WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 173: The Black Flame Dragon Swallowing the Sea of Blood (3)

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"Hey! Are you conscious?!"

Cheol Sunjik checked the pulse of the Azure Crown Sect disciple he had found.

'They're alive.'

Thankfully, the disciple was still alive.

But with their eyes rolled back and foam continually spilling from their mouth, they were clearly in poor condition.

"There's someone here!"

"Over here too!"

"This way as well!"

Most of the people found not far from where the incident had occurred had lost their reason.

Their minds had been corrupted by dark arts, a condition the rescuers had only learned about in theory.

If they delayed any longer, these people might have to live the rest of their lives without their sanity.

Cheol Sunjik placed a hand on the disciple's dantian and poured in internal energy.

But the hasty first aid only worsened the disciple's condition.

"Grrk, grrk, grrk."

The Azure Crown Sect disciple trembled violently as bloody foam bubbled from their mouth.

'This isn't an ordinary dark art.'

Once someone had fallen this deeply into a heart demon, it was beyond their ability to handle.

Only sorcerers trained in banishing evil and suppressing spirits could save them.

"Move aside for a moment."

Seong Moran abruptly pushed Cheol Sunjik away and examined the Azure Crown Sect disciple.

"This is beyond our abilities..."

Before Cheol Sunjik could finish, Seong Moran pulled a talisman from her robes and attached it to the disciple's chest.

Then she placed a hand over the talisman and began pouring in internal energy.

"No, if you carelessly interfere with the middle dantian..."

"Just stay still!"

"..."

The middle dantian was more dangerous than the lower dantian.

If an outsider handled it improperly, losing the ability to speak would be the least of their problems.

Yet Seong Moran seemed unconcerned as she continued feeding in internal energy.

Cheol Sunjik watched with disbelief. Then...

"Huh?"

Strangely, the Azure Crown Sect disciple's expression gradually began to relax.

Color returned to their face, and their breathing quieted.

A moment later, they slowly began to open their eyes.

"S-save..."

"Don't worry. We came to save you."

Having regained consciousness, the Azure Crown Sect disciple promptly fainted again.

Seong Moran checked their pulse, confirmed that they were stable, then rose to her feet.

Cheol Sunjik awkwardly stepped back to make room for her.

"H-how did you do that? Banishing evil and suppressing spirits..."

"No. It was this."

Seong Moran showed him the talisman.

Cheol Sunjik recognized it at once.

"A Hyeongsan Sect Demon-Subduing Talisman?"

"You recognized it right away?"

"Even if nobody buys one, there's nobody who doesn't know what it is."

"That's true."

"Does the Iron Sword Sect carry these at all times?"

"No."

Seong Moran shook her head.

"Young Master Jin Sowoon gave me this."

"Representative Jin...?"

There it was again.

Jin Sowoon again.

"That's right. For some reason, he told me to bring it with me. I didn't know I'd end up using it like this."

"..."

Cheol Sunjik could not understand it at all.

Had Jin Sowoon foreseen every situation, from the time when even the Beggar Sect could not properly identify the enemy to what had happened now?

It was not as if he had come from the future.

Yet that was what had happened.

Every unpredictable action had moved according to his intentions, and all of this would eventually...

"Young Master Cheol!"

Cheol Sunjik snapped out of his thoughts.

"Y-yes?"

"Can't you see we're busy?"

Seong Moran and the other members of the Twelve Peak Alliance had each received a Demon-Subduing Talisman and were restoring the victims' reason.

"If you're not going to work, at least keep watch properly! We don't know when the enemy might ambush us."

"Y-yes, understood."

Cheol Sunjik nodded and climbed a tree.

Seong Moran watched him, shook her head, and sighed.

"I wonder if the others are all right."

#

"Geumpyo, what do we do now?"

Eunho and Dongryong looked to Geumpyo as they ran, but Geumpyo did not know what answer to give them.

"..."

The Martial Arts Academy had once taught them three procedures to keep in mind when reporting to a superior.

First, keep the report as short and clear as possible.

Second, clearly convey the key points: when, where, who, what, why, what countermeasures had been taken, how much time had passed, and the result.

