WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 533: King of the Sword Tomb (3)
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Twenty-five Black Path masters, including Gongsun Pung.
Thirteen White Path masters, including Cheonsim Seonsa.
‘The Eighteen Arhats and the Special Task Force.’
Even combined, they made up less than a tenth of the entire group, yet they were the core of this escape party.
I couldn't be sure how useful that number would be in a situation like this.
‘Compared to my previous life, though...’
If the Martial Group hadn't taken every elite master with them, we could have assigned core experts making up around three-tenths of the whole group.
But there was no chance White Path experts with that kind of strength would join hands with the Black Path.
Looked at negatively, it was a bad situation. Looked at positively, it was a good...
‘Good, my ass.’
It was a fucked-up situation from every angle.
We had made up for the lack of food by scraping together every bit of moss and mushroom in the Central Wing.
Before departure, we had also used up most of our medicine while giving everyone one last round of treatment.
There would be no chance to regroup once we set out. Even if someone was injured, we wouldn't have the spare strength to save them.
The White Path's rotten old guard had been screwing people over for as long as anyone could remember. This time, though, they'd gone far too far.
The food they took was more than they could finish even if they ate three full meals a day until they got out.
Unless they deliberately wanted us dead, they couldn't have made such a mess and run away.
‘Once he hears the whole story, even Buddha might forgive me for cutting off an arm.’
I quietly piled up my resentment toward them and glanced to the side.
Several days without shaving had left bristles like Feather Needles growing from his scalp, with distinct precept burns visible between them.
Cheonsim Seonsa.
Ilgak's master, and a man who had once risen high enough to be nominated as the abbot of Shaolin Temple.
For some reason, he had relinquished every position at Shaolin Temple and returned to being an ordinary monk.
He had no official title now, but in terms of the respect he received, he was not much different from the current abbot.
Honestly, I couldn't understand why the Martial Group had left Cheonsim Seonsa behind.
Shouldn't they have dragged Cheonsim Seonsa and the Eighteen Arhats away, even if they had to grab them by the collar?
‘Or was that why they couldn't take them?’
That was possible.
The Martial Group might have called themselves the leaders of the White Path, but none among them likely possessed a clan or reputation that could rival the Shaolin Sect or the Tang Clan.
They may have feared that if the Tang Clan or the Shaolin Sect rejected their proposal, they would be unable to carry it out.
Seen that way, it would have been more sensible for them to flee on their own without Cheonsim Seonsa or Dang Suje.
‘But what exactly is he planning?’
I still couldn't understand why Cheonsim Seonsa was following my orders.
He had said something about his internal energy, but I didn't believe he had truly lost his strength.
At Cheonsim Seonsa's level, the quality of one's enlightenment mattered more than the amount of internal energy.
“Benefactor Jin, is there something you wish to say?”
Perhaps I had stared at him too openly, because he asked me.
“You said your internal energy was impaired, so I was worried.”
“It is a little difficult, but I'll be fine. You needn't worry. Still...”
Cheonsim Seonsa looked at me with a meaningful smile.
“Benefactor Jin seems to have gained a great deal of internal energy since we first met.”
Because your internal energy was absorbed far too easily, Cheonsim Seonsa.
“That can't be right. My internal energy hasn't changed much since I first met you.”
“Is that so? In my hazy memories, Benefactor Jin felt a little weaker than this...”
“D-Do you remember me nearly beating a monk to death while you were suffering qi deviation?”
“...That is not it.”
What the fuck is this? Just how much does he know?
Whether he knew how desperate I was inside or not, Cheonsim Seonsa wore a gentle smile.
“Still, it is reassuring to have a benefactor with such powerful energy beside me. May this old monk rely on you a little?”
Huh. This old man was being awfully direct.
“Rely on me? You mean, have me look after you...?”
“I am very curious why my internal energy has decreased. If not for that, I would not have made such a request of you.”
“...”
What was with this old man? He was slippery as an eel.
“Please don't say that. Isn't it heaven-sent fortune that you woke up from qi deviation at all?”
At my tearful attempt to comfort him, Cheonsim Seonsa smiled smugly.
“I am glad you understand.”
Iron Pagoda Divine Fist, who had been listening beside us, suddenly spoke.
“They say you used some grand art to save the monk.”
“...Why?”
“Don't use it on me. If you do, I'll kill you.”
As he spoke, Iron Pagoda Divine Fist ran his thumb across his throat.
“Don't worry. If you go berserk from qi deviation, I'll throw you into the middle of the jiangshi and run.”
“Why the fuck are you saying something so unlucky?”
He started it, then had the nerve to complain.
“...”
We had not been traveling from the Central Wing for long.
Our formation was exactly as planned.
The White Path led the front, while the Black Path masters, including Gongsun Pung, held the middle.
