WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 316: The Late-Winter Knife Wind (4)
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At this point, replacing the lecturers and instructors did not mean much to me.
Even if the relative grading system changed to absolute evaluations, my highly rated grades would not suddenly plummet to the bottom.
Besides, the place I wanted to go was the White Wolf Pavilion.
I was not aiming for the Azure Dragon Pavilion or Red Dragon Pavilion, where everyone else wanted to go. As long as I was not rated so poorly that I got sent to a regional branch, it would not be a major problem.
“What do you find so funny?”
Their voice dripped with coldness.
I did not want to make trouble, so I gave a slight bow.
“My apologies.”
The lecturer stared at me as though they meant to bore a hole through me, then asked again.
“I asked what you found funny.”
Whatever they did now would not affect me, so I had intended to let it go.
But...
“I asked what you found funny. Are you not going to answer?”
How could I not laugh when they were openly pulling this kind of stunt?
I raised my slightly lowered head.
“I do not know what your reasons are, but I found it funny that you are trying so hard to devalue our entire class.”
“What?”
“It is true that the previous class received a great deal of attention because of Yong Soa. Still, I cannot accept the claim that our class is inferior to theirs.”
It was true that this class had drawn less attention than the previous one.
The last class had been full of people whose names were already known before they even entered the Martial Arts Academy.
Even so, this class had Ilgak and many others who would make a name for themselves in the Orthodox-Demonic War. How could they say our level was lower?
When I answered confidently, the lecturer's face twisted.
“You don't know why?”
Their head slowly tilted to one side.
“You truly do not know?”
“I do not.”
They had been asking the same annoying question this whole time...
“It is because of you.”
Huh? What kind of bullshit was that?
“Because you seized the Academy Representative position through underhanded means, the Academy's overall standard has fallen.”
Their words were so absurd that I was left speechless.
Did the lecturer think I could not refute them because I had been intimidated?
They continued with a smug smile.
“Because the Academy Representative is lacking, the standard of instruction has dropped sharply. In the end, it will deal a severe blow to the entire Martial Alliance.”
As if every original sin rested on my shoulders.
As if I were someone who would take what belonged to them.
“Since the Martial Arts Academy first opened, there has never been a class as worthless as this one.”
After looking at me once, they said, “Seeing all of you struggle because you cannot deal with a single disciple from a third-rate sect makes my blood boil so much I cannot sleep.”
They looked at the Academy students from the Nine Sects One Gang and Five Great Clans with contempt.
Then their gaze returned to me.
I could feel their determination to crush me before I grew any further.
“Well, perhaps it is also because you are exceptionally cunning. This time, you destroyed the Jeondeung Sect by framing them for dark arts, did you not?”
The Enforcement Hall had already moved, yet they still called it a frame-up.
It did not look like they intended to listen no matter what I said.
The Taeul Sect being looked down on was nothing new.
Well, we were a weak sect. I could accept that much.
“But what have you been babbling about this whole time?”
“...What?”
This was not just mindless criticism and mockery anymore. They had crossed the line.
And when someone crossed the line...
“Ah, are you a Qingcheng Sect disciple who practiced dark arts?”
“What?”
The best answer to a mindless attack was another mindless attack.
#
“You... crazy bastard!”
“Am I wrong?”
“What kind of nonsense are you...!”
“Why are you getting so worked up? Ah, is it true that you practiced dark arts? Is it true that you belong to the Qingcheng Sect? Do your eyes turn black by any chance?”
“...!”
Seeing how excessively agitated they became when I pressed them, they really must have been from the Qingcheng Sect.
If they belonged to another sect, they would not have become this enraged in the first place.
“Is it so hard to say, ‘No’? Then again, people always show it when they lie.”
“...Do you even know what you are saying?”
“Did I say anything wrong?”
“You are falsely framing me right now...! Do you think this is something that can simply be overlooked?”
I deliberately burst into loud laughter.
“Did you not also incite people with lies? Why does what I said become a crime?”
“When did I...!”
“Are we truly the worst class in history?”
I turned my head and looked over the Academy students.
Most of them did not look pleased.
Even those who disliked me would not want to be looked down on along with me. It was only natural.
The mood gradually shifted in my favor.
Without taking my eyes off the Academy students, I spoke.
“You denied everything the people sitting here have worked for all this time. Yet you say I am committing some great crime by lying?”
“That is...”
“Does my being the representative alone prove that this class is the worst? For the record, I defeated Ilgak in a spar.”
In an instant, the Academy students turned their attention toward Ilgak.
For some reason, Ilgak's smooth head turned red.
The lecturer gritted their teeth.
“That was only because you hid the fact that you secretly received training from the Academy Director.”
