The Genius Martial Artist Who Remembers Everything [Novel] Chapter 205

Chapter 205. Stealing the Seat (4)

When confronted with something utterly absurd, they say your body reacts on its own.

That was exactly how I felt right now.

“This bastard is hilarious. Who’s calling who shameless?”

Even with my foot planted on Namgung Gipyo’s neck, I couldn’t believe his audacity.

“J-Jin Soun…!”

Namgung Gipyo squirmed like an earthworm beneath my foot. I pressed down a little harder.

“Lady Seonhwa, why were you just standing there listening to this nonsense?”

“…”

She still couldn’t bring herself to raise her head. I deliberately spoke in a firm tone.

“If you keep your head down like that, it makes it look like this guy is actually telling the truth.”

Only then did Namgung Seonhwa look up, her eyes swirling with complex emotions.

“Were you trying not to provoke him because of the ‘Renowned Guest Invitation’ we talked about earlier?”

Namgung Seonhwa gave a small nod. “…I just wanted to be of some help to you, Young Master Jin. I thought it would be better if my grandfather could come…”

Such transparent and pure goodwill. A smile naturally found its way to my lips.

“Lady Seonhwa, I don’t want to see you humiliated by an idiot like this on my account.”

“I-idiot…? Jin Soun! Get off me this instant! Keugh!”

I kicked the thrashing Namgung Gipyo in the face once more and continued.

“Not that it would ever actually happen, but I’d rather lose my position as Representative than see anything bad happen to you.”

“…”

As I looked into her eyes, she met my gaze. I spoke in a clear, unwavering voice. “To me, you are far more important than some Representative seat, Lady Seonhwa.”

“…!”

From my perspective, maintaining a close relationship with Namgung Seonhwa was just as crucial as keeping my seat. When the Orthodox-Demonic War eventually broke out, the Namgung Family’s support would be absolutely essential.

I had already saved the Namgung Family from near-ruin by passing down the Shattering Stance. It would be a massive waste if I couldn’t properly cash in that favor when the war came.

“R-really?” Namgung Seonhwa looked at me, her face blushing bright red in disbelief.

“Of course.”

A direct descendant of the Namgung Family—there was no way I was letting her go. I nodded affirmatively a few times.

Flush.

Perhaps the accumulated shame from enduring Namgung Gipyo’s contempt was finally releasing, but her face grew even redder. I deliberately looked away to give her some space.

“Besides, you don’t need to curry favor with a weasel like this. I can topple those White Faction bastards easily enough.”

“W-weasel! Jin Soun, are you talking about me?!”

I effortlessly ignored the squirming pest beneath my foot. “So, promise me you won’t allow yourself to be humiliated by trash like this ever again.”

“…”

Namgung Seonhwa, flushed red to the tips of her ears, nodded. As expected, she was a reliable, reasonable person.

“Good. Then come with me.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll show you exactly how I’m going to clean up the White Faction.”

“…Okay.”

I took my foot off and walked a few steps forward. Namgung Gipyo instantly scrambled to his feet.

“Jin Soun! I don’t care how strong you are, did you really think you could just step on me and walk away?!”

Schwing.

With a clear footprint stamped across his face, Namgung Gipyo huffed furiously and drew his sword. People consumed by their emotions always made the wrong choices.

I pointed at him with my chin and looked at Namgung Seonhwa. “Shouldn’t you shake off the nasty things you heard earlier?”

At my words, a glint returned to her eyes. “Yes.”

As Namgung Seonhwa turned around, Namgung Gipyo let out a cold sneer. “Seonhwa! Are you truly planning to turn your back on our family?!”

She didn’t even flinch at his provocation. “I have never turned my back on the family.” She cast a brief glance at me before continuing. “If anything, this is the best possible choice for our family.”

“Foolish!”

Namgung Gipyo charged at her, unleashing the Azure Sky Boundless Sword Art.

In response, Namgung Seonhwa extended a jade-like hand.

Paaang!

“Heugh…!”

