WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 375: The Swirling Current (7)

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The position of Head of the Talent Office was one of the most famously cushy jobs in the Martial Alliance.

It came with a moderate amount of authority over personnel matters, and except during certain periods, it was not particularly busy.

Even when personnel issues arose, the Pavilion Masters usually resolved them internally. Once everything had been settled, the Talent Office only needed to stamp its approval.

That was why the current Head of the Talent Office had wanted to remain in the Talent Office, even if it meant extending their term again.

At least, until having to deal with the current Martial Arts Academy class.

“Again? They haven't submitted their preference forms?”

“They're asking us to wait. They say they don't know where their Unit Leader will go...”

Unit Leader?

The Head of the Talent Office’s insides boiled at the office member’s ridiculous words.

“What kind of nonsense is that? And who is this Unit Leader?”

“They say Jin Sowoon is the Life-and-Death Unit Leader.”

“...”

The boiling frustration finally exploded.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

The Head of the Talent Office handled appointments for every organization in the Martial Alliance, yet there was apparently a Life-and-Death Unit they did not even know about.

“I-I don't know either. They just said they won't apply anywhere until their Unit Leader does...”

“Have these bastards lost their minds? Have they all decided they want to be sent to the branches? Hah!”

“...”

“This won't do. Fine, send every last one of them to the branches! They think they can climb over my head just because we've been nice to them!”

The Head of the Talent Office bellowed the threat, but the office member looked at them with an oddly uncomfortable expression.

Feeling that gaze, the Head of the Talent Office sharply raised their head.

“What? What is it?”

“The other combat pavilions won't stand by if you do that.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This class has fewer people than usual, doesn't it?”

“Even so, we always recruit extra people!”

The Martial Alliance replenished its junior officers with Martial Arts Academy graduates every four years, so it always recruited at least ten percent more people than necessary.

Popular pavilions always received more applicants than their quotas allowed, which sparked another competition among those hoping to remain in the Martial Alliance.

Anyone whose skills fell short or who lost that competition was sent to a branch without mercy.

That was the true face of the martial world, where the strong devoured the weak.

Yet what was this situation supposed to be...?

“This time, there was the incident in Mukrim.”

“Ah...”

Only then did the Head of the Talent Office’s eyes widen.

They had spent days and nights discussing how to deal with the sudden casualties, yet had completely forgotten about it.

“At the moment, White Wolf Pavilion is the only combat pavilion that has filled all the positions it needs.”

“...”

White Wolf Pavilion, which was normally always short on people because applicants would rather run to a branch than go there, was the only pavilion with a full roster.

It was an unprecedented and absurd situation. The Head of the Talent Office could not even begin to decide what to do.

As the Head of the Talent Office stared blankly into space, unable to speak, the office member pulled them back to their senses.

“For now, you need to persuade Academy student Jin Sowoon.”

“...Me?”

“The other Talent Office members went to see him, but he turned all of them down.”

“Haah...”

The Head of the Talent Office had only ever received entertainment in exchange for personnel favors. They had no idea how to approach this.

Besides, every other Talent Office member had already been refused.

There was no reason to think they would fare any better, which only left them more confused.

More than anything else...

“You want me... to ask a Taeul Sect disciple for a favor?”

The truth was, their pride had kept them from moving so easily.

“...”

The office member did not hide their sour expression. No, they made no attempt to hide it.

The Talent Office members were wasting away day by day and growing more resentful of their master, trapped in a situation where they could do nothing. Yet the Head of the Talent Office alone remained oblivious.

#

When I thought about what I had been doing around this time in my past life, it was absurdly simple.

I had already entered the Martial Alliance.

Gye Cheolyeong, who was about to graduate, had stepped forward and sent his junior brothers to the Martial Alliance before himself.

All so he could live a little more comfortably.

At the time, Taeul Sect had been unable to escape its decline after the humiliation inflicted by Iron Sword Sect. Even the Gyerong Merchant Group’s support had gradually decreased, leaving us in a position where we needed to earn even the monthly stipends paid by the Martial Alliance.

My fellow disciples had been sent off like goods for sale, beginning their mandatory service in the Martial Alliance.

‘We didn't even receive proper training.’

While we were training as low-ranking martial artists, Jegal Somyeong was suddenly assassinated, throwing the Martial Alliance into chaos.

