The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Chapter 93

[ … words ]

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“They have disappeared.”

Jegal So-myeong narrowed his brows.

It happened again.

The gate tokens had disappeared again. The examiners of the Moorim Academy exam followed the gate tokens. Following the gate tokens eventually determined the pass or fail of the exam.

However, it was impossible to track all four thousand gate tokens from the First Gate alone.

Therefore, they predicted the routes and conveyed the locations of the gate tokens to the examiners in the next area.

To the question of whether there were mistakes because it was human work, Jegal So-myeong firmly shook his head.

“There are double and triple devices to prevent that.”

Moreover, the information provided by the transmission was too subtle to be called a mistake.

“200 of them. And only from the main sects at that.”

A total of 200, including the gate tokens of the First Gate and the Second Gate.

Considering that there were 4,000 gate tokens for the First Gate, it seemed to be within the margin of error, but looking at the gate tokens and the subjects who had disappeared, it was not so.

The Nine Sects and One Gang.

The Five Great Families.

The 108 Peaks.

They targeted only those who had a high probability of passing the Moorim Academy, those who would become the pillars of the future Moorim Alliance.

“Do you see this as the work of the Evil Path?”

“…….”

Jegal So-myeong looked at Maeng Ju-won, who had suddenly interjected.

The black color under his eyes had descended to his cheeks. Nevertheless, the light emitted by his two eyes was bright.

“Why do you think so?”

“The samples are too clear to think it’s a simple error.”

“In more detail.”

“A large number of those who could be called the second-stringers of the Nine Sects and One Gang and the 108 Peaks have been eliminated. It might be a negligible number when viewed as a whole, but if you think of them as those who support the waist after entering the academy or when active in the Moorim Alliance, it is perfect for breaking the overall balance.”

“Ha.”

Even though it was clearly a serious situation, he could not suppress his laughter. The thought that if there were just one more person like this here, he himself could eventually retire from the Man-tong-bu crept up little by little.

“Who do you think is doing this?”

Maeng Ju-won, who had been thinking deeply, shook his head.

“There is no one specific.”

“…….”

“However, I do know what they are aiming for.”

“What is it?”

“The destruction of the Moorim Alliance.”

“Haa.”

Jegal So-myeong let out a long sigh. The part that had lingered in his own mind, but which he had not dared to continue thinking about, Maeng Ju-won spat out without hesitation. A word that could be uttered because he was young, full of vigor, and still innocent.

“But are you just going to stay still?”

“……?”

The Moorim Alliance would not stop the Moorim regular admission under any circumstances.

It was a tradition of the Moorim regular admission that whatever problem arose, it all became a part of the exam.

“To say that, isn’t the problem too big?”

“It just looks like a big problem; it is not confirmed to be big. If the Alliance steps forward now, doubts about the fairness of the exam will arise.”

He wondered why the guy who knew that clearly was saying such things all of a sudden.

“If this continues, something truly terrible will happen.”

“…….”

Had the guy seen something beyond what he himself could not think of?

“Our So-un has entered the area where the gate tokens have disappeared. We must save him before he falls into danger.”

“…….”

He had never even seen his face, yet he had already attached ‘our’ to him.

“If this continues, I won’t even be able to get married, I won’t be able to give birth to fox-like children, and my rabbit-like wife…… Uaaak!”

A rod is the medicine for a guy who cannot keep his senses.

The Judge’s Pen held in his hand was unleashed upon Maeng Ju-won with the technique of the Falling Leaf Flying Flower, which was evaluated as the best in Jianghu.

“Die!”

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“We are the Namgung Family. What is your identity?”

While the warriors of the Namgung Family were tending to the wounded, Namgung Seon-hwa spoke to the black figures, but no answer returned.

“Prepare for battle!”

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

The warriors of the Namgung Family and the Iron Sword Sect simultaneously drew their silver swords and formed a sword formation.

“If you do not reveal your identity, we will attack!”

“…….”

The twenty black figures did not answer. They did not even show any signs of exchanging opinions.

