The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Chapter 39

[ … words ]

***

Three mages were dispatched by the Murim Alliance through the Agyang branch.

The people gathered at the Maryeong Plateau looked at them with expectant eyes, only to be unable to hide their disappointment.

There were two greenhorns who had barely lost their downy hair and one middle-aged man.

Furthermore, they were even more outraged to learn that these individuals were not the ones who had installed the Murim Alliance’s formation, but rather the personnel who had merely managed it.

“Are you saying this personnel is all there is?”

Currently, the people gathered at the Maryeong Plateau, regardless of whether they were from the White or Black paths, were questioning the Agyang branch leader of the Murim Alliance.

From the perspective of the White path, the presence of the Black path might have been bothersome, but under the common premise of being a group of victims, they no longer distinguished between friend and foe.

“For now, we intend to first grasp what kind of formation it is and then dispatch additional personnel.”

“Then what about Yong So-ah? We heard that he survived and left this place. Where is Yong So-ah?”

“Hyeon-cheong reported to the Murim Alliance and then returned to the main sect because there was an urgent matter.”

“What! Is there something more urgent than five thousand people dying right now!”

Namgung Jin-myeong trembled his fists. How could those who could be considered sworn allies in their own way act like this?

“Even if Hyeon-cheong came, it would not have been of much help, as he truly said he did not know what kind of formation it was.”

The Agyang branch leader of the Murim Alliance tried desperately to avoid responsibility, but those who knew, knew everything.

The talent most cherished by the Wudang Sect.

The prodigy who would never be seen again in the Wudang Sect.

They were trying not to let that existence bear the responsibility, based on the fact that he had survived alone while five thousand people were left behind.

“There is a member of the Mosan Sect among those who went inside. I heard it. If it were them, they would have definitely been able to figure out what kind of formation it was, wouldn’t they?”

“…Hyeon-cheong did not say anything like that.”

It was a continuation of conversations that were never resolved.

At this rate, they were just repeating the same story endlessly.

“Bring that fellow Yong So-ah here right now!”

“…….”

The Agyang branch leader just kept his head down and rolled his eyes back and forth.

“Do you not know that if this matter eventually ends in a tragic conclusion, Hyeon-cheong, the Wudang Sect, and the Murim Alliance will also have to pay the price?”

“……I.”

The Agyang branch leader, while afraid of the repeated pressure, continued to speak.

“The Murim Alliance’s view is that since it was not part of the initial mission, they cannot take responsibility. Sending the mages was merely a courtesy to the allies, and the responsibility lies with the people who entered inside…….”

“What did you say!!”

“Furthermore, they said that the conduct regarding Hyeon-cheong and the Wudang Sect is not a matter for the Murim Alliance to concern itself with.”

“Where did that story come from? The Elder Council? The Mantongbu?”

“……It is the decision of the Murim Alliance.”

Having lived his whole life as a member of the Namgung family and never having experienced such a helpless situation, the anger Namgung Jin-myeong felt was even greater.

Namgung Jin-myeong moved his body and headed to the place where the mages of the Mosan Sect were gathered.

Hearing the news here, the Mosan Sect had sent ten people as support; they had already arrived a few days ago and were studying the formation.

“How is it?”

“……The entrance is just an ordinary natural formation. However, seeing that five thousand people went in and could not come out, perhaps this might be a high-level trap.”

“Can you not dismantle the formation from this side?”

“The axis of the formation does not exist here. It is such a massive formation that even its size cannot be estimated from the outside.”

“So, in the end, there is no way to rescue them.”

“Yoo Ji-ryang is a disciple with excellent skills, even among our sect. Seeing that child unable to come out from in there…….”

“Hyeon-cheong…… no, I heard Yong So-ah came out of here. How did he get out?”

“……I think perhaps he used instantaneous destructive power.”

“Destructive power?”

“If the place where they were was close to the outside and they had not completely entered the influence of the formation, they could have generated a moment of destructive power to momentarily open the door of the formation. However, to have that level of destructive power, one would need at least five Gapja of internal energy or something like a Thunder-Bomb.”

