WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 227: Tomorrow's Fortune (2)
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The scholar stared at the sword tokens as though they were impossible to believe.
“...That is absurd. Clearly... clearly... the odds were ninety-nine point three percent...”
Muttering something incomprehensible, the scholar began examining the other sword tokens one by one.
I quickly sent Ilmyeong a sound transmission.
-Jump at me.
-Huh?
-Do you not want your Vajra Prayer Beads back?
-Ah, right!
Ilmyeong shouted, his face bright with excitement.
“B-Benefactor Jin! Incredible! You really won!”
The bald senior put on an awkward act and rushed at me as though to embrace me. I grabbed him by the collar and hurled him onto the table.
“Tsk. Why are you charging at me like that? Creepy.”
As I brushed off my hands, the table shattered.
The silver and gold coins that had been on it scattered across the floor.
The nearby gamblers cautiously stretched out their feet, hiding coins beneath them one at a time.
The scholar's winnings were quietly disappearing, yet the scholar remained frozen in place.
“I'll be taking these back.”
Only when I picked up the Vajra Prayer Beads and the Black Dragon Sword from the floor did the scholar finally look up.
“...Did you truly overcome those odds?”
“Well, you can see for yourself.”
“Then... you must be an incredibly fortunate person.”
Fortunate...
If I had been fortunate, would I have ended up in the Sojeong Unit?
Even within White Wolf Pavilion, the Sojeong Unit was where only the unluckiest bastards ended up.
And that was not all. My luck had been so awful that unless I used tricks, I kept drawing the worst possible sword tokens whenever I read my fortune.
“I suppose you could say that. If making my own luck counted as luck, then yes, I was probably fortunate.”
I glanced around.
The gamblers who had surrounded us were slowly slipping away.
Hmm. They all looked like they had gotten themselves a decent share...
The scholar appeared to have lost more than half his winnings. Was the scholar really fine with that?
“Shouldn't you gather your money first?”
The scholar looked at the gold and silver coins scattered at his feet, then kicked them aside as though they meant nothing.
The gamblers who had been watching for a reaction now pounced openly, like a pack of wolves.
The scholar watched them blankly.
“Those were not what I wanted.”
“...”
“Still, that was entertaining. I thought my fortune would be the best. To think I would meet someone with even greater fortune...”
The scholar looked at me with a complicated expression.
“There must be a reason the name Black Flame Dragon resounds throughout the world.”
I asked in confusion, “I turned it around in one match, but your overall odds of winning were higher. I do not think you need to be discouraged.”
The scholar shook his head.
“If one cannot win at the decisive moment, then winning countless other matches is meaningless. Like today's contest...”
A faint shadow passed over the scholar's face, but he soon smiled warmly again and clasped his fists.
“Come to think of it, I have not introduced myself. I am Gun Yuhyeon of the Tian'gwan Sect.”
“Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect.”
“If fate brings us together again, I hope we can have another enjoyable contest.”
He had attended the Black Alliance's founding ceremony, so he was undoubtedly a Black Path martial artist. Yet he did not feel like one at all.
“Ah, and did you know?”
“...What?”
“The Five Heavenly Kings Tile. In fortune readings, it can represent great fortune, but...”
Creak.
He slowly pressed down on a tile lying on the floor with the tip of his foot, then smiled.
“Conversely, it can also mean the extinction of all things. Is that not quite contradictory?”
With that, Gun Yuhyeon turned and left.
Good grief. That bastard.
“Judging by that needling way of talking, he really is a Black Path martial artist.”
No normal person would willingly throw themselves into the Black Path martial world.
#
On the way back to the lodging, I searched through my memories for everything I could remember about Gun Yuhyeon.
He had unusual talent and understood himself well.
Then there was his attitude toward money.
‘He's no ordinary man.’
Still, even after searching my mental library from top to bottom, I found nothing about him.
I had never even heard of a sect called the Tian'gwan Sect.
“Senior Ilmyeong, have you ever heard of the Tian'gwan Sect?”