Those unable to fight from both sides stayed in the rear.
A few Black Path masters had also joined the foremost group.
Since they were volunteers, there had been no complaints from the Black Path.
They all understood.
We were fleeing from the Black King's Wraith, but most of the casualties would eventually occur near the front.
Bzzzt-
The Red Phoenix Bangle trembled ominously.
For now, the intervals between its vibrations were no faster than before we departed.
We were traveling down the most unfavorable central route, but the one comfort was that we would know when death was coming.
‘...Comfort, my ass.’
They said positive thinking became a mental illness once it went too far.
“Whew...”
The best way to overcome confusion was to focus on what lay in front of you.
Like a jiangshi that suddenly appeared right before my eyes...
“Fuck...”
Cheonsim Seonsa looked at me in surprise.
I'm sorry, Monk. This isn't the time for manners.
“Enemies.”
Iron Pagoda Divine Fist frowned.
“What enemies? There's nothing...”
His words trailed off.
“How did you know?”
When had this man gotten so comfortable speaking informally to me?
“Is that important?”
I returned his informal speech with my own, but Iron Pagoda Divine Fist did not even blink.
“Are you saying you're stronger than me?”
Killing intent suddenly poured out.
Was this crazy bastard really directing killing intent at me?
“If you want to prove your strength, show it to those bastards.”
I pointed at the jiangshi.
“Hmph! So you're just a brat with good instincts.”
Despite his massive build, Iron Pagoda Divine Fist closed the distance in an instant and slammed his entire body into the jiangshi like a cannonball.
Boom!
The jiangshi flew away with a tremendous crash and disappeared into the darkness.
“Did you see that? This is the strength of Iron Pagoda Divine Fist...”
“Behind you! Behind you!”
“Huh? Fuck!!”
He had somehow spotted the jiangshi, but not the demonic beings standing behind it.
“Y-You cowardly bastards!”
Whose fault was greater, the fool who turned his back on the enemy, or the enemy who attacked a careless opponent from behind?
I didn't know, but the latter would probably earn praise rather than curses.
I calmly held back until our formation reached him.
This wasn't a battle that would end in a sudden burst.
If we exhausted all our strength from the start, we would only burn to ash halfway through.
Thud!
One demonic being spewed blood and was sent flying by my Tyrant King Divine Fist.
Cheonsim Seonsa pressed his palms together, then threw a punch. Three demonic beings collapsed at once with strange cracking sounds under the powerful fist wind.
‘What was that about having only half your internal energy?’
Shing!
I drew the Scarlet Radiance Sword and faced the demonic beings.
After only a few exchanges, one of their swords broke. I drove my blade into the startled demonic being's heart.
Stab-
I felt the movement of the heart between their ribs stop as my sword pierced their skin.
Whenever I felt that, I found myself thinking they were humans no different from us.
“Die!”
Then I saw the viciousness of those who stabbed through their own comrade's corpse to pierce an enemy's heart, and I realized they were clearly different from us.
Slash-
The Ascending Heaven Dagger swept out, cutting through the corpse and severing the neck of the demonic being that had stabbed it.
“How underhanded, using two weapons.”
The absurdity of those words left me speechless.
And it came from a temporary ally, not even a demonic being.
“Then why don't you fight with only one fist?”
“These are naturally a pair!”
Iron Pagoda Divine Fist bared his teeth and raised both fists.
At that moment, I kicked him hard in the stomach.
“Urk!”
Shoved back several feet, he was about to charge at me in fury.
Then...
Clack, clack, clack!
A Soul-Returning Iron Zombie shot past him like an arrow.
Boom!
The Soul-Returning Iron Zombie did not stop until Cheonsim Seonsa flicked a hand and sent it crashing into the wall.
Iron Pagoda Divine Fist looked between the Soul-Returning Iron Zombie and me.
“...Was that for my sake?”
That was part of it, but I'd also put some feeling into the kick because I was sick of listening to his bullshit.
“I owe you one.”
After saying that, Iron Pagoda Divine Fist charged straight at the demonic beings.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
When I looked behind me, Cheonsim Seonsa and the other masters were dealing with the Soul-Returning Iron Zombie.
Some had already seen one before, but others had not. All of them hesitated at the sight.
“What are you all doing? Move!”
I understood their fear of the unknown, but this was too urgent a situation to dwell on it.
“Clear them out, quickly!”
Fighting Iron Zombies with numbers was foolish.
But demonic beings could be dealt with through numbers.
Those who had formed a sword formation rushed toward the cave.
The demonic beings blocking the path around the Soul-Returning Iron Zombie were quickly cleared away.
The Soul-Returning Iron Zombie the masters had been handling finally stopped moving as well.
‘A quarter of an hour.’
Too much time had passed for the first battle, especially one with only a single Soul-Returning Iron Zombie.
