The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything - Chapter 259

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 259: Time for the Fruits to Bear (6)

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At first, no one noticed.

They merely thought some fool was rushing toward his own death.

The first to sense something was wrong were the ones at the front.

Tuduk-

Their robe ties snapped, and their lapels fell open. As the cold wind bit at their chests, they all lowered their heads without thinking.

Then they could not hide their shock.

“Gasp!”

They were still nearly five jang away.

They needed several more steps to reach Baek Haegwang, yet their chests had already been laid bare.

“...”

Had that been all, they would not have stopped.

But those running beside them and behind them were all reacting the same way, forcing them to halt.

“What is this...?”

Even the robe ties of those concealed behind the men in front had been cut.

Without leaving a single wound.

What realm did one have to reach to wield a sword art like this?

Before the shock could even set in, those who walked the martial path could only marvel at the spectacle itself.

Yet on a battlefield, even a moment of carelessness could cost one’s life.

Baek Haegwang assumed his Draw-Sword Stance again, while the Shura Sect disciples stood at a loss.

“W-what?!”

Before they could advance or flee, Baek Haegwang swung his sword.

Ping-

The sound of air splitting rang out across the area once more.

As the Shura Sect disciples shuddered at the sharp sound ringing in their ears, they felt their right arms grow lighter.

Clatter-

A hundred wrist guards fell to the ground at once.

Click.

Baek Haegwang sheathed his sword and asked in the same calm tone as before.

“Will you continue?”

It was a quiet question.

Having lost all will to fight, the Shura Sect disciples turned vacant eyes toward Ju Yeongsan.

“...”

Their gazes resembled frightened puppies searching for their owner.

“Good heavens...”

Wang Geumsan could not close his gaping mouth.

His feelings were no different from those of the Shura Sect disciples who had just faced Baek Haegwang’s sword.

“What in the world...?”

Baek Haegwang had only swung his sword twice, yet robe ties had been severed and sturdy wrist guards had fallen helplessly to the ground.

It was so unbelievable that it seemed to defy the laws of nature.

It was not as if Wang Geumsan had never seen martial arts masters before.

As one of the Four Great Merchants of the Continent, his wealth allowed him to accomplish things ordinary people could never imagine.

He had invited famous martial arts masters to demonstrate their skills, and some had sought him out on their own, displaying the achievements of a lifetime in hopes of building ties with him.

Yet among all those renowned masters, none could perform a feat like Baek Haegwang’s.

“Taesan, did you know?”

When he turned to Jin Taesan, the man was just as stunned, standing there with his mouth open.

“Y-you didn’t know?”

“How could I have known?”

“And yet you let him step forward on his own?”

“I planned to gather men if anything happened.”

When Jin Taesan pointed to one side, the wandering martial artists on the Great Heaven Merchant Group’s grounds were also staring blankly at Baek Haegwang’s divine skill.

“They say there are more hidden recluses in the martial world than martial artists. The old sayings truly aren’t wrong.”

Jin Taesan still looked dazed as he answered Wang Geumsan’s hollow remark.

“Even so, isn’t that level beyond common sense?”

“I don’t know much about martial arts, but that clearly doesn’t seem like something human strength can achieve.”

“I know a little about martial arts, and even to me, it does not seem of this world.”

A shadow crossed Jin Taesan’s face, and Wang Geumsan tilted his head.

“Why do you look like that? I’m the one who should be worried right now...”

Wang Geumsan regretted speaking of whether the matter had grown serious with Baek Haegwang standing right before him.

In that brief moment, he had even calculated how much support he should offer the sect Baek Haegwang intended to establish.

Jin Taesan, on the other hand, had shown Baek Haegwang his sincerity.

He had remained unshaken despite the pressure around him.

More than that, he had promised to empty his family fortune if necessary to establish a sect for him.

“Still, isn’t he... too strong? For Taeul Sect to handle...”

