WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 133: The Black Flame Dragon Proving Himself (3)
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“Everyone is waiting at the Flowing Flower Pavilion.”
The Flowing Flower Pavilion was one of the finest brothels not only in Wuhan, but throughout Hubei Province.
It was so extravagantly luxurious that even the children of high-ranking officials could not enter easily. Yet Martial Arts Academy students often went out of their way to show their faces there.
Many high-ranking Martial Alliance officials, including Pavilion Masters and Hall Leaders, frequented the place. The students hoped to build connections with them somehow.
“A separate table has been prepared for your party as well. Please come with me.”
Ilgak turned and began walking as though it were only natural, and the others were about to follow him as though that were only natural too.
“I’ll decline.”
“...!”
“!”
Seong Moran, Namgung Seonhwa, and even Ilgak looked at me in surprise.
“I have prior plans.”
“...”
Ilgak’s expression twisted slightly.
“I told you that the elders of the Orthodox Society had invited you.”
“You should have told me in advance.”
“...”
“Isn’t it rude to suddenly extend an invitation and unilaterally demand that someone come?”
In those bastards’ minds, anyone who was not from the Nine Sects One Gang or the Five Great Clans probably did not even count as human.
A mongrel fawned over anyone, owner or stranger alike.
As a Taeul Sect disciple, I might be a dog, but I could not be a mongrel.
“I know the elders of the Elders’ Council are distinguished people. Even so, can they order around not just an ordinary Academy student, but the Academy Representative, whenever they please? Or are they inviting me not as the Academy Representative, but as senior and junior martial artists?”
Ilgak’s face creased.
At this rate, wrinkles would form on his scalp too.
Oh, teasing a monk like this might really send me to hell.
I would stake my hand on the fact that, before I entered the Academy as top student, the elders had not even known a sect called Taeul Sect existed.
When I had been stuffing classified information into my head at the Mantong Office in my previous life, elders had occasionally visited out of curiosity.
Some had even regarded Taeul Sect as a sect that had been destroyed long ago.
“Setting aside the elders’ positions, even as senior and junior martial artists, it does not seem proper for Benefactor Jin to refuse so unilaterally.”
Ilgak spoke with that still-tense head... no, face.
“Those seniors of yours treated me as though I were a spy from the Black Path martial world.”
“...”
“Are they planning to apologize for what happened then?”
Ilgak had clearly not expected this situation and could not hide the awkwardness in his expression.
They would never apologize, especially not to a mere Taeul Sect disciple.
“Then I have even less reason to go.”
Ilgak let out a long sigh.
“I know there are many misunderstandings between Benefactor Jin and us.”
Behind me, Seong Moran whispered, “Since when did the meaning of misunderstanding change?”
Ilgak continued anyway.
“But if Benefactor Jin insists on acting so obstinately, it will not benefit you either.”
“...”
“Whether you like them or not, they are the people who support the Martial Alliance.”
“That’s a very gentle threat.”
“...”
“I don’t care, so please tell them I won’t be coming.”
“...”
I started walking away, then stopped and called out to Ilgak.
“Oh, and...”
Ilgak looked at me as if to say, I knew it.
“Why do you keep calling a disciple of the Taoist path ‘Benefactor’? It’s uncomfortable.”
Ilgak’s face became like one of the Four Heavenly Kings statues at a temple entrance. I might really be going to hell for this...
“Is this really all right?”
After Ilgak left, Namgung Seonhwa, who had looked the most startled by Ilgak’s change in expression, spoke with concern in her voice.
“They have absolute support from the Pavilion Masters and within the Martial Alliance itself. If you’re thinking of advancing in the future, it’s not good to oppose them.”
“I’m not thinking about advancement.”
“Why not?”
Because such a distant future would never come in the first place.
I was in danger of dying dozens of times over. Where was the time to think about the distant future?
“There’s a lot I need to do with the people beside me right now.”
“...Hmm.”
Namgung Seonhwa nodded.
“Well, it’s not as though the Orthodox Society is the only option. The Namgung Clan also has considerable influence in the White Path Society.”
“What?”
“Nothing. That’s all.”
After our meal, I took Moyong Jaehwa to a smithy.
