WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 591: Beyond the Line of Fire
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I came to an abrupt stop.
Fist Lord Gan Se-ung was lunging toward me, while Mad Lord Gu Do-cheong, whose attack had failed, was about to place a “Brand” on me.
That instant stretched into eternity, and I watched Yong Soa collapse as though he were falling apart.
What the hell...?
I possess countless memories.
Not vague ones, either.
Exceptionally vivid ones.
Moments so clear that they hardly feel like memories at all.
Yet among those countless memories, there had never been one in which Yong Soa fell.
He had never allowed so much as a stain to touch the hem of his clothes, much less suffered a wound.
Even now, I vividly remembered how, in the final moments of my previous life, he stepped aside to keep my sudden sneeze from reaching his pure white martial robes.
And yet.
What is this...?
Yong Soa was falling.
With a deep wound in his left eye.
Could it be... because of me?
I denied it a hundred, a thousand times.
But this situation refused to validate my denial.
Even if I had come to save him, there was no way he had suddenly developed some tearful sense of camaraderie toward me.
Yong Soa was a lofty existence who needed neither anyone’s touch nor help.
He had never been someone who asked for aid.
Trying to help someone perfectly capable on his own would only be interference from his perspective.
That was why... this made no sense.
But I could not continue that train of thought.
No, I had no time to.
“Aaaagh!”
Gan Se-ung had already closed in, and Gu Do-cheong was about to stamp the Brand on me again.
Wheeeeng!
The rapidly spinning Flying Dragon Claw gave off a golden glow as it wrapped around Gan Se-ung’s fist guards.
“Hm?”
Then, using Snow Flower, I redirected his attack.
“Uh, ugh! Aagh!”
They had been standing so close together that Gan Se-ung’s full-powered fist strike flew straight at Gu Do-cheong.
Thud!
Gu Do-cheong flew away like a kite with its string cut.
“You rat bastard...!”
Rumble!
As Gan Se-ung turned, I drove the Mad Heaven Divine Palm into his face.
Kwooooom!
It carried enough destructive power to blow away ships traveling the Yangtze.
It might not be enough to kill the Fist Lord, but it was far from something he could withstand easily.
“Aaaaargh!”
Gan Se-ung’s voice grew fainter as he endured the palm force of the Mad Heaven Divine Palm.
Gan Se-ung and Gu Do-cheong would attack again soon, but I had bought a moment.
“Yong Soa!”
I checked his eye.
The wound was deep.
I had no idea how far it went in.
Clear fluid and blood continued to pour from his split pupil.
“You bastard...! Answer me!”
There was no response.
If the blade tip had reached his brain...
I took his pulse.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Thankfully, it was still beating.
“Ha...”
There was so much blood that I could not see clearly, but it seemed the wound had not penetrated into his head.
“You crazy bastard...”
I did not understand.
Why? Why would he...
“Why are you suddenly doing something you never do?!”
I was angry.
No, why was I angry?
Why the hell was I angry?
“Jin So...”
Because Yong Soa was not the kind of person who would do this.
“Do you really want to die here?!”
Perhaps he had regained consciousness. His lips trembled as he opened his one remaining eye.
“No...”
“Then why?!”
“...You.”
His remaining eye fixed on me.
“Because... you’re hope.”
He looked at me with the same clear gaze as always.
Is it really... because of me?
For a moment, I wondered whether the blade had grazed his brain.
Still, one thing was certain.
The reason he had taken that blade for me...
“Y-you...”
Had been his own will.
“You fucking bastard...”
Neither in my previous life nor this one had I ever imagined Yong Soa throwing himself in harm’s way for someone else.
Especially not for me.
Boom!
“Aaagh! You rat bastard!”
There was no time to ask why he had suddenly started acting strange.
I gripped his shoulder more tightly.
“Can you stand?”
“...”
Yong Soa’s pupil shook violently.
“Why? It’s not like your arms and legs were cut off.”
“...I need an ilgak.”
