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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 78: The Black Flame Dragon Surpassing the Gate (6)

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Geumpyo was the eldest son of the Lee family's mill.

He had watched his parents work at the mill his entire life and knew that one day, he would take up the same work.

It was not because milling seemed impressive or exciting.

He knew that, as the son of millers, he would at least never starve if he worked at a mill.

There was no grand reason he joined the Taeul Sect.

The sect provided two meals a day.

When business was poor, his parents had struggled to feed three growing boys, so they sent him to the Taeul Sect without much thought.

He would have to complete about two years of compulsory service in the Martial Alliance later, but until then, he would receive two meals a day.

Besides, Senior Brother Sowoon and Senior Sister Saryeon were at the Taeul Sect. Thanks to the two people he had grown up with since childhood, Geumpyo could set aside the burden of being the eldest son and act spoiled to his heart's content while he was there.

When he heard Gye Cheolyeong had joined the sect, he had not thought much of it. If anything, he had been happy that their two daily meals had become three.

They occasionally served meat, and if he put up with Cheolyeong's foul personality, Cheolyeong even gave them sweets. To Geumpyo, he was not such a bad person.

That was why he could not understand why Senior Brother Sowoon and Senior Sister Saryeon were at odds with Gye Cheolyeong.

They might have been born into the Taeul Sect, but would they not still end their lives as Taeul Sect martial artists?

Gye Cheolyeong came from a wealthy family, and his father had enough money to hire masters from across the martial world to teach him martial arts separately.

Could people who had learned only the Taeul Sect's martial arts really defeat someone like that?

Yet Senior Brother Sowoon had done it.

He had talent no different from Geumpyo's, endured all of Gye Cheolyeong's tyranny alone, and gave the snacks and food meant for himself to his junior brothers.

The kind senior brother everyone said was clever enough to become the Outer Hall Lord one day had begun walking a different path.

'What on earth are you thinking, Senior Brother?'

He resisted the fate set before him, fought against it, and never gave an inch.

The story of how he had risked his life for the unremarkable Taeul Sect, released innate true qi, and intimidated the Iron Sword Sect's leader moved Geumpyo every time Saryeon told it, no matter how often he heard it.

Perhaps Senior Brother Sowoon had changed.

Perhaps he wanted to go to the Martial Arts Academy in Gye Cheolyeong's place and completely change his own fate.

'But that wasn't it either.'

At the end of the Gyeonseong Envoy's examination, he watched Sowoon yield to Saryeon and realized that his senior brother was still the same as ever.

As a child, he had endured Gye Cheolyeong's cruelty for their sake and shared his sweets with them.

Now that he was grown, he was taking on the martial world's cruelty and trying to give them another chance to fly.

All for their sake, when they would return to work at the mill after completing their compulsory service in the Martial Alliance.

That was when Geumpyo, Eunho, and Dongryong first realized that they, too, had new dreams.

'Are we truly allowed to dream, Senior Brother?'

Maybe they had given up in advance because they believed they could never have them.

Maybe they had never even tried to reach for them because they thought they were beyond their grasp.

Yet Senior Brother Sowoon had always risked his life and taken up his sword for people like them.

Even then, he never spoke of how much he had sacrificed or said that he was doing everything for them, so they could not even tell him to stop.

That was why Geumpyo had decided it was time to repay the debt he owed his senior brother.

They were no longer children who accepted sweets without knowing why.

If they somehow got Senior Brother Sowoon into the Martial Arts Academy, perhaps they could lessen that debt a little.

"You should be doing that, so what are you doing, Dongryong?!"

Geumpyo should have been maintaining the sword formation against the Twin-Curtain Strongholds' bandits, but instead, he was standing alone against Dongryong.

Once the villagers joined the battle with bamboo spears and sickles, the momentum had completely shifted to their side.

The fierce battle had eased, giving them room to breathe, but the problem was that the villagers had not learned martial arts.

Even if the bandits had inhaled enough smoke to leave them confused, they were still martial artists.

The moment a villager was struck by a blindly swung sword and blood sprayed, Dongryong leaped out of the sword formation.

Heavenly Killing Star.

How shocked Geumpyo had been when he first heard about it.

