WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 38: The Second-Rate Martial Artist Facing a Legend (3)
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-At fifteen, I first took up a sword. At thirty, I realized the Way.
-I established my Way upon the foundation of all creation and named those teachings the Taeul True Scripture.
-To test my learning, I entered the martial world and received nine challenges.
-By the end of those nine matches, countless people had lined up to learn the Way, but I had no one to pass it on to.
-In the mountains of Anhui, I met a child who had lost their parents and was able to pass on my teachings.
-The great elders of the martial world came and asked me to step forward for the sake of the chaotic world.
-I heard that the one who had originally sought a tenth challenge was forcing their will upon the martial world.
-Learning is something one cultivates and accomplishes for oneself. I could not agree with their intentions, so I set out with the elders.
-The depth of the tenth opponent's learning was no trifling matter. Yet just as I defeated their teachings and stopped their advance, the heavens collapsed with a roar, and we were trapped within a boundless labyrinth.
-The tenth opponent claimed that the great elders of the martial world had betrayed us.
-I had never intended to harm others with my teachings, yet I wondered if my learning had seemed too threatening to them.
-The boundless labyrinth was an unknown thing that could not be broken even by the combined strength of my tenth opponent and me. We were left waiting for death in this place.
-As we spent endless time together within the boundless labyrinth, I discovered that our intentions aligned in some respects. I realized that all streams returned to their source.
-Where our intentions aligned, we created a martial art together.
-Last night, I dreamed of the disciple I had left behind alone. It pained my heart that I had not left that child any teachings.
-If someone reads these words, I will consider them a person of fate. Learn my teachings and achieve what you desire. But if the Taeul Sect remains in your world, pass on what is mine. That is my final wish.
As I read the records the Taeul Sword Emperor had written across half the cavern floor, I couldn't stop the tears from falling.
Another person might have resented someone or burned with a desire for revenge, yet his writing remained utterly calm. That made it hurt all the more.
The passages about his disciple appeared again and again. Most of his records were filled with regret and concern that the child might be suffering because he had failed to leave them his teachings.
Looking over the arts Grand Patriarch had recorded, I saw that, as expected, none of them belonged to the Taeul Sect apart from the Taeul Mind Method and Lesser Heaven Sword Art.
His lone disciple had upheld the sect through every kind of humiliation and oppression for five hundred years, waiting for their vanished master.
I felt ashamed of how much I had resented the Taeul Sect in my past life.
Why force such a weak sect onward? Wouldn't it be better to die than live so pathetically?
It had been a foolish thought from my younger days, but I had never hated myself more than I did at that moment.
“It was five hundred years. Five hundred whole years.”
Grand Patriarch had worried about a disciple he could never meet again until the moment of his death, while that disciple had waited for their master for five hundred years.
“I will serve you.”
The floor was covered in diary-like records, while the walls contained detailed descriptions of the martial arts he had created.
They were martial arts that had waited five hundred years to be passed down.
[Taeul Mind Method]
[Lesser Heaven Sword Art]
[Greater Heaven Sword Art]
[Twin Heavens Sword Art]
[Taeul True Scripture]
[Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art]
[Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist]
[Taeul Eighty Thousand Divine Steps]
The Taeul Mind Method and Lesser Heaven Sword Art were teachings for beginners.
Greater Heaven Sword Art was a martial canon that had never originally existed in the Taeul Sect. Once one completed the introductory teachings, one would enter the path of a seeker striving to understand the source of the Way.
The beginning of that path was the [Taeul True Scripture].
This martial canon pursued a deeper realization than a mere mind method, seeking a realm more profound than any teachings I had seen.
-If you comprehend the Taeul True Scripture, you will understand the harmony of heaven and earth.
It contained teachings so advanced that the Taeul Sword Emperor's confident words did not seem like a lie.
The other martial arts were no less remarkable.
The [Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art] was the sword art that had created the legend of Ten Thousand Swords, and the [Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist] was just as formidable.
Having sampled the martial arts of the Nine Sects One Gang and Five Great Clans, I could say with confidence that the [Taeul Eighty Thousand Divine Steps] would not fall behind any movement art of the Nine Sects One Gang.
“It is a shame there is no movement art.”
