WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 218: An Unwelcome Delegation
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They say that when someone is too shocked, their mind stops working.
That was exactly what happened to me.
“Go attend the Black Alliance Founding Ceremony.”
Jegal Somyeong said it so casually that, for a moment, I thought the Black Alliance was the name of some new tavern near the Martial Alliance.
“Why would I go there?”
The Black Path Alliance was being formed much earlier than in my previous life.
What was more, since the Demonic Cult had yet to rise, every Black Path sect under heaven would flock to the founding ceremony.
At last, a Black Path Alliance capable of standing against the Martial Alliance was being created.
Every sect worth its name would gather there, hoping to get a foot in the door.
“If it’s a founding ceremony, won’t every Black Path sect be there? It makes no sense for an ordinary Academy student to go to a place like that.”
They wanted me to walk into a dragon’s pool and tiger’s den.
“What are you afraid of? Aren’t you close with them?”
“Wh-who says I’m close with them? That’s unfair!”
I was already plagued by damn rumors about being some Black Path heir or divine prodigy.
And now I was supposed to attend the Black Alliance Founding Ceremony?
‘That would be like pouring oil on a dying flame.’
Only now were the Academy students’ suspicious looks beginning to fade.
I had only just begun receiving proper respect as their representative.
I had no desire to attend some pointless event and become the target of everyone’s scorn again.
“Not close?”
“Yes!”
“Hm?”
Jegal Somyeong stroked their chin as they looked at me.
“Then why did the Lord of the Four Emperors Association specifically request that you be sent as part of the delegation?”
“What?!”
That lunatic!
Was he insane?
Even if he had no one else to invite, how could he name me as a delegate when I would one day become one of the Martial Alliance’s elites and a great enemy of the Black Path?
‘Wait... Is he afraid of how quickly I’m growing, so he’s trying to stain my record?’
Faced with something I didn’t want to do, ridiculous suspicions kept piling up.
I hurriedly composed myself.
“Anyway, I won’t go.”
“What did you say?!”
“I’m not even an official Alliance member yet, nor do I belong to the Mantong Office. I only came to the Mantong Office to assist Director Maeng with their work.”
Maeng Juwon, who had been sitting off to the side and listening in, gave me a firm thumbs-up.
I’m not doing this because I like you!
“...I didn’t come here to go to the Black Alliance. Besides, I’m far too busy as the Academy Representative to accept the Grand Strategist’s fa-vor.”
Though I refused rather rudely and firmly, Jegal Somyeong replied calmly.
“I’ve already told the Academy Head.”
“What?”
“This time, the Academy students won’t form a delegation on their own just because you aren’t there. Unlike before, a proper command order will be issued.”
They pulled a crumpled sheet from the stack of documents and handed it to me.
“That is your command order. What does it say at the very bottom?”
“...It says Alliance Leader’s Hall.”
Why was a document that looked as though someone had blown their nose into it and flattened it out again an order from the Alliance Leader’s Hall?
“An order jointly issued by the Alliance Leader’s Hall and the Mantong Office is absolute, even for an Academy student. Or will you go complain to the Elder Council?”
Only the Elder Council could reject an order from the Alliance Leader’s Hall and the Mantong Office.
But even if I brought it to them, those elders would never reject the order.
No, they might even shove me out the door and tell me to go die.
Jegal Somyeong smiled smugly.
“So, will you be locked in the Golden Prison, or will you go?”
I clenched my teeth and answered.
“...Going would be better.”
“Exactly.”
Damn it, damn it, damn it.
What had I done wrong for things like this to keep happening to me?
Ah! If I had known this would happen, I should have asked the Hyeongsan Sect to hold a grand ancestral rite for me.
“But what exactly do you mean by helping establish an alliance with the Black Alliance?”
The Black Alliance, a Black Path alliance from the outset, had been formed to counter the Martial Alliance.
If it intended to ally with the Martial Alliance from the beginning, the backlash would be considerable.
Naturally, it would never accept the Martial Alliance’s proposal.
The same went for the Martial Alliance.
Its current main enemy was not the Blood Cult or the Demonic Cult, both believed to have vanished. It was the Black Path.
So why would the Martial Alliance be the first to offer the Black Path an alliance?
“The war with the Blood Cult is dragging on. We cannot allow the Black Alliance to see this situation as an opportunity.”
“...”
I calmed myself and spoke as steadily as possible.
“I don’t think I can do this.”
“Why not?”
“Isn’t it an organization meant to keep the Martial Alliance in check? They won’t accept me.”
