WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 373: The Swirling Current (5)
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Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Each time I stepped on the white snow, a pleasant feeling traveled up from my toes.
My new shoes were gradually getting damp, but I didn't use my movement art. Walking across untouched snow was too satisfying.
The sun had risen quite a while ago, yet not a single Academy student was going to or from the Academy.
The time to leave the Academy was drawing near.
“Senior Brother.”
The Gold, Silver, and Bronze brothers approached from the four-person dormitory.
Hong Saryeon and the others were with them as well.
Eunho asked me in a voice so hoarse it sounded ready to crack.
“Are you going to the Thousand-Sword Wall now?”
“That's right. Shouldn't you be studying? Why did you come all this way?”
The dark shadows beneath his eyes were painfully obvious.
Why had they insisted on going somewhere so harsh?
“No matter how busy we are, shouldn't we see this as disciples of the Taeul Sect?”
Though he looked exhausted, he smiled as if the thought alone made him happy.
I shook my head.
It wasn't that big a deal.
Others even hired stonemasons to do it for them.
Still, I understood how he felt.
I had come out to do this myself, even though I could have left it to a stonemason.
“Come on. They'll be waiting for us.”
At Saryeon's urging, we started walking again.
We caught up on everything we had been too busy to discuss because of the combat pavilion applications and examinations.
To be honest, the strange silence made me uncomfortable. I had to say something.
After all, I had encouraged my junior disciples to apply to the White Wolf Pavilion, yet I was the only one who had been left out.
Then...
“What? Where did you say you're going?”
Dongryong's sudden news startled me.
“The Alliance Leader's Hall.”
Had the Alliance Leader's Hall ever officially recruited people?
No, could an Academy student even enter the Alliance Leader's Hall?
The Alliance Leader's Hall rarely recruited new people in the first place. Even when it did, it only occasionally accepted those who had attained a certain level of martial skill, experience, and reputation in the martial world. In other words, seasoned masters.
And they had accepted a student who had just graduated from the Academy?
Many people were wary that the Martial Alliance Leader might turn the Martial Alliance into a personal possession, so appointing even a single person was extremely difficult.
That was why only those who had naturally joined the ranks of recognized masters could barely enter and work there.
In some ways, it was even harder to enter than the Mantong Office.
The news that the Alliance Leader's Hall was recruiting people was surprising enough, but the fact that Dongryong had gotten in was even more shocking.
“W-what do you mean?”
Geumpyo, Eunho, and Saryeon all stared at Dongryong with wide eyes. Apparently, they hadn't known either.
Thank goodness. I wasn't the only one who had been left in the dark.
While we were all stunned, Dongryong scratched his head and spoke quietly.
“I was planning to refuse, so I wasn't going to mention it.”
What had I just heard...?
The Taeul Sect disciples were all stunned.
Refuse? The Alliance Leader's Hall?
“Senior Brother and Senior Sister said you were both going to the White Wolf Pavilion. I didn't want to go somewhere else alone.”
His answer was so calm that we could only gape like fish waiting for food.
There had always been surprising things happening, but this was on another level.
“Not everyone is going. Senior Brother got left out.”
I wanted to say something in response to Saryeon's unnecessary addition, but her glare was too sharp, so I shut my mouth.
“But I asked whether they could meet one condition.”
Another shock hit us.
“...”
“...”
“...”
We looked at each other like stone Buddhas.
No one said it aloud, but our eyes seemed to be saying the same thing.
Our youngest was incredibly levelheaded. He was negotiating with the Alliance Leader's Hall.
As the silence dragged on, Dongryong fidgeted with his fingers.
“...Did I do something wrong? I thought Senior Brother would definitely state what he wanted in a situation like this...”
“...”
For some reason, Saryeon gave me a sharp look.
“What did I do...?”
“Don't you know you should be careful even when drinking cold water in front of children!”
He had made a sensible choice, so why was she making such a fuss?
Still, if I said that, she looked ready to bring up the fact that I hadn't made it into the White Wolf Pavilion and tear into me over it. I quickly changed the subject.
“So what did you ask for? You didn't ask for money or something, did you?”
If he had, I'd really have wanted to die...
“Personal instruction.”
“Huh?”
“I asked to receive personal instruction.”
“...”
Dongryong's shoulders slumped.
“I realized it in Mukrim. I'm still far from being able to help you, Senior Brother. No, at this rate, I might never be able to help you for the rest of my life... So I asked... Urk.”
