WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 245: Today's Fortune (4)
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I'd deliberately maximized the destructive force, so the explosion was loud enough to rupture my eardrums. Yet I couldn't sense anyone moving outside.
‘Is this some kind of mystic formation that completely seals off the outside?’
I had no idea.
The formation had been fucking complicated from the moment we entered.
Since Ilmyeong, who had entered with me, still hadn't found his way inside, this had to be some bizarre Demonic Cult formation I didn't know about.
Either way, it seemed I'd made it just in time...
The papers fluttering through the air drifted to the floor, revealing Gun Yuhyeon staring straight at me with cold eyes.
“...How did you know?”
What the hell?
Weren't you a desk jockey?
Why are you completely fine?
“Didn't I tell you? I can use the mind-reading art.”
“...You're joking even now?”
“Why does no one believe me? I only ever speak the truth.”
I drew the Black Dragon Sword and unleashed the Twin Heavens Sword Art.
Shrrrrrrrk.
Starting from his ankles, countless waves of blades began slicing through Gun Yuhyeon's body one after another.
Crack. Crack.
Strangely, wherever the waves of blades passed, solid chunks of ice simply scattered across the floor. Not even the smallest wound appeared on him.
Hah, what the hell is this bastard?
Gun Yuhyeon remained where he stood and calmly asked, “The hidden assassins were a hastily assembled organization, so they may have had their flaws... but how did you figure out my identity as well?”
He seemed far more curious about how I'd discovered his identity than about the danger before him, as though he were utterly certain of his own safety.
Did he trust his skills that much?
Or was he like the Double Shadow Demon Brigade, unconcerned even if he lost his life?
The pure curiosity on his face was utterly out of place in this situation.
“The gambling den.”
“...There?”
“How many people in this world have something more important than money?”
“...Just from that?”
Of course, that wasn't all.
But I had to leave him curious if I wanted answers to my own questions.
“My turn to ask.”
I pointed the Black Dragon Sword at him.
“Are you the leader of the Double Shadow Demon Brigade?”
“The Double Shadow Demon Brigade...!”
His eyes widened.
Then Gun Yuhyeon's expression quickly returned to its usual calm.
“I never imagined those words would come from your mouth.”
He slowly shook his head as if he had no choice.
“I was simply going to return, but that is no longer possible.”
“You were simply going to return?”
I checked Dam Ak's condition.
He was bleeding like a wounded beast, but thankfully, he was still breathing.
After doing all that, he was simply going to return?
Did “simply returning” mean something different to these Demonic Cult bastards?
Then again, what did it matter?
“You people were insane from the start!”
Lesser Heaven Sword Art.
Jegal Three Forms.
Demon-Subduing Form.
A killing move refined for the sole purpose of dealing with demonic beings.
Whoosh!
The Black Dragon Sword shot out faster than ever, aiming for Gun Yuhyeon's neck in a single strike.
Thud.
The Black Dragon Sword was slightly faster than the ice wall he created.
Pfft.
Blood began flowing from the small wound on his neck.
“How troubling...”
Gun Yuhyeon looked at his blood, then alternated his gaze between my face and hand as if surprised.
“Hey, you fraud. Do you have time to stand there waiting like an idiot?”
Whoosh!
The Black Dragon Sword flew out like a beam of light, scattering as it targeted his vital points.
His eyes, throat, solar plexus, heart, lungs, and groin.
Gun Yuhyeon raised one hand, creating ice walls to block the Lesser Heaven Sword Art.
That didn't mean I could back off so easily.
“Why won't you answer my question?”
I withdrew the Lesser Heaven Sword Art and unleashed the Greater Heaven Sword Art.
The Demon-Subduing Form had fewer illusion swords than the Greater Heaven Sword Art's Ascendant Form, but it was faster.
Gun Yuhyeon wore his usual smile.
“Because you asked the wrong question.”
Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping.
Ridiculously, Gun Yuhyeon simply flicked his fingers and knocked away every true blade hidden among the illusion swords.
His ability to distinguish the illusion swords from the real ones was far too precise for the leader of a simple assassination unit.
How the hell could he tell them apart?
The level of his martial arts was no joke.
And judging by the fact that the Red Phoenix Bangle hadn't reacted at all, he didn't seem to have cultivated any demonic qi.