Jegal Somyeong nodded.
“We do not expect them to accept an alliance, either. A cordial alliance may only be possible far in the future. Still, we must prevent a war until the matter in Sichuan is resolved.”
“...”
“If that happens, we will cross a river from which there is no return.”
The Blood Cult and the Black Path were not exactly complete enemies, were they?
The Black Path would not look favorably upon the Martial Alliance’s campaign to wipe out the Blood Cult.
For the Black Alliance, this was also the perfect chance to strike the Martial Alliance.
‘They may even intend to cut off the delegation’s heads and declare war...’
If I completed this mission safely, I would be suspected of being a Black Path spy. If I failed, a war might break out between the Black Alliance and the Martial Alliance.
No matter how I thought about it, I didn’t want to go.
Still, with an official order already issued, reason would not persuade them.
Then I had to appeal to their emotions.
I bowed respectfully.
“But could even I broker such a major agreement with the Black Path Alliance? I think you’re overestimating me.”
“Don’t worry. Your role will be limited to helping.”
“...I’m afraid because I don’t know what might happen to me in the middle of all those Black Path people.”
“You have three gapja[1] of internal energy, so what are you worried about? You’re the one who cut off the Young Cult Leader’s head. Stop whining.”
Ugh.
This was the result of showing off just to earn some merit. I had put shackles on my own feet.
And this old-timer was no pushover, either.
Jegal Somyeong patted my shoulder.
“Don’t worry. Someone highly skilled in martial arts will accompany the delegation.”
I made one last desperate attempt.
“Po-poison! How am I supposed to deal with poison? Black Path bastards might poison the food...”
Thanks to the Taeul True Scripture and my vast internal energy, I was resistant to a hundred poisons, but I had not attained immunity to all poisons.
Whether they understood my anxiety or not, Jegal Somyeong nodded.
“I expected that, so I prepared everything in advance.”
“...”
What?
They had prepared for that too?
Damn it, why were they so thorough?
“Academy student Jin Sowoon, ensure there is not the slightest oversight in this mission.”
Having suddenly spoken in a solemn voice, Jegal Somyeong cleared their throat and left.
Maeng Juwon, who had approached at some point, patted my shoulder as if to encourage me, but it did nothing to lift my spirits.
I truly didn’t understand. Why did my fate remain nothing but hardship, whether I rose in status or not?
#
The formation of the Black Path Alliance shook the entire martial world.
The Black Path sects began looking forward to repaying the Martial Alliance for everything they had suffered until now.
In contrast, the White Path sects began to resent the Black Path’s growing influence.
A subtle tension began spreading within the Martial Alliance as well.
The hardliners argued that martial artists should be dispatched immediately to erase the Black Alliance’s very existence. The moderates, on the other hand, insisted there was no need to react so sensitively to the founding of a single organization.
Despite such clear public opinions, those at the top could not take any political stance.
They could not forgive an organization like the Black Alliance, but neither could they condemn it when it had not actually done anything.
The Black Path people were gathering among themselves to build goodwill. They could not flip the table and forbid them from doing that, or the Martial Alliance would be no different from the Black Path.
The Martial Alliance was not some gang of thugs.
What was more, fierce fighting continued day after day in Sichuan.
Victory was in sight, but the Blood Cult, facing destruction, resisted fiercely. It would take much longer to invade its main base and uproot it completely.
In the end, it was decided that they would send a suitable gift, a personal letter in the Grand Strategist’s name, and several delegates to the Black Alliance Founding Ceremony.
Protests poured in from both hardliners and moderates, but when the situation in Sichuan was brought up, they tucked their tails and fled like puppies told it was bath time.
Hyeok Mugang raised their teacup and asked, “What did that child say?”
“He made it very obvious that he would rather die than go. But what can a brat like him do?”
Jegal Somyeong looked thoroughly satisfied, but a faint shadow crossed Hyeok Mugang’s face.
“I cannot help wondering if we have placed too heavy a burden on that child.”
“What choice do we have? There is no one else suitable to entrust with something like this.”
In truth, it was a mission that would fail no matter who went.
They were only attempting it because Jin Sowoon had influenced the formation of the Black Path Alliance and had met many of its major figures, including the Lord of the Four Emperors Association, during the incident at the Demon Spirit Plateau.
Jegal Somyeong’s expression hardened.
“This time as well, we have no choice but to bet on his unpredictability.”
Jegal Somyeong did not like carrying out unpredictable plans like this.
The chance of failure was high, and the damage could be immense.
