The Genius Warrior Who Remembers Everything Chapter 127

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

“Do you truly intend to go in?”

I slung a bundle filled with Fasting Pills and jerky over my shoulder, and at my waist, I fastened a waterskin as large as the length of my leg.

“Is there any other way? I cannot just leave them to die.”

“……No, why does Young Master Jin have to fix what those bastards did?!”

Seong Mo-ran shouted loudly enough to shake the Grand Riding Ground, and every time she did, the sharp gazes of the Nine Sects and One Gang and the elders turned toward her. But Seong Mo-ran did not seem to care in the slightest and raised her voice even more.

“Tell those high-ranking elders to go in! If they failed to educate their brats properly, then the adults should take responsibility!”

Originally, it was an irreverent act serious enough that even calling the Execution Pavilion at once would not have been excessive, but no one stepped forward. If they caused a scene here and offended me, the ones who died would be their disciples.

“Um, Older Brother. Will you be all right?”

Eun Seol-ran, who had come with Sa-ryeon, spoke carefully, and Namgung Seon-hwa, Seong Mo-ran, and Hong Sa-ryeon stared at Eun Seol-ran with rabbit-like eyes.

“O-Older Brother?”

“Older Brother?”

“Did you just say Older Brother?”

At the three women’s questioning, Eun Seol-ran looked flustered for a moment, then soon blushed and said,

“He said that his little sister’s friend is his little sister too, so I received permission…….”

“…….”

The three women’s gazes suddenly sharpened and glared at me.

“You must like words like ‘Older Brother,’ hm?”

“Oh my, what a shame. I am older, so I cannot call you ‘Older Brother.’ What should I do?”

“Eldest Senior Brother, I am disappointed.”

I sighed as I looked at them.

“Is that important right now?”

The commotion subsided for a while, and amid everyone’s worries, I was guided by Yu Ji-ryang and stood before the Soul-Destroying Formation.

-You can come out, can you not?

At the sudden Sound Transmission, I turned my head. At one side of the Grand Riding Ground, Jegal So-myeong was meeting my eyes.

-If I try to search safely, all those things inside will die.

It took one double-hour to make a circuit of the Soul-Destroying Formation. If I searched every path they had taken one by one, all the bastards who had entered would be dead before I could even check twenty of them.

-If their lives and yours are weighed at the same time, take care of your own life first.

At Jegal So-myeong’s words, I could not help tilting my head.

Jegal So-myeong did not know me as well as I knew him.

Moreover, from his perspective, I was someone who had used him and caused him damage every time, so why was he speaking as if he cared about me?

-Are you perhaps trying to give those bastards a pardon?

The expressionless Jegal So-myeong snorted for an instant.

-If you bring them out, I will expel them without exception. Along with that, I will make the sects that caused damage pay compensation.

-I will bring those bastards back alive without fail.

The moment I took one step forward, the noisy sounds of the Grand Riding Ground cut off all at once, and I entered a space of perfect stillness.

The Soul-Destroying Formation was not a place where one could move along routes as one pleased, even if one had memorized all two hundred thousand paths.

The moment I took a single wrong step while walking the third route, I could not know whether I would enter the one hundred sixtieth thousand route or the eighty-fifth thousandth route. That was the defining feature that set the Soul-Destroying Formation apart from other Mystic Gate Formations.

Finding someone inside the Soul-Destroying Formation, where there was no reference background or object, was the same as finding a single needle in the Taklamakan Desert.

“They must have gotten confused while calculating the Sixty Jiazi.”

Since the Academy Regular Exam was a place that did not even evaluate basic common knowledge, there were plenty of bastards who could barely write their own names.

Those bastards had recklessly stepped into the immeasurable count with only three routes they had learned by looking over someone’s shoulder, so this was not something that could be evaluated with something as simple as “the ignorant are brave.”

In truth, perhaps simply letting them starve to death here would be helpful to the future Murim Alliance and, by extension, the entire murim.

