WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 589: Yong Soa (5)
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The moment Yong Soa drew up his internal energy, his stomach churned and dizziness swept over him, as though he had taken a heavy blow to the head.
Something unbearable surged up his throat and burst from his mouth.
Cough-
It was the first time he had ever vomited something that had risen into his mouth.
And it was black, rotten blood.
‘So this is an internal injury...’
Every martial artist experienced it at least once, but he had never imagined facing one in such a desperate situation.
His strength was fading faster than expected.
Even the energy moving according to his will seemed to lose its vigor as it tried to return to his dantian.
At least the qi and blood circulation that had been tightly blocked by the snake-eyed man's attack was freed all at once.
Yong Soa seized the internal energy trying to retreat and began circulating it again.
The internal energy that had been fleeing with its tail tucked between its legs surged through his acupoints once more, restoring strength to his body.
Was it because he had suffered an internal injury?
Or because he was angry?
The internal energy that should have cooled the heat within him raced through his body, blazing hot.
He poured out the same amount of internal energy as usual, yet the force it produced was greater.
Dragon Eye showed him the future.
A future in which he used the Nine Palaces Divine Movement Sword.
Flash-
Then it was covered by a black curtain.
‘...’
He knew the future shown by Dragon Eye meant it was not the right choice, but the Nine Palaces Divine Movement Sword was the best option he had at this moment.
Hummm-
He unleashed the Nine Palaces Divine Movement Sword.
Like a leaf drifting down a stream, Yong Soa slipped gracefully between the demonic beings and shot straight toward Snake Eyes.
The demonic beings' swords and sabers grazed his robes by inches.
“That's right! That's right!”
At the same time, Snake Eyes happily swung his fists.
His red-tinged fist shadows split into twelve.
The Nine Palaces Divine Movement Sword slipped through them as if brushing past them.
Stab-
Yong Soa struck the man's vital acupoint first.
“You'll die quickly if you neglect your defense!”
The snake-eyed man spoke the very words Yong Soa should have said, yet he continued throwing punches while neglecting his own defense.
The fist shadows struck Yong Soa's entire body head-on.
Knowing how destructive they were, he immediately redirected them with Flower-Grafting.
Crack- Crack-
Though he had redirected them with Flower-Grafting, pain surged through him as though his bones were breaking. In some places, he heard the sound of muscle tearing.
Yong Soa gritted his teeth through the pain and drew up all his internal energy.
Faint qi force enveloped the Whirlwind Sword Art as he slashed at the snake-eyed man's neck.
Slice-
A great spray of blood scattered.
The blade had gone deep. The wound was fatal.
Yet Yong Soa could not relax.
“Hehehe.”
The snake-eyed man was laughing grotesquely despite having his throat cut.
A chill crawled up Yong Soa's spine, and he quickly retreated.
Splash-
Blood poured out until a puddle formed on the ground.
Even so.
“This is really, really, far too wonderful!”
The snake-eyed man was perfectly fine.
“...”
Yong Soa had definitely cut him.
The discord of something defying the laws of all creation made his head spin.
Just as he steadied himself and prepared to attack again, a shiver ran through him and his body moved on its own.
Slice-
Something barely grazed the nape of his neck.
‘Blood...?’
Dragon Eye had not shown him that.
Nor had he seen it with his eyes.
It had simply been instinct.
A primal reaction to danger.
Had he moved even a fraction later, his head would have been cut off like the snake-eyed man's.
Of course, Yong Soa's head would not have reattached itself.
Tap-
The hair cut away in place of his neck fell to the ground.
Faced with an incomprehensible situation, Yong Soa's thoughts and heart cooled like a glacier.
He needed to know what it was.
If he did not understand it, he had no chance of winning this fight.
Even if he died, he had to kill this man first.
But.
“That child named Soa was so interesting.”
A meaningful smile appeared on Snake Eyes' lips.
“That child could have simply died, yet gave away that there was some vague secret.”
“...”
“What could have been so greaaat about that secret? Hahahaha!”
Every time he blinked, red energy spilled from his pupils.
“You were going to survive anyway.”
“...”
Crack-
The thread of reason Yong Soa had only just regained snapped apart.
Flash-
As Yong Soa moved gracefully, Snake Eyes rushed at him as well.
‘Something's wrong.’
The movement art he used to approach with those strange motions was slow for someone at the Peak Realm.
His attacks were not particularly sharp either.
He unleashed attacks filled with malevolent qi, but none of them seemed effective.
If Yong Soa took a hit, the damage would be serious, but he could block or redirect them whenever he chose.
Perhaps the man's internal energy was exceptional, because he poured out fist force without end.
That only made things more favorable for Yong Soa.
The more desperate the situation became, the more clearly Dragon Eye worked.
It showed him exactly the path he had been considering.
