WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 129: The Black Flame Dragon Who Steals an Opportunity (4)

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"Will you keep lying there so disrespectfully?"

"Yawn... Ah, I'm so tired... Hm? Who...?"

Without turning around, Jegal Somyeong said, "Your acting is still clumsy. Must I stop what I'm doing and turn around for you?"

"Oh? Grand Strategist, is that you?"

"Must I keep playing along with that pathetic act?"

"My apologies. My body isn't in very good condition. I overexerted myself inside the Soul-Destroying Formation..."

"Your fatigue had built up, but your essence, qi, and spirit were all sound. Did you know that making a false report to the Grand Strategist is punishable by up to three years in the Golden Prison?"

The smile on Jin Sowoon's face twisted at Jegal Somyeong's words.

He already couldn't understand why the Martial Alliance's Grand Strategist was in his quarters. On top of that, Jegal Somyeong seemed even more eccentric than before.

"Ugh..."

Jin Sowoon let out a long sigh and looked at Jegal Somyeong.

Just as during their last meeting, Jegal Somyeong was examining documents without even making eye contact with him.

This wasn't some place far from the Martial Alliance, like the Iron Sword Sect. Jin Sowoon couldn't understand why Jegal Somyeong had come all the way to someone else's quarters to do this.

He decided to wait calmly until Jegal Somyeong spoke first.

Jin Sowoon filled the teacup before him, then slowly took a sip.

Hardly any time had passed in reality, but by the flow of time within the Soul-Destroying Formation, it had been nearly ten days since he had last had tea. Its fragrance seemed especially rich.

It had a fine aroma, no worse than the tea served at the Namgung Clan.

The middle-aged attendant had recently changed the tea after hearing that Jin Sowoon, who didn't enjoy alcohol, at least liked tea. It was enough to make him wonder whether they had gone overboard.

'Then again, given the scale of the Martial Alliance and the Martial Arts Academy, perhaps it isn't excessive?'

Compared with the spending habits of the other representatives, Jin Sowoon didn't spend much. The attendant probably didn't find it burdensome to spend money on something like this.

While Jin Sowoon was lost in thought, Jegal Somyeong signed the document they had been reading, pushed the papers to one side, and looked at him.

"..."

Seeing Jin Sowoon's startled expression, Jegal Somyeong asked, "What is it?"

"Weren't those urgent documents you brought here?"

When Jin Sowoon pointed to the stack of documents piled high on one side of the table, Jegal Somyeong deeply furrowed their brow.

"Didn't anyone teach you to look someone in the eye when speaking with them, rather than busying yourself with something else?"

"Wow..."

At Jegal Somyeong's blunt words, Jin Sowoon nearly said, Then I suppose I wasn't a person before. He held it back.

"You look as though you have something to say."

"Haah... No. But what brings you here?"

"A great deal happened while you slept."

"What happened?"

"First, the Disciplinary Committee was convened."

"Ah... Is that so?"

Jegal Somyeong's eyebrow twitched at Jin Sowoon's response.

"You're not surprised?"

"Well... I expected it."

"Most of the Disciplinary Committee members were chosen by Daoist Myeonghyeon, so they discussed punishing you as well."

Jin Sowoon nodded.

"Hm... What was the outcome?"

Jegal Somyeong didn't answer and simply continued looking at him.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"...I told you that while you slept, the Disciplinary Committee was convened and your punishment was discussed. Did you expect that as well?"

"Well... I thought they wouldn't simply let this pass."

"And yet you deliberately overexerted yourself inside the Soul-Destroying Formation and slept for three days?"

Jin Sowoon scratched his cheek.

"Even if I hadn't been asleep, there would've been nothing I could do. I would've only been dragged around to give testimony everywhere, and it would've been even more tiring."

Jegal Somyeong finally failed to hide their feelings and let out a small sigh.

"Hah!"

"So, what happened?"

"Those who entered the Soul-Destroying Formation were expelled. The expelled students praised you greatly. Thanks to that, Daoist Myeonghyeon's influence didn't reach you at all."

"I see."

"Did you expect that too?"

"Not that. I only thought it wouldn't have been a major problem even if I were punished."

"Why?"

"Although the ringleaders of this incident were expelled, they weren't actually the Orthodox Society's Academy student executives, were they?"

Jegal Somyeong pressed their lips together and nodded.

"I thought that might be the case. As a result, many within the Orthodox Society will begin to fundamentally question its morality. They'll wonder whether they're simply being used and discarded...

"And the members of the White Path Society, centered around the Five Great Clans, and the Twelve Peak Alliance won't feel very differently."

"If things go wrong, your position could be shaken."

"It doesn't matter much, so long as people come to their senses and decide to look after themselves instead of relying on others."

"...So it is all for the Martial Alliance in the end?"

"I don't know about anything so grand. I just hope they come to their senses and start taking care of their own affairs."

Jegal Somyeong fell silent for a long time after hearing Jin Sowoon.

The Taeul Sect.

Among the lower ranks of the One Hundred Eight Peaks, it was among the very lowest.

Yet someone from a sect that struggled even to support itself was trying to act for the sake of the entire martial world.

Jegal Somyeong had been worn down by the Martial Alliance, which had begun as a cooperative organization but had become a vast political arena. From their perspective, it was difficult to judge how to treat this young man, who seemed like a naive idealist.

