The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Chapter 108

[ … words ]

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Moyong Jae-hwa, who had received the bow, had a bewildered expression.

“B-but Hyung-nim, how could I…”

“Do you not know how to use a bow?”

“Ah, no, that is…”

I grabbed his fingers. Thick calluses, having burst and healed countless times, were embedded on his index finger, middle finger, and thumb. These were calluses in places that could not possibly form on swordsmen.

“What is the problem?”

“…”

Moyong Jae-hwa looked at the injured Baek Won-gak. Then, he looked at the warriors of the Moyong Clan who were looking at him.

“Did you make some sort of promise not to use miscellaneous skills when you left the clan?”

The Moyong Clan was ashamed that their eldest son, Moyong Jae-hwa, was obsessed with miscellaneous skills rather than the sword.

“…Yes? How did you know…”

“Between such a promise and the lives of those people right now, which one is more important?”

“Naturally…”

“Then isn’t that enough?”

And that delayed the appearance of the ‘One Bow Against a Thousand’, the Pa-gung (Bow Breaker), for quite a while.

“…”

I placed the quiver of arrows into the arms of the yearning Moyong Jae-hwa.

“If you use a sword, you cannot save them. If you use a bow, you can save them. What is there to worry about?”

I did not need the Pa-gung that would appear after the destruction of the Moyong Clan.

I did not need the Pa-gung who held off the Demonic Cult’s great army alone after the momentum of the Righteous-Demonic War had tilted toward the Demonic Cult.

“Forget about the words of the ‘Sword Breaker’. When protecting precious people, what does it matter whether it is a sword or a bow? You just need to use what you are good at.”

“…!”

Moyong Jae-hwa’s eyes shook violently.

“Is there anything else to worry about?”

“…It is not that, but I have never learned the way of the bow. I have only used it when playing alone…”

I smiled faintly and said,

“Do not worry. I will teach you what I have learned.”

The Pa-gung, who had once held off the Ten Thousand Hell Ghost Corps alone in Guizhou, would now hold off the 12 Peak Stars.

<><><>

Moyong Jae-hwa felt bewildered.

How did he know that he enjoyed shooting bows, and what did he mean by telling him to hold off the enemy with that?

In the first place, the reason he had used the bow was to shake off his worries. It was just because he did not have thoughts and worries about the clan and himself when he was shooting arrows…

He did not even have an inkling of how to do it when told to hold off the enemy with that.

“Ugyagyagyagak.”

His body, caught by Jin So-un, floated up, and the ground moved away in an instant. He landed on the tree where the son of the Guigung-mun had been hiding.

“Among those I know, there was a person who tried to hold off ten thousand enemies alone.”

Jin So-un picked out an arrow.

“He stepped forward alone without fear to buy time for millions of people to evacuate.”

In the distance, he could see the members of the 12 Peak Stars running like crazy after seeing the signal flare fired by the Guigung-mun.

“Everyone thought it was nonsense. Because such things only appear in myths.”

Moyong Jae-hwa, forgetting that he was in a desperate situation, was swallowed up by the story and swallowed his saliva.

“W-what happened?”

“He held them off.”

“Ha!”

“People say the sword is the King of All Weapons, right? That day, after witnessing that scene with my own two eyes, I thought. The sword might be the King of All Weapons, but the most terrifying weapon in the world is the bow.”

The 12 Peak Stars were running unhesitatingly along the wide official road.

At the sight of them about to rush in at any moment, sweat broke out on Moyong Jae-hwa’s two hands.

“Hyung-nim.”

Jin So-un leisurely pulled the bowstring.

“Watch closely. This is the way of the bow that he left behind.”

Ping.

The arrow flew toward the 12 Peak Stars, drawing a clean arc.

However, it was insufficient to block them. Compared to the force of five hundred, one arrow was too few.

“Uh?”

Moyong Jae-hwa’s eyes widened.

The arrow that Jin So-un had shot had begun to divide into dozens.

Hiiiiing.

The warriors and horses of the 12 Peak Stars, who had been rushing in urgently, were startled and stopped in their tracks.

“How could you use the illusionary vision of the Guigung-mun…”

“It is not from the Guigung-mun.”

“Yes?”

“What I have learned is how to put my own realization into an arrow. And I have just put the sword technique of the Taeeul Sect into the arrow.”

Following this, Jin So-un began to recite the essence of the way of the bow he had just unfolded.

“Is it… okay for you to teach this to me?”

Because he had studied martial arts more deeply than anyone else since childhood, he knew. How high-level this way of the bow was, and how long a time it had taken to complete this martial art.

“I was just keeping it, and I am just passing it on to the person he wanted it to go to most.”

