The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything - Chapter 23

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 23: The Second-Rate Martial Artist Preparing to Soar

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"He's insane. Insane. He's completely out of his mind. How can someone do something this crazy?"

"Um... Junior Sister... There are elders here, and I'm your senior brother..."

"Senior brother, my foot! Are you in your right mind or not? How could you grab a sword with your hand? What if Hero Namgung San had pulled his sword free... Ugh..."

Saryeon shuddered, then repeatedly slapped Jin Sowoon across the back.

The elders and hall lords of the Taeul Sect watched with helpless smiles.

Not everyone did. Jin Taesan and Hong Mungi were the exceptions.

Having witnessed his son's madness, Jin Taesan thundered, "You idiot! Even in a wooden-sword spar, you never catch a blade with your hand!"

The culprit could only keep his mouth shut.

The Sect Leader, on the other hand, asked with concern, "Are you all right?"

"The physician said they're only minor wounds."

The wounds looked severe because the sword, wreathed in sword qi, had torn his flesh raggedly. Still, Jin Sowoon had flooded his left hand with qi, so the injury was not serious.

"Ugh..."

As Saryeon inspected the wound again, Jin Sowoon added, hoping to ease her worries.

"It was all calculated. I caught it right after the sword reached the end of its path, before it could come back."

Smack!

Apparently, one hit was not enough to settle her anger.

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

Saryeon's palm continued to strike Jin Sowoon's neck and back.

"What are you doing?!"

"Try something so reckless again! Next time, it won't be Hero Namgung San's sword. I'll cut off your hand with mine! Do you understand?!"

"...I understand."

Once the room fell quiet, the Sect Leader spoke again.

"Why did you go that far?"

His voice held an emotion that was neither reproach nor praise.

The moment Namgung San used the Emperor Sword Art, Jin Sowoon had already won. The Sect Leader was asking why he had refused to back down even then.

Jin Sowoon scratched the back of his head before answering.

"He didn't greet you, Sect Leader, or anyone else."

The elders and hall lords exchanged puzzled looks.

"Perhaps I was the only one who felt that way, but he didn't seem to observe even the basic courtesy expected of a guest."

Hong Mungi looked dumbfounded.

"You risked your fingers over something so trivial?"

"That's... not trivial, is it?"

Disappointment filled Hong Mungi's face, along with the faces of Jin Taesan and the hall lords.

Winning the spar against Namgung San had been a joy, but they could not call this a proper victory.

His fingers, no, his entire left hand, could have been cut off.

Gang Chaeseok, who had been laughing heartily and saying the injury was nothing, flushed red and roared, "You crazy bastard! Is a martial artist's hand something you risk over this?!"

At that moment, Namgung San quietly entered.

Gang Chaeseok's booming voice had been so loud that no one noticed his arrival.

"Was that a small matter?"

The hall lords began to grow angry at Jin Sowoon's defiant reply, even after doing something worthy of scolding.

"You had already won once Namgung San used the Emperor Sword Art! You could have won without losing anything! There was no need to go this far!"

"The younger disciples were watching."

"...!"

"!!!"

The elders and hall lords looked as though they had been struck by lightning.

"Even if I had lost my fingers, wouldn't the disciples see my sword at Senior Namgung's throat and find hope in the Taeul Sect's martial arts? Instead of thinking, 'If only I had been born a child of the Namgung Clan,' wouldn't they think, 'I should challenge the Namgung Clan with my own sword'?"

No one in the hall could even breathe.

Hong Mungi and Jin Taesan looked at Jin Sowoon with complicated expressions.

The elders and hall lords stared at the dusty ceiling, sighing as though something weighed heavily on them.

Only Gang Chaeseok broke the frozen atmosphere with a grumble.

"...They would've been terrified by the sight of your fingers getting cut off and tried to run away."

Jin Sowoon merely snickered.

"If even one in a hundred thinks of that possibility, and if the spirit of the Taeul Sect lives on because of it, then I think my fingers would have been a fair price to pay."

"Khuhup!"

Gang Chaeseok suddenly furrowed his brow, covered his face, and rushed out of the building.

As everyone watched him leave, they noticed Namgung San standing at the doorway.

"You've come."

When Hong Mungi acknowledged him, Namgung San was about to nod, but instead respectfully cupped his fist in his palm.

"You young people must have things to discuss."

At Hong Mungi's words, Jin Taesan, the elders, the hall lords, and even Saryeon rose from their seats.

This time, no one tried to speak to Namgung San or curry favor with him as they left.

