The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything - Chapter 504

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 504: The Beginning of Night (9)

──────

“We apologize! An urgent matter has arisen within the clan, so we must ask you to leave.”

“What does that mean? So suddenly?”

“We apologize! We can no longer conduct any business within the Tang Clan today.”

“What? I’ve been waiting since this morning!”

“We apologize! We will make amends for today’s discourtesy at a later date.”

The Tang Clan members sent their guests away.

Complaints rose from those who had been waiting, but once the gates began to close, they had no choice but to leave.

A table and chairs were arranged on the platform in the Grand Training Ground.

No announcement had been made, yet the Elder Council, Pavilion Masters, and Hall Masters were already arguing over seats on the platform.

The area around the Grand Training Ground was even worse.

Most of those not on duty had gathered there, forming a sea of green robes.

‘Why do they all look so excited?’

My first opponent was the man who had wanted to fight before Dang Mუგap arrived.

He still held an iron chain whip, but this time, he did not reveal his mother-of-pearl vial.

Poison was frightening not when you knew it was being used, but when you did not. That probably meant he acknowledged me that much.

“You use some strange techniques...”

There was no time for leisurely conversation, so I attacked immediately.

Shrrrring!

As the Greater Heaven Sword Art unfolded, the iron chain whip moved a beat later.

Crack!

Each time the chain whip swept out to block the Scarlet Radiance Sword, it gouged deep grooves into the marble floor.

It was a display of the destructive power of the exceptional whip art known as the Thirteen Whirling Chain-Whip Forms.

Crack! Crack!

After opening the distance with his iron chain whip, the man used the Purple Cloud Flame-Heaven Steps and began ranging across the entire training ground.

‘Poison!’

Judging by how he was trying to keep the wind at his back, he was definitely using poison.

I couldn’t let myself be caught so easily, so I used the Taeul Eighty Thousand Divine Steps and put the wind at my back.

Yet the wind could only blow from one direction. The distance between us gradually narrowed, forcing us toward one corner of the training ground.

“Hehe. I’ve claimed it.”

The man with the chain whip stood at the edge of the training ground, smiling smugly.

Of course, I wasn’t worried just because he had the wind at his back.

Rumble!

I had been preparing my next move as well.

Energy in my palm began to give off tremendous vibrations.

“Hm?”

Confusion appeared on the man’s face. Then, with a sound like thunder splitting the sky, violent energy erupted.

Kwakwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-boom!

Perhaps sensing the danger, the man who had claimed the corner kicked off the ground and leaped into the air.

I immediately fired the Flying Dragon Claw, hooked it around his ankle like a fishing line, and flung him out of the training ground.

Thud!

The sudden turn of events plunged the entire area into silence.

“Dang Daegwang has lost!”

“...That’s impossible!”

“The loser, get out immediately!”

Unable to accept his defeat, the man with the chain whip was eventually dragged away by others.

“Shame of the Tang Clan!”

“Dang Daegwang, step down!”

A Tang Clan member had lost, yet the Tang Clan members were jeering at him.

That didn’t mean they were fond of me, either.

‘What kind of atmosphere is this?’

The next person to step up was a little kid who did not even reach my chest.

“Don’t think of me as a child!”

Huh?

“I am not a child! I am a martial artist of the Tang Clan.”

“I haven’t said anything yet...”

“I can tell even if you don’t say it.”

What was wrong with all these Tang Clan people?

At this point, I felt like I could identify a Tang Clan member just from their personality.

“Is that so... My apologies.”

“You! You did think of me as a child!”

...What was this?

“The Tang Clan will never let you take away our precious treasure.”

“I have no intention of taking anything from the Tang Clan.”

“Lies!”

At last, someone who actually answered me had stepped up, so I asked what I had been wondering.

“Can I ask why everyone is so hostile toward me? Is it because I’m from the Taeul Sect?”

“How rude! Do we look like narrow-minded people who discriminate based on background?”

