The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Chapter 101

[ … words ]

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Who was the ruler of the current Moorim?

People thought of the Moorim Alliance at this question.

Over the past few hundred years, the Jianghu had been reorganized with the Moorim Alliance at the center, the revival of the Jianghu had arisen based on it, and the touch of the Moorim Alliance had reached places where the control of the government could not, so people trusted the Alliance more than the government.

If so, who could be seen as the ruler of the Moorim Alliance?

Broadly speaking, one could count the Nine Sects and One Gang centered on the Righteous Association (Jeong-do-hoe) and the Five Great Families centered on the White Path Association (Baek-do-hoe).

There might have been the 12 Peak Castles, but since they were still new forces compared to the two powers, they were excluded.

If one were to weigh the size of power, the White Path Association could not be compared to the Righteous Association, because the presence of the two giants within the Righteous Association was too great.

Shaolin Temple of Buddhism.

Wudang Sect of Taoism.

These two giants did not only represent the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Moorim Alliance, but it was no exaggeration to say that they represented the entire Moorim.

Therefore, being at odds with the Wudang Sect and the Shaolin Temple was no different from meaning that one was at odds with the entire Moorim.

“Why did such a Wudang sect specifically target Jin-gong-ja and the Tae-eul-mun as if they had been waiting for them?”

If one had to find the cause, one could point to the events at the Ma-ryeong Plateau, but could one really call that my fault?

It was Yong So-ah who ran away to survive alone inside the Soul-Severing Formation, and I was sucked into the formation while trying to stop her.

Was it not natural that those who witnessed the tragedy there survived by the skin of their teeth and cursed Yong So-ah with one heart and one mind, regardless of whether they were Evil or Righteous?

In fact, even if Yong So-ah had only become a disciple of the Diancang Sect, all the survivors of the Ma-ryeong Plateau would have flocked to Diancang and entered a hundred-day protest demanding the sinner be handed over.

The fact that it was passed over as a vague, non-event and at the same time she could avoid being cursed too much was proof that the authority of the Wudang sect was that great.

“Although it shone because of Yong So-ah, it is said that the skills of the ‘Hyun’-generation disciples far exceeded those of people of the same age. If they are harboring ill will toward the Tae-eul-mun, giving up the exam might be one of the ways.”

After seeing the list of contestants for the Third Gate, the disciples of the Tae-eul-mun excluding me were in a state of being dazed, and Moyong Jae-hwa, who had been coming out since morning and picking contestants smartly, went to argue with the Wudang sect, saying he could not forgive such an absurd and unilateral tyranny.

“If you give up the Third Gate, you might be completely eliminated from the exam.”

Possessing even the Third Gate token meant that one possessed that much skill, financial power, and the halo of their family.

Taking a gate token from such people was never an easy task.

Even if one could take it, one also had to think about ways to escape from other pursuers.

Moreover, among them, there were those whose gate tokens and bodies moved separately.

In the end, if one thought about ‘whether to be in the position of running away, or to be in the position of running away after taking the gate token from the opponent,’ the conclusion came out that choosing the former was much easier.

“Phew…….”

That was why Namgung Seon-hwa and Seong Mo-ran Noona were worried about our exam without even having time to choose their own contestants.

Click.

At that moment, the door opened and Moyong Jae-hwa walked in, fuming.

Naturally, we stopped the conversation we were having and looked at Moyong Jae-hwa.

“My prediction was correct.”

“What prediction?”

“As expected, there was no particular reason. They said there was something to ask regarding the disappearance of their junior disciple. Doesn’t that not match up in terms of time?”

When you think about it, it wasn’t something to be that resentful about. Since the number of disciples of the Wudang sect was so large, it was natural to separate their disciples into the four gates spread across the country, and it was also natural to find the opponent who seemed the weakest at the Third Gate.

But if that opponent who seemed the weakest happened to be the one who smeared shit on the name of their sect, there would be even more reason to eliminate them.

“Yes, I thought so. You too, just go out first and decide on your contestant.”