“That means the fellow had one of the two.”

“Isn’t having five Gapja of internal energy a story that only appears in legends?”

“I understand. Please put in more effort.”

“I am just sorry that I cannot be of help.”

Namgung Jin-myeong ground his teeth.

If only he knew what had happened inside, he would at least feel relieved, but Hyeon-cheong, who knew the news from inside, had already run away to the Wudang Sect through the Murim Alliance.

Any martial artist knows while living the life of a wanderer in the Jianghu that there are moments when one’s life is in danger.

However, that did not mean one could easily accept such an absurd death.

“San-ah.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Go to Wudang right now with the Changgung Unit, the Daeyeon Unit, and the Bomb-Thunder Unit.”

“…….”

He could understand the Changgung Unit and the Daeyeon Unit, but the Bomb-Thunder Unit was the Namgung family’s elite strike force. It meant moving those who should not cross the walls of the Namgung family unless the very existence of the Namgung family was threatened.

At the command to move such beings, Namgung San’s face turned pale.

Were they trying to start a war with the Wudang Sect?

“If they do not hand over Yong So-ah, pass through the Sword-Sea barrier.”

The instruction to not put down the sword at the Sword-Sea barrier meant, in the end, to engage in armed conflict.

“In the current Jianghu, the only place that can demand the truth from Wudang is the Namgung family.”

“…….”

It was not only Wudang that was a problem in this incident.

Next, they would raise issues with the Beggar Sect, and then they would raise issues with the Haomun.

Even if the Haomun was a sect that went back and forth between the White and Black paths and was not a problem, these were two of the Nine Great Sects and One Clan.

This matter would not end with just words.

‘In the worst-case scenario, the Murim Alliance will definitely step in.’

Nevertheless, Namgung San could not spit out the words that were hovering in his mind.

His father, Namgung Jin-myeong, must have known that.

This might have been a matter that had already been discussed with his grandfather, the Sword-Emperor.

‘The situation is too bad.’

If it had ended only with the problem of Namgung Seon-hwa, things would not have gone this far. With the addition of the matter regarding the branch family, the anger had grown two or three times greater.

“Are you afraid?”

“No, I am not!”

“……I am afraid.”

“Pardon?”

“I do not know if I can forgive myself for making the situation like this.”

Namgung Jin-myeong was blaming himself more than others.

“Father…….”

“Thinking about what kind of situation that young child must have gone through in there breaks my heart.”

“I will definitely bring Yong So-ah back.”

“…….”

Instead of answering, Namgung Jin-myeong looked at one wall of the cave, which was shrouded in darkness.

“Even if I bring that child, will I be able to save Seon-hwa…….”

A self-deprecating question to no one in particular.

Namgung San also looked at the same place as Namgung Jin-myeong instead of giving a hasty answer.

At that moment.

“Huh?”

He thought he had seen it wrong.

Inside the cave, dozens of torches were already illuminating the interior as brightly as day.

However,

“Father, did you see that?”

A black shadow was undulating.

“I, I saw it!”

Simultaneously with Namgung Jin-myeong’s shout, the mages of the Mosan Sect, who had been studying the formation, retreated backward in a hurry.

They were afraid that the formation might swallow the people.

However, instead of rushing at the people, the black shadow undulated and then suddenly retreated to both sides.

And then, it spat out a skeleton-like person, who was hard to see as a human, from between the shadows.

On that person’s back, a woman who was in a similarly emaciated state was being carried.

Namgung Jin-myeong and Namgung San shouted at the same time.

“Seon-hwa!!”

“Namgung Seon-hwa!!”

Behind the person who carried Seon-hwa, a group of people carrying others who also did not look in good condition was emerging in a line.

They were particularly walking while looking at the spots where the person at the very front had stepped, and even after entering the cave, they kept their heads down.

As Namgung Jin-myeong and Namgung San took Seon-hwa, the man who stood at the front spoke in a cracked voice.

“Wa, water. Fo, food…….”