Yong Soa used the Ladder-to-the-Clouds movement art, redirecting, blocking, and knocking aside the fist force.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Argh!”
“Cough!”
“Ack!”
The damage naturally fell upon the demonic beings, but Snake Eyes did not care. He unleashed qi force even more fiercely.
Yong Soa slipped through the gaps in the downpour of qi force and unleashed the Nine Palaces Chain Sword.
At that moment, Dragon Eye lowered a black curtain again.
“Did you know? Instead of pulling out a fingernail all at once, if you keep stabbing it with a needle... it eventually comes off by itself from the pain. Hehe.”
Yong Soa knew he needed to stop, but he could not.
His sword flashed forward in a fierce storm, deeply cutting both of the man's arms and his chest.
The martial arts of someone so weak could not keep up with the sword path of the Whirlwind Sword Art.
Flash-
Blood burst from the deep wounds like fountains.
Splash- Splash-
Far more blood than an ordinary person could possibly spill poured out.
Then Snake Eyes rose again as if nothing had happened.
“The truth is, I didn't manage to pull out all ten. Halfway through, that child tore off his remaining fingernails with his own teeth.”
The Nine Palaces Chain Sword did not stop as it moved to cut off the man's head.
No, this time Yong Soa intended to sever it completely.
No being could live after its head was separated from its body.
Thud!
The man's fist force shoved Yong Soa away, as though putting the proper distance between them.
In the end, Yong Soa's Whirlwind Sword Art only managed to cut halfway through his neck.
Then.
Slice-
Slice-
Slice-
Long sword wounds appeared across Yong Soa's arms and body.
“!!!”
Because he had moved first, the wounds were not deep.
Still, he could not accept the fact that he had been wounded at all.
‘Was he fast? Was that why I failed to notice?’
No.
No matter how fast an attack was, it left some trace behind.
Besides, the snake-eyed man had not been in a position to attack him.
Not with enough precision to leave such sharp cuts.
One impossible thing after another happened, leaving Yong Soa stunned.
“So that's what it was...”
At the same time, he began to understand.
Why the snake-eyed man's martial arts had seemed worse than those of a third-rate martial artist.
He had not needed to be strong.
The more attacks he suffered, the greater the wounds he inflicted upon his opponent.
That was why Dragon Eye could only lower a black curtain whenever Yong Soa came before him.
A precise attack would kill his opponent.
In other words, Yong Soa himself.
It would turn him into a lonely ghost, leaving no next scene for Dragon Eye to show.
No, there would be no next scene at all.
“Are these dark arts?”
Heaven-Defying arts.
Something that defied the laws of all creation and lay beyond human common sense.
He had known how terrifying dark arts were ever since the demonic beings had created jiangshi, but what he felt now was entirely different.
Fear without end.
He had seen countless futures, yet this was the first time he had truly faced their terror.
“What did you say??”
“Dark arts.”
“Ah... What should I do?”
Snake Eyes suddenly bit at his own fingernails with an anxious expression.
“This isn't an illusion. Stop trying to escape reality!”
“...”
“I'll give you time. Use sweeping away demons and eliminating evil, suppressing spirits, whatever you want! Do as much as you like, then recognize that this is reality.”
The snake-eyed man waved both hands as if telling him to try something, then took a step back.
He was saying that none of this was an illusion technique or some formation trick.
Yong Soa knew that much clearly.
The problem was that he could not even guess what principle lay behind the strange phenomenon happening to this man.
‘If it's a kind of dark arts...’
There was something he could try.
Sacred orthodox qi, such as Buddhist Vajra qi or the Taoist Three Purities qi.
The power of sweeping away demons and eliminating evil, named after Wudang Sect's foundational and ultimate martial art.
Taiji Edict
White energy, bright as the sun, enveloped the Whirlwind Sword Art.
The demonic beings who had charged without fear stepped back, perhaps due to a primal discomfort.
Like a sun descended upon the earth, Yong Soa moved gracefully and shot toward the snake-eyed man.
“Ughhh...”
Snake Eyes grimaced wildly, as though even being exposed to the light caused him pain.
Like a lizard, the man used a strange movement art to flee backward.
Yong Soa kicked off the ground and increased his speed, quickly catching up.
“Gasp!”
Startled, Snake Eyes unleashed palm force with all his strength.
The palm force carrying fierce destructive power barely grazed Yong Soa.
‘One more step, one more step, just one more step...’
His usual effort and natural talent did not betray him, and he soon reached the man's side.
Then.
The Whirlwind Sword Art became a radiant beam of light and pierced through the man's heart.
Stab- Stab- Stab-
As if mocking the man's outstretched hands, the sword pierced through both palms and embedded itself in his heart.
Cough-
The eyes that had always been narrowed widened in shock.
An unbelieving gaze.
The snake-eyed man stared at him with exactly that expression as he vomited blood.
