether Elder Chodong stared or not.
Myo Man-ri, the last to remain, spoke to the Sect Leader with a murderous expression.
“He’s mine. If you try to take him from me, you’ll see exactly how insane I can get.”
“Great Elder.”
“What?”
“Did I not say that all things in this world begin with the microcosm, and that the master of that microcosm is oneself?”
“...Enough reciting scripture. I’ve made my warning clear. And since I was the one who brought him here, give him an appropriate position.”
“Very well.”
Dokgo Dan-ya smiled gently. Myo Man-ri furrowed his brow at that smile, then grumbled as he left the Sect Leader’s Hall.
Once only the two of them remained, Yi Do gave a cupped-fist salute.
“Greetings, Black Wind Sword Venerable.”
It was an appropriately respectful greeting, but no one who had entered the Asura Sword Sect would use such words.
“Greetings, Sect Leader.”
That was the established form of greeting.
It meant Yi Do was still drawing a line between himself and the Asura Sword Sect. It also meant he was being cautious.
Strangely, Dokgo Dan-ya liked him even more for it.
“Do you revere the Demonic Way?” Dokgo Dan-ya asked.
“Do I look like I do?”
“Then do you revere the Path of Hegemony?”
“That depends on how you see it.”
“Then you revere the Orthodox Path?”
Yi Do answered with a resolute expression.
“I revere none of them.”
“Hmm...”
“The path I walk and the actions I take are driven by debts and grudges, and decided by profit. I have no interest in how others may see them.”
“What if that makes the entire martial world your enemy?”
“Then I will destroy the martial world.”
“What if heaven sees you as a calamity?”
“Then I will destroy heaven as well.”
“What if that gets you killed?”
“Then, having lived without regret, I will die smiling.”
Yi Do had truly died smiling.
A bright smile bloomed on Dokgo Dan-ya’s lips.
“Good.”
Yi Do looked at him in silence.
Dokgo Dan-ya was unquestionably a powerhouse of the Jeok Martial World.
Even if Yi Do could be reckless, he was not a man so lacking in manners.
“There is something I wish to ask.”
“Ask.”
“As I understand it, the Asura Sword Sect values freedom and the Path of Hegemony.”
“That is not wrong.”
“It was certainly my own will that brought me to the Asura Sword Sect, yet you gladly accepted my entry. May I ask why?”
A smile spread across Dokgo Dan-ya’s lips.
“Because this is the Asura Sword Sect.”
“...”
“What is a martial artist, if not one of the freest people in this world? And what is the martial path, if not a path granted to those who are free? The Orthodox Path, the Demonic Way, the Path of Hegemony, the Heterodox Path, all of them are choices that can only be made by those who savor freedom. Though I remained within the Sword Sect, it is not as though I had heard nothing of your reputation.”
Yi Do remained silent.
“Some call you demonic because your methods are excessive and the authorities have become entangled in your affairs, but I see you as far removed from the Demonic Way. Then are you Orthodox? No, that is not it either. Are you a practitioner of the Path of Hegemony? That nature is certainly strong in you, but strictly speaking, that is not it either. You walk your own path. Depending on the observer, you could appear demonic, hegemonic, or orthodox. It is a very dangerous path, but... I like it.”
Dokgo Dan-ya smacked his lips before continuing.
“More than anything, how could I refuse a martial artist who has reached Three Flowers Gather at the Crown at the age of seventeen? A martial artist with such a promising future?”
“I understand.”
“But you must know that every choice carries a price.”
Of course he did.
“Now that the Asura Sword Sect is your backing, you must also regard the sect’s interests as your own and act accordingly. As Sect Leader, this is the one matter on which I cannot compromise. I hope you understand. What do you think?”
“I have no objection. It is only that...”
“Only that?”
“I am concerned whether the Asura Sword Sect will be able to bear the consequences of my actions.”
Hahahahahaha!
Dokgo Dan-ya burst into loud laughter.
“How amusing. You are concerned whether one of the Eight Great Sects can contain you? Hahaha, what a prize.”