If not for First Senior Brother's assurance that there was nothing to worry about, he would not have slept properly that night.

'Senior Brother! I think you were wrong!'

The Heavenly Killing Star did not simply refer to someone with overwhelming killing intent.

It was a demonic talent created by heaven to kill humans.

Countless people with the Heavenly Killing Star had slaughtered masters of the martial world in the past despite being ordinary people who had never learned a single martial art. That alone showed how terrifying the talent was.

And Geumpyo was witnessing that terrifying talent with his own eyes.

Dongryong poured out killing intent as he swung his sword at the bandits.

He was undoubtedly Geumpyo's adorable youngest brother, yet the red light pouring from his eyes made him seem like someone else.

Whenever he faced a martial artist several times stronger than himself, he absorbed each moment's experience and grew at an alarming pace. It did not seem human.

Each time Geumpyo blinked, the forms of Dongryong's Lesser Heaven Sword Art had changed. Each time he blinked, his mastery of the Greater Heaven Sword Art had advanced.

There was no defense in Dongryong's swordsmanship. He unleashed nothing but attacks while evading his opponents' strikes. Watching him fight made Geumpyo wonder if Dongryong had some unknown enemy who had murdered their parents.

The bandits had begun fleeing one by one, terrified by Dongryong's mad movements.

Dongryong pursued them relentlessly with the Taeul Eighty Thousand Divine Steps, taking lives as though he would not leave a single one alive.

Even the villagers began to fear him as he stood there like a blood-soaked evil spirit.

There was no battle left to fight.

The bandits were already fleeing or begging for their lives.

Even so, Dongryong craved blood until the very end.

In the end, Geumpyo sent his sword flying toward Dongryong.

"Come to your senses, Dongryong!"

"......I'll kill them! I'll protect them... I'll kill them to protect them! I... I'll kill them all!"

As though he had forgotten that Geumpyo was his older brother, Dongryong's sword was unbearably sharp.

Geumpyo struggled to deal with Dongryong as he copied the sword forms Jin Sowoon had once displayed.

"Please, come to your senses!"

He had sent Eunho to inform Jin Sowoon, but that brief moment felt like an eternity.

He could not let his younger brother become an evil spirit, yet he was desperate because he might die by that younger brother's hand.

"Lee Dongryong! Come to your senses! Don't you want to go to the Martial Alliance with Senior Brother Sowoon?!"

"......!"

Dongryong's movements paused for a brief instant.

Geumpyo raised his voice even further.

"If you become an evil spirit like this, you won't be able to stay with us at the Taeul Sect anymore! Is that truly what you want?!"

"......!"

Twitch. Twitch.

His body, which had stopped, began moving again.

The killing intent that had been aimed at every bandit but Geumpyo shot directly at him.

Dongryong launched even fiercer attacks, as though Geumpyo were an enemy trying to eliminate his killing nature.

Geumpyo's movements began to falter.

"Urgh! Lee Dongryong, you..."

Dongryong's sword stabbed toward a vital point, and Geumpyo could only stare blankly.

"Well done."

Clang!

A sword black from its hilt to its blade blocked Dongryong's strike.

"First Senior Brother!"

Jin Sowoon skillfully blocked Dongryong's sword, but he was not as sharp as usual. He already looked utterly exhausted. He must have spent all his strength dealing with the Twin-Curtain Strongholds' leaders.

"How long has it been?"

"Nearly half an hour."

"We're not too late."

"Really?"

"...Yes."

Jin Sowoon felt relieved.

The reason he had taught the three brothers energy circulation and pushed them to train harder was because he knew Dongryong possessed the Heavenly Killing Star.

The formulas of the Taeul True Scripture allowed one to view oneself from a third person's perspective and examine one's inner self in greater detail.

Someone with the Heavenly Killing Star would instinctively circulate energy to keep from becoming exhausted. As long as Dongryong had memorized the Taeul True Scripture, there was a far greater chance he would regain his senses.

"What should we do?"

"There isn't anything we can do. We can only wait for Dongryong to wake up on his own."

"What if he can't?"

"...He will wake up."

Geumpyo's gaze wavered at Jin Sowoon's words.

