The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything - Chapter 315

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 315: The Late-Winter Knife Wind (3)

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Thanks to Father causing a scene(?), the banquet came to an end.

At first, the Black Dragon Stronghold members glared at the insignificant middle-aged man picking a fight with them. Then, once they learned he was my father, they respectfully greeted him.

“Ah! So you were the Great Stronghold Lord!”

“...”

For some reason, that only made Father angrier, and he immediately threw the Black Dragon Stronghold members out.

Along with the annual tribute they had brought.

Hey, did they know how much that was worth?

With no other choice, I met the Black Dragon Stronghold members at dawn, after the banquet had ended.

“Did you bring it?”

“Ah, yes. Stronghold Lord.”

“I told you not to call me that.”

“My apologies, Stronghold Lord!”

“...”

I didn't like being called the Black Dragon Stronghold Lord either.

I wasn't even part of the Green Forest. It made no sense for them to call me their Stronghold Lord.

“Just as you instructed, we converted it all into bank drafts.”

“Really?”

Money hadn't done anything wrong, had it?

I fought down the smile creeping onto my lips as I checked the amounts on the drafts, then tilted my head.

“Hm? There were valuables too, but you got full price for all of them?”

“Ah! That bastard tried to play games with us, so we taught him a little lesson.”

“...”

To manage that against a banking house that showed neither blood nor tears when money was involved.

The subordinates I had only met today seemed quite capable.

I'm starting to like these guys.

“Ahem.”

“Give us your orders!”

They reacted so quickly to a simple cough.

That made me like them even more.

“Listen carefully.”

I made sure to draw a clear line in case they misunderstood.

“I'm not someone who can become your Stronghold Lord, nor do I intend to.”

“What do you mean...?”

“Who am I?”

The vicious-looking men timidly tilted their heads at my question.

“The Black Flame Dragon... Stronghold Lord?”

“No, not that. What's my public position?”

“The Martial Arts Academy's top student...”

“Exactly!”

The Black Dragon Stronghold was operated together with the Green Dragon Stronghold.

The two had to be viewed as one, and Bang Duchil was the Stronghold Lord of the Twin-Dragon Stronghold.

I clenched the bank drafts tightly and spoke.

“Someone who will become a pillar of the White Path cannot become the Stronghold Lord of a mountain stronghold.”

“...”

The Green Forest men glanced at my hand, then lowered their heads like puppies who had lost their owner.

Looking at the backs of their heads, I added, “So from now on, send the annual tribute directly to me. Convert all of it into bank drafts first.”

“Pardon?”

My subordinates raised their heads together, their expressions full of confusion.

“It'll be trouble if Father finds out.”

“Um... what do you mean? You just said you weren't the Stronghold Lord...”

Why couldn't they understand what I was saying?

I waved the bank drafts in front of them.

“Don't you want to give me money?”

“...”

They insisted on giving it to me, so what choice did I have but to accept?

Rejecting someone's feelings wasn't polite either.

I'm not that rude.

“And send it on a set day every month if possible. If you send a large sum all at once, someone might trace the funds.”

“...”

The Green Forest men looked utterly dumbfounded.

The next day, we left the Great Heaven Merchant Group as scheduled to return to the Academy.

Everyone from the Taeul Sect came out to see us off.

“...I don't see the Outer Hall Lord.”

Everyone except Father.

Hong Saryeon looked at me worriedly, so I shrugged.

“He must be busy.”

Then Gang Chaeseok approached with a small bundle.

“Take it.”

“What is it?”

“Your father prepared it for you last summer. Well... he did put it beside the firewood yesterday, saying he'd burn it.”

He really was hopeless when it came to his son.

I snorted and untied the bundle.

Inside was a black martial uniform like the ones I often wore.

“They say it's customary for parents to make clothes for their child when they become top student. Your father heard that belatedly and repeatedly asked the best embroiderer in town to make it.”

Subtle patterns had been embroidered into it with silver thread, and the sleeves bore the word Taeul.

Thank goodness it didn't have “Top Student” embroidered across the chest.

