WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 436: The Bird That Calls the Typhoon
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Though he had concealed himself with an exquisitely crafted human-skin mask, I recognized him at a glance from his bearing and movements.
The man who had denied the Taeul Sect and tried to steal the Taeul Sword Emperor’s legacy.
The bastard who had impersonated the Demonic Cult without understanding what that meant.
The Divine Dragon of Mount Cang Sect, who would later lead Mount Cang Sect to the Northern Sea as its final Sect Leader.
Flying Cloud New Wind, Jong Byeokgi.
I had no idea why he was taking part in an event that had gathered lay disciples.
Not that I cared to know.
“Your introduction...”
“That won’t be necessary. I already know him.”
Gang Chaeseok looked back and forth between Jong Byeokgi and me, his eyes full of questions.
It had been a long time, and he still looked as pathetic as ever.
“Are you going to keep wearing that cumbersome thing?”
“...Do you know what I’ve suffered because of you?”
“Why is that because of me? You brought it on yourself, you idiot.”
Jong Byeokgi glanced at Moyong Gang, then quickly turned away as though a bad memory had surfaced.
“My dantian is ruined, and my leg no longer works properly!”
I had not expected it to come to this.
His pitiful self-pity made anger boil within me.
“Have you already forgotten how many people you and your sect killed?”
“...!”
“You only invoke survival of the fittest when it’s convenient for you.”
The look on his face made it clear he had realized his mistake.
“Because of you, because of you...”
There was nothing to say to someone who spent their entire life blaming others.
Anything I said would only give him another target to blame.
“If you want to keep whining, pay me. You pay the courtesans at brothels, so why won’t you pay me?”
“...You crazy bastard.”
Jong Byeokgi’s expression grew serious again.
“The reason I came up here is...”
Thick resentment shone through the gaps of his human-skin mask.
“To prove that the Taeul Sect is no match for Mount Cang Sect.”
No matter how base his nature or narrow his outlook, he was still a martial artist.
He knew the surest way to prove his words.
Srring.
The Flying Cloud Sword, the sacred sword Mount Cang Sect had bestowed upon him, revealed its blade.
As though greeting the world again after a long absence, the blade trembled quietly.
“Has it been a long time since you last drew your sword?”
“...”
He glanced at his blade, then spoke as though it meant nothing.
“I simply hadn’t met anyone worthy of seeing this sword.”
“I’m honored that I qualify.”
“...Yes, that’s how much you amount to. Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect.”
Kwarururung.
Thunder rumbled through the clear sky.
Dark clouds suddenly rushed in, swallowing the bright sun in blackness.
“Look at that. Your conduct must have been so arrogant that even heaven is angered.”
Jong Byeokgi threw back his head and laughed as he looked at the sky.
The sight was truly...
Bizarre and pitiful.
“I didn’t know Mount Cang’s One Sword, Jong Byeokgi, placed such importance on a natural phenomenon.”
“...Heh heh.”
Raindrops began to fall one by one.
“But if the sun isn’t visible, how are you going to shoot it?”
“You damned bastard!”
Crunch.
With a grinding of teeth, Jong Byeokgi kicked off the ground like a leopard bursting from the woods.
#
The epithet Flying Cloud New Wind had been given to him because his movement art resembled a single streak of wind.
Flying Dragon Turns Its Body.
A flying dragon turns its body.
Divine Dragon Emerges from the Sea.
A divine dragon emerges from the sea.
Carp Parts the Water.
A carp parts the water.
Drawing on the Twelve Flying Heavenly Strides, he used Heavenly Dragon Illusory Void Steps, Clear Sky Divine Steps, and Taibai Single-Heart Pursuit.
He did not distinguish between footwork and movement art. He moved his body wherever it was most appropriate.
He truly was a streak of wind.
If not for his crippled leg, that was.
“Do you know what people call this?”
Jin Sowoon’s words made Jong Byeokgi’s eyes flash.
“They call it a cripple throwing a tantrum...”
“You son of a bitch!”
Killing intent burst from Jong Byeokgi’s eyes.
“Why force yourself to use a movement art you haven’t even practiced?”
Papapap!
The instant six illusions of Jin Sowoon appeared and vanished, his fist had already struck Jong Byeokgi in the solar plexus.
