The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Novel - Chapter 127

Chapter 127
## Chapter 127. The Black Flame Dragon Who Takes Opportunities Away (2)

“Are you completely certain about venturing inside?”

I threw a pack packed with nutrition tablets and dried meat across my shoulder, adjusting a canteen that reached down past my knee at my hip.

“What else can be done? I can hardly abandon them to their fates.”

“……No, why must Young Master Jin be the one to clean up the mess those fools created?!”

Seong Mo-ran’s bellow echoed across the entire Grand Riding Ground, drawing the sharp, intense stares of the elders and representatives from the Nine Sects and One Gang. Yet, Seong Mo-ran paid them no mind whatsoever, elevating her volume even further.

“Send those high-ranking elders inside instead! If they cannot properly discipline their own disciples, then the elders ought to take the fall!”

Under normal circumstances, such a brazen display of disrespect would have warranted an immediate summons to the Execution Pavilion, but not a single person moved to intervene. If they provoked a confrontation here and caused me to turn away, the ones paying the ultimate price would be their own disciples.

“Um, Older Brother. Will you truly be alright?”

Eun Seol-ran, who had arrived alongside Sa-ryeon, inquired with a tentative voice. Instantly, Namgung Seon-hwa, Seong Mo-ran, and Hong Sa-ryeon whirled around to fix her with wide, startled eyes.

“O-Older Brother?”

“Older Brother?”

“Did you just call him Older Brother?”

Faced with the sudden interrogation from the three women, Eun Seol-ran froze in embarrassment before her cheeks turned crimson, and she mumbled,

“He mentioned that a younger sister’s companion is just like his own younger sister, so I was granted permission……”

“…….”

The trio’s expressions hardened instantly as they shifted their glaring gazes back toward me.

“It seems you quite enjoy being addressed as ‘Older Brother,’ don’t you?”

“My, what a pity. Since I am senior to you in age, I cannot call you ‘Older Brother.’ Whatever shall I do?”

“Eldest Senior Brother, I am truly let down.”

Letting out a weary breath, I looked back at them.

“Is this really the time for such matters?”

The chaotic chatter quieted down after a moment. Surrounded by the collective anxieties of the crowd, I followed Yu Ji-ryang’s guidance until I stood directly before the entrance of the Soul-Destroying Formation.

-You are capable of navigating back out, correct?

Hearing the sudden Telepathic Voice, I shifted my gaze. Across the Grand Riding Ground, Jegal So-myeong was holding my stare fixedly.

-If I prioritize absolute safety while searching, everyone trapped within will perish.

A single round through the Soul-Destroying Formation demanded a full two double-hours. If I meticulously retraced every single path they might have blundered into, the fools who ventured inside would draw their last breaths before I could even investigate a fraction of them.

-If it comes down to a choice between their survival and yours, prioritize your own life above all else.

Hearing Jegal So-myeong’s advice, I could not help but tilt my head in slight confusion.

Jegal So-myeong hardly knew the depths of my character as well as I knew his.

Furthermore, from his perspective, I was merely an individual who constantly exploited him and left complications in my wake. Why was he suddenly acting as though my well-being mattered to him?

-Could it be that you intend to offer those fools a reprieve?

The stoic expression on Jegal So-myeong’s face cracked for a brief instant as he let out a sharp breath.

-Should you successfully extract them, I intend to strip them of their status without exception. Concurrently, I will force the responsible sects to provide full restitution for the damages.

-I shall ensure those fools return to this ground alive.

The moment my foot pressed forward, the cacophony of the Grand Riding Ground vanished entirely, plunging me into a realm of absolute vacuum and silence.

The Soul-Destroying Formation was not a labyrinth where an individual could simply wander at whim, even if they possessed flawless memorization of all two hundred thousand distinct pathways.

A single misstep on the third trajectory meant slipping blindly into either the one hundred sixtieth thousand path or the eighty-five thousandth path without any warning. This chaotic volatility was precisely what rendered the Soul-Destroying Formation far more treacherous than standard Mystic Gate Formations.

Attempting to locate a specific person inside the Soul-Destroying Formation, a place utterly devoid of markers, landmarks, or objects, was akin to searching for a needle dropped into the vastness of the Taklamakan Desert.

“They likely lost their bearings while attempting to calculate the Sixty Jiazi.”

Given that the Academy Regular Exam did not even bother to assess basic literacy, it was filled with fools who could scarcely write their own monikers.

Those idiots had plunged recklessly into an infinite sequence based on nothing more than a few pathways they had caught a glimpse of over someone else’s shoulder. This went far beyond the simple adage that “ignorance breeds bravery.”

In all honesty, abandoning them to waste away from starvation inside this place would likely benefit the future of the Murim Alliance and the broader martial world as a whole.

