The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Novel - Chapter 49

Chapter 49
## Chapter 49. A First-Rate Warrior Peering into the Darkness (2)

If one were to analyze the underlying causes for the collapse during the Great Righteous-Demonic War, the contributing factors would be vast and varied, yet none proved as destructive as Demonic Qi.

A myriad of specialized Demonic Arts tracing their origins back to the Heavenly Demon Scripture served as the bedrock of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

The corrupted energy radiated by these dark techniques was fundamentally far more devastating to those who received its blows than to the martial artists who wielded the Demonic Arts themselves.

The sole forces capable of withstanding such a corrupting presence were exceptional Dao Power or the purity of Innate Energy.

Yet, through the sweeping transformations across five centuries, the historical trajectory of the Murim gradually reduced deep spiritual cultivation to nothing more than a fringe practice of the Unorthodox Side Path. Martial artists redirected their devotion toward perfecting external forms rather than accumulating Dao Power, prioritizing internal disciplines over the refinement of Innate Energy.

Consequently, this ideological shift sealed the ultimate downfall of the Orthodox Path Murim.

A minor trace of Demonic Qi could potentially be purged using a vast reservoir of standard internal arts, but the very moment that internal equilibrium faltered, the malignant energy would instantly consume the victim’s entire anatomy.

Indeed, Demonic Qi acted as a force far more lethal than the most potent venom.

Since no antidote existed to neutralize its effects, a person had no alternative but to rely entirely on their personal physical fortitude to cleanse the infection from within.

If left unassisted, his demise is certain.

Setting aside the severe lacerations covering his frame, he possessed not a single drop of vitality required to combat the invading Demonic Qi.

The most viable course of action available in this situation involved transporting him directly to Wolhyang’s tomb to purge his physical form with Innate Energy.

Yet, even a minor disruption from moving his broken body would likely trigger an internal collapse that would end his life on the spot.

Furthermore, though I carried the Fire Monkey’s Inner Core with me, his current state of utter depletion meant that administering such a potent item would instantly incinerate his internal organs from the inside out.

“Is there truly no option left?”

I was desperate to preserve his life by any means necessary.

I wished to offer genuine solace to Murong Seol, remembering how she had sought me out to confide her deepest burdens during those bleakest nights.

Even though that future had not yet transpired in this timeline, it remained an indelible part of my past memories. I hoped this act of salvation might serve as a quiet recompense for those bygone days.

“Wait, what is this?”

Right then, the Heavenly Demon Supreme Bracelet resting upon my right wrist—or rather, the artifact that had been transformed into the Red Phoenix Bracelet—began to pulse with a subtle tremor.

Because its precise attributes had remained an enigma to me all this time, I had simply scraped away the inscription reading ‘Heavenly Demon Supreme Bracelet’ from its inner band and kept it on my person.

Astonishingly, as the Red Phoenix Bracelet continued its gentle vibrations, it commenced drawing the stagnant Demonic Qi out from Murong Sang-won’s form, bit by bit.

It was only in this precise instant that the true function of the Red Phoenix Bracelet became clear to me.

The relic, which had previously shown absolutely no reaction regardless of how much of my own internal arts I directed into it, responded exclusively to the presence of Demonic Qi.

Gradually, I began channeling my internal arts directly into the Red Phoenix Bracelet.

Consequently, the oscillations of the pulsing artifact intensified significantly, steadily pulling the corrupt energy that had been thoroughly dominating Murong Sang-won’s physical frame away from his body.

A brief wave of anxiety washed over me, fearing that absorbing such malice might inadvertently taint my own pathways, but fortunately, the mechanism merely gathered and neutralized the Demonic Qi internally without letting any slip back out.

“Whew.”

I lost all track of how much time slipped past during the process.

Eventually, Murong Sang-won convulsed, discharging a violent torrent of blackened blood ruined by the foul energy.

“Phew.”

Watching the natural color slowly return to his pale face, a long breath of relief finally escaped my lips.

