The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything - Chapter 299

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 299: The Black Flame Dragon Shows Himself (3)

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Scarlet Radiance Sword.

A sword said to cut through all darkness with its crimson light, it was one of the Martial Alliance's Fifteen Divine Weapons. It was also the divine weapon of Hwa Jeongsan, the New Plum Blossom Sword.

The red plum blossoms Hwa Jeongsan scattered with the Scarlet Radiance Sword were the flowers demonic beings feared most. Having soaked up more demonic blood than any of the Fifteen Divine Weapons, it was also called the Blood-Red Sword.

But perhaps it had been too sharp.

In the end, it was the Scarlet Radiance Sword that drove Hwa Jeongsan mad.

It seemed Hwa Jeongsan had been unable to bear the Scarlet Radiance Sword, which contained Jang Dowon's resentment and the blood energy of the Blood Sea Jade.

Srrrng-

The dull black color unique to Vajra Indestructible Iron came into view.

Yet for some reason, the Scarlet Radiance Sword was far brighter than the Black Dragon Sword I had used before. It was closer to gray than black.

‘Huh?’

What was more, the sword's extraordinary sharp aura had vanished.

Though I had drawn the entire blade, it revealed only a faint killing intent. There was none of that killing intent so piercing that simply looking at it made one's skin tingle.

I looked at Jang Dowon.

"What are you looking at?"

Something had changed.

This was not the Scarlet Radiance Sword I knew, brimming with killing intent.

It was not that terrifyingly sharp weapon that killed everything before eventually killing its wielder as well.

Why had it changed?

They said a weapon carried more of its maker's heart than its wielder's.

Was it because, unlike in my previous life, Jang Dowon's heart was not filled with hatred for the Demonic Cult?

"Why? Isn't it what you expected?"

"..."

The red line that had once run across the Scarlet Radiance Sword's blade was gone as well.

Aside from the faint killing intent it gave off, I could have believed it was an ordinary sword.

As I struggled to make sense of the unexpected situation, Jang Dowon spoke.

"Judging by your eyes, there was something you wanted."

"..."

"...Did you want a genuine demonic weapon?"

"You knew?"

Jang Dowon lit his pipe.

He took a long drag, then slowly exhaled.

The strange scent of tobacco lingered around me, brushed over the Scarlet Radiance Sword, and drifted past.

"When you asked me to forge a weapon from something steeped in the resentment of countless people, I had my suspicions..."

Jang Dowon let out a hollow sigh and stared at me.

"What did you want to kill so badly?"

When I first met Jang Dowon and devised a plan to obtain the Fifteen Divine Artifacts, the first divine weapon that came to mind had been the Scarlet Radiance Sword.

I met his eyes directly.

"Enemies."

Without the Scarlet Radiance Sword, I would never be able to kill them.

"...Even if it puts you in danger?"

If I did not kill those bastards, darker than the deepest night, everything precious to me would disappear.

"Sometimes, you have to accept sacrifices to defeat enemies who are too strong. If the sacrifice is one I willingly choose, isn't that a very profitable trade?"

"You mad bastard..."

Though he clearly understood my intentions, Jang Dowon had not made the Scarlet Radiance Sword.

At the same time, I realized something.

Jang Dowon from my previous life had known exactly what he was making as well.

‘It hadn't been created by accident.’

I had been wrong.

I thought using the same materials to forge a weapon would naturally produce the same result.

"..."

Jang Dowon said nothing more.

Neither did I, still unable to process the unexpected result.

By the time the tobacco had nearly burned away...

"...You."

Jang Dowon finally spoke, his expression deeply conflicted.

"Do you want to become an evil spirit?"

An evil spirit...

"...If necessary, anytime."

"A fire that burns your own body cannot warm anyone else."

"At least it won't be consumed by darkness."

Tsk.

Jang Dowon clicked his tongue as if displeased, knocked the ashes from his pipe, then grabbed more tobacco.

"Look at the sword."

"..."

I tilted my head at the sudden remark.

His gaze sharpened.

