WeTried Translations

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 68: Hell's Entrance Exam: Gate 'I' (2)

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Five hundred years ago, the Demonic Cult appeared, and the Martial Alliance was formed.

After defeating the Demonic Cult, the surviving members of the Martial Alliance preserved the organization as proof of their shared resolve.

With no one ruling the martial world, influence and profit began to gather around the Martial Alliance, which grew at a rapid pace.

Yet the influx of talent needed to support that growth became tangled in family ties, regional connections, and official patronage, resulting in a steady decline in standards. Three hundred years ago, the Martial Arts Academy was founded to cultivate people who could uphold order in both the Martial Alliance and the martial world.

The Martial Arts Academy became a symbol of success for martial artists.

Those who entered the Martial Alliance through the Academy were treated as officers, while those who joined as low-ranking martial artists could not be promoted to Deputy Pavilion Master or higher.

For members of prestigious sects, entering the Martial Alliance as low-ranking martial artists with limited prospects for advancement was an unbearable humiliation.

The resulting competition for admission continually drove up the difficulty of the examinations. At some point, people began calling the Martial Arts Academy's regular examination the Hellish Exam.

"Do you understand what kind of examination you were about to take?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

I spoke to them.

"Go back. I won't stop you."

If I wanted to protect every child of the Taeul Sect, we needed more graduates of the Martial Arts Academy.

Still, the Taeul Sword Emperor's direct teachings were now available to inherit, and several other conditions had been added.

There was no longer any need for everyone to risk their lives on the Martial Arts Academy regular examination.

Yet despite my attempts to persuade them, the three brothers refused to back down.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't say something so ridiculous."

"What did we endure all that training for?"

Contrary to my worries, their fighting spirit still burned fiercely.

"We'll follow you out of sheer resentment."

"If you leave us behind, we'll chase after you with all our might."

"Me too!"

Then again, after they had worked that hard, who knew what those three brothers might do to me later if I left them behind?

"You're sure you won't regret it?"

"You said disciples of the Taeul Sect don't regret their choices."

"Who said that?"

"Eldest Martial Brother."

"..."

Why were they saying things that even I, a man with perfect memory, couldn't remember?

"Eldest Martial Brother, why bandit strongholds?"

I answered Dongryong's question.

"That has to do with the number of applicants."

"Applicants?"

The Martial Arts Academy accepted only eight hundred ninety-two people per examination session. Including the one hundred eight selected from the One Hundred Eight Peaks, that made one thousand in total.

Roughly two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand people applied to the Academy. Including the martial artists they brought along, the number reached nearly a million.

The Martial Alliance had created Gate I to handle complaints brought before it while also reducing the number of applicants.

"There are four thousand bandit strongholds designated by the Martial Alliance across the country. They are every stronghold with the potential to grow into a major force, excluding the Green Forest Seventy-Two Strongholds represented by the Green Forest Alliance."

Most strongholds affiliated with the Green Forest Alliance were occupied by Black Path bandits who had learned martial arts. They were closer to sects than simple bandit dens.

"Then only four thousand people can pass the first gate?"

"That's right."

It was a truly ingenious move.

Those without decent martial arts, influence, or strength would fail the first examination.

At the same time, once the examination was complete, the bandit strongholds that had troubled the Martial Alliance for so long would vanish in one stroke.

The Martial Alliance could hold an examination and solve a problem without lifting a finger.

"Then isn't this the time to get moving?"

Eunho really was quick on the uptake.

I smiled and asked, "Why?"

"Shouldn't we hurry and claim the weakest stronghold among the four thousand? We're already short on people."

"All right. Let's get going."

I took them to Huayun Mountain.

"Isn't this Huayun Mountain? Is there a bandit stronghold here?"

"No."

"Then why are we here?"

"Before clearing a stronghold, there's something you need to do."

"?"

"Stand in front of me."

Geumpyo, Eunho, and Dongryong lined up side by side.