Moyong Jae-hwa was also an examinee until the end. I was grateful that he was moving for me, but he should not neglect the exam because of that.

“Actually, I have already decided.”

“Huh? Didn’t you just come back from the Wudang sect?”

“Yes, since they wouldn’t listen to reason, I am on my way after telling them I would show them a lesson on your behalf.”

“…….”

● Third Gate Exam Contestants

Wudang Sect Hyun-gun – Moyong Family Moyong Jae-hwa

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“Shouldn’t we accept him as a lay disciple of the Tae-eul-mun at that level?”

That was what Geum-pyo said while watching Moyong Jae-hwa, who was more indignant than the disciples of the Tae-eul-mun themselves.

“Well. If we did that, wouldn’t Elder Pa-geom either turn the Tae-eul-mun into powder or make Jae-hwa a cripple?”

Since he wouldn’t split the only eldest son of the direct family in half, the possibility of turning the Tae-eul-mun into powder was high. Would it be okay if Cheon-gi’s mechanical formations were completed?

Even in my past life, Moyong Jae-hwa was the one who could not go his own way because of Pa-geom’s doting love.

Was the mission of the only man to inherit the lineage of the direct family not originally tragic?

“Anyway, we will give up the Third Gate.”

“Huh?”

At Geum-pyo’s sudden words, Eun-ho and Dong-ryong nodded at the same time.

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Challenging is good, but anyway, shouldn’t there be someone who enters the Moorim Academy from the Tae-eul-mun for the first time in history?”

“…….”

I tilted my head because I couldn’t understand what Geum-pyo was saying.

But he, conversely, also tilted his head.

“If we get injured while experiencing a duel for no reason, can’t we not help the senior brother to go on the great journey? By any chance, are you thinking of going alone?”

“Huh?”

In the end, Geum-pyo hit his chest as if he were frustrated and shouted.

“No, what method do we have to deal with the sword masters of the Wudang sect!”

That was insubordination, right? Daring to shout at the senior brother who was like the sky?

“Geum-pyo……”

“Yes!!!”

“Your voice is a bit loud?”

“Um…… I don’t think so?”

Their reactions were also understandable.

What a frightening existence a sword master of Wudang was.

Excluding the depth and efficiency of the sword style, even if you just look at internal energy, they could not be compared.

Were they flowing with Gong-cheong-seok-yu (Clean Azure Stone Oil) in the water of Mount Wudang and eating Man-nyeon-ha-o-su (Ten-thousand-year Summer-Crow Water) at every meal, that the average internal energy of the disciples who had reached the age of twenty exceeded half a gapja (30 years)?

This figure was also just an average. If it were a disciple who appeared in the Moorim regular admission, it would be even more than that.

Especially that guy Hyun-su who designated me, he was a talent who passed the regular admission as the top of this class in my past life and eventually even entered the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering (Yong-bong-ji-hoe).

It was just that the light of genius emitted by Yong So-ah made the disciples of the ‘Hyun’-generation look like half-wits, but if you put them aside, they were also people who would fill in a name in Moorim history one by one in the future.

By simple calculation, the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers had to rush at the same time to deal with one sword master of Wudang.

However, there was no way the Moorim Alliance would listen to the words, ‘Since there is a difference in internal energy, we will go out as three people!’, and worrying that they might get injured even more because they were already buying resentment, and thus not be able to go on the great journey, was not an unnecessary concern.

“Of course, I don’t think senior brother won’t be able to take the exam without us. Still, wouldn’t it be more comfortable to have us than not?”

“Geum-pyo……”

“Yes.”

“I’ll let it slide this time.”

“Hehe…… Yes!”

For some reason, Geum-pyo rubbed his hands together and showed a servile smile.

Eun-ho sighed, watching his own brother like that.

“By any chance, do you want us not to give up on the impossible? If it’s that, we can do it as much as we want. But looking at it broadly, I thought that moving in with senior brother would be more helpful.”

