WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 275: Those Who Break Walls

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Clang!

The moment his sword shattered, Cheol Sunjik could not look away, even as his body flew through the air.

Jin Sowoon was clearly a Taeul Sect disciple who used swift sword techniques and illusion swords.

Yet the Green Bamboo Sword Art of the Jukhyeon Sect had unfolded from his hand.

"How...?"

Jin Sowoon, looking thoroughly exhausted, twisted his lips into a smile.

"Did you forget that I have a good memory?"

"Even so..."

The Green Bamboo Sword Art he had used was Cheol Sunjik's own.

It was a sword art he had built up over countless years, layer by layer, yet Jin Sowoon had perfectly replicated it after seeing it only once.

Then he spoke as if it were nothing.

"Just as you have your own way of fighting, I have mine."

"Hah...!"

Once his immense shock faded, resentment surged in its place.

In the end, he had lost.

His plan, which had seemed certain to bring victory, had failed.

Jin Sowoon's plan, which had seemed certain to end in defeat, had succeeded.

The moment he accepted reality, a sense of injustice surged within him.

Why had he lost?

Cheol Sunjik's gaze moved to the people standing near Jin Sowoon.

They were comrades who had faithfully followed the insane order to charge into the heart of the enemy camp.

Some were wounded, while others barely remained standing, looking as though they could collapse at any moment.

Anyone else would have raised both hands and feet in surrender and abandoned the evaluation long ago, but none of them had let go of their weapons.

Most of the White Mountain members under Cheol Sunjik's command, on the other hand, were still standing unharmed.

That only meant few of them had properly followed his strategy.

"How can there be such a difference?"

"..."

Cheol Sunjik looked toward Nam Hwaseong.

Nam Hwaseong turned away from his accusatory gaze.

Grinding his teeth, Cheol Sunjik repeated himself.

"Why can you all become so united?"

Jin Sowoon was not so different from him.

A lacking background, an exceptional mind, and a will that refused to yield under pressure.

They were both people who had clawed their way up from the bottom.

And yet, Jin Sowoon's comrades did not fear charging into certain death alongside him.

The daughter of the Iron Sword Sect, Taeul Sect's enemy. The beloved youngest daughter of the Namgung Clan. Even a Samwon Sect disciple who had been a rival during the regular examination.

He could not understand it.

"Why are you all the only ones who can be like this?!"

Share the gains and create a common enemy.

There was clearly no difference between what Jin Sowoon had done and what he had done, yet the results had been different.

He had never resented being born into the same generation as Yong Soa, Ilmyeong, and Dang Seohui.

They had weapons he did not possess from the start.

But being born into the same generation as Jin Sowoon filled him with a resentment greater than anything else.

Because Jin Sowoon felt like a wall he could never overcome.

"Answer me, Jin Sowoon! Why is there such a difference?!"

Despite his desperate cries, Jin Sowoon only pushed himself up, as though there was nothing he could say.

"Why... why..."

Tears finally fell from Cheol Sunjik's eyes.

He had never cried from resentment even once in his life, but the suffocating frustration he felt for the first time brought tears pouring down his face.

Then, at that moment...

"...It isn't... it isn't over yet, Sunjik..."

Cheol Hyeonjik, who had been lying unconscious, rose while leaning against his sword.

"Brother..."

His arms trembled as he raised his sword and staggered toward Jin Sowoon.

"...I... I will complete your strategy for you."

"Brother!"

Cheol Hyeonjik no longer seemed to have enough strength even to hold his sword. He dragged its blade across the ground as he barely ran forward.

Jin Sowoon watched him with indifferent eyes, then unleashed the Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Cheol Hyeonjik lost consciousness again and collapsed after a single move.

"Brother!!!"

Jin Sowoon spoke to Cheol Sunjik, who could only stare blankly at the sight.

"Someone who follows your will is here too."

"..."

"Think carefully about the difference between your brother and the Twelve Peak Alliance. Then you'll understand why you lost this battle."

After speaking, Jin Sowoon turned around without hesitation.

At some point, a flag had appeared in his hand. He raised it high into the sky.

Soon, the Red Force's flag was planted in the White Force's camp.

"Waaaaah!"

"Waaaaah! We won!"

"We captured the White Force's camp!"

As the few remaining people erupted into cheers, Cheol Sunjik spoke with a stiff expression.

"But this is where you end too."

"..."

"Didn't your entire unit get wiped out while capturing the White Force's camp?"

Cheol Sunjik sneered as he looked over Jin Sowoon's people.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe there is something different between you and me. But... my strategy still succeeded in the end. Two members of your delegation, Seong Moran and Geumpyo, will be eliminated."

He raised the hand wounded by sword fragments and continued.

"Look. The Blue Force, which has preserved its forces while watching the battle until now, will soon rush in and claim the final victory as the third party that benefits."

"..."

"You failed to overcome the wall that is me in the end. Hahahaha!"

Jin Sowoon looked toward the Blue Force Cheol Sunjik pointed at and shrugged.

"That's good."

"What?"

Jin Sowoon smirked and gestured toward the front.

"Watch closely."

"..."

