WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 161: The Black Flame Dragon Quelling the Chaos (6)
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“The streets are quiet.”
Dang Hyeokjae nodded at my words.
“Everyone’s being cautious. They’re afraid.”
Yueyang was quiet.
If its earlier silence had been born of fear at the sound of clashing weapons, its current stillness felt like the calm before a storm.
The vendors who once sold taffy and rice cakes along the streets had vanished. Even the merchants who usually called out to passersby had merely set out their wares, constantly glancing around.
“I heard rumors that assassins are roaming the streets. That was your doing, wasn’t it?”
“...Why do you think it’s only a rumor?”
“Because word spread far too quickly. Even gossipmongers have physical limits when it comes to passing stories along. Still, do you think it’ll work?”
As expected, clever people were not easy to fool with such a simple method.
“Someone of your stature is skilled at separating truth from falsehood, but they aren’t.”
The fact that the Black Path sects had stopped moving was proof enough.
Every one of them had brought their guards into their lodgings and tightened security.
Expanding their influence was all well and good, but if they died like the Black Blood Sect Leader, they would only be doing their subordinates a favor.
Thanks to that, Yueyang was able to maintain a truce, however brief.
Of course, several White Path sects that could not endure the anxiety had eventually packed up and left Yueyang.
No one knew how matters in Yueyang would unfold from here.
“So, can I go back to packing my things?”
“Why would you ask that?”
“If you die, will the Taeul Sect still invest in me?”
Why would he say something so unlucky?
“Now I feel like withdrawing that investment promise even if I survive.”
Dang Hyeokjae looked at me as though I were ridiculous.
“Isn’t that the truth? If you die, what would I gain by going all the way to the Taeul Sect?”
“Honestly, this old man. Who says I’m going to die?”
“The Sword Evil will surely come from the Black Blood Sect’s side. The Sword Evil is considered the equal of the Three Fierce Evils.”
The Three Fierce Evils referred to the three who occupied the highest seats among the Eight Evils.
Dragon Evil, Blood Evil, and Blade Evil.
They were considered a step more dangerous than the other Eight Evils and were also major targets of the Martial Alliance’s observation.
“I know that well.”
On top of that, the Sword Evil was full of resentment because the Black Blood Sect Leader had died and because I had defeated him.
Even if another member of the Eight Evils came forward, there was a strong chance that the Sword Evil would insist on coming personally.
There was no avoiding this.
I shook away my mounting worries and changed the subject.
“What happened with the favor I asked of you?”
“I heard they left Changsha. They’ll likely arrive the day after tomorrow.”
“Two days? Won’t that be too late?”
“What can I do? There’s the matter of physical distance.”
“Why didn’t you establish a Tang Clan branch in Yueyang when you took on the role of Yueyang Branch Head?”
“Anyone listening would think you had entrusted the position to me.”
Dang Hyeokjae pursed his lips.
“Do you want to see your investor die?”
“...I told them not to rest and to come as quickly as possible. It’ll be close, but they’ll arrive in time.”
His gaze was full of unease.
“Please don’t die.”
I suddenly wondered how sincere he was.
“Are you worried about me purely out of concern, or because your investor might die?”
Dang Hyeokjae’s gaze wavered sharply.
“...”
“Forget it. I won’t ask for an answer.”
What did the Sword Evil and everyone else take me for?
#
After entering the Yujang Sect, I passed through the training ground and stopped at a strange sight.
‘What’s he doing?’
Jang Sageong, the Sect Leader of the Yujang Sect, was strolling through the sect grounds, looking over every corner.
For someone who had to fight a life-or-death duel in two days, he was far too relaxed.
‘Does he have complete faith in the trump card he’s hidden away?’
Normally, anyone facing such a duel would cherish every moment and train, yet he looked entirely at ease.
“Hm? Young Hero Jin!”
Jang Sageong looked pleased to see me. I slowly clasped my hands in greeting.
“Were you out here?”
“I was checking how badly the Yujang Sect’s facilities were damaged.”
Jang Sageong seemed convinced of the Yujang Sect’s victory.
Otherwise, how could he be making preparations for such a distant future?
“Would you walk with me for a while?”
“Yes.”
Jang Sageong slowly walked through the sect, introducing me to various places.
The shed where he used to hide after skipping training as a child.
The place where he had held his wedding, the room where Jang Woojae had been born, and more.
Having spent his entire life within the Yujang Sect, he slowly shared the stories he had gathered there.
“I’m sorry.”
His sudden apology made me tilt my head.
“For what?”
“Do you know that Woojae likes you? No... It would be more accurate to say that he admires you.”