There wasn't a single record of someone like this in the library inside my head.
Then...
“What is that... Double Shadow Demon...?”
Huh? Wasn't he unconscious?
Dam Ak's cracked voice reached me.
“Just who is that man...?”
Like Gun Yuhyeon, Dam Ak apparently considered satisfying his curiosity more important than his life, even at death's door.
What a pair of strange bastards.
“The Demonic Cult.”
“The Demonic Cult?”
It was probably an unfamiliar story to Dam Ak in this life.
Dam Ak hadn't originally been part of the martial world, and even among martial artists, there were hardly any who truly knew the Demonic Cult's identity yet.
So I added an explanation.
“They're hateful bastards believed to have vanished five hundred years ago.”
“Vanished...?”
It wasn't Dam Ak who responded, but Gun Yuhyeon.
His head tilted slightly.
“So that is how you people have been telling the story.”
“Is that any different from the truth?”
“History may be written from the victor's perspective, but you've been casually using words that we cannot accept.”
Gun Yuhyeon smiled as pleasantly as ever.
The waves of energy rising around him, though, were anything but pleasant.
“We did not vanish.”
The air was so ominous that it felt as though hell itself were returning.
Fwoooosh.
In an instant, scorching flames hot enough to burn skin rose around Gun Yuhyeon, who had been using ice walls until now.
He can use yin and yang internal arts at the same time...?
What the fuck is this? Are you Zhang Sanfeng's descendant or something?
Gun Yuhyeon raised a hand and spoke clearly.
“The martial world was taken from us.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fireballs shot from both his hands like cannon shells.
Slash!
I cut through the fireballs with the Black Dragon Sword infused with qi, but the severed fireballs struck the walls and exploded anyway.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The room was full of books and furniture, so flames quickly surged everywhere. Breathing became harder and harder.
Save me, you bastard...
“...Was the martial world ever something that could be taken or stolen in the first place?”
Maybe I couldn't relate because I'd never held the martial world in the palm of my hand, but Gun Yuhyeon seemed deeply enraged that it had been taken from him.
“...You could never understand the injustice of having to leave our home and wander without a destination for five hundred years, even though we were the ones with the rightful claim.”
“Then you shouldn't have raised hell with demonic arts!”
When I swung my sword force, the burning furniture was cut apart like paper.
Gun Yuhyeon, on the other hand, still moved his hands with ease.
Hah... Look at this bastard covering his whole body in ice because he's too hot.
He twisted his lips as he looked at me.
“You set limits for yourselves and call them the right path. Black Flame Dragon, you truly are a hypocrite of the White Path.”
Wow. I was finally acknowledged as a disciple of a White Path sect.
And now I was being acknowledged by a Demonic Cult minion.
...Either way, the problem was that the longer this dragged on, the worse things became for me.
I didn't know how he had done it, but Gun Yuhyeon had set up a mystic formation here to separate the inside from the outside.
As a result, I was slowly being smoked alive by the heat while he cooled himself with ice.
‘Azure Dragon Bangle, Red Phoenix Bangle.’
When they encountered an existence that defied heaven, the two treasures, Settled Resolve and Principle, stirred against my body as if eager to reveal their true forms.
But Dam Ak was still conscious enough to see this situation clearly.
No matter how benevolent the Settled Resolve and Principle within me might be, they took the form of terror when they manifested. I couldn't use them carelessly.
...I might really end up being called worse than the Black Path and the Demonic Cult.
‘I need to get Dam Ak out first, at least.’
Ilmyeong, who had entered with me, still seemed lost in the mystic formation. I couldn't sense him at all.
That useless bald bastard.
As I considered my options...
“Jin Sowoon... Leave me behind.”
Dam Ak must have been in terrible pain to say something so stupid.
Uh, well...
You can't die.
If you die, I'll have to deal with those bastards alone later.
I shook my head at Dam Ak.
“This isn't because of you, so don't worry.”
For a moment, a strange light entered Dam Ak's eyes.
“Just who are you...?”
I grinned at him.
“I need to find out who that bastard really is.”
Especially if Gun Yuhyeon was the true power behind the Double Shadow Demon Brigade, I had to capture him here.
“So hang on and keep breathing.”
I needed to make good use of you later.
