◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 452: The Definition of Justice (7)
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Boom-
The earth shook.
Boom-
As though the whole world were collapsing.
Boom-
Both earth and sky trembled.
“…”
There was only one thing this could mean.
“Has it already begun?”
The Mount Mao Sect grounds were one enormous absolute formation.
The buildings, walls, and arcane formations were all organically connected.
That was why Mount Mao Sect, alongside the Jegal Clan, was considered unmatched when it came to arcane formations.
Yet now, that formidable formation was making everyone inside tremble in fear.
“Master…”
“Martial Uncle, what will happen to us now?”
“Why… why do we have to die?”
Anxiety gave rise to doubt, and doubt led to questions.
“…”
No one had a proper answer for those questions.
They did not know either. They carried the same doubts themselves.
Their minds were a mess with the same anxiety and questions, but they forced themselves to hide it as they comforted the children.
“It’s all right. Everything will be fine.”
Because that was an adult’s duty.
They comforted the children while hiding their tears of blood for their fallen comrades in their hearts.
Then, as if awaiting judgment, they looked at me.
“…”
I folded the letter and asked, “How much longer can the mystic formation hold?”
Neither the Pavilion Master nor the Hall Master, both of whom had barely survived, could answer.
Even the Sect Leader shook his head.
Yu Jiryang answered instead.
“Two days. It can hold for two days.”
Having installed the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Destroying Formation across the mystic formation, he could roughly grasp its current state.
‘That’s nowhere near enough…’
If the forces in Nanjing rushed here with everything they had, they might barely make it in time.
But if they were already under the Black Officers’ control, we would have to wait for the people from Suzhou.
“What happens if they forcibly destroy it from the outside?”
Yu Jiryang hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
“…”
“It has never happened before.”
The Mount Mao Sect’s mystic formation transformed into an invincible absolute formation the moment it activated as a Killing Formation.
Mount Mao Sect was where hundreds of jiangshi had become useless during the Orthodox-Demonic War.
Yet that also meant that if the absolute formation was destroyed improperly, the backlash could concentrate inside.
They were likely afraid of that.
At this rate, all we could do was wait for death.
“I’ll go speak with them first.”
The leaders who heard me hesitated.
Some began trembling all over as fresh fear suddenly swept over them.
“Y-You’re leaving…?”
The thought of the only person helping them going outside seemed to deepen their fear.
Then Gu Songbaek stepped forward.
“Please take care of this, Young Hero Jin.”
Despite the resolve in his voice, the hand he raised in a fist salute trembled badly.
Boom- Boom-
Heaven and earth continued to shake.
#
“You should stay here.”
“What?”
After moving with Yu Jiryang, I spoke to my junior fellow disciples.
“If all of you leave with me, the Mount Mao Sect members will become anxious.”
“But… our opponents are the Black Officers. What if Great Hero Namgung’s letter is a forged letter sent by them?”
I knew Namgung San’s handwriting from my previous life, so I was certain, but there was no reason to mention it.
“Even if something happens, it’ll be easier for me to escape alone than while dragging you lot along, so don’t worry too much.”
When I added a small joke, Eunho flared up.
“That’s exactly why we’re worried! Because you might run away by yourself!”
Yu Jiryang, who had been listening, lightly clasped his hands in a fist salute.
“I do not know how to repay Young Hero Jin for such consideration.”
“Don’t people help each other when things are difficult?”
“But still…”
“Rather than worrying about me, Mount Mao Sect comes first right now.”
I patted his slumped shoulder.
“I’ll be back.”
Following the route to the Living Gate that Yu Jiryang had taught me, I stepped into the mystic formation.
#
Surprisingly, the scenery changed completely the moment I took a step.
I was walking along a narrow path, and warm sunlight shone at its end.
Before long, the path split into several branches. Some were dark, while others carried a dim, gloomy air.
Ordinary people would naturally choose the path filled with bright energy.
Rustle, rustle-
Just before I sank deeply into thought, a deer poked its head out from the grass.
Then it headed toward the sunlit path.
As if it were guiding me.
Normally, following that path to its end would allow someone to pass through the mystic formation.