Thud!
Jong Byeokgi barely managed to lower an arm and block it.
After staggering three steps back, he nodded readily.
“Right. There’s no need to show off what I’ve abandoned.”
“...”
“Aren’t you curious what I’ve been doing instead of practicing movement arts?”
“I’m not interested in a man’s private life.”
The moment Jin Sowoon finished speaking, Jong Byeokgi’s presence changed completely.
Kwooooo.
The crude energy that had flooded the surroundings gathered into a single point and sharpened.
Tzzzzzzz.
Swoosh!
A sharp awl ripped through space.
Shraaaak!
The sudden rainfall was actually a blessing for the spectators.
Without the trails of raindrops embroidered across the torn air, they would not have been able to follow Jong Byeokgi’s sword with their eyes.
“Hah...”
“Th-this is Jongnam Sect?”
“Idiot! Mount Cang Sect!”
“Th-this is Mount Cang Sect?”
A fierce wind swept through the training ground.
Kugung!
It was too artificial to be something the rain clouds had brought, yet too natural to be something a person had made.
Its origin was undeniably Jong Byeokgi’s sword.
The sudden, overwhelming power was enough to inspire fear just by watching it.
“W-Where’s the Black Flame Dragon?”
Fear naturally made people worry for Jin Sowoon.
The crowd searched for him with startled eyes.
“Look over there!”
They hurriedly followed a man’s pointing finger.
Their gazes followed Jong Byeokgi’s sword.
Jin Sowoon had no room to evade as Jong Byeokgi’s sword sliced through his neck.
Slice!
“Ah!”
A scream erupted as Jin Sowoon’s head was severed.
Then.
“N-No. That wasn’t the real one...”
At the trembling voice of relief, those who had shut their eyes barely managed to open them.
The one whose neck had been cut was one of Jin Sowoon’s afterimages.
But they could not relax yet.
Slice!
Slice!
Slice!
The paths traced by the raindrops cut through Jin Sowoon’s afterimages.
The eight afterimages of Jin Sowoon vanished in an instant.
Rain followed the wind.
And the rain was moving toward Jin Sowoon.
Having abandoned his movement art, the man stood firmly at the center of the training ground.
The instant the man controlling the wind swept both arms out, the wind that had coiled through the air pounced directly at Jin Sowoon.
Shraaaak!
Jin Sowoon moved first with Iron Bridge, and trails of raindrops streaked over his face.
“Gasp!”
The spectators’ mouths fell open at Jin Sowoon’s technique.
As though he had expected even that, Jong Byeokgi drew a horizontal line intended to slice through Jin Sowoon’s waist.
Shraaaak!
Thinking another horrific sight was about to unfold, people instinctively shut their eyes.
At that moment.
Clang!
The sword’s cry rang through the training ground.
When the people cautiously opened their eyes, their vision was filled with...
“Better than you used to be.”
Jin Sowoon’s true form, moving with ease.
He immediately redirected the Flying Cloud Sword with the Scarlet Radiance Sword, then evaded its path using the technique of waiting at ease for the weary.
Bang!
The Flying Cloud Sword dug into the training ground, shattering its marble floor.
“...”
A deep shadow fell over Jong Byeokgi’s face.
“Why are there so many monsters in this world...?”
Despair of unknown origin flowed from those words whose meaning was unclear.
That sense of defeat, as murky as mud churned up by rainwater, spread even to the protesters.
“But...”
The raindrops stirred by the man’s wind struck the dirt, growing steadily more clouded.
“Monsters can only bring chaos. They can never overturn the world.”
A crimson gleam flashed within the deep shadows.
“No matter how much you rage, heaven and earth will never be turned upside down!!”
Sharararar!
The wind intensified.
A violent gale swept through the grounds as if a typhoon had descended.
Once again, the source of the typhoon was Jong Byeokgi’s sword tip.
The typhoon born from the Flying Cloud Sword shook the training ground so violently that even the marble slabs trembled.
The spectators, who had watched Jin Sowoon reveal his strength until now, instinctively sensed that something immense was about to descend upon this place.
They knew Jin Sowoon would not simply take it.
Even to those ignorant of martial arts, Jong Byeokgi’s move was clearly extraordinary.