"...."

Without a word, Namgung San set down the Heavenly Silkworm Thread, the wooden box, and the Seven-Colored Jewel.

After remaining silent for a long while, he finally spoke.

"Losing to the Namgung Clan isn't shameful."

"Losing to the Taeul Sect isn't shameful either."

"Was the Taeul Sect truly that kind of sect?"

"Is the Namgung Clan's pride founded on its powerful strength?"

"!!!"

"If the Namgung Clan's secret arts were lost and the Changgung Unhindered Sword Art vanished, would losing to the Taeul Sect still be shameful?"

"...."

Namgung San's once-proud face was now full of shame.

"We are the same. We have not cast away our pride simply because we lack powerful martial arts."

"...I see. By resolving to lose my fingers, I had already lost from the start."

Namgung San suddenly gave a respectful fist-and-palm salute.

"I hope you'll forgive, with your generous heart, the discourtesy I showed at the Taeul Sect before and the disgraceful conduct I displayed before you, Junior."

Jin Sowoon also stood and returned the salute with his bandaged hand.

"You kept your word, and I've received your apology, so I'll forget the past. Please forget the discourtesy this inadequate junior has shown you as well."

Once they had finished exchanging greetings, Jin Sowoon asked, "Then what will you do about the Academy Admission Token? Is there somewhere else you can obtain one?"

"Do you want to wager the Academy Admission Token against me again?"

"Of course not."

Namgung San stared at Jin Sowoon with an oddly meaningful expression.

"I don't think you need to worry. Somehow... I feel things will work out."

"What?"

* * *

Hong Mungi picked up the wine bottle to fill his empty cup.

Glug.

But Gang Chaeseok, who was sobbing beside him, had already drained it dry.

"...."

Hong Mungi could not bring himself to blame Gang Chaeseok for shamelessly emptying the bottle and then crying over it. He only absently turned his empty cup in his hand.

Jin Taesan, who had gone out to replace the wine Gang Chaeseok drank, returned carrying a jar he had kept carefully hidden away.

"Why are you sitting there bawling like some pathetic fool?"

"Leave him be. His heart must be in turmoil."

The instant the bottle was filled, Hong Mungi poured himself a full cup.

"Hic. Aren't you ashamed, Brother? That a boy who hasn't even reached twenty is thinking and acting like that for the Taeul Sect."

Even as he choked back sobs, Gang Chaeseok kept filling his cup.

"Not just the elders, even the hall lords each went to show their faces at Namgung San's quarters. Listening to Sowoon, I was ashamed of myself."

"I said stop it!"

Jin Taesan tried to stop him, but Hong Mungi instead agreed.

"I was ashamed as well."

"...Why are you saying that too, Sect Leader? I know how hard you've worked for the Taeul Sect."

"What have I done?"

"Do you think we don't know that you swing your sword every night at the Daehyeon Hall training ground?"

"...."

Even viewed generously, Hong Mungi's martial talent was no more than ordinary.

Even so, the reason he could not put down his martial arts was not for personal achievement or ambition.

If his martial arts did not advance, neither would the Taeul Sect.

"Everyone is doing their part. Those hearts come together and allow the Taeul Sect to grow stronger. There's no need to feel guilty or blame yourselves."

"Damn it! What have you done for the Taeul Sect that makes you so proud?"

"Me?"

Jin Taesan shrugged.

"Isn't Jin Sowoon my son?"

"...Damn you..."

Gang Chaeseok continued to drink.

"On the way here, I saw that the lights in Busaeng Hall were still on."

"Are the children training at this hour?"

"They're learning that strange Lesser Heaven Sword Art from Sowoon."

"Is that so?"

"I'm not sure whether we should stop them. It's clearly the Lesser Heaven Sword Art, but isn't it overflowing with killing intent?"

"Wasn't that what you taught him?"

Jin Taesan shook his head at Gang Chaeseok's question.

"Me? You know perfectly well how far I've attained in martial arts."

Hong Mungi, who had been listening silently, let out a sigh.

"Didn't that child develop it himself?"

"What? Even if the Lesser Heaven Sword Art is a basic martial art..."

"To be honest, I was surprised because it shares many similarities with the Lesser Heaven Sword Art I had been studying. Of course, the Lesser Heaven Sword Art Sowoon uses is closer to completion. Still, how much effort must that child have put in at such a young age to reach that level?"

"You damned brat. You ran out of Busaeng Hall to do nothing but train in martial arts?"

