The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Novel - Chapter 203

Chapter 203
“Let’s head in first.”

I told my bewildered companions, and they quickly regained their composure, following in my footsteps.

As we walked, the people wandering the hallway and attending to their duties began to fix their eyes on us.

The way they stared suggested they didn’t appreciate the intrusion of outsiders.

Some even stepped forward to block our path.

“This area houses the representative executive offices. Outsiders aren’t…”

Oh, give me a break.

“Excuse me?”

The member of the Orthodox Path Association who had spoken saw the look on my face, hesitated, and then backed off.

Seong Mo-ran scoffed.

“How ridiculous.”

Her frustration mirrored my own.

The further we ventured inside, the more the staff turned to watch us.

There were openly hostile glares, expressions of clear annoyance, and some even whispered insults as we passed.

It felt as though we had walked right into enemy territory.

“They’ve certainly renovated the place.”

Following Jang Woo-jae’s remark, I observed that spaces previously intended for storage had been elaborately refurbished.

Desks and cabinets were crammed into every corner, overflowing with paperwork.

The area looked far more professional than our own administrative office, where files were often left in a heap.

‘The Academy surely didn’t fund this. Did the Orthodox Path Association foot the bill?’

While I was occupied with such distracting thoughts, a group of people stepped out of the chief representative’s office.

They acted as if they were in charge, quickly reviewing reports and documents before passing them along to their subordinates.

As they stepped out, they noticed the strange tension in the air and scanned the room.

“Why is everyone loitering instead of getting back to work?”

“Brother Jeong-gi. What’s going on here?”

At Namgung Seon-hwa’s question, Jegal Jeong-gi spotted us and let out a long breath.

He ignored Namgung Seon-hwa and fixed his gaze solely on me.

“You actually showed up.”

“It’s not as if this is a place I’m forbidden to enter.”

“You abandoned your post for quite a while during the Academic Curriculum… I had no idea you could be so shameless.”

“……”

What in the world is this guy talking about?

The position of representative hadn’t been transferred yet.

My absence was only due to the fact that I had been busy cleaning up the disaster caused by the Righteous Path Association.

Even so, what compelled the Five Great Clans, including Jegal Jeong-gi, to act like this?

‘What are they counting on?’

Namgung Gi-pyo whispered something to Jegal Jeong-gi. He nodded and looked back at me.

“If you have a moment, would you care for some tea?”

He acted as if he were a master hosting a guest.

The dynamic was completely inverted, but it was so pathetic that I decided to hear him out for now.

“Do you have any Junshan Yinzhen? That’s been to my liking lately.”

Jegal Jeong-gi and Namgung Gi-pyo both stiffened.

Why?

After wasting so much money on the decor, did they fail to stock any decent tea for visitors?

Pour.

As boiling water was poured into the cup, flower buds slowly began to unfurl.

Each petal was a different hue, and as they expanded, they stained the clear water with vibrant colors.

While I was briefly distracted by the mesmerizing sight, a smile played on Jegal Jeong-gi’s lips.

“They call it the Seven-Colored Flower.”

“Seven-Colored Flower?”

“I hear it’s the drink of choice for the elites and officials in Beijing these days.”

He lifted his chin.

“……They don’t bother with Junshan Yinzhen or Longjing Tea anymore, now that every commoner can get their hands on them.”

Well, after seeing this striking tea, I could see why someone might lose interest in the simpler look of blooming Longjing or Junshan Yinzhen leaves.

Jegal Jeong-gi raised the cup with a refined motion.

“When ordinary people get a rare taste of something special, they delude themselves into thinking they’ve attained a higher status. In reality, though, it’s only available to them because it’s no longer exclusive.”

“What are you getting at?”

He smirked.

“Just making a remark on how the world turns.”

He drank the Seven-Colored Flower again, holding it in his mouth to savor the taste as he closed his eyes.

Is there a special etiquette for drinking this stuff?

I pointedly left my cup untouched.

Jegal Jeong-gi finished his tea and opened his eyes.

“You must have been quite rattled.”

“Does the Jegal Clan define the word ‘quite’ differently?”

I had returned from a short trip only to find strangers occupying my office and playing the role of owners.

Would anyone call that merely ‘a little’ unsettling?

“Would it be fair to say I could bash your skulls in right now and you wouldn’t have a leg to stand on?”

Despite my aggressive tone, Jegal Jeong-gi let out a faint chuckle.

“As expected, even if the seat changes, the person’s essence remains the same.”

He was trying to get a rise out of me.

But the attempt was so amateurish that I only let out a cold laugh.

“Seems you weren’t aware that this rootless man has a volatile temper.”

“I’m aware. I heard you left Ak Ju-pyeong crippled.”

“I’m not one for mercy when someone steps over the line.”

Jegal Jeong-gi brushed his chin as if it were a trivial matter.

“True, Ju-pyeong did commit a minor blunder.”

“Normal people don’t call it a ‘blunder’ when someone is beaten to the brink of death.”

“Hah hah!”

Jegal Jeong-gi laughed out loud, unable to hide his amusement, and shook his head.

For some reason, the sound of his laughter grated on my nerves.

I was used to such treatment, and I usually responded with a brazen attitude to provoke the other party, but this felt different.

“What’s so funny?”

“Isn’t it humorous for someone who stained his hands with quite a bit of blood to pass the Regular Exam to say something like that?”

Suddenly, my mind felt icy calm.

Jegal Jeong-gi arched his eyebrows.

“I double-checked the reports from the Regular Exam. You killed five times as many people as the others.”

He was trying to use my own conscience against me, but that was a mistake.

“I have no forgiveness for those who target my life or my position.”

I’m not as soft as you imagine.