When I turned, I met Ilmyeong's eyes as he rubbed the Vajra Prayer Beads against his cheek with a foolish grin.
“...”
What were those beads, a puppy?
Perhaps embarrassed by himself, Ilmyeong cleared his throat twice.
“Ahem... With this monk's limited knowledge, I do not know.”
“...Is that so?”
“Since the Night March of the Black Path incident, many Black Path sects that had been keeping quiet have emerged. It must be one of them.”
“Hmm...”
The Black Path martial world had certainly grown much larger than it had in my previous life.
It was welcome news in the sense that history was changing, but it also meant there were more bad people. Could that really be called a good thing?
“More importantly, Benefactor Jin...”
I turned back to Ilmyeong at his call.
“How did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“The final match.”
“Huh?”
Ilmyeong let out a quiet sigh.
“Benefactor Jin, shameful as it is, this monk knows the rules of sword tokens. Gun's victory in the final contest was certain.”
“Maybe I was luckier than him.”
“Even with only a... zero point seven percent chance?”
“Still, there is no such thing as a one hundred percent victory.”
Ilmyeong sighed again, this time long and frustrated.
“Then, Benefactor Jin, your luck lies beyond the standards of the human world.”
Come to think of it, the things in my sleeve were getting in the way, so I took them out.
“Huh?”
Ilmyeong's expression turned comical.
“Benefactor Jin, are those not... sword tokens?”
I pretended not to know and shrugged.
“Ah, come to think of it, they somehow ended up in my sleeve.”
“What???”
Ilmyeong tilted his head as though he could not understand.
As if it were nothing, I explained what had happened.
“When the person sitting beside me hit me, I got up and returned to my seat. Then my sleeve felt heavy. I was quite fortunate, was I not?”
“Then... did you cheat?”
“Hey! What cheating? I told you, I was lucky.”
Why was he accusing an innocent man?
I was just lucky.
Of course, it was luck I had created myself, but luck was still luck.
Just then, Dang Seohui sighed beside me.
“So you were the truly frightening one? I can no longer trust anyone.”
Hey, come on. It really was luck.
#
After causing such a scene on the first day, nothing much happened afterward.
Perhaps what Dang Seohui had experienced on the first day had been quite shocking. She stopped going out to do anything, while Ilmyeong stopped spreading the teachings of the Shaolin Sect and began wall-facing meditation, saying his cultivation was lacking.
Did he really want to meditate with Ak Byeongbi beside him, drinking without pause every moment he was awake?
“You... hic. You are definitely a spy... hic. You are... hic.”
Ak Byeongbi interrogated me the entire time he was drunk.
It was an absurd interrogation with no force behind it, but after hearing the same thing for three days straight, I felt like I was losing my mind.
“Hic, hic... You are definitely a spy... hic. A spy... hic.”
Had he joined the Inspectorate because he was so persistent, or had the Inspectorate made him this persistent?
Leaving Ak Byeongbi behind, I sat beside Ilmyeong and meditated facing the wall as I studied the martial art I had obtained from the gambler.
The sect's secret art the gambler had passed down pursued only one thing.
Cunning.
It was astonishing that someone had developed a martial art this far just to deceive others.
Its use being mostly limited to gambling was ridiculous, of course.
Cunning Deception Divine Art.
Even now, it was absurd. Beautiful deception?
Who in their right mind would name a martial art something like that?
Still, I slowly recalled the Cunning Deception Divine Art that had been passed down to me.
‘First Form, One-Bean Eye Trick.’
A bead of energy the size of a bean formed in my palm.
The energy flushed red, then turned green and eventually black.
This was the technique the gambler had used to create beans and make them disappear.
‘Second Form, Pine-Beneath Four Exchanges.’
Two beads of energy the size of go stones appeared and exchanged colors.
The gambler seemed to have mainly used it to cheat high officials at go. They even advised me to be careful, since they had nearly had their wrist cut off while using it.
‘Third Form, Flower Field Beneath the Moon.’
