The Genius Warrior Who Remembers Everything Chapter 59

Chapter 59. The Black Flame Dragon Who Frolics with Dragons and Phoenixes

The Hefei headquarters of the Azure Sky Merchant Guild was to be abolished.

The institutions that had served as the headquarters would return to the clan on Mount Huang, and until the Taeul Sect moved in, the place would be operated as the Hefei Branch of the Azure Sky Merchant Guild.

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword handled the matter swiftly and decisively.

He immediately established the Azure Sky Commerce Pavilion, an institution that would be responsible for managing the merchant guild, the mines, the tea houses, the inns, and so on, and placed Namgung Song-ju in the position of Pavilion Master, thereby silencing the resistance from the Elder Hall and the Collateral Line.

Since Namgung Song-ju, the leader who had guided the Collateral Line’s forces all this time, remained silent, there was nothing else they could do either.

During the two days in which all of this took place, I stayed in the Emperor Pavilion, spending my time reviewing my martial arts and going over my enlightenment again.

Then, two days later, I took my seat to receive the transfer of the rights deed to the Azure Sky Merchant Guild. Surprisingly, the person who appeared to draft the rights deed was Namgung Song-ju.

“……”

“Sit.”

Namgung Song-ju calmly held out the rights deed as if nothing had happened.

In case Namgung Song-ju had played some trick with the rights deed, I examined it carefully.

I was someone who had memorized thousands of rights deeds in the Murim Alliance.

Even Wang Geum-san, who was said to be a master beyond compare, could not read a rights deed better than I could.

As I was examining the rights deed, Namgung Song-ju murmured as if speaking to himself.

“My father was the man who established the foundation of the Azure Sky Merchant Guild, expanded its business, and laid the groundwork for the golden age of the Namgung Clan.”

“……?”

“In the past two hundred years, the Namgung Clan had only made one hundred Great Swallow Divine Pills, but after my father took charge of the Azure Sky Merchant Guild, it became possible to produce at least ten Great Swallow Divine Pills every five years. Thanks to that, the Direct Line became able to receive a Great Swallow Divine Pill once every five years.”

“……Why are you suddenly saying this?”

Namgung Song-ju continued speaking as though he had not heard me.

“My father was saddened that the results of his efforts did not reach even me. But I did not care. In the Namgung Clan, only the Collateral Line that serves the Direct Line is supposed to exist, and only when they become stronger does the Namgung Clan become stronger.”

“……”

“My father, who spent his entire life outside the Namgung Clan, sweating blood and enduring hardship, did not receive a single Great Swallow Divine Pill before he died.”

Namgung Song-ju’s eyes stared into empty air.

It was a gaze that seemed to be painting something.

Had he come here to make me feel guilty about what I had done?

“Because they had already gone into the stomachs of the Direct Line.”

“……”

“What you did was trample on the dream of the Namgung Clan’s Collateral Line, which had been oppressed for hundreds of years. Are you satisfied?”

After hearing that, I asked,

“I just need to sign here, correct?”

“……”

I signed and spoke.

I felt not the slightest guilt over what he had said.

“Everyone finds their own circumstances the most pitiful. Their own circumstances seem the most unreasonable, and their own circumstances seem the most unfortunate.”

“……We……”

I understood his feelings.

No, to be precise, I could feel them.

“If you felt that wronged, should you not have simply left the Namgung Clan?”

“!”

In my previous life, too, how much had I resented my weak sect?

I had endlessly resented the sect that could give me nothing and only take things away from me.

“The rise of the Azure Sky Merchant Guild is remarkable. However, would it have been possible without the name of the Namgung Clan?”

I had been blinded by that resentment and failed to see properly.

What I had received from the Taeul Sect.

What protection I had received from the Taeul Sect.

What I had run away from.

Only after losing everything had I understood.

“It would not have been possible. And as far as I know, from the moment the Collateral Line became the Collateral Line, it was no longer bound to the clan. Am I wrong?”

“……”

“Because there is no obligation, there is no right. Yet despite that, were you not remaining in the Namgung Clan because you wanted to rely on the name of the Namgung Clan?”

“……”

The man before my eyes now.

In my previous life, he achieved everything he wanted and died by the Azure Emperor Divine Sword’s hand.

As he watched the Namgung Clan burn, and as he watched the bloodline of the Collateral Line die by the Divine Sword’s hand, had he been satisfied?

“I, too, once deeply resented being born in the Taeul Sect. Moreover, my father was the Outer Hall Master, so I could not even leave the Taeul Sect and live elsewhere. I resented it like that, and only after I lost countless precious things I had taken for granted did I understand.”

“……What was it that you understood?”

“That the things I thought were natural were not natural at all.”

