WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Alyo
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈
Chapter 43: Is This Not the Martial World?
──────
On the way to the Sect Records Pavilion, I listened as Myeong-hyeon explained several things.
The Asura Sword Sect’s hierarchy was simple.
Novice disciples, second-generation disciples, first-generation disciples, Pavilion Lords, elders, Great Elder, Sect Leader.
Needless to say, the Sect Leader stood at the top, followed by the Great Elder, then the elders.
The ranks became more detailed starting with Pavilion Lords. Though this was an order, in the broader sense, it was no different from a martial sect.
There was the Financial Administration Pavilion, which managed money. There was the Medical Classics Pavilion, which treated the injured, supplied cultivation resources, and produced medicine. Then there was the Asura Pavilion, which handled the Sword Sect’s martial force.
The Asura Pavilion was the important one.
An Asura Pavilion Master possessed strength at least equal to an elder’s. Though ranked below the elders, they received treatment befitting an elder or greater in practice.
The Asura Pavilion had sixteen branches in total. First-generation disciples who had reached a certain level normally served as Branch Leaders, while second-generation disciples like Myeong-hyeon, along with lower-level first-generation disciples, became branch members.
The branch I would oversee was the ninth branch. Its proper name was the [Three Phoenix Branch], though some called it by number while others did not.
Novice disciples learned the Sword Sect’s martial arts. Once they reached a certain level, they became second-generation disciples, were assigned to branches, and carried out missions.
It was an exceedingly simple hierarchy.
The Sect Records Pavilion handled matters related to the Asura Sword Sect.
Using assassins as an example, it was much like a commission hall.
After entering the Sect Records Pavilion, I saw several men and women occupied with their work.
The moment they saw me, they silently offered a cupped-fist salute.
It was not because they knew who I was. It was courtesy shown to every martial artist belonging to the Asura Sword Sect.
“The archive over there contains old debts and grudges involving the sect. Most of them were too difficult to resolve, so they have been left alone.”
“Then what’s that?”
I pointed toward a huge board in one corner.
Various notices had been pasted all over it, each marked by a different color.
Red, black, and white.
“Those are the most recent debts and grudges. Red writs involve serious matters where one must risk their life. Black writs concern matters that are uncertain but require investigation, while white writs are matters that need urgent handling. White writs remain here for about three double-hours, while red writs stay for about two days before being delivered to the Asura Pavilion Master. If the Pavilion Master is absent, they go to the Deputy Pavilion Lord instead. The writs are then assigned to each branch. Of course, Branch Leaders and branch members who come to the Medical Classics Pavilion on the main mountain to receive cultivation resources sometimes take writs themselves and resolve them directly.”
It was clear why Myeong-hyeon had called it a minor errand.
Those who handled such work received cultivation resources from the Medical Classics Pavilion. If their contribution was great, they were even given spiritual medicine.
I silently approached and scanned several notices.
One caught my eye.
It was a red writ.
“Um... Yi Do.”
I turned my head. Myeong-hyeon was smiling faintly.
“If it would not be improper, may I come with you?”
I smiled gently.
“Fine.”
* * *
The contents of the red writ were simple.
Seok Manor, located in Seongju County along the border, was a family protected by the Asura Sword Sect.
Naturally, being on the border was a tremendous advantage when it came to smuggling.
Seok Manor made money by importing and exporting goods between the Yan Kingdom and the Jeok Nation.
They were also considered fairly well-informed, and Seok Mun-jung, the Manor Lord, was a martial artist who had reached Five Dragons Honoring the Sage. In temperament and other respects, Seok Mun-jung was a reasonably decent person.
But even such a person could not overcome greed.
In truth, every debt and grudge in the world began with greed and ended with greed.
This case was no different. Seok Manor had gained immense profits through smuggling, and it was required to pay a certain portion of those profits to the Asura Sword Sect.
That was only natural.
The reason was simple.