“Are you saying that is me?”

“He thought he had lost his family early on because of his own indecisiveness, and he hoped that one day it would become a solution for someone who had the same worries as him. I am a person to whom this does not apply, and you are the rightful successor.”

“…What is its name?”

“There is none. He just wanted to name it himself.”

“…Pa-cheon-shin-gung (Heaven-Breaking Divine Bow), I will name it that.”

A strange smile appeared on Jin So-un’s face.

“You are arrogant.”

“No. It is a great martial art that deserves a name of that caliber.”

“Then there is no need to worry anymore, right?”

“Yes. One gak… could you buy me just one gak of time?”

In the first place, there was no way he could absorb all the essentials of the Pa-cheon-shin-gung in this short moment.

He picked out only the most important things and combined them with the Geon-gon-pa-seom-geom (Heaven-Earth Wave Severing Sword).

For some reason, the techniques that were complicated when heard only as essentials began to provide the most refreshing and clear answers when woven together with the Geon-gon-pa-seom-geom.

It was as if he had met a separated half.

The 12 Peak Stars, who had been surprised by Jin So-un’s illusionary vision, poked their heads out one by one again.

Jin So-un shot his bow, and this time, the party waiting below shot arrows as well.

As the real arrows hidden within the illusionary vision pierced the bodies of the 12 Peak Stars’ warriors, the 12 Peak Stars hid their heads again.

A few times like that, as they repeated hiding from and avoiding the arrows, they busily moved inside, and soon one by one, they began to protect their front with shields.

Ping.

Shu-shu-shu-suk.

The arrows hidden within Jin So-un’s illusionary vision fell upon the heads of the 12 Peak Stars, but they were all blocked by the shields.

Furthermore, one out of every two shots threw a flying sword to knock down Jin So-un’s arrows. The imperfect illusionary vision had been broken.

Before he knew it, the distance was approaching eighty jang.

“Are you not done yet?”

“Ah! S-sorry. The Geon-gon-pa-seom-geom matched so perfectly that I tried to substitute the Seom-gwang-bun-un-geom (Flash Dividing Cloud Sword) and then…”

“You fool! Get a hold of yourself. Team Leader Baek’s life depends on you.”

“Yes!”

Moyong Jae-hwa answered like that and nocked an arrow to the string.

Even though he was standing on a tree, there was not even a small tremor.

The moment he opened his eyes after closing them for a moment.

Thump.

Along with a deep resonance different from Jin So-un’s, one arrow flew in.

Not in an arc, but in a straight line.

Not dozens of shots, but with just a single shot.

Just as the 12 Peak Stars, who had been sneering while watching the incoming arrow, gently cleared their shields and were about to strike the arrow away with their swords.

Bang.

It pierced the right shoulder of the warrior who was about to strike it with his sword and pushed him back by two jang.

Tong-ma-si (Horse-Piercing Arrow).

An arrow that pierced the horse and even passed through the body of the armored warrior on top of it.

The warriors of the 12 Peak Stars, shocked by the power of the arrow, began to tangle with each other and retreat behind the rocks.

Before he knew it, there was no one left in Moyong Jae-hwa’s line of sight, and the front was wide open.

“You saved Team Leader Baek.”

Those who had been running to slaughter Moyong Jae-hwa’s party at any moment did not even make a sound of breathing.

That sudden silence felt too thrilling to Moyong Jae-hwa.

<><><>

The current Murim Regular Exam is extremely chaotic.

Nothing at all can be predicted.

In the southeast zone, there were many who could not pass the Ilgwan Gate because bandits and Japanese pirates joined forces, and in the northwest zone, individuals presumed to be heretics clashed with the examinees, unintentionally producing a large number of dropouts.

In the northeast zone, the Mantong-bu was conducting an investigation into the five hundred casualties and the unidentified individuals who seemed to be the culprits.

Like the previous session, the results could not be predicted, and there were many cases where unexpected figures were eliminated or emerged.

In particular, the Myeong-hyeon Taoist, who was watching the movements of the 12 Peak Stars among them, summoned the members of the Righteousness Association from the Elder Hall when they stopped at Songsan and did not move any further.

“We should not have had expectations of them in the first place. Wasn’t their original purpose the recruitment of the Taeeul Sect?”

“Anyway, looking at the results, isn’t it good that the two of them turned against each other?”

“That is not the problem. It is said that there are those among the 12 Peak Stars who had their Entrance Passes stolen.”

The members of the Righteousness Association were sixteen in total. This was more than half of the thirty members of the Elder Hall. Considering that they were individuals who could shake the world with a single hand, perhaps knowing that their gathering itself had to carry that much weight, they did not cease blaming each other.