The people who were startled quickly handed over the food and hidden alcohol they each had in their pockets.

The man stuffed it into his mouth greedily without even knowing who was giving what, and after chewing it for a long time, he swallowed it down his throat all at once.

“Puhah, I almost died.”

At that moment, without anyone leading, people shouted from all sides.

The first survivor had appeared among the five thousand people they thought were dead.

<><><>

With the appearance of Jin So-woon, the Agyang branch leader of the Murim Alliance tried to investigate Jin So-woon separately, saying he would investigate what had happened inside, but the experts of the Black path, including Namgung Jin-myeong, did not sit still.

“The Murim Alliance said they had no responsibility!”

“B, but…….”

“Right now, I am barely holding onto my reason because of my daughter’s survival. Do not make me disappointed in the Murim Alliance any further.”

Under Namgung Jin-myeong’s sharp, chilling threat, the people of the Murim Alliance could not easily step forward.

The first survivors had appeared, but the matter had not all ended.

There were still thousands of people left inside.

“Is that the Muryang Bulgoe Myeolhon-jin?”

When the legendary formation that had disappeared three hundred years ago appeared again, the mages of the Mosan Sect were greatly shocked.

Furthermore, they could not hide their greater surprise at the following words.

“Can you find the path of the Muryang Bulgoe Myeolhon-jin?”

The mages of the Mosan Sect who heard the story could not easily believe the story of Jin So-woon, who had led the survivors.

“I confirmed it.”

The emaciated Yoo Ji-ryang said from the side.

With the addition of Yoo Ji-ryang’s words, it was a situation that could no longer be doubted.

“But how…….”

“The mages of the Mosan Sect were calculating the path of the formation from the beginning. In the meantime, because that guy, Yong So-ah, interfered…….”

Though the famous experts of the martial arts world, transcending the White and Black paths, were all gathered, everyone was resenting Yong So-ah with one heart.

“Then how did you get out in a situation where you hadn’t finished calculating the path?”

To the question of the Mosan Sect mage, Jin So-woon was continuing to put porridge into his mouth and answering.

It was porridge boiled with dried meat at the campsite outside the cave. Jin So-woon was already eating his tenth bowl of it.

“I calculated the rest alone inside.”

It was a situation that was not easy to believe even after hearing the story.

“You…… didn’t you say you were a disciple of the Tae-eul Sect?”

Suddenly, when the Mosan Sect mage brought up the Tae-eul Sect, the experts of the Black path who were listening to the story nearby spat out words one by one.

“Fuck! What does the Tae-eul Sect have to do with this!”

“Idiots, are you still arguing about background here!”

“That’s right! If we can get our disciples out from there right now, we should bring not just the Tae-eul Sect, but even the Demonic Cult.”

As if agreeing with that, Yoo Ji-ryang said.

“Senior Uncle. There is no time to be doing this. People are still dying inside.”

“……Ye, yes. A, and I am sorry.”

At the urging of the Black path experts, the Mosan Sect mage eventually stepped back one step and looked at Namgung Jin-myeong.

Namgung Jin-myeong asked Jin So-woon again.

“Are there any points of caution on the way out?”

“If you follow my footsteps exactly, you will not lose your way inside the formation. However, if you take even one wrong step, you will be trapped inside the formation.”

“It will not be easy for the people inside.”

“That is why I only brought out ten people at first.”

“How many people can you lead out at the maximum?”

“The time one path is maintained is approximately one quarter of an hour. It would be best for a maximum of twenty people to go back and forth safely.”

“The Namgung family will prepare the martial artists.”

“Our Sahwangbong will also provide our martial artists. It will be better than the White path weaklings.”

“You must have heard the name of our Black Snake Room.”

People were each hoping to send their own martial artists at first.

“You must think carefully. If you take the wrong path even once, you will never be found inside the formation again. I went in and out of there several times, but I never met anyone who had entered the formation earlier.”

At Jin So-woon’s words, the people who were stepping forward fell silent.

Eventually, Namgung Jin-myeong asked again.