By some stroke of luck, every trace of the corrupting essence that had compromised Murong Sang-won’s entire system had been successfully extracted.

Nevertheless, because his remaining life force hovered at such a critical low, I could not risk moving Murong Sang-won from his current position.

“He will have to remain here to stabilize for the time being……. Is there any manner of rare herb that can replenish his lost vitality at this moment……?”

I reviewed the contents of the Murim Compendium of Spiritual Medicines stored within my memories, searching for any specific plant that could aid in Murong Sang-won’s recovery, but the nearest known location for such an ingredient required a journey of six full days.

“Seeking out a medical practitioner carries far too much peril right now as well.”

Observing his eyelids flutter weakly open and closed, he remained in a state so fragile that his breathing could permanently cease at any second.

Were I to abandon this spot to secure medicinal supplies, I might return to find nothing more than a cold body.

Just then, a flicker of awareness returned to Murong Sang-won.

Utilizing a voice that carried slightly more clarity than before, he strained to utter his final wishes.

“I…… I have a favor to ask…….”

Seeing him attempt to raise his head against the ground, I immediately grew frantic and intervened.

“I urge you to remain perfectly still. Any unnecessary movement at this stage could cause your condition to take a fatal turn.”

“No…… I am bound to…… regardless…….”

I placed my hand directly over the mouth of the obstinate patient.

In this critical hour, the absolute priority was preserving whatever microscopic amount of stamina he had left.

“At least I have this option at my disposal.”

I retrieved a sharp blade from the inner folds of my garments.

It was an implement I frequently utilized during my travels in the wilderness, meaning its edge was maintained to a razor-sharp finish.

Without hesitation, I drew the blade across my own palm in a clean motion.

The vast majority of the rare herbs I had ingested up to this point had already been integrated into my internal cultivation via the Taeul True Scripture.

Even so, because the volume of absolute treasures I had consumed was so staggering, the residual essence of those miraculous substances still circulated freely through my bloodstream.

Furthermore, because my own system had already processed the energy and filtered out any inherent toxicity, it was entirely safe to introduce into a critically injured patient.

“Hold onto life, please. Should you pass away, she will be left entirely isolated with no one to support her when adversity strikes.”

Driven by sheer desperation, I squeezed the life-giving fluid from my wounded palm.

—

Murong Sang-won, facing what he believed to be his imminent demise, found his thoughts drifting back through the years of his life.

His male heir, Murong Jae-hwa, possessed an undeniable passion and dedication for the martial path, yet he had always remained physically frailer and less capable than his elder sister, making him a constant source of quiet sorrow for his father.

He had provided the boy with countless valuable herbs over the years, but due to his innate nature, while his internal cultivation expanded, his fundamental physical durability never truly improved.

Later on, a celebrated doctor brought in by the Murim Alliance examined Murong Jae-hwa’s pulses and sighed in disappointment, noting that the youth had been given rare substances that clashed fundamentally with his underlying constitution.

Per the expert diagnosis, the young man’s body suffered from a severe deficit of Fire Qi, throwing his internal balance completely out of alignment. Should he ever consume a treasure rich in Fire Qi, his physical frame would transform into something so robust and powerful that he would scarcely be recognizable.

Following that revelation, Murong Sang-won launched extensive inquiries across the land and exhausted vast sums of money to acquire a flame-attributed medicine, but with the upcoming Murim Academy Exam drawing near, such treasures had completely vanished from the markets.

When verifiable word arrived indicating that a elusive beast known as the Fire Monkey had been sighted within the peaks of Mount Huang, Murong Sang-won chose to take matters into his own hands.

Accompanied by a pair of loyal personal guards, he journeyed into the rugged terrain of Mount Huang where the creature had been observed. After enduring weeks of grueling wilderness camping, they finally managed to track down the beast.

By coordinating effectively with his two retainers to corner the creature against a rock face, Murong Sang-won ultimately succeeded in securing the prized Fire Monkey’s Inner Core.

