WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 117: The Black Flame Dragon in Golden Garments (2)

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“What brings elders who should be busy drafting laws at the Alliance all the way here?”

Moyong Cheong stepped forward in place of Daoist Myeonghyeon, who was already too agitated to speak properly.

“An objection has been raised concerning the treatment of that boy, Jin Sowoon. The Grand Strategist knows about it as well, correct?”

“Not only am I aware of the gravity of this matter, but the Martial Alliance Leader is as well. I have just come from receiving the Alliance Leader’s opinion.”

“...!”

“...!”

The Mantong Office and the Alliance Leader’s Hall, two of the three powers that divided the Martial Alliance, had reached the same conclusion. That meant they intended to handle the matter accordingly.

“The central issue is whether Jin Sowoon cheated. Is that correct?”

“That is correct.”

Jegal Somyeong swept their gaze over the Martial Alliance elders.

“If there was no cheating, he will pass. If cheating is uncovered, he will fail.”

Then they turned toward me.

“As you said, the Martial Arts Academy’s regular examination exists to ensure the martial world’s future peace and stability. Nothing more. It is not a place for favoritism driven by personal interests. If you insult the regular examination again, I will personally have you imprisoned in the Golden Prison. Do you understand?”

Jegal Somyeong’s stern words chilled the atmosphere.

“...I understand.”

“Good. State the central points.”

The Martial Arts Academy Head stepped forward with a scroll in hand.

“There are two main points. First, as mentioned earlier, his collusion with the Black Path.”

The Martial Arts Academy Head paused, glanced at Daoist Myeonghyeon, and continued.

“Second, regardless of whether that collusion is proven, he received assistance from more people than the permitted limit. Those are the two points.”

No matter how it was framed, it meant failure.

A perfect checkmate.

Someone who had risen all the way to the Elders’ Council within the Martial Alliance, where schemes and tricks ran rampant, would not be easy to deal with.

“With this, there is no room for reconsideration.”

At Jegal Somyeong’s words, Daoist Myeonghyeon smiled for the first time.

“You arrived among a Black Path funeral procession. Surely you won’t claim that does not count as receiving assistance?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to me. With Jegal Somyeong saying that much, it was clear that pretending I had no connection to the Black Path would no longer work.

I had no choice but to admit it.

“If traveling with that funeral procession counts as receiving assistance... then yes. I received help.”

“As expected...!”

“Just as I thought!”

Quiet exclamations escaped the elders, who should have maintained their dignity.

“But it has nothing to do with the regulations, so it does not affect my passing.”

“What...?”

“That bastard is completely insane.”

“Throw him out at once!”

Complaints erupted among the elders, and Jegal Somyeong barked at them.

“Be quiet! Keep this up, and I will have you all thrown out!”

“...”

“Speak. You have not forgotten that you stand before the Martial Alliance’s Grand Strategist, have you?”

“I have not.”

“As I recall, the regular examination regulations set a limit of one hundred people an examinee may hire or receive assistance from. The Black Path procession far exceeded that number. If we are to judge the matter by that standard, not only you, but every Taeul Sect disciple, the young members of the Namgung Clan and Moyong Clan, and even the Iron Sword Sect disciples should all be disqualified.”

I pulled the Martial Arts Academy Regular Examination Regulations from the library in my mind.

“But according to those same regulations, my companions and I would not be disqualified.”

“What?”

“‘Article 3, Clause 7 of the Martial Arts Academy Regular Examination Regulations: Examinees may not receive assistance from allies, wandering martial artists, or any martial artist of the White Path!’”

That was the clause at issue.

But.

“The regulations do not say that examinees may not receive assistance from the Black Path, which is explicitly designated as an ‘enemy.’”

Jegal Somyeong’s eyelid twitched.

They signaled the Deputy Head, who quickly flipped through the thick book of regulations and showed them the relevant page.

“...”

Jegal Somyeong looked from the regulation book to me, disbelief clear in their eyes.

While Jegal Somyeong stood there speechless, Daoist Myeonghyeon shouted, “What nonsense! It is common sense that a disciple of the White Path would not accept help from the Black Path!”

“Then you should have included that common sense in the regulations. Was it not the Elders’ Council’s mistake to leave it out?”

The Martial Alliance’s authority was built upon absolute regulations.

Regulations could appear and disappear with the passage of time, but while they existed, they were the standard for everything.

“Gate II was an examination to obtain elixir pellets. Anyone would naturally assume it meant we were supposed to hunt spiritual beasts or demonic beasts and obtain elixir pellets from them.

“Yet most examinees purchased elixir pellets and received Gate II Tokens. That was because it did not say ‘hunt them yourself.’ By that reasoning, shouldn’t most of those here be disqualified as well?”

“...”

“Will everyone among the successful candidates who personally hunted a spiritual beast or demonic beast please step forward?”

Those who had kept their distance from my group as if we carried a plague ground their teeth and glared at me.

“Th-that...”