The Asura Sword Sect was what allowed Seok Manor to smuggle in the first place. The sect protected them from behind the scenes, and several branches even escorted contraband to other regions. Even when they could not provide an escort, the Sword Sect still lent them its name. It was only right for the Asura Sword Sect to receive protection payments.
The trouble began with those payments.
The Asura Sword Sect normally received one-tenth of all profits, but Seok Manor found that too wasteful and secretly joined hands with the Kang Clan, which lay within the Heaven-Breaking Fist Sect’s territory.
Put simply, Seok Manor was meant to pay the Asura Sword Sect one-tenth of its total profits.
Unwilling to pay that tenth, they conspired with the Kang Clan and falsified the number of valuables. If there were one hundred valuables, they paid the Asura Sword Sect protection payments for only twenty. Since the Kang Clan was involved as well, they paid them for twenty more, then kept the profits from the remaining sixty valuables for themselves.
Seok Manor had committed such a shameless breach of commercial ethics.
And they had been caught.
The full sequence of events had already been uncovered, and the list of ringleaders and those swept up in the matter had been compiled.
“The reason this is red is clear,” Myeong-hyeon said. “There is a high chance of an armed clash with Seok Manor, and disciples of the Heaven-Breaking Fist Sect, or even the Kang Clan, may intervene.”
I nodded at the explanation.
“Then is this normally something the Asura Pavilion Master would handle?”
“That is more or less correct. But the Pavilion Master is extremely busy, so Branch Leaders usually gather and settle it. There are casualties in that process as well.”
“I see.”
That was when we arrived.
I looked at the grand hall.
The name Seok Manor was displayed across it in large characters.
I walked forward without a word and kicked the main gate open.
BOOM!!
The doors shattered, and chaos erupted inside. Myeong-hyeon, standing behind me, blinked.
“...Um... Branch Leader, what are you doing...?”
“Just watch.”
I had already grasped the situation.
The Asura Sword Sect was in disarray. It was rotting from within. Now that I had joined the Asura Sword Sect, things would be different.
At the very least, this was now a place I belonged to. Just as I had told Dokgo Dan-ya, I intended to regard the Asura Sword Sect’s interests as my own.
That made everything I did from this point on much easier.
“Who the hell are you?!”
“This is Seok Manor!”
Ignoring them, I continued walking.
“I have come from the Asura Sword Sect.”
Everyone sucked in a breath.
“I will count to ten. The Manor Lord will come before me and kneel immediately. If you do not...”
I drew the Cloud Dragon Sword.
“Seok Manor will be exterminated.”
* * *
Seok Mun-jung wiped a hand over their face. Unmistakable anxiety had spread across their features, and for good reason.
Seok Mun-jung had sources.
Eight hours ago, they had heard that the Asura Sword Sect’s Asura Pavilion had completed its investigation.
There was no denying it.
They had been blinded by money.
They had fallen for the Kang Clan’s persuasion.
They had fallen for the Kang Clan’s promise that it would take only five percent and joined hands with them. Not once or twice, but dozens of times.
After doing it for so long, discovery had been inevitable, yet they had thought it would last forever.
It had been a foolish choice, one without excuse. The moment Seok Mun-jung heard that an investigation had begun, regret had taken hold. Now it had reached its peak.
The Asura Sword Sect was known for being kinder than anyone to its allies, yet merciless to its enemies.
The Great Elder, Myo Man-ri, was especially so.
Once Myo Man-ri caught hold of a weakness like this, he exterminated entire clans without looking back. Dozens of families had been wiped out that way.
Seok Manor stood one step away from becoming an enemy.
What were they supposed to do?
Should they confess their sins and kneel now?
This matter would surely be posted in the Sword Sect’s Sect Records Pavilion by now.
There was no need to see its grade.
It would be red.
If the Asura Sword Sect sent people prepared for armed conflict...
Seok Mun-jung swallowed hard.
Surely... they would not exterminate the entire clan.
Then a General Steward’s frantic voice rang in Seok Mun-jung’s ears.