Gang Chaeseok seemed annoyed and used that as an excuse to drain the bottle.

"Leave him be. Isn't it good news that the children have taken an interest in basic martial arts?"

"It is."

"More importantly, isn't there anything we should do for Sowoon?"

Gang Chaeseok pulled the bottle from his lips and practically shouted, "We have to do something! He's devoted his life to the Taeul Sect like this. Shouldn't we support him somehow, so we can at least be a little less ashamed?"

"...."

Hong Mungi nodded and looked at Jin Taesan.

"How about making Sowoon the Head Disciple?"

"...."

Jin Taesan's face hardened, and he could not answer. Gang Chaeseok nodded enthusiastically.

"An excellent idea! If he becomes Head Disciple, the children will follow him even more, and later, during the special admission..."

As Gang Chaeseok spoke excitedly, Jin Taesan cut him off.

"It's something we need to consider carefully."

"Huh?"

In the strange situation where Gang Chaeseok supported the idea and Jin Taesan opposed it, Hong Mungi asked, "What worries you?"

"The Head Disciple holds a position among the disciples comparable to yours, Sect Leader. If he performs mandatory service in the Martial Alliance, Gye Cheolyeong may not take care of the Taeul Sect disciples. Furthermore, the Head Disciple may one day have to lead the sect. We need to consider Saryeon too."

"Y-you idiot!"

"We shouldn't make a decision just because we're swept up in our feelings."

Hong Mungi restrained the fuming Gang Chaeseok and continued, "What if Sowoon enters the Martial Arts Academy?"

"...."

"Sowoon has already proven his skill by contending against Namgung San. I don't think he'll fall behind Cheolyeong. As for Saryeon... I don't think she would strongly oppose this decision either."

"The Gyerong Merchant Group's leader has asked Mount Hua Sect for another elixir pellet. It may not be a Snow Plum Pellet, but if Cheolyeong's internal energy rises dramatically, won't he ultimately be selected?"

Bang!

Gang Chaeseok slammed the table.

"What do you think you're doing right now?!"

"I'm speaking rationally. Do you think I want to refuse something good for my own son?"

"That's not it. You're worried that the Gyerong Merchant Group will cut off its support!"

"...Before hunger, there is no loyalty or sense of belonging. If the Taeul Sect cannot provide food right now, most of the disciples cannot even eat one proper meal a day. What will happen to them?"

"Y-you... you...!"

Unable to continue, Gang Chaeseok sat back down.

Silence filled the room.

No one could carelessly speak before the heavy responsibility of food, clothing, and shelter.

"Is that truly all?"

"...That is the greatest issue."

"Then let us give Sowoon the position of Head Disciple."

"Sect Leader!"

Hong Mungi continued calmly.

"He risked his fingers to strip the children of their sense of defeat. A hand is as vital as a martial artist's life, is it not? He staked his life to keep the Taeul Sect's honor from being ground into the dirt. If a child like this cannot lead the Taeul Sect, then who should?"

"...This isn't something to decide emotionally."

"No, it isn't an emotional decision. If money is the only problem, I'll earn it myself, even if I have to work as an escort warrior."

"Sect Leader!"

"Yes! Good! I'll do it too! No, I'll gather all the hall lords and open an escort agency if I have to, so do that!"

Unaware of Jin Taesan's anguish, Gang Chaeseok and Hong Mungi laughed and clinked their cups. They held a cup out to Jin Taesan as well.

Jin Taesan finally sighed and lifted his cup.

"I'll manage the money earned from escort work too, so keep that in mind."

* * *

A gapja!

A solid lump the size of an infant's fist had formed in my dantian.

The Great Lotus Divine Pellet truly lived up to its reputation. It asserted its presence and created a gapja of internal energy in one go.

"At last... I've achieved it."

It was an enormous amount of internal energy that I had never even dreamed of in my previous life.

This life was still only the beginning. Thanks to an unexpected fortunate encounter, I had reached a gapja sooner than expected.

I had swept up every medicinal treasure in Anhui Province, but there were still many more in other provinces.

There was far too little time to collect as many as possible before the Martial Arts Academy's regular examination began.

'I should leave as soon as the special admission examination is over.'

The moment I entered the Taeul Sect with that thought in mind, I saw unfamiliar people, armed with weapons, filling the training ground.

'The Gyerong Merchant Group?'

People in the Gyerong Merchant Group's martial uniforms stood in a circle as if protecting Gye Yeonseok. He was engaged in a grave conversation with the Sect Leader on the platform.