“...Then why is everyone coming up here so angry?”

The child suddenly began trembling and clenched both fists.

But, as expected.

“You don’t even know... That makes you even less forgivable.”

“...”

This damn kid wouldn’t explain anything either.

‘...What the hell is going on?’

When would I finally learn the truth?

Dang Mუგap saw Dang Junghak, Dang Seohui’s cousin, step onto the training ground and asked, “Father, what are you thinking?”

“What is it that you dislike?”

“...”

Dang Mუგap looked dumbfounded.

“Isn’t Strongest-Decides-the-Wish a right granted only within the clan, and only to the direct line and certain branch families?”

For a long time, Strongest-Decides-the-Wish had served as a system that kept the Tang Clan from becoming tyrannical while preserving its strength.

Yet it was a right granted only to members of the Tang Clan.

Was this not practically granting that right to Jin Sowoon?

“Do you think making the physicians do some work qualifies as Strongest-Decides-the-Wish?”

“But Father, you were the one who mentioned it.”

“I said such a system existed. I never said this was Strongest-Decides-the-Wish.”

“...”

So he was using Strongest-Decides-the-Wish simply because he wanted to see Jin Sowoon’s abilities?

“If the boy might become my granddaughter’s husband, shouldn’t I see what he can do?”

“Granddaughter’s husband? Seohui only talked about him a little, and that was rare enough.”

This was the first time Dang Seohui, who had always been indifferent despite the many outstanding young men around her, had chattered on about someone.

And because that person was a man, he had naturally drawn the attention of everyone in the Tang Clan.

But wasn’t that all there was to it?

“Tsk. You don’t even know what your own child is like.”

“???”

Dang Mუგap turned to look at one side of the training ground again.

Now that he thought about it, Seohui usually never left her grandfather’s side when she returned to the clan. This time, she was even keeping her distance from him.

More than that, she had not left Jin Sowoon’s side for even a moment, constantly chatting with him.

“Gasp!”

“Tsk. You are the Young Clan Head, yet you know neither the clan members nor your own child. Pathetic.”

That only made it stranger.

Dang Hyeokje had suspended the physicians’ work and the use of medicinal ingredients throughout the clan, ordering them to prepare for a massive influx of patients. Yet he could have made as many Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets as Dang Seohui requested, or rather, as many as Jin Sowoon wanted.

No, if it were the father he knew, he would have made two or three times the requested amount for Seohui.

“...No, wait. Then why did you treat him so harshly? And why make them fight?”

“Seohui passed Strongest-Decides-the-Wish when she was seven. I must see whether he has the qualifications to match her.”

“What?”

The pieces began to fall into place in Dang Mუგap’s mind.

And they led to only one conclusion.

“Father, do you perhaps like Jin Sowoon?”

Had he made the request as Dang Seohui’s friend?

It was something he could have granted easily without conditions.

Relationships sometimes required a little distance before people could give and take from one another.

Even so, he had deliberately scolded Jin Sowoon, placed responsibility on him, and even tested him.

For Dang Hyeokje, such actions were no different from showing a little more affection.

Dang Mუგap could not understand why his father liked a boy named Jin Sowoon.

There were plenty of exceptional young talents in the current generation.

As if he had guessed Dang Mუგap’s question, Dang Hyeokje continued.

“When the Blood Cult appeared, do you know that some brat rushed all the way to Badong and stopped them?”

“Of course I know. That was when the Black Flame Dragon, Jin Sowoon, truly began to make a name for himself.”

“Then do you know he compiled a report afterward and created measures against the Blood Cult?”

“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

At the time, the Poison King had participated in the Sichuan Bloodbath, while Dang Mუგap remained behind to protect the clan and handle supplies and support.

“Those Martial Alliance bastards left out Jin Sowoon’s contributions so they could exaggerate their own achievements. In any case, the report he submitted saved hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people.”

“...”

Jin Sowoon stepped onto the training ground and began warming up.

“There are many heroes in every era.”