Yet this time, they hoped it would succeed, even if only through luck.
“If it fails... there will be war.”
The Black Path martial world’s resentment toward the Martial Alliance had run deep for a long time.
Now that they had begun gathering their strength, they needed to direct that power outward to maintain discipline within their ranks.
The Martial Alliance could not readily extend a hand to the Black Path at this point, either.
How had the Martial Alliance and the White Path factions within it grown so powerful until now?
Was it not under the banner of suppressing the Black Path and maintaining order in the martial world?
Perhaps war was inevitable.
“I hope the day does not come when even more blood must be spilled.”
Hyeok Mugang’s voice settled more heavily than ever.
#
“Head Disciple, hold out your arm. You need to carry your bundle, don’t you?”
“...”
Eunho slipped the strap over my motionless arm and fastened the heavy bundle onto my back.
“Oh, and don’t forget souvenirs when you come back.”
“...Do you think I’m going sightseeing?”
Eunho continued speaking as though they had not heard me.
“I hear some Black Path martial artists make strange objects. If you don’t look at them now, when will you get the chance?”
“...Geumpyo, what happened to you?”
Geumpyo, dressed in tattered clothes and covered in bruises, smiled weakly.
“I’ve been training in external martial arts lately...”
“...Right. You’ve been working hard.”
“Senior Brother, be careful.”
Saryeon, who worried about me the most, stepped forward.
“I knew you were the only one who...”
“If someone picks a fight, you mustn’t crush their head whenever you please. You’ll be in the heart of the Black Path martial world. Don’t act like you did at the Iron Sword Sect.”
“...”
After receiving my junior disciples’ affectionate(?) farewell and saying goodbye to those close to me, I headed straight to the Martial Alliance.
‘A delegation... An alliance...’
An alliance with the Black Alliance was certainly necessary.
The moment another front opened, martial artists’ blood would flow like a river throughout the martial world.
The problem was that no one within the Martial Alliance had a good relationship with the Black Path.
That was why I was extremely curious about the delegation’s members.
If they were capable of going to the Black Alliance as delegates and concluding an alliance, did that not mean they could serve as a bridge between the Black Alliance and the Martial Alliance?
If this agreement was concluded successfully, the members of this delegation would likely serve as bridges between the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance in the future, when facing the rise of the Demonic Cult.
‘I should remember them well.’
When I reached the meeting place, I saw a small caravan.
The escort agency’s escort warriors had apparently finished preparing and were inspecting the carriages, while horse handlers checked the condition of the horses.
“Could you be the Academy student joining the delegation?”
A horse handler asked, bending at the waist.
I gave a light nod.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Ah, I’ll guide you this way.”
The horse handler moved cautiously, as if serving an important person.
I looked around and asked, “Um... Have the other delegates already arrived?”
“Yes. Young Master, you are the last.”
I had arrived two gak[2] early, yet everyone was already here.
Following the horse handler around the carriages to where the horses waited, I saw people who appeared to be part of the delegation.
The moment I saw them...
“Fuck...”
I could only curse and stop dead in my tracks.
At the sound of my voice, a woman turned toward me.
“...Cursing is bad.”
Short in stature. Long ebony hair. An expressionless face and a strange manner of speaking.
Dang Seohui.
“...”
“Welcome, Benefactor Jin. It has been a long time.”
Little Buddha Ilmyeong greeted me with his palms pressed together beside her.
“How dare a mere member arrive later than the leader.”
And finally, Ak Byeongbi, who had tried to torture me for smashing Ak Jupyeong’s leg bones not long ago.
‘I’m going insane.’
Seeing the lineup made me want to scream.
The Tang Clan’s daughter, whose methods were harsher than those of the Black Path.
The Head Disciple called Shaolin Sect’s next abbot, one of the foremost authorities in the martial world.
And an ideological interrogator who would turn not only Black Path people, but even innocent White Path people, into Black Path martial artists if he found them suspicious.
‘What kind of delegation is this?! It’s a subjugation force!!!’
Even if someone deliberately chose only people the Black Path would hate, it would be difficult to assemble a group like this.
“It is good to see you again after so long.”
Dang Seohui waved with her expressionless face.
‘I’m not doing this, damn it!’
I already hadn’t wanted to go.
Now I wanted to go even less.
[1] gapja: A sixty-year calendrical cycle; in murim fiction, it is also used as a notional measure of accumulated internal energy.
[2] gak: A traditional Korean unit of fifteen minutes.
Footnotes:
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