WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 45: The First-Rate Martial Artist Gathering People (4)
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In one corner of the Jegal Clan stood a small pavilion built in an unusual square shape.
The clan members called it the Prisoner's Golden Prison.
There was already a Golden Prison beneath the clan estate for imprisoning notorious figures of the martial world, but this Prisoner's Golden Prison had been built for a special prisoner unlike any before or since.
Inside the tiny space, barely large enough for one person to live in, a youthful boy tirelessly covered the walls and floor with drawings, blueprints, and formation formulas.
“Young Master.”
Jegal Cheongi stopped at the voice coming from above.
“Yeongyeong. If you keep coming in here, the Grand Elder will throw a fit.”
Yeongyeong was a shadowlike presence devoted solely to Jegal Cheongi.
Cheongi had told them to return to their original post since no one knew when he would leave the Golden Prison, but his faithful shadow continued to linger nearby.
“Someone has come to see the Grand Elder.”
“The Grand Elder is always busy.”
“They came to see you, Young Master.”
“Me? Why?”
Jegal Cheongi looked up at the empty ceiling.
“They came to request your dispatch.”
“Why me...?”
“They want to install your Mechanism Formation at their sect.”
“What!”
Jegal Cheongi was stunned.
Not only the Jegal Clan, but countless intellectuals throughout the martial world all spoke as one about the uselessness of Mechanism Formations. Yet someone had come here asking to install his?
“Do you know who that person is?”
“Who are they? Someone important?”
“You know about the recent incident in Hunan Province, right?”
“I do.”
“They say it is the great hero known as the Black Flame Dragon.”
“The Black Flame Dragon!”
Yeongyeong occasionally told Cheongi about events in the outside world, and among the stories he had heard recently, those about the Black Flame Dragon interested him most.
He never tired of hearing how the man had distinguished himself within the legendary Boundless Indestructible Soul-Destroying Formation.
If he were not trapped in the Golden Prison, he would have gone to meet him at once.
He wanted to know how the man had broken the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Destroying Formation.
“Someone like that came to see me?”
Jegal Cheongi instantly forgot the circumstances and criticism that had weighed on him for the past few months.
There were too many things he wanted to ask the man.
“...Ah, ah.”
Then he remembered the Grand Elder again.
“It probably will not be possible...”
“What do you mean?”
“The Grand Elder is not an easy person to deal with.”
“...”
“Yeongyeong, if I cannot meet the Black Flame Dragon, could you give him a letter for me?”
“Do not say that. He will definitely come to see you, Young Master.”
#
“Hah!”
Jegal Jeong let out a sound that might have been amusement or anger.
“I heard Hunan Province was in an uproar over rumors of the Black Flame Dragon, so I thought I would meet him. As expected, he is nothing but a baseborn rogue.”
Most of what Jegal Jeong said grated on me, but the words Black Flame Dragon bothered me most.
“The Black Flame Dragon?”
Jegal Hyeonun raised an eyebrow at my expression.
“You did not know? That is the epithet people in the martial world use for you.”
“...”
I could roughly guess why the word Flame had been included. I was also humbled by the fact that they had attached Dragon, a title given only to the most exceptional young talents of renowned sects.
But Black?
That was not a word one would give to a rising talent of the White Path.
More than that, the three words together sounded strangely unpleasant.
‘Why is that?’
I decided to think about the epithet later and continued.
“Do you dislike my proposal?”
“Do you not understand how deeply your proposal insults the Jegal Clan?”
I tilted my head.
“This insults the Jegal Clan?”
“Do you think the Jegal Clan does not slay the Ironclad Heungmang Great Master because we lack the strength? It is simply the natural order of things.”
“Is there anyone in the martial world who does not know that?”
“What?”
They were perfectly capable of killing it, but if they acted without compensation, their reputation would suffer. Unless the damage grew worse or someone forced their hand, they could not intervene.
“Then should you not be even more ashamed of placing Jegal Cheongi in the Golden Prison?”
Experiments with arcane formations often caused accidents. In severe cases, people suffered from illusions and hallucinations within the formation, lost their sanity, and lived the rest of their lives without reason.
What Jegal Cheongi had done was not such a serious matter within the Jegal Clan.