The go-stone-sized energy scattered, then vanished without a trace.
Just then, Ilmyeong broke his wall-facing meditation and rubbed his eyes.
“Ahem... Why do my eyes feel so dry?”
His eyes had become dry because of the Third Form, Flower Field Beneath the Moon.
‘Haah...’
I stopped moving, overwhelmed by self-loathing.
What I needed, after all, was to understand the principle behind putting color into this bean.
Just as Blood Brawl had put his voice into it and the gambler had put color into it, perhaps I could use the Void-Destroying Fist if I could put intent into the energy.
The bean's color clearly changed however I wanted while it remained in my hand. The moment I imagined it, the energy shifted into all sorts of colors.
Yet once it left my hand, its color no longer changed.
No matter how I tried to change it, the color refused to budge and instead disappeared.
The Cunning Deception Divine Art, which the gambler had been so reluctant to pass down, was not a clue to the Void-Destroying Fist after all.
“This is difficult.”
“...What is so difficult?”
“Huh?”
Ilmyeong, still rubbing his eyes, looked at me and pressed his palms together.
“My energy and the energy of nature are not opposed. The first step is recognizing that they are not two separate kinds of energy.”
“Is there a Buddhist teaching about that?”
“It is not exactly the same, but there is something similar. The Hundred-Step Divine Fist.”
“Ah!”
The Hundred-Step Divine Fist, which suppressed every direction around an opponent a hundred steps away.
Did the Hundred-Step Divine Fist not also transform internal energy once it had separated from the user?
In a way, it was the closest form to the Void-Destroying Fist.
Ilmyeong continued.
“The first step of the Hundred-Step Divine Fist is harmonizing your own energy with the energy of nature.”
“I understand that in theory.”
“Of course. But understanding it in theory and truly feeling it are different. Only when you feel the energy of nature passing through your body can you say that you truly understand.”
His explanation struck at the heart of it, but I tilted my head.
“Is that not a secret art of the Shaolin Sect? Is it really alright to teach it so freely?”
Ilmyeong's bloodshot eyes curved into a smile.
“Consider it payment for recovering the Vajra Prayer Beads.”
“Hmm... Then I will accept it without reservation.”
He was offering to teach me. There was no reason to put on airs. Besides, I really had recovered his treasure.
“How do I let the energy of nature pass through me?”
“It is not difficult. Meditate facing a wall for one hundred days and nights, remove your fire energy by consuming only water and salt, then...”
What was with that terrifying nonsense delivered in such a calm tone?
“Wait, wait! Tell me about training a person can actually do.”
Ilmyeong looked back at me in confusion.
“Is that not something anyone can do?”
Did Shaolin Temple not teach common sense?
#
The eve celebration for the founding ceremony had continued for a week. By now, the Black Alliance was so crowded that it truly seemed every Black Path martial artist under heaven had gathered there.
On the fifth day, four days after my interrogation began, we finally received a summons from the Black Alliance Lord, just before I lost my mind.
On the way to the Black Alliance Lord's office, three times as many Black Path martial artists as there had been on the day we arrived were drinking and gambling throughout the Black Alliance.
Ak Byeongbi, his eyes bloodshot from alcohol poisoning, muttered as he watched them.
“Every vermin under heaven has gathered here.”
Sir, you are here to negotiate an agreement with them.
What were you planning to accomplish with that attitude?
Ilmyeong said to Ak Byeongbi, “Even so, if this agreement is not reached, blood will flow through the martial world.”
“It is humiliating, but it cannot be helped.”
At least he understood what was important. Ak Byeongbi straightened his garments and began walking again.
The rest of our delegation followed after him.
The servant led us into a massive hall.
Cha Seokdu, the current Black Alliance Lord, sat on an iron throne at its center. The notorious villains of the Black Path martial world stood in rows along both sides of the hall.
I glanced at Ak Byeongbi.
‘His whole body must be itching to arrest them.’
From his perspective, it was a gathering of prey in one place.
Still, perhaps because he had come as the head of the delegation, his expression did not change.
