WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 168: The Sea of Blood Spreading Across Sichuan (4)
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After receiving such lavish treatment at Golden Pavilion Inn in Jingzhou, no complaints came from those heading to Sichuan.
Some Tiger Hall members even asked, “If we ride for two days without stopping, can we rest somewhere even better?” Gu Jeongryong was more worried that Jin Sowoon might overhear them.
Once they learned they would be given generous rest and excellent food, Tiger Hall moved even faster.
Their horses were replaced with fresh ones at every stop, and whenever they left an inn, they were supplied with plenty of jerky and water for the road. With only brief breaks along the way, they could maintain their pace.
They had never traveled so quickly and comfortably on any assignment.
Normally, when entering a Martial Alliance branch, they had to be prepared to handle everything themselves.
Seen in that light, the procession led by Jin Sowoon was moving more comfortably than any other.
It was not simply because it had the full support of the Wang Family Estate.
Jin Sowoon led them as though he knew every road under heaven inside and out. Where they needed speed, they rode faster than usual. Where they needed to slow down, they stopped to rest.
He also kept changing the riders’ positions so no one became overly exhausted.
It was the kind of consideration that prevented the fatigue brought on by long-distance travel on horseback.
Gu Jeongryong could hardly believe that Jin Sowoon, barely twenty, could manage a force this well.
“No, this is not something a first-year Academy student could do in the first place.”
He could manage a unit and even arrange supplies through his connections.
There was nothing ordinary about him.
At times, he seemed like an experienced caravan leader. At others, like a battlefield commander hardened by countless campaigns.
By then, Gu Jeongryong’s curiosity had grown.
Why was someone this capable using every resource at his disposal to rush toward Sichuan?
“There is something I want to ask.”
Jin Sowoon turned at Gu Jeongryong’s question.
“You haven’t told me why you need to travel so quickly.”
“...”
“Are we truly rushing this hard just to stop an event?”
The Wang Family Estate’s favor?
No matter how close they were, Jin Sowoon would have to repay the Wang Family Estate somehow after causing losses on this scale.
Maeng Juwon’s order?
That was much the same. Jin Sowoon had mobilized the Head of the Mantong Office. Even if Maeng Juwon took responsibility, if the Elder Council raised objections later, Jin Sowoon would be torn apart by the resulting storm as well.
Taking all that into account, was he truly pushing ahead just to interfere with an Elder Council event in Sichuan?
It made no sense.
What was the real reason...?
“...It would be good if we could stop it.”
Gu Jeongryong’s breath caught.
“Are we really going to stop the event?”
Jin Sowoon’s expression tightened slightly.
“It’s actually a little more complicated than that.”
“No matter how complicated it is, I’ll listen.”
Jin Sowoon frowned and looked somewhere ahead.
At that moment, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
What should Gu Jeongryong call it?
It was not bloodlust, but something thicker and more clinging.
If the surroundings were dark and some footless thing were giving off this aura, it would fit perfectly.
A grudge?
Jin Sowoon even ground his teeth, looking less like someone pursuing the Martial Alliance’s Elder Council than someone hunting the enemy who had murdered his parents.
“The unidentified group the Elder Council has gone to find.”
Gu Jeongryong knew well that the event’s real purpose was to investigate Sichuan, though it was effectively an outing.
“I received information that they are more dangerous than we thought.”
“Information?”
“Yes. That’s why we’re going to stop them.”
Gu Jeongryong still did not understand.
“No matter how dangerous they are, there are Academy students, and the Alliance’s elders are with them. Is there truly a reason for us to go to such lengths?”
“According to the information, they use dangerous dark arts.”
“Dark arts?”
Gu Jeongryong had never heard anything like that.
“If we don’t arrive in time, there will be severe casualties.”
“Wait, wait, wait. I heard about the incident in Sichuan during the regular examination, but this is the first I’ve heard of dark arts. Where did this information come from?”
“The Hao Sect.”
“The Hao Sect? Did you purchase it from them?”
“No. It was passed on to me. I have some ties with them.”
“...”
The Hao Sect was the organization that competed with the Beggar Sect for information across the martial world.
Recently, the Beggar Sect’s reliability had fallen somewhat, while the Hao Sect’s had risen sharply. The information was not entirely unbelievable.
Though Gu Jeongryong had heard the words “dark arts,” the doubts lay elsewhere.
“You have a personal relationship with the Hao Sect? Not a financial one?”
Jin Sowoon answered as though it were no great matter.
“Yes.”
What kind of sect was the Hao Sect?
When it came to money, they were no less ruthless and thorough than loan sharks. Yet Jin Sowoon had received information from them without paying.
Just who the hell is this guy?
