WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 162: The Black Flame Dragon Quelling the Chaos (7)

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“You kicked off the blankets again.”

After pulling the blankets back over his sisters, Gang Yuseong quietly left the room.

Darkness had settled over the grounds, while the chirping insects in the distance announced the depth of the night.

Unfazed by it, Gang Yuseong made his way toward the small training ground.

It was part of his daily routine.

A habit he had never skipped, not even once.

‘Senior Brother Jin said he can already produce six Ten Thousand Swords.’

Compared to the level his senior brother had described in a letter, he could only produce two.

Considering they had begun studying the Taeul True Scripture at nearly the same time, he could not help growing impatient.

‘Am I doing well?’

Then he recalled the days when he had raised his sisters alone, with no one to rely on, and let out a deep sigh of relief.

What would have happened if he had not met his senior brother that day?

What if his senior brother had not invited him to the Taeul Sect?

Thanks to him, he and his sisters now had a comfortable, cozy home and three proper meals a day.

And he was even learning the martial arts he had dreamed of for so long.

To Gang Yuseong, Senior Brother Jin and the Taeul Sect were no different from parents.

‘I have to repay them.’

Rubbing his drooping eyes, Gang Yuseong quickened his pace toward the training ground.

“Haah!”

Clatter.

A clear shout rang out, followed by the sharp rattle of metal.

Iron fragments embedded themselves in the dummy standing in the training ground.

The figure at the center fluttered their martial robes, creating afterimages. More iron fragments scattered from their hidden hand, each carrying the principles of illusion and seeming to multiply into dozens, even hundreds.

Clatterrr.

The dummy, battered by the shower of iron, finally gave out and collapsed with a crack.

‘Senior Sister Wang?’

Only then did Gang Yuseong recognize the person training there. He quietly tried to leave the small training ground.

After coming to the Taeul Sect, he had learned that watching another martial artist train without permission was considered a grave breach of etiquette.

Just as he turned to find another place to train...

“Junior Brother Gang?”

Wang Soso called out to him as she caught her breath.

“Did you come here to train?”

“Yes, Senior Sister. I can use another place, so please continue using this one.”

“Really? Since you’re here anyway, shall we train together?”

“Pardon?”

“Why? Am I too far below your level?”

“No, what... I would never say that.”

“Then come here.”

As Gang Yuseong approached, Wang Soso patted his head.

He acted like a dependable adult before his sisters, but in front of Wang Soso, Gang Yuseong became the youngest sibling again.

“You work hard, Junior Brother.”

“...Ahem. What brings you here so late, Senior Sister?”

“When I go home, Father won’t let me practice. He tells me to sleep early because I’ll wear myself out. But not training is more exhausting.”

“...”

Gang Yuseong looked at Wang Soso as though she were remarkable.

“Senior Sister... may I ask you something?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“You said your father supports the Taeul Sect greatly, and that you plan to become a merchant someday... Why do you train so hard?”

Wang Soso tilted her head.

“What does supporting the sect and becoming a merchant have to do with working hard?”

“Pardon? Ah... well, that is...”

Thinking he had said something wrong, Gang Yuseong began stumbling over his words.

Wang Soso’s eyes sharpened slightly.

“Does someone who supports the sect and wants to become a merchant not have the right to work hard? Did I do something wrong?”

“No! That’s not what I meant...!”

As Gang Yuseong panicked, Wang Soso burst out laughing.

“You swing a sword like a ghost, yet you’re so timid. What good is that?”

“That’s too harsh, Senior Sister.”

“So what did you really want to ask?”

After hesitating for a moment, Gang Yuseong looked Wang Soso directly in the eyes.

“I mean... I have received so much from the Taeul Sect, but I have no way to repay it. That is why I train as hard as I can. But Senior Sister has already given so much to the Taeul Sect, so I was wondering why you train so diligently.”

At Gang Yuseong’s sincere answer, Wang Soso smiled softly.

“Ah, that was what you were worried about? Hmm... I suppose it’s because I like the Taeul Sect?”

“You like the Taeul Sect?”

“Well, more precisely, it’s because I have received a great deal from Brother Jin. Still, I thought there might come a day when I can repay him.”