“Still, if I do that, I cannot properly make those Righteous Path Association bastards eat shit.”

Honestly, when I had shouted loudly at the Grand Riding Ground, at least a few elders or Academy students of the Nine Sects and One Gang should have stepped forward.

The fact that they did not step forward there, even when a disciple of the Taeul Sect, whom they thought of as a bunch of beggarly nobodies, was shouting at them, meant that the problem was not those people’s safety, but the anxiety it would plant in everyone who followed the Righteous Path Association.

“So you bastards absolutely have to come back alive.”

I made that vow and retraced the footsteps I had taken until now.

In Eun Seol-ran’s case, I had been able to find her quickly because the person following behind Eun Seol-ran remembered at what step she had stepped wrong and disappeared.

Right now, I was in a situation where I simply had to find those bastards according to my prediction.

I stood at the part where the Sixty Jiazi first began its cycle.

“Phew…… To think I have to do this with my own feet. If not for the Grand Strategist’s words, you bastards would have starved to death here.”

I drew up the Taeul True Scripture with all my strength.

I opened all five senses and checked the route.

I retraced the hidden flow of the Soul-Destroying Formation that I had realized when I took a wrong step on the Demon Spirit Plateau.

Beneath my feet, two hundred thousand currents of energy flowed endlessly.

The moment I took one step to the side, those two hundred thousand currents of energy changed in an instant.

The four directions were still entirely white, and the silence was the same, but the energies flowing beneath my feet were completely different from one step earlier.

The Boundless Indestructible Soul-Destroying Formation revealed its bare flesh.

“Phew……. Let’s go.”

I began stepping forward once more.

“Who was it? Who came up with such a stupid plan?”

The elders belonging to the Righteous Path Association could not hide their rage as they looked at the disciples of their sects.

Although they had lost the top seat, they had occupied the majority and were threatening the Academy Representative position. As long as nothing special happened, they could use the fact that the Academy students did not follow him as an excuse to push the Academy Representative out.

“……The Academy students were too unsettled, so we had no choice.”

“You call that an excuse!”

At someone’s words, Daoist Master Myeonghyeon felt like pounding the bastards standing in front of him into mush right away, but at present, too many people’s eyes were focused on the Grand Riding Ground.

“At the very least, you should have stepped forward to help dissolve it!”

“…….”

If they had, the elders could have personally stepped forward and stopped the disciples for safety reasons. But from the perspective of the disciples hearing this, they could not recklessly enter a Soul-Destroying Formation where even elders might die if they entered incorrectly.

“Enough. Let us stop now, Daoist Master Myeonghyeon.”

Rehashing things that had already passed would only make their blood boil. It would not produce a solution.

“They said the Soul-Destroying Formation has two hundred thousand routes. Saving someone from inside it will not be easy.”

“It would be fortunate if he can even come out with his own body intact.”

“…….”

If, by one chance in a thousand, or one chance in ten thousand, that fellow actually brought out those who entered…….

“The best outcome would be for him to disappear inside along with them.”

The people who heard what Daoist Master Myeonghyeon muttered without realizing it were startled, but they did not show it.

Because under the current circumstances, that would be the best result.

They knew from the start that a safe rescue was impossible.

Jin So-un had saved thousands on the Demon Spirit Plateau, but there had been only one route going in and out, had there not?

How could a human mind memorize as many as two hundred thousand routes, and how could he find the people who had vanished inside them?

This thought naturally did not belong only to Daoist Master Myeonghyeon and the Righteous Path Association.

A short distance away from Daoist Master Myeonghyeon’s group.

“What do you think, Grand Strategist? Do you think he can bring them back?”

Murim Alliance Leader Hyeok Mu-gang asked the person who always gave him answers to problems for which no answer came no matter how much he thought.

“I do not know.”

At Jegal So-myeong’s calm tone, Hyeok Mu-gang could not help widening his eyes. To think the words “I do not know” would come from his mouth.

“Hoho…… Live long enough, and you truly see everything.”