Third, remove emotion and speak logically.

The instructor had said that if they reported according to those three rules, their superior would surely listen and act accordingly.

'It doesn't work at all!!'

The Kunlun Sect elders and disciples had not listened to the three brothers in the slightest.

It was what they had expected from the start.

Those who had joined this event to curb First Senior Brother's influence were never going to heed his warning.

Still, even knowing that, how could they ignore the words of their First Senior Brother, whom they revered like the heavens?

Naturally, the three brothers did not know exactly what was happening in Sichuan.

But they did know that if First Senior Brother said something was dangerous, then it was truly dangerous.

'He's saying it, and his standards of common sense don't even match ours!!!'

If someone mad enough to treat the regular examination like nothing and charge in alone was this tense, then their enemy had to be as terrifying as those freaks they had encountered on the Puyang Plains.

"Damn it..."

Those idiots were ignoring their warning without realizing they were ants walking into an antlion pit of their own accord.

"Eunho, Dongryong."

After some thought, Geumpyo looked at the two of them.

"What were First Senior Brother's orders?"

"If we find traces of the enemy, we run first and report it. If the Academy students haven't encountered them yet, we do everything we can to stop them."

"Right. We haven't seen the enemy yet, and the Academy students haven't met them either."

"..."

"And if we leave them like this, they'll meet the enemy First Senior Brother called dangerous."

Eunho asked uneasily as Geumpyo nodded with resolve.

"Brother, what are you planning?"

"What we learned at the Academy is useless anyway."

"...Don't tell me."

Geumpyo looked at his younger brothers with a determined expression.

"Then we'll use what we learned from our senior brother."

"...What was that?"

Geumpyo did not answer Eunho's question.

But Eunho soon realized what it was.

His face twisted into a deep frown.

"...This is driving me insane."

Geumpyo looked at Eunho and Dongryong.

"If you don't want to do it, you can sit this out."

"..."

"..."

Eunho and Dongryong glared at Geumpyo, both frowning.

"Brother, you're nothing like First Senior Brother. Don't copy him."

"Big Brother, that's strange. Don't do that."

Geumpyo's face flushed red.

"I'm not copying him!"

Clang! Clang!

Whether Geumpyo shouted or not, Eunho and Dongryong drew their swords at the same time.

"You're both coming with me?"

"...If you die, I'd have to take over the mill. I've decided to become a martial artist who races across the martial world, so it would be a problem if you died."

"If Big Brother dies, Mom and Dad will be sad."

"You're practically cursing me."

Geumpyo began to pick up speed.

Eunho and Dongryong matched his pace, and before long, the disciples of the Kunlun Sect led by Elder Sangwon, along with the Academy students from lay martial sects, came into view.

Whoosh. Tap.

The three brothers crossed the forest and landed before the Kunlun Sect.

"Hmph."

Elder Sangwon of the Kunlun Sect frowned at the sight and barked at them.

"Even after I spoke kindly, you still fail to understand?"

"My apologies. But we cannot stand by and watch you walk into certain death."

Geumpyo respectfully cupped his fist and bowed his head, but Elder Sangwon's anger showed no sign of fading.

"It seems you've mistaken the Taeul Sect for something great just because you secured the position of Academy Representative... What are you all waiting for? Do you think Kunlun disciples would halt their steps for the Taeul Sect?"

"Yes, sir!"

With a resounding response, nearly twenty Kunlun Sect disciples surrounded the three brothers at once.

"Ha... I didn't think we'd have to fight allies after the regular examination."

As Geumpyo grumbled, Eunho raised his sword and whispered.

"At this point, maybe people were right that we're actually Black Path martial artists."

The moment Eunho finished speaking, the Kongtong Sect disciples swung their swords.

Clang clang clang clang!

Dongryong deployed the White Tiger Deathblow Sword Formation, which he could now wield as freely as his own limbs, blocking seven Kunlun Sect swords.

The Kunlun Sect disciples, who knew Jin Sowoon's abilities well but not those of the three brothers, raised their brows.

"Huh?"

Despite the internal energy infused into those swords, Dongryong had blocked all seven alone. He bared his teeth and growled.

"We... aren't Black Path martial artists!"