Jegal Jeong-gi nodded as if attempting to show understanding.

“Of course, you shouldn’t. That’s natural for a martial artist. However……”

His smile vanished, and he fixed me with a cold stare.

“How many more are you prepared to kill to keep that seat?”

“……”

“The more you cling to that spot, the higher the body count will climb. The further you ascend, the more people like Ak Ju-pyeong will stand in your way.”

I leaned in closer.

“What exactly is your intention here?”

I locked eyes with him, my gaze colder than ever.

“Are you suggesting the Orthodox Path Association plans to be an obstacle?”

Jegal Jeong-gi had dropped a heavy warning, yet he shrugged it off like it was nothing.

“I was simply asking if you had the resolve to match your ambition.”

I scanned the room once more.

“If that’s all you have to say, then this charade has gone on long enough.”

“It’s nothing. For the Orthodox Path Association, maintaining proper formality is standard, even for a space we occupy temporarily.”

He took a step back, intentionally emphasizing the word “temporarily.”

“Since the Academy Representative is back, we’ll eventually have to clear out the work we’ve been handling.”

However, his final words were laced with hidden meaning.

“……That is, assuming the current representative continues to hold the position.”

“You’re fretting over nothing.”

Deciding there was nothing left to discuss, I stood up.

Jegal Jeong-gi tilted his head to follow me.

“Oh? Leaving so soon?”

“Is there anything else to talk about?”

He pointed to the tea I had left untouched.

“It’s very precious. You really should try it.”

“……”

I drained the Seven-Colored Flower in one gulp.

Perhaps I’d missed the technique, as only a sharp bitterness lingered on my tongue.

The silent, occupied office felt even heavier now, contrasted against the noise from the hall.

Everyone else was burdened by a sense of inferiority, unable to speak freely.

‘What are they really after?’

Namgung Seon-hwa struggled to grasp the situation.

Jin So-un had only been gone for a short time, which was hardly enough reason to seize the representative’s office.

As they had suggested, she knew that forming a ‘temporary’ executive council was just a thin, transparent excuse.

‘They must have something up their sleeve……’

With that thought, she looked at Jin So-un and asked,

“Young Master Jin. What did you discuss with Brother Jeong-gi… or rather, the chairman of the Orthodox Path Association?”

They needed to know the enemy’s intent immediately.

What were they planning?

She wondered how confident they were to cause such a ruckus and act like the legitimate leadership.

There was no reason for them to take things this far just to fill a seat that had been briefly empty.

“We didn’t talk much. I was just served a cup of strange tea.”

Jin So-un answered calmly, keeping his eyes on his documents.

“Tea?”

“Yes. He called it the Seven-Colored Flower. It was quite bitter.”

“……”

His calm, indifferent tone was odd.

He was clearly burying a deep, intense emotion.

Namgung Seon-hwa had seen this look on someone else before.

Her grandfather.

It was the same look the Azure Emperor Divine Sword wore when facing conspiracies despite his absolute power and righteousness.

‘This is dangerous……’

She knew later that her grandfather had been prepared to shed blood within their own clan.

The one who had stepped in then was Jin So-un.

If he hadn’t helped complete the Firmament Cloudless Sword Art, the Namgung Clan would have undoubtedly fractured, regardless of the spark.

‘This time, it’s my turn to help.’

Having faced life and death alongside Jin So-un, she knew how ruthless he could be.

She couldn’t even fathom what might happen if he were truly pushed to rage.

She knew better than anyone the struggle he had endured to reach his current position.

She didn’t believe he would fall for the Orthodox Path Association’s schemes and lose everything.

But she didn’t want to see him suffer either.

‘Because the Orthodox Path Association is trying to break him.’

For the next three days, Namgung Seon-hwa leveraged every connection she had to uncover the group’s agenda.

From a disciple of a sect affiliated with the Namgung Clan, she learned the critical truth.

[Jegal Jeong-gi approached the Training Masters. He asked for their support to challenge Jin So-un… and his faction.]

[He claimed that if they organized an academic event and rallied more support, they should be recognized as the official representative team.]

[Please, never let Young Master Gi-pyo know I told you this.]

The Training Masters held independent voting power within the Academy.

It was predictable that those with agendas would try to recruit them to undermine Jin So-un.

‘But why now?’

The Training Masters and instructors could only set the stage.

In the end, the students would decide, and currently, the tide of opinion wasn’t in favor of the Orthodox Path Association.

Jin So-un had already transformed the Academy’s sentiment by resolving the issues in Sichuan.

Namgung Seon-hwa had discovered that the Righteous Path Association had lost significant credibility due to the Sichuan incident, and support for Jin So-un had surged as a result.

The Orthodox Path Association seemed to have nothing to gain by moving now.

“No. Perhaps they were forced to act precisely because of the situation?”

Seong Mo-ran, who had been listening, interjected.

“If things continue like this, Young Master Jin’s position will become untouchable. This might be the Orthodox Path Association’s final attempt.”

“……That’s likely true.”

Even so, a question remained.

Moving this aggressively meant they had to have a trump card.

What was the source of their confidence?

As if to validate her unease, new troubles kept surfacing.

“The instructor has been informed that his lectures are suspended.”

Murong Jae-hwa arrived at the office, his confusion evident.

Jin So-un set his documents aside.

“What does that mean? Who notified him of the suspension?”

“They said it came from the new representative executive staff……”

Since there was no official Archery Way lecture in the Academy, Murong Jae-hwa was receiving private training.

If Yeo Sam-tong of the Ghost Bow Sect were removed, he would have no one left to teach him.

“Hah.”

Jin So-un laughed, clearly finding it absurd.

GRIND.

Jin So-un grit his teeth.

His eyes burned.