A certain end.
Yet Yong Soa's expression did not ease.
Because he had seen it.
The future in which the man smiled as though nothing had happened.
[Cough- Urk- Blech- Ta-da! You thought I was dead, didn't you?]
“Cough- Urk- Blech- Ta-da! You thought I was dead, didn't you?”
It was not just that sacred orthodox qi had failed to work.
Yong Soa now understood that he would soon suffer the same wounds as the man.
Stab- Stab- Stab-
Holes opened through Yong Soa's palms, and a wound like a sword thrust appeared near his heart.
Cough-
He vomited less blood than Snake Eyes, but it was enough to make the fatal injury clear.
“Ah! I let myself get hurt lightly on purpose, so you only got hurt lightly too... You mustn't die.”
The snake-eyed man's words brought even deeper despair.
“Has your willpower weakened? Is that it? Hmm, that won't do... Ah! Then let me tell you more about that child Soa.”
He had lost his clan, his family, Soa, and his comrades.
Worn down by repeated loss, he had decided never to feel anger like a fire calamity again.
He had sworn that he would take revenge upon them with a rage colder than ice.
Yet.
“That friend Soa who kept begging me to kill him seemed to run out of strength later. Soa’s body went limp, so I slowly made my way toward where you were. Do you know what that child did?”
He had made that vow and attained clear mirror and still water.
Still, the uncontrollable rage that seemed ready to burn away his mind would not fade.
“Hehe, Soa cursed and struggled desperately. He used every curse he knew, and even tried to claw at me with fingernails that had all been torn out.”
Thump-
Thump-
Thump-
His heart pounded louder than ever.
Creak-
Yong Soa rose again.
“As expected! As expected! You're the hope of the martial world. I knew you would rise.”
He knew he would die here.
At some point, the demonic beings had stopped fighting and simply watched. Even the giant who seemed to be a match for this man had not joined the battle again.
He knew it, but more than anything, he resented that he could not kill the man before him.
A question surfaced at the same time.
Could he at least perish together with him?
Would the man die if his head were completely cut off?
Probably not.
The reason he blocked attacks was likely because he did not want the person attacking him to die at once.
Crunch-
Rage, resentment, and indignation unlike anything Yong Soa had ever felt filled his chest.
Nothing was more crushing than his own powerlessness.
“Ohhh, Yong Soa! You're finally showing emotion!”
Blood streamed from Yong Soa's eyes.
“Come on, try a little harder! Show me your desperation!!!”
He knew he would die.
He knew he had to die for the future.
Even so.
“Good! Good! So very good...”
It drove him mad that he could not take revenge on the snake-eyed man at this moment.
It was infuriating that he had no way to deal with him.
“Gasp! Gasp! Gasp! Yong Soa! Are you despairing?! Does it feel like you've fallen into hell?!!!”
It was maddeningly unfair that he had to die here.
‘Was this... what it felt like?’
He understood the feelings of those who reached for a forbidden art.
If it meant killing the snake-eyed man right now, he thought he could sell his soul to a monster.
“I finally get to see you filled with despair! Gasp! Gasp!”
Tremble-
The snake-eyed man shuddered, rolling his eyes halfway back as though he had tasted the peak of pleasure.
He looked as grotesque as a demon made manifest.
At that moment.
Whoosh-
Something flew in from somewhere and struck the snake-eyed man's head hard enough to crush it.
Thud!
The object that fell to the ground shattered apart, spilling pale brain matter and an eyeball...
‘A head...???’
Whoosh-
Another object flew in and struck the snake-eyed man's head again.
Thud!
“Urk!”
It shattered on the ground as well, scattering countless teeth and fragments of bone.
It was.
A demonic being's head.
“What the hell is this?! At a moment this important!!”
The snake-eyed man turned toward the direction the demonic beings' heads had come from.
Whoosh-
Thud!
Another demonic being's head struck him squarely in the face.
Whoosh- Thud-
At the same time, a figure landed in the clearing where Snake Eyes and Yong Soa had been fighting.
“Gasp- Gasp- Gasp- Gasp- Gasp- Gasp- F-fuck-”
The man bent over, nearly collapsing as he gasped for breath.
“You are...?”
“Gasp- Gasp- W-wait, wait...”
Despite the killing intent pouring from Snake Eyes, the intruder held out a hand and continued gasping pathetically, drool running down his chin.
The bizarre sight left even Yong Soa, who had been weeping tears of blood, staring blankly.
Beyond his red-stained vision, he saw the man's shoulders heaving roughly.
“Why are you here...?”
Someone who should have been on the opposite side of Despair Valley had appeared here.
And that person...
“Gasp- Gasp- Ah, ah, wait, just wait! My stomach's cramping... Gasp, gasp, gasp.”
...fussed and complained in the middle of the desperate situation.
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