The Genius Warrior Who Remembers Everything Chapter 108

Chapter 108. Great Journey of Avici Screams (7)

Murong Jae-hwa, who received the bow, looked bewildered.

“B-But Brother, how could I…….”

“Do you not know how to use a bow?”

“Ah, no, that is…….”

I took hold of the bastard’s fingers. On his index finger, middle finger, and thumb, thick calluses had formed, their number of ruptures and healings impossible to tell. They were calluses in places that could not form on swordsmen.

“What is the problem?”

“…….”

Murong Jae-hwa looked at the injured Baek Won-gak. Then he looked at the warriors of the Murong Clan who were looking at him.

“Did you make some promise when you left the clan that you would not use miscellaneous arts?”

The Murong Clan had been ashamed that Murong Jae-hwa, their eldest son, was more absorbed in other miscellaneous arts than the sword.

“……Yes? How do you know that…….”

“Right now, what is more important, that promise or those people’s lives?”

“Of course…….”

“Then is that not enough?”

And that was what had delayed the appearance of the One Bow against a Thousand, Breaking Bow, by a long time.

“…….”

I placed the quiver in Murong Jae-hwa’s longing arms.

“If you use the sword, you cannot save them. If you use the bow, you can save them. What is there to hesitate over?”

I don’t need the Breaking Bow who will appear after the Murong Clan’s destruction.

I don’t need the Breaking Bow who, after the momentum of the Great Righteous-Demonic War turned toward the Demonic Cult, blocked the Demonic Cult’s great army alone.

“If this is because of something Lord Sword-Breaker said, throw it away. When protecting the people precious to you, what does it matter whether it is a sword or a bow? You only need to use what you are good at.”

“……!”

Murong Jae-hwa’s eyes shook fiercely.

“Is there anything more to hesitate over?”

“……That is not it. I have never learned archery. I merely used it when playing alone…….”

I laughed softly and said,

“Don’t worry. I will teach you what I learned.”

The Breaking Bow who had stopped the ten thousand Hell Hungry Ghost Corps alone in Guizhou would now stop the Twelve Peak Citadels.

Murong Jae-hwa felt bewildered.

How had he known that Murong Jae-hwa enjoyed shooting a bow? And what did he mean by telling him to stop the enemy with it?

To begin with, the reason he had used a bow was to cast off his worries. It had merely been because when he was shooting a bow, he did not think about the clan or about his own worries and concerns…….

But now he was being told to stop the enemy with it, and he did not even know where to begin.

“Gyaaah!”

The body Jin So-un had caught floated up, and in an instant, the earth grew distant. They landed atop the tree where the young master of the Ghost Bow Sect had been hiding.

“Among those I know, there was someone who tried to stop ten thousand enemies alone.”

Jin So-un drew out a single arrow.

“To buy time for millions of people to evacuate, he stepped forward alone without fear.”

In the distance, they could see the people of the Twelve Peak Citadels running madly after seeing the signal flare fired by the Ghost Bow Sect.

“Everyone thought it was absurd. Something like that belonged only in myths.”

Murong Jae-hwa forgot that he was in an urgent situation and became absorbed in the story, swallowing his saliva.

“Wh-What happened?”

“He stopped them.”

“Huh!”

“People call the sword the king of all weapons, do they not? After I saw that sight with my own eyes that day, I thought this. Even if the sword was the king of all weapons, the most terrifying weapon in the world was the bow.”

The Twelve Peak Citadels charged down the wide official road without obstruction.

At the sight of them seeming as if they would rush in at any moment, sweat formed on Murong Jae-hwa’s hands.

“B-Brother.”

Jin So-un leisurely drew the bowstring.

“Watch carefully. This is the archery he left behind.”

PING.

The arrow flew toward the Twelve Peak Citadels in a clean arc.

However, it was not enough to stop them. Compared to nearly five hundred people, one arrow was far too few.

“Huh?”

Murong Jae-hwa’s eyes flashed open.

The arrow Jin So-un had shot began splitting into dozens.

NEIIIIGH.

The warriors and horses of the Twelve Peak Citadels, who had been charging urgently, stopped in place in surprise.

“How could you use the Ghost Bow Sect’s Illusory Arrows…….”

“It is not the Ghost Bow Sect’s.”

“Yes?”

“What I learned is the method of placing my realization into an arrow. And just now, I merely placed Taeul Sect’s sword art into the arrow.”

Then Jin So-un began reciting the essentials of the archery he had just displayed.

“Is it…… all right for you to teach this to me?”

Murong Jae-hwa knew because he had studied martial arts more deeply than anyone since childhood. He knew how high-level this archery was, and how many long years must have gone into completing this martial art.

