WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 154: The Black Flame Dragon Amid the Chaos (4)
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“Brother, do you think our Yujang Sect will ever stand tall in the martial world?”
Jang Woojae could not answer his younger sister's question as she prepared to marry into an influential family.
He alone knew better than anyone that she, too, dreamed of making a name for herself in the martial world.
She would say things she did not mean, insisting that she was at least marrying into a wealthy family and would live an easy life from then on.
Thanks to his sister's sacrifice, Jang Woojae had been able to become a student at the Martial Arts Academy.
Knowing she would be happier than anyone at his acceptance, he had tried to see her as soon as he arrived at the Yujang Sect.
Yet he had been unable to meet her, nor could he learn how she was doing.
There was the grand banquet hosted by the family.
Then came visits from the friends he had met at the Academy.
Jang Woojae had spent each day in a frantic blur.
“Huh?”
Then he saw the man who had married his younger sister.
The sight of him with a courtesan in his arms at one side of the banquet hall, singing along to the music, made Jang Woojae frown.
He got drunk, threw his weight around, and even came over to harass the Academy students.
Despite his arrogant behavior, Jang Woojae had treated his brother-in-law patiently.
But then...
“Ha, it would've been wonderful if my wife were at least as capable as this young lady.”
That fawning remark, made among the Academy students, planted a seed of doubt.
“My wife has no ability, yet her pride is sky-high. I've had a hard time teaching her properly. Hahaha.”
Jang Woojae was the guest of honor and had countless people to meet, but he immediately rushed to the household his sister had married into.
Ignoring the servants who tried to stop him, he barged into her quarters and forced open the door.
“Ha...”
His younger sister greeted him with a sorrowful smile.
“Have you been well, Brother?”
She had tried to cover the bruises on her face with makeup, but the marks were far too obvious to hide.
“I heard you came with your friends from the Academy this time. Doesn't that mean our Yujang Sect is practically a respectable sect now?”
That day, just as he had in the past, Jang Woojae could not answer.
He had realized whose sacrifice had built the place where he now stood, and the realization cut too deeply.
He could not say a word.
“...”
His eyes were full of desperation as he looked toward Dongting Lake.
He could not fall here.
He could not collapse like this.
He had already sacrificed far too much.
If the Yujang Sect fell now, neither he nor his sister would be able to live a decent life.
“I will never fall. No matter what happens, I will survive.”
Looking at the ships floating on the dark waters of Dongting Lake in the distance, Jang Woojae made the vow again and again.
#
‘I’m tired.’
Ilgak thought so.
Compared to his days at the Academy, when he trained hard every day, his time in Yueyang had been utterly idle. Yet he felt even greater mental exhaustion.
All he wanted was to return to the Academy as soon as possible and prepare for his next spar with Jin Sowoon.
‘That won’t be easy now, either.’
If they went to Sichuan, they would spend at least several weeks there.
They would have to go through all sorts of pointless formalities to produce results where none existed.
They would visit allied sects, strengthen ties, attend banquets, then repeat it all again.
There had been a time when he thought even that was mental cultivation, but too many worldly cares had piled up for him to call it that.
‘My cultivation is lacking.’
It was a path countless seniors and masters of his sect had all walked.
Was it not only natural that he should walk it as well?
Ilgak silently recited Amitabha thousands, tens of thousands of times, swallowing down his impatience again and again.
“Venerable, it is time to disembark.”
At the crew member's words, he came to his senses and saw that the ship had already returned to the pier.
Ilgak gladly stepped off the ship.
There would be more messages to receive once he returned to the lodgings, but after that, he could make time to train.
As he thought that...
“Venerable! My name is Jang Woojae! I am a student of the Martial Arts Academy and a disciple of the Yujang Sect! Please help us just once!”
At the familiar name, Ilgak turned his head.
Familiar faces were shouting themselves hoarse while being restrained by others.
“My sect is on the verge of being destroyed by the Black Path. We desperately need help!”
“...”
As Jang Woojae's words drew everyone's attention, Hyesung finally beckoned them over.
“Ahem.”
Venerable Hyesung covered his nose and frowned.
The people who had pushed through the crowd reeked of stale sweat.
“Venerable! We desperately need help from White Path sects, including the Orthodox Society! Please help us just once!”
He had heard only fragments of the story, but Ilgak could roughly guess the situation.
The Mount Cang Sect had withdrawn, and the White Path and Black Path martial worlds had begun clashing over control of Yueyang.
The storm rising from the Black Path would deal a considerable blow to the White Path martial world.
Naturally, the smaller sects would suffer that damage more severely than the larger ones.
Remembering that Jang Woojae's sect was not particularly powerful, Ilgak looked at him with pity.
“Ilgak.”
At Venerable Hyesung's call for an explanation, Ilgak quietly stepped closer.
“They are Academy students.”
“What sect are they from?”
“A sect called the Yujang Sect.”
“The Yujang Sect?”
As Hyesung tilted his head, Ilgak quickly added, “It is a sect with solid foundations, rooted in Yueyang.”
“I do not recall seeing it in the Martial Alliance.”
“Its activities in the Alliance have been limited so far, but I have heard that it is well known among the people for its righteousness.”
Hyesung's gaze moved to Jang Woojae and the Academy students who appeared to be his friends.
He carefully examined their clothes, weapons, bearing, and the level of their martial arts.
“Hmm...”
At Hyesung's quiet hum, Ilgak hurriedly continued.
“Jang Woojae, in particular, is considered the representative of the unaffiliated students at the Academy. Not only the Orthodox Society, but the White Path Society and the Twelve Peak Alliance are also seeking to recruit him. He is highly respected.”
Because of what was happening in Yueyang, Jang Woojae's sect might disappear.