“I am Ak Byeongbi, head of the Martial Alliance delegation. I wish the Black Alliance endless prosperity.”
“Welcome. It could not have been an easy journey. Thank you for coming so far. Has your lodging been comfortable?”
“It has been somewhat uncomfortable, but bearable.”
“...”
Ilmyeong and I quietly sighed at Ak Byeongbi's barbed response.
The Black Alliance Lord was no easy opponent either.
“Hmm... I suppose that can happen. Hypocrites care too much about pointless formality, do they not? Naturally, a place where honest people gather would make them uncomfortable.”
“...I am enduring it.”
A vicious exchange passed between them for a moment before Ak Byeongbi looked at Ilmyeong.
Ilmyeong held out the scroll in his hands.
“This is a letter of congratulations sent by Strategist Jegal, the Grand Strategist of the greatest Martial Alliance under heaven.”
Cha Seokdu stroked his chin.
“That is no longer true. The Black Alliance, the greatest alliance under heaven, has now been born.”
“We shall have to wait and see about that.”
The fierce clash of their presence silenced the hall in an instant.
After a brief silence, the Black Alliance Lord nodded once.
“Still, since they sent a letter of congratulations, I shall read it.”
The scroll in Ilmyeong's hands passed through the servant's hands and was delivered to Cha Seokdu.
While Cha Seokdu opened it and read its contents, I raised my head and surveyed those present.
‘Black Lion Society, Nine Dragons Gang, Blood Tiger Sect, Four Dragon Sect, Demonic Path Sect, Blood Sword Sect, Yellow Sand Sect...’
All of the Five Sects, Two Gangs, and One Association, commonly called the greatest powers of the Black Path martial world, were present.
Then I examined Hwang Busik standing to Cha Seokdu's left and the man standing to his right.
‘That man...?’
Judging from his clothing, he did not look like a martial artist.
Yet his sharp features made him easy to recognize.
‘Crouching Dragon, Dam Ak! Why is he here?’
Dam Ak had been the Grand Strategist of the Martial Alliance in my previous life.
After Jegal Somyeong died by assassination, he had been the military genius who led the Orthodox-Demonic War.
I had thought the Black Alliance's location and the layout of its buildings were unusual.
They had all come from that man's mind.
‘What is going on?’
Cha Seokdu finished reading the scroll and let out a long hum.
“Hmm, you have brought us quite a difficult matter.”
Then he turned to Dam Ak without hesitation.
“Grand Strategist, would you take a look?”
Dam Ak, who had been staring at us with piercing eyes, slightly lowered his head and accepted the scroll.
He read it in an instant and spoke firmly.
“It is not even worth considering. An alliance and an agreement...”
At the word agreement, the heads of the various sects began whispering among themselves.
Some looked pleased, while others sneered.
After the brief disturbance subsided, Cha Seokdu looked at us and spoke.
“Is that so? I think it may be worth considering.”
Dam Ak shook his head.
“How much oppression have Black Path martial artists suffered at the hands of the Martial Alliance? Extending a hand now is nothing more than an attempt to escape their present danger and absolve themselves of their past wrongs.”
“Is that so?”
“Furthermore, look at the background of the person they sent as head of their delegation. Unless they intend to insult the Black Path Alliance, how could they send the notorious Third Department Master of the Inspectorate?”
“Hmm...”
Cha Seokdu nodded at Dam Ak's words, then looked at us again.
“Our Grand Strategist says so. Regrettably, we cannot form an alliance.”
As the new Black Alliance Lord, Cha Seokdu could hardly accept an agreement or alliance without warning.
Still, judging from everything he had said, I could clearly sense that he would accept it if we provided a proper justification.
Hmm. If we overturned Dam Ak's argument and made a decent proposal, then even if we could not form an alliance, we could surely conclude at least a peace agreement...
“I see. Then it cannot be helped.”
Huh? What did he say?
I stared at Ak Byeongbi in disbelief as he tried to end the conversation there.
Was he still not sober?
Footnotes:
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