“Manor Lord! Someone from the Asura Sword Sect has arrived!”
Seok Mun-jung sprang to their feet.
“They say they will count to ten... If you do not come out before then, they will exterminate Seok Manor...!”
There was no need to hear any more.
Seok Mun-jung rushed outside like mad in stockinged feet.
Their eyes met those of a man who had just counted to nine.
He smiled softly.
“Good. You made it.”
Seok Mun-jung could not say a word. It was clearly an attractive smile, so why was it so chilling?
It felt as though overwhelming killing intent had swept over their entire body in an instant.
Still, something was strange.
This man said he was from the Asura Sword Sect...
“Excuse me... may I ask your name?”
The man answered Seok Mun-jung’s question.
“Yi Do.”
“And your position is...?”
The one who reacted was Myeong-hyeon, standing behind Yi Do.
“Ahem. Manor Lord Seok, this is the new Protector personally brought in today by the Asura Sword Sect’s Great Elder. Show proper respect.”
Nothing else reached their ears.
Great Elder.
At those words, Seok Mun-jung and everyone else immediately dropped to their knees.
“We greet the Protector!!”
It was impossible not to know Great Elder Myo Man-ri’s fearsome reputation in Wisu County, the Asura Sword Sect’s own territory.
Yi Do looked at Myeong-hyeon curiously.
Interesting.
Myeong-hyeon clearly knew what would happen. And he had stopped it.
Interesting.
Yi Do turned his gaze back to Seok Mun-jung.
“You know your crime well enough, so I will not speak at length. Pay the Asura Sword Sect ten times the profits you secretly pocketed.”
Ten times.
It was an enormous sum.
But not one Seok Manor could not afford.
“We will do so.”
“Good. You have one day. If an appropriate sum does not reach the Asura Sword Sect within a day, you will see me again. At that time, prepare for the extermination of your clan.”
“...I will remember. I will remember it well.”
Yi Do said, “Hold out your arm.”
Wearing a puzzled expression, Seok Mun-jung extended their right arm, and at that moment, Yi Do’s Cloud Dragon Sword cut off Seok Mun-jung’s right arm.
Slash!
The arm fell cleanly to the ground. Seok Mun-jung screamed, and the martial artists of Seok Manor began to draw their weapons.
“Stop! Put away your weapons!”
Even while writhing in pain, Seok Mun-jung shouted urgently enough that everyone froze in place.
Yi Do spoke without emotion.
“Look at that severed arm and reflect on your wrongdoing. If you reattach it, I will cut off all four of your limbs. Do you understand?”
“Yes... I understand fully.”
“Then that is enough.”
Yi Do turned around. Myeong-hyeon followed after him with a blank expression.
* * *
The instant I stepped outside Seok Manor, I grabbed Myeong-hyeon by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
“Urk... Why... why are you doing this...?”
“Who told you to interfere?”
“...”
“I clearly said to only watch.”
“...That was...”
Protector was an unofficial position. Officially, I was a Branch Leader.
Myeong-hyeon had kept calling me Branch Leader, yet had called me Protector just now.
Titles carried their own weight, and a Branch Leader and a Protector were clearly different.
An armed clash had been inevitable, but Myeong-hyeon had prevented it by invoking the title of Protector.
I had told him to stay still, and he had nodded as if he understood.
Yet he had not obeyed.
I released my grip. Myeong-hyeon’s feet, which had been hanging about an inch above the ground, touched down.
At the same time, I threw a right punch.
Thud!
Myeong-hyeon’s head snapped back. I looked down at him after he collapsed.
“This is your final warning. Act on your own one more time, and I will kill you.”
“...I apologize. I will keep that in mind.”
“Get up.”
Myeong-hyeon quickly rose.
“We are going to the Kang Clan. Lead the way.”
“...Yes.”
I watched Myeong-hyeon walk ahead.
Not bad.
His acting was impressive enough to earn genuine admiration. Even after all this, he would not reveal his true nature?