Had he ever heard Jin Sowoon speak with so little confidence?

He had spoken calmly even when attacking the Twin-Curtain Strongholds...

Why had he asked how much time had passed? If too much time passed, could Dongryong no longer wake up? Would Dongryong become an evil spirit like this?

Geumpyo felt his heart sink.

"Gasp, gasp, gasp. Brother, what happened?"

Eunho came running up with steam rising from his entire body. Geumpyo could not answer Eunho's breathless question.

'This isn't right. This... this isn't right.'

Only Geumpyo and Eunho had intended to help Jin Sowoon.

But Dongryong, who adored Jin Sowoon, had gritted his teeth and stubbornly insisted on joining them.

They had deliberately trained hard enough to surpass their own limits and told him to at least keep up with the training, but Dongryong endured until he fainted while following every session.

They could not leave such a hardworking Dongryong behind.

"Brother! What are you doing?"

"We can't leave Dongryong here!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Eunho! Let's go. We have to take Dongryong with us!"

"......"

Eunho had no idea what Geumpyo meant, but he felt that following his brother now would keep him from regretting it later.

"Stay back!"

Jin Sowoon stretched out a hand as he fought Dongryong, warning them not to approach, but Geumpyo raised his sword and charged at Dongryong.

"I'll take Dongryong with me!"

"Geumpyo."

"We'll take Dongryong with us!"

Clang clang clang clang clang!

When Jin Sowoon could not swing his sword because of Geumpyo, Dongryong's brow suddenly smoothed out. The Heavenly Killing Star was distinguishing between those stronger and weaker than him.

"Lee Dongryong! Come to your senses! Are you really going to become an evil spirit like this?!"

"......"

"You said you wanted to become a chivalrous hero like First Senior Brother! Then don't lose yourself to something as worthless as killing nature!"

"......!"

Dongryong's sword, which had been aiming for Geumpyo's vital point, froze for an instant. Geumpyo slipped into that opening.

Dongryong twisted his arm at an unnatural angle, then tried to stab his sword into Geumpyo's throat in an instant.

Clang!

"Lee Dongryong! No matter how much you hate your big brother, this is too far!"

Eunho knocked away Dongryong's sword. The two of them barely managed to hold back Dongryong's attacks through their coordination.

"Lee Dongryong! If you keep refusing to listen, we'll leave you behind!"

"......!"

Dongryong froze again.

"Lee Dongryong! You said you wanted to come with us, so we brought you along!"

"What will you do if we can't get First Senior Brother into the Martial Arts Academy because of you?!"

"......!!"

Every time Geumpyo and Eunho shouted at him, Dongryong's movements gradually slowed.

"Come to your senses! Before we really leave you behind!"

Geumpyo and Eunho shouted until their throats were raw.

Dongryong's sword lunged at their vital points again and again, completely at odds with their desperate cries, but neither of them stopped shouting.

"If you keep refusing to listen, we'll send you home!"

Dongryong froze.

For the first time, he came to a complete stop.

Then his entire body began to shake as though he were having a seizure.

Geumpyo and Eunho stared at Jin Sowoon in alarm. Jin Sowoon silently nodded.

"We'll send you back home! You can go home by yourself!"

"Go help Father and Mother! First Senior Brother is going to the Martial Arts Academy with us!"

Dongryong's eyes rolled back, and foam spilled from his mouth.

Then he suddenly vomited blood.

"Axe Evil. Cough-."

Even the sword that had seemed glued to his hand fell to the ground. Dongryong retched for a long time before raising his head.

His red eyes flickered as he spoke in a tearful voice.

"...No. Take me too..."

Geumpyo and Eunho let out relieved, breathy laughs at the sight of Dongryong.

"Haah. You little bastard."

"Haha, haha. Hahaha."

Watching the three brothers, Jin Sowoon was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

'Thank goodness.'

The Heavenly Killing Star's killing nature was a desire difficult to subdue, but once its bearer regained their senses even once, they would never again be consumed by it.

Even if Dongryong were consumed by it, the experience of waking up would allow him to regain his reason once more.

By accomplishing something only three people in martial history had ever managed, Dongryong had gained a talent unmatched in ages.

Footnotes:

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