I turned my gaze forward again and tightened my grip.
When I unleashed the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art, six Ten Thousand Swords rose into the air.
I'd never summoned this many to fight one person, but my opponent was a demonic being who wielded yin and yang qi.
No matter how excessive it was, it wasn't enough.
With half, I unleashed the Lesser Heaven Sword Art. With the other half, the Twin Heavens Sword Art.
Sword blades shot like lightning through a storm of sword forms.
At first, Gun Yuhyeon frantically fired finger wind after finger wind, but before long, he repeatedly swept his long robe and created ice walls.
Boom!
He made them, and I broke them. He made them again, and I broke them again.
After several exchanges, the broken ice fragments melted in the surrounding heat and quickly soaked the floor. Soon, enough water had pooled that it splashed beneath our feet whenever we moved.
I shouted at Gun Yuhyeon.
“You seem pretty confident in your internal energy.”
“...I heard martial artists judge levels by the amount of internal energy they possess. How childish.”
“Yeah, that's right.”
Gun Yuhyeon gave a scornful laugh.
“Unfortunately, that does not apply to our Heavenly Cult.”
“Is that so?”
I grinned back at him.
“Still, have a taste. I've got plenty of internal energy.”
Rumble.
Both my hands grew heavy.
Energy that seemed ready to burst out piled up layer by layer, letting out a deep growl.
“Take this! This is what Settled Resolve tastes like!”
Boom!
The Mad Heaven Divine Palm rapidly spread, nearly filling the cramped room.
The small chamber shook violently as if an earthquake had struck, then was completely overturned.
Burning books and furniture scattered into dust, and even the blazing heat vanished.
“...Not a very pleasant taste.”
Gun Yuhyeon's figure appeared after taking the Mad Heaven Divine Palm head-on.
He looked a mess.
His fingers were twisted at odd angles, and wounds of every size covered his body.
But what mattered to me was that he was still well enough to speak.
“What a shame it doesn't suit your palate. It's a specialty from Anhui Province.”
I immediately swung the Ten Thousand Swords and unleashed the Lesser Heaven Sword Art.
The moment ice walls rose to block the sword qi raining down from every direction...
I fired the final move I had kept hidden until the very end.
Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms.
First Form.
‘Extreme Swiftness.’
Screeeech!
Invisible sword qi shot out with enough force to split space itself.
The ice walls raised to dispel the Lesser Heaven Sword Art's sword qi couldn't react to the Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms in time.
The sword qi of Extreme Swiftness slipped through the gap, aiming to pierce Gun Yuhyeon's heart in a single blow.
Screeeeeech.
A grating metallic sound rang out, unpleasant enough to tear at my eardrums.
No matter what protective robe he wore, Extreme Swiftness carried enough destructive power to leave at least a serious wound.
I thought I would finally see Gun Yuhyeon's blood.
Crack!
But when the ice wall shattered, the sight before me was beyond shocking.
“...What?”
Gun Yuhyeon was completely unharmed.
‘I definitely heard the sound of impact.’
Looking closely, I saw a dark bracer on Gun Yuhyeon's right hand.
The instant I saw the pig emblem engraved on it, I couldn't help gasping.
“Hah... The Devouring Gauntlet?”
I'd forgotten Dam Ak was awake. Words prompted by the hateful memories of my previous life slipped from my mouth.
At my groan-like words, Gun Yuhyeon's eyes widened slightly instead.
“Hmm... You even know this item's name. Just who are you?”
Gun Yuhyeon now stroked his chin, looking at me with interest.
I couldn't relax at all.
The Devouring Gauntlet was one of the Demonic Cult's Thirteen Demonic Artifacts.
A heaven-defying relic that absorbed not only sword qi, but physical impacts as well.
No one even knew what it had originally been made from.
Still, one thing was certain.
If the Demonic Cult had been able to equip all its members with the Devouring Gauntlet, the Martial Alliance's destruction would have come years sooner.
And the owner of that hateful demonic artifact was...
“You bastard. You're an agent of the Demon Brain.”
“...!”
Je Geumhak, the Yin-Yang Twin Demon, was one of the Demon Brain's seven disciples and would one day become the Sect-Protecting Dharma King.
That damned name was Gun Yuhyeon's real name.
Footnotes:
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