The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Chapter 116

[ … words ]

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The Elder Pavilion of the Murim Alliance was not an easy place.

One had to have at least twenty years of experience within the Murim Alliance, or possess representativeness for the sect one belonged to or a multitude of forces.

Looking at the faces of those who received the position of Elder after such harsh screening, most were either hardliners who despised the Black Path or born politicians.

Therefore, the incident committed by the Black Path Murim and Jin-so-un this time had split the Elder Pavilion into two.

Those who held various grudges against Jin-so-un saw this incident, and their blood boiled in reverse.

“You want to let someone who colluded with the Black Path into the Murim Academy! Is this talk, or is it farting?”

“Please compose yourself. You are speaking of farting in the Elder Pavilion in a frivolous manner. And to speak frankly, can you be certain that it was collusion?”

“They said they threatened, intimidated, and guarded the examinees so they could not even go near! If this is not collusion, then what is it!”

Conversely, the members of the Five Great Clans who had ties to Jin-so-un were putting up a desperate defense.

“That being said, why do you mobilize disciples who have finished their exams and send them to Henan Province?”

“Wh, what! Do you have evidence!”

“Evidence, my foot! Do you think we do not know that the reason the person who took the exam in Gangnam crawled all the way up to Henan Province was to strike at Jin-so-un, who had the best grades?”

“It, it must be because they wanted to get better grades. Ahem.”

Seeing the faces of the Jeongdo-hoe (Righteous Faction) members turn sour, the Baekdo-hoe (White Path Faction) members let out a sneer.

The biggest point of contention was not actually whether Jin-so-un had slept with the Black Path.

In this exam, the disciples of the Nine Great Sects had taken the spots from 2nd to 5th place. If it were not for Jin-so-un, they would have been able to take the top spot, but because of Jin-so-un alone, the entire ranking was about to be pushed back one by one.

As the Murim Alliance Elders were filled with the belief that ‘Even if it is not my gain, if you lose, I can endure it,’ the fact that this incident could touch the profits of the Jeongdo-hoe was something the Baekdo-hoe could not miss.

“The talk of eliminating Jin-so-un is talk of eliminating everyone who moved with Jin-so-un, so are you saying we should even eliminate the children of the Moyong Clan and the children of the Namgung Clan?”

Moreover, among Jin-so-un’s party were children of the Moyong Clan and the Namgung Clan, who belonged to the Baekdo-hoe. It was a situation where the Baekdo-hoe could absolutely not back down.

“…Since they say Jin-so-un was the one who planned and led the work, let us eliminate only that person for now.”

“If we follow that logic, what about Jin-so-un’s sect juniors? The people most supported by the world these days are those three brothers. If you eliminate them, it is clear that the Murim Alliance will be criticized for favoring only disciples of prestigious sects.”

“…Weren’t they also moving as their Great Senior Brother Jin-so-un told them to? Let us let them pass as well.”

“Then what is the reason for Jin-so-un’s elimination?”

Politics dictates that if you take one step back, you compromise moderately, but the Baekdo-hoe, having bitten into the weakness of the Jeongdo-hoe once, showed no signs of backing down.

The justification was also good.

That they could not damage the status of the Murim Regular Exam, which was widely known as a fair and impartial exam.

Thus, the Elder Pavilion, forgetting their original duty of enacting Alliance laws, ended up in endless discussion and debate, and decided to carry their heavy, aged bodies to the Murim Academy to judge the presence or absence of the crime Jin-so-un committed himself and to clarify the incident clearly.

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Fortunately, it was not a failure.

To be precise, it meant that he had to undergo a review.

Because it was a very unusual thing in the Murim Regular Exam, which judged pass or fail only by the number of entrance passes, the examiner had spoken that way, and thanks to that, a big incident almost occurred.

“…Seon-hwa, no matter what, you shouldn’t act like that immediately.”

“I’m sorry. Unnie. But I just couldn’t regain my reason.”

The moment she heard of my failure, Namgung Seon-hwa had literally almost killed the examiner.

The examiner, who was trying to talk about the reason while notifying him of the failure, had almost had his neck cut off by several sword energies unfolded with the Changgung-muae (Sky-Piercing Peerless) Sword Technique.

Thanks to Gang Seo-pyo, Seong Mo-ran, and Cho Mu-bin barely blocking it, the examiner was able to save his life, but the judging table was smashed to pieces, and those who entered the academy after us had to receive their dirt-stained pass notices from a stall spread out on the floor.

“But… if Young Master Jin-so-un truly fails the exam, I will not enter the academy either.”

“…You…”

Moyong Jae-hwa, who was fiddling with the entrance pass he received from me, added.

“I, too, will follow Hyung-nim to the Taeeul Sect.”

Huh?

Leaving aside the fact that he was not entering the academy, why was he following me to the Taeeul Sect?

Whether or not he knew my inner thoughts, even the Geum-Eun-Dong brothers were trying to say something with faces full of determination, so I stopped them quickly.

“Stop it. The results haven’t even come out yet. Do you think I will obediently accept the failure?”

In the first place, if I could not pass, I would not have done something like throwing myself into Sahwang-bong.