“Then what would be best to do?”

“First, please accept the support of twenty peak martial artists. Not from different groups, but people who have matched their movements together usually. And when you first go in with me, take food inside, and when you come out, bring twenty patients out first. Please prepare physicians on both sides of the cave so that treatment is possible as soon as they come out. And prepare the martial artists for the next time, and you must keep rotating that.”

“That would be the best.”

Namgung Jin-myeong and the experts of the Black path who were listening to the story nodded.

“But, if that happens, don’t you have to keep going in? Are you okay?”

If one were to count the most devastated state among those who survived, Jin So-woon would not be excluded.

Furthermore, how much blood had he shed inside, his blue martial arts uniform was soaked in blood and had turned black.

“From now on, it is a fight against time. To save even one more person, we must not delay for even a moment.”

“I understand.”

Simultaneously with those words, the people began to move in perfect order.

<><><>

The experts of the Black path went to Agyang, forcibly woke up the physicians in the vicinity, and carried them to the Maryeong Plateau, and the experts of the White path stopped by the inns and taverns in Agyang, made food with all the food ingredients they had, and pushed it to the Maryeong Plateau.

Starting with the Namgung family’s Bomb-Thunder Unit, twenty people went in carrying food, and after a while, they came out carrying one survivor on their backs respectively.

The people, regardless of Black or White path, treated them with whatever hands they had and did their best to recover, and when a corpse came out, they took it to the command post to find someone who had a connection with it as soon as the corpse came out.

“Are you okay?”

Thanks to nearly ten thousand experts moving at once, there was no shortage of hands.

However, the biggest worry was Jin So-woon.

Since coming out of the Soul-Destroying Formation, Jin So-woon was the one who entered the Soul-Destroying Formation the most, and because Jin So-woon had been going in and out of the Soul-Destroying Formation for three days without sleeping a wink, he looked in even worse condition than when he first came out.

“I am fine. If I perform internal energy circulation for a moment…….”

It was like this. He filled his lack of sleep with a moment of internal energy circulation.

However, that appearance could only look pitiful to the martial artists.

Although peak experts could endure for a month without sleeping, how could a disciple of the Tae-eul Sect be in the same situation as them?

Unable to watch, Namgung Jin-myeong took out a wooden box from his arms.

“Eat this and perform internal energy circulation.”

“What is this?”

“It is a Daeyeon Divine Pill.”

“Pardon? How can you give me this precious thing…….”

“Precious, nonsense, it is nothing compared to you saving someone from our family. The real reward will be paid later. For now, eat this first and replenish your energy. I am sorry, but you are the only one who can save the people inside right now.”

As Namgung Jin-myeong stepped up like that, the experts of the Black path could not just sit still.

“It doesn’t seem like the medicinal pill of our Black Snake Room would suit the Taoist internal cultivation technique you have learned, but take this instead. It is something called a Purple Flower Orchid. You know what a Purple Flower Orchid is, right?”

“It would have been good if I could give you the Sahwang Pill of Sahwangbong, but it is a pity. I have a Clear Heart Pill that I bought at the Black Store just in case, so please accept it.”

“Have you heard of our Hyeon-yang Water? It was originally gathered in our sect to make medicinal pills…….”

“It is a Nine-Leaf Divine Herb…….”

“It is a Heaven and Earth Herb…….”

Everyone, where had they been hiding their medicinal herbs so tightly, soon, medicinal herbs and pills were piled up in front of Jin So-woon’s eyes.

There were no great things comparable to the Daeyeon Divine Pill, but they were things that would be enough to help with energy recovery right now.

From then on, Jin So-woon filled his stomach with medicinal herbs instead of eating food and went into the formation.

Four more days like that.

Around the time when even the experts were getting tired in the days where day and night continued.

Finally, the last survivors appeared.

“It is the end.”

“A total of four thousand two hundred and eighty people have returned alive.”

As soon as the announcement of the command post ended, people, regardless of White or Black path, hugged each other and shouted until the heavens seemed to tremble.

“Wooooaaaah!”