For some reason, they felt anxious.
They hoped the force Jin Sowoon had displayed so far would not be broken here.
“...W-What is he doing?”
“Why are his eyes closed... Huh?”
Yet only the faintest energy emanated from Jin Sowoon’s body as he held the Scarlet Radiance Sword outstretched.
Jong Byeokgi’s lips twisted.
“What kind of trick are you trying now...?”
When he received no answer, he looked around.
Then he realized it.
Every spectator was staring at Jin Sowoon and his sword as if spellbound.
“What in the world...?”
Within the typhoon, Jin Sowoon seemed to be the only one untouched by it.
It was difficult even to keep one’s eyes open amid the driving rain and violent wind.
Yet he remained calm, as though every drop of rain and every gust of wind passed around him.
Hummm.
A small, unwavering candle flame amid the sharp cold wind.
Then, the moment Jin Sowoon opened his eyes.
Flash!
Golden radiance shone from his gaze.
The candle flame then began advancing through the typhoon, drawing a clear path.
#
Namgung Taeha became certain.
“That cripple isn’t just some lay disciple. Was he sent by the main sect?”
This protest had clearly begun from the outrage of the lay disciples.
The main sect had not expressed any position.
Yet a disciple from the main sect had slipped in among the lay disciples.
The martial world had always been a den of schemes, but did they really have to resort to tricks even here?
Then.
“He isn’t an ordinary main sect disciple.”
Moyong Gang’s voice was heavier than usual.
“Hm? Do you know that boy?”
“He’s Cha Umun’s treasured youngest disciple.”
“Cha Umun of Mount Cang Sect?”
There was only one person who came to mind when he thought of a disciple of Cha Umun around that age.
“...You’re saying that’s the boy who inherited the Flying Cloud Sword?”
Moyong Gang sighed and nodded faintly.
“That’s right. The one who received such a grand Marrow Cleansing and internal-energy transfer that Mount Cang Sect’s entire Elder Council was mobilized.”
It had caused quite a stir once.
Mount Cang Sect had always ranked third or fourth among the Taoist sects, behind Wudang and Mount Hua.
Yet they had finally prepared to rise by finding a boy with the qualities of a dragon, using that long-held resentment as fertilizer.
“They call him Cha Umun’s final disciple, but he was practically the Joint Successor of the Elder Council.”
Mount Cang may have been overshadowed by Wudang and Mount Hua, but it had already established a strong foundation in the martial world.
Beginning with this boy, Mount Cang Sect had hoped to rise as the greatest Taoist sect under heaven.
“Of course, that was before he was ruined.”
“By ruined, do you mean what happened in Yueyang?”
The incident where Mount Cang Sect’s Guardian Disciple had impersonated the Demonic Cult and committed evil acts.
Namgung Taeha did not know the details, but he knew it could not have been an act committed solely by the disciple’s own will.
White Path sects did not always do clean work.
And such matters always produced victims.
“What a pity.”
“He wasn’t such a good kid either.”
Moyong Gang spoke as though he knew something, but Namgung Taeha could not shake his pity.
“If he was raised as a Joint Successor, doesn’t that mean his aptitude was extraordinary? He could have made a name for himself if things had gone well.”
“Perhaps.”
It probably had not been impossible.
“Though there were simply too many better ones.”
Yong Soa, Dang Seohui, Ilmyeong.
If not for the other children of their generation.
“...True.”
The current generation of young martial artists had produced more talents than any era before it.
There were not only geniuses who appeared once in a century.
There were even beings who appeared only once in a millennium.
In an age where so many dragons roamed freely, someone who appeared only once in a decade...
Would ultimately fail to shine.
Those raising disciples of Yong Soa’s generation all looked upon their own disciples with regret.
No talent could help but lose its luster beside Yong Soa.
Jong Byeokgi was one such person.
Namgung Taeha brushed raindrops from his face and nodded.
“Then there shouldn’t be much of a problem. Didn’t you say Sowoon faced Hwa Jeongsan and Jong Byeokgi at the same time before?”
Without even trying to wipe the rain rushing toward his face, Moyong Gang stared ahead.
“Could you face someone with more internal energy than you if they rushed at you willing to die together?”
“...”
