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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 34: The Second-Rate Martial Artist Seeking a Legend (6)

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We finished our preparations and met again three days later.

The entrance to the cave containing the Mita Sacred Water lay beneath a river flowing between the valleys of Demon Spirit Plateau.

The current was so fierce that even those who had mastered aquatic arts found it difficult to approach. Worse, anyone who forced their way in could be swept all the way to Dongting Lake before reaching the cave. Since the Hao Sect had been busily selling maps, they agreed to divert the upstream waterway on the appointed day.

When that day arrived, Yueyang was packed to the point of bursting.

"When does it begin?"

"They said they would block the upstream current from the Tiger Hour[1] onward."

A martial artist who had checked the information answered Namgung Seonhwa's question.

She relayed it to us.

"Let's move at the Rabbit Hour[2]."

"Wouldn't it be better to move a little later?"

Everyone's eyes turned to me at once.

They probably disliked the sight of someone who had come alone stepping forward. Besides, the Iron Sword Sect martial artists still held plenty of resentment toward me.

"Why?"

"The valley may be wide, but if this many people try to enter at once, a large fight will break out from the very beginning."

According to a report filed with the Martial Alliance's Mantong Office, around ten thousand people had once tried to make their way up the narrow riverway at the same time, causing a chaotic battle almost immediately.

They could not properly form sword formations, so even large groups suffered heavy casualties. Well-known masters of the martial world had even met absurd deaths.

"The paths inside the cave are too broad and complicated for it to matter who enters first. Going in early won't make much difference."

Namgung Seonhwa seemed to understand what I meant, but understanding and action were two different things.

"Then I think it would be better to enter first."

"...Understood."

I did not press the matter any further. Namgung Seonhwa was effectively the leader of this group. Rather than trying to forcefully persuade her, it would be better for me to do what I needed to do.

"Please take one each."

I handed a scroll to Namgung Seonhwa, Seong Moran, and Yu Jiryang.

"I had my suspicions, but... this is astonishing."

Yu Jiryang let out a gasp after unrolling his scroll.

"You prepared one for each of us?"

"We don't know what may happen inside. As long as you don't become separated from your own group, you shouldn't lose your way."

Namgung Seonhwa and Seong Moran silently nodded as though conveying my words to their martial artists. The martial artists gave faint nods in reply.

"There really are a lot of people."

The sun had not yet risen, but the streets were already full of people heading toward Demon Spirit Plateau.

"And I can see notorious Black Path groups whose names alone are widely known. Those are the Mad Demon Five Hounds, right?"

Seong Moran looked around with a slightly overwhelmed expression.

"It's because of the Mita Sacred Water's effects."

"What? Is the Mita Sacred Water useful to the Black Path?"

"The same effect means something different to them. Disciples of White Path sects cultivate a single internal cultivation method, so their dantians are pure and their bodies carry few impurities. Most Black Path practitioners, on the other hand, learn internal cultivation methods with no proper foundation, focused only on increasing the amount of internal energy. The stronger they become, the more their true qi is worn away and their bodies become contaminated. If people like that could undergo Rebirth through the Mita Sacred Water, it would be little different from being born again."

"Oh..."

"...!"

Not only Seong Moran, who had asked the question, but Namgung Seonhwa also looked quite surprised.

"But why do you dislike Great Hero Hyeoncheong so much, Young Master Jin?"

Hyeoncheong was Yong Soa's Daoist name.

"I don't dislike him..."

"Don't lie. The killing intent in your eyes when you looked at Great Hero Hyeoncheong was far greater than when you looked at my brother."

I briefly turned my gaze and saw the Iron Sword Sect martial artists glaring at me as though they wanted to kill me.

I considered whether I should stop Seong Moran, then gave up and continued.

"I disliked how he spoke as though anyone who followed him would survive without fail."

"But Great Hero Hyeoncheong has the right to say that."

"That may be true if we only consider his martial skill, but we don't know what will happen in there."

"...Even so, he clearly has an advantage."

"Yes. I simply disliked his attitude, as though he could decide who lived and died."

"You truly hate submitting to others."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. It's noisy ahead."

After passing over muddy ground, we entered a path where water reached our ankles.

We had begun entering the valleys of Demon Spirit Plateau.

The people ahead were packed together, slowing our progress.

At the same time, the people who had been keeping their distance behind us began closing in.

"Why is it so narrow?"