"What the...?!"

Clang clang clang clang!

The seven swords scattered in every direction like a blooming flower bud, and Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist erupted through the gap.

Thud thud thud thud thud!

Caught by the unexpected attack, the Kunlun Sect disciples could only swallow the words bursting from their throats as pain stole their breath.

Who said we were Black Path martial artists?!

#

Nam Hwaseong swallowed hard.

The blood-robed men before him felt different from the ones he had seen inside the illusion formation.

Those men had moved in perfect unison, as if they were all one body.

These ones were disciplined too, but they undeniably felt human.

'These are real...'

Jin Sowoon, who had faced enemies with only an iron staff until now, drew his sword.

Shing.

The clear ring of steel tightened Nam Hwaseong's nerves even further.

"Nam Hwaseong."

"Y-yes!"

"Don't join the fight. Preserve as much internal energy as you can."

"H-huh? What do you mean?"

"Shut up and do as I say!"

"Y-yes, understood..."

Before Nam Hwaseong could even finish speaking, Jin Sowoon shot toward the blood-robed men.

Clang clang clang clang.

At the same time, the blood-robed men drew heavy swords from their backs, sprang forward, and pressed Jin Sowoon from every direction.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang.

Jin Sowoon blocked dozens of swords thrusting at him from all sides with the Black Dragon Sword alone.

Bam bam bam bam. Bam bam bam bam.

Each swing of Jin Sowoon's Black Dragon Sword created and dispelled more than ten illusion swords.

Urgh.

Ghk.

Agh!

The blood-robed men who had leaped after Jin Sowoon fell like leaves.

Thud.

As Jin Sowoon landed, the blood-robed men charged at him from all directions like a pack of dogs.

Rather than retreat, Jin Sowoon pushed forward. He swung his sword with one hand and his fist with the other.

Clang clang clang clang clang clang!

Whenever the illusion swords and real sword swept through the right side, blood sprayed as limbs and flesh flew everywhere.

Boom boom boom boom boom boom!

Whenever his fist swept through the left, the blood-robed men's arms and legs bent where they should never bend. It was as though a storm had passed through them, sending them flying back even faster than they had charged.

His momentum was unstoppable, like Xiang Yu sweeping through a battlefield alone.

'What kind of martial art is that...?'

When they disregarded an apparent illusion sword, a real sword was waiting there.

When they tried to block a real sword, it was an illusion.

The blood-robed men could not tell which of the dozens of blades and fists threatening their lives were real and which were phantoms.

It was sharper than what Nam Hwaseong had seen before. Even he could no longer distinguish the illusion swords from the real ones.

No, could this even be called an illusion sword art?

How foolish he had been to look down on Jin Sowoon simply because he used illusion swords.

He had never imagined illusion swords could reach such a realm.

And what about that fist art?

At first glance, it seemed all its force had been devoted to the illusions, yet every blood-robed man struck by it could no longer properly control their body.

Its destructive power had already surpassed a martial artist's defenses.

It was not even a martial art focused on fist force, yet each blow already rivaled the Deer-Horn Radiant Fist.

With illusions layered over it, the enemies could not block it even when they understood it, and even when they did block it, they could not emerge unscathed.

Crack, crack, crack.

Three blood-robed men collapsed to the ground with the sound of breaking bones.

Yet they immediately struggled to rise again on their shattered legs.

"My god..."

The sheer viciousness of their determination made Nam Hwaseong frown.

The pain of broken bones was surely more than a human could endure.

Their unnatural resolve was so chilling that it made him want to retch.

'Those are the enemies we have to face...'

He already felt his courage draining away.

"Huh?"

Then Jin Sowoon rushed at them without a care.

Without hesitation, he sent the Black Dragon Sword flying and cut off all three heads.

"Cockroach bastards..."

After saying that, he plunged back into the blood-robed men.

Nam Hwaseong could only stare blankly with his mouth hanging open.

The blood-robed men were trying to rise and kill their enemy despite their broken legs.

Jin Sowoon was cutting off their heads without hesitation.

He could not tell which side possessed the more vicious resolve.

'But one thing is certain...'