“……”

“From your perspective, Merchant Guild Master, the circumstances you face may seem endlessly unfortunate, but from my perspective, those things alone would be enough to live a life others would envy. At the very least, when people speak of the Namgung Clan, they will not mock it.”

“……”

“Of course, my misfortune does not make you happy, Merchant Guild Master, but even if you are going to complain, should you not do it before High Officials and Nobles rather than a beggar under a bridge?”

“……Then let me ask. Are you satisfied now?”

I showed him the rights deed and said,

“I am more than satisfied. It overflows. To you, Guild Master, it may be nothing more than one among the dozens of branches you possess, but to our sect, this one thing means everyone in the sect can eat three warm meals a day and no longer have to wear patched clothes that are coming apart.”

“……”

“If you truly are dissatisfied, leave whenever you like. That is the advice I can offer you.”

I folded the rights deed neatly, placed it inside my robe, and rose from my seat.

Only then did Namgung Song-ju speak, as if he had just remembered something.

“That matter……”

“I already disposed of the corpse long ago. Would wild beasts leave alone a corpse buried shallowly?”

“……I was deceived.”

Namgung Song-ju did not react strongly.

“I look forward to working with you.”

Leaving behind Namgung Song-ju, who gave no answer, I walked out.

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword decided to enter Seclusion Training with Namgung San.

Namgung Seon-hwa should have entered as well, but because the Murim Academy Exam was approaching and no one knew when the Seclusion Training would end, her training in the new sword art was postponed along with Namgung Jin-myeong.

Even though the sudden transfer of the Collateral Line’s businesses back to the main clan would certainly throw the entire Namgung Clan into chaos, the Clan Head was taking the drastic measure of leaving his position vacant. It seemed he believed that completing the Ascendant Form was the only solution that could fundamentally calm all this confusion.

“It is the Firmament Cloudless Sword Art.”

“What is?”

“The name of the new sword art.”

At the Azure Emperor Divine Sword’s words, I clicked my tongue.

“Why must the character ‘un’ be included? Would the Firmament Unrestrained Sword Art not be better?”

“Is your name not Jin So-un?”

“……”

I could not speak and only opened and closed my mouth.

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword continued with a smile on his lips.

“You intend to take this Murim Academy Regular Exam, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Then I entrust my granddaughter to you.”

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword pointed to Namgung Seon-hwa as he spoke, and Namgung Jin-myeong and Namgung Seon-hwa, who had been listening from the side, tilted their heads.

“Should I not be the one asking her for help instead? I will probably take the exam alone or with only a few Junior Brothers.”

At my words, Namgung Jin-myeong and Namgung Seon-hwa were shocked.

“What absurd nonsense!”

“Young Master Jin! You cannot do that!”

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword clicked his tongue as he looked at them.

“He is that sort of child. So you will have to help him a great deal.”

“Why are you doing this? Did we not finish all our calculations with each other?”

“Oh dear……. I had written a few lines telling someone to send a letter to that Poison King fellow. I suppose I should tell them not to send it.”

Previously, because I had used the Hundred-Mother Fire Cylinder, I had asked him to speak to the Sichuan Tang Clan for me, and he was now bringing that up.

“That was all to save the Divine Sword’s grandson and granddaughter……”

“Ahem. In any case, you bought and used it through an uncertain route, did you not? Perhaps the Tang Clan will wonder whether you possess other Mechanisms.”

“Haa……”

Since I had used one of the Sichuan Tang Clan’s Golden Dragon Hidden Weapons, a Mechanism, it was only a matter of time before news of it reached the Tang Clan’s ears.

Unless someone on the level of the Namgung Clan, no, the Azure Emperor Divine Sword, stepped forward, I did not know what kind of trouble might happen to the Taeul Sect while I was gone.

Since they were a clan specialized in poison and were as vicious as any Black Path sect, I could not leave even the seed of suspicion behind.

“We cannot move together, but if our route is the same, I will pay attention to her. Will that be enough? It seems I must bring my Junior Brothers with me as well.”

“Good. Good.”

Seeing the Azure Emperor Divine Sword nod, Namgung Jin-myeong and Namgung Seon-hwa still looked as though they could not understand.

The Seclusion Cave of the Namgung Clan was built so that it could only be opened from the inside.

And that door could only be opened by Namgung Tae-ha, the Clan Head.

Namgung San, who had entered the Seclusion Cave, stood at the entrance and silently pondered.

“What are you doing there? Every hour is urgent if we are to complete and master the sword art.”

“Ah, it is not that. I think there was something I needed to tell…… but failed to convey.”

“To whom?”

“To Young Master Jin.”

“What did you need to tell him?”