“What?”
“Ever since he went to the Academy, more than half the letters he sent were about you. He always wrote about what a splendid man you were, how remarkable and broad-minded you were.”
“...”
“He often said that he wanted to become a man like you and work beside you.”
“Is that so?”
“So I stopped him. ...The path you walk is too difficult, too painful. I told him to take an easier road.”
No parent would want their child to walk a road strewn with thorns.
“I understand. It was only natural.”
“That is why I feel even more ashamed. I chose only the easy path, only to end up receiving your help.”
Jang Sageong clasped his hands and bowed deeply.
There were Yujang Sect disciples nearby, but he did not seem to care in the slightest.
Startled, I hurriedly helped him up.
“People might see. Please rise.”
Jang Sageong’s eyes were filled with complicated emotions when he lifted his head.
“When I look at you, I can’t help but respect you. I understand why Woojae admires you.”
“You flatter me.”
“I truly regret it. Life is meant to be painful, so why did I always try to avoid that pain?”
Neither of us spoke after we began walking again.
By the time our stroll ended and we turned to leave, Jang Woojae came into view.
Yet he was not alone.
Jang Woojae handed a money pouch to a person dispatched by the Martial Alliance and received a small wooden box in return.
The sight of that wooden box stirred a strange pull within me, and I approached him.
“Ah! Representative Jin!”
The Martial Alliance member hurried away as though fleeing, while Jang Woojae gave me an awkward smile.
There was definitely something going on.
“What is that?”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“What you exchanged with that person.”
“...Ah, it’s nothing much. I received a cheap spiritual medicine in case it might help before the decisive martial duel.”
“May I take a look?”
“...It’s really nothing. If you need something, Representative Jin, I’ll find you something better.”
“No. I want to see what that is.”
As I spoke, I used the White Phoenix Hand to pull the wooden box from inside Jang Woojae’s robes.
“Ah! R-Representative!”
“...”
Just as I thought. I had seen that shape far too often.
Ignoring Jang Woojae as he tried to seize the wooden box, I opened it. Inside was a pellet with a dark reddish-black hue.
“...”
I turned to look at Jang Sageong.
He too looked greatly shocked.
I barely swallowed a sigh.
“Do you even know what a Bloodburst Pellet is, handling it so recklessly?”
“...”
“If you aren’t confident of winning, you can simply send someone else.”
“No! I can definitely win. I only prepared it to ensure victory.”
I understood how he felt.
He must have resolved to do whatever he could for his sect.
But the situation was different from yesterday. It was not so dire that he needed to commit a self-destructive act.
Crunch.
I crushed the Bloodburst Pellet along with the wooden box. Jang Woojae could not hide his shock.
I looked him straight in the eye.
“This is something no one in the Yujang Sect would want.”
Then I shifted my gaze to Jang Sageong.
“Especially not the sight your father wants to see.”
Jang Sageong stood frozen, staring at Jang Woojae.
“...”
As Jang Woojae kept his head lowered, Jang Sageong spoke solemnly.
“Follow me!”
I silently watched the two leave.
#
How shameful was it to show one’s parents that one intended to throw away one’s life?
Even after entering the room, Jang Woojae could not raise his head.
Only after a long silence did Jang Sageong’s heavy voice sound.
“Do you know what your fault was?”
“...Our bodies, hair, and skin are received from our parents. To not dare harm them is the beginning of filial piety.[1] I violated the most basic duty of filial piety.”
Jang Sageong suddenly roared.
“No!”
“...!”
Jang Woojae looked at his father in surprise.
Jang Sageong’s eyes were full of frustration.
“Do you truly not understand? Your fault was trying to abandon your responsibility!”
“...What?”
“What is your responsibility? As the heir of the Yujang Sect, is it not to protect its people and keep them alive?”
“...”
“Only the Sect Leader may be prepared to die for the Yujang Sect. Are you already the Sect Leader of the Yujang Sect?”
Disappointment gradually filled Jang Sageong’s eyes.
“Why would you flee from a difficult burden by choosing death? Did Young Hero Jin, whom you admired so much, do that?”
“Father...”
“If you have watched him for so long, shouldn’t you have learned something? Is that all you learned from Young Hero Jin?”
“...”
Jang Sageong looked at his son, whose head hung low, then released a long sigh.
“Just by watching Young Hero Jin negotiate with the Black Blood Sect yesterday, I could understand why you wished to follow him. What did you learn from that?”
“...His manly spirit?”
“No! If the Yujang Sect lost, the sect would be handed over and its people would simply leave. Had Young Hero Jin not already saved every person in the Yujang Sect at that moment?”
