The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Novel - Chapter 16

Chapter 16
Chapter 16. A Third-Rate Warrior Who Saves a Girl (3)

Returning to the Iron Sword Sect.

While Seong Cheon-wol had turned down farewell greetings from everyone else, he found himself unable to dismiss the departure courtesies of the Murim Alliance’s Grand Strategist. Watching Jegal So-myeong leave with a thoroughly sour look on his face, he marched off to locate Seong Mo-hyeon, who reportedly had been making a continuous ruckus inside the dungeons for days on end.

“You wretched fool! Do you honestly believe your neck is safe after what transpired? Who do you think is going to take charge of the Iron Sword Sect now!”

Despite being the main person responsible for the loss of the Founder’s sword, Seong Mo-hyeon remained entirely unrepentant and self-assured.

“Grandfather! You must listen to me! That man has without a doubt mastered the Great Star-Absorbing Art. If we can just summon the Execution Pavilion of the Murim Alliance right this instant……”

“Silence, you idiot! Are you trying to pull down the very foundation of the Iron Sword Sect!”

“I am completely sure of it. None of my moves could link together……”

“You utter blockhead……”

The Leader of the Iron Sword Sect, Seong Cheon-wol, recognized that leaving the future of the Iron Sword Sect in the hands of this moronic grandchild would only invite total ruin, and a massive one at that.

“Bring Mo-ran to me.”

“What did you say?”

“Seong Mo-hyeon. If you manage to withstand fifty exchanges against Mo-ran, every single one of your offenses will be completely forgiven.”

“……What are you saying?”

Hearing Seong Cheon-wol’s unexpected decree, Seong Mo-hyeon, Seong Ju-tak, and the remaining martial artists of the Iron Sword Sect were entirely frozen in sheer confusion.

“Mo-ran, demonstrate your full capability.”

“…….”

“Do not hold back a single thing. You have witnessed firsthand that the survival of the Iron Sword Sect is currently teetering on a precipice. Under these circumstances, could someone as utterly worthless as Seong Mo-hyeon ever take over the Iron Sword Sect?”

“……I will do as you command.”

The onlookers listening to the exchange between Seong Cheon-wol and Seong Mo-ran were utterly incapable of comprehending what was unfolding before them.

“Grandfather! This is completely unjust! How can you bypass the eldest son like this!”

“You absolute dimwit……”

“Everything I did was for the sake of the Iron Sword Sect.”

With no other outlet for his boiling rage, Seong Mo-hyeon’s fury shifted entirely toward Seong Mo-ran.

After all the consideration he felt he had shown her over the years, it turned out she had merely been a hidden adversary coveting the position of heir.

“Mo-ran! How dare someone like you step forward!”

“Stop talking and attack.”

The indignation Seong Mo-hyeon experienced right now far exceeded the humiliation of his prior defeat at the hands of Jin So-un.

The profound feeling of being stabbed in the back by a close relative he had grown up alongside since infancy twisted into a venomous animosity that brimmed with genuine murderous intent.

“An insignificant girl like you……!”

He immediately executed the Mountain-Shattering Sword Art at the level of the Tenth Star right out of the gate.

His first strike was meant to kill.

Mirroring the chaotic state of his mind, the trajectory of his blade was incredibly aggressive and wild.

However.

“……!”

*CLANG!*

The echoing ring of colliding weapons failed to repeat even three times.

Seong Mo-hyeon took a heavy blow from the broad side of Seong Mo-ran’s blade, propelling him backward by a distance of three jang before he tumbled roughly into the dirt.

“How can this……!”

“Get back on your feet, Brother.”

*BANG! CLANG! BOOM!*

The noise of this conflict was entirely distinct from his previous confrontation against Jin So-un.

As one version of the Mountain-Shattering Sword Art collided violently with another Mountain-Shattering Sword Art, thunderous shockwaves reverberated across the courtyard.

While Seong Mo-ran maintained a completely stoic demeanor, Seong Mo-hyeon’s expression had deteriorated into total panic and disbelief.

He desperately tried to call upon his inner energy, but his limbs refused to respond.