"Don't glare at me with those insolent eyes. Just do as you're told!"

I quickly lowered my head at Jang Dowon's shout.

When had I ever looked at him insolently? I was just worried.

There were no more materials, and I might never see the Scarlet Radiance Sword from my previous life again.

Suppressing my concern, I slowly poured internal energy into the sword.

"...?"

Strangely, the gray blade began to shine with a faint golden gleam.

At the same time, I sensed something from the sword.

Drrrdrdrdr-

Like a vicious beast trying to break free from a small enclosure.

It was as though another world existed within this small sword, and its endless killing intent howled for release.

What was this?

"Is that all you're going to try?"

Jang Dowon spoke as though the key rested in my hands.

I thought it over.

From what I had heard, Jang Dowon had clearly melted the Blood Sea Jade into this sword.

Then where had the Blood Sea Jade's killing intent and resentment gone?

If they were still in here, if they had not vanished somewhere...

What would be the key to draw them out?

I recalled my memories.

The most desperate moment of all.

The Sojeong Unit members dying beneath the casually swung hand of a demonic being, and the face of that demonic being as it stood before our grieving cries with a foul smile.

I recalled that powerless moment when fiery rage surged through my chest, yet I could do nothing.

At the thought, every hair on my body stood on end.

The peaceful daily life from only moments ago shattered into pieces, and I fell once more into a corner of hell.

The corpses of my dead comrades and the streams of blood flowing from them.

The eyes of my comrades, long stripped of life, whispered endlessly to me.

Kill!

Die!

Kill!!

Die!!

Kill!!!

Die!!!

Standing in the middle of that battlefield, where resentment and killing intent rose without end, I slowly opened my eyes.

The golden gleam faded from the blade.

Shaaaa-

Just as the Scarlet Radiance Sword of the past had done, a vivid red line appeared across its blade.

A killing intent greater than the one I had intended burst forth.

Like a person mad with murder, like a Heavenly Killing Star whose sole purpose was slaughter.

Even amid that chaotic battlefield, the world around me fell silent, and my mind sought only a single target.

My feet and hands moved with the emotions rising in my heart.

In an instant, I approached the demonic being. Just as I was about to pierce its filthy throat...

A passage from the Taeul True Scripture suddenly crossed my mind.

All things began from Nonbeing at the dawn of creation, so the whispers of resentment and killing are all futile.

At that moment, my mind snapped awake. The memory vanished, as did the demonic being that should have been in my grasp.

The piled corpses and streams of blood were gone. I had returned to the smithy where I had been.

My gaze immediately went to the Scarlet Radiance Sword.

It had revealed its true appearance.

"...Have you come to your senses?"

I turned toward the voice and found Jang Dowon holding a helmet and shield.

His entire body was trembling.

"When did you get all the way over there?"

Had he expected me to lose consciousness the moment the Scarlet Radiance Sword awakened?

Jang Dowon had been watching me warily from the corner of the smithy.

"If you've come to your senses, get rid of this damned killing intent! At this rate, I won't live out my natural lifespan."

That wouldn't do. He still had fourteen divine weapons left to make for me.

I hurriedly moved.

"I'm sorry."

As I withdrew my killing intent, the energy that had flooded the area was pulled into the sword as if something had seized it.

The vivid red line across the blade disappeared as well.

That was something the Scarlet Radiance Sword I had seen in my previous life had never done.

What had happened?

"I thought you'd become a madman, but you've trained yourself well enough."

Jang Dowon wiped away a cold sweat and let out a long breath.

I immediately asked, "How did you do it?"

The Scarlet Radiance Sword made by Jang Dowon in this life.

In its ordinary state, it seemed to give off not killing intent but a faint mystical energy.

Yet the moment it revealed what it hid within, it emitted a killing intent stronger than the Scarlet Radiance Sword from my previous life.

It was impossible to understand through common sense.

Jang Dowon grunted at my question.

"Do you truly want to know?"

"Is there some great secret?"