Dokgo Dan-ya’s laughter abruptly stopped.
“Go mad and run wild. I am curious too, whether this Asura Sword Sect can contain you.”
Dokgo Dan-ya meant every word.
“The Great Elder brought you here, but I cannot give you such a high post. What would be suitable...”
Dokgo Dan-ya considered it for a moment, then smiled again.
“Unofficially, your position will be the Great Elder’s Protector.”
“And what is my official position?”
“A Branch Leader post in the Asura Pavilion has just opened up. Eighteen branch members and the Branch Leader died recently in a clash with the Heaven-Breaking Fist Sect. Take charge of that branch.”
“Yes. I will do so.”
Yi Do gave another cupped-fist salute.
“Then I will be going.”
Yi Do began to leave, putting Dokgo Dan-ya behind him. Then the Sect Leader’s voice reached his ears.
“I hope your entry into the Asura Sword Sect proves beneficial for both you and me.”
“Earlier, did you not tell me to think of the Asura Sword Sect’s interests as my own?”
“I did.”
“I also told you that I am a man driven by debts and grudges.”
“That is true as well.”
“I will treat the Asura Sword Sect’s debts and grudges as my own. I do not know whether the end I seek will be the same as the end you seek, Sect Leader, but I will do my best.”
Dokgo Dan-ya watched Yi Do in silence for a long time before speaking.
“Good.”
He gestured with his hand.
“You may go now. If I keep you any longer, I dread to imagine what our fiery Great Elder might do.”
Yi Do silently left the Sect Leader’s Hall.
Dokgo Dan-ya, now alone, still wore a broad smile.
In a quiet voice, he muttered, “I do not have a habit of taking things from others, but...”
Strangely enough.
He wanted him terribly.
* * *
Myo Man-ri, who had been waiting anxiously outside, turned his head.
He looked at his future disciple, who was slowly approaching.
“Well? What happened?”
“What else would happen? Nothing.”
“...Really? He didn’t say he would make you his disciple, appoint you Junior Sect Leader, or anything like that?”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Really? That can’t be right...”
Yi Do looked at Myo Man-ri’s complicated expression. It was a question he had genuinely wanted to ask for a long time.
“Do you truly have to make me your disciple?”
“What sort of question is that? Of course I do.”
“As I told you before, I already serve a master.”
“...”
“That person made me who I am now and will make me who I become. They instilled in me the resolve and strength to decide the path I must walk and the path I do walk. Even if you continue to say that you will accept me as your disciple, I have no intention of becoming your disciple, Myo Man-ri.”
“Hmm...”
“And honestly, though I am not your disciple, I have already learned your martial arts. I could accept being companions walking the same path, or even sworn brothers, but anything beyond that would be difficult.”
Rather than drawing a line, it was Yi Do expressing a resolve that would not change in the future.
Myo Man-ri understood his sincerity.
“Hmm... I did hear that you already served a master, but... This is difficult. Truly difficult.”
“Still, tampering with my inner cultivation method was a bit much.”
Myo Man-ri grinned.
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
Yi Do did not press the matter.
In his previous life, he had heard many rumors about Myo Man-ri. He had not believed all of them.
Yi Do’s principles were firm.
He did not believe rumors. If he had not seen something himself, he withheld judgment.
“Do you like men?”
Myo Man-ri’s expression twisted grotesquely.
“This brat has no limits to what he says now. What kind of absurd bullshit is that? I have embraced only women my entire life. Never a man.”
“I asked because the obsession you show toward me is so immense.”
“Ha...”
Yi Do made an odd expression.
The rumor that Myo Man-ri had violated men must have been one of the crude lies people used to brand demonic fiends.
There was something Yi Do wanted to ask about the imperial palace, but it had not happened yet, so asking about it felt awkward.
No.
Since the subject had come up, it would be better to ask now.
“Are you connected to the imperial palace?”
Myo Man-ri flinched at those words.
“...What... did you say?”
His reaction was strange enough to startle even Yi Do.