As Seong Moran complained, Namgung Seonhwa sensed that something was wrong and ordered the martial artists to stay alert.

"Prepare for battle."

The Namgung Clan martial artists drew their swords one after another. The approaching people behind us slowed slightly, but the endless crowd filling the riverway kept pressing forward, forcing them closer despite their wishes.

"Miss Seong, I think you should stay with the martial artists."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I can hear screams ahead."

"??"

As Seong Moran tilted her head, red began to mix with the water flowing around our ankles.

"!!"

Before Seong Moran could say anything, Namgung Seonhwa moved into the midst of the Namgung Clan martial artists.

Yu Jiryang and the Mount Mao Sect sorcerers had already moved among the Namgung Clan martial artists as well.

"Aaargh!"

"Argh!"

The screams that had once sounded distant were now much closer.

The faint traces of blood in the river, like dye spilled into water, steadily grew until a river of blood flowed through the valley.

The fighting only continued to spread.

Groups who had been watching from the sidelines were shoved forward by the crowd behind them and struck by swords instead. The companions of those who were struck joined the battle in turn.

A chaotic melee without any distinction between friend and foe had begun.

The Black Path forces vastly outnumbered everyone else, and the fight spread like wildfire without any sign of stopping. Before long, it reached the Namgung Clan's group.

"Form the Great Evolution Sword Formation!"

At the shout, the Namgung Clan martial artists tried to spread out into formation. However, the people packed tightly behind them prevented the sword formation from taking proper shape.

"It's too narrow!"

"Protect Lady Seonhwa above all else!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Namgung Clan martial artists were forced into the fight, and the Iron Sword Sect martial artists also prepared for battle.

The cliffs on either side rose thirty jang high and narrowed toward the top, leaving little room to escape.

'This won't do.'

I quickly drew the Flying Dragon Claw and drove it into the cliff face.

Like a spider climbing a cliff on the thread it had spun, I leaped up the wall.

"What a mess."

Dozens had already died upstream along the riverway, and new fighters were stepping over their corpses to join the battle.

If this continued, the Namgung Clan and Iron Sword Sect would suffer no small losses as well.

We needed to escape this pointless fight first.

"It's hard, but with a gapja of internal energy..."

After confirming that the Flying Dragon Claw was firmly embedded, I circulated my internal energy and reinforced my right hand.

Then I began striking the cliff face with the Taeul Sect's Great Yang Fist.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Cracks gradually formed in the cliff that had not budged at all. Hearing strange noises above them, the martial artists looked up, their faces immediately turning pale.

"Th-that bastard, what is he doing?!"

Thud! Crack!

When a hole opened in the cliff, clumps of earth and stone fell from it.

"Move!"

"Hey, you crazy bastard! Stop!"

I ignored the cries below and continued pounding the wall. Once the opening was large enough, I fired the Flying Dragon Claw toward Yu Jiryang and the Mount Mao Sect members.

"Grab the rope."

The Mount Mao Sect sorcerers, who had been standing dumbfounded among the Namgung Clan martial artists, grabbed the rope. As I withdrew my internal energy and pulled, the three of them kicked off the ground and were lightly drawn up to the middle of the cliff.

"Stay here for a moment."

"..."

Yu Jiryang, who had just been caught up in the battle, looked dazed.

I quickly moved to the wall beside them and began opening another hole. Once it was large enough, I pulled up two injured Iron Sword Sect martial artists and one person protecting them.

"Dig out the wall so others can come up."

"...We have nothing to dig with."

"Are you planning to boil soup with your internal energy?"

I opened another section of the wall, then pulled up an injured Namgung Clan martial artist who had been protecting the Mount Mao Sect sorcerers, along with another who was unharmed.

"..."

By then, the Namgung Clan martial artists seemed to understand my intentions. They silently began digging into the wall, while those among the battle-ready martial artists skilled in claw arts climbed up and started digging out caves like I had.

The falling stones temporarily calmed the fighting as people dodged them, but the flames of battle still spread in every direction.

After pulling up the last of the Iron Sword Sect martial artists, they stared blankly at the chaotic melee below.

People were swinging blades everywhere without distinguishing friend from foe.

The martial artists' faces drained of color as they realized that what was happening below was not unrelated to them.

"I should have listened to Young Master Jin and come later."

Namgung Seonhwa looked guilty, saying she had not expected things to turn out this way.

