WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 325: The Black Forest (5)
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Demonic beasts.
Beings that live beyond their natural lifespans through the power of spirit veins and wield strength that defies natural laws.
That was roughly the usual definition of a demonic beast.
‘In truth, the difference between spiritual beasts and demonic beasts is pretty simple.’
Ordinary people who had never learned martial arts judged them by whether they harmed humans.
If a tiger ate people, it was a demonic beast. If it repaid kindness, it was considered a spiritual beast.
For martial artists, however, the standard for distinguishing them was simple.
It depended on what they carried inside.
If it carried a poison core or evil core, it was a demonic beast. If it carried an elixir pellet, it was a spiritual beast.
Wasn't that how the world worked?
‘Give good things, and you're a good guy. Give bad things, and you're a bad guy. That's right.’
My teammates and I stared greedily at the Iron-Carapaced Python.
Its skin looked as tough as armor, its tongue flicking in and out of a head as large as a bull's.
Then there was its body, so long that its end was nowhere in sight.
Heh heh. If that wasn't a spiritual beast, what was?
“That thing looks like it's carrying a fine elixir pellet.”
Had Yang Japyeong heard my mutter?
For some reason, he answered with a detached expression.
“It doesn't have an elixir pellet.”
“...What? How could something that big not have one?”
“Most of this forest's inhabitants are about that size.”
“...”
When I lowered my head dejectedly, Yang Japyeong shook his head.
“Anyway, it's a sensitive creature. It would be best to get past it as quietly as possible.”
The moment Yang Japyeong cautiously took a step forward...
Crack.
A branch beneath his foot snapped, and the sleeping Iron-Carapaced Python suddenly raised its head.
...What was he doing?
Yang Japyeong picked up the broken branch, his face pale.
“...W-why is this here?”
Was this how he escaped reality?
“M-my mistake...”
Whoosh!
The Iron-Carapaced Python, which had been flicking its tongue, rushed at Yang Japyeong in an instant.
When it opened its mouth wide, it looked as though it could swallow an entire bull at once.
“Hrk...!”
Yang Japyeong squeezed his eyes shut as if he had already accepted death.
No, how long was he planning to stay like that?
I kicked off the ground and struck the Iron-Carapaced Python's head with my fist.
Boom!
Even though my hand was brimming with internal energy, it felt like I had struck an iron wall.
“Oh...”
Look at this bastard. It wasn't even hurt.
But what were you going to do about it?
I drew the Scarlet Radiance Sword and slashed down.
Craaaack!
Yet...
“Hm?”
Surprisingly, the Scarlet Radiance Sword, coated in sword qi, failed to pierce its skin.
As I stared in disbelief, Yang Japyeong explained while dodging its body.
“The Iron-Carapaced Python's skin can't be pierced even by sword qi!”
Really?
It felt wasteful to use sword force on a wyrm, but I had no choice.
“S-sword force?”
Ignoring Yang Japyeong's shock, I charged with sword force blooming over the Scarlet Radiance Sword.
Slash!
I struck with the intent to cut it in half, but it only wounded the creature. Its body remained intact.
Kyaaaaaak!
The Iron-Carapaced Python, filled with venomous rage, swung its long tail.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Thick trees shattered as its tail tore through everything around it.
“Argh!”
“Eek!”
While the others dodged the Iron-Carapaced Python's rampage, I used the Taeul Eighty Thousand Divine Steps to create three illusions.
The Iron-Carapaced Python swallowed my illusions in one bite.
Crunch.
It even swallowed the rock where the illusions had appeared, crushing it between its teeth before spitting the broken stones onto the ground.
‘...I'd die if it bit me.’
Whether it was venomous or not didn't matter. If I got swallowed, I wouldn't even have a chance to fight back.
As that thought crossed my mind, I used the Gecko Climbing Art to climb a tree and gathered internal energy in my palm.
Rumble.
Energy trembled in my grasp as though thunder and lightning were about to strike.
Then I kicked off the tree, leaped above the Iron-Carapaced Python's head, and drove the Mad Heaven Divine Palm down.
Kwararara-boom!
I had narrowed the range as much as possible, so its power was slightly reduced, but it should still have been enough to blow its head off...
‘Nope.’
When the Mad Heaven Divine Palm dissipated, the Iron-Carapaced Python was still alive, its body twitching.
