WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 56: The First-Rate Martial Artist Who Amazed the Divine Sword (4)
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A short table stood at the head of the room, large enough to seat around six people.
Long tables extended from either side at right angles.
Whether deliberate or not, the direct and collateral lines sat facing one another in the banquet hall.
On the left sat Namgung Jinmyeong of the direct line, his wife, and his children, Namgung San and Namgung Seonhwa. The hall lords and unit leaders sat beside them.
On the right sat Namgung Songju and his son, Namgung Gipyo. The chiefs overseeing the outer offices and those responsible for outside affairs sat there as well.
Me?
I was seated on the left side of the head table.
When I first approached, thinking I would sit beside Namgung Seonhwa, Namgung Jinmyeong pointed me toward the head table.
Startled, I refused several times, but he insisted on seating me here.
“I prepared a small banquet in your honor.”
The moment I had wanted to avoid had returned.
Just as I wondered whether I had to endure this embarrassing occasion again...
“I wonder whether that was truly the right decision, Young Clan Head.”
Namgung Jinmyeong’s brow creased slightly at Namgung Songju’s words.
“What do you mean?”
“It is true that a benefactor of the Namgung Clan has arrived. But the clan has just suffered a major incident. Five martial artists died. Do you think the clan’s martial artists and those outside the clan will look favorably upon this?”
Namgung Songju was trying to stop the banquet, just as I had hoped. Yet because he was the one objecting, I strangely felt the urge to push back.
“...”
Namgung Jinmyeong could not offer a response.
To outsiders, it would have looked like an outrageous act of insubordination, but the Namgung Clan’s martial artists were not particularly surprised.
Only those seated on the direct line’s side looked at Namgung Songju with displeasure.
“Then what do you believe we should do?”
“I have prepared one hundred nyang in the Namgung Clan’s name. Would that not be more than sufficient compensation for a disciple of the Taeul Sect?”
“Are you saying the lives of the Namgung Clan’s martial artists are worth only that much?”
“One cannot dare assign a price to a martial artist’s life. But compensation is relative, is it not?”
Namgung Jinmyeong was clearly being pushed back.
This was one glimpse of the Namgung Clan’s current reality.
Namgung Songju was the leader of the Changgung Merchant Group.
Though he belonged to the collateral line, he held enough influence within the Namgung Clan to oppose the Young Clan Head’s opinion.
He could act this way because the Changgung Merchant Group, which he led, managed every business the Namgung Clan conducted outside its walls.
In other words, all the money earned under the Namgung Clan’s name flowed back into the clan through the Changgung Merchant Group.
He had the Namgung Clan by the throat.
“...”
As an uncomfortable silence settled over the hall, the doors flew open and a large elderly man entered.
“What is this I hear?”
Everyone in the room immediately rose and bowed.
“““Greetings, Clan Head!”””
He stood nearly six cheok tall, with a sturdy frame. If not for the white hair and beard covering his head and jaw, he could have passed for a middle-aged man.
He took the seat beside me.
“Namgung Songju. What was that you said?”
Everyone else sat back down, but Namgung Songju remained standing as he answered.
“I said exactly what I meant. Today, the direct descendants of the Namgung Clan nearly lost their lives. In the process, five elite martial artists of the Namgung Clan died. I fear what people will think if we hold a banquet on such a day.”
“I heard this young man distinguished himself during that attack as well. And only a few months ago, he personally saved more than four thousand people, including martial artists of the Namgung Clan. If such a valued guest visits the Namgung Clan and we do not even hold a banquet, what will people say then?”
Namgung Songju did not answer. He simply looked steadily at the Azure Emperor Divine Sword, Namgung Taeha.
Surprisingly, there was not the slightest trace of fear in Namgung Songju’s gaze. It held only the bold, spirited gaze of a young man looking upon a pitiful old fool.
“We will properly mourn the dead. But has the Namgung Clan become a family so concerned with outside opinions that it cannot even entertain a guest it barely managed to welcome?”
“...”
“Answer me!”
“...No.”
“Then that settles it. Let us begin.”
#
I had no desire to receive thanks in such a tense atmosphere, but regardless of my wishes, attendants entered and began setting down food and wine.
“You are Jin Sowoon, correct?”
“This junior of the martial world, Jin Sowoon, pays his respects to the Azure Emperor Divine Sword.”
“Hmm. You look more ordinary than I expected.”
I had no idea whether that was praise or criticism, so I could not answer.
“I heard you beat Namgung Gitae into mush?”
“Ah... I didn’t know who he was. I thought he was an intruder.”
“Puhahaha! You saw what he did to that attendant, yet you still tell such a lie. You are quite shameless, boy.”
He laughed heartily and slapped my shoulder. Each time, my entire body rang from the impact.
When I glanced at Namgung Songju and Namgung Gitae, they wore expressions as though they were eating insects instead of food.