“Now, now, calm down for a moment. If our Righteousness Association does not unite, can we achieve the great cause in the future?”

Myeong-hyeon Taoist, the current leader of the Righteousness Association, spoke solemnly, but there were not just one or two people who clicked their tongues in his opinion.

Initially, because the promise to place the Mantong-bu under the Righteousness Association as a campaign pledge was postponed day after day, there was a fundamental questioning of his qualifications that had existed from the beginning.

“United or whatever, the name of the Righteousness Association is about to fall to the ground. What will you do if the members of the Righteousness Association do not enter the Murim Academy as top students?”

“Then we have no choice.”

“Ha…! No, are you saying that!”

Myeong-hyeon Taoist also could not help but lament as the plan to pressure Je-gal So-myeong to put his disciples into the Mantong-bu went awry, but he was the one who thought that the opportunity had come again thanks to Jin So-un, who had originally ruined the operation, still running wild.

“…Leader. Do you not know that the Taeeul Sect entering the Murim Academy means it could have a huge impact on the order of the Murim Alliance in the future?”

Contrary to the serious question, Myeong-hyeon Taoist stroked his beard leisurely.

“Ho-ho, what kind of terrible thing are you saying? Isn’t the purpose of establishing the Murim Academy to select and train talent in a fair way so that they can work for the peace of the Murim? Is it a bad thing for them to improve their skills and enter?”

“Ahem. Hmph.”

Who doesn’t know that? But the purpose of establishment is one thing, and the way the world actually works is another, isn’t it?

“Perhaps what Elder Cheon wants to say is the concern about Jin So-un of the Taeeul Sect entering as the top student.”

“That is it! That is exactly what I want to say.”

The Murim Academy holds responsibility and rights based strictly on grades.

Considering that the tone of the academy students of that class changes depending on who enters as the top student, while the freedom of the academy students is good, removing the possibility of causing chaos for the sake of the Murim Alliance in the future was more important than anything else.

“I thought those 12 Peak Stars might do something a little useful, but it was the same as expected. Eventually, we will have to move.”

“Leader, what are you talking about? Do you not know what will happen if you interfere with the Murim Regular Exam privately?”

“Of course, we must not interfere privately. But Elder Kang, do you want to see a disciple of the Taeeul Sect enter as the top student?”

“…Ahem.”

“Moreover, do you know that? The Jin So-un of the Taeeul Sect, who is currently predicted to be the top student, is the person to whom the former Chief Military Strategist handed over an Entrance Pass.”

“Huh? How can such a person take the Murim Regular Exam?”

“Why he is taking the exam, and where the whereabouts of the Entrance Pass went, is not important. The problem is that that person from the Taeeul Sect is a figure watched by Je-gal So-myeong.”

“…”

“What do you think will happen if Jin So-un of the Taeeul Sect goes to the Mantong-bu, or even the Sim-hyeon-gak?”

“Ho-ho.”

“Since Je-gal Chief Military Strategist took control of the Mantong-bu, it is the first time an academy-trained person is entering the Mantong-bu. And it is a disciple of the Taeeul Sect at that.”

The Mantong-bu is the agency that moves the Murim Alliance.

Taking hold of the Mantong-bu means being able to move the Murim Alliance freely. On top of that, entering as an academy graduate? He could not even imagine what kind of work he would do, having tremendous authority at a young age.

“The Taeeul Sect is a sect that was evaluated until recently as to whether it should be excluded from the 108 Peaks. If a disciple of a sect that has been treated with such contempt enters the Mantong-bu and gains power, will the peace of the Murim Alliance truly continue?

They would scatter the order of the Murim Alliance with words like reform and progress.”

The elderly elders closed their eyes and continued to sigh as if it were frightening just to imagine it.

Once the focus was already on Jin So-un and the Taeeul Sect, there was no one left to pick a fight with Myeong-hyeon Taoist, asking what happened to the Mantong-bu.

Because it would be more frightening to have someone they considered insignificant share authority with them than to have the Mantong-bu fall into the hands of the Elder Council.

“That is right. If an unskilled person wields a sword, don’t innocent people bleed?”

Even the elders who had looked down on Myeong-hyeon Taoist began to nod one by one.

It is truly easy.

Myeong-hyeon Taoist was feeling grateful to Jin So-un, whom he had gnashed his teeth at.

“We wish to hear the Leader’s wise counsel.”

“We wish to hear the Leader’s wise counsel.”

Each voice was full of politeness and impatience.

Myeong-hyeon Taoist, who soothed the people’s impatience with silence for a moment, moistened his lips and began to speak.