Kyaaaaaaak!
The only difference was that most of its thick, armor-like skin had been stripped away, leaving it bleeding in agony.
I was about to charge in with sword force rising from the Scarlet Radiance Sword and finish it in one strike, but perhaps sensing danger, it began to flee.
‘Damn it!’
It was running away?
“What are you all doing? Stop it from escaping!”
At my shout, my stunned teammates sprang into action.
Yang Japyeong had looked relieved as he watched the Iron-Carapaced Python flee, but he jumped in surprise.
“Huh? Why are you stopping it?!”
I ignored his pointless question.
Why stop it?
Even if there were plenty of duds, didn't we have to cut it open first?
I quickly issued orders.
“Jaehwa and Seollan, support from behind!”
“Yes!”
“Geumpyo, hold it back.”
“...Me? With this?”
Geumpyo pointed at his shield, then at the Iron-Carapaced Python, looking incredulous.
If an elixir pellet came out of this, I definitely wasn't giving him any.
“Just keep it from attacking anyone else!”
“Ah, yes!”
As soon as Geumpyo blocked the Iron-Carapaced Python's path and directed his killing intent at it, the others reined in their own killing intent.
Boom!
The Iron-Carapaced Python slammed Geumpyo with its body, sending him back two jang, about twenty feet.
A long line was carved into the ground by Geumpyo's feet.
Just as the Iron-Carapaced Python turned to flee again...
Whoosh!
Thud!
An arrow fired by Jaehwa struck its eye.
Kyaaaaaaaaaak!
With the arrow buried deep in its eyeball, the Iron-Carapaced Python let out a horrible scream and twisted wildly, its cries echoing through the silent forest.
Then, as the final touch...
“Hyaaaah!”
I drove the Scarlet Radiance Sword, swirling with sword force, straight into the Iron-Carapaced Python's head.
Crunch!
Kyaaaaaaak!
The Iron-Carapaced Python writhed on the ground, then rose endlessly into the sky in agony.
Ten feet, twenty feet, thirty feet.
As I was lifted into the air while clinging to the Scarlet Radiance Sword, I felt its remaining eye roll back.
Soon after...
Like a giant ancient tree falling, the Iron-Carapaced Python's body slowly began to topple backward.
I quickly pulled the Scarlet Radiance Sword free and leaped away.
Boom!
After hitting the ground, it twitched for a moment before finally falling still.
Another treasure for us.
“Good grief... You hunted an Iron-Carapaced Python.”
Yang Japyeong stared at me as though he couldn't believe it.
“T-this shouldn't be something that can be hunted so easily...”
Nothing in this world was absolute. It was all relative.
Humming quietly, I cut open the Iron-Carapaced Python's belly.
As expected, I had to use sword force even to cut through its stomach.
But...
“...There's nothing.”
At Eunho's words, I glared at him, and he shrugged.
“I only said there was nothing.”
“Were you mocking me?”
“Absolutely not! Why would I do that?”
We split open the Iron-Carapaced Python's entire body, but in the end, there wasn't even a poison core, let alone an elixir pellet.
‘This was just a huge wyrm?!’
As I stood there with a dejected look, Yang Japyeong spoke as if to comfort me.
“Our sect doesn't usually hunt demonic beasts. The rewards are too poor for the effort. So now, let's quietly head to the Demonic Realm...”
Right, the Demonic Realm!
I sprang to my feet and asked.
“You said there are more demonic beasts in the Demonic Realm, right?”
Yang Japyeong stared at me for a moment before sighing.
“You haven't given up.”
Of course not!
My goals for this Great Journey had been to improve my poison resistance and increase my internal energy in the first place.
After hesitating, Yang Japyeong spoke.
“The truth is... there are creatures that carry elixir pellets.”
“Huh?”
Yang Japyeong looked at the Iron-Carapaced Python's corpse.
“As I said, they're too dangerous, so I wasn't going to tell you, but your skill seems sufficient...”
“Where? Where are they?!”
“W-wait, I was about to tell you. You don't need to rush at me like that...”
“Let's go right now! Right now!”
Right. How could a place like this not have elixir pellets?
The exploration of Mukrim had only just begun.
#
Yang Japyeong's route differed from the path they had taken so far.
It took longer, was harder to traverse, and received no sunlight even in broad daylight, making it feel like night.
