WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 426: Five Hundred Years of Waiting
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News of the Taeul Sect reopening spread throughout the Martial Alliance.
It was not because the Taeul Sect reopening would significantly affect the martial world's balance of power.
After all, it was a lower-ranking sect among the One Hundred Eight Peaks based in Hefei.
Whether it reopened its gates or rebuilt them should have been of no concern to anyone.
However, as events that directly concerned them began unfolding, the Taeul Sect's reopening became the talk of the town for an entirely different reason.
“I’m telling you, that newly appointed rookie already took leave.”
“You too? Our deputy unit leader was raising hell, saying they absolutely had to take leave.”
“Hah. What’s so special about the Taeul Sect that they have to attend its reopening ceremony?”
“I heard it isn’t because of the Taeul Sect.”
“Then why?”
The Martial Alliance member sharing the story shuddered as though struck by astonishing news.
“They say that scheming bastard Jin Sowoon has leverage over his fellow Academy graduates, so they have no choice but to do as he says.”
“Hah! That bastard really thinks he can get away with anything now?”
It was unfair from Jin Sowoon’s perspective, but there was nothing he could do about it.
To their seniors, the Taeul Sect was neither Shaolin Temple nor the Namgung Clan. They could not understand why people would insist on going all the way there just to show their faces.
It was not as though there were any masters at the Taeul Sect with whom they wanted to forge even the slightest connection.
Though it was growing, the Taeul Sect still had only a merchant group and a mine. It was difficult to say it possessed either wealth or power.
In any case, once they had applied for the annual leave they were entitled to, their seniors had no choice but to approve it.
Their dissatisfaction naturally turned into curses aimed at Jin Sowoon, and that was how news of the Taeul Sect reopening spread throughout the Martial Alliance.
Then...
“A Taeul Sect reopening ceremony? What is there to see at a place like that?”
“I heard they’re holding a martial arts tournament along with the ceremony.”
The new information stirred people’s curiosity even further.
“A martial arts tournament?”
“Wudang Sect and Mount Cang Sect are furious with the Taeul Sect, aren’t they? They say there’s no need for firewood with all the challenge letters arriving from martial artists across the country every day. Still, they can’t avoid them forever.”
“So they’re holding a tournament to at least keep people from dying if they’re going to be beaten anyway?”
“Exactly. They probably think no one will go too far with so many people watching.”
“This... could be entertaining.”
After all, nothing was more entertaining than watching a fire or a fight.
Especially when the ones being beaten were the Taeul Sect, who had been acting so full of themselves lately.
The thought of watching them get beaten into mush and roll across the ground was more than any martial artist could resist.
“I already submitted my leave request.”
“Damn it! I already used mine.”
“I’ll watch closely and tell you all about it.”
As a result, not only the Academy graduates supposedly held hostage by Jin Sowoon’s leverage, but countless people from throughout the Martial Alliance and the martial world began heading for Anhui Province.
#
The Taeul Sect disciples and I ran directly toward the Taeul Sect instead of taking carriages.
Carriages offered comfort and convenience, but arriving at the same time as the guests departing from the Martial Alliance would have been discourteous.
Besides, there was far too much to prepare in advance.
At least my junior brothers and sisters had learned the Peerless Wanderer Divine Art, so their speed was incomparable to that of a carriage.
“It’s truly an incredible movement art. We’re moving this fast, yet I don’t feel burdened at all.”
Of course, it was a movement art created by the Hell Demon Emperor, one of the Demonic Cult’s strongest Heavenly Demons, alongside the Taeul Sword Emperor, a legendary master.
Even though I had learned the Peerless Wanderer Divine Art years ago, I still had not comprehended its true mysteries.
If that was the case for me, my junior brothers and sisters were no better off.
In any case, after alternating between sleeping outdoors and using movement arts, we reached Soeum County by way of Hefei faster than expected.
“Hah...!”
The sight before us left us speechless.
“What is this? Since when did Soeum County become this large?”
Just as Geumpyo said, Soeum County had changed so drastically that it was almost unrecognizable.
It was no longer the small village where we had run around and played every day as children.
“New goods are here!”
“Make way!”
The streets were packed with people, and merchants with makeshift stalls filled every roadside.
New buildings were going up in the vacant lot where children used to gather and play war. Carriages loaded with goods rolled in without end.
“Did we... come to the wrong...”
“Brother Jin!”
We had been standing there like country bumpkins seeing the capital for the first time, but we all turned at the voice from behind us.
“Brother!”
A beautiful young woman with a radiant face ran toward us with a bright smile.
“Soso!”
She must have been working. She held an abacus and ledger in her hands, while her long hair was casually pinned up with a wooden hairpin.
Even so, the men walking down the street could not take their eyes off her shining smile.
“Brother! You arrived earlier than expected.”
I smiled and ruffled her hair.