That regret lasted only a moment. I began thinking about what I could accomplish as the successor to the Taeul Sword Emperor's true teachings.
I couldn't even imagine it.
Taechung Divine Sword had ruled the martial world with a single sword, while Gwak Gung, the Black Lion, had shattered that same martial world with his two fists. I couldn't begin to imagine how the future would change.
After examining the records for some time, I finally noticed the black-haired middle-aged man on the opposite side of the cavern.
Unlike the Taeul Sword Emperor, he still retained black hair and healthy skin.
Curious about his strange appearance, I approached him.
Like the Taeul Sword Emperor, he had introduced himself in eight characters.
Dark Heavens and Earth
Hell Demon Emperor
The man known as Dark Heaven was the Third Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, who had vanished five hundred years ago.
#
“Are these the ones?”
Azure Emperor Divine Sword, Namgung Taeha.
The current Namgung Clan Head and a master ranked among the Ten Great Swordsmen Under Heaven.
His voice contained no internal energy, yet Yang Gunbaek and the beggar kneeling before him trembled as though thunder had struck beside them.
“I am Yang Gunbaek of the Hao Sect's Yueyang Branch.”
“I am the branch leader of the Beggar Sect's Yueyang Branch.”
The beggar who identified themself as the Beggar Sect's branch leader was terrified, but they did their best not to lose their dignity.
The Azure Emperor Divine Sword paid no attention and continued.
“I hear you sold treasure maps.”
The Hao Sect and Beggar Sect.
Both were information organizations that needed to keep themselves hidden, but they could not insist on that now.
Five thousand.
A full five thousand people had entered in search of the Mita Sacred Water and failed to return.
Dozens of martial factions had erected tents and gathered below the valley of Demon Spirit Plateau.
Even with so many people present, there was none of the usual noisy commotion. Instead, a heavy tension hung over them, ready to explode at any moment.
Their families and friends were inside.
No one knew whether those people were alive or dead, so they endured their anger.
“From the beginning, we only sold a map to guide them there. Entering was their own choice.”
The Beggar Sect's Yueyang Branch leader spoke as though they were fearless.
Yang Gunbaek could not help feeling pity after seeing the branch leader's trembling hands.
“So you claim you are not at fault?”
“Even the Namgung Clan cannot treat a Beggar Sect member this way.”
“What did you say?”
“We only did our duty as an information organization.”
“But you did not properly inform them of the dangers inside.”
“No one could have...”
“Then you failed to properly carry out your duty.”
“What are you... Urgh!”
The Beggar Sect member suddenly sucked in a breath and vomited a bucketful of blood.
“Guhk! Guhk!”
A clear fist mark had appeared over their dantian.
In an instant, with a single move no one had seen, he had destroyed the Beggar Sect member's dantian.
Gulp.
Yang Gunbaek swallowed.
The Yueyang Branch leader of the Beggar Sect had to be at least a first-rate martial artist. The fact that such a person had their dantian destroyed without even having a chance to react meant the martial world's assessment of the Azure Emperor Divine Sword had greatly underestimated him.
“Go and bring the deputy branch leader of the Beggar Sect's Yueyang Branch.”
“Yes.”
A Namgung Clan martial artist dragged the Beggar Sect member away, leaving only Yang Gunbaek behind.
“I will ask again. Did you sell the map?”
“P-Please spare me.”
“Did you mark that a formation had been deployed there?”
“Yes. It was clearly marked.”
“What did you write about the nature of the formation?”
“We... were unable to determine that even after investigating.”
“So you sold the map irresponsibly.”
Yang Gunbaek was about to lose their mind. Who in the world would sell a map and then think of entering the formation themselves? If the Hao Sect could enter the formation, they would have claimed any elixirs or treasures inside rather than making a treasure map to sell.
“I-I'm sorry. Our sect lacks both the funds and personnel to study formations...”
“Are you certain the Mita Sacred Water is inside?”
“...”
In truth, even that was not certain. If it was there, that was good. If it was not, there was nothing they could do.
They had no choice but to trust the testimony of the person who had provided the information for the treasure map.
“S-Someone who went inside said there was Mita Sacred Water there.”
“The youngest daughter of the Namgung Clan's direct line entered that place.”
“...”