Rather than dense undergrowth, it felt more like a swamp.
Before long, the group encountered a large snake with red spots.
Yang Japyeong muttered tensely.
“It's a Blood-Shadow Flower Viper. Its venom is extremely potent, so...”
“What are you all doing? It’s spiritual medicine! Catch it!”
Boom!
Craaaack!
Clang!
Thud.
Before Yang Japyeong could finish explaining, Jin Sowoon's group moved.
“Treasure! Treasure!”
They made short work of a Blood-Shadow Flower Viper in the blink of an eye.
‘...That thing can swallow a wild boar whole.’
It was actually an excellent combination.
One of the team members specialized in the bow, and another could use the rare ice arts.
With a practitioner of Yang Family Qi Art among them as well, they could practically be called experts at exploring Mukrim.
“F-found iiiit!”
Jin Sowoon and his junior disciples hunted demonic beasts and cut open their bellies as though possessed by hunger for spiritual medicine.
Jin Sowoon smiled brightly and raised a small bead in his bloodied hand, making Yang Japyeong gasp.
‘T-that blood is poisonous too!’
From the moment they entered Mukrim, Jin Sowoon had been doing something insane in the name of building poison resistance. Had he truly developed poison resistance? That madman... no, Jin Sowoon casually held the Blood-Shadow Flower Viper's poison core.
Yang Japyeong let out a long sigh.
“...That isn't an elixir pellet. It's a poison core.”
“Th-this is?”
Jin Sowoon's pupils trembled violently.
Yang Japyeong picked up a thick branch and stirred the Blood-Shadow Flower Viper's stomach.
Then he spotted something the size of a grain of millet and pointed at it.
“That is the elixir pellet.”
Jin Sowoon tilted his head, looking doubtful.
“...No, that just looks like a grain of undigested rice.”
“...Blood-Shadow Flower Vipers don't eat rice.”
“No, I'm sure I can feel a spiritual aura from this...”
Jin Sowoon raised the poison core again, certain of himself.
Then...
Sizzle.
White smoke rose from his hand.
Of course. That poison was incredibly potent.
“What the hell is this?!”
Jin Sowoon hurriedly threw the poison core to the ground, where it blackened the dry leaves around it.
“F-fuck...”
His fingertips had turned red and raw. The poison had melted his skin.
“Didn't I tell you? The losses would be far greater.”
That was one of Mukrim's miserable traits.
Demonic beasts with elixir pellets used most of their spiritual power on their poison cores, leaving the elixir pellets themselves tiny.
It was nature's law for surviving Mukrim's harsh environment.
That was why Mukrim could remain forbidden ground, untouched by human feet.
Still, Yang Japyeong thought it wasn't bad for them to experience a hunt firsthand.
No matter how much he explained, it couldn't compare to learning it through their own bodies.
Now they wouldn't keep shouting about spiritual medicine...
“There must be lots of creatures like that in Mukrim, right?”
“Th-there are.”
Jin Sowoon spoke with eyes full of anticipation.
“You all heard him, right? If we want to consume enough spiritual medicine to be satisfied, we'll have to work hard!”
Huh...? He hadn't given up?
Yang Japyeong stammered, deeply uneasy.
“Y-you're going to keep hunting? Just for that?”
The internal energy gained from an elixir pellet the size of a millet grain couldn't be much.
“Of course! Doesn't every little bit add up?”
“...”
Did they even have enough time to gather enough specks to make a mountain?
The Academy students would only spend a month in Mukrim.
Yet Yang Japyeong couldn't say anything as he watched Jin Sowoon clench his fist, his hand raw and covered in the Blood-Shadow Flower Viper's blood.
‘Does he have some illness where he'll die if he doesn't consume elixir pellets?’
His shining eyes made it clear that persuasion was impossible.
...Was this what they called madness?
Having finally given up, Yang Japyeong decided to go along with them.
They had hunted the Iron-Carapaced Python, then the Blood-Shadow Flower Viper.
They didn't seem like people Mukrim would easily swallow.
Besides, he was curious to see just how much skill they would show.
Yang Japyeong dusted off his knees and straightened up.
“Very well. Then we'll have to move quickly.”
As Yang Japyeong began guiding them again, he failed to notice that the Blood-Shadow Flower Viper's poison core, which had fallen to the ground, had already disappeared.
Footnotes:
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