"You've learned qi circulation before, haven't you?"

Geumpyo tilted his head.

"Qi circulation?"

"Yes."

"Yes, we have."

"What were you taught?"

"The Gwaehwa Hall Lord said, 'Geumpyo, never use qi circulation under any circumstances.'"

"And what else?"

"Um... Ah! He also said, 'If you absolutely, absolutely have no other choice, if your life is truly, truly in danger... don't use it anyway.'"

"You learned well."

"...No way."

Qi circulation was one of the major methods of circulating internal energy, alongside standing, seated, and reclining circulation.

"You'll learn qi circulation anew."

"...Eldest Martial Brother."

"What is it?"

"There's something I should tell you. When the Sect Leader sent us, we were also given the task of keeping an eye on you. We were told to stop you if you did anything insane."

Seated circulation was the most common method of internal energy circulation in the martial world because of its efficiency and stability. Qi circulation was looked down upon because, unlike seated circulation, neither quality was guaranteed.

"Didn't I say you'd learn it anew?"

"..."

"Memorize what I tell you carefully."

During my days in the Sojeong Unit, my weak internal energy had always pushed me to my limits.

Enemies kept coming without end, and we had no time to rest, let alone circulate our internal energy.

Even that meager internal energy was necessary to face members of the Demonic Cult who had learned demonic arts.

Most of the Sojeong Unit was the same.

After enduring the threat of qi deviation hundreds of times, I created a new qi circulation method.

Thinking back on it now, it had truly been insane. I could only do it because I had been ready to die.

As people began to notice that I was no longer growing exhausted in battle, the members of the Sojeong Unit became interested. I shared it with them.

The Sojeong Unit members gave the unnamed qi circulation method the name of my vanished sect.

It was the Taeul Circulating Art.

"Have you memorized it?"

"..."

Their eyes were still full of distrust.

Those who didn't trust their Eldest Martial Brother deserved punishment, didn't they?

I released my killing intent toward the three of them.

"Urgh!"

"Ghk!"

"Ugh!"

Their faces turned pale as if they had seen ghosts, and they sprang away in every direction.

After using innate qi to push the Taeul True Scripture to its limit during my spar with Hwa Jeongsan, my killing intent had become much stronger. They looked as though their souls might leave their bodies at any moment.

"Gasp, gasp, gasp. Wh-what is this, Eldest Martial Brother?"

"W-why are you doing this?"

"Stand before me again."

At my words, the three brothers began making their way toward me with reluctant steps.

"From now on, I'll gradually release my killing intent and steadily raise its intensity. Circulate the qi circulation method."

Driven by their desperate desire to live, they began circulating it.

"How is it?"

"...Huh? I feel better."

I doubled my killing intent.

"How about now?"

"I-I'm... fine."

I gradually increased it further until it was half again as strong as before.

"How is it now?"

"It's difficult, but... I'm fine."

"That is one advantage of qi circulation."

One of the effects of Taeul Circulating Art was that it allowed its practitioners to retain their reason even amid killing intent and demonic qi.

At the same time, Taeul Circulating Art made one acutely aware of the danger of qi deviation, allowing the practitioner to stop before falling into it.

"Ah! So you mean we should use this whenever we sense killing intent?"

"What are you talking about? Why would you learn qi circulation just for that?"

"Uh... Then..."

"From now on, you'll circulate it every moment you're awake. While walking, running, and fighting."

"Eldest Martial Brother! Eldest Martial Brother!"

Dongryong raised his hand.

"What is it?"

"When I try to move, it feels as if my whole body is about to twist apart."

"That's the safety mechanism. If you go beyond that point, you'll enter qi deviation. Practice carefully, then begin moving little by little."

"..."

The three brothers were looking at me as though I were insane.

"Why do we have to go this far?"