“However, taking that path means I miss the chance to thoroughly humiliate those hypocrites of the Righteous Path Association.”

Frankly, when I had voiced my demands across the Grand Riding Ground, at least a few elders or top students from the Nine Sects and One Gang should have volunteered to step forward.

The fact that they remained frozen, even while a disciple of the Taeul Sect—whom they dismissed as a collection of destitute nobodies—openly provoked them, revealed their true nature. Their concern was never the survival of those youths; it was the crippling dread of exposing the vulnerability of the Righteous Path Association to all who watched.

“Therefore, you miserable bastards absolutely must survive this.”

Steeling my resolve with that oath, I began to retrace the movements I had executed up to this point.

When it came to Eun Seol-ran, locating her had been a swift affair because the companion trailing her could pinpoint the exact moment she slipped onto the wrong path and vanished.

At present, however, I was left to locate these fools entirely through calculated guesswork.

I positioned myself at the exact node where the initial cycle of the Sixty Jiazi commenced.

“Phew…… To think I must navigate this entirely on foot. If not for the promptings of the Grand Strategist, you fools would have been left to rot.”

I summoned the full internal reserves of the Taeul True Scripture.

Awakening every one of my five senses, I scrutinized the environment.

I focused on the concealed undercurrents of the Soul-Destroying Formation, a mechanism I had come to comprehend when I previously lost my footing upon the Demon Spirit Plateau.

Beneath my boots, two hundred thousand distinct streams of raw energy surged in an infinite loop.

The instant I shifted a single step laterally, those two hundred thousand streams underwent an instantaneous transformation.

Though the four cardinal directions remained an unbroken expanse of white and the silence persisted, the specific energies pulsing beneath me were entirely different from the breath before.

The true, unvarnished layout of the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Destroying Formation laid itself bare before me.

“Phew……. Time to move.”

I resumed my advance into the void.

—

“Who authorized this? Who devised such an incredibly idiotic scheme?”

The elders aligned with the Righteous Path Association were incapable of containing their fury as they glared down at the younger generation of their sects.

Though they had surrendered the highest ranking, they still held the numerical advantage and posed a significant threat to the position of Academy Representative. Provided no unforeseen catastrophes occurred, they could easily use the students’ reluctance to follow him as leverage to remove the Academy Representative entirely.

“……The students were thrown into such disarray that we felt there was no alternative.”

“You dare offer that as a justification!”

Hearing the response, Daoist Master Myeonghyeon felt a violent urge to beat the youngsters before him into a pulp then and there, but the sheer volume of eyes gathered around the Grand Riding Ground kept him restrained.

“At the bare minimum, you should have volunteered to assist in dismantling the array!”

“…….”

Had they done so, the elders could have personally intervened to halt the disciples under the guise of safety concerns. From the perspective of the disciples receiving this reprimand, however, entering a Soul-Destroying Formation where even seasoned elders could perish from a single error was an unthinkable risk.

“That is enough. Let us drop the matter, Daoist Master Myeonghyeon.”

Dwelling on actions already set in stone would only cause their tempers to flare further without offering any tangible resolution.

“They state that the Soul-Destroying Formation comprises two hundred thousand individual paths. Extracting anyone from that maze will be an extraordinary challenge.”

“It will be a miracle if he manages to emerge with his own life intact.”

“…….”

If against all odds, by one chance in a million, that brat actually managed to retrieve the individuals who went inside……

“The most favorable conclusion would be for him to vanish into the depths alongside them.”

The individuals who overheard Daoist Master Myeonghyeon’s hushed mutterings stiffened in surprise, though they carefully masked their reactions.

Deep down, they recognized that such an outcome would indeed be the most convenient resolution.

They had been fully aware from the inception that a secure rescue operation was an impossibility.

Granted, Jin So-un had rescued thousands on the Demon Spirit Plateau, but that location possessed a singular, defined route for entry and exit, did it not?

How could any human intellect comprehend and retain two hundred thousand shifting pathways, let alone locate individuals who had dissolved into them?

This grim assessment was hardly exclusive to Daoist Master Myeonghyeon and the factions of the Righteous Path Association.

A short distance away from the gathering of Daoist Master Myeonghyeon’s faction.

“What is your assessment, Grand Strategist? Do you believe he possesses the capability to bring them out?”

Murim Alliance Leader Hyeok Mu-gang directed his inquiry toward the individual who invariably provided solutions to the most intractable problems.

“I cannot say.”

Hearing Jegal So-myeong’s indifferent response, Hyeok Mu-gang’s eyes widened slightly. It was a rarity for the words “I cannot say” to escape the man’s lips.

“Hoho…… Live a long life, and one truly bears witness to everything.”