If they said they could not allow my entrance because I had the nickname of the Black Flame Dragon and had colluded with the Black Path bastards, I had no intention of dying alone either.

“Attention! Everyone stand properly! The entrance ceremony hasn’t even started yet.”

“Over there, stick to the side. Why are you standing so far away!”

The instructors told them to stand in line, but no one moved rashly.

Except for where we were, the surrounding entrance students did not try to approach, surrounding us as if we had caught some kind of plague.

The instructors raised their voices even more, but as expected of their prestigious backgrounds, they did not show any signs of being shaken by clumsy authority.

In the end, they could not align the lines before the entrance ceremony began, and those who entered with the Academy Director frowned at the chaotic atmosphere in the hall.

“What kind of chaos is this?”

“Ah, that is because the organization regarding the entrance has not finished yet.”

They had to proceed with the entrance ceremony, but the organization regarding the entrance had not finished.

At this unprecedented situation, even the parents and related parties of the examinees, who were watching their children’s entrance ceremony from the audience, were buzzing.

‘Really… the picture is truly something else…’

In the middle of the audience seats, there were people who other parents or related parties did not want to approach, just like us.

They were the big shots of the Black Path Murim.

‘Why are you attending here?’

The funeral procession, which I had naturally thought would head to the Murim Alliance, stopped its march with the notice of my failure.

Because of this, I could not deny the fact that I had a relationship with the Black Path sect even if I wanted to.

Anyway, as expected of the Black Path, they were casting dark clouds over the brilliant future of the White Path people.

“Please pay attention, everyone. Prior to the entrance ceremony, there is a grave controversy regarding the exam results, so we will resolve that problem before proceeding.”

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on me.

Gazes that seemed to say that even without hearing what that problem was, they knew it was related to me.

“As it is a problem that has become a major issue, we have invited noble guests from the Alliance to judge this exam result.”

The people introduced politely by the Murim Academy Director were those occupying the Elder Pavilion of the Murim Alliance.

At their appearance, not only the entrance students but everyone sitting in the audience stood up from their seats.

Of course, the Black Path big shots were still sitting, giggling among themselves, saying that someone they knew had appeared.

“…”

Nearly thirty figures from the Elder Pavilion had all flocked here. Seeing them move their heavy hips just to drop me, I could tell how much they hated the Black Path.

However, a strange scene was also captured: the Elders belonging to the Jeongdo-hoe, led by Myeong-hyeon Dojang, and the Elders of the Baekdo-hoe, led by Moyong-cheong, were subtly keeping their distance from each other.

“Candidate Jin-so-un, come forward!”

I left behind the small cheers of Namgung Seon-hwa and Seong Mo-ran and stood in front with an indifferent expression.

Myeong-hyeon Dojang, who had a connection in my previous life, stared at me with an expression full of contempt, similar to my previous life.

“I heard that Candidate Jin-so-un dared to violate the norms of the solemn and strict Murim Regular Exam and caused a disturbance, leading the judging session to a breakdown.”

“…”

It was Namgung Seon-hwa who had tried to behead the examiner…

“The Murim Academy is a training center to foster talents who perform the eradication of evil on the front lines of the Murim Alliance. However, you dared to collude with the cruel and vicious Black Path, damaging the essence of the exam, and gave other examinees a sense of relative deprivation.”

Not only Myeong-hyeon Dojang, who was frothing at the mouth, but also the examinees and the related parties of the academy were looking at us with white eyes.

“Therefore, no matter how high a grade you achieved, we declare that we cannot allow your entrance.”

Crack – crack –

Behind me, Namgung Seon-hwa was warming up her body. Had she forgotten the fact that a collateral branch of the Namgung Clan was watching from the Elder’s seat?

“Is that the decision of the Murim Alliance?”

“What—right now, I—”

“Or is it the opinion of the entire Elder Pavilion?”

“…”

Myeong-hyeon Dojang glanced at the Baekdo-hoe side. The Jeongdo-hoe probably won in the battle of justification, but if one folds their opinion because they lost the fight, aren’t they not a true politician in the true sense?

“As you just said, the Murim Academy is a place to foster students full of righteousness for the sake of eradicating evil, isn’t it?”

I stepped forward and put internal energy into my voice.

“Looking at it from that aspect, I, Jin-so-un of the Taeeul Sect! Can tell you that I took the exam fairly without a speck of dust!! Therefore, I can only think that you are trying to drop me because the talented person prepared by the Nine Great Sects could not take the top spot, and Myeong-hyeon Dojang and the Jeongdo-hoe have pulled strings.”

“!!”

“The four of us passed the first gate without hiring any warriors, passed the second gate without spending a single penny, and passed the third gate fair and square. What reason is there for me not to be able to enter the Murim Academy?”

“Do you not think that is the problem! How on earth can anyone take an exam in that way?”

Myeong-hyeon Dojang, like in my previous life, lost his reason when excited and made a self-destructive move.

“Ah… then, was the Murim Regular Exam originally designed so that those without money and power could not pass? Did I pass such an exam?”