“...”

“But those who change the course of an era and write history are rare.”

Dang Mუგap looked at Jin Sowoon again.

“...”

He certainly seemed brighter than others his age, but unlike Yong Soa or Ilmyeong, he did not appear to shine on his own.

Dang Hyeokje clicked his tongue.

“Don’t you know that the sun and moon stand out but cannot overturn the world, while the wind cannot be seen, yet turns heaven and earth upside down when it begins to rage?”

“...Are you saying Jin Sowoon is a wind that will overturn heaven and earth?”

“That is also what this match is meant to determine. If you don’t understand, then watch.”

Following Dang Hyeokje’s words, Dang Mუგap pressed his lips together and did not take his eyes off the training ground.

The duel with Dang Junghak was nearly over.

“Pant... Pant... Pant... No matter... no matter what... I can’t... pant... give you... my sister...”

The little kid named Dang Junghak muttered something I could not understand before collapsing.

He was remarkably skilled for his age.

Even if I brought Geumpyo here right now, Geumpyo would not have been a match for him.

Still, his strength did not seem worthy of a match called Strongest-Decides-the-Wish.

It felt insufficient to prove that he could overturn a decision made by the Clan Head or the Tang Clan.

The spectators’ reactions were strange as well.

“He’s pretty good! Amazing!”

“Right? There was a reason he made a name for himself!”

“Hey! Black Flame Dragon! Show us more!”

The hostile gazes from half a day ago were gone, replaced by occasional words of goodwill.

“Hehehe...”

As Dang Junghak was carried out of the training ground in a martial artist’s arms, an old man in green robes stepped onto the training ground.

“So they call you a genius. You’re not bad.”

The instant I saw him, I swallowed a groan.

‘Of course...’

The Tang Clan was not such an easy place after all.

“You are above the children of your age.”

The younger brother of the Poison King, the Tang Clan’s absolute master, who had reached the pinnacle in both concealed weapons and poisons.

Dark Ghost Poison Star, Dang Suje.

That was the old man’s identity.

“But do you know something?”

“...”

“Being called a genius is only an entry ticket for challenging the Tang Clan.”

When I looked toward the platform, Dang Hyeokje was smiling smugly.

I should have known from the moment he gave me this opportunity so easily.

No, he probably never intended to give me an opportunity in the first place.

‘So this is how they want to play it.’

That didn’t break my resolve.

If they didn’t want to hand it over even if it killed them, I would take it even if it killed me!

“I understand you have reason to be proud, but is that really something you should say after stepping up to block a junior seventy years younger than you?”

Dang Suje’s face turned bright red.

“Y-You brat! I’m not even seventy yet!”

“I see... My apologies.”

There was an age gap and a gap in internal energy, so I immediately unleashed the Twin Heavens Sword Art at full power.

Shrrrring!

Countless sword forms scattered like the wind and swallowed Dang Suje whole.

Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!

The sound of blades colliding rang out endlessly within the storm of sword edges.

Then, at the end of those sounds, a single ray of light shot toward me.

Kwang!

Sensing something unusual, I quickly drew upon my swift sword.

[Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms]

[First Form]

[Extreme Swiftness]

The ray of light collided, as though drawn in, with the Scarlet Radiance Sword that shot forward faster than sound.

Screeeech!

Clang!

The sound of air bursting and metal scraping pierced deep into my eardrums.

It was the Poison Tiger Butterfly, a butterfly-shaped concealed weapon.

Crack!

The Poison Tiger Butterfly could not withstand the strength of the Scarlet Radiance Sword and shattered. Fine powder scattered in every direction from within.

I held my breath, used the Taeul Eighty Thousand Divine Steps to escape the poisoned area, and raised my head.

By then, countless sleeve darts were already flying from Dang Suje’s hand.

“Tsk!”

Just as poison had spread from the butterfly dart earlier, I had no way of knowing which of those sleeve darts were coated in poison.