The fact that they stood tall like wooden stones that had originally been in that spot made it even more creepy.

Moreover, for an unknown reason, his heart was beating more violently now. Cho Mu-bin, unable to overcome that pressure, finally shouted.

“Strike!”

At that moment. A white sword blade extended from between their cloaks, which had looked like black rocks.

A sword with an uneven shape that was not smooth.

Creepily, blood was dripping from the entire sword blade.

The moment the warriors rushed in even more fiercely to overcome their fear.

They felt the trembling of the air and instinctively stopped their footsteps.

The sensation he had felt at the Jin-gang port.

The pressure as if it were sucking in all the air in the surroundings.

After this trembling of the air…….

The shockwave was transmitted faster than expected.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwang.

That very technique that had instantly smashed dozens of ships departing from the Jin-gang port was now extending toward the black figures.

“Huff, huff…… We must run away!”

“Yes?”

He did not know the reason.

That appearance of Jin So-un, who had maintained his composure in any situation until now, made the warriors even more anxious.

Gang Seo-pyo and Cho Mu-bin instinctively looked at each other.

They had participated to help him pass the exam, but the foremost mission of the warriors was, after all, the protection of Namgung Seon-hwa and Seong Mo-ran.

Gang Seo-pyo and Cho Mu-bin decided to trust Jin So-un, whom they had seen until now.

“Let’s go!”

“Let’s go!”

The warriors who had instantly gathered the wounded kicked off the ground.

Jin So-un, conversely, threw his body into the space where the aftermath of the Gwang-cheon-sin-jang had not yet disappeared, and returned quickly.

In his hand, he held the creepy sword and a severed arm.

“Young Master Jin…….”

“Talk later…… right now, we must enter Pung-hyeon unconditionally.”

Originally, he had intended to go around Pung-hyeon to avoid people’s eyes. But looking at Jin So-un’s expression now, it was not a situation to argue about it.

‘Why are those guys here? And what is their purpose?’

Jegal So-myeong was a great genius.

He realized it while putting all the data of the Man-tong-bu into his head.

It was not just that he was smart.

He knew how to build a system.

Without a system, no sect could last for a long time.

There was a 10-year system.

There was a 50-year system.

And there was a 100-year system.

Jegal So-myeong built a 100-year system for the Moorim Alliance. And that system was created with his own unique method of handling information.

He organized the Man-tong-bu and placed the Sim-hyeon-gak to weigh the importance of information.

By efficiently using the limited personnel of the Cheon-mok-gak and the Moorim Alliance, he installed eyes and ears throughout the entire Jianghu.

By arranging the information obtained in chronological order, he filled the gaps in information that people could not convey.

He was sitting in the Man-tong-bu and looking at the world as if it were in the palm of his hand.

However, even though he had installed such double and triple devices, there were times when empty spaces in information occurred.

He classified this as a ‘missing piece’.

Even after building a system worthy of confidence, he had always thought about the possibility that he might not know something.

And he also left behind a story that to find this missing piece, one must find the surrounding pieces.

‘Missing Piece Theory.’

Now, following his ‘Missing Piece Theory’ in my head, the pieces gathered one by one and began to find the missing piece.

◎ Surprise attack on Mo-yong Sang-won.

◎ The Demonic Cult that had the intention of conquering Jianghu in the future.

◎ Disappearance of Hyeon-jeong of the Wudang Sect and Yeon-woo-mun of the Mount Hua Sect.

◎ Traces of the Fluid Bone Sword found in the bones of the corpses of Hyeon-jeong and Yeon-woo-mun.

◎ The Dark Severing Soul Pill that should not exist here.

As the surrounding pieces were put together, the ‘missing piece’ appeared, just as Jegal So-myeong had said.

-Assassination of key figures of the Moorim Alliance in preparation for the War of Righteousness and Evil.

“Damn it.”

The problem was that that ‘missing piece’ would kill us to silence us in order to hide their intentions.

Dark Severing Soul Group.

A special task force composed of a ‘group’ with only twenty personnel.

