WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 396: Personal Revenge (6)

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At dawn.

Near Wuhan in Hubei Province, screams announcing the morning rang out from every direction.

Whoosh!

As Mount Emei Sect's Jade Void Thirty-Six Swords flashed down like lightning, Cheol Sunjik barely evaded the blades, spun halfway around, and unleashed an explosion of qi.

Boom!

Caught off guard by Cheol Sunjik's counterattack, the person presumed to be a Mount Emei Sect disciple quickly turned to find him, but he had already slipped into their blind spot.

"Please rest."

Thud!

"Ghk!"

Without even a chance to strike back, the Mount Emei Sect martial artist collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

Cheol Sunjik examined himself.

He had made it look easy as he dealt with his enemies, but long cuts marked his arms and legs.

"This is different from a spar."

Unless it was a spar, he had never imagined he would cross swords with people from the Nine Sects One Gang, who were practically allies. That was why he had suffered greater injuries.

Of course, his opponents were strong as well.

Could Cheol Sunjik of the Jukhyeon Sect, a member of the Twelve Peak Alliance among the One Hundred Eight Peaks, have ever imagined seriously fighting the Orthodox Society, especially the elites of the Nine Sects One Gang?

It was beyond absurd. It was utterly bizarre.

And this absurd situation had happened because of Jin Sowoon.

‘He really does the most outrageous things.’

He said he would help Dam Ak escape.

Cheol Sunjik had not blindly believed that the Orthodox Society had attacked Dam Ak.

Yet Jin Sowoon had declared that if the people obstructing the escape were not from the Orthodox Society, they could turn back midway.

Faced with such certainty, his Academy classmates had no choice but to move.

Of course, he could not deny that Jin Sowoon's added remark, that it was a good chance to seriously fight the Nine Sects One Gang, had appealed to them even more.

After somehow holding their positions through the night, they had no choice but to believe Jin Sowoon when, just as he said, the Orthodox Society attacked Dam Ak.

The assassins had not even made the slightest effort to hide their identities. It was almost bewildering.

‘What in the world is going on?’

Only now did Cheol Sunjik understand why Dam Ak had tried to escape so urgently.

If he got caught up in the Orthodox Society's scheme now, he might never be able to leave the Martial Alliance for the rest of his life.

Dam Ak must have judged that the best option was to ignore it all and force his way out.

Still, neither Dam Ak, who had asked Jin Sowoon for help, nor Jin Sowoon, who had accepted, seemed sane by any measure.

Anyone capable of judging what was right would say Jin Sowoon had done nothing wrong, but the world did not always follow reason.

Perhaps there was a reason Jin Sowoon was called a madman rather than a traitor.

When others could simply shrug off something, this mad... no, this man threw himself into it with everything he had, telling them not to spout bullshit.

He hurled himself at injustice, bled for it, and still refused to back down.

To ordinary people, that looked like nothing more than the actions of a madman.

‘A madman. Yes, he's definitely a madman. But...’

The seventy-first class of Martial Arts Academy students loved Jin Sowoon.

Even those who had once pointed fingers and condemned him as a madman, like everyone else, had come to love him dearly.

In Mukrim, when everyone had given up on life, he alone declared that he would bring them all back alive.

Then he shed so much blood to keep that promise.

Even as he bled, he stood at the very front until the end, never retreating a single step.

Every one of those scenes was etched deeply into the Academy students' minds.

Even ordinary people would have their blood run hot if they saw someone's back like that.

How much more would that be true for Academy students who had chosen the path of martial artists?

There was a reason White Wolf Pavilion had overflowed far beyond its capacity.

This time was no different.

The Academy students had stepped forward without hesitation despite the danger of making enemies of the Orthodox Society because they wanted to trust him once more.

No, perhaps they wanted to protect his back.

"How many did you run into on your side?"

"..."

Jong Chugak of the Zhongnan Sect appeared at some point and asked the question.

Cheol Sunjik frowned as though he had encountered some bizarre life-form.

"...Why did you even come out here?"

"Why else? The Division Leader told me to."

"You might run into seniors from the Orthodox Society."