“Ah...!”
Jang Woojae’s eyes widened.
To realize something so important only now.
Seeing the change in his son’s gaze, Jang Sageong softened his voice.
“That is likely why he is called the Black Flame Dragon throughout the martial world. It must also be why the Taeul Sect, which had no presence at all, came to be spoken of by people across the land within only a few years. His role must have been tremendous.”
“...”
Jang Woojae felt so ashamed at Jang Sageong’s praise for Jin Sowoon that he wanted to find a hole and crawl into it.
“Do you understand your fault now?”
“...I chose a path that was too easy... far too comfortable...”
A smile spread across Jang Sageong’s lips at Jang Woojae’s halting reply.
“Yes! That is exactly it!”
“...”
“I chose you over everyone else because you too bear responsibility as the heir of the Yujang Sect.”
“I will remember that.”
“I apologize for having told you to build connections with the Nine Sects One Gang. From now on, always watch Young Hero Jin and learn from him. Think about what you can do for the people of the Yujang Sect in the future.”
“...”
“That is the responsibility you must fulfill as the heir of the Yujang Sect.”
Jang Sageong’s admonition weighed more heavily on Jang Woojae’s shoulders than any rebuke.
#
After Jang Sageong and Jang Woojae left, I headed alone to the Sect Leader’s private training ground.
I had received permission in advance, so no one stopped me.
The most important thing for me now was facing the Sword Evil.
The problem was that the Taeul Sect’s martial arts were poorly matched against him.
His distinctive, stealthy, swift swordsmanship was particularly difficult to deal with.
Of course, I did not know what would happen if we fought with all our strength, but I also had to consider how the Black Path would respond after the Yujang Sect won.
‘Those bastards who stabbed people in the back won’t admit defeat and obediently withdraw just because they lose a duel.’
No matter what, I had to win the duel and prepare so that the Black Blood Sect could not act recklessly afterward.
That was why I could not fight by blasting out all my internal energy.
Fortunately, I had a method. The Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms that I had recently obtained from the Sword Demon.
The issue was that two days was far too short to learn such difficult martial arts.
“To think the day would come when I’d have to use this.”
After attaining the harmony of essence, qi, and spirit through advice I had received from the Divine Sword, a theory had briefly occurred to me.
Using my curse.
I had a power of memory so agonizing that it felt like a curse.
On top of that, I had reached the realm of Five Dragons Serving the Sage and achieved harmony of essence, qi, and spirit.
Recently, I had encountered a fortuitous opportunity and crossed beyond Sun-Moon Union, reaching the stage of Jade Pistil Golden Flower.
It was a higher realm where my body moved as I thought, and qi flowed in and out without obstruction.
By using those two things, I could learn martial arts in an extremely short time.
“Was this how Senior Baek performed it?”
Baek Haegwang appeared in my mind and began to perform the Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms.
I remembered not only Senior Baek Haegwang’s movements, but also the number of his breaths, how he used his muscles, and even the spacing of his steps with perfect accuracy.
It was so vivid that it was as if he stood before me.
As I recited the formula for the Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms, I commanded my body to imitate Baek Haegwang’s movements exactly.
Crack.
My arm had not even fully extended, yet the sound of muscles snapping rang out.
Crunch, crunch.
When my hand fully opened, my joints twisted violently and my bones ground together.
Thump, thump, thump.
Perhaps shocked by the excessive movement, my heart began pounding furiously.
Then,
“Argh!”
Clang.
Unable to endure it any longer, I dropped the Black Dragon Sword.
“Haah, haah, haah.”
This was a technique I had conceived through the harmony of essence, qi, and spirit to shorten the time needed.
An insane act that only I, with my absolute memory, could perform.
I made my body identical to another’s, then crossed all the years they had spent training in a single leap.
Clutching my throbbing elbow, I muttered,
“Damn it, what kind of training did he go through?”
The body was supposed to change gradually through long training and rest. It was only natural that forcing it to leap across ten years overnight would put it under strain.
The higher the other person’s realm, the more the pain seemed to increase exponentially.
When I reached out to grasp the Black Dragon Sword, my arm trembled before I even realized it.
My instincts had felt fear even before I consciously recognized it.
Yet a path revealed itself when one reached the limit.
“Hoo, hoo, hoo. If I give up here, everything will have been for nothing.”
I clenched my teeth and reached for the Black Dragon Sword.
“Guaaaah!”
[1] A saying from the Classic of Filial Piety: one’s body is received from one’s parents and should not be harmed.
Footnotes:
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