WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 101: Hell's Entrance Exam: Gate ‘III’ (4)
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Whenever the regular examination began, countless people gathered at Nanyue.
The martial arts tournament held at Gate III was a spectacle that even people with no ties to the martial world had to see at least once in their lives. It was also a must-visit place for gossipmongers looking for something to discuss over drinks.
People came not only from Henan Province but from other provinces as well, making Nanyue bustle with outsiders more than ever. Yet the people who actually lived there showed little interest in the tournament.
“Are you not going to watch the tournament?”
“It’s the same thing every year. Why bother? Hurry up and get to work. If we don’t make our money at a time like this, when will we?”
Since Shaolin Sect, one of the towering pillars of the martial world, was located in Henan, Shaolin usually claimed the most Gate Tokens at Gate III.
Wudang Sect of Hubei Province participated from time to time, but Shaolin and Wudang had never truly clashed, so the results of Gate III rarely changed.
“Didn’t you hear? It’s chaos right now.”
“Chaos? Why? Are Wudang and Shaolin finally going to fight?”
“You fool! Wudang just lost to Taeul Sect.”
“Taeul Sect? The Taeul Sect of that fake legend, the Taeul Sword Emperor?”
“That’s right!”
At the sudden upset, even the merchants of Nanyue began closing their shops one by one.
The fall of an absolute powerhouse of the martial world was exciting even to people with no connection to it.
“This can’t be!”
“Hyeonsu of Wudang Sect lost?”
Those who had watched the match firsthand at the Martial Alliance’s Nanyue Branch grand training ground were even more shocked.
Shaolin, Wudang’s rival, was particularly shaken.
“...Senior Brother Ilmyeong was telling the truth.”
“Exactly. Now I finally understand why he repeatedly told us not to challenge Taeul Sect.”
The Shaolin disciples taking the Martial Arts Academy examination had not challenged Taeul Sect’s disciples because of Ilmyeong’s warning.
They had not understood why until now. After seeing Jin Sowoon’s move, they finally did.
“Still, Hyeonsu’s response was somewhat bewildering. How could the Taiji Sword fail to distinguish illusion from reality?”
“It wasn’t that he couldn’t distinguish them. He threw away his chance to do so.”
Had Hyeonsu focused from the start and prepared himself, he could have blocked it easily enough.
The illusions and transformations might have deceived the eye, but there were not many real strikes among them. Yet Hyeonsu had voluntarily yielded three moves and let down his guard.
There was nothing to be done about it.
No one had expected Taeul Sect’s illusion sword to be so strange and unfathomable.
“Grit.”
Hyeonsu’s face was bright red as he descended from the grand training ground.
As though boasting that he would yield the first three moves had not been enough, he had panicked at the single move Jin Sowoon used, abandoned his defense to attack, then been battered by a storm of illusory fists and forced out of the training ground.
He had utterly humiliated himself before people who had traveled far just to catch a glimpse of Wudang Sect.
Far from displaying Wudang’s majesty, he had sullied its name. Having never experienced such shame in his life, Hyeonsu had no idea how to compose himself.
“...”
“...”
Even so, Hyeonsu spoke first. If he did not say something, the awkward silence would suffocate him.
“...Th-that bastard’s illusion sword has no ordinary transformations.”
“Is that... is that so?”
Hyeongun, who had almost said, ‘It didn’t look like much to me,’ kept their mouth shut and nodded after another junior brother jabbed them in the side with an elbow.
“Still, the principles of reality hidden within it were exceedingly fierce.”
“Yes... Yes, I’m sure they were.”
Their response did not sound very convincing, but Hyeonsu could not call them out on it.
Had he not already left every shred of his dignity as an elder martial brother atop that grand training ground?
It was now Taeul Sect’s turn to send up another examinee.
A short while later, Taeul Sect’s youngest member, Dongryong, stepped onto the grand training ground.
He was small, and the way he hugged an adult-sized sword tightly against his chest made him look like a sword bearer, a child who carried a swordsman’s weapon. Laughter broke out throughout the stands.
“Ahem. The Thirteen Divine Martial Swords will be well suited to dealing with Taeul Sect’s illusion sword.”
Hyeonjin, who had been about to step onto the grand training ground, stopped at Hyeonsu’s words.