But Mount Mao Sect’s mystic formation had been damaged. Yu Jiryang had warned me that if I followed the path now, I would fall into the forcibly connected Boundless Indestructible Soul-Destroying Formation.
Recalling his warning, I followed the footprints according to the method he had taught me.
The moment I entered the dark path, the light vanished, and a sinister energy filled the air.
Yellow and red beast eyes appeared throughout the forest.
I could feel those gazes pressing against my skin as though they were sticky.
Grrrr-
Sharp growls rang out as if predators were stalking their prey.
When I ignored them and kept walking, the forest soon filled with killing intent.
Then…
Rrrroar-
A tiger the size of a house appeared, baring its sharp fangs.
Boom-
At the same time, a tremor that shook heaven and earth rang out.
The tiger did not so much as flinch. It continued staring at me.
‘Just as I thought…’
The fact that it was unaffected by the tremor proved that all of this was false.
Mount Mao Sect’s mystic formation was originally an unmatched, invincible absolute formation enhanced with illusion art that allowed even that tiger to attack as if it were real.
But Mount Mao Sect believed it would be impossible to convince the Martial Alliance that their power over strange supernatural phenomena differed from unorthodox methods. As a second-best option, they sealed their own abilities.
Naturally, Mount Mao Sect’s overall strength plummeted.
And the chain of events now happening to Mount Mao Sect was the result.
Roar-
The seemingly real tiger the size of a house lunged at me.
But it passed straight through me and merely smacked its lips.
If this had been real.
If they had used their original power through illusion art.
The demonic beings would have been driven back by the tiger’s attacks and eventually stepped into the Death Gate on their own.
Mount Mao Sect, which possessed such powerful spell arts…
‘I will never… let this happen again.’
I had no intention of giving up.
#
When I emerged from the mystic formation, the surroundings were steeped in silence.
The fact that the Black Officers, who had surely surrounded the entire Mount Mao Sect area, did not reveal themselves meant they also knew Namgung San and I were meeting.
“Sowoon.”
At that moment, Namgung San emerged from the darkness with a relieved expression.
“Are you all right?”
“Thanks to you, I survived.”
As soon as he arrived, he hurriedly examined my wounds.
I had been badly injured when I faced Yong Soa.
Some of them had already healed, but I had deliberately wrapped loose bandages around myself so my absurd recovery speed would not be exposed. Namgung San’s face darkened with worry because of it.
“…Seonhwa will make a fuss if she finds out.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Still, how did things turn out like this…?”
“The accusation that Mount Mao Sect researched forbidden art is false.”
“I think so too. Mount Mao Sect would never…”
“Neither the Alliance Leader nor the Chief Strategist knew about this.”
“…”
Namgung San’s face stiffened.
“Things are going in the wrong direction. That’s why I came here, to stop it.”
“The Inspectorate has independent authority to act in matters related to forbidden art. It was likely meant to guard against political interference.”
“If innocent people die, punishing those responsible will already be far too late.”
“…”
I could not hide my confusion.
Namgung San knew this was wrong, so why was he acting like this?
After knitting his brow as though choosing his words, he carefully spoke.
“Would you like to meet someone and talk?”
“If you mean the Black Officers, then I already…”
“No, not the Black Officers. That brat Heo Gwanjung, or whatever his name is, has disappeared somewhere anyway. Not them.”
Could there be another problem…?
“I mean Yong Soa.”
“…Is Yong Soa the leader of the purge unit now?”
Namgung San nodded.
The Black Officers and the purge unit acted together as a measure to keep each other’s actions in check.
“Does he know about this too?”
“I don’t know.”
“…”
“But his resolve is clear.”
The Black Officers’ problems had already been exposed, yet I could not understand why the purge unit was continuing its mission.
Nor could I understand why Yong Soa, who rigidly followed rules and principles, was doing this.
“Would you like to meet him?”
So I had to meet him.
“Fine.”
What exactly was he seeing?
How far could he see?
#
I followed Namgung San.
At the same time, I spread my energy sense in every direction.
Just as expected.
Sharp, honed energies could be felt throughout the darkness.
There was not a single gap around Mount Mao Sect.