“Grandfather.”
Namgung Seonhwa rose from her seat.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Yes. I want to give the Great Lotus Divine Pellet I am to receive this time to Young Master Jin Sowoon.”
“!”
“!”
The noise in the hall abruptly died.
Seonhwa’s sudden declaration made me drop the piece of meat I had been eating. I had heard that each descendant of the Namgung Clan received one Great Lotus Divine Pellet every five years.
Was she really giving that up?
“The Namgung Clan has already prepared a gift for him. You need not go so far.”
“No. Aside from that, I have once again incurred a life debt. I believe failing to repay such kindness would tarnish the Namgung Clan’s name.”
“You will soon take the regular examination at the Martial Arts Academy. Are you certain?”
“I will not use the Great Lotus Divine Pellet as an excuse for my own shortcomings.”
“Very well. Do as you wish.”
Namgung Jinmyeong and his wife let out soft groans, but once the Clan Head made his decision, no one dared object.
The banquet proceeded quietly enough.
There was no formal group greeting like at the Cheongmyeong Escort Agency. A few people approached me individually to offer their thanks or pour me wine.
As the banquet drew to a close, the Azure Emperor Divine Sword spoke.
“Come see me for a moment.”
I had come here to meet him from the start.
“Understood.”
“Ah, don’t rise just yet. It seems there are still people who wish to speak with you, so I shall excuse myself first.”
The Azure Emperor Divine Sword left first, and I was only able to rise from my seat much later.
“Disciple of the Taeul Sect. May I speak with you for a moment?”
As I headed toward the Clan Head’s private training ground, Namgung Songju stopped me.
“What is it?”
Instead of answering, he formed a qi barrier around us to prevent his voice from carrying.
Namgung San and Namgung Seonhwa frowned at Namgung Songju’s actions, but neither could stop him.
“You may not know this, but I do not like the look of you.”
“For what reason?”
“You need not know that. What you must know is that even without borrowing the strength of the Namgung Clan’s direct line, the collateral line alone has enough power to erase a sect like the Taeul Sect.”
“...Is this because of Goueom Mountain?”
Namgung Songju’s eyes widened.
Then, for the first time, a smile touched his lips.
“I heard you were clever. It was no exaggeration.”
“Are you not afraid of the Azure Emperor Divine Sword?”
“...I am afraid of him. But not enough to stop a great undertaking. There was the matter at Goueom Mountain, yet I still walk freely through this clan, do I not?”
“...”
“You may think it is only because of Goueom Mountain, but that is not the case for me. You have done many things to wrong me.”
“...”
“So remember this. The moment I make up my mind, the Taeul Sect will vanish from Anhui Province.”
Namgung Songju removed the qi barrier and left.
Namgung San and Seonhwa approached me, their voices serious.
“What did he say?”
They clearly believed something had happened. I shook my head to reassure them.
“It was nothing. Let’s go. The Clan Head is waiting.”
“...”
#
Daeyeon Hall.
It was the Clan Head’s residence, located in the deepest and highest part of the Namgung Clan.
The front yard was filled with flowers of every color. Behind the residence was a training ground as large as the Great Training Ground of the Taeul Sect, prepared for the Clan Head’s personal use.
The Azure Emperor Divine Sword stood there, stroking his beard as he looked toward the summit of Mount Huang.
“Clan Head, we are here.”
“The meal wasn’t very comfortable, was it?”
The Clan Head’s imposing appearance had vanished. He now looked like an old man eager to play a prank.
“Not at all. I had delicious food and received excellent hospitality. I was very satisfied.”
“But you see...”
“...”
“I heard you took our San’s elixir pellet from him.”
“!!!”
The Azure Emperor Divine Sword caught me completely off guard.
Namgung San quickly stepped forward.
“I feel like I was robbed blind while standing right here, Grandfather.”
I looked at Namgung San as if I had been struck hard on the back of the head.
“What do you mean...?”
“Did you know that the Seven-Colored Jewel you took was one of my most treasured possessions?”
“Ha...”
My vision went dark.
With Father’s temperament, he surely would have said there was no point keeping a jewel he could not eat and sold it long ago.
It wasn’t as though I could return it now.
‘Why had his grandson used the Azure Emperor Divine Sword’s treasure as a wager without permission?’
There was no way to resolve this.
I decided to brazen it out.
“That was a fair contest with Senior Namgung San. If you intend to scold anyone... please scold Senior Namgung, who used your treasure as a wager without permission, rather than me.”
“Pft!”
“Khehehe.”
Namgung San and Seonhwa snickered, while the Azure Emperor Divine Sword wore a faint smile.
“You are quite entertaining. I heard you caught a sword with your bare hand, and your courage is just as remarkable.”
Was it a joke?
Feeling drained, I shook my head.
“...!”