Saryeon suddenly pulled Dongryong into an embrace.
Dongryong had grown much taller, but Saryeon still held him tightly as if he were the youngest child. He bent his knees slightly to match her height.
“No, Dongryong. You're already doing well. You helped us so much in Mukrim too.”
Dongryong buried his face in Saryeon's shoulder for a moment, then raised his head and looked at us.
“I'll work harder. For myself, and for all my senior brothers and sister.”
Smiles naturally spread across our faces at Dongryong's resolve.
Everyone had realized what truly mattered.
As the senior brother, I looked at them and spoke firmly.
“That's right, everyone. Where you go and where you don't go, what does that matter? As long as we care for one another...”
“The person who ran off alone should be quiet.”
“Ah! Sorry.”
That hadn't worked.
Saryeon, who had been glaring at me, had already softened her expression. She patted Dongryong's shoulder proudly while he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
The warm mood continued without me.
“But who will oversee your personal training? The Alliance Leader's Hall doesn't really have any units, does it?”
Eunho tilted his head in confusion. Geumpyo immediately tapped his shoulder as if he were worrying over nothing.
“Come on. There are so many masters there. You think they can't teach Dongryong?”
“No, they all have sects of their own. They can't just teach someone freely.”
“That is true...”
“Hmm. Other than them, there are only guards. Don't tell me a guard would come out and teach Dongryong.”
Geumpyo seemed to sense that something was off as well, so he asked Dongryong.
“Dongryong, did they say who would teach you?”
Dongryong shook his head.
“No, I told them there was someone I wanted to receive instruction from. Fortunately, they permitted it.”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
The heads of the Taeul Sect disciples turned toward him at once.
Was there someone Dongryong knew in the Alliance Leader's Hall?
“Who is it?”
Dongryong gave his usual innocent smile and answered brightly.
“The Martial Alliance Leader.”
“...”
And I was left speechless.
“Uh... Um... Well...”
My mind went blank as I looked at my junior disciples.
Judging by the way their eyes looked ready to pop out, I hadn't misheard him.
#
“What are you doing here?”
Seong Moran's sudden voice snapped us back to our senses.
“Why are you still here? Isn't it time you were at the Thousand-Sword Wall?”
“...Ah, we heard something so surprising... By the way, what brings you here, Miss Seong?”
“Just... I had nothing to do, so I came out.”
It was a point of pride for the Taeul Sect disciples that I, their senior brother, was going to the Thousand-Sword Wall. It probably wasn't welcome news for the other Academy students, though. Yet she had come out anyway.
“Is our cohort a little strange, Brother?”
Moyong Jaehwa, carrying a bow, approached with Eun Seollan behind Seong Moran.
Moyong Jaehwa must have spent some time shooting arrows, because beads of sweat covered his forehead.
“You two as well?”
“...Were we not supposed to come?”
Jang Woojae, who had been approaching our group from behind, stopped short and hesitated awkwardly.
He wasn't the only one.
As we headed toward the Thousand-Sword Wall, more and more people joined us.
Namgung Seonhwa and Ilgak, Cheol Sunjik and Nam Hwaseong.
Every few steps, new people joined the group.
“Why exactly did you all come?”
When I frowned, the Academy students all gave me a thumbs-down.
“Hmph. Because today is a day of terrible humiliation. I won't forget today's disgrace.”
“They say a gentleman's vengeance isn't too late even after ten years. I'll burn today's events into my memory, endure any hardship necessary, and repay it one day. I will.”
“I only came because I had time.”
Did they seriously have nothing better to do?
It wasn't a secret, so there was no reason to stop them. I simply let them follow.
Before long, we arrived at the Thousand-Sword Wall in the deepest part of the Martial Arts Academy.
“Representative Jin...?”
The Academy officials and stonemasons waiting there tilted their heads.
Well, quite a crowd had gathered.
“This is a first. They say martial artists are terribly jealous.”
I nodded at the stonemason's words.
If I were in their place, I would have been so sick with rage that I couldn't eat for three days.
“Representative Jin Sowoon.”
An Academy official led me onward.
“This way.”
The spot the official showed me was one side of the Thousand-Sword Wall.
A freshly carved inscription stood out clearly.
Martial World, seventy-first generation.
■■ led it.
The official pointed at the empty space.