He had been training in the way of the bow with the bow we had taken from the Ghost Bow Sect, but he had quickly broken it. The Academy’s bows were all too poor to train with properly.
“The bows made by the craftsmen at our smithy are famous for their durability.”
The bow the blacksmith handed over was a sturdy war bow reinforced with ox horn. Yet after drawing the string a few times, Moyong Jaehwa’s expression did not brighten.
“It feels like it’ll break right away...”
The blacksmith burst into laughter at those words.
“This White Bow has never broken, even when masters applied internal energy with all their strength. Try it yourself. Even if it breaks, I won’t charge you.”
Moyong Jaehwa nodded, poured the Shattering Bow’s qi into the bow, and pulled with all his strength.
Creeeak.
The horn bow made a strange sound, then snapped apart with a crack as the wood and horn strips separated.
“Uh...? What is this...?”
The blacksmith stared blankly while Moyong Jaehwa held out the broken bow with an apologetic expression.
“Could you make a bow from iron?”
Remembering the bow Shattering Bow had used in my previous life, I asked. The blacksmith, still staring helplessly at the broken bow, frowned as though I had said something absurd.
“Who in the world makes a bow out of hard iron? It wouldn’t have any draw strength to begin with, and even if it did, the string would never endure it.”
Moyong Jaehwa’s shoulders drooped as we left the smithy without accomplishing anything.
He had just resolved to walk the path of the bow, yet he did not even have a bow he could train with.
“I think my family could make something similar if I asked them... But then Grandfather would...”
If he placed such a strange order with the clan, there would surely be an uproar.
Moyong Gang might even fly to Wuhan at once.
“Do not worry. I will take care of it.”
“Y-you will, Brother?”
I had planned to visit Jang Dowon soon anyway. If anyone could make an iron bow, it would be Jang Dowon.
One of the Fifteen Divine Artifacts he had made in my previous life had been a bow.
“Oh, and I’ve also found an instructor to teach you the way of the bow, so you must devote yourself to training.”
“Really?”
There were few martial sects in the martial world that truly studied the way of the bow, so it had taken time to find an instructor who could build Moyong Jaehwa’s foundation.
The only reason I could assign him a separate archery instructor at all was because of my position as Academy Representative.
The problem was that the instructor’s affiliation was somewhat troubling.
It might be a little awkward, but... it should be fine.
After considering it briefly, I pushed the thought away. What mattered was improving Moyong Jaehwa’s skill.
Once he had built a foundation in the way of the bow, his strength would rise even more sharply.
Then Shattering Bow, who had made even Demonic Cult martial artists tremble in fear, would appear sooner.
Whether he understood any of that or not, Moyong Jaehwa could not hide his excitement.
#
The Martial Alliance’s Elders’ Council was not an institution that existed to carry out actions.
Unlike the other halls, it had neither the authority to gather information nor the direct power to move people.
Even so, the Elders’ Council was considered one of the three great power institutions alongside the Alliance Leader’s Hall and the Mantong Office because it had the authority to establish laws and regulations.
Considering that the Martial Alliance’s regulations were effectively the laws of the entire martial world, it was hardly strange that countless people wanted to build connections with the Elders’ Council for their own interests.
Even those who stayed at the Martial Alliance for months while carrying valuable items that could be called either bribes or gifts could count on one hand the number of people who actually met an elder.
Yet those elders had gathered at the Flowing Flower Pavilion to meet a single disciple from a sect with no roots. Even while drinking fine wine worth a low-ranking martial artist’s monthly wages, it could not possibly have tasted good.
“You say that bastard said he would not come?”
Daoist Myeonghyeon was so shocked that the wine cup in Daoist Myeonghyeon’s hand nearly slipped.
The others were no different. None of them could hide their displeasure.
Even if they had invited the Pavilion Master of the Inspectorate, that person would likely have come.
Yet Jin Sowoon had refused, citing prior plans?
“That bastard has become unbearably arrogant after putting on one little armband.”
Naturally, Myeonghyeon and the other elders were furious.
“What a decadent age. A mere Academy student looks upon Martial Alliance elders as if they were dogs and cattle.”
“This is what happens when someone with no roots is seated in such a position. He cannot even recognize his own place.”
“We must remove him from the position of Academy Representative and expel him as soon as possible.”