Dong-ryong nodded repeatedly while hugging the Chang-gung Sword tightly.

“Why do you think of losing from the start?”

“…….”

The three Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers tilted their heads in the same direction at the same time.

“Tsk tsk, studying only the martial arts formulas is not important. Without understanding and insight into all things in the world, you will be trapped in your own limits.”

“Does understanding and insight into all things in the world allow one to overcome the difference in internal energy?”

Daring to speak to the Gre-e-e-eat Senior Brother, what an irreverent appearance.

Eun-ho, you guy, you must have been poisoned by the Demonic Qi of the Dark Soul-Severing Group.

“Geum-pyo.”

“Yes!”

“Uaaak!”

Eun-ho, who was choked by Geum-pyo once, furrowed his brows and rubbed his neck.

I continued speaking.

“From the moment you thought, ‘How should I do so I don’t lose?’, the thought of ‘I will lose’ is already planted in your head.”

“Then?”

“You have to think about how to win to find a way to win.”

“A way to win?”

“Think about it carefully. The clue is close to you.”

Commonly speaking, there was no way for a disciple of the Tae-eul-mun to win against a sword master of Wudang.

However, if you thought about the characteristic of it being a duel, and approached it by obtaining the gate token as the final goal rather than taking the opponent’s life by neutralizing them, other methods arose.

Moreover, wasn’t their senior brother the third-rate martial artist who had memorized all the crushing techniques of the Nine Sects and One Gang?

The problem was that I only knew the crushing technique for the Taegeuk Sword of the Wudang sect, but that meant that I only had to solve this problem.

If I remembered when I faced Namgung-san in the past, I would be able to find that method.

“……Ah!”

Eun-ho, who had been thinking for a long time, opened his mouth as if he had realized something.

“Do you know something?”

“By any chance…… Do you believe in something like a new religion? Like, if you believe, it will come true……?”

“…….”

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“To think I have to be doing something like this.”

He heard that the Shaolin sect had obtained three First Gate tokens and two Second Gate tokens.

Compared to Hyun-su’s initial purpose of five First Gate tokens and two Second Gate tokens, it was nothing, but for now, he could not help but envy the Shaolin sect.

Northern Shaolin (Buk-sung-so-lim).

Southern Wudang (Nam-jon-mu-dang).

People of the world expressed the two great pillars of Moorim like this, but it had been a long time since the weight of the actual scale had moved to Wudang.

Was it not certain just by looking at the fact that the headquarters of the Moorim Alliance was not in Henan province where Shaolin was, but in Hubei province where Wudang was located?

Since the common people, who liked to be intoxicated by devious things, always enjoyed fighting each other, they hoped that Wudang would also have an opponent, and if one were to find it with the generous heart of the countryside, there was about Shaolin, so even if someone who didn’t know compared Shaolin to Wudang, it was not something to be offended by.

However, even the one who has climbed to the highest position must eventually prove himself.

The moment the exam location was assigned to Henan province in this Moorim regular admission, Hyun-su did not mind defeating Shaolin and proving the value of Wudang’s existence to the Jianghu once again.

“But, Tae-eul-mun.”

He was looking for another mountain fortress to obtain the next First Gate token after acquiring one.

Thinking of Yong So-ah, the senior brother of the previous class, entering the Moorim Academy with a record-breaking achievement, he was prepared to surpass not only the Shaolin sect but even the senior brother’s record.

However, Hyun-su’s exam stopped there. The main sect obtained a miraculous medicine, delivered it, and immediately moved Hyun-su and his junior disciples to Nam-ak.

“Wouldn’t it be unavoidable? Regardless of what the ignorant people say, I am not swayed by it, but they are directly mentioning the senior brother.”

Tae-myeong, another victim of this exam.

Just as he said, the words of the world were too noisy for the Great Wudang sect to ignore.

“Hmph! What a rootless nickname. Black Flame Dragon (Heuk-yeom-ryong), indeed.”