"I wandered through black markets quite a bit looking for that material. If your father had questioned me too closely, this weapon could never have been made. In its original form, its killing intent was too strong."

Perhaps unwilling to talk about it, Jang Dowon changed the subject.

"The moment I received the materials, I understood what you intended. But even knowing how dangerous it was, how could I push my benefactor into danger?"

"...Then why?"

Why had he made it despite his concerns?

"Simply because I trusted you. The Jin Sowoon I have seen."

His words somehow felt heavy.

"I don't know what story you carry or what goal you have..."

Jang Dowon looked at me more warmly than ever before.

"Please accomplish only what you seek with the sword I made. Do not burn yourself away."

His eyes held both concern and pride, like a grandfather placing a smithing hammer into his youngest grandson's hands.

Feeling that gaze, I stroked the sword.

"What is the sword's name?"

I was curious.

The Scarlet Radiance Sword had changed from my previous life.

Had its name changed as well?

"It's written near the base of the blade."

Two engraved characters stood on the gray blade.

Silent Radiance[1].

It was a Buddhist term meaning the light of true wisdom.

Though its meaning was different, it carried the same sound as the name from my previous life, and I let out a quiet laugh.

"You know I'm a Taoist disciple, right?"

"Of course I do. Still..."

After hesitating for a moment, Jang Dowon continued.

"We received a favor from the Buddhists, so shouldn't we at least preserve it in the name?"

"..."

A favor from the Buddhists? Could it be...?

For a moment, I desperately wanted to know what Jang Dowon had bought at the black market.

No, to be precise, I felt uneasy.

"Sir, perhaps..."

"Enough! Ignorance is bliss."

"..."

As though he had nothing more to say, Jang Dowon slipped back into the smithy.

...What on earth had that old man done?

Another invitation arrived from the Eunha Merchant Group.

To be precise, it was more like an invitation demanding the fulfillment of a contract.

"The final decision... They want you to come."

The Eunha Merchant Group already knew the Great Heaven Merchant Group needed luxury goods. The invitation ended by saying the actual party involved should come and sign the contract.

In other words...

"They're threatening that there will be no contract unless I go."

"Ahem, that's right."

First, a request. The second time, temptation. The third, a threat.

Their negotiating methods were truly skillful.

As I read the invitation again, Father spoke with concern.

"Are you really... planning to go?"

"Didn't I tell you?"

I raised my head, met Father's eyes, and smiled.

"I'm going to build a pond at every hall."

The group traveling to the Eunha Merchant Group was kept simple.

Wang Soso and me.

Just the two of us.

The Eunha Merchant Group only wanted me, so Wang Soso had no need to come. Still, she insisted on accompanying me.

I had no complaints.

Thanks to her, I could travel comfortably to the Eunha Merchant Group in the Wang Family Estate's finest carriage.

There was even a small bedroom in the carriage. I slept throughout the journey, and during our breaks, I ate the meals prepared by the servants. It was a luxury trip unlike any I would ever take again.

"We've arrived."

After stepping out of the carriage, I saw the entrance to the Eunha Merchant Group. Crowds of people were lined up outside, waiting to enter.

"It seems those with invitations enter over there, Miss."

The coachman pointed to one side.

People who had stepped down from carriages, like us, were showing their invitations and entering without waiting in line.

"How extravagant."

The clothes and ornaments worn by those entering were clearly not ordinary.

‘The clothes and ornaments they're wearing alone could cover an average family's living expenses for a year.’

Come to think of it, Wang Soso had changed her clothes and put on jewelry during the break before our arrival. There must have been a reason.

"What's wrong, Brother Jin?"

Perhaps because I had been staring, Wang Soso tilted her head.

"...It suited you, that's all."

"Hehe! I'm glad I dressed up. I changed because I didn't want anyone here to look down on me."

"Look down on you?"

Wang Soso was the beloved only daughter of Wang Geumsan, the head of one of the Four Great Merchant Houses.

She also had an excellent head for business and would inherit the Wang Family Estate someday.

And someone like Wang Soso could be looked down on?