“We needed to arrive early to prepare. But I saw you speaking with the innkeepers just now... What exactly happened here?”
Had she created all of this? But how?
Soso put both hands on her waist and proudly puffed out her chest.
“A large, prosperous sect naturally creates a large town wherever it is located. This is simply the natural course of things.”
“Natural? For the Taeul Sect?”
At Geumpyo’s jab, Wang Soso snorted.
“Senior Brother Geum! Does it matter whether a large sect creates a large town or a large town creates a large sect?”
Even so, was this not happening too quickly?
When I came last winter, the village had not grown anywhere near this much.
“It’s because of those people protesting in front of the Taeul Sect.”
As I listened, I learned that she had bought up every inn and restaurant to torment the people camping out in protest before the Taeul Sect, then raised the prices threefold and fivefold.
“At first, the number of customers naturally dropped sharply.”
Yet the Taeul Sect was so remote that it took at least half a day to reach Hefei.
That brutal distance eventually tested the patience of even those confident in their martial arts.
“Hehe... How long could they possibly endure?”
The absurd rise in Soeum County’s prices eventually became a cost they were willing to bear in exchange for convenience.
On top of that, because prices were so high, merchants who had been doing business in Hefei began arriving in Soeum County one by one. They could charge reasonable prices and still make large profits.
As the rumor spread, more merchants kept coming, and the town grew by the day.
“Then... aren’t you taking a loss instead?”
“I expected that, so I bought up all the land around Soeum County beforehand. Much of it did not have owners anyway. We’ll renovate the inns and restaurants we bought and cater to high-class guests. Then we’ll keep expanding the town itself with outsiders.”
“...”
I was dumbfounded by a business method I had never seen or heard of before.
At the same time, every nerve in my body tingled at the scent of money.
When people gathered, the town grew. When more money flowed through the town, the landowners were the ones who ultimately profited.
Land that had been close to barren would turn into a goose that laid golden eggs overnight.
A sound of astonishment escaped me.
‘Are all merchants’ children like this?’
Probably not. How many wastrels inherited massive fortunes only to squander them in an instant?
She was truly remarkable, but I had better be careful around her...
“Oh, and the Wang Family Estate and the Great Heaven Merchant Group split the investment costs evenly. Those people illegally protesting in front of the Taeul Sect are bringing their wealth to the Taeul Sect on their own.”
“Ha! Excellent! Soso, you’ll always be my little sister!”
I could not contain the deep admiration bubbling up from below my dantian.
“I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this! You’re a genius, a genius!”
A business method that took money from an enemy’s purse.
On top of that, she was developing the town and creating a proper commercial district.
Was this what they called insane talent?
It would have been nice if I had talent like this instead of only this useless memory.
“Brother, I did well, didn’t I?”
Wang Soso tilted her head like a child, exposing the crown of her head, and I vigorously ruffled her hair.
It felt as though the scent of money rose from her with every touch, and Soso could not stop smiling.
“Junior Sister Wang.”
Eunho, who had been unable to hide his amazement throughout the conversation, cautiously raised his hand.
“Could you explain this business in more detail sometime? I’d like to make use of it later.”
“Of course, Senior Brother Eunho.”
After a brief exchange with the most lovable little sister in the world, we left Soeum County and headed straight for the Taeul Sect.
#
Though we hurried our steps, we only passed through Hefei in the afternoon. We were so entranced by the transformed Soeum County that we did not reach the vicinity of the Taeul Sect until the sunset had deepened.
“Senior Brother, we’re finally here...”
“Wait.”
I stopped as soon as people entered the range of my energy sense.
My sudden halt made my junior brothers and sisters look at me with puzzled expressions.
“Straighten your clothes.”
At my words, stripped of all amusement, they seemed to realize something and quickly fixed their attire.
We had already bought and changed into new clothes in Hefei, so everyone looked neat. Still, some dust had clung to us while we ran.
They brushed it off and retied their robes.
They returned the swords shifted during travel to their proper positions, while Saryeon and Soso tied their hair again.
“We’re done.”
After watching them, I spoke.
“Have we done anything wrong?”
“No.”
“Have we harmed anyone?”
“...No.”
It took them a moment, but their answer was firm.
“Then do not lower your heads. No matter who radiates killing intent or glares at you in anger, hold your shoulders straight. If you take on the attitude of a criminal, you will become one.”
“““Understood!”””
“Then let’s go.”
The sunset spilling beyond the mountain dyed the entire world red.
Beneath it stood the Taeul Sect’s roofs and the plaque above its gates.
Countless people had gathered before them.
When their number surpassed four hundred, Dongryong unconsciously hunched his shoulders.
Eunho lightly rubbed his back, and Dongryong straightened up again.
At that moment, I felt a strange sense of familiarity with a scene I had seen in my previous life.
Then that scene unfolded vividly before my eyes.
The burning Taeul Sect.
Countless Demonic Cult members gathered before it.
