WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 109: The Grand Journey Through Hellish Chaos (8)

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Ever since Moyong Jaehwa picked up a bow, our journey had become much easier.

Ping.

Thunk.

Whenever Moyong Jaehwa's Horse-Piercing Arrow fell above the attackers' heads amid the crude Illusory Arrows I fired, they scattered in every direction, terrified by the arrow's absurd power.

Arrows they could not defend against became objects of fear, making them hesitate to move.

Our group rested amid that hesitation.

"Brother, you remember what you told me before?"

"What?"

"The story about that man holding off ten thousand people by himself. That was exaggerated, wasn't it?"

Even after hearing the story about his future self, Jaehwa seemed unable to believe it.

I snorted.

"It was true. There wasn't a shred of exaggeration."

The only reason I had been able to travel alongside him in my previous life, when he had been like a lone wolf no one believed in, was my memory.

Thanks to that, I had witnessed the astonishing sight no one else had seen.

"He held off ten thousand enemies by himself."

An ordinary horn bow was said to have a maximum range of one hundred jang, but the iron bow he used could reach four hundred.

His signature technique, the Thunderclap Arrow, also caused a massive explosion of qi, sending a tremendous shock through the area.

If I described the terrain etched into my mind, he sensed the wind, the lay of the land, and the movement of the ground before firing arrows at targets he could not see.

Whenever a single arrow fired from an unseen distance landed amid a troop formation, destruction spread in every direction as though they had been bombarded.

Even demonic martial artists, most of whom had been driven mad by demonic qi, could not help instinctively protecting themselves from lightning striking down from above.

Before his iron bow, ten thousand men could not take a single step.

"Thunderclap Arrow... How could that person have had the same idea as me?"

"The horn bows of the Ghost Bow Sect may look sturdy, but they probably won't withstand your strength. You should switch to an iron bow later. I'll introduce you to an elder with excellent craftsmanship."

"...Brother."

Something was strange about his voice. When I turned around, his eyes were brimming with tears.

"W-What's wrong?"

"Brother, you truly are my benefactor. Even if you told me you could make fermented bean paste out of red beans, I'd believe you and follow you."

I could not help clicking my tongue as I recalled Jaehwa from my previous life.

-I hate people. They are less loyal than dogs.

Compared to how Jaehwa had been in my previous life, his innocent appearance somehow made me feel relieved.

"Ah, but Brother. Why haven't I heard about someone like that?"

"..."

I had intended to tell a suitable lie, but something else came out instead.

"He... died alone."

"What? Why?"

-Please, let only you remember that I existed. My life was shameful, always spent avoiding and running away.

Those were the words he left behind before the Dark Soul-Severing Unit finally brought about his death.

"Because he was ashamed of himself for never facing his own circumstances."

Hoping the regrets of Moyong Jaehwa from my previous life would reach him, I spoke those words. Moyong Jaehwa of this life fell into deep thought.

#

Jaehwa and I kept the attackers in check as we safely made our way to Namsou.

Thanks to that, the others were able to rest for a while and get at least some sleep.

"Brother, they're coming again."

"I saw them. Get ready."

"They really never get tired of this."

Despite having to move constantly with me and keep the enemy in check, Jaehwa showed no sign of fatigue.

Ping.

Thunk.

Our arrows fell above the heads of approximately five hundred people.

"Huh? Brother, they aren't running away."

Until now, the attackers had scattered in terror at the power of the Horse-Piercing Arrow, which they could not counter. They had hidden behind rocks or beneath trees, unable to move.

"Let's try again."

This time, we each fired three arrows in rapid succession.

Illusory Arrows rained above the attackers' heads, but they did not appear flustered.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

All five hundred of them released palm force toward the sky at once. A sound like thunder bursting through the clear sky rang out.

"..."

It was an utterly brute-force strategy, but that made it all the more effective.

Moreover, since Moyong Jaehwa could not yet use the Thunderclap Arrow, we had no way to strike them.

"Wait here for a moment."

I needed to identify them.

There were not many groups capable of releasing palm force in perfect unison, five hundred people acting as one.

Using the Peerless Wanderer Divine Art, I closed the distance in an instant and checked their martial uniforms. A low groan escaped me.

"Mount Zhongnan..."

It was the Nine Sects One Gang again.

###

We had been heading toward Nanyang, but we had no choice but to change course toward Wugang.

We no longer had the strength to deal with five hundred people, especially enemies on the level of the Mount Zhongnan Sect. Our only option was to flee, but everyone in the group had already reached their limits. We could not simply keep moving without sleep.

I spoke in a low voice.

"This time, it's the Shaolin Sect."

After we turned toward Wugang, three hundred men from Shaolin Temple were already pursuing us.

"The real problem is something else."

The faces of those looking at me, already filled with exhaustion, darkened further at my words.

"The Twelve Peak Alliance has not given up yet, and Mount Hua and Mount Cang are moving as well."

"Can we really be sure they're pursuing us?"

Namgung Seonhwa moved her dry lips.

She looked ready to collapse at any moment.

It pained me, but I had no choice but to shake my head.

"The fastest route from Mount Song to Tianmen, where the Martial Arts Academy is located, passes through Namsou and Dongzhou before crossing into Hubei Province. The Dabie Mountains block the way through Wugang. They came all this way to target us."

"..."

She looked as though she wished this was not reality.

"What should we do, Young Master Jin...?"