Daoist Myeonghyeon opened and closed their mouth like a goldfish.

Honestly, if anyone wanted to call this a stretch, the nonsense they had pulled until now was far worse. This little bit would not even stand out.

Besides, I had already given them an opportunity to draw in the Black Path martial world by warning them in advance about the Demonic Cult’s existence. Daoist Myeonghyeon might miss it, but why would Jegal Somyeong?

I had won this argument before it even began.

“Enough, Myeonghyeon.”

“...But.”

“Did I not say enough? How long do you intend to keep overstepping your authority?”

“...”

Jegal Somyeong stared at Myeonghyeon, who had lowered their head, then muttered as if speaking to themself.

“...Unbelievable. To pass the examination like this.”

Jegal Somyeong looked at the Martial Arts Academy Head.

“The result of the examination seems clear. Is there anything you wish to add?”

“...No.”

“Do the members of the Elders’ Council have anything to add?”

The Orthodox Society members wore expressions as though they had bitten into shit and said nothing. Moyong Cheong of the White Path Society answered in their place.

“If we dig any deeper, only more of our own flaws will be exposed. I believe you should proceed as is.”

Jegal Somyeong nodded lightly.

“I will announce the examination results.”

Though spoken in a low voice, their words reached every corner of the training ground and spectator stands.

“In the name of the Martial Alliance Leader, I announce this. The top student of this Martial Arts Academy regular examination is Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect!”

------------!

-----------------!

Everyone gathered at the Academy stood with their mouths hanging open.

Every member of my group rushed at me, shouting.

Then their faces stiffened as they looked around.

Not a single person applauded.

“...”

“...”

“...”

Was everyone really going to be this stingy with applause just because I came from the Taeul Sect?

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

On one side of the stands, Black Path magnates applauded with killing intent.

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.

Only then did people begin applauding one by one after them. My companions came to their senses, burst into tears, and rushed at me again.

#

“This is your residence.”

The place the maid led me to resembled a detached residence with a small garden and training ground.

By the standards of a traveler’s inn or an expensive tavern, the facilities were nothing special. But for a dormitory, they were enough to make one’s jaw drop.

I could eat meals prepared by a cook inside the residence. A maid waited on standby throughout the day, and there was a private training ground and bathhouse where I could cultivate alone.

It was a special residence given only to a new student admitted as the top student.

“What color do you prefer for your martial uniform? Do you have a color your sect traditionally wears?”

“Nothing in particular. I usually wear black.”

“We will wash and prepare fresh clothes every day, so you need not limit yourself by color.”

They even took care of that?

“It’s fine. Black is more comfortable, so please keep preparing that.”

“Understood. If you need anything else, please call for us at any time.”

The Head Attendant said that and left the residence.

Alone in my room, I reflected on everything I had experienced.

“Phew... Have I finally cleared one hurdle?”

So much had happened, and there had been many moments when I nearly gave up on the examination.

Fortunately, I overcame every trial and made it here.

“Still, things are going more or less according to plan.”

The Martial Arts Academy regular examination, which had seemed impossible, and admission as the top student.

Having achieved all that, my heart swelled with a feeling I had not experienced since my regression.

“If things continue like this, I shouldn’t have much to worry about going forward.”

I had not aimed to be admitted as the top student just for this luxurious lifestyle.

If I maintained the top student position and continued earning the highest scores, I would gain the right to choose my assignment after graduating from the Martial Arts Academy.

That was why I had worked so hard.

Most people would choose the Dragon-Phoenix Association, but I had no time to indulge in that childish game.

My plan was to enter White Wolf Pavilion, prepare to accept Taeul Sect disciples, and make sure the pavilion’s lower-ranking martial artists had proper defenses in place.

Knock, knock.

I rose from where I had been lost in thought.

The Geum-Eun-Dong brothers and the other companions had gone to inspect their assigned dormitories, so no one should have come here.

“What is it? Have you already finished looking around the dormitories... Who are you?”

A scholarly-looking man I had never seen before stood outside the door with a friendly smile.

Though smiling, the dark hollows beneath his eyes made him look rather pitiful.

“Ah, Young Master Jin Sowoon? It has been a long... No, this is our first meeting. It’s a pleasure.”

The man with sunken eyes opened the door without invitation and entered the residence.

“Wow, so you get to use a place like this all to yourself at the Martial Arts Academy? I heard you have a maid and cook to handle your meals, clothes, and everything else.”

“Ah... yes. But who are you?”

“I am truly envious. When I first entered the Alliance as a low-ranking scribe, eight of us shared a room.”

The talkative man kept rattling on without pause while touching various objects inside.

“No, wait! Who are you? Who are you to barge in here like this?”

“Uh... How could you speak to me like...?”

The man looked at me like a parent wounded by their child’s words.

Who the hell are you?

“Do you know who made it possible for you to enter the Martial Arts Academy without failing?”

What kind of nonsense was that?

“It was all thanks to me. Thanks to me.”

“Haah... I’ll ask one last time. Who are you?”