It had nothing to do with Ilgak, yet he began to feel anxious.
“If we help him this time, I believe it will greatly help us reclaim the position of Academy Representative later.”
“Is that so?”
“Y-Yes.”
Hyesung stared steadily at Ilgak.
“You usually know nothing of politics or human relationships. What has made you so eloquent today?”
“...”
Venerable Hyesung slowly shook his head.
“That, too, is a worldly care.”
“...”
Hyesung stepped forward.
Then he spoke in a resounding voice.
“Young benefactor, please rise.”
“Venerable! I will pay any price later. Please help us just once.”
Desperation filled Jang Woojae's face as he tried to grasp even the thinnest thread of hope.
“The Buddha does not ask a price of you. Have you perhaps requested help from the Martial Alliance's Yueyang Branch?”
“Yes. We went there first and begged them. But the branch does not have enough people to face the entire Black Path in Yueyang.”
No matter how much the limited staff of the branch intervened, the Black Path martial world would not shrink back.
The Black Path was not cautious enough to hesitate when it had been given an opportunity to run wild as it pleased.
Jang Woojae pleaded again.
“Once war breaks out with the Black Path, it will be too late. We need immediate help, Venerable.”
Ilgak spoke up without realizing it.
“That is right, Venerable. If the Martial Alliance only acts after the Black Path martial world has taken Yueyang, the smaller sects will...”
Venerable Hyesung slowly turned to look at Ilgak.
“...”
That expressionless face resembled that of one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and Ilgak involuntarily swallowed hard.
“...I-I apologize.”
Hyesung began speaking again in a solemn voice.
“The Black Path throwing the world into chaos is nothing new. It pains this humble monk that the Buddha's grace cannot reach all under heaven.”
Everyone looked at Hyesung, from the Academy students to those who had come to see the people of the Nine Sects One Gang and those waiting to board ships.
“Nor does the Buddha ever turn away sentient beings who seek salvation.”
At some point, Hyesung's gaze had shifted from the Academy students to the crowd.
“Whenever and wherever someone seeks the Buddha's aid, the Buddha's hand will reach them, even if it be the depths of hell.”
The people listening to Hyesung burst into cheers.
“““Waaaaah!”””
After the brief excitement died down, Hyesung looked at Jang Woojae with a compassionate smile.
“So return without worry, benefactor.”
“A-Are you saying you will help us?”
“Did I not just say so? Wherever you may be, the Buddha's grace will reach you.”
At Hyesung's vague words, Jang Woojae lowered his head deeply again.
“I have heard that the Black Blood Sect intends to attack our sect soon.”
Hyesung nodded.
“The moment I return to the Martial Alliance, I will convene an Alliance meeting and make this matter our highest priority.”
“What?”
Jang Woojae's face twisted.
How was that any different from leaving the matter to the Martial Alliance's Yueyang Branch?
“V-Venerable! The Yujang Sect is hanging by a thread. If you handle it that way...”
“Benefactor.”
Venerable Hyesung's voice carried powerful internal energy.
It was a Golden Speech Command that weighed down the spirit as though a massive burden had been placed upon it.
Even the spectators sensed the immense presence in Hyesung's voice and fell into deep silence.
“Did this humble monk not say so? There is nowhere the Buddha's hand cannot reach.”
“...”
“But all things in this world have their proper order.”
Jang Woojae's body trembled, but he forced himself to speak.
“T-Then... Could you visit our sect? The Black Path martial artists will be greatly alarmed if you simply visit us, Venerable.”
Ilgak could not hide his surprise as he watched Jang Woojae.
Hyesung's Golden Speech Command was considered one of the finest even within Shaolin Temple, yet Jang Woojae had overcome it.
Then again, it only showed how desperate Jang Woojae's circumstances were.
“...”
Knowing all this and still being unable to do anything, Ilgak felt deep self-loathing.
“...I would like to, but an urgent matter that cannot wait another moment lies before us. I ask that you understand why I cannot visit.”
“V-Venerable!”
“Do not worry. You and your sect will surely be protected within the Buddha's grace.”
Just as Hyesung finished speaking and turned to leave...
“What kind of cheap trick is this?”
A voice shattered the silence across the pier.
“Who still uses something like this these days?”
Young men and women who looked barely past adulthood walked out from the pier.
When the young man at the front swept his hand through the air, the people felt the pressure that had unknowingly bound them fade away. They all let out long sighs.
“...”
Hyesung's gaze turned to the man who had dispelled the Golden Speech Command.
He wore an expression that looked sly, almost mocking, along with a relaxed demeanor that did not suit his age.
Hyesung knew him as well.
The man looked at Hyesung and asked, “This business about being protected within the Buddha's grace. Does that mean if they pray hard enough, the Black Blood Sect will turn around and leave on its own?”
“...”
The man naturally stepped between Hyesung's group and Jang Woojae's group as he continued.
“Isn't that right? If chanting Amitabha could solve everything, why would the Martial Alliance exist? Why would the Black Path still remain in the martial world?”
His gaze swept across the crowd.
“Did Shaolin Temple not pray hard enough?”
The faces of Hyesung's group, as well as the spectators, drained of color as they stared at him.
“Who is that?”
“Has he lost his mind?”
“How dare he speak so disrespectfully to Venerable Hyesung, a great monk of Shaolin Temple...”
The crowd whispered as they watched the man.
Who was this person who spoke as though he had left all caution at home?
The answer unexpectedly came from Venerable Hyesung's own mouth.
“Benefactor Jin Sowoon...”
The man called Jin Sowoon deeply furrowed his brow.
“I told you before, stop calling a disciple of a Taoist martial sect ‘benefactor.’ Seriously.”
Footnotes:
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