A monster of the Demonic Cult created by having them learn the Dark Demonic Sword, a bizarre martial art of the Demonic Cult that combined concealment techniques and swordsmanship, and by performing an irrational surgery called the Fluid Bone Sword on the master who had reached the peak.

Although one battalion was composed of only 4 personnel, if the environment was created, these battalion personnel could easily deal with ten of the top 100 masters in the world.

Such beings were targeting us.

“Light…… I need light.”

The most important thing in dealing with them was the environment.

The night when darkness fell was their stage.

Because I had fired the Gwang-cheon-sin-jang, my internal energy was showing the bottom. Although I tried to control it as much as possible, it was such an extreme martial art that now I had to scrape the bottom of the Dantian to barely use the Heavenly Solo-Traveler Divine Step.

Still, there was a result.

A member of the Dark Severing Soul Group who had been hit by the Gwang-cheon-sin-jang, fired unexpectedly, and became a lonely ghost, leaving only one arm.

It was a tremendous achievement, perhaps enough for So Jeong-dae to have given me all that month’s salary if he had seen it in my past life.

“What on earth…….”

“You must never stop!”

Whether there was a way to deal with them or not was a matter for later. If we confronted them now, not only the Namgung Family and the Iron Sword Sect but also the lives of the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers could not be guaranteed.

“Keuheuk!”

At the sound of a scream coming from behind even at my words, Namgung Seon-hwa and Seong Mo-ran’s heads finally turned.

A warrior was lying on the ground, stretching out his hand.

When Gang Seo-pyo nodded to another warrior, he took Namgung Seon-hwa instead and moved forward, and Gang Seo-pyo ran straight back.

A black figure trying to stab a white sword blade into a warrior.

Gang Seo-pyo poured out the Vault of Heaven Unhindered Sword Art with a sword wrapped in sword energy.

Chwarararara.

Gang Seo-pyo’s sword instantly slaughtered the black figure into three pieces.

However, it was a surprised look, as if he couldn’t say he had succeeded in the move.

Puk.

Even after being hit by Gang Seo-pyo’s sword, the black figure just scattered like smoke for a moment and then pierced the warrior’s neck again.

“What is this…….”

The black figure, having confirmed that the warrior’s breath had stopped, swung the white sword at Gang Seo-pyo again.

Swish.

A sword move faster and cleaner than Gang Seo-pyo’s sword move cut his body into four pieces.

I barely managed to unfold the Heavenly Solo-Traveler Divine Step, approached behind Gang Seo-pyo in an instant, grabbed the nape of his neck, and ran away again.

Chwaak, chwaak.

He had narrowly avoided being cut into four pieces, but a long stream of blood erupted like a fountain from Gang Seo-pyo’s chest.

“Keuheuk.”

At the same time, I fired all the signal flares I had received as spares.

Of the four signal flares that soared into the sky, three were blocked by something they threw, falling while emitting only white smoke, and barely one signal flare exploded, drawing the appearance of the Dark Severing Soul Group member for a moment.

“Hiiik!”

Gang Seo-pyo, who was being dragged from behind, screamed as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, forgetting his injury.

“It’s a village!”

Across the area that had been full of darkness, Pung-hyeon, which was emitting light like fireflies, was visible.

<><><>

“Perhaps you need a gisaeng?”

“…….”

The owner of the Hongru examined the faces of the people and then closed his mouth upon seeing the faces of Seong Mo-ran and Namgung Seon-hwa.

“Euhm…… Or should I call a performing artist?”

“Just bring something to eat.”

Cho Mu-bin threw a pouch. However, the owner muttered as if he didn’t like it very much and turned away.

That was understandable, as we were currently occupying the widest seat on the first floor of the Hongru. In a place where there was only thin cotton cloth to cover between seats, one could see men and women mixing their flesh just by turning their heads, and groans were exchanged between our silence.

“…….”

“…….”

It was I who chose the Hongru instead of the Chang-gung Trading Company in Pung-hyeon.

Even at this absurd choice, the party moved without a word.

No one thought to speak first.

Right now, there was no time to mourn for the dead.

