WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 176: The Black Flame Dragon Swallowing the Sea of Blood (6)
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- Twelve casualties from the Qingcheng Sect and its affiliated lay sects.
- Six casualties from the Mount Emei Sect and its affiliated lay sects.
- The elder leading the group is missing.
Tiger Hall Master Gu Jeongryong's face hardened as they read the brief message delivered by the carrier pigeon.
"...Good heavens."
Gu had thought this operation would simply lend Jin Sowoon a little support.
Jin Sowoon had fostered a vague fear of their opponents throughout the journey, but it had never felt real.
Ever since the Martial Alliance designated the Ten Great Forbidden Arts that caused turmoil in the martial world, unorthodox techniques had all but vanished.
Everyone knew of them in theory, yet no one understood how terrifying they truly were.
"The Qingcheng Sect... Isn't it an orthodox Taoist sect?"
Even its disciples and elder had fallen victim.
Gu immediately realized this was no ordinary dark art, but something capable of penetrating the sound moral grounding taught at the Martial Arts Academy.
The greater problem was...
"Gam Cheonak... Do you remember learning about banishing evil and suppressing spirits?"
Gam Cheonak, the Tiger Hall's deputy master and a junior who had been with Gu for many years, scratched the back of their head.
"Banishing evil and suppressing spirits? Is that some Sichuan specialty Jin Sowoon said he'd treat us to?"
"..."
This was reality.
"Did you bring the Spirit-Sealing Orb?"
"What's that?"
Veins bulged on Gu's forehead at Gam Cheonak's utterly casual question.
"...You bastard. You don't even know what supplies the Alliance issued us?"
"...Spirit-Sealing Orb?"
After thinking for a while, Gam Cheonak struck their palm with a fist.
"Ah! I remember. That wooden and jade bead, right?"
"Yes! That! It's essential equipment we're supposed to carry every time we deploy!"
"I don't have one."
"You bastard!!!"
Gam Cheonak lightly avoided Gu's fist and asked, "Did you bring one, Hall Master?"
Gu, who had been fuming, froze.
Gam Cheonak furrowed their brow. "No, did you even have one to begin with?"
"..."
"Ask everyone at the Alliance. See if anyone still has one."
Gam Cheonak shook their head.
"Nine out of ten probably don't."
"Then what? It's not as though we've fought heretical martial artists. How did we end up using them all?"
"Before the first monthly stipend came out, how do you think everyone went to taverns every day? Those things look nice, so they sell for quite a price to courtesans."
Gu was inwardly furious, but knew it well.
This was the current reality of the Martial Alliance.
Heretical martial artists, sorcery, and demonic factions had been absent for so long that dark arts, sorcery, and demonic arts had become creatures of legend to the Martial Alliance, like jade qilin and phoenixes.
‘How did I get caught up in something like this...?’
Gu had come to repay a debt to Maeng Juwon.
Gu had also been curious about Jin Sowoon, who was said to be locked in a battle of nerves with the Orthodox Society, White Path Society, and Twelve Peak Alliance within the Martial Arts Academy. That was why the journey had begun so lightly.
Gu had always resented those in power, and saw this as a fine opportunity to use Maeng Juwon and Jin Sowoon as excuses to trouble the Elder Council.
This had been as much an outing as anything else, yet they had suddenly found themselves in this situation.
The more Gu thought about it, the stronger the urge to escape reality became.
"Do you think this report is reliable?"
Gam Cheonak looked at the message and shook their head.
"Why are you asking me that?"
"What?"
"You were the one who wanted to come here, Hall Master. And weren't you the one who suggested we rest for a day in Sichuan during this 'urgent' situation?"
This bastard. Were they trying to wash their hands of this now?
"Then you should make the decision too, Hall Master."
"You punk! If this becomes a problem, do you think I'll be the only one to die? The Hall Master and Deputy Hall Master are practically one body! You'll die with me!"
"What did I do?!"
"You're the one who encouraged everyone to make up time so we could stay at a better inn! If the Inspectorate drags me away, I'll make sure they drag you in with me!"
Gu nearly foamed at the mouth while raging. Gam Cheonak let out a quiet sigh.