“What foolish thing are you saying?”

As a merchant, Wang Geumsan immediately understood how enormous the gain would be if he could build ties with an absolute master for the cost of founding a sect.

“Don’t you know that you and your sect, having roots in the martial world, cannot escape the logic of strength? If someone could build ties with a person like that, countless people across the world would offer several carriages of gold.”

“Y-yes, that’s true. But where did a master like him suddenly appear at that age?”

Wang Geumsan shook his head, equally puzzled.

“That’s what I’d like to know. I looked into him myself, but I couldn’t find out where he came from.”

Of course, he had found several people with similar names during his investigation, but he could not imagine any of them were the same person as Baek Haegwang.

‘Besides, there was the Sword Demon...’

Looking back, it was fortunate he had not mentioned his suspicion that Baek Haegwang might be the Sword Demon, the bloodthirsty man who had slaughtered his way through great sects.

Setting aside whether Baek Haegwang would have been offended, Wang Geumsan did not want to leave Jin Taesan, who was desperately trying to shake off suspicions of ties to the Black Path, with any lingering discomfort.

A short while later, after settling the situation, Baek Haegwang approached the two men.

“Merchant Lord.”

Wang Geumsan and Jin Taesan both stiffened.

“Y-yes!”

“Y-you called?”

Baek Haegwang tilted his head at their sudden politeness.

“Why are you suddenly acting like this...? Anyway, this bastard... No, this gentleman... Ah, this isn’t easy.”

Baek Haegwang frowned for a moment, then cleared his throat.

“Ahem. In any case, this person has something to say.”

Baek Haegwang stepped slightly aside, revealing Ju Yeongsan, who stood trembling with a pale face.

The man bent stiffly at the waist.

“I-I’m sorry, I’m sor... Urk!”

Baek Haegwang lightly tapped Ju Yeongsan’s thigh with his scabbard.

“Can’t you do it properly?”

“Hic!”

Ju Yeongsan trembled as though struck by lightning, then dropped to his knees and bowed his head.

“I-I apologize. I apologize for everything that has happened.”

“What is this...?”

Ju Yeongsan was even more terrified than Jin Taesan and Wang Geumsan.

He was the Sect Leader of a reasonably established sect among the One Hundred Eight Peaks, as well as a master with a name of his own.

It was hard to understand why someone like him was so frightened.

Swoosh-

Ju Yeongsan slightly raised his pale face, watching Baek Haegwang’s reaction.

He clearly looked as though he wanted to flee at once.

When Baek Haegwang gestured with his chin, Ju Yeongsan quickly prostrated himself again.

“O-our Shura Sect will completely give up expanding into the merchant trade!”

“What?”

Jin Taesan was more startled by the sudden declaration, but Ju Yeongsan continued without lifting his bowed head.

“From now on, the Shura Sect will n-never, ever expand into Hefei...”

After saying that, Ju Yeongsan carefully raised his head to look at Baek Haegwang.

His eyes were filled with fear, utterly harmless.

Baek Haegwang looked at him, then waved a hand as if annoyed.

“That’s enough. Go now.”

“Y-yes!”

But then...

“Oh, right! Wait!”

Baek Haegwang grabbed Ju Yeongsan by the back of the neck as he tried to flee.

“Y-yes?!”

Looking down at Ju Yeongsan’s even more terrified eyes, Baek Haegwang quietly asked,

“You’re close with Shaolin Temple, aren’t you?”

“W-well...”

Ju Yeongsan’s eyes rolled as though he had no idea how to answer.

Baek Haegwang tilted his head to one side, and a series of cracks rang out.

“Are you going to run there and tattle?”

“What?”

“I asked if you’re going to run there and tattle.”

“...”

Baek Haegwang repeatedly pressed the hilt of his sword into Ju Yeongsan’s cheek.

He looked like a back-alley thug extorting money from children.

After tormenting him for a while, Baek Haegwang suddenly hardened his expression.