Hyeok Mu-gang stroked his white beard a couple of times, then spoke again.

“Are you saying there are things even the Grand Strategist does not know?”

“I say that because, no matter how much I rack my brain, I do not know how one should save people inside that place.”

The answer that returned was continuously surprising.

“Then why did you tell the Academy Representative to bring them back?”

“Because that fellow said he could do it.”

“Hm?”

Although Hyeok Mu-gang had grown old, his memory had not yet declined to that extent.

“Am I the only one who did not hear it? I am certain that child said it was impossible.”

“That fellow said he would have to risk his life. He never said it was impossible.”

Hyeok Mu-gang kept stroking his beard, thinking that those were the same thing.

Jegal So-myeong continued.

“When he first recognized the problem and stood before the elders, he never once showed signs of panic. This is a matter of life and death. Moreover, it happened because the elites of the Nine Sects and One Gang entered. Even knowing that, if responsibility were assigned, the damage would surely eventually reach him as well, he seemed calm.”

“…….”

“That fellow had confidence that he could bring them out.”

“But that child Jin So-un did not step forward until the end.”

“Because the justification had not yet formed.”

“Justification?”

“If he had immediately brought out those who entered the formation then, could he not have been held responsible for failing to properly manage and supervise the Soul-Destroying Formation?”

Hyeok Mu-gang’s mouth opened of its own accord.

“Surely…….”

“He waited until the responsibility clearly fell upon the Nine Sects and One Gang.”

As Jegal So-myeong turned his head toward Hyeok Mu-gang, a small smile rested at the corners of his mouth.

“Moreover, at the end, did he not infuse his voice with internal qi loudly enough to shake the Grand Riding Ground and look for those who would dissolve the Soul-Destroying Formation?”

“Why does that matter?”

“He made it clear to those who follow the Righteous Path Association. The Righteous Path Association will not protect you. They do not care about you as much as you think they do.”

“……Huh.”

“That fellow turned an incident that might have sent arrows back at him into a perfect opportunity for himself.”

“…….”

Hyeok Mu-gang was so shocked that he closed his mouth entirely.

It was surprising that Jin So-un had used such political maneuvering, but Jegal So-myeong, who understood that maneuver perfectly, was also astonishing.

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

“I did not believe it all this time, but today’s incident made me realize it clearly. That fellow’s mind is even more outstanding than his martial arts.”

“Hoho, this is the first time you have praised someone’s mind since Maeng Ju-won.”

“And it is also the reason he must absolutely enter Mantongbu.”

At Jegal So-myeong’s words, which added that unnecessary footnote at the end, Hyeok Mu-gang could only smack his lips.

“In any case, all of that will only come true if he brings them back, will it not?”

“That is true.”

“Should we not prepare for the possibility that he cannot save them? Time has already…….”

Seeing that the sun had completely set, three double-hours had already passed.

“We have called in the elites of High Heaven Hall from the Alliance.”

“Will High Heaven Hall alone be enough? Would it not be better to call Victory Tiger Hall as well?”

“The attempt at formation dissolution must be made only once at the very end. If it goes wrong, members of the Murim Alliance may be swallowed one after another by the Soul-Destroying Formation and become lonely ghosts.”

“Phew…….”

Hyeok Mu-gang let out a long sigh without realizing it.

“What do we do?”

“Haa…….”

“They should never have gone in…….”

The faces of Jin So-un’s group standing around the Soul-Destroying Formation were filled with worry.

The fifty elites of High Heaven Hall who had come from the Alliance were wearing Fasting Pills and water on their bodies, just like Jin So-un, and studying the Soul-Destroying Formation from the spell practitioners of the Maoshan Sect.

One day and two double-hours.

During that time, which was already nearly eleven days according to the time inside the Soul-Destroying Formation, no one had come out of the Soul-Destroying Formation.

The faces of most of those gathered at the Grand Riding Ground, including the Murim Alliance Leader and the Grand Strategist, were filled with concern.

“Phew…….”

The time for a decision was approaching.