Seong Moran was no different from Namgung Seonhwa. She had always seemed full of energy, but now she looked so fragile that a gust of wind might break her.

"The best method is to cross the Dabie Mountains."

"Ah..."

"..."

Sighs escaped from all around us.

The martial artists who had endured and followed us this far through sheer grit already knew they could not cross the Dabie Mountains.

What was more, three Black Path sects were located around the Dabie Mountains. If we became entangled in a conflict with any of them, we would not simply fall behind because of injuries. We would lose our lives.

"...But that seems difficult, so we'll pass through Nanyang and cross into Dongzhou instead. We won't be able to rest, though."

"...I'd rather do that."

"...That would be better."

Having made our choice with the feeling of choosing between burning to death and drowning, we began moving again.

"There! The Academy Admission Tokens are over there!"

"Attack!"

"They're all exhausted. If we take down those bastards, we'll get into the Martial Arts Academy!"

The bandits did not give up just because major sects like the Shaolin Sect, Mount Hua, and Mount Cang had appeared.

Rather, since they had been waiting along the route ahead, they desperately tried to seize the Academy Admission Tokens before the Nine Sects One Gang arrived.

"..."

"Haa, haa."

"Urgh, haa."

Our group fought more desperately and painfully than ever before.

Those already exhausted did not even have the strength to shout or let out battle cries.

We only thought of defeating our opponents in the quickest, most efficient way possible and escaping this place.

#

An unnamed small mountain on the road to Nanyang.

Our group hid in the darkness.

It was long past dinnertime, but no one even considered lighting a fire.

No, no one even took out the jerky they usually ate.

Everyone wanted only to quietly close their eyes in this darkness.

The moon, which had been hidden behind clouds, revealed itself and shone upon Seong Moran's haggard face. She gave an awkward smile.

"...I never thought I'd train qi circulation this diligently in my life."

"..."

"..."

Everyone only smiled awkwardly. No one could laugh out loud.

Screech-

A hawk's cry sounded beneath the moonlight.

Thinking it could not possibly be, I rose and gave a quiet whistle.

Sure enough, the large hawk that descended while beating its wings was the Hao Sect's Iron Hawk.

"Why at this hour...?"

The Hao Sect sent us information once every morning.

Yet it had sent another courier hawk in the middle of the night.

I quickly checked the Iron Hawk's leg.

More parchment than it had carried that morning was wrapped around its leg.

"..."

Everyone who knew I received information about our movements from the Hao Sect looked toward me.

I could not judge how to convey what I had just read.

"What does it say?"

"...The Qingcheng Sect and Kongtong Sect passed through Wuhan and are heading north."

"..."

"..."

The Qingcheng Sect and Kongtong Sect, which had taken their examinations in Jiangnan, should have had Wuhan, where the Martial Arts Academy was located, as their final destination.

Namgung Seonhwa, who had remained silent, spoke as though drained of all strength.

"Why are they heading north?"

No one voiced the prediction that came to mind about why they were passing through Wuhan and heading north.

"No, that's not it... Isn't something strange? There should already be enough Academy Admission Tokens in Jiangnan. For Qingcheng and Kongtong, the odds decrease the farther they travel. Why would they have any reason to do that?"

"You're right. Entering the academy is what matters. It would be strange to think they're chasing us simply because there are more Academy Admission Tokens. The number of Gate III Tokens is fixed."

"And the Shaolin Sect, too. Why are they chasing us? They have already secured enough Academy Admission Tokens."

It was not only the Shaolin Sect. Mount Hua, Mount Cang, and Mount Zhongnan had also secured Academy Admission Tokens in numbers comparable to previous years.

"I believe I can answer that question."

Clang, clang, clang.

We reacted like lightning to the voice from the darkness, drawing our swords.

A silhouette slid through the dark forest.

"G-Ghost?"

Geumpyo jumped in shock.

Geumpyo was not the only one startled. The martial artists of every family gripped their swords tightly at the sight of that figure moving left and right like a ghost.

"Sorry for startling you. You were hiding so well that it was quite difficult to find you."

As I watched the figure slowly emerge from the darkness, I spoke.

"Senior Ilmyeong, what brings you all the way here?"

It was none other than Ilmyeong, the Little Buddha of the Dragon-Phoenix Association.

Unlike the martial artists, who were calming their startled hearts, I did not take my eyes off him.

"I came to explain what is happening now."

"It sounds as though someone intended this."

Ilmyeong gave his usual warm smile, making those who had just recoiled at the thought of a ghost feel foolish.

"They say the Martial Arts Academy regular examination for my cohort saw the fiercest competition in history... I do not think so."

"..."

"This regular examination you are all taking will likely become the harshest and most chaotic examination in history."

Ilmyeong gave a small bow.

"And in the end, all of you will fail."

"This is the first I've heard that Shaolin Temple's Little Buddha can see the future."

I gritted my teeth, but Ilmyeong only smiled emptily.

"You are still like a blazing fire."

"Please forgive my discourtesy. The current situation demands it."

Ilmyeong nodded as though he understood everything.

"We came to change the future in which all of you fail."

"You keep saying 'we.' Am I the only one who cannot see the others?"

"Haha. We scattered to find all of you, so I came this way alone."

"Who are 'we'?"

"To be precise, it is not 'we.' It is a plan proposed and carried out by him."

"Him?"

"Hyeoncheong... Ah, it would be better to call him Yong Soa. He wishes to see you..."

Footnotes:

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