WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 198: The Uninvited Guest Who Visited the Academy (3)
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Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Cheol Sunjik drummed his fingers against the table in a steady rhythm.
It was a habit unique to him, one that surfaced whenever he was deep in thought.
After tapping for quite some time, his fingers came to a stop.
“What could this mean?”
Nam Hwaseong had been the first to speak after they returned from Sichuan.
[Brother Cheol... What do you think about me joining the Representative Officer Corps?]
The unexpected proposal had left Cheol Sunjik unable to answer at once.
[Won't the others try to get in as well? I'll join ahead of them and assess the atmosphere from within.]
Of course, if Jin Sowoon's wavering representative corps managed to establish itself, it would be beneficial to secure even one officer's post beforehand.
That way, Nam Hwaseong could at least do something to help the Twelve Peak Alliance during the remainder of his time at the academy.
But...
[...]
Even so, was it really the right call to send Nam Hwaseong into enemy territory to play politics?
[W-Why are you looking at me like that? Don't you trust me?]
Anyone could tell he wasn't suited for intrigue just from the way he became flustered and started stammering.
You couldn't assign Zhang Fei the role of strategist.
Despite his massive build, Nam Hwaseong had a soft heart. When someone pushed him hard enough, he often backed down from his own stubbornness.
He was a decent card to have as a commander, but...
What Cheol Sunjik truly wondered about was something else.
[Do you really want to do this?]
Nam Hwaseong never took the lead in anything because he didn't trust his own judgment.
That was why Cheol Sunjik found it hard to understand why Nam Hwaseong would step forward himself and offer to act as an infiltrator, a role that did not suit him.
[I-I saw him in Sichuan. He's rough beyond belief. Among the Twelve Peak Alliance, if it isn't me... Ahem, who else can endure such hard work?]
The subject had been omitted, but Cheol Sunjik immediately knew who Nam Hwaseong meant.
In the end, Nam Hwaseong submitted an application for the Representative Officer Corps.
The other members of the Twelve Peak Alliance voiced concerns over his decision, but that was all.
They knew well what effect his choice could have not only on Nam Hwaseong himself, but on the entire Samwon Sect.
“How interesting.”
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
His fingers began moving again.
Jin Sowoon and Nam Hwaseong had spent less than a week together.
What had Nam Hwaseong seen in Jin Sowoon during that time?
“Nam Hwaseong knows what I'm like.”
Cheol Sunjik was methodical and pursued perfection.
He guarded against variables and irregularities, controlling matters so they unfolded as expected.
In other words, he was the sort who disliked sudden proposals.
Yet that timid fellow had stepped forward of his own accord.
Cheol Sunjik, too, had seen something special in Jin Sowoon, but not something extraordinary enough to stake the fate of a sect on.
Tap. Tap. Tap...
Cheol Sunjik's fingers stopped.
“Or did he sense something so extraordinary that he couldn't even spare a thought for me?”
What aspect of Jin Sowoon could Nam Hwaseong see that Cheol Sunjik could not?
“Pfft! As if such a thing could exist...”
Cheol Sunjik unfolded one report.
It was an analysis of current developments, sent regularly by the Twelve Peak Alliance's members.
It described how the Orthodox Society had fallen into turmoil over the events in Sichuan and what moves the White Path Society had begun making.
They were only surface-level developments, but information changed once it reached Cheol Sunjik's hands.
“So the White Path Society is making its move.”
They had cleverly taken advantage of the Orthodox Society's absence.
Still, it felt somewhat premature.
Jin Sowoon's influence had not yet faded, especially after public opinion of him had risen because of the incident in Sichuan...
“They must be getting impatient. Hehe.”
It was a contest between a clam and a snipe.[1]
The Twelve Peak Alliance only had to wait for the two sides to exhaust each other, then collect the spoils.
“Though there won't be any place left for the Samwon Sect by then...”
A place in the Twelve Peak Alliance was different from a place among the Nine Sects One Gang or the Five Great Clans.
Any member of the One Hundred Eight Peaks could become part of the Twelve Peak Alliance and rise through competition.
The other members of the Twelve Peak Alliance knew that, which was why they had not actively tried to stop Nam Hwaseong.
“Hehe... I'll be quite busy from now on. I'll need to reorganize the group as well.”
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Cheol Sunjik's fingers started moving once more.
#
The Inspectorate.
The highest body enforcing Alliance Law.
It was the place Martial Alliance members feared most, despite fearing nothing else, and its infamy was widely known even outside the Alliance.
Some even called it another absolute authority within the Martial Alliance itself.
“The Inspectorate?”
At the very sound of that name, the man glared.
“Come with me.”
The clothes seized in his rough grip stretched taut, as though they would tear at any moment.
What a crude bastard.
“...Let go.”
When I sighed, his eyebrows shot up.
“Did you not understand me?”
His hand carried a sense of entitlement.