Gu Jeongryong’s curiosity about Jin Sowoon only deepened.
#
Don’t do anything stupid!
One of the Martial Alliance’s chronic problems was its arrogance.
Put kindly, one could call it overflowing confidence.
As befitted people who had not faced a true rival for five hundred years, carelessness clung to them like a habit wherever they went.
The damage had been so severe in my previous life because they scattered their forces in every direction as though diversifying investments, allowing the Corpse Mountain Blood Cult to defeat them one group at a time.
At least, compared with my previous life, they had been unable to enlist members of the White Path Society and the Twelve Peak Alliance, so I thought they would not do something that idiotic.
Yet after reading the message delivered through the Hao Sect, I could only let out a long sigh.
-The Academy students have entered Chengdu, Sichuan. They have split into five groups and begun moving.
Just as expected, they did not disappoint me. They were repeating the mistakes of my previous life exactly.
“Eldest Senior Brother, is everything all right?”
At Eunho’s question, I handed Eunho the message.
“I think we’re already too late.”
Perhaps recognizing the gravity of the message, Eunho’s expression hardened as well.
“...Do they know where Jaehwa and Seollan are?”
“Neither the Chengdu branch nor the Hao Sect knows where they are.”
I tried to find out where Moyong Jaehwa and Eun Seollan were, but this utterly disorganized group had left no records of how it divided its members.
They had obviously gathered in small groups with people they were close to.
Then they likely filled the vacant spots by forcibly drafting Academy students.
“What a goddamn mess.”
I agreed.
Even a band of wandering martial artists would not move in such a disorderly way.
“Why are they moving so fast, too?”
Eunho had struck at the most frustrating part.
They had no idea what their opponents were capable of, yet their confidence left them without the slightest hesitation in their advance.
It was similar to my previous life.
Back then, they had passed through Mount Emei and advanced straight to Badong, only to become corpses one after another.
“Could the culprits appear later than expected?”
“I would want nothing more.”
The incident during the regular examination had been meant to prepare for what was happening now.
A hunter who had set a trap and waited would not delay once the prey approached.
Please be in one of the rear groups...
The only thing I could do was hope that Eun Seollan and Moyong Jaehwa had at least been assigned to a rear group.
No matter how quickly we rode, there was a good chance we could not catch the lead group before it reached Badong.
Please! Don’t be idiots and put yourselves at the front!
Filled with desperate hope, I brought down my whip again and again.
#
“They said Mount Emei was the finest scenic wonder under heaven, and I see they were right. Haha.”
At Daoist Myeonghyeon’s cheerful words, the young disciple attending at Myeonghyeon’s side handed over tea brought from the Mount Emei Sect.
“Of the Eight Scenic Views of Mount Emei, they say we must visit the Evening Bell at Sacred Accumulation, the Clear Clouds over Luofeng, and the Clear Sound of Twin Bridges. Why not broaden the Academy students’ horizons while we have the chance, Elder?”
Daoist Myeonghyeon frowned at the disciple’s words.
“Did we come here to sightsee?”
“...”
“We came to identify those who dared ignore the Martial Alliance’s stern warning and interfere with the regular examination.”
The disciple quickly lowered their head.
“I apologize. This disciple failed to understand the greater purpose and spoke carelessly.”
The disciple spoke as though ready to throw away their life at once, so Hyesung said kindly, “The matter is urgent, but the journey to Sichuan was not easy. Once this is over, why not broaden the children’s horizons? Is it not also the duty of us elders to show them how vast the world is?”
Daoist Myeonghyeon nodded at Hyesung’s words.
In truth, the matter in Sichuan was not so urgent.
If it had been, they would have torn Sichuan apart and completed the investigation immediately after the regular examination ended.
The matter had only become urgent now because the situation had changed.
There were suspicions that the Yuwol Sect, a lay martial sect affiliated with the Mount Cang Sect, had committed crimes in Hunan while impersonating the Demonic Cult.
The fact that even Mount Cang Sect disciples had been involved made Mount Cang Sect desperate.
At a time like this, what better topic was there to turn people’s attention than sweeping away demons and eliminating evil?
Throughout history, emperors had launched northern expeditions and conquests whenever their power wavered. There was no method more reliably successful.
“Above all, sweeping away demons and eliminating evil is the Martial Alliance’s highest priority. Do not forget today’s lesson.”
At Daoist Myeonghyeon’s words, the disciples all lowered their heads.
The sight pleased Daoist Myeonghyeon greatly.
Hyesung watched from beside them with a faint smile.
They must be dying inside.
There had to be a reason Daoist Myeonghyeon was pushing the Sichuan investigation so hard.
Hyesung could see those dark intentions clearly.