Ever since the senior brother, Hyun-cheong, received the nickname Yong So-ah through the Moorim regular admission, Yong So-ah had been an existence symbolizing the potential of Wudang and the pride of the disciples within the Wudang sect.

Even the nickname ‘Little Buddha’ (So-bul) was nothing more than a star in the night sky compared to the sun that was Yong So-ah.

But the rootless, wicked, evil-path rascals brought a disciple from the rootless Tae-eul-mun from somewhere, gave him the nickname ‘Black Flame Dragon’, and compared him to Yong So-ah.

It seemed there was some misunderstanding, as stories of cursing Yong So-ah often came out from the Righteous Path sects, but he did not pay much attention to it.

If Senior Brother Hyun-cheong made that choice on the Ma-ryeong Plateau, didn’t it mean that choice was the best at that time?

“Still, seeing that Elder Pa-geom guaranteed it, couldn’t we see it as the martial arts of the Tae-eul Sword Emperor having returned?”

“Was his eccentric behavior a day or two? He must have spoken of the martial arts of the Tae-eul Sword Emperor with unclear authenticity for some other absurd and nasty reason.”

Didn’t the Henan Branch Manager also say that there had never been a more chaotic exam than this regular admission?

All kinds of grotesque rumors and strange things occurred one after another. Just looking at the fact that Jin-so-un, who was expected to be led by Tae-jeong’s hand, came to Nam-ak on his own feet, wasn’t that the case?

“Still, I hope that rumor is true.”

“Ah, are you talking about that?”

That he had nine First Gate tokens and seven Second Gate tokens? If that were true, entering the Moorim Academy as the top student, surpassing the Shaolin sect, was not an absurd story. Of course, it was information that could not be believed.

“Senior brother, it’s time.”

The one whose first duel was scheduled for today was the youngest, Hyun-gun.

Because there were only four disciples of the Tae-eul-mun, he tried to find another suitable opponent, but the suddenly rushing Moyong Jae-hwa got angry by himself and applied for a duel applicant on his own.

“Don’t worry too much. Although the Geon-gon-pa-seom-geom of the Moyong Family is the best, Moyong Jae-hwa’s comprehension is far inferior compared to the Mi-so-cheol-geom.”

“I am not worried.”

In the large training ground, those waiting for the exam, those waiting for other examinees, and those who just came to watch were gathered.

After all members of the Wudang sect entered the large training ground, not long after, the disciples of the Tae-eul-mun and his party entered.

“It is a strange appearance.”

Moyong Jae-hwa looked as angry as ever, and Jin-so-un and Dong-ryong of the Tae-eul-mun looked no different from usual. On the other hand, Geum-pyo and Eun-ho had exhausted faces as if they hadn’t slept a wink all night.

“Looking at this, it looks no different from giving up the duel.”

“Don’t let your guard down until the end.”

Hyun-su said that, but in his heart, he could not suppress a sneer.

It was like this. Facing Wudang meant putting such a burden on the opponent.

“Start!”

With the judge’s shout, Hyun-gun and Moyong Jae-hwa unfolded their opening stances.

Hyun-gun unfolded the Taegeuk Sword, the pride of Wudang, and Moyong Jae-hwa unfolded the Geon-gon-pa-seom-geom, the main sword style of the Moyong Family.

Considering that the nickname Pung-baek-pa-geom (Wind-White-Breaking-Sword) eventually started from the Geon-gon-pa-seom-geom, it was a sword style that could not be ignored, but the important thing was that it differed depending on the person using the martial arts.

“It’s over.”

The tip of Moyong Jae-hwa’s sword, unfolding the opening stance, trembled slightly.

It was to the extent that an ordinary person wouldn’t notice, but if one had achieved the unity of god and sword, one could instantly realize that deficiency.

Considering that the Geon-gon-pa-seom-geom sublimated the two incompatible principles of ‘Heavy’ and ‘Fast’ into one sword style, it was a martial art where destructive power would not be emitted if one did not reach a certain level and realize it oneself.