“As for who I am...”

“Leave.”

“I am Maeng Juwon, Head of the Mantong Office.”

My rough hand, which had been dragging the man outside, stopped in place.

“Maeng Juwon?”

A name I could never forget.

The head of the Mantong Office and the adviser who had long been called Jegal Somyeong’s right hand.

“Yes, I am Maeng Juwon.”

Another genius who had died around the time I entered the Mantong Office stood before me, smiling warmly.

#

The Martial Alliance officially announced the end of the Martial Arts Academy’s regular examination and spread the list of successful new students throughout the realm.

The Taeul Sect’s name, which had gradually faded from people’s memories, was boldly engraved beside the top student’s name. The gossipmongers of the martial world ravenously gathered every story they could find about Jin Sowoon.

“You think I know about the Taeul Sect? Of course I do!”

“This is the village under the Taeul Sect’s protection. Jin Sowoon and I are like grandfather and grandson.”

The world was in turmoil, so it was only natural that chaos erupted within the Martial Alliance as well.

“You fools! You let some nameless little sect steal the top student position? The name of the Nine Sects One Gang is wasted on you!”

“What trick did they use to get all four of them into the Academy?”

“Hmph! As the rumors say, they must be connected to those Black Path bastards.”

“Will you not watch your mouth? Are you disputing a matter the Grand Strategist has already cleared?”

“Ahem, when did I dispute anything?”

There were also many who worried about the unprecedented record Jin Sowoon had set.

“I hear Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect entered with more Academy Admission Tokens than Yong Soa?”

“And they say he did not lead even a single martial artist. I’m worried our children will be underestimated because of this.”

“Our children will likely do well without all those martial artists. Starting with the next examination, I intend to reduce by half the number of martial artists sent to support them.”

Far too many things were changing drastically because of one person’s actions.

“Sigh, when I think of the trouble that boy caused me...”

At Jegal Somyeong’s sigh, Hyeok Mugang gave a hollow laugh.

“Ha ha, it has given the Alliance a useful wake-up call. The Grand Strategist has done something significant.”

“That is why I told you from the start to go to the Alliance Leader. Do you know how fiercely the Lord of the Four Emperors Association glared at me while I was there?”

“Have you spoken with them?”

“Nothing much. They asked me to take good care of Jin Sowoon. They said he would become their ‘Yong Soa’ or something. That lot nearly kept him from entering the Academy in the first place.”

“So it will happen after all. The Black Path Alliance.”

It was something that would eventually be created anyway.

The Black Path martial world had already been torn apart and scattered by the Martial Alliance, and the disorder within it was worsening.

The need for a Black Path Alliance had continuously been raised among them, so it was bound to form as soon as there was an opportunity.

“That is exactly what I mean. Does this make any sense? A Martial Arts Academy student is laying the foundation for a Black Path Alliance.”

A secret known only to Jegal Somyeong and the Martial Alliance Leader.

Something that would never be revealed to anyone slipped out just like that.

“Still, thanks to him, have we not formed one connection with the Black Path Alliance? The anti-Black Path faction within the Martial Alliance has always been too strong, which has concerned me.”

“Under normal circumstances, why would that concern us? The situation has become unusual, that is why.”

Even if they gathered, the only real change would be that battles once fought as local skirmishes would become large-scale conflicts.

Even so, they were now looking forward to the Black Path Alliance’s formation to some degree.

“What of the Demonic Cult’s traces?”

The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Those terrifying demonic martial artists, believed to have vanished five hundred years ago, were once again aiming for the realm.

“There have been many strange incidents across the martial world. If we did not know of the Demonic Cult’s existence, more than one would have been overlooked.”

“Is that not a tremendous relief?”

“It is. But...”

Jegal Somyeong could not shake an uneasy feeling.

Everything fit together too perfectly, and that made it even more unsettling.

“Still, surely...”

“What is it?”

“Ah, nothing.”

“In any case, it is concerning. This is the first time someone without any backing has taken the top student position. Can that child endure it? Has there ever been such a case before?”

“The current Martial Arts Academy Head, the Three Pure Supreme Sword, was once admitted as the top student.”

“How long did the Three Pure Supreme Sword maintain that position?”

“The Three Pure Supreme Sword relinquished the top student position after half a year.”

“That is too short.”

Though the Three Pure Supreme Sword’s sword sect had been passed down from master to sole disciple, it was still a significant symbolic presence in the martial world.

Even the Three Pure Supreme Sword had been unable to hold on for long. It showed once more just how powerful the established factions were.

“The Three Pure Supreme Sword endured only because of that reputation. As for the Taeul Sect...”

“Can Jin Sowoon really hold out?”

“I do not have high expectations in that regard. Won’t he soon realize his limits and step down on his own? If he becomes greedy for the position, he will be expelled from the Academy. He is not that sort of child.”

“...Then perhaps at the Alliance Leader’s Hall...”

“Ahem! I have much work to do, so I must be going.”

Footnotes:

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