Cheol Sunjik stopped forcing a laugh.

Jin Sowoon spoke as though he were stating something obvious.

"Watch how far we rise."

His comrades began moving as though it were only natural.

Following Jin Sowoon's gaze, Cheol Sunjik turned his head as well.

What remained of Jin Sowoon's unit began to move, one by one.

They had fought fiercely enough that it would not have been strange for them to collapse at any moment.

Yet they gathered around Jin Sowoon as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Cheol Sunjik could not take his eyes off him.

#

"Are you all right?"

Geumpyo's face twisted.

It was the expression of someone wondering whether that was even a question.

"I feel like I'm dying."

"So do I."

A sigh slipped out.

I really couldn't take this anymore. No, why was I supposed to take it?

Smack.

I struck the back of Geumpyo's head.

"Then why did you get three Mu ratings?!"

"..."

Geumpyo lowered his head like a guilty man after being hit, and Seong Moran, who stood on the other side, immediately reacted sharply.

"Young Master Jin, were you saying that for me to hear?"

"Of course."

"..."

Seong Moran stiffened, looking hurt.

I looked between Seong Moran and Geumpyo and spoke firmly.

"I have no intention of watching either of you get eliminated. That means we absolutely cannot lose this time."

Seong Moran's expression softened slightly, and she nodded.

"But our opponent is that bald... no, Ilgak."

The best approach had originally been to conserve our strength while the Blue Force and White Force fought, then have the Red Force face the Blue Force after it defeated the White Force and exhausted itself.

But things had turned out this way.

Could a situation get any worse?

That bald monk was always going to grab me by the ankle someday.

I looked over the remaining members of my unit and asked quietly.

"That doesn't mean we can surrender quietly, does it?"

The lecturers began waving red flags.

It was the signal that the evaluation was nearly over.

The Blue Force and the remaining Red Force had no choice but to clash head-on now.

I gripped my sword again.

"Prepare the sword formation."

"Yes!"

The unit moved at once upon my order.

It was meager, but this was the only thing we could do now.

"Forget that the enemy is the Nine Sects One Gang or Shaolin Temple. They're just the enemy."

"Young Master Jin, don't you know that telling people not to think about something makes them think about it more?"

"Forget it anyway. There is no other way."

"..."

You did as you were told.

On the battlefield, you could not afford to overthink.

"Whether it's survival or attack, think of only one thing. I will think and judge everything else as your commander, so just follow me."

"You want us to trust only you in this situation?"

"Do you have another way?"

Seong Moran thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"...No. But if I get eliminated and later join the Martial Alliance as a low-ranking martial artist, put me in your unit. I don't want to take orders from some other bastard."

"I promise."

The Blue Force members who had initially approached the Red Force had stopped as the battle between the White Force and Red Force intensified.

While the White Force and Red Force fought fiercely, the Blue Force had settled its internal hierarchy and preserved most of its personnel. Its numbers had barely changed from the beginning.

"Amitabha."

Ilgak approached, leading a force that looked at least ten times larger than ours.

As expected, that damn bald monk had become the Blue Force's leader.

Then again, perhaps it was only natural.

"Isn't it a little too sly for someone who studies the Buddha's teachings?"

Ilgak smiled brightly as though my words had not affected him at all.

"The Buddha said that if one establishes oneself properly, evil people will fall away of their own accord."

"That said, weren't you being awfully petty at the beginning?"

"The Buddha also said that one who covers evil deeds committed in the past with good deeds will illuminate the world like the moon emerging from the clouds. Since I have already covered my evil deeds with good deeds, you could say I am a new man."

"Becoming a new man is easy, isn't it?"

Ilgak smiled and casually asked me.

"Benefactor Jin, you look quite tired. Why don't you give up now?"

"Then can't you, bald... no, monk, give up out of the Buddha's compassion for the people who will be eliminated here?"

"That would not be the Buddha's rightful will. Homage to Amitabha Buddha."

I should have memorized some Buddhist scriptures.

Then that bald monk might have hesitated and backed away.

"I don't like that. I suppose that's why I'm not a disciple of Buddhism."

"There is a Buddha in Benefactor Jin's heart as well, so you need not worry. Besides, Black Maitreya..."

"Enough already!!!!"

"Ahem."

Ilgak cleared his throat, then asked again.

"Will you truly continue?"

"There was a saying from the Buddha, wasn't there?"

I drew the Black Dragon Sword and continued.

"Look to no one else. Make yourself alone your lamp."

Ilgak smiled gently at my words.

"See? Is there not a Buddha in Benefactor Jin's heart after all?"

I smiled back at him.

"Let's see whose side the Buddha takes!"

This time, I stood at the very front with Geumpyo instead of Nam Hwaseong.

#

Cheol Sunjik did not look away from the front for even a moment.

Partly because he had reached his physical limit and could no longer move, but more because he wanted to burn Jin Sowoon's end into his eyes.

"You will fail as well."

Just as he had.

Cheol Sunjik barely held his exhausted body together.

The Blue Force's final victory had never mattered in his strategy from the start.

His sole purpose had been to eliminate Jin Sowoon and his unit members.