“I don’t care if you go tattle...”

“Y-yes! Hic! B-but?”

“I won’t be responsible for what happens afterward.”

“...What do you mean by what happens afterward?”

Baek Haegwang grinned at the Shura Sect Leader, who was trembling like a rabbit.

“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

At Baek Haegwang’s simple words, only Ju Yeongsan seemed to imagine something, his body shaking.

“Really, go now.”

“...Yes.”

Ju Yeongsan fled as if his soul had left his body.

Without delay, he urged his disciples onward and ran away.

Baek Haegwang watched until they disappeared, then turned and clasped his hands in greeting.

“I persuaded them through conversation, so there shouldn’t be any further trouble.”

“...?”

“...??”

Baek Haegwang was perfectly polite.

Yet Jin Taesan and Wang Geumsan’s expressions became impossibly complicated.

...Well, no blood had been spilled, so perhaps this could be called persuasion.

For a moment, Jin Taesan thought he saw his son’s face overlapping Baek Haegwang’s.

“S-Sect Leader! Should we notify Shaolin Temple?”

The Shura Sect disciples raced through the forest as if their lives depended on it.

Ju Yeongsan, fleeing at the front, nodded fiercely at the Tiger Fist Unit Leader’s question.

“Of course! Not just Shaolin Temple. Send letters to every sect throughout Hefei and Anhui Province!”

“Y-yes! We’ll immediately request reinforcements...”

“You idiot!!”

Ju Yeongsan stopped abruptly in the middle of his mad dash.

The Tiger Fist Unit Leader and the disciples following him also hurriedly stopped.

“W-what is it, Sect Leader?”

“Do you truly want to see the Shura Sect torn out by the roots?”

“What? What do you mean...?”

As if recalling what he had just seen, Ju Yeongsan trembled like an aspen.

“He’s a master on another level. That kind of person is practically a guest retainer of the Great Heaven Merchant Group... No, of Taeul Sect and the Wang Family Estate.”

“T-then when you said to send letters...?”

“We need to learn who that man is.”

“...”

“If he settles down in Taeul Sect for good...”

Gulp.

The Tiger Fist Unit Leader swallowed hard.

“The balance of power around Hefei... No, throughout all of Anhui Province, will be completely overturned.”

“Is it really that serious?”

Ju Yeongsan shook his head, his face still pale.

“I have faced countless masters in my life. No, if you count everyone I saw while roaming the martial world... My experience cannot be called narrow.”

Every Shura Sect disciple fixed their eyes on Ju Yeongsan’s mouth.

“But I have never seen anyone as skilled as him in my entire life.”

“...”

“It isn’t only about strengthening our sect and expanding our influence. The survival of countless sects, including the Shura Sect, is at stake.”

The Shura Sect disciples were so absorbed in Ju Yeongsan’s serious words that they forgot to breathe.

“Hahahahaha! Hero Baek! I have never seen anything so satisfying in my life!”

“You flatter me.”

“If anything I said before offended you, please forgive me. I was only worried about the safety of my sworn brother and future in-law.”

Wang Geumsan placed particular emphasis on the words “sworn brother” and “future in-law,” but Baek Haegwang simply shook his head as if he did not mind.

“Not at all. Anyone would be wary if a suspicious person approached someone precious to them. I understand.”

Baek Haegwang’s considerate words brought a broad smile to Wang Geumsan’s face.

“You are so open and generous. Your character is as great as your skill! Hahahahaha!”

While Wang Geumsan stuck close to Baek Haegwang and shared the Wang Family Estate’s finest liquor with him, Jin Taesan spoke with Seop Sojeong.

“Is there anything making you uncomfortable?”

“No. I’m already more comfortable than I deserve to be.”

“The annex is too small for all three of you to live in. I’ll look for a site for the sect as soon as possible.”

“As I told you last time, that feels like too great a burden to place on you...”