Hyeok Mu-gang stroked his silver beard a few times before pressing further.

“Are you suggesting there exist phenomena that lie beyond the grasp of the Grand Strategist?”

“I say this because, regardless of how intensely I analyze the mechanics, I cannot fathom a method by which someone could successfully locate and extract individuals within that space.”

The follow-up response proved even more startling.

“Then for what reason did you urge the Academy Representative to attempt the rescue?”

“Because that young man explicitly stated he could achieve it.”

“Hm?”

Despite his advanced years, Hyeok Mu-gang’s cognitive faculties had not deteriorated to such an extent.

“Am I the only one who misheard the exchange? I am entirely certain the boy declared it to be an impossibility.”

“The youth stated he would need to gamble with his life. At no point did he claim it could not be done.”

Hyeok Mu-gang continued to stroke his beard, privately concluding that the two statements amounted to the exact same conclusion.

Jegal So-myeong pressed on.

“When he initially identified the complication and stood before the council of elders, he never displayed a single trace of distress. This is an affair of life and death. Furthermore, it materialized because the premier disciples of the Nine Sects and One Gang blundered inside. Even with the knowledge that any assignment of blame would inevitably rebound upon him, he remained entirely composed.”

“…….”

“That boy possessed absolute certainty that he could retrieve them.”

“Yet Jin So-un resisted stepping forward until the absolute final moment.”

“Because the necessary leverage had not yet materialized.”

“Leverage?”

“Had he immediately extracted the intruders when they first breached the barrier, could he not have been held accountable for failing to properly govern and oversee the Soul-Destroying Formation?”

Hyeok Mu-gang’s jaw dropped slightly as the realization hit him.

“Could it be……”

“He deliberately delayed his intervention until the burden of responsibility was squarely fastened onto the shoulders of the Nine Sects and One Gang.”

As Jegal So-myeong turned his gaze toward Hyeok Mu-gang, a faint, knowing grin touched the corners of his lips.

“Furthermore, at the conclusion, did he not lace his words with internal energy to shake the very foundations of the Grand Riding Ground while calling for volunteers to dismantle the Soul-Destroying Formation?”

“What purpose did that serve?”

“He delivered a stark revelation to the adherents of the Righteous Path Association. The Righteous Path Association will not stand as your shield. Their concern for your lives is a complete fabrication.”

“……Huh.”

“That youth masterfully transformed a crisis that could have ruined him into a flawless personal advantage.”

Tribulations like these were meant to be utilized.

Hyeok Mu-gang was left so thoroughly stunned that he fell completely silent.

It was remarkable enough that Jin So-un was capable of navigating such complex political waters, but Jegal So-myeong’s perfect comprehension of the gambit was equally awe-inspiring.

Jegal So-myeong was now smiling broadly enough to show his teeth.

“I harbored reservations until now, but today’s events have dispelled any lingering doubts. That boy’s tactical intellect far outstrips even his martial prowess.”

“Hoho, this marks the first occasion you have offered such high praise for an individual’s intellect since Maeng Ju-won.”

“And that is precisely the reason he must be brought into Mantongbu at all costs.”

Hearing Jegal So-myeong tack on that particular condition at the end, Hyeok Mu-gang could only click his tongue in amusement.

“In any event, all of these grand designs hinge entirely on his successful return, do they not?”

“That is undeniable.”

“Should we not initiate contingencies in the event he fails to save them? The hour is already……”

Observing that the sun had dropped entirely below the horizon, a full three double-hours had slipped away.

“We have mobilized the premier forces of the High Heaven Hall from the Alliance headquarters.”

“Will the High Heaven Hall suffice on their own? Would it not be prudent to summon the Victory Tiger Hall as well?”

“The intervention to dismantle the formation must be executed as a singular, final effort. Should it falter, the vanguard of the Murim Alliance risk being pulled into the depths of the Soul-Destroying Formation one by one, turning into wandering spirits.”

“Phew…… shreds of hope.”

Hyeok Mu-gang let out a heavy, involuntary sigh.

—

“What course of action do we take?”

“Haa…….”

“They should never have crossed that threshold……”

The expressions of Jin So-un’s companions gathered around the perimeter of the Soul-Destroying Formation were etched with profound dread.

The fifty elite martial artists from the High Heaven Hall, sent directly from the Alliance, had equipped themselves with nutrition tablets and water supplies identical to Jin So-un’s gear. They were meticulously analyzing the boundaries of the Soul-Destroying Formation alongside the ritual masters of the Maoshan Sect.

A full day and two double-hours had transpired.

Within the distorted timeline of the Soul-Destroying Formation, that duration equated to nearly eleven days of entrapment, and yet not a single soul had emerged from the barrier.