The real problem was that Cheongi, one of the direct descendants, had tried to advocate for the usefulness of Mechanism Formations rather than arcane formations.
Cheongi could have left the Golden Prison long ago.
There was only one condition. He had to abandon Mechanism Formations and swear to devote himself to advancing arcane formations.
Because he refused that condition, Cheongi spent eight years in the Golden Prison.
He could not even take the regular examination at the Martial Arts Academy. While performing his mandatory service in the Martial Alliance, he had eventually come to the Sojeong Unit.
“I truly do not understand. You belittle Mechanism Formations, yet impose cruelly high standards on someone who came here asking to use one. Is a contradiction this bewildering and inescapable not the kind one should experience only within an arcane formation?”
Jegal Jeong's face turned bright red.
Just as I began to think this entire matter might fall through, Jegal Hyeonun spoke.
“Grand Elder, I do not believe this young man's words are wrong.”
“Clan Head!”
It was rare in the martial world to see a Clan Head having to persuade a Grand Elder, and rarer still for the Grand Elder's influence to be stronger. Yet it was also a unique feature of the Jegal Clan.
“To begin with, this young man's point is valid. If people learn that we have set such harsh standards for someone who is not even a formal formation master, will they not believe our standards are based on personal stubbornness rather than reason?”
Jegal Jeong clearly did not appreciate Jegal Hyeonun taking my side.
“Is that not only because Jegal Cheongi is your son, Clan Head?”
“...!”
He had finally made a mistake.
The Jegal Clan determined its major and minor affairs through reasoned opinions, so the Clan Head's influence could sometimes weaken. Still, that did not mean one could openly disrespect the Clan Head.
“Yes, he is certainly my son. Then let me ask you this. Why have you imposed such an excessively harsh punishment only on my son, Grand Elder?”
“...Th-that is because he is your heir. If that child disregards arcane formations, it would mean the Jegal Clan itself disregards them.”
“Cheongi has never once disregarded arcane formations. He simply had great interest in Mechanism Formations.”
After saying that, Jegal Hyeonun crossed his arms and firmly shut his mouth.
Jegal Jeong had suddenly found himself in an awkward position because of his own mistake.
If he continued to insist on his position, it would make it clear that he had disrespected the Clan Head and subjected his son to an excessive punishment.
“Is that what it was?”
“Be quiet! This is not the time for you to interfere.”
The people of the Jegal Clan, who never overlooked any issue lacking reason, would not view Jegal Jeong favorably.
I knew that if I spoke up and smoothed things over, it would save his face and settle matters cleanly. That was why I deliberately said nothing and watched Jegal Jeong.
Jegal Jeong glanced at the Clan Head, glared at me, then looked up at the ceiling for a moment. A thin smile formed on his lips.
“Fine. I shall accept your condition.”
One of Jegal Hyeonun's eyebrows rose. He slowly began to unfold his arms.
“At least you retain a minimum of reason.”
“...But I have a condition.”
I nodded instead of answering.
“If the Taeul Sect meets the Jegal Clan's standards, it will be recognized as a prestigious sect of the martial world. Therefore, you may be considered a representative of the Taeul Sect. Through you, we must judge the level of your sect.”
“Of course.”
“Then you must slay the Ironclad Heungmang Great Master alone, without help from martial artists or hunters.”
“Grand Elder!”
Both Jegal Hyeonun and I were startled.
“Clan Head, I have yielded enough already.”
“Even so, how can he possibly slay the Ironclad Heungmang Great Master alone?”
“That is for the boy to decide. What say you? Will you do it?”
A crafty old man, as expected.
It was not through luck alone that he, a member of a collateral line, had become the head of the Artisan Hall in a clan overflowing with exceptional talents.
I searched through the library in my mind.
Jegal Jeong seemed to take the time I spent thinking as hesitation, and a thin smile appeared on his lips.
After reviewing the books on monsters and spiritual creatures, I calmly answered.
“Very well.”
“...You will?”
Perhaps my answer made him uneasy, because he quickly continued.
“The sword at your waist and the item on your arm do not look ordinary. You may not accept the aid of such artifacts either. I will lend you an ordinary iron sword.”