“And it has already been over a month since we last received word from her. Yet you say you do not even know whether the Mita Sacred Water is in there. Is there any reason I should let you live?”
Gulp.
Yang Gunbaek did not think the Azure Emperor Divine Sword's use of “you” referred to the Yueyang Branch alone.
If it would ease his anger, Namgung Taeha was capable of wiping out the entire Hao Sect.
Yang Gunbaek desperately racked their brain before blurting out in desperation.
“S-Someone claims to have seen Yong Soa!”
“...What does that have to do with this?”
“Yong Soa definitely entered that place to secure the Mita Sacred Water. Yet three weeks later, an inn waiter in Yueyang saw him eating at an inn.”
Yang Gunbaek had called the witness a sect member, but the witness was actually an inn waiter.
A man dressed like a beggar had come in, devoured dumplings, vegetables, and bamboo-leaf wine as though starving, then left behind a gold coin. Finding it suspicious, the waiter reported it to the Hao Sect.
“Are you certain it was Yong Soa?”
The waiter had said even the sword scabbard bore the taiji symbol of Wudang, so the Hao Sect had assumed it was Yong Soa.
The Wudang Sect's treasured Whirlwind Sword could only be used by Yong Soa.
It was not certain, but Yang Gunbaek could not dare call it a guess. Yang Gunbaek had no confidence they could withstand Namgung Taeha's wrath. As an information broker, they had to take a gamble.
“Yes. I believe he came out of the formation as a representative and went to seek help from the Martial Alliance.”
After thinking for a moment, the Azure Emperor Divine Sword issued a threat.
“From today onward, remain here and bring me every scrap of information related to that place.”
“Y-Yes.”
The Azure Emperor Divine Sword dismissed Yang Gunbaek, who stepped away while wondering how they could ask the main sect for help.
Namgung Jinmyeong approached with a dark expression.
“This is all my failure, Father.”
“You useless fool. How little faith must she have had in you to think of entering that deadly place herself?”
“I am sorry.”
Namgung Taeha's face quickly calmed after he shouted.
Could his grief at losing a granddaughter compare to the grief of a father who had lost his child?
“If Yong Soa went to the Martial Alliance, the Martial Alliance cannot be ignorant of this matter. Go to their Yueyang Branch and find out what happened.”
“Yes. I will guard this place, so should you not return to the clan, Father?”
Namgung Taeha frowned at the sudden suggestion.
“What are you talking about?”
“I hear the Changgung Merchant Group is making unusual moves. They appear to be preparing to mobilize the Elder Council.”
“Those damned bastards!”
As the Azure Emperor Divine Sword drew up his energy, martial artists and servants working nearby collapsed one after another as though their knees had given out.
“Sangwon, that bastard can't tell shit from piss.”
Why had Namgung Seonhwa set out to find the Mita Sacred Water in the first place?
The collateral line had been pressuring the direct line, weakening its power. As it became likely that she would be unable to receive the clan's help during the Martial Arts Academy examination, she had tried to resolve the problem herself, which had led to this disaster.
Namgung Taeha had also been preparing a Shattering Form to counter the Changgung Great Lotus Sword Art, the collateral line's main sword art, as a way to suppress them. Yet he had been short on time.
If he made a mistake, it could be interpreted as denying the clan's legitimacy, so he could not even ask others for help.
The Azure Emperor Divine Sword looked at his grandson, Namgung San.
“What happened to the child you mentioned?”
One day, Namgung San had gone out to reclaim the Academy Admission Token that Jegal Somyeong had given another child. He had returned empty-handed, yet he had looked quite pleased.
Namgung San had always been proud, so Namgung Taeha could not contain his curiosity when the boy returned smiling despite failing to get what he wanted. He had asked about it and learned that the child had used a sword art similar to one Namgung Taeha had been studying.
“I sent someone to inquire, but I was told he went out on business and has not yet returned.”
“Why would you send someone for something like that? You should have gone yourself.”
“I am sorry. I could not bring myself to leave because of Seonhwa.”
“Ahem...”
With matters moving so urgently and Seonhwa now missing as well, no one from the direct line was in a state of mind to think clearly.
As though mocking their situation, the collateral line had begun moving at the very moment the direct family was in its greatest crisis.
The Azure Emperor Divine Sword looked at Namgung Jinmyeong.