“Above all, the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords are fast. They’ll make it easy to deal with the real sword hidden among the illusion swords.”
“...”
Ordinarily, Hyeonjin would have answered in a booming voice. Instead, he silently stared at Hyeonsu and Hyeonmyeong.
Hyeonsu’s face reddened at the exchanged glances.
“...I think Senior Brother Hyeonsu is right.”
Hyeonmyeong hurriedly supported Hyeonsu’s words, but the flush did not leave Hyeonsu’s face.
Even within Wudang Sect, the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords were considered one of its more lethal sword arts.
Unlike the Taiji Sword, which delved deeply into the principles of yin and yang to pursue enlightenment, it was a sword art created to subdue and kill opponents efficiently.
Naturally, it was not even taught to children whose understanding of the Taiji Sword remained immature.
The Thirteen Divine Martial Swords pursued such extreme efficiency that even wandering martial artists with considerable experience in the martial world would struggle to face it.
To counter the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords, one either needed extensive experience with killing or a sword art more efficient than it. Taeul Sect could not possibly possess such a sword art.
‘What a pity.’
At least if Dongryong had faced the Taiji Sword, he would not have suffered serious injuries. Yet to preserve Senior Brother Hyeonsu’s dignity, Hyeonjin had no choice but to use the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords.
Now that it had been drawn, the youngest Taeul Sect disciple’s grave injury was a foregone conclusion. His two elder brothers might have to spend the rest of their lives nursing Dongryong.
“Prepare...”
Whether the child, who had not even finished growing, knew his future or not, he assumed the opening stance.
It was the same opening stance Jin Sowoon had used.
“Begin!”
At the referee’s shout, the two charged toward each other.
Stepping on the Ladder-to-the-Clouds movement art, Hyeonjin met the swift sword Dongryong launched with his first move.
Taeul Sect’s sword arts contained the principle of blending swift swords with illusion swords.
Speed and illusion were mixed with transformations to create confusion. Yet that sort of deception could not stand against a sword faster and more efficient than itself.
The moment Hyeonjin unleashed the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords, his blade crossed Dongryong’s chest before Dongryong could even swing his sword.
Only three exchanges had passed. The match was over.
“!”
Then, at that moment,
“Huh!”
The swift sword that had seemed ready to sever his wrist abruptly changed direction. Hyeonjin was trying to cut Dongryong’s chest, yet Dongryong’s sword was already thrusting toward his throat.
‘Was that why the swift sword hadn’t been so fast?’
He had thought it slow for a swift sword, but this trick had been concealed within it.
Hyeonjin had no choice but to withdraw the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords and open some distance before rushing in again.
Afterimages of swords bloomed from Dongryong’s blade.
They were swords filled with illusion and transformation, like the ones Jin Sowoon had displayed earlier.
Because Hyeonjin had remained fully alert, he could faintly distinguish the illusions and transformations before charging in again.
Flinch.
Hyeonjin’s steps came to a complete stop.
It was surely an illusion sword, but it was aimed at an exquisitely chosen vital point. Even a slight graze could damage a blood vessel and bring death.
Without realizing it, Hyeonjin instinctively reached out with his left hand toward that illusion sword.
Stab.
“Gah!”
“What was that? Why did he reach for a sword with his hand?”
“Is he insane?”
Hyeonjin stared in shock as red blood spurted from his hand.
It had definitely been an illusion sword. Had it somehow become a real sword? No, had Dongryong disguised the real sword as an illusion sword from the beginning?
As if to prove that strike had not been luck, Dongryong continued his sword forms with the same calm expression.
Several illusion swords formed around him. This time, every one of them thrust toward Hyeonjin’s vital points.
Desperate, Hyeonjin stepped on the Ladder-to-the-Clouds movement art and escaped Dongryong’s sword range.
“Waaaaah!”
Cheers suddenly erupted from every direction.
Only then did the bewildered Hyeonjin realize that he had retreated ten steps before Taeul Sect’s youngest disciple.
What was more, despite those thunderous cheers, Dongryong continued to pursue him, staring at him with dogged focus.
Illusion and transformation were ultimately meant to deceive an opponent and conceal reality within them.
For that reason, it was common sense for them to bloom more brilliantly and grow more complicated.