They wanted to strip him of his position immediately, expel him and his fellow disciples from the Academy, and even drive Taeul Sect out of the One Hundred Eight Peaks.
Yet for some reason, it felt as if the Alliance Leader’s Hall and the Mantong Office were protecting him.
In the past, an incident of this scale would not have been handled so seriously. But the Mantong Office had expelled the culprit behind the Soul-Destroying Formation incident and billed the Orthodox Society for the recovery costs.
When the Orthodox Society fiercely protested, the Mantong Office coldly declared that it would mobilize the Inspectorate for a full investigation. They had no choice but to swallow their anger and keep their mouths shut.
The atmosphere within the Academy was also hostile toward the Orthodox Society.
The opportunistic White Path Society and Twelve Peak Alliance were doing everything they could to pull away the wavering One Hundred Eight Peaks.
They desperately needed an opportunity to turn the mood around.
“In the end, it means that bastard has no intention of revealing anything about the Soul-Destroying Formation.”
No matter how large the recovery costs were, they were insignificant compared to the Orthodox Society’s resources.
What mattered was bringing public opinion and justification back to the Orthodox Society. To do that, the best solution would be to reveal the Soul-Destroying Formation to the Academy students and the entire Martial Alliance.
“Does he want to see us come running and kneel before him?”
At one elder’s words, the others let out incredulous laughter.
“He truly is an unbearably insolent bastard.”
“Let us bring up his ties to the Black Path martial world and drive him out.”
“What about pressuring Taeul Sect?”
Various opinions were offered, but everyone knew none of them were solutions.
They were only ways to release even a little of the anger that had built up toward Jin Sowoon.
Seeing that the mood had ripened, Myeonghyeon nodded.
“Calm yourselves. Mentioning problems we cannot solve will only inflate that boy’s ego.”
“Ahem...”
“Hmm...”
Myeonghyeon had spoken, but the others still looked dissatisfied.
Frankly, how many mistakes had Myeonghyeon made by now?
It was about time to replace the leader of the Orthodox Society.
Myeonghyeon sensed that mood as well, but continued speaking without showing it.
How could Daoist Myeonghyeon easily surrender the position Myeonghyeon had worked so hard to reach? Especially over something as trivial as this incident.
“Do you have another method, Daoist Myeonghyeon?”
“Would I have brought it up if I did not?”
“Speak, then. Let us hear it.”
The smugness of those people irritated Myeonghyeon, but now was the time to endure.
“It is not such a major problem. We only need to change the atmosphere.”
“Should the problem not be solved before the atmosphere can change?”
This was why Daoist Myeonghyeon could not easily relinquish the position of Orthodox Society Leader.
How could people who knew so little of politics establish an Orthodox Hall within the Martial Alliance?
“As time passes, problems fade from people’s minds. If another incident changes the atmosphere, the current problem will disappear from their awareness even faster.”
“...!”
“...!”
Their brows furrowed as they began to focus on Myeonghyeon’s words.
#
The Martial Arts Academy’s class schedule was not particularly demanding. Its purpose was to raise highly capable personnel suited to the Martial Alliance, while also ensuring that Academy students who practiced different martial arts had time for personal training and private instruction.
After his morning classes, Moyong Jaehwa would often train alone in the way of the bow at the clearing behind the Academy.
All the Ghost Bow Sect members had failed the regular examination this year, making Moyong Jaehwa the only person training in archery.
Today, though, he was not alone.
“Ah... Um... Well...”
He had waited so long for this instructor, yet when he saw the instructor’s face, Moyong Jaehwa felt too awkward to know what to say.
“...I-it has been a while. Have you been well?”
The words he finally managed were an awkward greeting.
The instructor, standing with a huge war bow in hand, twitched his brow.
“Have I been well? That is a poor joke. It is not something you say to someone who lost the position of Hall Leader because our young master failed the regular examination, then came all the way to the Academy to work as a visiting instructor.”
Moyong Jaehwa felt wronged enough to die at that sharp reply.
It made it sound as if this were all his fault.
No, it was an examination. People could pass or fail...
The instructor lowered the quiver from his shoulder and spoke.
“Moyong Jaehwa, was it? Are you not the eldest son of the Moyong Clan?”
