The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Chapter 128

[ … words ]

***

The members of the Jeongdo-hoe, who had staked everything on Jin So-un’s failure, were busy running around trying to rein in those who were attempting to defect due to this incident.

Since those who were already marginalized due to their participation in the Myeol-hon-jin event had already left, even more people were looking to defect.

The fact that not a single disciple of the Guipalbang (Nine Sects and One Clan), who were the ones who had actually entered the Myeol-hon-jin in this situation, had entered caused even greater anger.

“I thought if we followed the Jeongdo-hoe, we would naturally receive the same treatment as them, but that wasn’t the case.”

“I’m not asking for the same treatment; we’re not on the level of the Guipalbang anyway. But isn’t it going too far to have stood idly by in front of dying academy students?”

“The Jeongdo-hoe doesn’t care about our success, let alone our lives.”

Because of this, the elders belonging to the Jeongdo-hoe, including Priest Myeong-hyeon, were busy meeting academy students, wearing out the threshold of the Martial Arts Academy instead of the Elder Hall.

The disciples of the Guipalbang were the biggest beneficiaries of the Jeongdo-hoe and were in a position to lead it, so they were not shaken.

However, considering that the number of those who followed the Jeongdo-hoe reached 70% of the Jeongdo-hoe, this agitation of the academy students could potentially lead to a reduction in their power.

Moreover, if the events that occurred this time were known to the students’ sects or families, they would have to endure the anger of the sects that had pulled out their very roots to send their disciples to the academy.

After pouring out all their wealth to barely send one child to the academy, that child was almost used as a consumable and abandoned?

It would not be strange if they expressed their intention to withdraw from the Jeongdo-hoe right away, regardless of success or failure.

Of course, if a person from the Jeongdo-hoe had been in charge of the academy representative position, they would not have paid any attention to such internal noise.

Power essentially has the strength to attract people, so if someone left due to dissatisfaction, someone else would fill that empty spot.

However, the representative was a guy from who knows where, and because the Guipalbang had shown such a petty appearance of breaking academy rules and trying to learn the Myeol-hon-jin secretly, they were on the verge of losing even the symbolism of being the Murim Alliance representative.

That did not mean the Baek-do-hoe and the 12 Peak Stars thought this was an opportunity to recruit those falling away from the Jeongdo-hoe from a completely third-party perspective.

Human thinking is all more or less the same, and the pettiness of those who have things is all similar.

They, who had intended to enter the Myeol-hon-jin after the Jeongdo-hoe, were just taking a step back, breathing a sigh of relief, and watching the situation after seeing a friend who acted out first get hit.

In any case, the one who took the biggest lightning strike in this matter was the Jeongdo-hoe.

Priest Myeong-hyeon was working hard until his mouth went dry to clean up the mess the academy students had made.

“Your expulsion from the academy has already been decided, and it is a situation that cannot be reversed. However, the Jeongdo-hoe will surely give you sufficient compensation for this incident.”

Even though Priest Myeong-hyeon, who was the head of the highest authority in the Murim Alliance and currently sat in the seat of the Jeongdo-hoe leader, was speaking, the survivors’ reactions were lukewarm.

It was quite different from their usual attitude of highlighting their connections by selling out their parents, grandparents, and distant relatives to get into his good graces.

“But isn’t your expulsion not entirely your own fault? Isn’t the responsibility of the person who caused the accident with an unreasonable event schedule and biased personnel composition in the first place greater?”

“…”

“This can be said to be the sin of someone who committed an act that an academy representative should never do. Isn’t that so?”

“…What should we do?”

At the appearance of the survivors who seemed to be suppressing their anger, Priest Myeong-hyeon’s face slowly relaxed.

“Naturally, you must make him pay the price for his sins. Through this incident, we will dismiss the academy representative and elect a new one.”

Priest Myeong-hyeon, thinking he had disciplined the Jeongdo-hoe, did not stop there.

He was basically a person who understood politics, and his next move was very political.

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“Haha, I don’t know what to do as the head of the Jeongdo-hoe visits this humble place.”

“Aren’t we already one body united by ‘cooperation,’ leaving aside the Baek-do-hoe and the Jeongdo-hoe? What does it matter who belongs where?”

The Baek-do-hoe leader, who heard Priest Myeong-hyeon’s hypocritical story, mocked him inwardly and nodded.

“So, what do you want?”

“I know there are movements to recruit Jeongdo-hoe members while the Jeongdo-hoe is in chaos.”

“Does it matter if we, who were originally one body, move our residence a little?”

“Didn’t we decide to call this ‘lacking in morality’?”

“Well. Wasn’t recruiting sects under the Baek-do-hoe something you guys did a lot in the first place?”

“Even if our power weakens now, are you confident that the Baek-do-hoe can take full authority?”

“…”

The Baek-do-hoe leader shut his mouth at Priest Myeong-hyeon’s cutting remark.

“I think our current crisis is rather an opportunity.”

“…What do you want?”

“We must abolish that ridiculous event and remove the academy representative.”

“There are many people within the Alliance who are interested in the Myeol-hon-jin. We cannot abolish an event for which the Chief Strategist has personally allocated a budget as we please.”

“That is why we should join forces.”