"Should we remain here and enter once the people thin out?"

Having nearly placed not only the Namgung Clan martial artists but also the Iron Sword Sect martial artists in danger, Namgung Seonhwa no longer seemed to trust her own judgment.

"Now that the fight has begun, it'll continue for quite a while. More and more people will climb up onto the cliffs as well."

"Then what should we do?"

"We're going to the entrance like this."

"...How? We don't have a weapon like yours."

"Has anyone here learned a claw technique?"

When I asked the Iron Sword Sect and Namgung Clan martial artists, one of those exchanging glances raised his hand.

He was an Iron Sword Sect martial artist who had glared at me murderously whenever I was with Seong Moran.

"By chance, I once learned the Soul-Shattering Claw Art."

The killing intent he had shown toward me had vanished at some point. He spoke as though reporting to a superior.

"Then if I make small footholds, can you create places around them for people to step on and hold?"

"...I believe I can."

"Then this is what we'll do. I will make the path. Those martial artists with enough strength will carry one Mount Mao Sect sorcerer each, and we'll follow the grooves this person makes to the entrance."

"Understood."

"Understood."

Once Seong Moran and Namgung Seonhwa had both agreed, preparations proceeded quickly.

The Namgung Clan martial artists began carrying the Mount Mao Sect sorcerers on their backs one by one. The remaining martial artists decided to guard against surprise attacks from below.

"We're starting."

Whir.

I fired the Flying Dragon Claw and flew toward the opposite cliff. Then I used the Great Yang Fist to break away part of the wall and make a foothold.

After that, I fired the Flying Dragon Claw toward the opposite cliff again and flew across.

The Iron Sword Sect martial artist who had learned the Soul-Shattering Claw Art used the footholds I made to cling to the wall and create grooves for the next person to step on. Despite how lightly he had spoken of it, each time his hand dug into the wall, the hard rock yielded as easily as mud, unlike when I had to smash it apart.

As we began flying between the cliffs toward the entrance, others started following behind us one by one.

"Young Master Jin! People are following us from behind!"

"Leave them. If they attack us, they won't be able to go any farther either."

When we had drawn close to the entrance, Seong Moran pointed to one side and shouted.

"Over there!"

Yong Soa, Ha Minjung, and their group were fighting desperately amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Yong Soa and the Wudang Sect Daoists seemed to have plenty of room to spare, but Ha Minjung and his group appeared to have already suffered some casualties.

"We're almost at the entrance. Focus."

The area near the upper entrance of the valley was actually quiet.

Most of those who were going to die had already died, and the survivors had all entered the cave.

After landing on the ground, I avoided swords thrusting at me from every direction and unleashed the Lesser Heaven Sword Art.

"Aaargh!"

"Ghk!"

Fountains of blood scattered through the air, and blood now flowed through the valley in place of water.

The Iron Sword Sect martial artists who landed behind me rushed forward at once and cut down everyone blocking the entrance. Before anyone else could interfere, we hurried into the cave.

Even inside, we avoided those who suddenly attacked us with swords. After passing several forks in the path, we reached an empty area and stopped.

"Huff, huff, huff!"

"Huff! Haaah!"

As they caught their breath in a daze, everyone finally realized that they had entered the cave without suffering a single casualty.

"It's fortunate that there were no casualties."

"...Haa."

"...Huff."

Not only the Namgung Clan martial artists, but the Iron Sword Sect martial artists as well looked at me with complicated expressions.

"It's all thanks to Young Master Jin. If not for you, several people would already be dead."

"We can discuss merit and rewards later. We don't know when agitated martial artists may burst in here and begin another bloody battle."

"But we entered in such a hurry that we didn't have time to check the map."

"It's all right. I remember it."

Even after I said that, Namgung Seonhwa did not move. She only stared at me blankly.

"Young Master Jin, could we ask you to lead the way?"

At Namgung Seonhwa's words, I was about to say that the Namgung Clan and Iron Sword Sect martial artists would object.

Yet when I looked around, everyone from Seong Moran to the Iron Sword Sect and Namgung Clan martial artists was watching me with tense expressions.

"Would that be all right?"

"Please."

Only then did small traces of relief appear on the Iron Sword Sect and Namgung Clan martial artists' faces.

[1] Tiger Hour: The traditional East Asian time period from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m.

[2] Rabbit Hour: The traditional East Asian time period from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.

Footnotes:

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