Interesting.
From the moment I struck him to the moment he hit the ground, Myeong-hyeon had not sent even a trace of killing intent toward me.
His Demonic arts were surely stirring, yet he endured it.
That was a little disappointing.
Should I provoke him a little more?
Myeong-hyeon turned his head. As though he had forgotten what had just happened, he smiled brightly.
“Please hurry, Branch Leader. We have a long way to go.”
It was a fundamental question.
Others might not know, but could Dokgo Dan-ya truly be unaware of Myeong-hyeon’s identity?
From what I could see, there was no chance he did not know.
Dokgo Dan-ya alone must know Myeong-hyeon’s identity. Yet he had left him alone.
Why?
I was somewhat curious, but I did not concern myself with it for now.
It was a long journey.
We had to cross the border first, then pass through several villages.
Only after a full day had passed did Myeong-hyeon and I reach Ahyeon Town near Jung-su County in the Yan Kingdom.
Myeong-hyeon looked different now. Some of his hair had been torn out, several bruises had formed on his face, and he kept unconsciously rubbing his arm as though it hurt.
Throughout the journey, I found excuses to beat him.
I told Myeong-hyeon to catch a rabbit. He caught one, so I hit him and asked who that single rabbit would even feed.
When we crossed the border, dust kicked up from Myeong-hyeon’s feet brushed my collar. So I hit him.
Myeong-hyeon’s footsteps irritated me. So I hit him.
His breathing irritated me too. So I hit him.
And so on.
I simply beat him.
“That is the Kang Clan.”
Even so, Myeong-hyeon had maintained his smile the entire time. I became curious.
Why go so far?
I walked forward without a word.
After stopping beneath the grand hall, I glanced back.
“Just watch. Understand?”
“...Yes. Do not worry.”
Leaving the awkwardly smiling Myeong-hyeon behind, I kicked down the gate just as I had at Seok Manor.
BOOM!!
The moment the doors broke, two martial artists standing before the gate drew their swords.
I rushed in at once and swung the Cloud Dragon Sword.
Slash!
There was only one sound, but two heads fell.
I raised my head.
“Who the hell are you?!”
I spoke without emotion.
“I have come from the Asura Sword Sect.”
One man recoiled in alarm.
“You fool... This is the Yan Kingdom. Right now, the Jeok Nation is attacking the Yan Kingdom...”
I let out a laugh.
“A nation? How stale.”
“...”
“Even if the Yan Emperor himself were here, it would not change the fact that you plotted behind our backs.”
“...You bastard...”
“That is enough for last words. Is there anything else you want to say?”
That man was clearly someone of considerable rank within the Kang Clan.
“Kill him!”
At those words, more than ten martial artists charged at me.
I gripped the Cloud Dragon Sword tightly.
* * *
The sounds of clashing swords and cleaved flesh rang out without end.
Kang I-sang, the Kang Clan Head, swallowed hard at the unceasing noise.
He stood dazed.
The carnage unfolding before him.
It was absurd.
The Kang Clan’s finest forces had all been slaughtered.
Was anyone alive?
No.
Who in the world was that man?
Someone like that existed in the Asura Sword Sect? Why had someone so excessively brutal remained unknown until now?
The man’s sword swung.
A man rushing toward him threw a punch.
Sword and fist collided.
BOOM!!
The two men each retreated two steps.
The man stared at his tingling fist, then gave a crooked smile.
“That sword is quite sha...”
He did not finish.
Slash!
The swordsman closed in at almost the speed of light and swung his blade with equal speed, taking his opponent’s head from his shoulders.
Only then did the man, drenched from head to toe in blood, turn his gaze toward Kang I-sang.
“Are you the Kang Clan Head?”
“...Who... who are you?”
“Did I not say? I have come from the Asura Sword Sect.”
“...The Asura Sword Sect has no one like you.”
The man smiled.
“That is only natural. I joined not long ago.”