“Why are you bringing up that bald monk... I’m joking. What, you want us to die together after that?”
“...Half an ilgak.”
This really was not the Yong Soa I knew.
“...?”
“My qi and blood circulation has reversed too.”
He really had gotten himself into every possible mess.
I let go of the hand supporting his head.
Thud!
A little blood splattered from his left eye.
“...Ghk.”
Whether Yong Soa groaned or not, I stood over him and faced the Fist Lord and the Mad Lord, both boiling with rage.
Their gazes focused entirely on me.
White breath spilled from their mouths with every harsh exhale, while black currents burst from their shoulders.
Fuck... this is going to be the longest half an ilgak in the world.
#
“Aaaaargh!”
Gan Se-ung charged with his boulder-like shoulders leading.
I extended my hand as if firing palm force.
He took strange steps that did not suit his massive frame, twisting his body aside.
I immediately used Phantom Shadow Kick and drove my foot into his flank.
“It’s a trick, you bastard!”
Thud!
“You little...!”
His enormous body crashed down onto the demonic beings.
Several were crushed to death in the sudden impact, but that was none of my concern.
“Lord Jin Sowoon, you will die here.”
I immediately fixed my gaze on someone more dangerous than Gan Se-ung.
Gu Do-cheong was so enraged that his entire body, apart from his hair, had turned bright red.
It suited those snake eyes perfectly.
“What, are you a fortune-teller?”
“...”
Gu Do-cheong approached me with his usual sloppy footwork.
The intricacies of his movement were clumsy beyond belief, but his speed was respectable.
But...
“Do you take martial artists for complete idiots?”
Demon-Severing Radiant Whip.
A golden whip immediately wrapped around Gu Do-cheong.
“Hehe, do you really think this can hurt me?!”
“It may be useless against you, but Gan Se-ung’s another matter.”
“What?”
I yanked Gu Do-cheong’s bound body toward me.
Wheeeeng.
Even then, that snake-eyed bastard threw a fist strike to stamp the Brand on me.
I evaded his fist by a hair’s breadth, then hurled him toward Gan Se-ung, who was charging at me again.
“Y-you...!”
Crunch!
I had thrown him directly into Gan Se-ung’s fist strike, and blood sprayed from Gu Do-cheong’s body like a waterfall.
Splash!
Gu Do-cheong crashed down among the demonic beings after taking Gan Se-ung’s blow.
A moment later, ten demonic beings around the spot where he had fallen dropped one after another like puppets with their strings cut.
Unbelievable...
If you encountered a Blood Demon Madman on a battlefield, you ran.
Any area where he manifested became hell.
But it did not matter if this place became hell.
Only demonic beings would be swallowed by it.
They were simply going home, so I ought to send them off with a smile.
A path opened through the fallen demonic beings, and Gu Do-cheong walked out with those snake eyes of his.
He had clearly taken a heavy blow, yet he looked unharmed.
Gan Se-ung had already drawn close again.
Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art.
Four Ten Thousand Swords, identical to the Scarlet Radiance Sword, formed in midair.
The Ten Thousand Swords, brimming with sword qi, slowly began to unfold the Twin Heavens Sword Art.
Then countless Scarlet Radiance Swords began sweeping through the area, releasing dangerous sword qi.
I felt a vast amount of internal energy drain from the Taeul True Scripture.
It was a manifestation of swords that covered heaven and earth.
Wooooong!
A storm of mingled illusion swords and real swords swept over the demonic beings within range.
Clangclangclangclang!
With this many, distinguishing Illusion from Reality was meaningless.
Faced with sword momentum overwhelming enough to alarm even seasoned martial artists, the demonic beings charged even more aggressively, as if to prove their nature.
Aaaaargh!
Krrrgh!
Those swallowed by the storm of sword qi were sliced apart as they let out cries that sounded like battle shouts.
Even as their comrades’ limbs flew through the air, the demonic beings took another step forward and swung their swords again.
Their unshakable, obsessive resolve was enough to shake the convictions of Taoists who had trained their minds for decades.