“I will go alone. You remain here with the others.”
“Father, you cannot go alone.”
“Do you not trust your father?”
Of course he did.
Namgung Jinmyeong was more concerned that if the collateral line made one final provocation while the martial artists were absent, the Azure Emperor Divine Sword would draw his sword.
“Stay here, watch the situation, and if Seonhwa does not emerge in the end, ...do not leave anyone responsible alive in this world.”
“...Father.”
“If those I considered family use a family's misfortune as leverage for their schemes, they are no longer family. I will deal with those who are not family.”
Namgung Jinmyeong thought that a bloody storm might soon sweep through the Namgung Clan.
#
-I am the Third Heavenly Demon of the great Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. There is no other way to identify myself.
-From the beginning of my memories, I was a follower of the Divine Cult, and I eventually ascended to the position of Heavenly Demon.
Under the teachings of the Demon God, I set out into the martial world to unify all under heaven.
-I got trapped in a bizarre formation with a fucking frustrating bastard. At first, I laughed at the fool who had been betrayed after standing before hypocrites, but once I realized I was trapped as well, I fell into despair.
As I read the diary, I rubbed my eyes for a moment. I had not misread it. It definitely said “fucking.”
He had risen all the way to the rank of Heavenly Demon in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, yet he had not stopped cursing even in the diary he left at the end of his life. Unlike the Taeul Sword Emperor, he seemed to have repeatedly stopped writing midway through, leaving many broken passages.
-That goddamned formation was unlike anything I had ever seen. Even I, blessed by the Demon God, could not break through it.
-I tried following that bastard's mental cultivation or whatever, and I came to a realization. Thinking about it, I felt like I had also been done in by traitors from the Divine Cult.
Thanks to that damned Daoist bastard, I learned things I did not need to know.
-Seeing that bastard miss his disciple made me feel good. Why did he crawl all the way here instead of raising the disciple he needed to raise?
I raised nine disciples. Every one of those nine betrayed me. It still pisses me off whenever I think about it.
-With nothing to do and no one to meet except that Daoist bastard, we talked about all sorts of things.
That bastard also knew about the laws of the world created by the Demon God. I decided to try converting him. It did not go well.
-After creating a martial art with that bastard, I began wanting to leave something of my own behind as well.
The Heavenly Demon Scripture ultimately began from the roots of the Divine Cult, so it was not mine.
-I created a martial art to punish the disciples who betrayed me. Even from the perspective of one who has reached the realm of Heavenly Demon, it is something I am very pleased with.
I named this thing the Adversarial Demon Scripture. Whoever finds it, I hope they block the path of my bastard disciples.
-Whoever you are, if you are reading this, consider yourself blessed by the Demon God and devote yourself to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
[Adversarial Demon Scripture]
[Peerless Wanderer Divine Art]
The Adversarial Demon Scripture was an art that suppressed demonic arts.
It was a martial art that suppressed demonic arts rooted in the Heavenly Demon Scripture by targeting their fatal weakness.
It was difficult to believe that the Third Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had created such an art.
What caught my attention even more was the Peerless Wanderer Divine Art, which appeared to have been created jointly by the Taeul Sword Emperor and Hell Demon Emperor.
A movement art with the arrogant name that declared no one under heaven could follow once its practitioner began to run.
The teachings hidden within revealed that it possessed the overwhelming destructive force of a martial art.
When advancing, nothing could stand in its way. When retreating, nothing could catch the practitioner.
After committing every martial art to memory, I approached the Hell Demon Emperor.
Even after five hundred years had passed, his body still retained its form. That was why I found him so fascinating.
Tap.
The moment I touched him, his body slowly turned to dust and vanished. In its place lay a red bangle.
Raised lettering inside the red bangle engraved with a phoenix told me what it was.
[Heavenly Demon Supreme Bangle]
It looked suspiciously similar to the Azure Dragon Bangle I wore on my left wrist.
Then I heard a soft crumbling sound behind me as the Taeul Sword Emperor's body disappeared.
I offered nine prostrations to the Taeul Sword Emperor and a bow of my head to the Hell Demon Emperor, then drew the Black Dragon Sword and stood in the center of the cavern.
“Greater Heaven Sword Art.”
The Greater Heaven Sword Art was a sword art of transforming and illusory blades.