Dongryong’s illusion sword, though, defied common sense. Even the illusion swords, which were nothing but false images, targeted only the deadliest vital points. Then, he hid the real sword among those illusion swords to take his opponent’s life.
‘An illusion sword made solely for killing?’
It was a bizarre sword art unlike anything Hyeonjin had ever seen or heard of, and he could not bring himself to clash with it again.
It felt as though he was fighting an assassin head-on. Not some mediocre assassin, either, but one who had killed thousands and stood at the peak of killing swords.
Using the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords against someone like that was something only an idiot would do. If he could not immediately sort out illusion and transformation, he could be killed at any moment.
Hyeonjin instinctively glared at Hyeonsu as though he wanted to kill him.
Because that fool had offered needless advice, Hyeonjin was now about to lose to a Taeul Sect disciple as well.
If he had used his primary sword art, the Taiji Sword, from the start, he would not have been so confused by an illusion sword. Taeul Sect’s disciple was expected to have only around ten years of internal energy. Hyeonjin possessed exactly four times as much. If he could not win, what other reason could there be?
As Dongryong’s sword tangled his movements, Hyeonjin’s thoughts became equally tangled.
Once his mind grew confused, even the illusion swords he had barely been able to distinguish began to look like real swords.
He pushed his internal energy to its limit and struck away every illusion sword, but most of them were nothing more than phantoms.
Unable to control his own speed, Hyeonjin swung his sword like a madman.
“Ha...”
“What is he doing?”
“It looks as though he’s afraid of his opponent approaching, so he’s swinging his sword wildly.”
Hyeonjin swung his sword more desperately and expended more internal energy, but Hyeonjin was the one retreating.
Dongryong of Taeul Sect, on the other hand, appeared no more emotional than when the match had begun.
That unshaken appearance made things even harder for Hyeonjin.
“This is ridiculous! How can the likes of Taeul Sect...!”
“...”
At that instant, a red gleam flashed through Dongryong’s eyes.
Hyeonjin’s entire body froze before the thick killing intent he had never experienced in his life.
Dongryong then slipped into Hyeonjin’s guard.
“Don’t insult our sect.”
As the words reached his ears, Hyeonjin’s world began to spin.
Thud.
When he regained his senses after the impact that shook his entire body, he was lying on the ground. The sword that should have been in his hand lay far away, while a keen blade hovered just beneath his throat, as though it would pierce through at any moment.
“...Stop! Stop! The winner is Dongryong of Taeul Sect!”
Cheers burst forth from all sides at a result that no one, Hyeonsu included, had anticipated.
“Waaaaah!”
Dongryong hugged the sword larger than his own body tightly to his chest once more. The killing intent from moments before had vanished without a trace, and with an innocent face, he bowed in every direction before descending from the grand training ground.
#
The people in the stands could not hide their excitement at the outcome no one had expected.
That made two already. Wudang Sect disciples, commonly likened to dragons, had suffered consecutive defeats to disciples of an insignificant sect.
“See? What did I tell you?”
“It’s true. Wudang Sect! That Wudang Sect!”
“Were the rumors about the Taeul Sword Emperor true after all?”
The crowd, which had filled the stands before anyone noticed, roared with cheers while struggling to contain their shock.
The other sects watching the scene felt much the same.
Some inwardly breathed sighs of relief. They had thought Taeul Sect was the easiest sect to face, and that whoever got to them first had struck gold. Now they were thankful that Wudang had taken Taeul Sect off their hands.
“...”
“...”
“...”
Of course, Wudang Sect itself had suffered the greatest shock.
Hyeonjin returned from the match with his head lowered, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze.
Whenever Hyeonsu seemed about to say something, Hyeonjin glared at him as though he wanted to kill him.
“...”
Because of that, Hyeonsu could neither comfort Hyeonjin nor devise a new strategy.
He knew what he had done wrong. Taeul Sect’s illusion sword was more calculating than he had expected.
While Jin Sowoon’s illusion sword had been little more than decoration, Dongryong’s illusion sword was more efficient than most swift swords.
In the end, Hyeonsu had turned a match that could have been easily won by using the Taiji Sword from the beginning and crushing the opponent with internal energy into a needless mess, leading to defeat.
“...Taeul Sect’s illusion swords sometimes hide real swords within them. Therefore, I believe the most important thing is not to be deceived and to calmly use your own sword.”