The Demonic Cult had not yet revealed itself to the world at the time, so Jegal Somyeong’s death remained unresolved. That led to an extreme split within the Martial Alliance.

The Orthodox Society and the White Path Society pointed their swords at each other, accusing the other side of being responsible. The Twelve Peak Alliance was caught in the middle and suffered as well.

It was only later that the Yin-Yang Twin Demon was revealed as the culprit, but by then, the Martial Alliance had crumbled to the point where it could barely be called the Martial Alliance anymore.

‘When I think about it, things have changed a lot now.’

The Yin-Yang Twin Demon had already died in Mukrim, and the Demonic Cult was slowly beginning to reveal itself.

Even if the same thing happened now, a great internal war like the one in the past probably would not break out.

Still, when I saw the hidden struggles unfolding across the Central Plains, with everyone attacking one another just as they had in my past life...

I sometimes wondered if Jegal Somyeong’s death had only been an excuse.

“Hey! Over here.”

The voice pulled me from my thoughts. I headed toward Buk Wonpyeong, who was waving to me from one side of the tavern.

“Wasn't the Three Pure Supreme Sword passed down to only one person? You must have quite a lot of money.”

Golden Sun Tower, one of Wuhan’s three great taverns, charged five times as much for liquor as anywhere else.

And Buk Wonpyeong was the one who had arranged to meet here.

“I heard Taeul Sect's eldest disciple is famous for being rich. That's why I chose this place, Senior Brother.”

Damn it. He should either speak casually or politely, not mix both.

“You're a truly cunning old junior brother.”

“You flatter me, Senior Brother.”

As Buk Wonpyeong joked around, a man approached our table.

“Here are some warm towels.”

Unlike other taverns that employed young attendants, this place was served by middle-aged men who looked as though they had received thorough training.

Maybe it was because I had never experienced anything like this before. I felt oddly restless in my own skin.

A few suitable side dishes arrived along with liquor with a rich, excellent fragrance. After several rounds, I gradually grew used to the atmosphere.

Once I settled in, I began noticing the people around us one by one.

Some wore glittering accessories and soft, luxurious clothing. Others carried swords and sabers studded with gold, silver, and jewels.

There were also people with nothing outwardly ostentatious about them, yet who gave off formidable presences, as well as elderly people trying their best to appear vigorous despite their age.

Everywhere I looked, there were people I would not normally get to see.

“Are you uncomfortable?”

Buk Wonpyeong’s words made me chuckle.

“Not at all.”

“That's good. They'll be the people you need to face from now on.”

“You expect me to face them?”

Buk Wonpyeong looked puzzled by my question.

I emptied my cup in one swallow, then looked around again.

This was my second life.

I knew who moved the martial world. I knew how they had ruined it.

And...

I was struggling like this to keep it from happening again.

So face them?

I had never intended to face them in the first place.

They were people I needed to crush.

Anyone who heard that would call me insane.

That was why I had never told anyone.

“Why are you making that face? Surely someone in your position doesn't think they can simply drift through life?”

“...”

I looked around at the others once more.

I had not noticed before, but they were discreetly glancing our way.

Was it because our presence seemed out of place? Or was there another reason?

As my expression darkened, Buk Wonpyeong lightly ran a finger along his cup and asked in a low voice.

“...Are you harboring some other thought?”

I did not answer.

If I gave him the answer he wanted, I would be making myself a liar. If I told him what I truly wanted, he would think I was insane.

“I heard it from the Head of the Talent Office. You still haven't applied for your second and third preferences?”

“There is an answer I need to hear from someone.”

This was a signal meant for the Martial Alliance Leader.

I did not know whether it was consideration or whether they wanted something from me, but I needed to hear what I had to do to enter White Wolf Pavilion.

If I went somewhere at random, I had no idea when I would be able to return to White Wolf Pavilion.

This was for his sake.

Buk Wonpyeong’s face grew more serious as he saw the unwavering look in my eyes.

“So it wasn't simply because you didn't know where to go.”

“I don't live that thoughtlessly.”

“Hmm... Perhaps I may be making a mistake with you today.”

“What do you mean?”

Buk Wonpyeong let out a long sigh.

“Still, forgive me. I owe those people too much. Think of it as the mistake of an endearing junior brother.”

“You're quite adorable for an old junior brother.”

Buk Wonpyeong snickered at that, then stood and led the way.