They had no intention of leaving even one life alive.
Before long, the area gradually grew brighter.
Braziers burned everywhere, and the Black Officers no longer hid themselves.
Hundreds of Black Officers in identical uniforms stared in our direction.
On one side, Black Officers took turns striking the mystic formation.
Boom- Boom-
I could feel the malicious shockwaves even from here.
“Yong Soa.”
At Namgung San’s call, Yong Soa, who had been watching the Black Officers, looked our way.
After confirming Namgung San and me, he spoke in the same indifferent tone.
“Have you finally accepted reality?”
Seeing that unpleasant face made the anger already rising within me surge even higher.
Then he continued.
“Stay out of this. It is not something you and your junior fellow disciples can handle.”
Something we could not handle…
Who was making this into something that could not be handled?
“Yong Soa, didn’t you say you saw clear traces in Mukrim?”
“…”
“After seeing the demonic qi they left behind, can you still say Mount Mao Sect should be destroyed?”
The Demon-Resisting Mantra Bead was not for confronting dark arts and demonic sorcery. Banishing evil and suppressing spirits were merely protective arts.
To fight true spirit practitioners, we needed true spirit practitioners.
“I have experienced their bizarre demonic sorcery. We cannot face them without Mount Mao Sect.”
Yong Soa answered indifferently.
“What do you think will happen if Mount Mao Sect’s illusion art becomes entangled with that demonic sorcery and dark arts?”
It was ridiculous.
“Mount Mao Sect sealed most of its spell arts, including illusion art, long ago…”
“They sealed them. They did not destroy them.”
The calm I had tried to maintain gave way to suffocating frustration.
As a brief silence took over the area, Yong Soa spoke.
“Do you truly wish to save them?”
“Of course.”
My answer was simple.
“Then make them burn every secret art under the Black Officers’ supervision. In addition, children under fifteen who have not learned the secret arts will be allowed to live under the Black Officers’ supervision.”
At his answer, a curse sprang to mind.
‘This crazy bastard.’
How many people had survived in my previous life because of the Mount Mao Sect spell arts that had been sealed away? And he wanted to burn them?
“They are evil. Evil that must be cut down before it grows any greater.”
I looked at Namgung San.
He only stood there with a deeply furrowed brow.
Then I noticed something strange.
Why was Namgung San no longer stopping Yong Soa after he had even resorted to force against Yong Soa?
Why was Yong Soa turning away from the problems in this situation and focusing only on Mount Mao Sect?
“Senior Namgung, what is this about?”
“…”
“Do you know something too?”
Namgung San only kept his mouth shut and gestured toward Yong Soa with his chin.
“…”
The reason I had come here.
“What is it, Yong Soa?”
“…”
“Why are you going this far?”
The question that had arisen in my heart.
“…Because I do not want more sacrifices.”
Was that not why I had come, to resolve that question?
“You… can see the future, can’t you?”
“…”
“…”
Even my voice faded away, leaving only silence.
Neither Yong Soa nor Namgung San answered, but that silence answered everything.
Namgung San also knew that Yong Soa could see the future.
Then my next question was obvious.
“Then how far can you see?”
“…!”
“You don’t just see your opponent’s moves, do you?”
Namgung San’s eyes widened.
Yong Soa only turned his head with an eerily calm movement, then stared directly into my eyes.
“How did you know?”
“Because I can’t understand why you would cause all of this for such a nonsensical reason in this absurd situation.”
And I could not understand why even Namgung San, who knew this was unjust, silently went along with it.
In the end, there was something between Yong Soa and Namgung San that I did not know.
Something they could not tell others.
No, even if they did tell people, it would likely be something no one would believe.
“…”
A faint flicker appeared in Yong Soa’s indifferent eyes.
But I was in no mood to be praised for figuring it out.
“Tell me, Yong Soa.”
I only wanted to know the truth.
“Just how far… can you see?”
He did not say it was a secret, nor did he tell me I had no need to know.
With that unpleasant face of his, Yong Soa said,
“The destruction of the martial world.”
As though he had truly seen it.
“I saw that endless death.”
He spoke without emotion.
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