“I was merely keeping it. I am only passing it on to the person he most wanted to give it to.”

“Are you saying that is me?”

“Because he once thought he had lost his family because of his own indecisiveness, and he wished it would become a solution for someone who would one day have the same worries as him. I am not qualified for it, and you are the rightful successor.”

“……What is its name?”

“It has none. He merely wished that the person would name it himself.”

A strange smile appeared on Jin So-un’s face.

“……I will name it the Heaven-Shattering Divine Bow.”

“How arrogant.”

“No. It is an extraordinary martial art worthy of such a name.”

“Then there is no need to hesitate any longer, is there?”

“Yes. fifteen minutes…… Could you buy me just fifteen minutes of time?”

To begin with, there was no way he could absorb all the essence of the Heaven-Shattering Divine Bow in this short moment.

He pulled out only the most important points and combined them with the Heaven-Earth Wave-Splitting Sword.

For some reason, the principles that had sounded complicated when heard only as an oral formula began producing answers more thrilling and refreshing than anything else when interwoven with the Heaven-Earth Wave-Splitting Sword.

It was as though they had met their separated other half.

The people of the Twelve Peak Citadels, who had been startled by Jin So-un’s Illusory Arrows, began sticking their heads out one by one again.

Jin So-un shot his bow, and this time, the companions waiting below also shot arrows with him.

When the real arrows hidden inside the Illusory Arrows pierced the bodies of the Twelve Peak Citadels’ warriors, the Twelve Peak Citadels hid their heads again.

After several repetitions of hiding from the arrows and poking their heads out, the people inside began moving busily, and before long, they began protecting their front with shields one by one.

PING.

SWISH-SWISH-SWISH.

The arrows hidden inside Jin So-un’s Illusory Arrows fell over the heads of the Twelve Peak Citadels, but they were all blocked by the shields.

Moreover, one out of every two arrows was knocked down by Flying Swords thrown at them. The incomplete Illusory Arrows had been countered.

Before they knew it, the distance had closed to nearly eighty zhang.

“Are you still far from done?”

“Ah! I-I am sorry. The Heaven-Earth Wave-Splitting Sword fit so perfectly that I tried applying the Flashing Light Parting Clouds Sword as well and ended up…….”

“You bastard! Get a hold of yourself. Captain Baek’s life depends on you.”

“Yes!”

Murong Jae-hwa answered like that and placed an arrow on the bowstring.

Although he stood atop a tree, there was not even the slightest tremor.

He closed his eyes briefly, and the moment he opened them,

TWANG.

With a deep resonance different from Jin So-un’s, a single arrow flew.

In a straight line, not an arc.

As one shot, not dozens.

Seeing the arrow fly toward them, the people of the Twelve Peak Citadels smirked and even lowered their shields, intending to knock the arrow away with their swords.

At that moment,

BOOM.

It pierced the right shoulder of the warrior who had tried to strike it away with his sword and drove him back two zhang.

Horse-Piercing Arrow.

An arrow that pierced through a horse and passed through the body of the armored warrior riding on it as well.

The warriors of the Twelve Peak Citadels, horrified by the arrow’s power, tangled with one another and began retreating behind boulders.

Before anyone knew it, not a single person remained visible in Murong Jae-hwa’s line of sight, and the front opened wide.

“You saved Captain Baek.”

The people who had been charging as if they would slaughter Murong Jae-hwa’s companions at any moment did not even make a breathing sound.

That sudden silence felt unbearably thrilling to Murong Jae-hwa.

This Murim Regular Exam was nothing if not chaotic.

Nothing could be predicted.

In the southeastern region, mountain bandits and Japanese bastards joined forces, and many people failed to pass the First Trial. In the northwestern region, those presumed to be from the Unorthodox Path clashed with the examinees, unintentionally producing a large number of mid-exam eliminations.

In the northeastern region, Mantongbu was investigating the five hundred deaths and the unidentified individuals who appeared to be their culprits.

As with the previous round, the results could not be predicted, and there were many cases where unexpected figures were eliminated or rose to prominence.

In particular, when the Twelve Peak Citadels, whose movements Daoist Master Myeonghyeon had been watching, stopped at Mount Song and no longer moved, he summoned the Righteous Path Association members of the Elder Hall.

“We should not have placed our expectations on those people to begin with. Was their original purpose not to recruit Taeul Sect?”

“In any case, looking at the result, is it not good that those two sides came into conflict?”

“That is not the problem. They say there are people among the Twelve Peak Citadels who had their Entry Tokens taken.”