In the exact moment he believed his familial anxieties were finally resolved,

an unidentified group launched a sudden ambush against them.

Initially, Murong Sang-won dismissed the severity of the confrontation.

He assumed they were merely common thieves targeting the valuable Fire Monkey’s Inner Core.

‘What…… what manner of martial style is this?!’

Their erratic and unpredictable techniques bore absolutely no resemblance to the orthodox styles practiced within the Central Plains, and their strikes carried a bizarre, unidentifiable force that corrupted his physical form as though a toxin were spreading through his veins.

Watching his loyal guards perish before his eyes while trying to shield him, spitting blood as they fell, the shadow of death loomed over him for the very first time.

Summoning his remaining resolve, he fled desperately through the unfamiliar peaks, but eventually found himself cornered at the precipice of a sheer drop extending a thousand gil down into the abyss.

“Disclose your identities, you cowards! Do you comprehend the status of the man you dare to assault?!”

He attempted to engage them in conversation, hoping to extract even a minor detail regarding their origin, but his pursuers maintained an absolute, chilling silence as they pressed their assault.

Left with no alternative, Murong Sang-won cast himself off the thousand-gil precipice, and, thoroughly crippled by the strange affliction his attackers had inflicted upon him, lay expiring at the floor of the canyon.

How many grueling days and nights had he lingered in that state?

[Father, a sense of dread weighs upon my heart. I beg of you to reconsider this journey.]

The anxious expression of his beloved daughter, who had pleaded for his safety before he departed the family estate, flashed vividly through his mind.

He had dismissed her worries with a lighthearted laugh at the time, telling her that a young woman approaching marriageable age shouldn’t fret over such trivial matters.

Yet now, he realized he would willingly forfeit everything he owned just to gaze upon her countenance one final time.

Through his fading, fragmented awareness, he perceived a lone human figure navigating down the steep rock wall utilizing a length of rope.

And the precise instant that individual searched through his robes and retrieved the Fire Monkey’s Inner Core, was it the memory of his daughter’s face that compelled him?

Murong Sang-won committed an act of utter indiscretion.

He inadvertently muttered the identity of his noble house.

Murong Sang-won fully anticipated his execution.

‘Ah, what an absolute fool I am. I have sealed my own doom through my own words.’

The Fire Monkey’s Inner Core represented an extraordinary treasure, easily recognized as one of the ten most coveted items across the entire Murim World.

There was simply no scenario where a martial artist skilled enough to scale down a massive canyon would willingly surrender such a prize, and upon discovering that his captive belonged to the Murong Clan, eliminating the sole witness to prevent future complications was the only logical outcome.

Rather than going to the trouble of preserving the life of a Murong Clan member and surrendering the artifact, consuming the Fire Monkey’s Inner Core to elevate one’s own power offered a vastly superior return.

‘My own lapse in judgment has brought about my destruction. Forgive me, Seol-ah…… I fear I shall never return to your side.’

As he accepted his fate and allowed his eyes to close, the stranger began behaving in a highly unorthodox manner.

The youth started removing the entirety of his upper garments.

‘Grant me at least a shred of dignity in my final moments! Of what possible value are these blood-soaked rags to you, you wretched thief?!’

He desperately attempted to scream at the top of his lungs, but the only utterances his throat could manage were weak, muffled grunts.

Subsequently, the young stranger pressed his palm firmly against Murong Sang-won’s Middle Qi Center, and almost immediately, the suffocating, oppressive energies that had been destroying his vital pathways began to slowly recede.

The toxic corruption that had permeated his physical frame began venting outward through his skin, while the lingering poison inside his vital organs was forcefully expelled through his mouth.

Cough!

Having rid his system of the foul substance, his consciousness cleared instantly.

‘What…… what miracle is this?’

Murong Sang-won stared intently at the face of the enigmatic individual before him…… no, the countenance of a righteous, noble warrior driven by pure altruism, who clearly harbored no greed toward an object as invaluable as the Fire Monkey’s Inner Core.