After briefly losing themself in thought, Jegal Somyeong collected themself and returned to the questions they had prepared.

"In any case, did you avoid eating anything inside the Soul-Destroying Formation to gain the support of those who were expelled?"

Jin Sowoon's condition when he emerged from the Soul-Destroying Formation had been horrifying.

He had looked almost like a wreck.

Yet Jegal Somyeong, having examined his pulse, knew it had been intentional.

Unlike his haggard appearance, his pulse had been stronger than ever.

At first, Jegal Somyeong had been so startled that they had nearly slapped Jin Sowoon awake.

"...I endured it for the sake of any survivors who might have remained."

"Hmph! What nonsense. I heard most of the survivors came out fatter than when they entered. You must have given them even the food meant for you."

Jin Sowoon's face twisted as though he had bitten into shit.

"Isn't that the chivalry the Martial Alliance speaks of?"

"You say such nonsense without the slightest shame."

Jegal Somyeong scoffed with absolute certainty, without a shred of doubt.

Although they stood as the Martial Alliance's Grand Strategist, Jegal Somyeong had never once believed the Martial Alliance possessed anything like chivalry, just as Jin Sowoon had said.

When Jegal Somyeong pressed the matter that far, Jin Sowoon finally confessed.

"Yes. I used a little malevolent qi. I bought some time, and once inside, I cut down on food as much as possible."

"For a more dramatic effect?"

"Yes."

The deception had worked. It made those who entered the Soul-Destroying Formation feel betrayed by the Orthodox Society while building a powerful trust in Jin Sowoon, even if their own sects and they themselves suffered harm because of the Orthodox Society.

"..."

Having reached that thought, Jegal Somyeong slowly drank their tea to steady their surprise.

Jin Sowoon kept darting his eyes around as he watched Jegal Somyeong's face.

"Will this become a problem?"

"Haa..."

It was somewhat amusing that he had just openly admitted to deceiving people, only to become anxious now.

After roughly organizing their thoughts, Jegal Somyeong set the teacup aside and pushed the documents that needed processing in front of Jin Sowoon.

Jin Sowoon still looked completely confused.

"Read them, organize them, and process them."

His eyes rolled.

"Aren't these Mantong Office documents? How could I dare handle such important papers...?"

"Work piled up like this because I spent several days beside you. If you don't handle them properly, I'll discipline you."

Jin Sowoon's eyes rolled again. Then, as if intending to be heard, he muttered, "Who asked you to stay beside me...?" before picking up a document and beginning to read.

He took the brush, ink, and paper Jegal Somyeong had been using, then began revising the document here and there.

"..."

After writing several things on the document, Jin Sowoon wrote Rejected at the end, pushed it aside, and began reading the next one.

It was as though he had no intention of receiving an evaluation for his work.

Astonished by that brazen behavior, Jegal Somyeong pulled over the document Jin Sowoon had set aside and unfurled it.

They intended to seize upon any error and teach him a lesson. But...

"Ha... Hahaha..."

Jegal Somyeong couldn't help laughing in disbelief as they read.

The document Jin Sowoon had just processed concerned whom to award outsourcing contracts for the transport of goods between the Martial Alliance and its branches.

Twenty-four escort agencies already held contracts with the Martial Alliance. Twelve new escort agencies had applied for contracts.

Of the existing agencies, six had been found to have problems. The issue was whether to terminate those contracts and select six of the new applicants for replacement contracts.

It was a difficult matter. The explanation of the current problems alone took up several pages.

Yet Jin Sowoon had raised a fundamental objection to the accusations against three of the six existing escort agencies, saying their issues had been unavoidable due to natural disasters.

At the same time, he had written that most of the new applicant escort agencies were connected to the Nine Sects One Gang and were therefore not a solution to the problem. On that basis, he had rejected the document.

It was a reasonable opinion, one Jegal Somyeong would have offered as well. But that wasn't what surprised them.

To reject the document, one would need to investigate the existing escort agencies, the new applicants, and the root causes behind the accusations.

The answer could only be reached after going through countless institutions within the Martial Alliance.

As though he already knew every answer to this complicated issue, Jin Sowoon had proposed a solution without hesitation. Jegal Somyeong couldn't hide their astonishment.

Watching Jin Sowoon write something on a third document already, Jegal Somyeong asked, "What exactly are you?"

"Pardon?"

"I asked how you know this."

"...Uh, well, I have a good memory."

"Memory?"

"I don't forget anything I've seen."

"You processed these documents with that memory?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but yes."

"..."

Jegal Somyeong sank into deep thought at Jin Sowoon's answer.

People with unusually good memories were not unheard of.

But the ability to draw insight from that memory was separate from memory itself.

Insight came only after vast knowledge and deep thought.

Jegal Somyeong gazed at Jin Sowoon for a moment, then took the document from his hands and carelessly tossed it back into the pile.

At Jegal Somyeong's sudden action, Jin Sowoon looked as if wondering what this person was doing now.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No. There is something you must do now."

"What is it this time?"

"You must spar now."

"Pardon?"

Jin Sowoon's face crumpled like the document that had just been thrown.

"What kind of absurd nonsense is that?"

"I told you that a great deal happened while you slept, didn't I?"

Jin Sowoon nodded instead of answering.

"The second thing was that I saw the three gapja of internal energy sleeping within your dantian."

"..."

Footnotes:

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