He felt entirely paralyzed and weak, despite knowing perfectly well that his personal cultivation and mastery over forms were supposed to be far superior.

*THUD!*

On this exchange, Seong Mo-hyeon was thrown backward a distance of four jang, and failing to regain his footing, he could only gape stupidly at Seong Mo-ran.

He had always been absolutely certain that she was inferior to him in every way.

Though she had occasionally shown flashes of sharp resistance in the past, he had invariably dominated their spars.

What exactly was happening here?

It felt as though his forms were constantly getting interrupted mid-motion, causing his internal vigor to rapidly evaporate.

His arms and legs, which normally functioned in perfect harmony, felt completely disconnected and uncoordinated.

“Could it be……”

A stern, demanding tone broke through Seong Mo-hyeon’s state of shock.

“Has Mo-ran also mastered the Great Star-Absorbing Art?”

“…….”

Seong Mo-hyeon found himself entirely speechless.

“Remove him from my sight.”

The disciples of the Iron Sword Sect seized Seong Mo-hyeon—whom they had previously favored and pampered—with the harshness reserved for a treasonous culprit, hauling him toward the dungeons.

*Scrape, scrape, scrape……*

Completely paralyzed by disbelief, Seong Mo-hyeon’s legs gave out as they pulled him along.

‘But when that wretched bastard gripped me, it was definitely…….’

The lingering suspicion burned in his thoughts, yet Seong Mo-hyeon didn’t dare utter a word.

Since Seong Mo-ran had definitively demonstrated the magnitude of his delusions, he was now thoroughly terrified to even part his lips.

In order to sever ties between the Gyeryong Merchant Guild and the Taeul Sect, it was imperative to first restructure the Taeul Sect’s financial affairs.

There were undoubtedly numerous strategies available to address the persistent monetary shortfalls plaguing the Taeul Sect.

One option was to amass funds by locating and selling off the rare herbs documented within the Murim Compendium of Spiritual Medicines, or I could unearth hidden wealth from forgotten catacombs and secret caches that remained untouched by the world.

However, I required those medicinal substances for my own consumption, and the majority of the ancient vaults lay in faraway territories, rendering them inaccessible for the time being.

“Furthermore, even if I managed to locate them, transporting and selling off such valuable goods poses a significant challenge.”

Miraculous herbs and ancient relics presented identical risks.

The moment rumors circulated that an item had surfaced, greedy opportunists from every corner of the Murim would descend like scavengers, igniting bloody conflicts.

Since these skirmishes resulted in casualties that easily rivaled full-scale conflicts against the Black Path or the Demonic Cult, the Murim Alliance moved with unparalleled speed upon receiving such rumors to suppress any violence sparked by valuable artifacts or herbs.

Consequentially, whenever outlaws or mountain raiders assaulted a local settlement, the residents would deliberately avoid reporting a robbery; rather, they would falsely claim that a rare spiritual medicine had been unearthed.

Ultimately, the most effective short-term solution was to secure a wealthy benefactor capable of supplanting the Gyeryong Merchant Guild.

If one searched for trading syndicates to step into the role of the Gyeryong Merchant Guild, there were several sizable enterprises operating right here in Anhui Province.

Given its proximity to major hubs like Nanjing in Jiangsu Province and Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, Anhui Province possessed an ideal environment for commercial syndicates and escort agencies to flourish, creating an abundance of affluent families.

The true obstacle was that these immensely wealthy organizations possessed absolutely zero interest in the Taeul Sect.

To merchants who weighed every single coin in terms of pure investments and returns, the Taeul Sect offered no lucrative incentives.

Therefore, instead of a standard transactional agreement, I needed to foster a patron relationship built entirely on profound debt and appreciation.

For an individual of monumental wealth, such a debt of gratitude would naturally translate into monumental support.

“Rumor has it that the residence of the Wang Estate grew to such an absurd scale that it essentially transformed into its own settlement.”

“Imagine the sheer number of laborers and relatives relying on them. I even heard that neighboring regions offered complimentary tracts of land just to entice him to relocate his household there.”