That he was allowed to do this.
That this was only natural.
In my previous life, I had felt such rough, forceful hands countless times whenever I was dragged from place to place.
At first, I had been frightened before anything even happened. Later, I realized they were nothing more than the cowardly, weak hands of people who fled before anyone else when death came.
I tipped my head toward his hand, then looked back into his eyes.
“I told you to let go.”
“...”
Apparently displeased by my words, veins stood out between his brows.
Squeeze.
My clothes creaked as though they were about to rip.
“The pathetic authority of an Academy Representative won't protect you...”
He couldn't finish.
“Urk!”
I used the force gripping my collar to lift him up, then slammed him onto the ground.
Thud.
His back struck the dirt, and the shock must have knocked the breath from his lungs.
So what if he couldn't breathe from the shock?
I had no intention of stopping here.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
I stomped on his face until white fragments flew from his mouth.
“Cough... How dare you! The Inspectorate will...”
Seeing that he still had enough life in him to bring up the Inspectorate made me laugh.
I grabbed his hair and lifted his battered face.
“Are you from the Ak Clan?”
“...What?”
His eyes wavered.
Just as I thought.
“Impersonating the Inspectorate is a serious crime.”
“What are you...?”
“The Inspectorate doesn't travel alone.”
Looking around, I saw only spectators who had gathered after the sudden fight. No one appeared to be his companion.
I didn't miss the flash of panic in his eyes.
“And they show their identity token first. That alone is enough to pressure someone.”
“...”
“What is your name?”
“...”
“You're not going to answer?”
I immediately punched him twice in the face.
Blood streamed from his nose, and another white fragment flew out of his mouth.
“Argh!”
He scattered Phoenix-Chasing Hand strikes and retreated.
He swiftly connected the three iron rods at his waist, turning them into a single spear.
“So you really are from the Ak Clan.”
“I came as the Inspectorate's representative.”
A sneer escaped me at that ridiculous excuse.
“Who sent you as their representative?”
“...”
His eyes darted around.
It couldn't be easy for him to name anyone here.
“You can't say it where people can hear you, can you?”
The name of the Inspectorate inspired fear in everyone.
People trembled at the name alone and were easily manipulated.
I had been like that in my previous life. So had the Sojeong Unit, and so had White Tiger Pavilion.
“And you bastards must have taken advantage of that.”
Anyone who knew that the Inspectorate's absolute authority could never be delegated outside the organization would not dare impersonate it so casually.
‘They must have thought I was that easy to deal with.’
I had made a name for myself in this life as a promising talent, yet to their eyes, I still seemed no different from the me in my previous life, when I had belonged to the Sojeong Unit.
“Jin Sowoon! Aren't you afraid of the consequences of doing this?”
“Consequences?”
I tilted my head.
“A man impersonating the Inspectorate has neither revealed the name of the person he represents nor identified his affiliation.”
“...”
“Couldn't you be an infiltrator from the Black Path?”
“What are you...?”
As though I had reached a great realization, I deliberately raised my voice so it rang through the area.
“That's it! You're an infiltrator from the Black Path who came to kidnap the Martial Arts Academy's representative by impersonating the Inspectorate. Or perhaps you're a Blood Cult infiltrator who survived in Sichuan.”
Murmurs began rising from the people around us.
The atmosphere had been set.
Shing.
I drew the Black Dragon Sword and raised my internal energy.
Boom!
An oppressive force burst from me, as though my martial uniform might explode, and the spectators surrounding us retreated.
I filled my voice with as much righteous fervor as possible and shouted.
“You dare enter Martial Alliance territory without fear? As the Martial Arts Academy's representative, I will punish you and hand you over to the Inspectorate!”
As the situation turned strange, he twisted his body in one final struggle.
“Argh! I am a man of the Shandong Ak Clan!”
He unleashed the Phoenix-Soaring Spear Art.
His spear point, carrying heat, shot toward my vital acupoints.
So what if it did?
A single sentence was enough to incite people. Countless pieces of evidence offered in explanation could be fabricated.
“You even stole the Ak Clan's spear art to pose as one of them. You're truly a terrifying bastard.”
I unleashed the Twin Heavens Sword Art with the Black Dragon Sword while striking with Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist using my left hand.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
He retreated while deflecting the Twin Heavens Sword Art, then used Phoenix-Soaring Palm to dispel the Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist that followed.
But...
He failed to deal with the Flying Dragon Claw I had fired through the barrage of fists. His eyes widened as he stared at the Heavenly Silkworm Thread coiled around my arm.
“W-When did you...?!”
“You must truly be an infiltrator. Someone from the Shandong Ak Clan couldn't be this clumsy.”
Shrrrk.
As the Flying Dragon Claw pulled taut, the man was unable to withstand the pain and was dragged toward me.
Then he used the momentum to thrust his spear at me instead.
I slightly turned my body and easily redirected it.