Only now could I understand why the Lesser Heaven Sword Art followed the path of the swift sword yet was not particularly fast.
The Lesser Heaven Sword Art and Greater Heaven Sword Art had only ever been stepping stones for learning the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Transforming blades and illusory blades scattered in every direction.
Once the Lesser Heaven Sword Art joined them, it became impossible to tell which swords were real and which were illusions.
At first, I had thought I would learn only the Greater Heaven Sword Art before leaving. Instead, I spent several days immersed in the Taeul True Scripture and Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art.
I completely forgot that I had ever intended to leave.
Then, just as I had taken my first steps into the Taeul True Scripture and Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art...
Shrrr.
Cha-cha-cha-cha.
Three swords claimed every direction and pulverized an invisible opponent.
As I expanded the swords' reach, the blades spreading in all directions erased the martial canons from the floor and walls one by one.
None of the three swords were illusions.
Every sword was real, moving independently.
Then I added illusory blades.
The three swords became six.
The chaotically moving swords swept across the walls and floor again, erasing the Hell Demon Emperor's diary and martial canons.
The number of real swords had tripled, yet they were not truly real swords.
The Taeul Sword Emperor had named this unusual sword art Ten Thousand Swords.
Swords that were illusions without being illusions, and real without being real.
I slowly looked over the scene I had created.
Not a single character remained from the writing that had densely covered the floor and walls. Every last one had vanished beneath the tips of my swords.
Simply understanding the entrance to the Taeul True Scripture and Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art had given me this much power.
Anyone facing these swords would be unable to distinguish what was real from what was an illusion.
“It truly deserves to be called the martial art of Ten Thousand Swords Under Heaven.”
#
“...”
Namgung Seonhwa turned her head toward Seong Moran.
Her cheeks had become sunken, her eyes hollow, and her eyelids fluttered weakly.
Gathering the last of her strength, she spoke.
“I’m sorry... Sister...”
Seong Moran's eyes moved slowly. Her dry lips trembled several times before she answered.
“No... It’s alright...”
They were both drawing upon their last strength as they spoke while dying.
About a month after they had been trapped in the cavern, no one else had entered.
Once newcomers stopped arriving, the food ran out as well.
They could drink the water flowing from cracks in the cavern, but the moss growing there was nowhere near enough to feed four thousand people.
Fights broke out over food. Once even that food ran out, people gradually stopped fighting.
Those with weak internal energy were dying one after another, and the survivors could all guess that they did not have much time left.
“I’m... really sorry...”
Namgung Seonhwa felt more sorry for Seong Moran, who had been trapped there because of her, than she did for her own death.
Seong Moran had approached Seonhwa first when Seonhwa had no sisters, and she had readily stepped forward to help with Seonhwa's troubles.
Yet Seonhwa had dragged her into this deadly place.
“Don’t... give up...”
Seong Moran had not lost hope until the end.
Did she trust Yong Soa, who had left first, and the Martial Alliance?
Or did she believe someone else would break through the formation and enter?
Strangely, though, Seong Moran's gaze was aimed in the direction opposite the exit.
She said nothing, but she was waiting for the man who had been dragged into the Soul-Destroying Formation after his clash with Yong Soa.
The man Seong Moran loved.
What could she possibly expect from him, apart from the fact that he seemed clever?
Namgung Seonhwa suddenly thought of him as well and looked toward the Soul-Destroying Formation that had swallowed him.
Wriggle.
Was it because she had starved for too long?
She had begun seeing hallucinations some time ago.
Sometimes they appeared as meat. Other times, they appeared as the entrance to the Namgung Clan.
Now, the hallucination appeared as the Soul-Destroying Formation being split apart.
‘How cruel.’
It almost seemed as if the hallucination was showing her what she wanted most in order to drive her into despair.
A man appeared within that hallucination.
He looked as exhausted as they did, but his eyes shone brightly. His steps were slow, yet firm.
He was the man Seong Moran had missed the most.
Namgung Seonhwa turned her head, intending to tease Seong Moran.
Seong Moran's eyes had gone wide.
‘Can she see it too?’
When Seonhwa turned back toward the hallucination, it approached them.
Then it spoke.
“Are you alright?”
Jin Sowoon had returned.
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