Seop Sojeong looked flustered, but Jin Taesan smiled warmly and shook his head.

“You may not know this, but your husband is practically my son’s master. My son even sent me a letter asking me to treat him as his master, so this is something I ought to do.”

Wang Geumsan, who had been laughing heartily while clinking cups with Baek Haegwang, joined in.

“Of course! My future son-in-law isn’t such an ill-mannered brat that he’d pretend not to know his master!”

“Lord Wang...”

Bang!

Wang Geumsan finally set down his cup on the table.

“No, this won’t do. I’ll support it as well! Isn’t this a sect being founded by the master of Sowoon, the son of my sworn brother and my future son-in-law? Naturally, I should do my part in founding it!”

“Oh, no. That’s all right.”

Even Baek Haegwang looked flustered, but Wang Geumsan stepped closer.

“Better yet, why don’t you move somewhere else first? There are plenty of empty houses at the Wang Family Estate.”

“You have already shown us more than enough consideration. Anything more would be burdensome.”

At the polite refusal, Wang Geumsan smacked his lips softly.

Still, as a merchant with a keen eye for people, he naturally changed the subject.

“But how did you learn such incredible martial arts?”

“...”

“Ah, have I been rude...?”

Baek Haegwang hurriedly waved his hands.

“No, not at all. It was something I needed to tell you anyway.”

“Did you live as a recluse deep in the mountains?”

“Not exactly...”

Baek Haegwang looked toward Seop Sojeong. When his wife nodded, he seemed to make up his mind and spoke.

“The truth is, I have a past.”

“A past?”

“Yes. I did not want it, but... I was once involved with the Black Path.”

“How could that be?”

The Black Path was the Black Path, and the White Path was the White Path. What did it mean to be involved with the Black Path against one’s will?

As if remembering the past, Baek Haegwang’s face gradually darkened.

“...It happened because I acted as I pleased when I was hot-blooded and young.”

“Ah! So you were resisting the pressure of that stuffy Martial Alliance!”

“You could say that.”

Wang Geumsan spoke with even greater delight.

“Then what fault is there in that? Seeing how the Martial Alliance conducts itself, I don’t like it much either. Just look at the Shura Sect. Could those bastards have pressured others using only their own strength?”

As Wang Geumsan spoke, the worry on Baek Haegwang’s face gradually eased.

“Don’t worry. The past is the past. What matters is how we live in the present, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes.”

“Come now, leave all that past behind in this cup and have a drink.”

As Wang Geumsan refilled Baek Haegwang’s cup, he subtly asked,

“Still, you did spend time in the martial world. Did you have a martial epithet?”

“It isn’t something I can be proud of...”

By now, Wang Geumsan was pleasantly drunk. He lightly patted Baek Haegwang’s shoulder.

“Hahaha. What is there to be ashamed of in revealing a man’s past mistakes? I, too, was once known as the Golden Flower Young Master! Hahahahaha!”

“Is that so? Compared to yours, Lord Wang, my epithet is thoroughly disgraceful.”

The first time Baek Haegwang called him “Lord Wang,” Wang Geumsan grew even happier.

He felt as though he was gradually becoming less distant from a master of unfathomably high skill, and he wanted to bring out every bottle of liquor they had that day.

“So what did you go by? Judging by your skill, I doubt you had just any old epithet...”

Baek Haegwang scratched his head awkwardly.

“It’s nothing much.”

He then downed his cup in one gulp, wiped the liquor from his lips, and casually said,

“The Sword Demon.”

“What?”

Trickle.

The precious liquor Wang Geumsan was pouring into Baek Haegwang’s cup overflowed.

“Huh?”

Coming to his senses, Wang Geumsan hurriedly set down the bottle and fussed over the spill.

“O-oh, I’m sorry. I thought I heard something strange just now... So, um, your epithet was...?”

“Ah, yes. I was called the Sword Demon. It is a shameful past.”