“Oh? Do martial artists reveal every martial art they have learned? Is that what they teach at the Qingcheng Sect?”
“...”
“Then tell us every martial art you have learned. Include the final method you would use to kill an enemy as well.”
“...”
They could not say it, could they?
A proverb of the martial world said to always hide thirty percent of one's ability.
The truly insane said to hide seventy percent.
So where did they get off trying to sell me that nonsense?
I gave a small shrug.
“Then everything you said was just bullshit.”
“...!”
The lecturer and the Academy students alike widened their eyes.
Even they must have thought I had gone too far.
I knew that too, but I crossed the line on purpose.
That was the only way to truly piss this asshole off.
“You replaced the lecturers and instructors for some other reason, then shifted the blame onto the Academy students, did you not? That is why you keep spouting that bullshit.”
Creak.
My, how frightening. They were going to grind their teeth away at that rate.
If they thought I would stop talking because of that, they were badly mistaken.
“That other reason was probably...”
I turned my head toward the Academy students again.
Especially those from the Nine Sects One Gang and Five Great Clans.
“You are afraid that your foolish juniors will not be able to follow in your footsteps. You are afraid the established order will be disrupted and people outside the Nine Sects One Gang and Five Great Clans will take the important positions.”
“...!”
The faces of the lecturer and Academy students alike turned red.
Some still looked at me with hostility.
So what?
They had hated me from the start.
If they were going to keep pouring filth over my path, they should have been prepared for some of it to splash onto theirs.
“The Nine Sects One Gang and Five Great Clans must have it nice. Even if they earn mediocre grades at the Academy, their seniors come down from above and work hard to pull them up.”
I looked at them and curled my lips into a bright smile.
“What a fair and righteous Martial Alliance.”
Just as the members of the Nine Sects One Gang and Five Great Clans showed hostility toward the others, some of the others glared back at them.
Those from the One Hundred Eight Peaks and those with no affiliation.
Whatever the truth was, that was what the current situation looked like.
The gazes directed at the lecturer, which had initially been filled with fear, slowly turned to contempt.
Perhaps sensing the atmosphere, the lecturer's expression hardened.
“...As expected, your tongue is as cunning as they come.”
They tried to convince them that my words were lies, but it was already too late.
I had already given the Academy students something to think about.
No matter what the lecturer said now, they would believe what they wanted to believe.
Already, complaints began to erupt among them.
“Those bastards from the Nine Sects One Gang...”
“Do they really have to go this far?”
“If they are going to do this, why even make us take the regular examination? They should just keep everything for themselves.”
This was not an uproar caused solely by what I had said.
I had only lightly touched the inferiority and doubts that had taken root deep in their minds.
Each person would be the one to grow the leaves and bear the flowers.
Just like now.
“As far as I know, there has never been a time in history when all Academy lecturers were replaced at once.”
“So even after becoming Martial Alliance members, we will still be treated differently?”
“They said going to the Academy would not make much difference...”
The anger born from discrimination they had suffered for so long quickly spread through the room.
The members of the Nine Sects One Gang and Five Great Clans, who had looked at me with displeasure, began trading hostile stares with the other Academy students.
Those who had watched me as if wondering what this madman was doing now looked at the lecturer with hostility instead of me.
The lecturer must have noticed the change in the atmosphere. They poured internal energy into their voice and thundered, “Enough! Enough!!!”
Some people covered their ears in surprise.
The gazes of those who had been glaring at each other turned back to the lecturer.
They were already staring at me with a calm expression.
“If what I said is nonsense... can you prove it?”
Prove it?
Prove what?
“I asked whether you can prove that your skill truly merits the top student position.”
Ah, so they were choosing to confront me head-on.
“The top students in Academy history possessed at least the skill of a Deputy Hall Master. I... also possess the skill of a Deputy Hall Master within the Martial Alliance, so prove it.”
Who were they trying to fool?
I already knew from the Mantong Office's records that they were Hall Master-level.
But what did that matter?
They wanted to throw themselves into a pit of shit.
Shing.
I immediately drew the Scarlet Radiance Sword and raised my killing intent.
A red line appeared along the Scarlet Radiance Sword, and chilling killing intent scattered in every direction.
“Urgh...”
“What the...”
“How could...”
Even the Academy students seated in the front row frowned as though they could barely endure it.
I pointed the tip of the Scarlet Radiance Sword at the lecturer.
“I will prove it. Do I just need to cut off one of your arms?”
When I took three long strides forward, they took a step back and held out a hand.
They glanced up and down for a moment before saying, “...No matter how angry I am as a lecturer, I cannot see an Academy student's blood.”
What were they talking about?
Did they seriously think they could draw my blood in this situation?
“Then how do you want me to prove it?”
“...Internal energy. Let us compete in internal energy!”