Hyeonjin said this to Hyeonhyang, who was about to step onto the training ground next.
Hyeonhyang had watched the earlier matches as well, so they understood that point.
When Hyeonhyang stepped forward, Eunho came out for Taeul Sect.
Hyeonsu discreetly approached Hyeonjin to offer an apology.
“...!”
Hyeonjin abruptly rose and moved five steps away from Hyeonsu.
Hyeonsu’s face crumpled like paper.
#
Cheers sounded from all around.
The crowd seemed to find the tournament thrilling, and their cheering grew louder as Eunho stepped onto the stage.
Where am I?
Who am I?
As the mastermind behind ‘Operation Send Our Reckless Eldest Brother to the Martial Arts Academy!’, Eunho had never imagined he would be the one standing on the Gate III tournament stage.
He had barely more than ten years of internal energy.
After taking the spiritual medicine Eldest Brother had recently obtained, Eunho’s internal energy had risen to around fifteen years, but he had never thought that would be enough to clear Gate III.
Those who reached Gate III were already monsters for their age.
Among those monsters, Shaolin and Wudang were considered the greatest monsters of all. And one of them was Eunho’s opponent now.
As the cleverest of the Geum-Eun-Dong brothers, Eunho knew this was a match he could not win.
When he turned to look at the Taeul Sect group, Eldest Brother calmly gave him a thumbs-up.
Of course, Eldest Brother was strange, so he had probably been able to win.
Dongryong, standing beside him, also gave Eunho a thumbs-up.
Of course, Dongryong could probably win, since he had awakened and controlled the Heavenly Killing Star.
Then Geumpyo, standing beside him with a tense expression, gave Eunho a thumbs-up too.
Brother, put that hand down.
‘What is he thinking?’
Last night.
The moment the tournament pairings were decided, Eldest Brother brought Geumpyo and Eunho along for some cramming.
“From now on, you two will learn three forms. If you learn nothing but these forms until you drop, you’ll definitely win tomorrow’s matches.”
Then Eldest Brother demonstrated a sword form.
At first, Eunho tilted his head, wondering what it was.
It was the Taiji Sword.
“This is the Taiji Sword, Wudang Sect’s primary sword art. You two will learn three Shattering Forms that will break this Taiji Sword until you drop.”
“...”
Eunho had no idea when Eldest Brother had learned the Taiji Sword, but the three forms he displayed afterward made Eunho’s eyes widen.
“Uh... So, that...”
“You watched it. You get it, right?”
Eldest Brother slowly demonstrated the Taiji Sword. Eunho copied the Shattering Form he had seen to meet it.
Then,
Clang.
The Black Dragon Sword in Eldest Brother’s hand was knocked back as though it would fly from his grip.
“...Huh.”
“See?”
“What in the world...?”
“Questions later. You two have to stay up all night and master these three forms.”
Geumpyo raised his hand.
“Does Dongryong not need to learn them?”
“Dongryong doesn’t need to. That way, the opponent will fall for it.”
Eunho had no idea what scheme Eldest Brother was plotting this time, but Geumpyo nodded and took his stance.
That’s not what matters, Brother. Ask the really important question.
“Eldest Brother, what if we learn these three forms, but Wudang Sect doesn’t use the Taiji Sword?”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. Once they experience Dongryong and me, they won’t have any choice but to use it.”
“...You mean that thing where if you believe, it will happen?”
Eunho should not have asked that last question.
Because of it, Eldest Brother beat them several times with the flat of the Black Dragon Sword while they practiced the forms.
They stayed awake all night mastering the three forms.
The fact that Jin Sowoon had faced Geumpyo and Eunho by himself during all that practice seemed impressive all over again.
Anyway, if the three forms Eunho had learned all night turned out to be useless, he planned to forfeit as soon as he got onto the tournament stage.
If he was injured now, he would not be able to join Eldest Brother on the Great Journey.
But then,
“Wow... It actually worked.”
Taehyang of Wudang Sect assumed the opening stance of the Taiji Sword.
“If you believe, it really does happen.”
Eunho was starting to worry he would become so devoted to Eldest Brother that it would feel like joining a religion.
As Eunho waited for an opportunity to use the three forms he had learned without sleep, he prepared the opening stance of the Twin Heavens Sword Art.
Footnotes:
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