"Whether we can verify it or not, isn't this beyond something we can handle ourselves?"
The casualties among Martial Arts Academy students connected to the Qingcheng Sect were one thing, but an elder of the Elder Council had disappeared.
This was not something they could overlook.
"We should send a message to the Alliance."
"It's too late to wait for a reply before moving."
Yet they could not simply wait for the Martial Alliance's response.
According to Jin Sowoon, these people were clearly after the remaining Academy students and elders as well.
‘Who in the martial world could possibly challenge the Alliance?’
It was so absurd that even while recognizing the reality of it, Gu could not quite believe it.
A simple battle of nerves could happen at any time, but taking action this seriously meant they intended to see things through to the end.
"Jin Sowoon gave us instructions, didn't he? I think we should follow them for now."
"Right. We'll move at once as well."
Gu immediately turned toward the Tiger Hall.
The Tiger Hall members, apparently having listened to the conversation, all met Gu's gaze.
"From this moment on, we increase our speed!"
"Yes!"
Once the Tiger Hall members understood the seriousness of the situation, their bearing changed in an instant.
Those who had been lounging about and trading jokes checked their weapons again. Their horses never slowed.
They rode without rest for two hours, eventually catching up to Namgung Seonhwa's Twelve Peak Alliance group, which had set out half a day earlier.
Namgung Seonhwa kept trying to enter the Mount Zhongnan Sect's group, but the Zhongnan disciples blocked her way.
"Miss Namgung."
"Ah! Hall Master!"
"What's happening?"
"I'm sorry. No matter what I say, they won't listen."
Gu immediately dismounted and approached the group.
The Academy students who recognized Gu hesitated, unsure what to do about someone attempting to enter their group.
Gu led Namgung Seonhwa to Elder Suheo of the Mount Zhongnan Sect.
"What?"
After hearing the explanation, Suheo scoffed.
"You're speaking nonsense. Who in the world could interfere with a Martial Alliance event?"
"...May I ask when you last contacted Elder Hyesung or Elder Myeonghyeon?"
"..."
Gu let out a long sigh without realizing it.
"Then have you not contacted the other leading groups?"
"We agreed to disperse and regroup at Badong. I came here to tell them about how our Martial Alliance established the righteous spirit of the White Path in Sichuan."
"..."
As Gu listened, a curse escaped inwardly.
They had never intended to investigate the hidden hand at all.
They had come this far under the excuse of an investigation simply to get some fresh air.
"Please come with us for now."
Suheo's response remained sharp, as though the elder had still not come to their senses.
"Are you telling me to move because Jin Sowoon said so?"
"..."
Where had things gone wrong?
Was an elder of the Elder Council really escaping reality so completely at a time like this?
"Hall Master."
Suheo's face twisted at Gam Cheonak's sudden interruption.
After all, no one would normally have the nerve to interrupt while a Martial Alliance elder was speaking.
But what was with that bastard Gam Cheonak? Did they deliberately interrupt despite knowing the elders' tempers?
"You need to see this."
Gu's mind went cold upon seeing the new message Gam Cheonak held out.
This was no longer a matter of pride or appearances.
"Elder, you must come with us."
"What have you been listening to this whole time?!"
"This is an order from the Mantong Office."
Suheo's face looked ready to explode at the mention of the Mantong Office.
Gu handed the message over.
"If this is a lie, Elder, you can cut off Jin Sowoon's head exactly as you wish."
Suheo, still breathing heavily, unfolded the message with enough force to tear it apart.
Then...
"..."
- Fifteen casualties from the Mount Hua Sect and its affiliated lay sects.
- Twenty-two casualties from the Kongtong Sect and its affiliated lay sects.
- Elder So Chunghyeon's death from the Mount Hua Sect has been confirmed.
- Elder Jeong Saik's death from the Kongtong Sect has been confirmed.
Suheo's eyes trembled as they stared at the message.
The news had gone far beyond what could be dismissed as a prank, yet it was too unbelievable to accept as truth.
"If Jin Sowoon did this to protect that paltry position of his, I'll personally drag him to the Inspectorate and see him punished."
"..."
"But for now, we must carry out the Mantong Office's order."