I wrapped the bundle back up with a smile.

“Please tell him I said thank you.”

“He'll probably curse and ask why you did something so pointless.”

“Even so.”

The farewell was brief.

After what had happened the previous night, everyone in the Taeul Sect was watching Jin Taesan's mood.

Unlike when we came, we hired an escort agency and traveled comfortably back to the Academy.

The weather noticeably warmed as we traveled from Hefei to Wuhan.

As the carriage rolled along, I listened to my junior disciples chatter without pause and ate the meals prepared by the escort agency's horse handlers at set times.

The greatest advantage of traveling with an escort agency was that we didn't have to stand watch ourselves.

We usually slept at inns chosen in advance, but even when we occasionally camped outdoors, we had no trouble.

By the time we reached the Academy, spring flowers had begun to bloom.

“Oh? You arrived today too? If I'd known, I should've traveled with you from Hefei.”

Seong Moran arrived at the Academy on the same day as us, together with Namgung Seonhwa.

“It was so, so, so wonderful!”

Eun Seollan arrived two days later, looking even happier after visiting her hometown.

“Haah, Brother...”

Moyong Jaehwa arrived three days later. For some reason, he had a sword at his waist.

“Grandfather asked what I planned to do once I ran out of arrows.”

Moyong Gang no longer objected to Jaehwa using a bow, but he told him to learn swordsmanship for emergencies. Jaehwa readily agreed.

“Ugh...”

Apparently, he realized far too late that those words had turned his break into hell.

He said Moyong Gang had put him through one-on-one training every day of the break without giving him a single day off.

“Isn't that a good thing?”

When Eunho scolded him for complaining despite receiving personal training from an absolute master, Jaehwa looked ready to burst into tears.

“H-he'd do this, this... he'd stab at my neck with his sword, and he actually cut my flesh. Ugh... I passed out after getting hit. B-but do you know what was the scariest part...?”

“...”

“It hurt so much I thought I was going to die, but the next day I'd wake up perfectly fine. Then the same day would repeat... I really, really wanted to run away so many times...”

Jaehwa's vivid testimony made Eunho, who had just scolded him, nod as though he deeply understood. He patted Jaehwa's shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. That feeling when you really can't go on, but you still can... Go ahead and cry. It's okay to cry!”

...Why was that guy looking at me?

Soon afterward, everyone in the Academy Representative office returned as well.

“Have you been well, Representative?”

“We heard about the Jeondeung Sect.”

“As expected of you, Representative.”

For a while, the Academy Representative office buzzed with talk of the Jeondeung Sect.

Everyone seemed to have been waiting for the Academy to reopen, eager to spill all the stories they had gathered.

“To think there was someone within a White Path sect who had learned a forbidden art. It's truly horrifying.”

When one Academy student shuddered as they spoke, another said with a grave expression, “A sect in my hometown was attacked this time after being accused of learning a forbidden art.”

That opened the floodgates for similar stories among the Academy Representative office.

“Oh? A sect near mine suffered something similar too.”

“We had a sect like that as well.”

It was as if they had planned it. Stories erupted from every corner.

Before long, the people sharing their stories noticed something strange.

“...So many sects have learned forbidden arts?”

Everyone fell silent at the absurd situation.

Even if there were many sects that had learned forbidden arts, it wasn't easy to prove their guilt.

How had so many sects been exposed in such a short time?

‘Has it already begun?’

The purging of rivals.

Considering that most of the reported sects were rivals of those who reported them, the intent behind this was all too obvious.

They could attack their rivals under the pretext of exterminating forbidden arts without even needing the Martial Alliance's help. Even if the accusations proved false later, the sect caught off guard would already be gone, leaving no one to clear its name.

‘They must see the time before the Alliance Leader Decree as an opportunity.’

Until the Martial Alliance issued the Alliance Leader Decree, the reports and surprise attacks wouldn't stop.

It was also the best opportunity to expand their own influence.

‘Did I delay it, only to cause the same problem in the end?’