"First, your internal energy is far too weak. By moving while circulating Taeul Circulating Art, you can steadily gather internal energy little by little, even if it's less efficient than seated circulation. Second, you must train while taking the examination. What use would there be in bringing you along if you couldn't inherit the Taeul Sword Emperor's direct teachings? Third."

This was why I was passing Taeul Circulating Art on to them.

"There are only four of us. Our competitors number nearly a million. Do you think we'll have time to rest?"

"..."

"This isn't only about the examination. For the Taeul Sect, with its meager strength, to rise again, we'll have to fight countless people time and again. There will be thousands upon thousands who want to crush us, and we won't even have time to rest."

Once the Orthodox-Demonic War began, horrible days without even a moment of leisure would continue for years.

We had to use internal energy while gathering it, all while maintaining our mental strength.

The three brothers swallowed hard.

"If we do this... can we defeat the people who block our path?"

"How do you think I've won until now?"

The three brothers' eyes began to shine.

"Begin."

They slowly took their first steps. Yet perhaps because they still felt as though their bodies might seize up, they moved more slowly than snails, their brows deeply furrowed.

"If you don't want to spend the entire Martial Arts Academy examination in Anhui Province, you need to work hard."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't want to sleep on Huayun Mountain. If you don't want to either, come down quickly. I'll wait below."

I left them behind and headed down the mountain.

#

At the foot of Huayun Mountain, I took out a small note from my sleeve.

-Sohwa Tower. Jia Room.

While I was checking out a room at the Martial Alliance's Hefei branch, someone quietly used a sleight-of-hand trick on me.

Naturally, I assumed they were after the money pouch inside my robes, so I grabbed their wrist and twisted it. They didn't even cry out. Instead, they opened their palm, revealing this note.

"They finally contacted me. They certainly took their time."

After looting Wolhyang's tomb in Hunan and selling its treasures, I had asked Yang Gunbaek for the status of a Hao Sect guest retainer.

That had been several months ago, when I handed over information about the Beggar Sect along with the request. Only now had their answer come.

"They must have waited until their value was at its highest."

With the Martial Arts Academy examination underway, the value of the Beggar Sect and the Hao Sect would soar.

The Hao Sect must have known that and deliberately delayed its answer.

Hefei's entertainment district had three famous pleasure houses: Manwol Tower, Joyang Tower, and Sohwa Tower.

Joyang Tower was the place Gye Cheolyeong frequented most often. Sohwa Tower was the most expensive of the three, a place visited only by nobles and high officials.

When I entered Sohwa Tower, which was decorated from its entrance with splendid lanterns and draped cloth, a woman wearing scant clothing that exposed her skin approached me.

Despite seeing my ordinary martial robes and the fact that I looked as though I had no money at all, she acted as though nothing were unusual.

"Is there a courtesan you are looking for?"

"I have an appointment. I was told to come to the Jia Room."

The standard room at Sohwa Tower was a Ding Room.

It came with one female attendant, one male servant, and one courtesan per guest.

A Jia Room came with four female attendants, four male servants, musicians, and four courtesans for every guest.

Only people capable of spending money without restraint could come to a place like that.

Normally, someone like me could never enter such a room.

Yet the woman seemed to have been expecting me and led me there without delay.

The room was more pleasant than I had expected.

There were no windows, but candles burned throughout the chamber, and there was no unnecessary furniture.

Elderly maids and servants waited off to one side. Their clothes were simple, but the fabric looked like silk rather than ordinary cotton.

Brothels often employed elderly servants and maids in case drunken patrons tried to lay hands on them. It also had the effect of making the courtesans' youth and beauty stand out even more.

"Please wait a moment. They will arrive shortly."

There were no courtesans in the room.

The servants and maids stood silently with their heads bowed, but even that sight felt refined.

Was this why people came here and spent so much money?

A short while later, a woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties entered the room with four martial artists who carried an intimidating air.

The young woman who had guided me here was already exceptionally beautiful, but the woman entering now was even more so.