Still, he had played along because no matter how Daoist Myeonghyeon struggled, the Society Leader’s position would eventually be taken away. He had simply given Daoist Myeonghyeon room to make a spectacle of it.
The day when the Society Leader’s position returned to Shaolin Sect was not far off.
They had briefly entrusted the position to someone else because of public opinion that Wudang Sect and Shaolin Sect monopolized it, only for the entire Orthodox Society to be shaken.
It was time for its rightful owner to reclaim it and restore the martial world’s righteous spirit.
The only disappointment was that the situation in Yueyang had settled rather quickly.
Hyesung had intended for Shaolin Sect to step in after the Black Path forces, including the Black Blood Sect and Black Talisman Palace, which had hidden their strength until now, uprooted Mount Cang Sect’s influence by turning Yueyang completely upside down.
Yet those who had seemed ready to wage a full-scale war had suddenly stopped.
Curious about what had happened, he had ordered an investigation.
“Have you learned anything about Yueyang?”
Ilgak, who stood nearby, answered.
“Yes. Both the Sect Leader and Deputy Sect Leader of the Black Blood Sect were killed. The Black Blood Sect fractured as a result, and it appears the situation in Yueyang has eased somewhat.”
“The Black Blood Sect?”
“How did that happen?”
Ilgak’s lips moved soundlessly.
He found it difficult to judge whether he should say this.
“Why are you not speaking?”
At Hyesung’s sharp rebuke, Ilgak slowly continued.
“They say Academy Representative Jin Sowoon, who stood with the Yujang Sect, attacked the Black Blood Sect alone and killed its Sect Leader.”
“What?”
“Afterward, the Yujang Sect and the Black Blood Sect held a decisive martial duel, and Academy Representative Jin Sowoon even cut off the Deputy Sect Leader’s head. The Black Blood Sect stopped the war because of this, and the other Black Path sects also ceased fighting.”
“What did you say!”
Hyesung’s eyes widened.
“That Jin Sowoon...? Even so, why would the other sects stop fighting as well?”
“That... I could not learn the details.”
“...”
A message could only hold so much information.
Even so, it made no sense that the situation in Yueyang had calmed simply because the Black Blood Sect had fallen.
Hyesung immediately had a hunch.
“That brat must be involved.”
There had to be something involving Jin Sowoon behind circumstances Hyesung did not yet know.
A chill ran over his entire body.
Attacking the Black Blood Sect’s Sect Leader or facing its Deputy Sect Leader?
The elite disciples of Shaolin Sect could certainly accomplish those things.
But it was impossible to control chaos with that one move alone.
“What a frightening brat.”
“Yes?”
To control chaos meant understanding it.
And that meant being capable of causing it as well.
“I knew there was something unusual about that child.”
Five of the Eight Evils had clearly joined the conflict in Yueyang.
Even Hyesung himself was not confident he could end the war between both sides in such a situation.
Yet a boy who had only just entered the Academy had done it.
“He is a demon.”
“...”
Ilgak’s face stiffened at Hyesung’s words.
He knew whom Hyesung was calling a demon.
“Ilgak.”
“Yes, Master.”
“If I become the Society Leader this time, I will place you in the position of Academy Representative.”
“...”
“So you must crush that demon and ensure he can never rise again. Do you understand?”
Though Hyesung had promised to return the position Ilgak had desired so greatly, Ilgak’s heart felt heavy for some reason.
When faced with a difficult question, he spoke the words he always did.
“Amitabha...”
At the same time, Moyong Jaehwa climbed Golden Summit Peak on Mount Emei and panted as though he were about to die.
“Huff, huff, damn it...”
Because he carried a bow instead of a sword, Moyong Jaehwa had constantly been assigned the role of an advance scout and had moved nearly three times as much as everyone else.
“Young Master Moyong, are you all right?”
Eun Seollan looked at him sympathetically, then stretched out her hand and released cold energy.
“They said there was nothing on this damned Mount Emei, so why did they make us climb it?”
Moyong Jaehwa had already inspected Mount Emei and moved ahead first.
But after receiving the signal to return, he had climbed Mount Emei again.
Eun Seollan hesitated at his question before answering carefully.
“Well... They said that since we’re the lead group, we should receive its spiritual energy...”
“What?”
Moyong Jaehwa doubted his own ears. Surely he had heard wrong...
“I only heard it myself. They said things would go well if we received Mount Emei’s spiritual energy before leaving...”
They made the one person who had already descended the mountain come back up for that?
“...”
Moyong Jaehwa felt like firing a Thunderclap Arrow straight at the peak where the elders and their disciples stood.
If I had completed it, I really would have fired one. I really would have!
Footnotes:
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