I had thought I reduced the casualties by shortening the Sichuan Bloodbath, but I had never imagined things would spread like this. It left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I couldn't even imagine what would happen once those who had truly learned demonic martial arts began to emerge.

The Martial Alliance needed to make a swift decision to restrain the martial artists now worked up over the appearance of forbidden arts.

“At least one of our sect elders has connections within the Inspectorate, so we're fortunate.”

“This is why sects try so hard to establish ties with the Martial Alliance, to prepare for times like this.”

“We need to receive good assignments too. If we start our Martial Alliance careers in a branch office from the beginning, we won't amount to much either way.”

As Academy students, they understood that the heart of the current situation wasn't forbidden arts, but a struggle for interests.

‘This is truly filthy business.’

Those who held high positions in the Martial Alliance or had close ties to it wouldn't be easily targeted in this forbidden arts incident.

If someone attacked a sect with Martial Alliance connections and influence, they wouldn't be able to dismiss it as a simple “mistake.”

After all, people could only avoid responsibility for a mistake when their opponent was weaker than them.

It wasn't a pleasant sight, watching this sudden forbidden arts incident fuel the Academy students' drive to excel.

Most of the Academy students returned after the break.

Yet the somewhat excited atmosphere did not settle easily.

I couldn't tell whether it was because the winter break was longer than the summer break, or because of the recent forbidden arts incident.

Either way, everyone seemed determined to prepare for the new semester.

“Hey.”

I met Cheol Sunjik before the semester began.

There was something I had to give him.

“It seems you made it through without incident.”

Was that his way of asking why I was still alive?

Tch. The fact that I understood him immediately meant I had gotten used to the way he spoke.

“If you were watching the Zhongnan Sect, you would've known.”

“I didn't particularly want to concern myself with it.”

How prickly.

“Anyway, did you bring it?”

Cheol Sunjik tilted his head at my question.

“...I'm certain I came here to receive something. No, what could I possibly have to give Representative Jin in the first place?”

What? He didn't bring it?

I shifted my weight and held out my hand.

“The iron rings.”

“...”

“You should've brought the iron rings we recovered. Do you know how much they were worth?”

Cheol Sunjik stared at me.

Hm, I recognized that expression.

It definitely said, What kind of bastard is this?

“What, you really didn't bring them?”

After glancing around, Cheol Sunjik spoke quietly.

“Don't you know that crimes are always exposed because of evidence? I melted them all down and threw them away, of course.”

Why would he throw them away?

He could've made something else out of them.

Was he born rich enough not to understand the concept of saving things?

“Tch, I can't trust you with anything.”

“...I don't want you to.”

As Cheol Sunjik stood up with that prim expression, ready to leave, I took a small mother-of-pearl bottle from my robe and set it on the table.

He stopped dead as he was about to head outside.

I nodded toward the bottle.

“What I promised.”

I ended up not taking the spiritual medicine because of this.

Well, I had taken Vajra Honey, so it wasn't a major loss.

“...”

Cheol Sunjik sat down again and silently stared at the mother-of-pearl bottle. Then he looked up at me.

His expression still showed that he had no idea what was going on.

“Are you really... giving this to me?”

“Of course I'm really giving it to you. What, should I fake giving it to you?”

Cheol Sunjik picked up the bottle and popped off its lid.

After taking a brief sniff, he quickly closed it again.

“It is real. And there's more than I expected.”

He shook the bottle, judging its contents.

“...Why are you giving this to me? You could've said there wasn't much, or that the purity was low. I would've had no way of verifying it.”

“You're making a fuss even when I'm giving it to you.”

“...”

I shrugged as I looked at him.

“I promised. I'm only keeping that promise.”

“A promise...”

What did this guy even think of me?

“...”

“If you don't want it, forget it.”

As I reached for the mother-of-pearl bottle, Cheol Sunjik hurriedly tucked it into his robe.

I snorted when I saw his face.

“Anyway, our deal is finished. You're an accomplice now too, so don't change your story later.”

With Cheol Sunjik's mouth now sealed, I stood to leave.