Despite the evident youth etched into his features, he possessed a striking appearance characterized by sharp, masculine lines beautifully balanced by a subtle, refined elegance.

The young man glanced down at the Fire Monkey’s Inner Core, then shifted his gaze back and forth toward Murong Sang-won’s face.

Discerning the youth’s line of thought, Murong Sang-won felt a wave of panic.

While a portion of the poison had been drawn out, his internal pathways remained deeply compromised by the trauma. Introducing an item saturated with intense Fire Qi into his current state would be akin to tossing kindling onto a roaring blaze.

To his immense relief, the young warrior placed the container back down upon the earth.

The youth then scanned the towering rock face above them, calculating the feasibility of making an ascent.

The fleeting spark of hope vanished almost instantly. Murong Sang-won harbored no illusions that the young man could successfully scale such an immense cliffside while saddled with the weight of an incapacitated adult.

Furthermore, attempting to manage his recovery by making multiple trips to this isolated location was a completely impractical notion.

With that realization, a profound sense of acceptance washed over his spirit.

‘This is where my journey concludes. If he would only agree to deliver my final sentiments to my daughter, and to my son…….’

Utilizing the meager pocket of energy that had returned to his frame, he forced his mouth open and spoke.

“I…… I have a favor to ask…….”

Before Murong Sang-won could articulate another syllable, the young warrior shook his head firmly.

“I must insist that you remain completely still. Any reckless exertion at this juncture could cause your physical state to deteriorate past recovery.”

“No, I am bound to…… regardless…….”

Ultimately, the young man placed his hand over Murong Sang-won’s mouth to silence him, raising a single finger to his own lips to command absolute quiet.

‘I am merely begging you to pass on my final words to my family!’

Murong Sang-won felt an intense wave of irritation, yet he lacked the physical capability to manifest it.

The youth then produced a small blade and deliberately sliced open his own hand.

Without delay, he pressed his bleeding palm, from which rich crimson fluid was weeping, directly against Murong Sang-won’s parched lips.

‘Who in the world is this youth? To sacrifice his own flesh for a stranger he has never encountered before…….’

Within the folklore shared among the common populace, tales existed of devoted children who, when an elderly or infirm parent hovered at death’s door, would cut their own flesh to feed them blood, thereby extending their lives just long enough for a medical expert to arrive.

Murong Sang-won was well-acquainted with such parables.

Like most narratives of that ilk, he had always assumed they were exaggerated fabrications designed to emphasize filial piety, meaning they had never truly resonated with him emotionally.

Yet, as the rich fluid crossed his lips and descended into his core, an undeniable warmth radiated through his entire anatomy, causing a sudden surge of vitality to awaken within his pathways.

‘Could those old legends actually hold truth?’

In that exact moment, the low words of the young warrior drifted into Murong Sang-won’s awareness.

“Hold onto life, please. Should you pass away, she will be left entirely isolated with no one to support her when adversity strikes.”

He could not fathom the underlying meaning behind the youth’s specific phrasing, yet he could clearly perceive the absolute, unwavering determination the young man possessed regarding his survival.

—

As he continued to let his own life force flow into Murong Sang-won, Jin So-un suddenly recognized a critical oversight on his part.

‘I neglected to seal his Numbing Acupoint.’

Practitioners of the martial paths were notoriously consumed by a desire for extraordinary treasures.

Throughout history, there had been documented accounts of vile martial artists who hunted down individuals known to have consumed rare substances, going so far as to render them down to harvest the residual essence within them.

Should Murong Sang-won ever deduce that Jin So-un’s very life force was saturated with the properties of miraculous herbs…….

‘No, that is a foolish thought…… He is, after all, the recognized Young Clan Head of the reputable Murong Clan…….’

Jin So-un consciously forced himself to suppress the paranoid anxieties that kept flashing through his mind.