“That the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly will be visiting the Taeul Sect this time.”

“What is so important about children visiting a martial sect?”

Even the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, an honorable position one could enter only after graduating from the Murim Academy with excellent grades and achieving a certain level of martial accomplishment, seemed like children’s play in the Azure Emperor Divine Sword’s eyes.

Namgung San gave a bitter smile and said,

“The thing is, they say they are visiting for the purpose of an inspection this time.”

“Inspection?”

“Yes. Originally, visiting for an audit is an annual event, but…… for some reason, the Taeul Sect has been selected for a special audit this time.”

As he listened, Namgung Tae-ha furrowed his brow.

“Tsk. Are they still running around doing such things?”

Namgung Tae-ha seemed to know roughly what this was about.

That was only natural, since Namgung Tae-ha himself had belonged to the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly in his youth.

“……Should I not go back and tell him?”

“Leave it. He is a child who will surely handle it well on his own. Come here already.”

“……Yes.”

Even after the conversation ended, Namgung San felt strangely uneasy, and he soon realized that the reason was not because he had failed to relay the news to Jin So-un.

“……”

It was because his grandfather, Namgung Tae-ha, had used words for Jin So-un that he had never once used for Namgung San, his younger sister, or even his father.

“‘A child who will handle it well on his own,’ is it? Hah.”

At that moment, a shout came from inside the Seclusion Cave.

“What are you doing, not coming over here?!”

“Y-yes! I am coming!”

Jin Tae-san, who had recently been cutting even his reports to the Sect Leader to the minimum because he found even sleeping time precious, visited the Sect Leader’s residence with a letter in hand.

“……Are you all right?”

When Hong Mun-gi saw Jin Tae-san’s face, his eyes filled with concern.

“……Ah, yes. I am all right. More importantly, please look at this.”

“It came from the Murim Alliance Hefei Branch.”

“It says the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly will visit. It is the usual audit procedure.”

Hong Mun-gi, who had been reading the letter, nodded and folded it.

“I see.”

“How should we prepare? I think we should start by cleaning the halls.”

“That is unnecessary.”

“No, Sect Leader.”

“Is it not something we have always done? And from what I can see, the Taeul Sect has become far better than it was during the previous audit. Does Wang Estate not send servants every week?”

“……That is true.”

“Clear out one hall and prepare new blankets. If the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly comes, they will need a place to stay, will they not?”

“Yes. Understood.”

“In any case, the children will be pleased.”

The Dragon and Phoenix Assembly’s audit mission was, in truth, closer in nature to a traveling performance by young idols who symbolized the Murim Alliance.

Nominally, the system had begun with the purpose of allowing young masters unstained by interests to establish the laws of the martial world, but by the present day, its role in fostering children’s dreams and fantasies about the martial world had grown even greater.

Those who belonged to the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly also tended to enjoy that status.

“More importantly, go and sleep. You look as though you are going to die soon.”

“……Yes. Once the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly is over, I plan to sleep for a while.”

“Good. You have worked hard.”

As he watched Jin Tae-san stagger out of the residence, Hong Mun-gi gave a small laugh.

“Does work ordered by his son make him that happy? Hoho.”

I rested for one more day to absorb the Great Swallow Divine Pill that had been Namgung Seon-hwa’s share.

Then I immediately packed my belongings and told the maidservant that I would be returning. The maidservant in charge of the Emperor Pavilion informed Namgung Jin-myeong and Seon-hwa of the news.

The two of them personally came to the Emperor Pavilion to see me off.

“Are you returning already?”

“I have been treated far better than I deserve. Thank you for your consideration.”

“Until now, you came and were treated as Father’s guest. From now on, how about staying as my guest?”

Reluctance dripped from Namgung Jin-myeong’s eyes.

“I would like to as well, but I think I must put that off until later.”

“Hm? Has something happened?”

“The Dragon and Phoenix Assembly will be visiting the Taeul Sect.”

“Ah…… I see. You are also at an age where you would admire the members of the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.”

Namgung Jin-myeong nodded as though he understood.

At that moment, Namgung Seon-hwa cut in.

“Father, may I visit the Taeul Sect as well?”

“How little time remains before the Regular Exam, and you want to chase after the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly? You should be thinking about entering it yourself.”

Namgung Jin-myeong shook his head as he looked at Namgung Seon-hwa, who pouted.

Unfortunately, the reason I was trying to return quickly was precisely the opposite of what the Namgung father and daughter were thinking.

When I thought of them in my previous life, my teeth ground together on their own.

‘The Dragon and Phoenix Assembly….’

In my previous life, around exactly this time, the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly visited the Taeul Sect.

And because of them, the Sect Leader fell into Qi Deviation.