Countless masters once renowned throughout the martial world had died that way.
But...
I would not waver.
No, I did not waver.
If I stepped back in fear of their obsessive resolve...
I knew that many more people would die.
No, I had experienced it.
And I knew my comrades and martial brothers were among those people.
I could never retreat.
“Come on, you sons of bitches!”
I poured in even more internal energy.
My internal energy plummeted, and the sword qi became sword force.
“Come at me harder.”
Sword force erupted in every direction.
“Keep charging at me!”
They had no fear?
No terror?
Then I only had to carve it into their minds.
One member of the Iron Demon Sword Unit, whose internal energy seemed overwhelmingly greater than the others’, leaped forward while deploying a sword curtain.
I concentrated my power on that point.
Boomboomboom!
I poured an immense amount of power onto a single target, and the demonic being advancing behind a flawless sword curtain shattered without even leaving a trace behind.
“...”
Then the storm of sword force fell brutally upon the Iron Demon Sword Unit.
“D-dodge it!”
Boomboomboom!
The destructive power of the exploding sword force swallowed even the demonic beings’ obsession.
To avoid the storm of sword force falling over their heads, they changed their formation.
Finally.
I had planted fear in their minds.
“Everyone, retreat!”
Seeming to recognize their state, Gan Se-ung bellowed the Heavenly Demon Roar.
Gu Do-cheong also threw himself into the storm of sword force.
Boom! Boom!
Bang! Bang!
Explosions erupted as sword force and fist force collided.
Sword force and fist strikes clashed, and blood poured from Gu Do-cheong’s body like a river.
Gan Se-ung was thrown back by the explosions. Gu Do-cheong barely kept his snake eyes open as he received the sword force with his entire body, spilling blood with every blow.
Splash!
Splash!
No one could tell how many lives he had devoured, but Gu Do-cheong kept charging as blood endlessly poured from him.
“Do you truly think you can stop us with only this much skill? Grrrk. How utterly disappointing.”
“Idiot, you have a nosebleed.”
Gu Do-cheong wiped beneath his nose with a finger.
When nothing came away, he furrowed his brow deeply.
Seriously...
“You fell for that?”
Gu Do-cheong’s nose twitched as he ground out the words.
“I will absolutely, absolutely trap every person from your sect in terrible pain and slowly... kill them.”
This bastard was making such a half-assed threat.
But you know what?
“How’s Gu Do-a doing?”
“...!”
When it came to verbal threats, I was a level above him.
Why, I was from the Sojeong Unit.
“Hmm, sounds like she’s doing well? Ah...”
Gu Do-cheong ground his teeth, and his expression twisted sourly.
“And Elder Gu Ja-hong is healthy too.”
His mouth fell open at the mention of Gu Ja-hong.
“He should cut back on his drinking. Gu Do-a smokes too much tobacco too. For such a young girl.”
“...How?”
The fact that “How?” came out of his mouth gave me a thrill.
Specific, detailed threats worked best.
“What do you mean, how? I know them very well. Hehehe.”
Crunch.
He bit down so hard that blood streamed from his mouth.
“Gan Se-ung. Do it properly...”
“Ptooey. I was planning to.”
I raised a hand.
“Wait a moment, will you? Two against one is a little cowardly.”
“Looks like someone else is coming here to die.”
“There’s no need for anyone to come.”
“...”
The dust raised by the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art was gradually swept away by the wind.
“Half an ilgak has passed.”
Then...
Yong Soa emerged through the dust, striding forward with a fierce air about him.
“Looks like you didn’t want to die here after all.”
“Jin Sowoon.”
Blood still ran from his left eye.
“You interfered with me again. So...”
The bastard, after I had gone through all that trouble to save him.
“Don’t die.”
Footnotes:
“Ilgak” is both the name of the Shaolin monk Ilgak and a traditional time unit of roughly fifteen minutes, which is why Jin Sowoon jokes about the “bald monk.”
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