At the same moment, formless energy tried to enter my body.
‘What is this?’
The energy clash was on an entirely different scale from anything I had experienced before.
My father, Jin Taesan, was like a stream whose flow I could grasp. The Azure Emperor Divine Sword was like the Yellow River, a vast current trying to bind my entire body.
I quickly stepped back two paces and circulated the Taeul True Scripture.
“?”
“?”
Namgung San and Seonhwa had no idea what had happened.
The Azure Emperor Divine Sword immediately withdrew his energy and clicked his tongue with amusement.
“How entertaining. There was a reason a boy not yet twenty had stirred up the martial world.”
“What do you mean, Grandfather?” Namgung Seonhwa asked.
The Azure Emperor Divine Sword shook his head.
“Hehe. You need not know. If you did, you would regret your choice.”
He looked at me and asked, “I heard you possess something interesting you learned on your own?”
Judging by the way he glanced at Namgung San, he seemed to be referring to the Shattering Form.
“...I do not know what you mean.”
“Is that so? San, go fetch my sword. Seonhwa, you should leave.”
“I would like to watch a little longer, Grandfather.”
“I will send San away as well. There is something I must discuss with this child alone.”
“...Yes.”
Namgung Seonhwa pouted, looking back at me several times as she left.
Once the two had moved far enough away from the training ground, he asked again.
“I heard from San. You know every weakness of the Changgung Unhindered Sword Art?”
My guess had been right.
The Azure Emperor Divine Sword was quite certain.
For the moment, I feigned ignorance.
“How could someone like me know the weaknesses of such wondrous and intricate swordsmanship? Senior must have exaggerated.”
“Namgung Gipyo may not have the same comprehension as San, but he is not someone who could be subdued in two moves by a boy who has only just come of age.”
At that moment, Namgung San emerged from Daeyeon Hall carrying the Divine Sword’s sword. The Divine Sword extended his hand toward Namgung San from afar.
The sword slipped free from Namgung San’s grasp and flew into the Azure Emperor Divine Sword’s hand as if drawn by a magnet.
“Tell me. What price must I pay to see your sword?”
“It only leaves me troubled that you wish to pay a price for something that does not exist.”
The goodwill in his eyes gradually turned cold.
The pressure carried by a man who had ruled all his life was as difficult to endure as killing intent.
“I do not like lies.”
Even as I felt my life was in danger, I could not easily open my mouth.
The Changgung Unhindered Sword Art was the foundation of the Namgung Clan.
For generations after the ancestor who created it, the Changgung Unhindered Sword Art had been renowned as the Namgung Clan’s ultimate art and greatest swordsmanship.
Even after the Emperor Sword Art appeared, the martial world’s regard for the Changgung Unhindered Sword Art had not changed.
Knowing the Shattering Form of the sword art that formed the foundation of a clan meant holding that clan’s roots in one’s hand and shaking them.
“If you wish to hold out for a high price, then do so. If you knew how desperate I am, you would ask for anything. I will even permit that.”
I knew why the Azure Emperor Divine Sword coveted the Shattering Form of the Changgung Unhindered Sword Art.
The Namgung Clan’s collateral line also practiced the Changgung Unhindered Sword Art as its primary swordsmanship.
When the collateral line tried to act as it pleased, as it did now, the Shattering Form would be the greatest trump card for suppressing their sword art and restoring discipline.
“I doubt it is possible, but if I did know the weakness of the Changgung Unhindered Sword Art, would my life be protected? No, even setting me aside, could the Taeul Sect remain whole?”
That was why I, having regressed, did not reveal the Shattering Form to the world.
The Shattering Form was dangerous enough to sever both my lifeline and that of my sect.
If any sect in the world discovered a Shattering Form for its signature martial art, it would do anything to erase it.
“!!!”
The Divine Sword withdrew all the pressure around him as though struck by lightning.
“If the end is death no matter what price I receive, then wouldn’t anything I received be meaningless?”
The Azure Emperor Divine Sword stared at me for a long time, looking like an old man who had suffered a stroke.
“...Very well. Then you have no Shattering Form?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Then how much do you intend to sell that Shattering Form for?”
“Are you so desperate that you must buy something that does not exist?”
“If it lay in hell, I would go there and buy it.”
Once the Azure Emperor Divine Sword made up his mind, I would eventually have to hand over the Shattering Form.
I also intended to give it to the Namgung Clan, because I wanted the clan to remain intact until the Orthodox-Demonic War.
Then what was the highest price I could extract from the Namgung Clan?
“Would anything be acceptable?”
“Name it.”
If anything was possible, there was only one thing I wanted from the Namgung Clan.
“Give me the Changgung Merchant Group.”
“...What?!”
The Azure Emperor Divine Sword’s mouth fell open.
It was the first time I had seen the Divine Sword look flustered.
Footnotes:
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