“Hahaha. Connected? What nonsense are you talking about? I have no connection to the imperial palace.”
It was only for an instant, but Myo Man-ri had clearly panicked.
Strange. Why would he react like that?
Could he be some secret member of the imperial bloodline or something?
It seemed every rumor he had heard about Myo Man-ri had been distorted.
Still, aside from matters concerning the imperial palace, it was unquestionably true that Myo Man-ri had turned the martial world upside down enough to become the Martial World’s Public Enemy.
Yi Do decided not to dwell on it for now. What difference did it make either way? He would judge only by what he saw in the present.
“If you are not connected, then that is enough. Also, the Sect Leader told me to serve as the Great Elder’s Protector and take charge of a branch as its Branch Leader. What am I supposed to do as a Protector?”
“Hmm... It is not as though I need anyone to guard me, so do as you please. Since you are a Branch Leader... it would be best to speak with the Asura Pavilion Master. I heard they went out earlier, though. If you have nothing to do, why not go to the Sect Records Pavilion below and find something to occupy yourself with?”
Something was off in Myo Man-ri’s manner of speaking. It felt rambling.
Yi Do stared at him for a moment, then took two manuals from his robes.
“What are those?”
“Take them.”
“I will not refuse a gift... Hm?”
Myo Man-ri was greatly startled.
The two manuals Yi Do gave him were titled Boundless Thunder-Spirit Sword Formula and Thunder-Shaking Dantian Technique.
Yi Do did not know much about these two martial arts, but that was not true for people like Myo Man-ri, who wielded thunder energy.
“You... These... Could it be... Are these the martial arts of the Iron-Blooded Demon Emperor?”
“You know of them?”
“You fool. How could you not know the Iron-Blooded Demon Emperor? That monster who competed for the title of greatest under heaven four hundred years ago, who led the Thunder Spirit Sect, and destroyed half of Kunlun... Good heavens... Could these really be...”
Myo Man-ri, thoroughly flustered, quickly read through the manuals.
After reading them straight through, he snapped them shut.
“You... Could the master you serve be the Iron-Blooded Demon Emperor?”
“No.”
“If not, then how did you obtain these martial arts... Good heavens... No, more importantly, why are you giving these to me?”
“Did you not give me martial arts?”
Myo Man-ri blinked.
“And you even brought me to the Asura Sword Sect, so I am settling my debts and grudges according to my own calculations.”
“Ha... Hahaha... You really are completely insane.”
“I will take that as praise.”
“Fine... But do you truly not regret it? These are extremely precious martial arts. They rank among the finest martial arts in existence.”
“Did I not tell you before?”
Yi Do’s eyes remained clear.
“I am a man driven by debts and grudges. I have no need for those martial arts, and the person before me can use them better than I can. What could matter more than that? More importantly, did you say the Sect Records Pavilion?”
“Y-yes. The Sect Records Pavilion...”
“I understand. I will be going first.”
He passed by the stunned Myo Man-ri.
Until Yi Do disappeared from view, Myo Man-ri blankly watched his retreating back.
* * *
I walked in silence before stopping in place.
I did not regret any of the choices I had made so far. Entering the Asura Sword Sect was no exception.
As I had said before, I had been curious.
One thing was certain. When the Righteous-Demonic War broke out, the Asura Sword Sect would be destroyed.
There would be no sect disciples left. Every one of them would die.
Everyone except Great Elder Myo Man-ri, who had been dispatched to another region at the time.
That was the truth.
Yet I was deeply confused now.
Regression meant that I carried knowledge of a future the people of this era did not know.
Viewed another way, the scope of what I knew differed according to how much experience I had accumulated.
Myo Man-ri was currently on the verge of advancing from the Creation Realm to the Divine Entrance Realm.
He was worthy of holding the position of Great Elder in a major sect.
I could roughly guess why Myo Man-ri had decided not to leave the Sword Sect.
At present, Myo Man-ri was the greatest master in the Asura Sword Sect aside from Dokgo Dan-ya. If Myo Man-ri left, the Asura Sword Sect would falter.