After hesitating for a moment, Suheo finally nodded.
"Let's go... If this is true, we must save them."
Gu had managed to persuade Elder Suheo, who seemed so stubborn that even the air around the elder felt stifling. Still, Gu was far from at ease.
If Mount Zhongnan, the rearmost group, had come this far, then it was only a matter of time before those ahead encountered enemies of unknown identity.
The Tiger Hall was desperately short on numbers and had to keep gathering Academy students along the way.
The casualties would surely grow.
"We leave without delay."
The only thing they could do now was move even one step faster.
And...
‘Please, just be alive, Jin Sowoon.’
Gu could only pray for the survival of those who had gone ahead.
#
As Moyong Jaehwa nocked an arrow, he sensed something strange about its arrowhead.
‘It's heavier... and looser...’
This was Jin Sowoon's consideration for him, who had yet to complete the Thunderclap Arrow.
"Honestly, how does Brother know me this well?"
It was the worst possible situation, yet a smile formed on his lips. He squeezed out what little internal energy he had left and put strength into the draw.
The iron bow bent strangely.
The enormous draw weight strained his arms, and his fingers felt as though the Heavenly Silkworm Thread would slice them off.
Even so, he did not fear that it would break like a horn bow.
Twang. Whoosh.
The arrow split the sky, tracing the arc he had expected.
The blood-robed men noticed that Moyong Jaehwa had begun shooting again and raised their familiar thick shields and rocks.
Thud!
The arrow penetrated halfway through a rock, but ultimately failed to reach a blood-robed man.
Even so, Moyong Jaehwa drew the string again.
Creeeak.
It felt as though his arm muscles were tearing.
Every time he drew the Steel Bow, his entire body screamed, yet that only made him feel steadier.
The power of the Heaven-and-Earth Shattering Flash Sword flowed into the arrowhead.
Then he heard Jin Sowoon's voice from when they had shot arrows together during the regular examination.
- The bow is a weapon that catches its opponent off guard. It takes lives at unexpected moments, in unexpected ways. When faced with that terror, even assassins whose sense of death has been dulled can be made to tremble in fear.
Moyong Jaehwa immediately fired an arrow into the sky.
Twang. Whoosh.
Then he nocked another arrow and fired it at them.
Twang. Whoosh.
When the second arrow flew out, the blood-robed men raised their shields and rocks.
Thud!
Once again, the arrow was stopped by their triple-layered shields. The blood-robed men, now pleased with themselves, began emerging from behind the rocks.
At that very moment...
When the arrow that had soared into the sky began falling and reached the same level as the blood-robed men...
It exploded in midair, shattering and firing iron fragments in every direction like hidden weapons.
Boom!
Rumble!
Those behind the rocks had no chance to brace themselves for the incoming iron fragments.
Thudthudthudthud!
The blood-robed men fell to the ground, their bodies riddled with holes as though they had been struck by Flower Rain Filling the Sky.
The blood-robed men who had barely avoided the Thunderclap Arrow's blast by standing farther back retreated even farther, moving into that damned archer's blind spot.
- Just because you cannot see something does not mean it is not there.
It was advice that seemed tailored for him.
Yet the voice was no longer Jin Sowoon's. It had become that of someone whose face he could not see.
‘Who is it?’
A man with a massive back.
Lonely, isolated, and forlorn.
Yet he carried an enormous burden upon his shoulders.
The man spoke.
- Picture where they are in your mind. If you can picture where they are, the bow can always target them.
Jin Sowoon had certainly said those words, yet the voice belonged to the mysterious man.
A man Moyong Jaehwa had never seen, yet who felt so familiar.
Following that advice, he drew another arrow.
- You do not need to confirm it with your eyes.
Because he could picture them in his mind.
- You do not need to be precise.
Because he was not targeting just one person.
- You do not need to be fast.
Because they would already be too afraid to leave their positions.
Twang. Whoosh.
The arrow arced through the air and fell behind the cover where the blood-robed men had hidden.
Kaboom!
"Aaargh!"
"Aaaaargh!"
"Argh!"
The hateful screams of the blood-robed men echoed from afar.
"Huff... Huff..."