"The Orthodox Society, my ass... The Orthodox Society would never do something like this."

Despite his words, his gaze drifted uneasily toward the distant mountains.

Cheol Sunjik wondered what sort of extreme denial this was, but he understood.

Otherwise, Jong Chugak would not be able to accept the reality that his people had become rotten.

Perhaps being betrayed by his sect at the Myriad Poison Sect had also made him dream of revenge.

Enduring the terrible pain of betrayal by someone you trusted had to be difficult and agonizing.

Jong Chugak stared at his tightly clenched fist for a moment before explaining why he had come in a serious voice.

"Ma Saejin of the Kunlun Sect asked for help. We need to move quickly."

"Did he say the opponent was difficult?"

"I don't know if they're difficult. He said there are too many of them."

"Wasn't Kunlun Sect's strategy always to strike and withdraw? Are they taking them head-on?"

Jong Chugak gave a soft laugh at Cheol Sunjik's question.

"That bastard Ma Saejin only rose to prominence overnight thanks to Division Leader Jin. Isn't even White Wolf Pavilion wasted on him?"

"..."

Had Jong Chugak always enjoyed jokes like this? Cheol Sunjik had thought he was a more rigid person before.

‘Well, it must have rubbed off on him from the wrong Division Leader.’

Cheol Sunjik stopped entertaining the thought and began moving.

The sun was already rising, and their Division Leader wanted to press on even a little farther.

The sun gradually rose as if it would light the whole world.

Thinking that it somehow resembled the back of Division Leader Jin, who had always protected them so reliably, they took one step forward.

This time, it was their turn to bleed in his place.

"Let's go."

#

To reach Shanxi Province from Hubei Province, where Wuhan was located, the fastest route was through Shaanxi Province or Henan Province.

For ordinary escort work, they would naturally head straight to Shanxi through Zhengzhou in Henan Province.

Shaolin Temple was near Zhengzhou, Henan, and there was no safer route.

But that safest route had now become a road to death for us.

Hubei Province, Henan Province, and Shaanxi Province were all the Orthodox Society's backyard.

If we went through Anhui, we could only reach Shanxi through Jiangsu, Shandong, and Hebei.

It was practically a route around half the continent, yet Dam Ak had chosen it.

"Once we reach Anhui, guards will be waiting."

"For people from Shanxi Province to come to Anhui, they have to pass through Henan."

Henan's northeastern terrain jutted out, bordering Shandong and Hebei.

At the moment, the fastest route for Shanxi Province's people to reach Anhui was through Henan.

"When I left, they set out as well, so they should be waiting for me in Anhui by now."

"...Did you expect something like this to happen?"

When I asked in surprise, Dam Ak tilted his head.

"Even if you don't expect something like this, shouldn't you naturally prepare at least that much?"

He asked as though I were the strange one.

Fuck, what kind of preparation was that?

Then again, even in my previous life, he could accurately figure out the Demonic Cult's routes without seeing the cultists. This situation was hardly surprising.

And I came to one major realization.

‘Who the fuck do those Orthodox Society idiots think they're picking a fight with...?’

They should have been begging him to get along with them, yet they tried to cut off his head and failed. If I were an Orthodox Society executive, I would have immediately crawled under my blankets, hugged my wooden pillow, and trembled.

Anyway, thanks to Dam Ak's insane preparedness, we were headed for Anhui Province.

The Taeul Sect and Wang Family Estate were both in Anhui Province, so even if we raced there with the carriage, we would have an excuse afterward.

‘It's a contest to see who can more shamelessly pretend they weren't involved.’

They would desperately hide the fact that they had attacked Dam Ak, while I had to hide that I had helped him.

This petty battle of deception made my heart feel small.

This was a fight between the Black and White Paths. This was the martial world. Fuck, I felt so full of righteous spirit.

The problem was that we had no time, while they had plenty.

If we had enough time, we could gather every Academy student and member of the Wang Family Estate, then march forward slowly as though making a demonstration. But right now, Black Path martial artists all over the place were screaming for us to hand over "our precious Dam Ak."