Because those remaining here did not know when they would follow them.

In that respect, I thought that being in the So Jeong-dae made my heart a bit lighter.

Because we could choose the mood of that moment amidst the death that was always with us.

“What was that?”

Gang Seo-pyo, who had a large bandage wrapped around his chest.

Fortunately, the wound was not deep, but because it was wide, red blood was still flowing out from between the wrapped bandages.

“I, I definitely saw it for the first time. Such a terrible thing.”

At the words of Gang Seo-pyo, who had the most age and experience among the Namgung Family warriors, the other warriors also felt fear along with him.

“……Is it safe here?”

Namgung Seon-hwa wanted an explanation with anxious eyes.

Since I could not say everything I knew, I made up lies again. There was no hesitation. Only this lie could save us now.

“I had a time when I left the Tae-eul-mun and traveled the Jianghu alone. At that time, I saw them attacking a trading group.”

I took out a random trading group that had disappeared in my head and spoke.

“Because the martial arts of the guards were excellent and the trading company itself was a famous place, I thought they would naturally lose.”

“……So it wasn’t.”

I mix information into the lies.

“The swords of the guards did not reach them. It seems they are learning some unique martial arts. Even if they were cut, there was no impact as if they were water.”

The body of someone who had learned the Dark Demonic Sword and had the Fluid Bone Sword surgery performed on them turned like air, like water.

In the darkness, their true form could not be grasped, and they moved between darkness and darkness at will.

They became beings that could not be cut even if you cut them.

“Then the technique that used that palm strike…….”

“They were also people I had only dealt with in my imagination. I hadn’t thought that would work.”

I took out the arm of the Dark Severing Soul Group member.

“I took it on purpose. To figure out what kind of beings they are.”

As I tore the cloth, black skin was revealed.

“Th, this is…….”

A white, uneven sword was protruding from the palm.

“Isn’t this a bone?”

The sharp energy of the bone sword that had pierced through the palm was creepy.

Namgung Seon-hwa, Seong Mo-ran, and the warriors all had expressions of disbelief.

“We must stop the exam right now.”

The missing piece says.

That the Dark Severing Soul Group, no, the Demonic Cult, wished to remove the buds of those who would become pillars of the Moorim Alliance by taking advantage of the exam.

“You know we can’t do that.”

While the regular admission is in progress, the exam never stops.

The victims of the Dark Severing Soul Group died during the exam, so a proper investigation would not even take place.

In the end, even if the exam ended here, the traces of the Dark Severing Soul Group would not remain.

“Th, then…….”

They completely erase their own traces and only deal a blow to the opponent. A very clever strategy.

Since there was such a thorough preparation, it must have been why the Moorim Alliance collapsed in an instant.

“First of all, the important thing is to report their identity to the Moorim Alliance.”

“That’s right.”

“After we survive.”

“Yes? What does that mean……. We are already…….”

“They won’t just give up.”

What they fear most.

That would be their identity, even a speck of it, being known to the Jianghu.

Because then the Moorim Alliance would be alert to the future invasion of the Demonic Cult.

“…….”

“They were guys who went around attacking while hiding their identities tightly. The reason we hadn’t been attacked until now must be because they were dealing with other examinees.”

Gulp.

If they attacked here right now, they might be able to kill us all.

“They will never give up on us.”

But if they did that, they would be noticed by someone’s eyes.

If they are noticed, they become suspicious. The thing they want the least.

“Then…… coming to the Hongru was…….”

“Because the only places where the lights are on all night and people are gathered are the Hongru.”

I knew that the mysterious scent flowing throughout the Hongru relaxed people’s tension, but neither the warriors nor the women could relax.

Moreover, we are currently holding their corpses.

I don’t know for sure, but they would have a reason to catch us even if it meant giving up all other operations.

“What should we do? Shall we contact the main family?”

“Then wouldn’t you fail the exam?”

Namgung Seon-hwa had an expression of ‘What kind of person is this?’.

“We will continue to take the exam.”

And I intend to escape their hands in the way they least want.