She huffed and squared her shoulders.

"The Eunha Merchant Group mostly deals with high officials and nobles. There will probably be many nobles who were invited directly from Beijing. Nobles look down on both martial artists and merchants."

No matter the circle, people who believed they were the best naturally looked down on those from other circles.

That would be even worse for nobles and high officials.

"Let's go in. You must be tired from the journey."

I was used to sleeping rough and camping, so the trip here had not tired me at all. Still, Wang Soso looked a little exhausted, so I silently followed her.

As we approached the entrance, someone who appeared to be a guard held out a hand and demanded our invitation.

"...!"

The guard opened the invitation, then gave me a strange sideways look.

It seemed the guard had looked me up and down. Was that just my imagination?

"Welcome. Miss Wang Soso, you may enter."

Wang Soso went in first at the guard's direction. When I tried to follow her inside...

The guard raised a hand to stop me.

"Servants use the other entrance."

The guard nodded toward one side.

There was a small gate there that I could only enter by bowing my head.

"..."

Did that bastard's philtrum just get longer? It was probably my imagination.

"I'm Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect. I came at the Eunha Merchant Group's invitation."

"Jin Sowoon? There is no such name."

The guard pretended to look through the list, casually flipping through it before speaking again.

"It is difficult to confirm that now, so use the other entrance."

"..."

That bastard. I had clearly seen my name as the guard flipped through the list, yet the guard was pretending not to know.

Was it just my imagination that I wanted to punch the guard?

Then dissatisfied voices rose from the people who had begun waiting because of me.

"What are you doing? Move aside already!"

"Hey! How dare something so lowly try to walk along the path used by their betters?"

"Get out of there!"

As the accusations continued from people dressed in lavish clothes and ornaments, Wang Soso, who had gone in first, could not hide her flustered expression.

"Brother Jin..."

"Didn't you hear them telling you to get out?"

I could see the corner of that guard's mouth curl upward.

That made three.

‘So they intend to crush my spirit from the very start?’

It seemed what I had noticed was no coincidence. The guard, the martial artists beside the guard, and even the scholars were all doing their best to suppress their laughter.

They had been persistent enough to send me three invitations. There was no way they did not know who I was.

They had even avoided calling me by the epithet people always used mockingly.

The guard blocking me eventually put on a fierce expression.

As though the guard knew I would be unable to move.

Well, mistakes like this happened all the time.

I could follow their wishes for now, then correct the mistake later.

But...

"Get the hell out... Urk! Urk!"

I wasn't that good-natured.

The guard's eyes bulged in surprise as I lifted the guard off the ground by the back of the neck.

"W-What is this... How dare you... the Eunha Merchant Group..."

"What kind of thuggish behavior is this!"

"So there was a reason he was called the Black Flame Dragon, with his deep ties to the Black Path..."

I understood what they were saying.

If I belonged to the White Path, I should act like the White Path and preserve its dignity.

But why did I have to dance to their tune?

"Ah, didn't you know? I have more friends in the Black Path than I do in the White Path. A Black Path heavyweight even gave me the Black Flame Dragon epithet."

"Just as the rumors said..."

"L-Let the guard go at once!"

For some reason, everyone readily accepted what I said.

They looked as though they had stepped in something they should not have.

They had done something, but they had not expected me to react like this.

The people who had been smug until moments ago, certain that I could not act without justification, now began to fret because they had no idea what I might do next.

I had never realized it before, but there was a reason Black Path martial artists endured inconvenience to live on the Black Path.

They all had a plan.

‘This is incredibly convenient.’

The guard struggled desperately to escape my grip, feet dangling in the air.

But what could the guard do with that tiny amount of internal energy?

Perhaps because the guard was gradually running out of breath, the red face turned purple.

Just before the guard's breath gave out, I threw the guard toward a spot with a makeshift table.

Crash.

The paper, brushes, ink, and inkstone used to keep the register scattered in every direction, and the table split in half.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Eunha Merchant Group's martial artists drew their swords all at once.

For the first time, I liked my epithet.