If every fight took this long, we might fail to leave the cave, let alone escape the Black King's Wraith.
‘For now, let's think of it as time to learn how to work together.’
You couldn't expect to be full after the first spoonful, so how could I expect harmony between the Black and White Paths from the first battle?
“We move immediately.”
We began running again.
A fork in the path that had not existed on the original route appeared before us.
I glanced back.
Do Gwangsu sent a sound transmission in a trembling voice.
-L-Left.
Before we left, I had tried to send Do Gwangsu to the rear.
He wasn't someone who could fight in the first place, and it would have been safer for him as well.
For some reason, though, Do Gwangsu had wanted to remain with us.
I was willing to trust his resolve completely.
At the most critical moments, he always chose the right path.
“Left!”
Even after making his choice, Do Gwangsu did not look confident in it.
It didn't matter.
Once the direction was decided, we would be able to reach the exit no matter which way we went.
Bzzzt- Bzzzt- Bzzzt-
The Red Phoenix Bangle gave a series of faint tremors.
That meant...
“Enemies!”
Iron Pagoda Divine Fist's martial uniform swelled as if it would burst.
Fortunately, there were no jiangshi in sight.
Boom!
Swoosh!
Iron Pagoda Divine Fist's fist force and my sword qi flew out, killing three demonic beings and two respectively.
“My destructive power is a step above yours.”
Was competing really that important to this idiot, even now?
“If you keep wringing out what little internal energy you have, you'll tire out soon.”
“Fine. I've heard enough weakling excuses.”
This bastard.
Rumble!
Swoosh!
Once we knew there were no jiangshi, there was nothing to fear.
We did not slow down or stop. We kept our pace and charged straight into the enemy.
“If you can't kill them at once, leave them to those behind us!”
The Demonic Cult had spread its forces wide to block us. We only needed to gather together and punch through them in one strike.
As with every charge, we had to move as quickly as possible if we wanted the plan to succeed.
Thud! Clang, clang!
“Aaargh!”
“Ow!”
There were injured people, but none were in serious danger.
The White Path members moved in a tight sword formation so they could protect one another.
They might be injured, but the risk of dying to the enemy was noticeably lower.
Had we been running for about one sichen[1]?
The side effects began to appear.
“Gasp, gasp, gasp, gasp.”
Their eyes turned bloodshot, their blood raced faster than ever, and their stamina rapidly drained away.
The inescapable intoxication of those who fought practitioners of demonic arts.
“You've been poisoned by demonic qi.”
“N-No. I can keep fighting.”
“The battle is only beginning. Save your strength for when it becomes harder.”
The man, who looked more than ten years older than me, slumped his shoulders and moved to the rear as though terribly disappointed.
I picked out several others in succession.
“You should all switch out as well.”
“I'm fine.”
“I'm all right.”
When I had told them to lead at the beginning, they looked like they had bitten into shit. Why were they acting like this now?
“As I said, this battle will last a long time.”
“...”
“One thing: if you maintain qi circulation, you can delay the onset of demonic qi poisoning.”
“...”
There was no answer, and their reactions were lukewarm.
Instead, a curse flew at me.
“Bullshit! How are we supposed to maintain qi circulation while running and fighting this fiercely?”
Iron Pagoda Divine Fist, whose eyes were bloodshot like the others, barked at me.
“Practice it.”
“Hmph! Just like a White Path bastard who spews lies every time he opens his mouth. What kind of nonsense is that...”
I pointed at the Yuseong Hall members.
“My people can all do it.”
There wasn't much difference in the distance traveled by Iron Pagoda Divine Fist and the Yuseong Hall members.
They had clearly been exposed to the same effects of demonic qi, yet the Yuseong Hall members' eyes were not bloodshot.
“Lies!”
“It is difficult, but if your life depends on it, you can maintain it.”
Nam Hwaseong scratched the back of his head as he spoke, and Iron Pagoda Divine Fist could not hide his stunned expression.
At that point, the White Path martial artists who had been holding out began moving to the rear one after another.
I told Iron Pagoda Divine Fist to switch out as well, but he refused to listen.
“I will not go to the rear before you do!”
What exactly was this man thinking, being here?
Bzzzt- Bzzzt-
It didn't matter.
Once we met the real enemy, he would surely go himself even if I told him not to.
Bzzzt- Bzzzt-
“Jiangshi ahead...”
At my shout, everyone fell silent. In the quiet, only the sound of footsteps echoed.
“Fifteen of them! Anyone injured or lacking confidence, fall back!”
Things had already been difficult enough until now.
“Fuck. The real battle starts now.”
A dizzying feeling that the true battle had only just begun washed over me like a tidal wave.
[1] Sichen: a traditional Chinese time division of roughly two hours.
Footnotes:
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