Confusion filled Gang Yuseong’s eyes.

To him, his senior brother seemed so strong that he needed no one’s help.

“...Isn’t Senior Brother already incredibly strong? I wonder if we can truly be of any help to him...”

“Of course he is amazing. Honestly, he is absurdly strong. I know because I meet martial artists now and then while working as a merchant, but there don’t seem to be many people his age who can compare to Brother Jin.”

For some reason, Wang Soso puffed out her chest as though she were boasting about herself.

“Still, there will be times when he needs help.”

“When?”

“I don’t know. Even if that never happens, us becoming stronger will be a tremendous help to Brother Jin. At the very least, we won’t get in his way, right?”

Get in his way? Gang Yuseong had never considered that.

“...We could get in his way?”

“Of course. Special people like Brother Jin tend to make many enemies. Some cannot do anything to Brother Jin himself, so they target his sect or family instead.”

“My goodness! How cowardly!”

“Exactly. That’s why we must make sure we do not hold Brother Jin back. Only then can he achieve what he wants.”

Wang Soso, who had been stroking Yuseong’s head as if he were her youngest brother, patted his shoulder as though testing solid wood.

“Furthermore, if the Taeul Sect grows stronger, no one will dare treat Brother Jin carelessly.”

“So us becoming stronger will be an enormous help to Senior Brother.”

“That’s right!”

Gang Yuseong looked refreshed, as if a concern he had carried for a long time had finally been resolved.

“I’ll work even harder.”

“Hmm... I think you already work hard enough. Still, working hard is always good.”

“Yes! But what were you practicing just now, Senior Sister?”

“Me? I was practicing throwing arts.”

“Throwing arts?”

Yuseong tilted his head.

“Yes. Swords are nice too, but I think throwing arts are more fun.”

“May I help you?”

“Would you?”

“Yes! I was practicing Ten Thousand Swords anyway. I’ll bring the hidden weapons.”

“Thank you. I’ll catch my breath for a while.”

While Wang Soso picked up the waterskin beside her and drank from it, Gang Yuseong approached the dummy.

‘Hm?’

As he tried to pull out the hidden weapons embedded in it, their strange shape made him tilt his head. Then he looked back at Wang Soso.

“...Senior Sister, have you been training with these?”

“Hm? Ah! I wanted to use throwing knives, but Father said they were dangerous and told me not to use them.”

“...”

“I looked for something suitable... and we had the most of these at home.”

Gang Yuseong looked again at the hidden weapons lodged in the dummy.

“...”

They were round overall, with square holes in the middle for threading onto a cord.

Yet most people did not thread these onto cords and carry them around.

Because of the risk of theft, they placed them in small money pouches and kept them deep within their clothes.

In other words, what Wang Soso had been throwing around was...

“...You use silver coins as hidden weapons?”

“Yes. Stop asking questions and go bring them already!”

“...”

Gang Yuseong suddenly became curious.

If one of those hidden weapons burrowed into his flesh, would it become his?

And if so, how many hits could he endure?

#

“Urgh.”

After vomiting a mouthful of blood, the pressure in my chest eased.

“Haah, haah, haah.”

As I gasped for breath, my mind cleared a little.

‘What the hell went wrong?’

I had followed every movement of Baek Haegwang, the Sword Demon, exactly.

My shredded muscles had been reshaped to resemble his, and after enduring pain that felt as though my bones were being ground apart, even my bones had changed enough to perform the Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms.

The formula and key principles were perfect.

Yet whenever I tried to perform the Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms, my internal energy circulation broke apart, and it felt as if my organs were being overturned.

I had copied everything perfectly, but I still could not reproduce even the first form of the Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms.

“My goodness... Young Master Jin.”

When I turned my dazed head, I saw Namgung Seonhwa’s pale face.

“What on earth happened?”

“...Nothing happened.”

“Then what is all this blood?”

“...”

Only then did I look around.

The clotted blood I had vomited covered the ground in every direction.

I looked as if I had been through a life-or-death battle.

“I was training, but I believe something went wrong.”

“This is training?”

Namgung Seonhwa looked around in disbelief, then handed me the waterskin in her hand.