The visages of the vast majority of the crowd gathered at the Grand Riding Ground, including the Alliance Leader and the Grand Strategist, were clouded with grim resignation.

“Phew…….”

The moment for an absolute ultimatum was drawing near.

From the outset, they had established a strict limit of one day.

They had explicitly informed Jin So-un that if his absence exceeded that window, they would initiate a forced dismantling of the array, and they had already overshot that deadline by two double-hours.

It was the critical juncture where either the warriors of the High Heaven Hall would gamble their lives to tear down the formation, or the trapped victims would be abandoned to their fates.

Following a prolonged period of silent calculation, Jegal So-myeong ultimately reached a verdict. He locked eyes with Hyeok Mu-gang and offered a grim nod.

“…….”

Hyeok Mu-gang reflected for a final moment before rising to his feet.

“Vanguard of the High Heaven Hall, attend to my words. We shall commence the forced dismantling of the Soul-Destroying Formation immediately.”

The instant the words left Hyeok Mu-gang’s mouth, the elders representing the Righteous Path Association swarmed forward in protest.

“Alliance Leader, what is the meaning of this? Dismantling the structure?”

“We cannot simply stand idle and watch those who crossed over perish inside.”

“Even Jin So-un, who possesses the deepest comprehension of this specific formation, has failed to emerge. Do you truly intend to cast the elite of the High Heaven Hall into the same meat grinder?”

“In the past, during the catastrophe at the Demon Spirit Plateau, the Alliance’s delayed intervention transformed us into a laughingstock across the land. We refuse to replicate that disaster today.”

“Your reasoning is sound, but your execution is flawed. Would it not be far more intelligent to treat this disaster as a permanent lesson, sealing the Soul-Destroying Formation indefinitely and branding it as one of the Forbidden Arts?”

Hearing Daoist Master Myeonghyeon’s proposition, Hyeok Mu-gang snapped his head around to glare directly into his eyes.

“Elder Myeonghyeon, are you openly suggesting we write off the lives of the students trapped within the Soul-Destroying Formation?”

“No individual mourns the plight of those youths more intensely than myself. I merely voice this warning out of concern that a greater catastrophe might unfold, creating a massive vulnerability within the Alliance’s core forces.”

An expression of unvarnished revulsion manifested on Hyeok Mu-gang’s face.

“When we tear down this formation, I intend to find living students, not their desiccated corpses.”

“…….”

The debate was effectively over.

Turning his attention back to the assembled warriors of the High Heaven Hall, Hyeok Mu-gang commanded,

“Assume your positions!”

The ritual masters of the Maoshan Sect quickly dispersed among the fifty martial artists of the High Heaven Hall, assigning specific coordinates to each individual. The warriors listened with intense focus, desperate not to mishear a single syllable.

Because they were acutely aware of just how cataclysmic an ultimate array the Soul-Destroying Formation truly was, even the complexions of these seasoned veterans had turned a ghostly white.

When Jegal So-myeong raised the azure signaling flag high into the air, the eyes of the High Heaven Hall warriors locked onto it simultaneously.

The absolute moment that flag dropped, they would have to step into the boundary with flawless synchronicity.

“Dismantle—”

The command forming on Hyeok Mu-gang’s lips caught in his throat, and Jegal So-myeong’s descending arm froze midway through the air.

Both Hyeok Mu-gang and Jegal So-myeong snapped their gazes instantly toward the Life-and-Death Gate of the Soul-Destroying Formation.

The dense white fog began to violently churn, and from the roiling mist emerged a gaunt, skeletal figure dragging his feet forward, bearing an inert form across his back.

“…….”

The individual who had successfully breached the Soul-Destroying Formation unceremoniously dropped his cargo onto the dirt, before dropping to his hands and knees to scramble desperately toward the platform where the elders sat.

*Clatter, crash.*

As the shocked elders instinctively recoiled a step or two in alarm, the figure began shoving the food and water containers from the elders’ tables directly into his maw, before finally wheezing out a single phrase.

“Phew…… I nearly met my absolute end inside that fucking place…….”

“E……Eldest Senior Brother?”

Dong-ryong was the first to find his voice, and at that utterance, Jegal So-myeong broke out of his stupor and bellowed,

“W-Water! Provide water and sustenance immediately!”

Following Jegal So-myeong’s frantic order, the entire assembly on the Grand Riding Ground erupted into chaotic motion. In that exact instant, an observer inspecting the six bodies sprawled across the earth cried out at the top of his lungs,

“They are breathing! Every single individual who entered the Soul-Destroying Formation has returned alive!”

With that declaration, the entire crowd gathered at the Grand Riding Ground abandoned their tasks and erupted into a unified, thunderous roar of celebration.

“Waaaaah!”

“““Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!”””