“Hmm...”
I paused to think about why things like this kept happening.
It was not as if I had deliberately hidden my abilities.
Why did people keep crossing the line?
Then I thought about it again.
“Ah.”
I had never clearly revealed my abilities either.
Maybe that was why this kept happening.
Yes, that was it.
“What? Are you afraid?”
Had I looked hesitant while I was lost in thought?
From their perspective, this must have seemed like a fight in which they held an absolute advantage.
In a spar, there was room to make up for a difference in skill with instinct or quick thinking, but internal energy reflected the years one had lived.
No Academy student could compete in internal energy against someone who had lived as an elite martial artist from the beginning.
No ordinary Academy student, at least.
Holding back the smile creeping onto my lips, I nodded.
“Fine. If I destroy your dantian, that will settle it, right?”
“...No, a contest of internal energy is not...”
Was there a more certain proof than mocking an opponent who coughed blood and became a cripple?
The thought was tempting.
“Let us do it.”
I sheathed the Scarlet Radiance Sword and held out both hands.
“...”
The lecturer hesitated for a moment, then composed themself and clasped my hands.
Their face brimmed with confidence.
“Go ahead and struggle as much as you like!”
The moment our fingers interlocked.
Whoosh-
A massive surge of energy, like the Yangtze River, rushed in through their palms.
It was heavy and solid. I could tell that they had never been outmatched in internal energy wherever they went.
“Heh heh, how does it feel? There is always a heaven above the heavens...”
I began to draw on the Taeul True Scripture in earnest.
Then.
“...!”
The confident smile on the lecturer's lips stiffened.
“Hngh...!”
They shut their mouth tight and strained, unable to continue their prattling.
The internal energy that had reached my Extremity Gate slowly, yet relentlessly, began to be pushed back.
“...!”
They desperately tried to draw out more internal energy, as though they did not even have the chance to speak, but it was useless.
They should have known better than to compare the two.
No matter how vast the Yangtze was, it could never be larger than the sea.
The internal energy that entered through my Extremity Gate flowed through their Crooked Pond and Middle Palace, passed through their middle dantian, then pierced Great Palace, Beam Gate, Heavenly Pivot, and Sea of Qi in turn before reaching their dantian.
Their internal energy, as vast as the Yangtze, was swept away by a greater current like the sea. It lost all its original activity and was completely suppressed.
Then I went further.
Swoosh-
I turned my energy hostile and violently stirred through their acupoints.
“Guh... guh...”
They kept drawing ragged breaths as though they lacked air, but nothing eased the thirst written across their face.
It did not take long for their flushed face to turn black.
And finally.
‘Dantian!’
I exerted force on the energy surrounding their dantian and gradually increased the pressure.
In that suffocating pain, fear that their dantian might shatter would rise within them.
Sure enough, shock filled their face.
“You mentioned humiliation earlier, did you not?”
With just a little more force, I could destroy their dantian.
I continued calmly.
“The real humiliation was what you did, Lecturer. Not only to me, but to every Academy student in my class.”
Whether they were conscious or not, their eyes had already rolled back.
Foam gathered around their mouth like a rabid dog's. They looked truly pitiful.
But I could not stop here.
“I will repay you in kind for the humiliation we suffered.”
If I did not show them, they would keep crossing that line.
When I sent in more internal energy and tightened the pressure around their dantian, their body began to tremble.
They were on the verge of passing out.
Then a desperate plea escaped the lecturer's mouth.
“...S-stop...”
“What did you say? I could not hear you clearly.”
I loosened the pressure around their dantian slightly.
The lecturer let out a hot breath.
“...P-please stop...”
“Stop is not an apology.”
The lecturer's eyes opened wide.
Pain made their mind work quickly enough.
After hesitating for a moment, they barely forced out the words.
“I-I ask your forgiveness.”
Ha. This asshole still had not come to their senses.
I increased the pressure on their dantian again.
“Guhk...!”
At last, the lecturer began to spit bloody foam.
I turned slightly so the foam would not hit me, then asked loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“Well, I cannot quite hear what you are saying.”
“...F-forgive me. I-I was wrong.”
The lecturer pleaded desperately, their eyes brimming as though they might burst into tears at any moment.
I released the pressure around their dantian and withdrew all my internal energy.
“Urgh!”
As I withdrew it, I moved my internal energy a little roughly. The lecturer finally vomited blood and fainted on the spot.
Bleurgh!
I stepped back to avoid the lecturer's blood.
“Tsk. Class is ruined for today.”
As I returned to my seat, gathered my belongings, and walked out of the lecture hall...
“...”
“...”
Not even the sound of breathing could be heard inside.
Honestly, why was the atmosphere like this on the very first day of the semester?
Footnotes:
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