If not for the faint traces of time around her eyes and mouth, she would have possessed beauty capable of shaking the entire world.

The middle-aged woman did not seem troubled by those marks of time. Aside from natural makeup, she made no effort to hide her age.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you. On behalf of the Hao Sect, I offer my thanks. I am Yeo Mimi, the leader of the Hao Sect."

I slowly rose and clasped my hands in greeting.

"I am Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect."

"I have heard much about the Black Flame Dragon."

"..."

"I heard from Gunbaek. You wish to become a guest retainer, correct?"

"Yes."

"I apologize that we could not reply sooner. We had to verify matters internally."

"I understand."

Unlike the Beggar Sect, most Hao Sect members worked ordinary trades. There were Hao Sect members wherever people gathered, whether at inns, pleasure houses, or shops.

Yet unlike the Beggar Sect, the Hao Sect did not pass down martial arts. There were more ordinary people than martial artists among its members, so they worked even harder to hide their identities.

"We had much to consider over how we should receive you, Young Master Jin."

"Have you reached a decision?"

The Hao Sect was largely an organization that sold information, but the people who used that information most were the Hao Sect itself.

The Hao Sect's highest goal was to protect itself and maximize the interests of its members.

A guest retainer held a position that surpassed even those goals.

That was why so few people had gained the status of Hao Sect guest retainer throughout history.

What people did not know was that one had to pass several tests to receive the Hao Sect's status of guest retainer.

The first test was whether one possessed information the Hao Sect did not.

That was why I had handed the Beggar Sect information to Yang Gunbaek.

"Yes. We have confirmed the information you gave us."

"Was it useful?"

"Very much so. To be honest, it was extremely difficult to trace where you obtained that information."

"I'm glad it was useful."

"But it also concerns us. Should we accept someone beyond our field of vision as a guest retainer?"

"Is that not why you should? The best way to observe something unknown is to bring it within your sight."

Yeo Mimi sank into deep thought at my words.

What was unusual was that even while thinking, she continued looking directly into my eyes. It felt as though she were searching for something within them.

"I understand why the Hao Sect needs to remain closed off. Yet if you become too consumed by that alone, won't you eventually stagnate and rot?"

Yeo Mimi's eyes wavered for the first time.

"The incident at Demon Spirit Plateau. If the Hao Sect had possessed even one capable spirit practitioner, would it ever have faced such a crisis? What do you think would have happened if I had not been there?"

For the first time, Yeo Mimi lowered her head and fell into thought.

Soon, she nodded.

"They said Young Master Black Flame Dragon's designs ran deeper than the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Destroying Formation. It seems the rumors were true."

A faint smile appeared on Yeo Mimi's face for the first time.

How many men had that smile set aflame in the past?

"All right. We will do so. I prepared this in case it became necessary, and it seems I will have to use it after all."

Yeo Mimi held out a silk pouch.

Inside was detailed information on the applicants worth watching among those currently participating in Gate I of the Martial Arts Academy regular examination.

Yeo Mimi rose from her seat.

As I looked through the documents, I asked, "Is that all?"

"Yes. Whenever you need the Hao Sect's help, please call for us."

As Yeo Mimi rose, the martial artists immediately surrounded her.

I kept my eyes on the documents as I asked, "Is that so?"

The Hao Sect's verification was not over yet.

"Then... when will I meet the Sect Leader?"

"..."

Yeo Mimi's expression stiffened slightly as she sharply turned her head.

"You already contacted us late, so I am rather busy. I would prefer to finish the meeting to assess your qualifications as a guest retainer quickly."

The second test.

Did I possess the eyes to discern the truth?

Looking at the person standing at the very end of the line of elderly maids, I asked, "If the Sect Leader believes I am not needed, I will return. I cannot make my junior brothers sleep in the mountains."

"!"

Yeo Mimi's eyes shook violently as she looked at me.

Footnotes:

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