I approached Saryeon, who stood to one side and watched the two with a worried expression.

"What's going on?"

"...Where have you been until now?"

"I was training on my own. It's not like the Taeul Sect will fall apart just because I'm gone."

"It did fall apart. That's the problem."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

I asked at Saryeon's baffling reply, but she only stared at the training ground without answering.

"Sect Leader Hong! How can you do this to me? Are you truly going to break your promise like this?"

Gye Yeonseok showed both desperation and anger, like a man who had lost his life savings.

"Leader Gye, you are mistaken. The authority to choose the Head Disciple belongs solely to the sect!"

"Who other than our Cheolyeong even has the qualifications in the first place?!"

My mind went blank.

'Head Disciple?'

It was originally a position they had been weighing between Gye Cheolyeong and Hong Saryeon.

It held authority comparable to a senior figure of the sect, along with corresponding responsibility.

While dispatched to the Martial Alliance, the Head Disciple's word was the Sect Leader's word.

Usually, the position of Head Disciple was given to a disciple entering the Martial Arts Academy.

That way, once they became an officer, they could look after even one more of their fellow disciples.

In my previous life, Gye Cheolyeong became the Head Disciple. Because of that, we became his hands and feet, diligently serving as lackeys to the children of the Nine Sects One Gang and the Five Great Clans.

"Junior Sister, did the Sect Leader say he would give you the position of Head Disciple?"

"...?"

Saryeon looked at me as though I had said something absurd.

"Why would the position of Head Disciple suddenly be an issue?"

"...Because of you, Senior Brother."

"Me? Why?"

At that moment, everything I had done so far flashed through my mind.

I brought the Ninefold Sword back from the Iron Sword Sect and refused to yield even an inch before Namgung San's sword.

Gye Cheolyeong, on the other hand, had not stepped forward at the Iron Sword Sect and had instead become the cause of the conflict escalating.

Compared to that, what I had done...

'I'm completely qualified to be Head Disciple.'

Still, it was not an easy choice for the Sect Leader.

If I became Head Disciple, the Gyerong Merchant Group, which already seemed to be gradually pulling away, might cut all ties with the Taeul Sect.

If that happened, the Taeul Sect's finances could collapse in an instant.

Of course, that would not happen because of the arrangements I had prepared and the Seven-Colored Jewel. Even so, it was an enormous decision from the Sect Leader's perspective.

"So this is a scheme to obstruct our Cheolyeong's admission to the Martial Arts Academy after all!"

Gye Yeonseok's outrageous words finally made Hong Mungi rebuke him.

"Watch your words, Leader Gye! Admission to the Martial Arts Academy is an opportunity granted to every Taeul Sect disciple. Even if Cheolyeong does not become Head Disciple, if he proves his skill, he can still enter the Martial Arts Academy!"

The reason Gye Yeonseok was so fixated on the Head Disciple position was that it added points during the admission selection.

Being Head Disciple was proof that someone held legitimacy within the sect, so when every point mattered, Cheolyeong needed the position.

"Kh...!"

Having lost the argument, Gye Yeonseok glared at me with resentment in his eyes.

"Fine! If you continue like this, I will immediately cut off the support I send to the Taeul Sect!"

At words like a bolt from the blue, concern filled not only the hall lords' faces but the elders' as well.

"Did you take me, Gye Yeonseok, for someone you could use and discard as you pleased, Sect Leader Hong? Go back to those days when you could not even properly eat one bowl of thin gruel a day, when you wore clothes indistinguishable from those of Beggar Sect disciples! Then you will understand how foolish your choice was!"

Those burdened with worries could no longer hide their unease.

Alarm showed on Hong Mungi and Jin Taesan's faces, but they tried not to reveal how shaken they were.

An oppressive silence descended over the training ground, thick with anxiety, impatience, anger, and hostility.

The young disciples watched the adults' expressions, barely daring to breathe.

Then a voice broke the silence.

"Then, would it be all right if I took over instead?"

At the sudden interruption from someone who clearly could not read the mood, Gye Yeonseok turned with a murderous glare.

"Who is it?! Who dares make light of the Gyerong Merchant Group's important business?!"

Gye Yeonseok's voice rang so sharply that the martial artists who had come with him began drawing their swords one by one, releasing killing intent.

"Make light of it? I don't make light of things. Have you forgotten that?"

A middle-aged man appeared, his voice unhurried.

His clothing looked modest yet refined, and unlike Gye Yeonseok, he wore only simple ornaments. Dignity naturally flowed from his upright bearing.