Moyong Jaehwa had reached the very limit of his endurance. He barely looked human anymore.
Since taking hold of the iron bow, he had once again made the blood-robed men tremble in fear. Yet the more he did so, the worse his condition became.
"Young Master Jaehwa, your blood..."
Moyong Jaehwa's fingertips had not merely been injured. They were split and torn apart.
His fingers had become a mess from drawing the powerful iron bow's string.
Moyong Jaehwa looked indifferently at his fingers.
"Miss Eun, could you freeze them for me?"
"Y-you need to stop, Young Master Jaehwa...!"
"They will never let us live."
"..."
At those words, Eun Seollan finally took hold of his fingers and activated the Lesser Jade Maiden Divine Art.
When the dripping blood stopped, Moyong Jaehwa raised the bow once more.
The mysterious man's voice echoed in his mind again.
- The ruthless leave harm behind even as they die. Confronting them to stop them is also a one-sided loss for us.
So they had to be stopped before they approached. They had to be made too afraid to approach.
To make not only the ruthless, but also the indifferent, the murder-crazed, those who saw only their own desires, and those who had lost their humanity, feel fear.
Moyong Jaehwa drew the bow.
To instill fear so they could not approach.
The arrow flew as though shooting down the sun, soaring over the rocks used as cover and into the heart of the enemy formation.
Boom! Kaboom!
"Aaargh!"
"Urk!"
"Take cover!"
That was the Shattering Bow.
Screams rang out in the distance.
The blood-robed men who had been advancing now retreated farther and farther, as though they wished to escape by even a single step.
Watching the sight, Ilgak's entire body trembled.
‘Good heavens...’
Who else could accomplish something like this?
Moyong Jaehwa had achieved with a single bow what neither Shaolin Sect's martial arts nor the Mount Cang Sect's martial arts could accomplish.
Ilgak's belief in the martial arts of Shaolin Temple, which he had considered the pillar of the martial world and the pinnacle of martial arts, crumbled completely.
‘Even though I knew nothing could be absolute and perfect...’
Ilgak squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.
‘This, too, is enlightenment...’
And there was the iron bow and the arrows Jin Sowoon had sent.
Ilgak instinctively felt that Moyong Jaehwa's hidden power was connected to Jin Sowoon as well.
Just how much had Jin Sowoon known?
No matter what, there was hope now.
Hope that they could return alive.
As Moyong Jaehwa said, if Jin Sowoon and the support group arrived, they would not have to witness the terrible scene Ilgak had imagined...
"Uh...?"
Moyong Jaehwa, who had created this exhilarating situation, stared ahead with a strange expression.
Ilgak, Eun Seollan, and Nam Hwaseong followed his gaze.
A figure emerged alone from between the cover.
Unlike the others, who had worn only blood-red robes until now, this one wore strange ornaments.
That was not the only odd thing.
"The way it's walking..."
The being hopped about playfully with both feet pressed together.
"Don't tell me..."
"Fuck..."
"Amitabha."
As Eun Seollan, Nam Hwaseong, and Ilgak cried out in turn...
Moyong Jaehwa deeply furrowed his brow and drew the bowstring all the way back.
Twang. Whoosh.
The arrow tore through the air, just as it was about to pierce the strange man's head.
The man, who had been moving awkwardly, suddenly snapped his head around and caught the arrow.
Grab.
Of course, that was not the end of what Moyong Jaehwa had prepared.
Boom!
The arrowhead exploded with a loud blast, scattering iron fragments in every direction.
Thick dust spread out and completely covered the man's body.
As the dust settled, a horrific corpse whose entire body had been pierced by iron fragments appeared...
"Good heavens..."
"This is insane."
It was an imperfect Thunderclap Arrow, but it had made the blood-robed men tremble in fear.
Yet despite having iron fragments embedded throughout its body, the strange man did not shed a single drop of blood.
Then the man stared toward the side from which the arrow had flown as though nothing had happened.
Ilgak groaned out a single word.
"Jiangshi..."[1]
A demonic monster believed to have already vanished had appeared once more.
[1] Jiangshi: a reanimated corpse from Chinese folklore, traditionally depicted as hopping with its arms outstretched.
Footnotes:
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