The one he never wanted to face as an enemy was not the blood-robed men...

'It's Jin Sowoon.'

As that thought crossed his mind, more blood-robed men rushed in and began surrounding Jin Sowoon.

So many charged at him that Nam Hwaseong could not even judge how many men had him surrounded.

Like ants swarming to kill a single spider, countless blood-robed men encircled Jin Sowoon in black.

Even for Jin Sowoon, it looked like a perilous situation.

"J-Jin Sowoon! Should I help?!"

Nam Hwaseong forced himself to shout, but Jin Sowoon's answer was cold.

"Shut up and save your internal energy, bastard!"

"That bastard has to talk like that even when..."

The favorable impression he had briefly formed crumbled like a sandcastle.

Watching Jin Sowoon use strange golden threads to draw in even the blood-robed men who had reached him, Nam Hwaseong could not guess what he was planning.

Then Jin Sowoon's shout rang out.

"Nam Hwaseong! Are you ready?"

Nam Hwaseong stared in confusion at the sudden cry.

"I asked if you're ready to run, bastard!"

Ready to run?

At that moment, he felt the air tremble slightly.

The vibrating air began to rush violently in one direction.

It felt unlike wind, as though a colossal giant were swallowing the air itself.

And the place where the air was being drawn was none other than Jin Sowoon's hand.

BOOOOOOM!

With a thunderous roar as if the sky had collapsed and the earth had sunk, a massive palm force burst from Jin Sowoon's hand.

The blood-robed men who had crowded in like a swarm of ants were swept away like fallen leaves in the wind, and even the solid earth was torn up with them.

'What kind of palm force is that?!'

His mind went blank at the destructive power, like a compacted storm. Then Jin Sowoon's voice struck his eardrums.

"Run! Nam Hwaseong!"

"Ghk!"

Nam Hwaseong unleashed the Deer Horn Wind-Cloud Steps, drawing on every last ounce of his strength.

The path behind Jin Sowoon was filled with blood-robed corpses.

In a way, they were charging straight into the heart of the enemy's lines, but Jin Sowoon did not hesitate.

The blood-robed men who had been thrown away by the shockwave beyond Jin Sowoon's palm force began rising one by one.

They moved to encircle Jin Sowoon and Nam Hwaseong.

"J-Jin Sowoon, are you sure this is all right?"

Blood-robed men filled every direction, front and back, left and right.

Even if they broke through them, it was obvious they would not escape the pursuit.

Jin Sowoon remained calm.

Thinking back on it, he had always been calm like this.

"It's fine. Reinforcements are coming."

"Reinforcements?"

Tiger Hall was still far away. When had he called for separate reinforcements?

Then a commotion began to rise in the distance.

"There they are! Catch those bastards!"

"How dare they look down on our Red Flower Stronghold! We'll tear them limb from limb!"

"Our Flower Adornment Stronghold will get them first! Move aside!"

Hundreds of Green Forest bandits came charging from behind, carrying sabers and axes.

"...Don't tell me those are the reinforcements..."

Jin Sowoon, his face still streaked with blood from the fierce battle against the blood-robed men moments ago, gave a vicious grin.

"Why else do you think I dragged three Green Forest strongholds along?"

Only then did Nam Hwaseong remember the time they had spent being chased by three Green Forest strongholds.

"...You planned all of this from the start?"

Jin Sowoon grinned.

"It's called using enemies against enemies."

"Fuck..."

Nam Hwaseong cursed without realizing it.

How deep did Jin Sowoon's schemes run for him to think this far ahead?

No, beyond his deep planning, how much nerve did it take to carry out a plan like this himself?

Nam Hwaseong was beginning to find Jin Sowoon frightening, not just impressive.

Gulp.

He swallowed hard.

Since the regular examination, how many brushes with death had he survived in front of Jin Sowoon?

'I danced before the Grim Reaper.'

Now, dancing before the Grim Reaper seemed less dangerous than what he had done in the past.

"Nam Hwaseong! I'm speeding up now, so follow me like your life depends on it! If you're a burden, I'm leaving you behind!"

"Y-yes!"

Nam Hwaseong found himself answering formally as he desperately moved his legs.

Footnotes:

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