“Hey, I’m actually the guy who constructed that very settlement, Wangbu!”

“You’re employed by the Wang Estate?”

“I just told you I literally built Wangbu! I laid down the roof tiles, fitted the wooden beams, the whole lot.”

“……Quit fooling around, Gwak. Keep your mouth shut and stick to your food.”

The Wang Estate was an illustrious lineage that originated from the humble Wang Fabric Shop, steadily accumulating astronomical fortunes across ten successive generations.

Expanding outward from the Wang Money House, their commercial empire grew to encompass the Wang Merchant Guild, the Wang Escort Agency, and a network of Wang Inns. Furthermore, they secured highly lucrative state-sanctioned salt distribution rights. This allowed them to amass an estate so vast that they were recognized among the three wealthiest entities across the entire realm, far eclipsing the boundaries of Anhui Province.

Naturally, an empire of that caliber had absolutely no motivation to associate with the struggling Taeul Sect.

“However, the situation changes entirely if their beloved daughter comes into play.”

Wang So-so.

The cherished, singular daughter born to Wang Geum-san, the reigning patriarch of the family, late in his years.

His devotion to her was so intense that Wang So-so had never once stepped past the estate gates prior to reaching the age of fifteen, with her entire education and leisure activities confined to a gargantuan estate that rivaled the size of a leviathan.

It was rumored that her only excursions consisted of riding a carriage around the vast inner grounds of the residence, which perfectly illustrated the sheer scale of Wang Geum-san’s resources and the protective bubble he bought for his child.

“People claim that Wang So-so possesses such breathtaking charm that a single glance leaves men spellbound, and a second glance drives them mad with infatuation, which is why her father keeps her under lock and key out of fear that the Emperor might claim her.”

“Wait, wasn’t she already brought to the imperial court? I thought she left Wangbu long ago.”

During my previous existence, a major crisis occurred when that precise young woman vanished without a trace, never to be seen again.

Wang Geum-san squandered the massive inheritance gathered over ten generations in a desperate bid to locate the missing Wang So-so, yet his efforts yielded absolutely nothing.

However, I was fully aware of the perpetrator’s identity—someone Wang Geum-san failed to uncover despite liquidating his entire empire.

“Discovering the reality behind it initially left me utterly stunned. To realize that they were the ones who orchestrated……”

The Murim Alliance served as the central hub where intelligence from every corner of the Murim converged before being disseminated.

Consequently, its archives contained everything from mundane rumors to highly classified secrets hidden from the public eye, with Mantongbu sorting and labeling these records according to strict tiers.

The vast majority of intelligence handled by Mantongbu never exceeded a Grade A classification.

Given that every single record held the potential to destabilize the balance of power across the Murim, security protocols were incredibly rigorous.

Yet, there existed a singular archive that reduced the standard records of Mantongbu to mere trifles.

The clandestine branch of Mantongbu known as Sim Hyeon-gak.

Nearly all documents stored within Sim Hyeon-gak bore a classification designated as Beyond Grade A.

Access to these files was restricted exclusively to the chief overseer of Sim Hyeon-gak, the Grand Strategist of Mantongbu, and the Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance. Furthermore, once an entry was locked away under high-level clearance, even the Alliance Leader was barred from unsealing it.

What manner of critical secrets justified such extreme measures?

For the most part, it comprised the private vulnerabilities and corrupt scandals surrounding the Nine Sects and One Gang as well as the Five Great Clans.

The intelligence inside Sim Hyeon-gak was systematically compiled to maintain leverage over the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Clans, which had grown into overwhelmingly dominant forces within the Murim.

“The second they forced me to commit the contents of Sim Hyeon-gak to memory, my ultimate demise was essentially sealed, wasn’t it?”

Shaking off the grim recollection of how my previous life concluded, I promptly cleared my thoughts.

Regardless, it was through the records of Sim Hyeon-gak that I discovered the true mastermind behind the “Wang So-so Disappearance Case,” an event that had utterly convulsed the entire realm.

The guilty party was an entity that absolutely no one suspected back then.