Without pausing, I drank nearly half the water inside.

“Haah... haah... haah...”

“...”

What exactly had gone wrong?

With the time for my duel drawing near, desperation churned within me.

“...Master, Young Master Jin!”

“Yes?”

I turned in surprise and found Namgung Seonhwa staring at me with concern.

“What part are you having trouble with?”

“What part?”

“Yes. Isn’t all of that blood you spat out?”

“That is correct.”

“Your internal energy is not circulating properly. If you keep pushing yourself like this, you may suffer qi deviation.”

“...”

It was true that my internal energy was not circulating properly.

No, to be precise, it was running wild, and I could not control it.

If the Nine-Spirit Divine Herb had not strengthened my energy channels and dantian, I would have suffered qi deviation ten times over already.

‘Did that Sword Demon give me the wrong formula?’

I shook the thought from my head.

He had handed it to me himself in the first place. If he wanted to kill me, he could have done so with his own hands.

The formula was perfect, the movements were perfect, and my mastery was perfect.

Then why could I not perform the sword forms properly?

“Lady Seonhwa.”

“Yes?”

“Did you learn the Emperor Sword Art from the Divine Sword?”

“Yes.”

“Could you tell me how far you have mastered it?”

Namgung Seonhwa’s expression stiffened.

Asking another martial artist about their level was one of the breaches of etiquette.

I continued.

“I mean, I would like to know how your level compares to the Divine Sword’s.”

“...Compared to Grandfather?”

Her expression relaxed, and Namgung Seonhwa rested her chin on her fingers as she thought.

“About as much as blood on a bird’s foot?”[1]

“...Is that a figurative expression or a literal one?”

“Both.”

“Is it because of the difference in internal energy?”

“...No. As you know, you must learn the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art to practice the Emperor Sword Art. Once you reach a certain level, performing the Emperor Sword Art itself is not particularly difficult.”

That matched my own thoughts.

No matter how profound Baek Haegwang’s internal energy was, my current internal energy should have been more than enough to perform the Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms.

“Then where does the difference in mastery between the Divine Sword and you come from?”

“...Time, I suppose.”

“You mean mastery?”

“That too, but...”

“Then if Lady Seonhwa could perform the exact same movements and stances as the Divine Sword, would you achieve the same level of mastery?”

In my case, I had matched the formula, internal energy, and mastery.

It was stranger that the sword forms would not manifest.

Namgung Seonhwa tilted her head, then her expression slowly hardened.

“What are you plotting?”

I thought it might worry her, so I made up an excuse.

“I was only curious. Our sect does not have a supreme master like the Divine Sword, does it? I was simply wondering why there would be a difference in mastery even if one learned from someone like him in the exact same way.”

Even after I said that, Namgung Seonhwa did not look convinced.

“You suddenly wondered about that in this critical situation?”

She stared at the blood soaking the ground in disbelief.

Without the slightest shame, I answered.

“Should a martial artist’s training be restricted by time and place?”

Namgung Seonhwa glared at me, then let out a small sigh.

“...I don’t trust you, but there was something similar in our clan. One of my uncles followed Grandfather around every day. He tried to imitate not only his sword forms, but also his every action and habit.”

Oh? Someone in the Namgung Clan had thought the same thing I had. I felt an odd sense of kinship.

“How was his mastery? Was he similar to the Divine Sword?”

“Not at all.”

What?

“His mastery did not improve at all. In fact, it was lower than that of people who began at the same age.”

“...Why?”

“Grandfather later said that without one’s own insight, copying another person’s path only made one as awkward as someone wearing clothes that did not fit.”

“...”

“He said the void must be built through one’s own strength. If a hundred people learn one martial art, it becomes a hundred different martial arts.”

“...!”

Images became vivid in my mind.

The Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms as performed by the Sword Demon.

And the Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms as performed by me.

We swung the same sword, yet the principles within those swords were utterly different.

When I overlaid the images of the two of us, the movements were identical, yet they did not align perfectly.

Even if I copied the Sword Demon’s sword exactly, I could not produce power equal to his.

“Still, Grandfather said it was not a bad method. He said it was the fastest way to make the accomplishments a highly skilled person had built over many years into one’s own, though he personally hated having others constantly follow him.”