There were sixteen Righteous Path Association members in total. Among the thirty people of the entire Elder Hall, they accounted for the majority. Perhaps because they understood that their gathering itself had to carry that much weight, considering that each of them was someone capable of shaking the world with a single hand, they did not stop blaming one another.

“Now, now, calm yourselves for a moment. If our Righteous Path Association does not unite, how can we accomplish our great undertaking in the future?”

Daoist Master Myeonghyeon, the current chairman of the Righteous Path Association, spoke solemnly, but more than one or two people clicked their tongues at his opinion.

This was because his campaign promise to place Mantongbu under the Righteous Path Association kept being delayed from day to day, and because fundamental questions about his qualifications, which had existed from the beginning, had been raised.

“Unity or whatever else, the name of the Righteous Path Association is about to fall to the ground. What will you do if a member of the Righteous Path Association fails to enter Murim Academy as the top student?”

“Then it cannot be helped.”

“Huh……! No, are you seriously saying that right now?”

Daoist Master Myeonghyeon also could not help lamenting that the plan to pressure Jegal So-myeong into placing his disciple in Mantongbu had gone awry. However, because Jin So-un, who had ruined the original operation, was still rampaging, he thought another opportunity had come.

“……Chairman. Are you saying this without knowing that Taeul Sect entering Murim Academy may greatly affect the future order of the Murim Alliance?”

Contrary to the serious question, Daoist Master Myeonghyeon leisurely stroked his beard.

“Heh heh, why say something so grave? Is the purpose of establishing Murim Academy not, after all, to select and nurture talent through a fair method so they can work for the peace of the murim? What is wrong with them entering after increasing their skills?”

“Ahem. Hmm.”

Who did not know that? However, the founding purpose was one thing, and the principle by which the real world moved was another, was it not?

“What Elder Cheon likely wishes to say is his concern over Jin So-un of Taeul Sect entering as the top student.”

“That is right! That is exactly what I want to say.”

Murim Academy had responsibilities and rights based strictly on grades.

Considering that the tone of the academy students of that generation changed depending on who entered as the top student, the freedom of the academy students was all well and good, but removing the possibility of future chaos for the sake of the Murim Alliance was more important than anything.

“I thought the Twelve Peak Citadels might finally do something useful, but as expected, they failed. In the end, we must move.”

“Chairman, what are you saying? Do you not know what will happen if we privately interfere in the Murim Regular Exam?”

“Of course we must not interfere privately. But Elder Kang, do you wish to see a disciple of Taeul Sect enter as the top student?”

“……Ahem.”

“Moreover, do you know this? Jin So-un of Taeul Sect, who is now predicted to be the top student, is someone to whom the Grand Strategist once handed an Entry Token.”

“Hm? How can such a person be taking the Murim Regular Exam?”

“Why he is taking the regular exam, and where the Entry Token went, are not important. The problem is that this person of Taeul Sect is someone Jegal So-myeong is watching.”

“…….”

“What do you think will happen if Jin So-un of Taeul Sect goes to Mantongbu, or even to Sim Hyeon-gak?”

“Huh.”

“For the first time since Grand Strategist Jegal took control of Mantongbu, someone from the academy will enter Mantongbu. And that person will be a disciple of Taeul Sect.”

Mantongbu was the institution that moved the Murim Alliance.

Gaining control of Mantongbu meant being able to freely move the Murim Alliance. And someone would enter it as an academy graduate? They could not even imagine what that young man, who would possess enormous authority at a young age, might do.

“Until recently, Taeul Sect was a sect that was evaluated as one that should perhaps be excluded from the One Hundred Eight Peaks. If a disciple from a sect that has received such contempt enters Mantongbu and gains power, do you think the peace of the Murim Alliance will truly continue?

He will wildly scatter the order of the Murim Alliance under the words improvement and progress.”

The aged elders closed their eyes one by one and continued sighing as if even imagining it frightened them.

Since attention had already focused on Jin So-un and Taeul Sect, no one picked a quarrel with Daoist Master Myeonghyeon over what had happened with Mantongbu.

After all, more than Mantongbu falling into the hands of the Elder Council right now, they were probably more afraid of someone they considered insignificant sharing authority with them.

“That is correct. When an unskilled person swings a sword, is it not the innocent who shed blood?”

Even the elders who had been looking askance at Daoist Master Myeonghyeon began nodding one by one.

It was truly easy.

Daoist Master Myeonghyeon felt grateful to Jin So-un, the person he had once ground his teeth over.

“I wish to hear the chairman’s wise opinion.”

“I wish to hear the chairman’s wise opinion.”

Each of their voices was filled with politeness and impatience.

After soothing the people’s impatience with a brief silence, Daoist Master Myeonghyeon wetted his lips once and began speaking.