The day one of them said, "Oops, my hand slipped!" would be the day war broke out.

From that point on, the operation would change from "Help Dam Ak Escape" to the horrifying "Join the Black Alliance with Dam Ak." No matter what, we had to toss Dam Ak to the Black Alliance unit waiting in Anhui Province before time ran out.

The other side likely knew that too, which was why they had stationed people everywhere to stall us for as long as possible.

Then a sudden voice broke through my thoughts.

"Stop! We need to inspect you for a moment..."

They had lit a brazier at this hour just to conduct inspections? Even the Green Forest Alliance let travelers pass at this time.

How did I know? Well, I happened to know someone in the Green Forest Alliance.

"Stop! If you don't stop, in the name of the Martial Alliance... Aaaah! You crazy bastard!"

"Hyah! Hyah!"

How long could even the imposing name of the Martial Alliance withstand the momentum of fine horses charging like a storm?

The people conducting the inspection cursed and leaped aside.

Then cries of "Agh!" followed as the guards' throwing stars struck them.

Rattle.

The carriage's small window opened, and Dam Ak cautiously poked his head out.

"Hmm... If they say it's an inspection, shouldn't we cooperate?"

"..."

I'd like to. If they didn't want your head, that is.

I shut the window because I had no interest in his unfunny joke, then pulled on the reins.

"Hyah! Hyah!"

We picked up speed, and before long reached the Horyeong Mountain area.

We were still far from leaving Hubei Province, but once we crossed Horyeong Mountain, we could at least consider ourselves outside Wuhan's influence.

If we could reach Maseong, our rendezvous point, without being discovered, we would be halfway to success.

But things were never that easy.

‘Four? No, six.’

Six pursuers had latched onto our carriage as well.

Even if the Academy graduates, including Cheol Sunjik, did their best to stop them, I had never expected them to block every martial artist from the Orthodox Society.

No, they were doing well enough already. Their opponents were the Orthodox Society's special operations unit.

Either way, we could not let them discover us yet.

If they found us here, we would have to fight our way to Anhui Province, dragging things out the entire way.

We did not have time for that.

"Please take the reins."

"Are there pursuers again?"

As expected of a veteran coachman, the coachman caught on quickly.

Instead of answering, I asked the coachman a question.

"Can you keep the carriage moving at speed without slowing down?"

"Of course. I have thirty years of experience."

"Then maintain the highest speed you can."

I handed the reins to the coachman and climbed onto the carriage roof.

The guards rose with their swords in hand, but I stopped them.

I've said this repeatedly, but if you step in, won't the pursuers immediately realize Dam Ak is here?

The best strategy was to make sure they did not know which carriage Dam Ak was riding in until we got out of Hubei Province.

Their encirclement would thin out accordingly.

Then we could break through the Orthodox Society's special operations unit.

"Not yet. If I can't stop them, step in then."

"..."

The guards gave small nods, and I looked over the weapons on the carriage roof.

To deal with all kinds of enemies during a single bout of escort work, escort warriors use various weapons in addition to their primary weapons.

After considering it for a moment, I picked up several old throwing stars and a spear from among the bows, axes, sabers, and staffs.

I had not used a spear even once in this life.

Besides, I knew a spear art that was suitable for the moment.

‘That bastard Six-Form Wolf should be getting kicked out of the Yuk Family and joining White Wolf Pavilion around now.’

That madman, who had given himself the epithet Six-Form Wolf, had dared steal the Yuk Family's six spear forms and pose as a martial artist.

The only reason he had survived after freely using the Yuk Family Spear Forms, the martial art of the Grand General's Estate, was because the Orthodox-Demonic War had broken out.

We used to tease him, telling him to bow twice toward the Demonic Cult every day.

‘Even in the middle of chaotic battles, every time that bastard Six-Form Wolf used his spear art, the Martial Alliance higher-ups would flinch in surprise. I wonder how Qingxiu Zhenren will react when he sees it.’

Imagining that unpleasant face crumpling like paper, I began gathering qi at the tip of my spear.

The pursuers running across the trees leaped into the air with the dawn at their backs, like birds spreading their wings.

Footnotes:

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