“It is a little small, isn't it? You may write it here.”
When I looked above the spot the official indicated, the same sentence was engraved there with only one word changed.
Martial World, seventieth generation.
Wudang Sect led it.
The same sentences filled the wall, with only the names of the sects changed.
I raised a hand and gently traced the inscriptions.
Records that had remained alongside the history of the Martial Arts Academy.
It had begun as something someone from the first generation started half as a joke.
The Academy Representative of the second generation followed suit.
The representatives of the third and fourth generations must have liked it as well, because they continued carving inscriptions. A tradition unique to Academy students was born on this small cliff deep within the Martial Arts Academy.
That tradition passed through the tenth and twentieth generations, becoming a symbol for Academy graduates.
By the fortieth generation, the Martial Alliance Leader of that era personally bestowed the name Thousand-Sword Wall upon this small cliff, making it an official Academy event.
The Thousand-Sword Wall, meaning that a thousand records would be carved there.
Despite its name, it had ultimately ended with the seventy-first generation in my previous life.
Until the Martial Arts Academy disappeared, the inscriptions on the Thousand-Sword Wall had been proud records for the Academy students and a source of pride for the sects that left them behind.
I raised my head and looked at the first inscription.
The words, carved far larger than the others, stood out.
Martial World, First Unit.
Shaolin Sect led it.
Graduating from the Martial Arts Academy didn't mean they had actually led the martial world, but it was a symbol.
A symbol of how the people of that generation would move forward.
After all, it couldn't be denied that the sects which left their names in history had flourished in those generations.
After that came many names, including Wudang Sect, Mount Cang Sect, and Mount Hua Sect.
Most belonged to the Nine Sects One Gang, followed by the Five Great Clans. Every so often, names from the One Hundred Eight Peaks appeared as well.
The interesting part was that several sects that no longer existed still had their names engraved here.
They had vanished from the martial world and been forgotten by everyone, but the inscriptions on the Thousand-Sword Wall clearly proved that they had once existed.
And...
“...”
Those who looked upon those records were overcome by strange feelings.
This was probably why everyone who entered the Academy wanted to leave their name here.
I was no different.
The records on the Thousand-Sword Wall, which had begun with Shaolin Sect and ended with Shaolin Sect in my memories of my previous life, had driven me to covet the position of Academy Representative from the moment I entered the Martial Arts Academy.
As I stood before the wall, lost in thought...
“What the hell are you doing? It's freezing.”
“He's nervous because the space is so small. If he fails, it'll be a total humiliation.”
“They say a person's sword path contains their enlightenment. Maybe he's worried his sword path will be unbearably crude.”
“That would be just like him. Hahaha.”
The idle chatter broke me out of my thoughts, and I ground my teeth.
I turned, ready to curse at them and drive them off.
“...”
The Academy students were gazing up at the Thousand-Sword Wall with strange expressions.
“I tried everything to bring Jin Sowoon down.”
“Right. I thought I'd be too furious to stand seeing this.”
Then...
“But you know...”
One Academy student, staring at the cliff with unfocused eyes, spoke quietly.
“Has ‘led it’ ever been such a clear fact for any cohort other than ours?”
No one could deny it.
Those words were soon engraved in my heart as well.
The Academy students continued running their eyes over the cliff, again and again.
They all seemed lost in their own thoughts, so I didn't break the silence.
I was grateful that they had come all this way in the cold to see it.
I turned and faced the cliff again.
Clang.
The Scarlet Radiance Sword left its sheath.
The Academy official stepped back.
Then I slowly circulated the Taeul True Scripture.
I wasn't trying to kill anyone, so my heart settled more peacefully than ever.
Then I moved.
Neither too slow nor too fast.
Neither too deep nor too shallow.
I put into it the intent of the ancestor who had founded the Taeul Sect five hundred years ago, along with my resolve to change the future.
Just as a different name had remained from my previous life, I hoped this record would not be the last.
Ssssss.
Stone dust scattered lightly, and the inscription slowly took shape.
With a sword path that was neither flashy nor lacking.
Swish.
When I sheathed my sword...
“Ooh!”
Small exclamations erupted from all around.
I slowly raised my head and engraved the words I had carved deep into my memory.
Martial World, seventy-first generation.
Taeul Sect led it.
It was the first time Taeul Sect had been recorded among the seventy-one inscriptions.
Footnotes:
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