How had Myo Man-ri reacted when I said that the future rebel forces had to be killed? He clearly had a deep attachment to the Asura Sword Sect. He had chosen not to leave because he could not turn away from it.
I ran a hand through my hair.
Before the Righteous-Demonic War, there were more than ten masters in the Jeok Martial World who were comparable to Myo Man-ri.
Then what about those above them?
Dokgo Dan-ya, the Sect Leader of the Asura Sword Sect, was one such example.
As far as I knew, his martial realm had reached the end of the Divine Entrance Realm.
I had never seen it myself, but based on everything I had heard in many places, that was the accepted view.
But.
When I first saw Dokgo Dan-ya earlier, I had to desperately control my expression.
The Dokgo Dan-ya I saw had reached at least the Divine Transformation Realm.
There were exactly five Divine Transformation Realm masters in the Jeok Martial World at present.
Dokgo Dan-ya was not counted among them.
The problem was that all five were Sect Leaders of the Eight Great Sects.
The top five sects could divide their ranks among themselves somehow, but the remaining three sects could not join their ranks.
Because they did not possess a Divine Transformation Realm master.
Even so, the Asura Sword Sect was regarded as superior to the other three sects, which was why it was ranked sixth among the Eight Great Sects.
That was the Asura Sword Sect.
Did that make any sense?
Even if all the masters were cut down during the Righteous-Demonic War, someone as powerful as Dokgo Dan-ya could certainly protect the Asura Sword Sect. No, he could go beyond protecting it and contend for the highest position among the Eight Great Sects.
If he wished, he could even declare that he would unify the Jeok Martial World.
‘...Something is strange.’
It was far too strange.
A monster of that caliber was said to be at the Divine Entrance Realm in the future? And he had even died when the Asura Sword Sect was destroyed?
Ah.
I did not want this.
But already, I could smell something foul.
The scent of scheming, the stench that arose whenever someone harbored filthy designs.
Tsk.
Clicking my tongue, I headed toward the Sect Records Pavilion.
For now, I needed to raise my martial realm.
Given my current body, I needed spiritual medicine and time.
To obtain both, I first had to prove my value to the Asura Sword Sect.
Just as I was about to start walking again.
“U-um, Yi Do! Wait a moment!”
I thought I had heard wrong.
That voice.
It was too familiar.
I turned my head.
A slender man with long hair stood there. He had an extremely youthful appearance and could not have been older than twenty.
He approached me and spoke.
“The Great Elder told me to show you around the Sword Sect. Would that be all right?”
I stared at him.
No matter how I looked at him, he was the one I knew.
Why was he here?
He was not someone who should be here.
Why?
“U-um, Yi Do? Are you all right?”
“I am fine.”
More importantly.
“What is your name?”
“Ah, I introduced myself too late. I am Myeong-hyeon, a second-generation disciple of the Asura Sword Sect. I am also a member of the Asura Pavilion’s Seonghwa Branch.”
I could not help but laugh.
“Myeong-hyeon?”
“Yes. Myeong-hyeon.”
It was interesting.
I had not even been in the Asura Sword Sect for a few hours, yet one interesting thing after another kept happening.
More than anything, I could only laugh at how tenacious my connection to the Emperor Sword Sect was.
Myeong-hyeon.
I knew this man.
The Emperor Sword Sect had three hidden martial artists.
The three of them had no names. They had been orphans since birth, raised personally by the Sword Emperor.
They were known by the codenames Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, and Yaksha. When I faced them, all three were masters of the Creation Realm, and the martial arts they used were all Demonic arts.
They had been extremely troublesome opponents.
The Myeong-hyeon standing before me now was Yaksha.
Why was Yaksha of all people in the Asura Sword Sect?
I already had a bad feeling.
Perhaps I should not have come here.
“I heard you were going to the Sect Records Pavilion. I will guide you.”
I sighed.
“Fine. Let us go.”
“Yes.”
I followed behind the brightly smiling Yaksha, no, Myeong-hyeon.
Footnotes:
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