I silently followed him, grumbling to myself.

‘Why are there so many people selling me out these days?’

The area behind the tavern had been laid out as a garden, much like Songhwa Pavilion.

The difference was that small streams spread through the garden like water from an inexhaustible spring, while the pavilions had only sunshades in place of walls.

The weather had improved considerably, but I did not think it was suitable for drinking outside.

Yet the pavilions each had a fire pit carved into the center of the wooden floor, keeping out the cold while adding to the charm.

“I mentioned a debt, but I am making this proposal because I believe it will help Taeul Sect, as one of its lay disciples. I've sent messages to Taeul Sect several times, but their only reply was, ‘We're busy, so ask him everything.’ What could possibly be keeping them so busy? Tch.”

Moonlight cast a deep shadow across Buk Wonpyeong’s grumbling face.

“The incidents occurring throughout the martial world... I don't believe they are being caused by the real enemy.”

Buk Wonpyeong continued slowly as we walked down the long garden path.

“We are fighting a false enemy. Yet that fight is real. Every day, at least one sect is being wiped out.”

His long sigh carried deep concern.

“A powerful external enemy called the Black Alliance has emerged. Even so, why do you think these internal conflicts, which have no winners and only drain us, continue?”

“They probably think the Black Alliance is no match for the Martial Alliance.”

Over its five hundred years of history, the Martial Alliance had faced enemies like the Black Alliance before. Yet every one of those enemies had eventually knelt before the Martial Alliance and disappeared.

That made them dismiss the Black Alliance, and the Demonic Cult hidden in the darkness, as nothing more than a passing drizzle.

The Martial Alliance and the White Path were like patients suffering from the incurable disease called arrogance.

“Yes. Failing to recognize an enemy even when it stands before you is no different from receiving chaos without any defense. And when that wave of chaos arrives... I believe it will flood over us on a massive scale.”

“Are the people we're meeting now meant to become that defense?”

Buk Wonpyeong quietly nodded.

“If this were Taeul Sect of the past, you probably would not have received an opportunity like this. Perhaps Gang Chaeseok was right to tell them to ask you. After all, it was your ability that earned this opportunity.”

“An opportunity...”

I repeated that word to myself several times.

Opportunity.

It was a word that instinctively made a person's heart race.

That was why despair always appeared before people wearing the mask of opportunity, so easily deceiving them.

That was why I needed to judge and judge again what the opportunity before me truly was.

“Go in.”

“Aren't you coming with me?”

“I have not been given an opportunity yet.”

“You are the inheritor of the Three Pure Supreme Sword.”

“They have superior alternatives, the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic and the Taiji Wisdom-Nourishing Scripture.”

“So that was why you called it an opportunity.”

Leaving the somehow lonely-looking Buk Wonpyeong behind, I stood before the pavilion.

When I tried to lift the bamboo blind and enter, it opened to both sides on its own.

There was no mechanism pulling it aside, nor was there anyone there.

‘They're using remote object manipulation like this?’

For an opening show of force, it was fairly impressive.

Inside, as in the other pavilions, fire shadows flickered from a central fire pit.

I raised my head and slowly looked around.

Eight people sat in a semicircle around the fire pit, watching me.

I met their gazes directly as well.

“...”

An uncomfortable silence followed.

The expressions of the eight people, illuminated by the firelight, slowly hardened.

“You have no manners.”

The man standing at the far right opened his mouth.

Boom!

A powerful presence spread outward.

This must have been the man who had opened the bamboo blind earlier.

That strange force had already reached the backs of my knees and my shoulders.

He ordered me in an overbearing voice.

“Introduce yourself and offer your greetings.”

He was trying to force me to kneel while demanding an introduction he clearly already knew.

“Didn't anyone teach you that's how you treat your elders?”

Well.

“I don't know who you are.”

I had recognized their identities, but I deliberately pretended not to know.

Their self-righteous attitude was too ridiculous.

At my answer, the man raised his presence further.

“So the rumors about your intelligence were false.”

Tremble.

My knees felt as though they would give out at any moment, but I endured as if nothing was wrong and spoke.

“Judging by your haughty manner, could you perhaps be Orthodox Society bastards... no, gentlemen?”

“...”

The pressure bearing down on my shoulders and the backs of my knees intensified, proving that I was right.

Footnotes:

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