Kang I-sang was shocked.
A newcomer? To the Asura Sword Sect?
“You plotted against a force under the Asura Sword Sect. You must have done it prepared for your clan to be exterminated.”
“...”
“That is enough. Even if you opened your mouth, only excuses would come out. Farewell.”
Before the man could swing his sword, Kang I-sang asked.
“What is your name?”
Kang I-sang’s attitude was unexpectedly composed. With a faint laugh, the man answered.
“Yi Do.”
“...I will go first, but you will soon follow.”
“Is that so?”
“Do you still not understand?”
Yi Do tilted his head.
“I suppose you do not. Do you know who that man you just killed was?”
“Do I need to?”
“You do. The man you killed was a first-generation disciple of the Heaven-Breaking Fist Sect!”
Yi Do’s expression did not change.
“Is that a problem?”
“...You are new, so you do not know. Sects avoid direct clashes with one another.”
Yi Do truly wanted to know.
“Why avoid them?”
“...What?”
“One side committed wrongdoing, and the details and ringleaders have been clearly identified. Choosing to avoid conflict is no different from proving one’s own weakness.”
“...”
“If someone does something worth dying for, they should die. Is this not the Martial World?”
That was right.
This was the Martial World.
Kang I-sang could only stare blankly at Yi Do’s sword as it slowly approached his face.
Thrust!
* * *
Wherever Yi Do went, things turned upside down.
The Asura Sword Sect was no exception.
At first, everyone had been skeptical when the Great Elder went outside and returned with Yi Do, a man called a demonic fiend.
Rumors spreading through the Martial World were often exaggerated, but rumors did not arise for no reason.
They arose because there was something to them.
Of course, he might not actually be a demonic fiend. He surely had his own grievances about being called one.
He had killed General Stewards, his biological father, and his biological older brothers, but perhaps there had been reasons for all of it.
Maybe he had suffered constant humiliation for years, only to reach his breaking point at last. What was the poison his father had been afflicted with? The infamous Soul-Severing Demonic Poison. That poison had no antidote. Once afflicted, death after unbearable agony was certain.
Perhaps Yi Do had granted his father peace to ease his suffering. There were ways to attach a reason to everything, but how many people would listen?
Then there was the matter of beating assassins to death and massacring government soldiers.
There were probably reasons for all of that as well. Yet one fact could never be denied.
Every road he walked had been soaked in blood.
After being pursued like that, he had finally found refuge in the Asura Sword Sect.
An ordinary person would now resolve to live quietly.
That was common sense.
Yet less than a day after joining the Asura Sword Sect, he had resolved Seok Manor’s problem, crossed the border immediately afterward, and exterminated an entire clan. On top of that, he had beheaded a first-generation disciple of the Heaven-Breaking Fist Sect. Did that make any sense?
Resolving a red-grade debt and grudge deserved praise, but not everyone in the Asura Sword Sect favored this method.
Those aligned with the elders were especially so.
More than anything, was this truly the end?
Everyone sensed it.
This was only the beginning.
No, Great Elder Myo Man-ri had entered closed-door seclusion today, and he had released a monster just as vicious as himself. Perhaps that monster was even more vicious.
The people of the Asura Sword Sect had gathered at the sect entrance, staring blankly at the sight before them.
A man wore a black robe. A golden chariot was embroidered in the center of his back, with golden flames to its east, west, south, and north. That was the symbol of the Asura Sword Sect.
The chariot and the flames.
The colors of those two motifs determined one’s status.
At present, only one man in the Asura Sword Sect could wear that robe.
The Asura Sword Sect’s Sect Leader, the Black Wind Sword Venerable, Dokgo Dan-ya.
Before him, the Seok Manor Lord was begging for forgiveness in a five-point prostration.
No, a four-point prostration.
Behind them, the people of Seok Manor carried valuables themselves.
Dokgo Dan-ya smiled with satisfaction.
“Truly... You brought back the right one.”
Footnotes:
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