“Hah...”
Jegal Hyeonun let out a hollow laugh at Jegal Jeong, who had now become like a child throwing a tantrum without a trace of reason.
“Very well. Are there any other restrictions?”
“You may not set fire to the mountain or cause harm to the nearby villages.”
“Anything else?”
I was beginning to wonder just how far this old man was willing to disgrace himself.
“...You may not use things like Thunderclap Bombs.”
“Can you even obtain one? Go on, say more.”
“...”
“Is that all?”
“...”
As I removed my sword sheath and the Flying Dragon Claw, I spoke to Jegal Jeong, whose anger still seemed to simmer with unease.
“Elder, have you heard of the disgrace of old age?”
“...You bastard!”
“I had thought this was a wonderful opportunity to raise the name of the Taeul Sect by showing what it meant to meet your standards.”
I looked back and forth between Jegal Jeong and Jegal Hyeonun.
“But now I wonder whether passing those standards and earning recognition from the Jegal Clan has any great meaning at all.”
#
Even after Jegal Jeong stormed out, Jegal Hyeonun remained silent for a long while.
“I am sorry you had to see something so disgraceful.”
Jegal Hyeonun could not help but sigh. He had never suffered humiliation like this.
Unlike the heads of other clans, Jegal Hyeonun had risen to the position decades earlier than expected. His father, Jegal Somyeong, had become the Martial Alliance's Grand Strategist.
It would have been nice if his father had at least put the clan in order, but the only thing his father had said was:
“If you lack the ability, give it to someone else.”
It might have sounded cold, but that was the Jegal Clan's custom and the foundation that had allowed it to maintain its reputation for centuries.
“It is all right.”
When Jin Sowoon defended Jegal Cheongi, Hyeonun had been so grateful that he had wanted to jump up and embrace him.
It was also strangely moving that this young man from outside the clan recognized Cheongi when no one in the Jegal Clan did.
‘Cheongi may gain a good older brother.’
Even among his own siblings, Cheongi had always stood apart.
But that had to end here.
Hyeonun needed to stop what the young man intended to do.
Slaying the Ironclad Heungmang Great Master was difficult enough. Doing so while enduring all those restrictions was no different from suicide.
“I will speak to the Grand Elder. You should return.”
“I need Jegal Cheongi.”
“Thank you for saying so. Cheongi would be very grateful if he heard it. But slaying the Ironclad Heungmang Great Master alone is absurd. You cannot even use artifacts? A sword sold on the market will not be able to pierce its skin. The Grand Elder is playing a cruel trick to force your surrender.”
Jegal Hyeonun stared intently at Jin Sowoon.
His ears had nearly gone numb from all the stories about Jin Sowoon's deeds at Demon Spirit Plateau.
He had lamented that the Jegal Clan could not step forward, while admiring the rumors of Jin Sowoon's accomplishments.
He wanted to ask how he had passed through the formation and study it together with him, but as Clan Head, even that was not possible.
That was why he did not want to see a promising young man throw away his life out of stubbornness.
“Once the Grand Elder sets his mind on something, he will pursue it to the end. He will likely assign an observer to you as well, so you cannot try anything underhanded.”
“I expected as much.”
As they spoke, Jegal Hyeonun felt an odd sense of unease.
“...Are you not afraid?”
“I am.”
Yet Jin Sowoon showed not the slightest tension, as though he already knew how everything would end.
‘Come to think of it.’
Jegal Jeong was one of the most respected scholars in the world.
Yet this young man, not even twenty years old, had pointed out the man's contradictions and criticized him for the disgrace of old age.
“You do not look afraid at all.”
“I am afraid, but there are many ways to slay the Iron-Armored Black Python Great Serpent.”
“...Many ways?”
“I think I will use the method that will anger the Grand Elder the most.”
Jin Sowoon smiled brightly, showing his teeth.
The smile looked familiar. After thinking about where he had seen it, Hyeonun remembered that children often smiled that way when they were about to play a prank.
‘He is thinking about playing a prank in this situation?’
Jegal Hyeonun had never considered himself lacking, but he could not even begin to guess what Jin Sowoon was thinking.
Footnotes:
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