“Th, this…”

Myeong-hyeon Dojang’s face twisted to the fullest. He was urged by the Elders behind him, then regained his composure and spoke.

“Then what about ending the great journey by colluding with the Black Path group?”

“I have never colluded with the Black Path group!”

“Such nonsense…”

I pointed to the Black Path big shots, whom people were trying to avoid like a plague, and said.

“Since you are, by chance, here at this place, please ask them directly. Black Path underlings, listen! Did Jin-so-un, this righteous and public-spirited man of the White Path, collude with you bastards?”

At my words, the Black Path big shots simultaneously crumpled their faces and spat out curses.

“I’ll peel the skin off that damn bastard.”

“You brat of the White Path! Do you want to be killed in one stroke?!”

The Master of Sahwang-bong answered while giggling.

“The crazy bastard is saying dog-like things; you are not even the Murim Alliance Leader, so what business do we have colluding with a mere disciple of the Taeeul Sect?”

I turned my head again and looked at Myeong-hyeon Dojang.

“You saw it, right? The problem of colluding with the Black Path group has also been solved. Then, what is the legitimate reason that I cannot enter?”

Myeong-hyeon Dojang’s face turned bright red. The Elders of the Jeongdo-hoe were just staring blankly at the Black Path big shots with dazed faces.

I put more internal energy into my voice.

I made sure it could be heard not only in the training ground but also in every corner of the audience seats.

“In the end… is the real reason that the disciple of the Nine Great Sects could not take the top spot?! Is that really it!”

The greatest driving force that moves the Murim Alliance is not martial power or influence.

‘Justification.’

The Murim Alliance is a place that moves by this justification, and I had a full load of weapons related to the justification that they liked so much.

It is a fool who does not throw such a good weapon into the opponent’s face.

And I am not a fool.

“If that is the case! If not only the Murim Academy but even the Murim Alliance has forgotten fairness and degenerated into a group to take care of their own interests!”

Binding others into one group with the opponent’s weakness is a technique that politicians truly love.

As expected, the expressions of the Elder Pavilion members who were attacked were not good.

Now it was time for the finishing technique.

“I will not enter the academy according to your will. No, even if you tell me to enter, I will not enter.”

With the words, I threw the entrance pass I had obtained onto the floor.

Entrance passes, each one more expensive than a palace-like house, rolled around like pebbles on the floor.

At that moment, Namgung Seon-hwa, who was standing behind me, threw the entrance passes she had in her bosom onto the entrance pass I had thrown.

“I also don’t think there is anything to learn if it is a place that is not fair like this. I will not enter.”

Ta-da-dak.

Compared to ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) mine, the number was shabby.

However, the audience seats were buzzing to an extent that could not be compared to when it was just me.

Subsequently, as Seong Mo-ran, the Geum-Eun-Dong brothers, and even Moyong Jae-hwa poured them out, the pass gates thrown onto the floor looked as trivial as gravel on a riverbank.

“Th, this…!”

Watching the bright red face of Myeong-hyeon Dojang, I made a determined expression.

“I have never once doubted the Murim Regular Exam! I have never wondered why the disciples of our White Path sects have to fight and bleed against each other, why we have to exhaust our family fortunes until the pillars are pulled out to take the exam!”

When swindling, the most important thing is empathy for emotions.

I beat my chest until it broke and said.

“Why! Because I thought all of this was for the peace and stability of the Murim, I accepted it as natural.

But!! If all of this work was nothing more than the standing-in-line you created! If our desperate efforts were nothing more than a folding screen for you!! I refuse that, no matter what kind of glory it is!!”

Historically, most of the top entrants came from the Nine Great Sects.

There were occasional appearances from the Five Great Clans, but it was customary for the Nine Great Sects, which were on a different dimension in quantity, to take most of the top entrants.

However, the small pebble I threw caused a huge ripple in the river. Because even as they thought, the exam was always strange. It was just that they lived thinking that it was natural.

“Th, this! How dare a damn bastard…”

Perhaps thinking he had been insulted, Myeong-hyeon Dojang’s face turned bright red. His martial uniform was swelling, and it looked like he wanted to jump out at any moment and break my neck.

Just as I was secretly trying to raise my internal energy just in case.

“Keu-keu-keu, you old people, why on earth did you bring those heavy hips and come to smear dung on your own faces…”

At the voice clearly mocking the Elder Pavilion, the heads of the Elders, including Myeong-hyeon Dojang, snapped around.

The owner of the voice, as if he did not care about the sharp gazes of the Elders, walked into the center, tramp-tramp.

“Move aside. And did you forget that you do not have the authority to decide to pass or fail in the first place?”

Myeong-hyeon Dojang widened his eyes.

“Wh, what is that… Chief Strategist Je-gal, are you saying you will defend that person, Jin So-un, right now?”

Regardless of what Myeong-hyeon Dojang said, in the presence of the uninvited guest who suddenly appeared, everyone in the hall tightened their tension.

And, as if he did not care about the people around him, he sat in the seat of the Academy Director, who had vacated it on his own, and fanned himself gently.

“You truly cause trouble wherever you go.”

Murim Alliance Chief Strategist.

Je-gal So-myeong has appeared.