“Jin Sowoon always acts as though he is ready to stake his life. He’s a truly vicious bastard.”
Once someone reached a certain realm, the amount of internal energy they possessed became far less important. Even so, a difference in quantity remained a burden.
For those who had not reached that realm, it was only natural to feel that burden even more.
“Of course, he would have won even without that. That madman was never a wild beast that the young masters of Mount Hua and Mount Cang could handle in the first place.”
“...”
For some reason, Namgung Taeha recalled the tale of Jin Sowoon doing something insane like grabbing Namgung San’s blade with his bare hand.
“But he can’t keep using orthodox assault any longer. Jong Byeokgi is different from the opponents so far, even if one of his legs is useless.”
When facing the lay disciples, Jin Sowoon had not displayed overwhelming power.
He had used only the minimum internal energy required for martial arts, settling each match through orthodox assault alone to reveal the essence of martial arts.
That had been enough.
It had made the fights longer, but while spectators found them tedious, martial artists had been given an excellent opportunity to witness the depth of the Taeul Sect.
“That’s true.”
Still, that was only possible when there was a clear gap in their realms.
It was not something he could do against someone at a similar level, much less an exceptional person like Jong Byeokgi.
“Only madmen would do something like that...”
At that moment.
Kuuuuung.
An enormous amount of energy spread around Jong Byeokgi, warping the very space around him as it pressed down on Jin Sowoon.
In contrast, Jin Sowoon did not release enough energy to answer it.
“Surely... he isn’t?”
Namgung Taeha looked at Moyong Gang with concern.
Moyong Gang had still not taken his eyes off Jin Sowoon.
“I really can’t understand what goes through that mad bastard’s head. Tch.”
Was he worried or simply complaining?
Even as he spoke pessimistically, Moyong Gang could not hide the upward curl of his lips.
At that moment, Namgung Taeha understood.
Seeing how pleased Moyong Gang looked, Jin Sowoon was clearly about to try something insane.
‘This friend has liked madmen since he was young.’
Namgung Taeha heightened his eyesight as though he would not miss even a single move.
#
Everything I knew about Jong Byeokgi from my previous life, his habits, tendencies, weaknesses, and more, surfaced in my mind.
Methods of dealing with him flashed through my thoughts.
Then the Sun-Shooting Sword Art of Mount Cang Sect came to mind, along with the Shattering Form, Breaking Strike Form, and Forty-Eight Returning Wind Flowing Swords.
At the same time, ways to crush his martial arts surfaced as well.
But.
‘No.’
I let the methods for reducing him to pulp within ten moves pass through my mind.
‘There’s no meaning in crushing that wastrel with force right now.’
This was not simply reopening the sect.
It was a true founding, something that had not been shown for the past five hundred years.
The Taeul Sect did not consist of me alone, nor would it end with me.
Swoooosh!
I thrust the transformations of the Lesser Heaven Sword Art into the violently raging energy of the Forty-Eight Returning Wind Flowing Swords.
The difference in energy shook the Scarlet Radiance Sword violently.
A deeply rooted tree falls before a typhoon, while a swaying reed is cut down by an iron sickle.
Amid the vast fickleness of all creation, rigid self-assertion was ultimately meaningless.
I suppressed my instinct to raise my internal energy and resist.
Instead, I followed my opponent’s energy and its flow.
At times, change for personal gain was nothing more than fickleness.
True change meant preserving one’s root.
Changing within an unchanging root.
That was true transformation.
Once I had grown accustomed to the flow, the Greater Heaven Sword Art naturally unfolded despite my lack of intent.
Swaaaaaash!
Shararararar!
The violent wind at my ears battered my eardrums.
Yet my heart did not tremble in the slightest, as clear and calm as a still lake.
=======
Author’s Note.
Greetings.
I hope you have all remained in good health during this sweltering summer.
I am writing to add a clarification because part of Chapter 435 needed further explanation.
I have caused extra trouble for the great heroes who work tirelessly each day for the peace and safety of the martial world.
I apologize.
If you use the previous installment as kindling and read this new one, you will be able to see the newly added section.
Thank you always for your passionate support.
Thanks to you, Sowoon can continue moving forward.
I will always do my best to repay your support.
Thank you as always.
=======
Footnotes:
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