I used Lotus with the Scarlet Radiance Sword to deflect the sleeve darts and send them back at Dang Suje.

A few missed, but I thought it was still an effective attack.

“To return concealed weapons to someone who uses concealed weapons. You have a fine character.”

The sleeve darts returned to Dang Suje’s hand as if they were being sucked in.

“...It is respect for the elderly.”

“You will die because of that mouth someday.”

Swoosh!

Dozens of sleeve darts flew at me at once.

There was nowhere to escape, so I had no choice but to respond.

[Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art]

[Heavenly Sword]

The four Ten Thousand Swords swept out, forming sword forms again and again.

I felt the internal energy in my dantian vanish in an instant as the Heavenly Sword, carrying immense pressure, blocked Dang Suje’s sleeve darts.

Palm-sized sleeve darts collided with Ten Thousand Swords imbued with qi force, yet the darts did not retreat even an inch.

Kwakwa-boom!

Kwakwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-boom!

The deafening collision shook my head and rang so loudly that the entire Tang Clan seemed ready to collapse.

Dang Suje alone bore the massive impact, but I did not relax.

As expected.

Swoosh!

Eight crimson rays flew through the white dust at the same time.

[Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms]

[Second Form]

[Extreme Strength]

A wall of qi force shot forth and met the Blood Butterfly Darts.

Boom!

Kwakwa-boom!

A wall of qi force had clearly formed, but every collision with a Blood Butterfly Dart sent a shock through me that felt as though it would overturn my insides.

Kwakwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-boom!

By the time I had neutralized all eight Blood Butterfly Darts, my feet had nearly reached the edge of the training ground.

“Amazing. No child has ever withstood my Celestial Maiden Flower Rain and Nine-Ring Kill so well.”

As I tried to move toward the center of the training ground, my heart began beating wildly.

‘When did he...?’

I had made sure to keep the wind at my back and maintain my distance, but Dang Suje’s poison application arts were on a completely different level from those of other martial artists.

“Don’t be so surprised. I’m the one who should be surprised.”

A smile appeared on Dang Suje’s lips, as though he had noticed the change in me.

“The fact that you are only reacting now proves how exceptional you are.”

I drew up my internal energy to neutralize the poisonous qi, but whatever poison it was, it nimbly avoided my internal energy and began spreading through my body.

Every time I moved, it restrained me, occasionally disrupting the flow of my internal energy as though it were mocking me.

‘This damned bastard...’

I immediately awakened the energy of the Sunfire Monkey.

Warm energy spread through my blood vessels, which had grown cold from the poisonous qi, driving away the chills.

Unlike the Taeul True Scripture, which was always a step slower, the Sunfire Monkey’s energy chased down the poisonous qi in an instant like a spreading wildfire, devouring the energy Dang Suje had sent into me.

Whoosh!

The poisonous qi was so potent that every time it burned away, turbid qi churned as though it would explode.

“Hm? You...”

Dang Suje noticed something was wrong and stepped forward without giving me an opening.

When Dang Suje, who had both hands tucked inside his sleeves, thrust out his hands, dozens of Feather Needles shot toward my entire body.

I used the Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand with the Sunfire Monkey’s energy at full power.

Whoosh!

The Feather Needles I could not destroy with the Sacred Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand pierced my body, but trusting the Sunfire Monkey’s energy, I rushed forward even faster.

Only then did Dang Suje stop moving.

“Urk!”

The moment scorching heat reached his face, his body vanished like a shadow.

“Just like...”

He reappeared one jang away.

“A burning wild boar.”

“!!!”

I tried to rush at him again, but all strength suddenly drained from one foot.

“Yang qi is certainly an easy tool for suppressing poison. But did you think the Tang Clan would not have created countermeasures for it as well?”

As expected of the Tang Clan. Dang Suje had not earned the name Dark Ghost Poison Star for nothing.

“...Haa.”

Even after drawing on every memory from my previous life and every experience from this one, I could not think of any way to defeat Dang Suje.