This was only their second meeting, but they still had not even exchanged names.
“Ah, yes. But your name is...?”
“Yeo Samtong of the Ghost Bow Sect.”
That was right.
He was the Ghost Bow Sect archer who had crossed bow and sword with Moyong Jaehwa during the Academy’s regular examination.
He had even been the Hall Leader who guarded the Ghost Bow Sect’s young master most closely.
Brother, why? Why...?
It was customary to leave the events of the regular examination in the past after entering the Academy, but human emotions were not so easily buried.
“Academy students truly have it good. You can even invite an instructor just to learn something for amusement. If our young master had passed, perhaps our young master could have invited an instructor from the Moyong Clan too?”
Moyong Jaehwa answered Yeo Samtong’s mocking words.
“I am not learning it for amusement.”
“What?”
“I said the way of the bow is not a pastime to me.”
“...”
Yeo Samtong raised his brows.
“Then have you abandoned the clan’s sword and taken up the bow?”
“...”
“Did you receive permission?”
“...”
“Unbelievable. You did not even receive permission?”
Moyong Jaehwa silently nodded, and Yeo Samtong picked up the quiver he had set down.
“This was a place I should not have come to in the first place.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Do you not understand? If I teach you the way of the bow, how am I supposed to endure Lord Wind-Splitting Sword’s anger? I have no desire to do that.”
As Yeo Samtong started down the mountain, Moyong Jaehwa stepped in front of him.
It was awkward between them, but Yeo Samtong was still the person who could teach him the fundamentals of the way of the bow.
Brother Sowoon must have known there was no one better, which was why he had endured the awkwardness and invited Yeo Samtong as an instructor.
“I must learn the way of the bow.”
“Why would the eldest son of the Moyong Clan learn the way of the bow in the first place? Is the Moyong Clan’s sword not among the finest in the martial world?”
“Th-that is...”
“I have no intention of taking such a risk for someone who does not even intend to learn properly.”
When Yeo Samtong moved to leave, Moyong Jaehwa grabbed Yeo Samtong’s arm.
“I-I believe the true King of All Weapons is the bow.”
Yeo Samtong stopped abruptly.
“Perhaps you are right, Instructor. Maybe I am learning the bow because I cannot master the sword.”
“...”
“But with my sword, I could not save anyone. With my bow, I was able to save every person precious to me.
“That was when I became certain. If I held a bow instead of a sword, there was nothing I needed to fear. To me, the bow is a far greater King of All Weapons than the sword.”
Yeo Samtong turned to look at Moyong Jaehwa.
“Please teach me.”
“...”
Even after Moyong Jaehwa finished speaking, Yeo Samtong stared at him for a long time.
Then Yeo Samtong set down the quiver and approached him.
“You learned the bow on your own? How far have you gotten?”
“What? Y-you will teach me?”
“You want to protect those precious to you with a bow. How could I refuse that?”
“Th-thank you.”
“Oh, one more thing. If Lord Wind-Splitting Sword asks who taught you, you must never mention my name.”
“Ah... Yes.”
“Good. Also, my training will be quite harsh. I will not allow you to give up or run away halfway through.”
“Yes! I will not run away!”
“Do not worry that I will use what happened during the regular examination as an excuse to torment you. I am not such a petty person.”
“...What?”
Listening to Yeo Samtong, Moyong Jaehwa felt a strange unease. Why did Yeo Samtong need to add something so unnecessary?
“Here, take this.”
Yeo Samtong handed him a delicious-looking red apple.
Moyong Jaehwa was hungry, so he immediately brought the apple to his mouth.
Crunch.
“...What are you doing?”
Yeo Samtong stared at Moyong Jaehwa as he bit into the apple, Yeo Samtong’s expression incredulous.
“What? Did you not give it to me to eat?”
“Why are you eating the target?”
Moyong Jaehwa looked back and forth between Yeo Samtong’s face and the apple.
“...A target?”
“Yes. Go over there, put it on your head, and stand still.”
“...What?”
“The best way to learn archery is to be hit by an arrow yourself. Hurry up. Once the sun sets, we cannot make any more progress.”
“...”
Moyong Jaehwa strongly felt that something was going terribly wrong.
Footnotes:
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