“What happened to that uncle?”

“He is currently serving as a Deputy Pavilion Master in the Enforcement Hall.”

“Are you saying the Azure Dragon Jade Sword once did that?”

Namgung Seonmyeong, the Azure Dragon Jade Sword, had enforced Alliance Law according to law and principle rather than a person’s background even in my previous life.

The influence of his clan was immense, and his own martial power was great enough to place him among the hundred greatest masters of the martial world. No one dared exert outside pressure on the Azure Dragon Jade Sword.

“Yes.”

“...”

Then copying someone else was not wrong in itself.

The problem was that I had pursued only the Sword Demon’s insight, not my own.

What mattered was going beyond imitation and finding my own insight within it.

“Ah!”

Before the thought flashing through my mind could vanish, I quickly sat in meditation.

“Lady Seonhwa, no matter what happens to me, please do not wake me.”

“...No, what on earth...”

Before I could hear Namgung Seonhwa’s answer, I closed my eyes.

I began recreating the Sword Demon holding a tree branch in my mind.

One person... eight people... fourteen people... thirty people...

At the same time, I recreated thirty versions of myself holding the Black Dragon Sword.

Then the thirty Sword Demons and thirty versions of me began performing the Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms at once.

Although I focused on the void, I felt my head growing hot.

To cool my head, which had become hot enough to steam, I hurriedly sent internal energy to my upper dantian and tried to stabilize myself.

Whenever the thirty figures on each side performed a form, heat rose through not only my head but my entire body.

Soon, a strong metallic scent filled both nostrils, and liquid began running down.

All thirty Sword Demons performed the same sword forms.

Even when they began differently, their movements were identical and they ended at the same time.

But my figures were all different.

They began together and ended differently.

I picked one phantom of the Sword Demon and one phantom of myself, then began a duel.

Three moves.

My phantom vanished after only three moves.

Cough.

Clotted blood burst from my mouth before I realized it.

-Young Master Jin...!!

I heard Namgung Seonhwa’s voice, but ignored it and continued the duel.

Second duel...

Defeat.

Fourth duel...

Defeat.

Seventh duel...

Defeat.

Thirteenth duel...

Defeat.

When one of my earlier phantoms lost, the next one inherited its memories and responded differently.

The Sword Demon’s phantom remained exactly as he had been when I met him in the Ten Thousand Books Repository.

Every word he had spoken over the past month surfaced clearly in my mind.

-The true essence of the first form is ultimate swiftness. To be the fastest, you must carry nothing.

Eighteenth duel...

Defeat.

Twenty-first duel...

Defeat.

Twenty-ninth duel...

Defeat.

Thirtieth duel...

Defeat.

My mind suddenly cleared, and something large surged out of my overturned stomach.

“Urgh!”

My black martial robes became further stained with blood.

“Young Master Jin! Stop! You’ll die at this rate!”

I reached out a hand toward Namgung Seonhwa.

“Please... stand guard.”

Then thirty Sword Demons and thirty versions of me clashed again.

Thirty-fourth duel...

Defeat.

Thirty-ninth duel...

Defeat.

Forty-sixth duel...

Defeat.

-To become the fastest, you must become the lightest. A speed nothing can follow cannot be stopped by anything.

Fifty-first duel...

Draw.

Fifty-fourth duel...

Draw.

-An incomplete sword is no more than a sandcastle that may collapse at any time. Break it before it is completed into the lightest and fastest sword.

Fifty-sixth duel...

...Draw.

Fifty-ninth duel...

Sixtieth duel...

My whole body trembled, and my eyes flew open.

A violent convulsion seized my body. My muscles and bones went numb, then began twisting on their own.

Crack, crack. Pop. Pop.

The nausea that had gathered deep inside me surged upward, rapidly climbing my throat.

“...Uwegh!”

Like someone who had drunk far more than they could handle, I vomited blood and foam.

“Young Master Jin!”

Namgung Seonhwa’s voice drifted to me from far away.

And I finally let my fading consciousness slip away.

[1] Blood on a bird’s foot: A Korean idiom for an amount so small it is negligible.

Footnotes:

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