“Your quick thinking was good, but... A simple move like that only makes you prey.”
I imbued the Black Dragon Sword with the principles of Lotus, lifted him and his spear half a turn into the air, then slammed him down.
Thud!
After rolling across the dirt for the second time, he only groaned and twisted weakly, apparently lacking the strength to rise.
I readjusted my grip on the Black Dragon Sword and began striking him with the blade.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
For an instant, the surroundings fell silent, leaving only the sound of flesh being crushed.
The man couldn't endure for even a quarter hour before he finally fainted.
Looking down on an opponent when you lacked both ability and justification was the stupidest thing a martial artist could do.
“Or perhaps you overestimated the backing you had.”
I searched his clothes and, as expected, found an Ak Clan token.
Fourth Group, O Ungyeong.
It did not state which organization he belonged to, and since his surname was not Ak, he was not part of the Shandong Ak Clan's direct line.
I continued searching his clothes, pocketed his money pouch, and checked for any banknotes.
People among the spectators began speaking up.
“Is that person really a Black Path infiltrator?”
“But his martial arts and clothes are all from the Ak Clan, aren't they?”
“Could he really be from the Ak Clan...?”
They were becoming nervous over something that had nothing to do with them.
I wasn't particularly worried.
‘I knew what I was doing from the start.’
It might have been routine for those bastards, but the fact that they had been posing as the Inspectorate would become a serious problem if people from other organizations learned of it.
They surely did not want the matter to grow too large.
“This is going to be a pain. The Ak Clan moved personally...”
I had thought I might finally wrap things up and live peacefully at the academy, but another problem had arisen.
Forget my previous life, was my fate in this life really this turbulent too?
“...This is all because of that rude bastard Yayul Geuk.”
Yayul Geuk was probably groaning in the dormitory while trying to clear his stagnant blood, so I cursed him once before heading to the meeting place.
#
A waiter led me into the annex, where the atmosphere among those who had arrived first was strange.
“Ahem...”
“...”
“...”
What was going on?
Hmm. I had fought alongside Jang Woojae in Yueyang, and we had never held any grudge against each other to begin with.
Then the cause of this miserable atmosphere had to be...
“Nam Hwaseong really came.”
“...Damn it.”
Nam Hwaseong scrunched his face like a sheet of paper, apparently displeased about something.
“Y-You were the one who sent word for me to come!”
That bastard really had no sense at all.
“I contacted you because you're part of the Representative Officer Corps. I just didn't think you'd actually come.”
“...Damn it.”
Nam Hwaseong's face turned red, as though it might burst at any moment.
Still, I truly hadn't expected him to come.
Before the incident in Sichuan, Nam Hwaseong had openly opposed our representative corps.
“Well, I suppose you have your own reasons.”
“...”
Once I sat down, the unsettled atmosphere mostly calmed.
I looked over the people gathered one by one.
“The members of the existing Representative Officer Corps all know each other, correct?”
The people seated across from Jang Woojae and Nam Hwaseong introduced themselves in turn and offered greetings to the newcomers.
As expected, our group never gave anyone a chance to find fault with us, no matter where we went.
With a satisfied smile, I looked across the table.
“You all know this person, right? Jang Woojae of the Yujang Sect.”
“Allow me to introduce myself once more. I am Jang Woojae of the Yujang Sect. For what happened in Yueyang... thank you again.”
As he respectfully lowered his head, the members of the original group smiled brightly and waved their hands.
“Don't mention it. Are the elders of your sect doing well?”
“Yes. They are working day and night to rebuild the Yujang Sect's foundation.”
“That's a relief.”
Everyone nodded at Namgung Seonhwa's words, but Nam Hwaseong, the only one who knew nothing about what had happened in Yueyang, wore a bewildered expression.
“What happened?”
“...”
“...”
Nam Hwaseong asked, but no one answered him.
Embarrassed, he lowered his head and scratched the back of it.
Why join an awkward gathering for no reason?
I couldn't leave him like that, so I quickly continued Nam Hwaseong's introduction.
“This is Nam Hwaseong of the Samwon Sect.”
Nam Hwaseong suddenly jumped to his feet and clasped his fists.
“Pleased to meet you. I am Nam Hwaseong of the Samwon Sect. Let us cast the past into the Yangtze River and write a new history together.”
His voice rang through the annex.
The others gave him awkward applause.
I continued Nam Hwaseong's introduction.
“He's from the Twelve Peak Alliance and joined the Representative Officer Corps as an infiltrator. Don't discuss any secrets in front of him.”
“...”
The air turned cold in an instant.
Nam Hwaseong blinked at me like a cow whose feed had been taken away.
“What? Why?”
“...”
If they were going to send in an infiltrator, they should have sent someone smarter.
I had no idea what Cheol Sunjik was thinking.
[1] A Chinese idiom: when a snipe and clam fight, a third party profits.
Footnotes:
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