From the beginning, the maximum they had set was one day.

They had told Jin So-un that if it took any longer than that, they would attempt formation dissolution, and two double-hours had already passed beyond that.

It was the decisive moment when either the members of High Heaven Hall would risk their lives and attempt formation dissolution, or those trapped inside the Soul-Destroying Formation would be left to die.

After thinking for a long while, Jegal So-myeong finally made a decision and looked at Hyeok Mu-gang, then nodded.

“…….”

Hyeok Mu-gang also pondered for a moment before rising from his seat.

“Members of High Heaven Hall, listen. From now on, we will begin dissolving the Soul-Destroying Formation.”

At Hyeok Mu-gang’s words, the elders belonging to the Righteous Path Association rushed over at once.

“Alliance Leader, what do you mean? Dissolving it?”

“We cannot simply watch as those who entered die.”

“Even Jin So-un, who supposedly knows the Soul-Destroying Formation best, could not come out. Yet you intend to throw even the members of High Heaven Hall into danger?”

“In the past, during the Demon Spirit Plateau incident, the Alliance delayed its response and became the object of ridicule for everyone under heaven. We cannot repeat the same thing again this time.”

“Your words are correct, but I think the solution is wrong. Would it not be better to take this incident as a lesson, seal the Soul-Destroying Formation forever, and designate it as one of the Forbidden Arts?”

At Daoist Master Myeonghyeon’s words, Hyeok Mu-gang turned his head and glared at him.

“Elder Myeonghyeon, are you saying it does not matter if the Academy students die inside the Soul-Destroying Formation?”

“No one grieves the children’s deaths more than I do. However, I say this because I fear that a greater incident may occur because of this, and that a massive gap may appear in the Alliance.”

Clear contempt appeared in Hyeok Mu-gang’s eyes.

“When the Soul-Destroying Formation is dissolved, I do not wish to see the Academy students inside dried up and dead.”

“…….”

That ended the conversation.

Hyeok Mu-gang looked again at the warriors of High Heaven Hall and spoke.

“Prepare!”

The spell practitioners of the Maoshan Sect once again attached themselves one by one to the fifty warriors of High Heaven Hall and assigned their positions. The warriors of High Heaven Hall listened carefully, afraid of missing even a single thing.

Because they knew very well what a terrifying ultimate formation the Soul-Destroying Formation was, the complexions of even those brave warriors of High Heaven Hall had gone deathly pale.

When Jegal So-myeong raised the blue flag, the warriors of High Heaven Hall all looked at the flag at once.

The moment it fell, they had to step into the Soul-Destroying Formation with perfect accuracy.

“Dis……”

Hyeok Mu-gang’s words, which had been about to call out the dissolution, stopped, and Jegal So-myeong’s blue flag, which had been about to drop toward the ground, froze in place.

Hyeok Mu-gang’s and Jegal So-myeong’s gazes turned toward the Life-and-Death Gate of the Soul-Destroying Formation.

The white mist churned, and from within it, a hollow-faced figure walked out unsteadily, carrying something on his back.

“…….”

The person who came out of the Soul-Destroying Formation threw down what he had been carrying on his back, then crawled madly on all fours toward the place where the elders were seated.

Clatter, crash.

While even the elders stepped back a step or two in shock, he stuffed the water and food placed on the elders’ table into his mouth, then finally spat out a single sentence.

“Phew…… I almost fucking died…….”

“E……Eldest Senior Brother?”

Dong-ryong was the first to speak, and at those words, Jegal So-myeong snapped back to his senses and shouted.

“W-Water! Bring water and food!”

At Jegal So-myeong’s words, everyone waiting at the Grand Riding Ground began moving in a panic. At that moment, someone checked the six people sprawled on the ground and shouted loudly.

“They are alive! Everyone who entered the Soul-Destroying Formation has returned alive!”

Along with those words, everyone gathered at the Grand Riding Ground stopped what they were doing and began cheering at the same time.

“Waaaaah!”

“““Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!”””