“The Azure Sky Merchant Guild……”

At that time, three specific factions found themselves entangled in the Wang So-so Disappearance Case.

The Dog Thread Sect and the Blood Pearl Fortress—two organizations belonging to the Black Path that were accused of the crime—were completely wiped out, and even the Tanghyeon Sect, despite being an Orthodox Path faction, suffered total destruction.

Despite all the bloodshed, not a single clue regarding Wang So-so’s whereabouts came to light, forcing the aggressively vengeful Wang Geum-san to offer staggering financial reparations to both the Murim Alliance and the Black Path Alliance.

“Every single one of them was merely acting as a puppet on a stage constructed by the Azure Sky Merchant Guild from the very start, ensuring that finding Wang So-so was a flat-out impossibility for them.”

The Azure Sky Merchant Guild was a relatively fresh commercial venture backed by the Namgung Clan.

During this period, the primary obstacle facing the Azure Sky Merchant Guild was its lack of historical pedigree and established reputation when compared to the formidable Wang Estate.

In an attempt to bridge this gap, they attempted to secure the official monopoly on salt trading, but they proved entirely incapable of unseating the Wang Estate, which had retained undisputed control over those salt distribution rights for over a century and ten years.

Namgung Sang-won, a prominent figure from a branch of the Namgung Clan and the actual mastermind behind the Azure Sky Merchant Guild, concluded that the only path to expanding their commercial reach was to crush the Wang Estate underfoot. To achieve this end, he engineered the entire plot.

“And this time around, I am going to throw a massive wrench into your little scheme.”

It wasn’t that my recollections of the past lacked other valuable opportunities at this moment.

Nevertheless, I picked the situation involving the Azure Sky Merchant Guild with full intent.

My decision to target the Azure Sky Merchant Guild—a formidable adversary by any metric—did not stem from some superficial urge to play the righteous hero.

“Back at the Iron Sword Sect, they carried themselves as though the entire matter was beneath their notice.”

The violent confrontation against Seong Mo-hyeon.

The uproar surrounding the “taboo technique” that had drawn out the Grand Strategist of the Murim Alliance himself.

Throughout that entire crisis, Namgung Sang-won sat comfortably on the elevated dais, yawning casually as though completely detached.

Being well aware that the Iron Sword Sect’s ability to run rampant across Anhui Province was directly tied to the silent consent of the Namgung Clan, along with the financial backing of the Azure Sky Merchant Guild, I found his dismissive behavior thoroughly irritating.

That infuriating habit of pushing someone else’s existence to the absolute brink while acting entirely blameless.

“If that’s how things are, then you shouldn’t mind if I disrupt your operations just a little bit, correct?”

Even though my adversary was the Azure Sky Merchant Guild backed by the prestigious Namgung Clan, I felt no genuine trepidation.

The martial artists employed by the Azure Sky Merchant Guild would undoubtedly utilize the Boundless Firmament Sword Art, and because I possessed precise knowledge regarding the timeline and mechanics of the abduction, I had numerous advantages to exploit.

Most importantly.

“Perhaps Seong Mo-ran isn’t entirely cold-hearted after all.”

The medicine that Seong Mo-ran had given me turned out to be none other than a Steel Guardian Pill.

While it fell short of the legendary Snow Plum Pill preserved by the Mount Hua Sect, it remained an extraordinarily rare elixir that utterly eclipsed a basic supplement like an Iron Heart Pill.

She had selflessly offered me a medicinal treasure normally reserved solely for the absolute core lineage of the Iron Sword Sect.

Having fully refined the Iron Heart Pills alongside the Steel Guardian Pill, my internal energy reservoirs had surged dramatically, approaching nearly forty-five years of cultivation in a single bound.

“Let’s find out how well you handle getting stained by the very mud you people love to fling at others.”

When all was said and done, my ultimate path would require me to stand against both the Demonic Cult and the collective power of the Murim Alliance.

If I were to tremble before a mere secondary branch of the Namgung Clan, I would stand absolutely no chance against the monumental threats awaiting me in the future.