On the other hand, since the Taegeuk Sword was made based on the two properties of Yin and Yang, which were the foundation of all things in the universe, it was an effective sword style where one could gain realization just by practicing for a long time even without realization.

Clang, clang, clang.

As expected, as thirty forms passed, Moyong Jae-hwa’s hands and feet began to get tangled.

Just by changing the properties from Yin to Yang, and from Yang to Yin, Moyong Jae-hwa could not unfold his own sword style.

The face that had been full of anger was filled with the emotion of embarrassment, and in the end, it became an expression as if he were about to cry.

Moyong Jae-hwa, without being able to rashly cut the Taegeuk Sword (Fast) or crush it (Heavy), was dragged around by the intersecting swords, and in the end, the sword reached below his neck.

“Stop! Examinee Moyong Jae-hwa! Will you continue!”

“Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo.”

If he had found a suitable opponent and fought the duel, he would have passed the Third Gate.

However, recklessly making an impossible challenge against a sword master of Wudang was an act of lacking qualification as a martial artist who should always look back on himself with cool reason.

And the resentment for such a foolish choice is vented to the place of blaming oneself.

“Speak! Will you continue!”

“I…… lost.”

At the appearance of Moyong Jae-hwa bowing his head deeply, people burst into admiration.

They hadn’t even properly shown the potential of Wudang yet, but people had awe just by seeing even a small corner of Wudang.

This was exactly the position of Wudang in the Jianghu.

“The next contestant is Hyun-su of Wudang! Jin-so-un of Tae-eul-mun!”

As Hyun-su’s name was called, the cheers in the arena grew louder.

Although he did not shine in the name of Yong So-ah, he was also already famous for his internal energy and skills unbelievable for his age. Wudang’s Little Dragon Hyun-su, who already had one gapja of internal energy at the age of twenty.

“Senior brother Hyun-su, it is said that the new sword style of the Tae-eul-mun uses a mixture of Illusion Sword (Hwan-geom) and Transformation Sword (Byeon-geom).”

At Tae-myeong’s words, Hyun-su could not suppress a sneer.

“Did they say it changed, and it was only Illusion and Transformation? You guys also keep this in mind. You cannot shake the Taegeuk with delusions.”

“We will keep it in mind!”

When he climbed onto the large training ground, Jin-so-un was standing there, all in black from his martial arts clothes to his sword.

“You managed not to run away.”

“Run away? Me?”

Seeing him pointing a finger at himself slyly, the peace in his heart built up through Taoist power was broken, and he felt like he wanted to break that finger.

“Since your courage is admirable, I will concede three forms.”

Jin-so-un tilted his head. Well, it would be incomprehensible that someone who was no different from a life-and-death enemy would concede three forms.

“I want to see the sword style of the Tae-eul Sword Emperor that you supposedly obtained anew. If I end it without even being able to witness that legendary martial art, wouldn’t the people gathered here be too disappointed?”

At Hyun-su’s words, laughter burst out from all sides.

“““Ahahahaha”””

Jin-so-un thought carefully again and then asked the judge.

“Is this really okay?”

Still pointing at Hyun-su himself with that finger he wanted to break.

“It does not matter if there is mutual consent.”

“I understand. Is it really okay?”

“Anywhere, as much as…”

While Hyun-su was continuing his words, Jin-so-un’s black martial arts clothes swelled up as if they were about to burst.

At the emission of an unusual energy, Hyun-su’s heart sank. His emotions said it was dangerous, but his reason said it was not—conflicting stories were being told, and two opposing opinions made his movements hesitate.

Swoosh.

The moment Jin-so-un swung his sword, Jin-so-un’s Black Dragon Sword appeared in all directions. Swords of black color, filling everything from front to back, left to right, and even the sky.

He knew it was Illusion and Transformation, but because the number was too large, he could not see well which one was real.

Hyun-su forgot his words about conceding three forms and instinctively unfolded the Taegeuk Sword. However,

‘What should I block first?’

There were too many swords.