“…”

“I also know well that the Baek-do-hoe is not satisfied with the current academy representative. If we miss this opportunity, not only the Jeongdo-hoe but also the Baek-do-hoe will not be able to take the academy representative position for this generation.”

Although Jin So-un, who was practically responsible for the incident, had not yet woken up, Myeong-hyeon pushed for the punitive committee as an opportunity.

“Priest Myeong-hyeon, the academy representative, has not even woken up yet. Why are you already holding a punitive committee?”

“Hasn’t the academy representative already declared that he is not related to this incident? Even if he wakes up, is there a need to hear his opinion? Moreover, does this incident not correspond to breaking the Alliance law? If we do not handle it quickly, internal confusion will increase.”

Although Priest Myeong-hyeon’s intentions were obvious, thanks to most of the elders of the Elder Hall, including Priest Myeong-hyeon, visiting the Execution Hall every day and causing trouble, the punitive committee was held less than two days after the incident.

The committee members, full of Jeongdo-hoe influence, tried to extend the problem of the incident not only to the survivors who broke the Alliance law but also to Jin So-un, who was responsible for the event, according to the script written by Priest Myeong-hyeon.

Je-gal So-myeong tried to dissolve the committee in that absurd situation, but he stopped his actions at the words that came out of the survivors’ mouths.

“This incident is purely our own fault for violating the Alliance law for personal greed.”

“Huh?”

Priest Myeong-hyeon, who was attending the committee, felt something was strange and tried to say something, but the survivors did not give him the chance and continued.

“The academy representative risked his life to jump into the Myeol-hon-jin for us, who were trying to steal his vision. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude once again.”

Something was going strangely, but the survivors were saying things completely different from Priest Myeong-hyeon’s intentions, as if they had become one heart.

“…Do you not have any resentment toward the academy representative who planned this incident and put you in danger?”

The committee member inserted by Priest Myeong-hyeon tried to induce an answer, but the survivors were firm.

“While days flowed inside the Myeol-hon-jin, the academy representative could not even eat a single grain of byeokgokdan (grain-avoidance pill) because of us. How can you talk about resentment in front of such a person? I have not lived only morally, but I am certainly not a monster without a conscience.”

“That’s right!”

“If we must find the cause of this incident, it can be said to be the executives of the Jeongdo-hoe among the academy students. If they hadn’t pushed us, we wouldn’t have done such dangerous things.”

The commotion in the hall increased at the survivors’ words.

Not only the committee members but also Priest Myeong-hyeon, who had planned and coordinated the work, had expressions of not knowing how to handle this confusion.

‘Could it be that look from back then?’

Priest Myeong-hyeon recalled the expression of suppressing anger that they had when he was persuading the survivors.

‘Was it directed at me, not that guy Jin So-un?’

“Academy students, do not talk about things unrelated to this incident!”

The committee threatened, but those words touched the survivors’ reverse scales instead.

“We heard it all! They said not one person among the Jeongdo-hoe tried to step up for us! We didn’t know that even the elders of the Elder Hall would be like that, let alone the academy students.”

“Quiet! Quiet! Be quiet!”

“How much has our sect brought and offered until now! But you pushed us into a death trap and in the moment of importance, you act like you don’t know!”

The survivors shouted wildly as if they had nothing to fear anymore.

“Even if our Yang-geom-mun might be a lowly sect compared to the Guipalbang, never again! We will not believe the words of the Guipalbang.”

“If we had known this, we would have followed the academy representative faithfully from the beginning. At least he risked his life for us!”

“Be quiet! Punishment, we will issue punishment.”

What punishment would be scary to academy students who had already been decided to be expelled? It only had the effect of pouring firewood into a furnace.

“My grandfather was greatly enraged about this incident.”

“Our sect will also not forget this…”

Priest Myeong-hyeon could only stare blankly at the punitive committee that had become a mess.

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When I opened my eyes after sleeping for several days, my body felt much lighter.

I didn’t know who had changed my clothes, but they were replaced with new ones, and instead of a musty sweat smell, my body smelled fresh and clean.

‘Did they wash me while I was sleeping?’

Even though I opened my eyes, it was so quiet around me that I thought I had woken up in the middle of the night.

This was because I had expected that at the very least, the Geum-Eun-Dong brothers would be taking turns guarding the place, or that Miss Namgung or Miss Seong Mo-ran would have been nursing me and nagging me for a long time after seeing me wake up.

However.

Chirp- chirp-.

Warm sunlight was shining outside the window, and mountain birds were busily moving around.

Did they go to class?

Thinking that maybe they couldn’t stay by my side because of that, I tried to erase my feeling of disappointment and was about to raise my body.

“!”

I flinched and trembled at the sight of a familiar back.

‘Why is that person here again?’

In this life, I was having a one-on-one meeting for the second time already, following the Iron Sword Sect, with someone it was hard to even see the face from a distance in my previous life.

Moreover, since both times were in similar situations, it made me feel a sense of déjà vu.

“Are you awake?”

I quickly turned my head and pretended to be asleep.

Then he said as if murmuring to himself.

“To think that an academy representative, who is practically affiliated with the Murim Alliance, is lying down in front of the Chief Strategist is truly disrespectful. What kind of punishment should I impose.”