The corpses of people who had been my brothers, sisters, and family lay abandoned like animals throughout the Taeul Sect.
Saryeon had lost her mind at the sight of the bodies of Hong Mungi and his wife hanging from the pillars of the main hall. Humming a song from her childhood, she picked up severed fingers and ears.
I was overwhelmed by helplessness and guilt because I could do nothing.
As I watched Saryeon, thinking I had lost even the right to comfort her...
Saryeon carefully tucked a severed ear inside her robes, then looked at me and smiled brightly.
[Senior Brother Jin.]
“Senior Brother...”
“Gasp...!”
In an instant, that vivid hell shattered like a broken mirror.
Saryeon from my previous life and Saryeon from this life overlapped.
Instead of loose, disheveled hair, hers was neatly tied.
Instead of hands collecting severed fingers and ears... she held a straight sword.
“Are you all right?”
“Ah, I’m fine.”
“You told us not to be nervous, yet you look the most nervous of all, Senior Brother.”
Saryeon gave me a coy smile.
Her eyes were not hollow, and her hands were no longer covered in blood.
“Senior. Brother!! Get a hold of yourself already!”
Saryeon snorted at me again.
Right. I was not Senior Brother Jin from my previous life. I was Jin Sowoon, the Head Disciple and eldest senior brother of the Taeul Sect.
After steadying my breathing, I smiled at her.
“Nervous? Because of those fools?”
“Then hurry up and walk. People have started looking this way.”
The murmuring grew louder.
Some pointed at us. Some picked up their weapons and glared. Others woke their sleeping companions.
Dust rose thickly from their restless movements.
“Aren’t those Taeul Sect people?”
“I think so?”
“Why are they coming this way?”
“Are they trying to pick a fight?”
“That would be even better!”
Some rolled their shoulders and necks, making a threatening display.
Some sat on the ground, grinning as they sneered at us.
Others glared murderously, ready to leap forward at any moment.
I stepped toward them.
Tap.
The dust spreading through the air settled in an instant beneath the energy I extended with that step.
Tap, tap, tap.
My steps did not stop.
With every step, the dust that rose sank heavily to the ground.
“That damn bastard.”
“Arrogant bastard.”
“Does he think he can pass through here?”
They ground their teeth at my actions and released their fighting spirit without restraint.
“Senior Brother, if we go this way, we’ll have to walk through them.”
The path ahead ran directly through the center of those blocking the Taeul Sect entrance.
“Eunho.”
“Yes.”
“A gentleman walks the great road.”
“...You’re not even a gentleman.”
He said that, but my junior brothers and sisters soon matched their strides to mine.
Before long, we stood before the protesters.
“Please move aside. This is the road back to our sect.”
“And if we refuse?”
“Guests are only guests when they behave as guests.”
“What do you intend to do about it?”
At that moment, the energy of the Taeul True Scripture surged before I could even will it.
I gave myself over to that anger and released my internal energy without restraint.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The dust that had only just settled exploded in every direction.
The killing intent woven through it made the martial artists move on instinct.
“Y-you damned bastard!”
“So you have some skill after all!”
I made those barking harsh words look at their own feet.
Only then did they realize they had unknowingly retreated five steps, and their faces reddened.
Then...
“Are you Jin Sowoon, the Black Flame Dragon?”
A man walked out from among those who had stepped back.
The middle-aged man holding a saber did not carelessly reveal his emotions like the others.
“I am Jang Buyong.”
By offering only his name, he proved his own presence.
Whispers already rose nearby.
“Shandong’s Thousand Man One Blade?”
“Will you be able to bear the consequences of provoking everyone here with such actions?”
I answered him.
“If you behave as guests, the Taeul Sect will avoid nothing.”
“Do we look like guests to you?”
“If not, I would have considered you Black Path thugs and treated you accordingly.”
“...”
If they were not guests, I would simply treat them as Black Path thugs.
“You are very confident for a Taeul Sect disciple.”
“A person’s affiliation does not give them confidence, but I believe a Taeul Sect disciple may possess this much confidence.”
The man nodded.
“A fine sight. I hope that proud bearing lasts to the end. Otherwise, you will be all the more ashamed for the confidence you displayed today.”
“I will not forget it.”
Jang Buyong stepped aside and stretched out an arm. The gathered people moved to either side.
We slowly headed toward the Taeul Sect along the straight path they had made.
The gates opened, revealing Hong Mungi and the Hall Masters waiting there.
“We’ve returned.”
We immediately raised clasped fists in greeting.
“You have endured much on the long journey.”
The elders welcomed us with more satisfied expressions than ever.
The voices of the murmuring crowd came from behind us, but I stood quietly and looked up at the Taeul Sect.
Beneath the blazing red sunset,
I engraved in my eyes the proud Taeul Sect, which would spread its wings firmly without being swallowed by anything.
Footnotes:
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