According to the plan in his mind, the Blue Force should have defeated the White Force after Jin Sowoon was eliminated as well.

So you too, Jin Sowoon...

"You will... surely fail..."

As he kept repeating the same words, the Blue Force and Red Force clashed.

The tenfold difference in numbers soon formed an encirclement.

An encirclement exhausted people quickly before eventually driving them to annihilation.

"Surely... surely..."

Yet for some reason, Jin Sowoon's unit did not fall easily.

"How...?"

The sword formation they had deployed was the White Tiger Sword Formation, which every Martial Arts Academy student knew.

With internal energy completely sealed, it should not have been anything special. Yet they stubbornly held on.

"How...?"

No, it was slightly different.

The sword formation before him looked somewhat different from the White Tiger Sword Formation he knew.

They filled one another's openings, created moments to counterattack, and shook their opponents.

It was as though the formation had originally been made for inadequate people to compensate for one another. It faithfully achieved the basic effect of a formation.

"Hah..."

Neither Shaolin Temple's fist and kicking arts nor the martial arts of the Nine Sects One Gang worked properly against them.

The people who had waited on Blue Mountain could no longer bear the pressure and began climbing White Mountain one by one.

The number of Blue Force members surrounding Jin Sowoon steadily increased.

"This can't be..."

But another question rose within him.

Victory was impossible for Jin Sowoon anyway.

His small force could neither reach the Blue Force's camp nor break through the Blue Force's encirclement.

And yet Jin Sowoon and his unit continued the battle they were certain to lose.

As though they could win.

"That cannot be."

The Blue Force, led by Ilgak, pressed even more fiercely, as though they had no mercy to offer.

At last, one member of Jin Sowoon's unit fell, and the sword formation wavered.

They resisted with all their strength, but once the formation was disrupted, it could not properly recover.

Flutter, flutter!

The lecturers waved black flags.

It was the signal that the evaluation was about to end.

The Blue Force saw it too and began pressing harder to finish the battle.

The corner of Cheol Sunjik's mouth twisted upward.

"Yes, this is it. This is their limit."

Though his strategy had failed, he began to think it could still be considered half a success.

Jin Sowoon had already reached the limit of exhaustion, and most of his unit members had been scattered in every direction.

Just as Cheol Sunjik had, Jin Sowoon had failed as well.

The moment he was about to mock him with satisfaction...

"Scattered?"

Cheol Sunjik's eyes darted around.

"They're gone. They're gone!"

Several of Jin Sowoon's unit members were nowhere to be seen.

He searched all of White Mountain, wondering whether they had been eliminated on the way here, but they were nowhere to be found.

Then...

"Waaaaah!"

Twenty people sprinted madly toward Blue Mountain.

"St-stop them!"

"Aaargh!"

"Move, you bastards!"

They did not stop, and they did not fight.

They only ran forward. Forward.

They left behind fallen comrades. Even when enemy fists flew at them, they did not engage, avoiding their enemies as they raced toward the summit of Blue Mountain.

Before anyone could cry out in alarm, fewer than ten people planted a flag in the Blue Mountain camp.

"Waaaaaaah!"

"Waaaaaaah!"

"Waaaaah!"

Cheers rang out from distant Blue Mountain.

Eunho, Yayul Geuk, and around ten Red Force members had planted the red flag in the Blue Mountain camp.

"..."

Judging by the hollow expressions of the Blue Force members who had guarded the camp, they had not expected the Red Force to launch a surprise attack.

Cheol Sunjik's body trembled as though he had been struck by lightning.

"He had never considered defeat from the start?"

How else could Jin Sowoon have thought to pull people out of that disadvantageous situation and form a surprise attack unit?

Cheol Sunjik turned his head toward the mountain that had once again made him feel defeated.

Jin Sowoon was hanging from the shoulder of Ilgak, whose mouth hung open in disbelief.

"Argh...! Ngh, hah! Ptui, ptui!"

Jin Sowoon bit the monk's shiny head without the slightest hesitation, committing an act of utter disrespect.

"What... are you...?"

More devastated than he had been when he first saw Yong Soa, Cheol Sunjik could not take his eyes off him for even a moment.

=======

Hello.

This is Jeokseolmok.

I hope you have remained well during this harsh winter.

The Year of the Black Tiger has already come to an end.

The story of Jin Sowoon, which I had prepared since last year, was first shared this year.

Over the past year, it has received far more love than it deserves from the martial world's many great heroes.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again.

Without the chivalry of all you great heroes, I doubt we could have come this far.

Jin Sowoon, too, will rise again while thinking of your support, even under the oppression of the bastards of the martial world... no, the competitors of the martial world.

There is still much of Jin Sowoon's story left.

Please continue cheering for him as he races through the martial world.

Whatever dark arts those northern barbarians used, this winter seems harsher than any before it.

Please do not neglect physical training and internal-energy cultivation, and be sure to take your precious elixir pellets.

For justice to stand tall in the martial world, the health of all you great heroes is more important than anything.

Please wrap up this year well.

I hope to see you with bright faces in the new Year of the Black Rabbit.

Happy New Year!

Footnotes:

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