“Do you know the martial world is in an uproar over forbidden arts right now?”

It seemed Cheol Sunjik wanted to talk more.

Well, he didn't have many friends either.

I leaned back in my chair again.

“So?”

“There's talk that the Academy's classes will change.”

“What do you mean?”

“They intend to change how Academy students are evaluated.”

“And what do they gain from that?”

“The Nine Sects One Gang and the Five Great Clans are each gathering their own factions.”

I snorted.

I already knew that.

“You make it sound like the Twelve Peak Alliance isn't doing the same.”

Cheol Sunjik continued as if he hadn't heard me.

“All lecturers and instructors will be replaced.”

At this point?

“They'll be replaced with people who have served at least at the Hall Master-level within the Martial Alliance. I've heard they all volunteered.”

“And the volunteers are from the Nine Sects One Gang and the Five Great Clans?”

Cheol Sunjik nodded.

“The Hall Masters and elders of each hall took the lead in carrying this out. They say they intend to change the system that has grown stagnant.”

“Why now?”

A change like this would take a long time to prepare...

Would they really change everything during the semester because they couldn't even wait for the next class?

“Isn't this too rushed?”

“...Because the situation is urgent?”

Was there another problem I didn't know about?

“What is so urgent?”

Cheol Sunjik simply looked at me without answering.

Why wasn't this bastard talking?

“Anyway, that's all I have to say.”

Cheol Sunjik still refused to tell me what truly mattered.

This information would be classified even within the organization, so why was he going out of his way to tell me?

Cheol Sunjik hesitated, then lowered his gaze.

“...Consider it payment for this.”

He lightly tapped the spot over his chest where the mother-of-pearl bottle rested, then stood.

The day before the semester began, every lecturer and instructor was replaced just as Cheol Sunjik had said.

The Academy students objected to the unexpected change, but their objections were not accepted.

There had been overwhelmingly few of them to begin with.

And so, the new semester began.

Step. Step. Step.

The man who entered the lecture hall stood still and slowly surveyed the room.

“Everyone must be confused by this sudden situation, right?”

The lecturer continued with a faint smile on his agreeable face.

“You must be disappointed that you won't see the lecturers you were close to anymore... I hear some of you even objected?”

Did he know?

That what the Academy students who objected had taken issue with wasn't the sudden replacement of the lecturers, but the backgrounds of those replacing them.

“Well, there must have been all sorts of talk, like those ball-less bastards in Beijing.”

The lecturer spoke bluntly, as if he didn't care about their complaints.

“But the responsibility for this situation lies with your class.”

The atmosphere in the room chilled at his words.

“Your accomplishments are far below those of previous classes, so we had no choice but to take such extreme measures.”

An Academy student raised their hand at the absurd belittling assessment.

“...What do you mean by that?”

They had entered the Academy after surviving the most brutal regular examination in its history.

How could their accomplishments be lower than those of other classes?

The lecturer nodded deeply, as if it were a good question.

Then his face turned cold in an instant.

“If we graduate you like this, you'll harm the Martial Alliance.”

“...I don't understand.”

“Ahem, is the class itself really this lacking?”

“...”

The lecturer shook his head and sighed before continuing.

“Think of it this way. In my day, an Academy student with enough ability to barely enter the White Wolf Pavilion might be assigned to the Red Dragon Pavilion in your class.”

“...”

“That is how large the difference in standards is. But don't worry. The new instructors and lecturers will raise your abilities and, through absolute evaluations, determine where each of you will be assigned...”

“Pfft!”

I had silently listened to the lecturer's words, but I finally couldn't hold back my laughter.

This was actually hilarious.

“Kh!”

“...!”

The lecturer, who had been about to begin class, froze.

He soon swept his sharp gaze over the Academy students.

“...Who was it? Who laughed?”

When no one stepped forward, the lecturer began releasing killing intent.

Starting with those in the front row, the Academy students' faces turned pale.

“You won't come forward? Down, all of you! Push-up position!”

His booming voice echoed through the entire lecture hall.