She didn’t even need to use the Azure Sky Cloud Sword Art. Struck directly by the Heavenly Thunder Triple Palm, Namgung Gipyo’s eyes rolled back. He was launched fifty feet away, out cold. It was over in the blink of an eye.

“Excellent.” That’s my executive member.

“This is…” Having followed Jin Soun, Namgung Seonhwa looked around their destination and voiced her confusion. “This is the dormitory.”

The Martial Arts Academy assigned dormitories every semester based on grades. Consequently, the majority of the top-ranked students were concentrated in the Righteous Faction and the White Faction. Members of the Righteous Faction, in particular, considered it a disgrace to fall below the two-person dormitories.

“Specifically, the Righteous Pavilion.”

Because of this, the two-person dorms were colloquially referred to as the Righteous Pavilion.

“Correct. I have someone to meet here.”

“Someone to meet?”

Jin Soun’s lips curled into a smirk as he looked at the puzzled Namgung Seonhwa. “The person who will be taking responsibility for this whole mess.”

Sure enough, as soon as they entered the two-person dormitory, people cast bewildered glances at Jin Soun and Namgung Seonhwa. Neither of them had any ties to the Righteous Pavilion.

Yet, no one stepped up to block their path. On the contrary, quite a few students offered nods of acknowledgment or actively greeted them. Namgung Seonhwa recognized them. They were the very people who had gone through the Sichuan incident with them.

Unbothered by the amicable gazes gathering on them, Jin Soun boldly strode through the Righteous Pavilion.

“Hmm… I’m pretty sure it was Room 404.”

Striding up the stairs without hesitation, Jin Soun hammered on a dorm door. He had all the aggressive energy of a loan shark hunting down a debtor.

Soon, movement could be heard from inside.

“Who is causing such a disturbance…?”

With that, the door quietly opened, revealing a figure in monk’s robes. “He is currently in meditation, so I ask that you visit another time…”

“Hey! Ilgak is in there, right?”

“…”

At his utterly unreserved tone, the disciple’s eyes trembled slightly. No matter how young Ilgak was, or how low his seniority in the martial world might be, he had mastered the Yijin Jing. His standing was incomparable to ordinary men. Yet, this student was calling out to a monk of such profound spiritual power like he was yelling for a neighborhood thug.

The Shaolin disciple forced himself to maintain his manners and spoke up. “Student Jin Soun. You are being far too disrespectful. The venerable monk is currently medita—”

Jin Soun waved his hand dismissively, like shooing away a fly. “Whatever. Tell him to clear his karma before he starts meditating.”

“…Karma?”

“Yeah, massive karma. Tell him if he doesn’t clear it, he’s gonna have a tough time getting into the Pure Land.”

Fine wrinkles formed on the Shaolin disciple’s shaved scalp. “…Are you insulting the Buddha right now?”

Jin Soun stared at those wrinkles in fascination for a moment before furrowing his brow. “Just pass the message, hurry up. It’s urgent.”

“…”

His eye twitching, the disciple shut the door.

“Young Master Jin. What on earth are you doing…?”

Namgung Seonhwa was entirely unable to process what had just happened. Ilgak was practically the spiritual pillar of the Righteous Faction. He was essentially their de facto leader. If Jin Soun hadn’t taken the Representative seat, Ilgak would have become the Academy Representative this term. That was why the Righteous Faction followed him so faithfully. And yet, to show such blatant disrespect to a figure like Ilgak…

Sure enough, a commotion slowly started to brew in the hallway.

“What’s going on?”

“Jin Soun came to see Ilgak just now?”

“What? Why him?”

Students from other dorm rooms began popping their heads out one by one, casting wary glances. The goodwill he had finally earned from the Righteous Faction after the Sichuan incident could easily vanish at this rate.

Just as anxiety began to swell in Namgung Seonhwa’s chest…

Creak.

The door opened, revealing the interior of the dorm room. In the center, Ilgak sat with his back turned, chanting Buddhist scriptures.

The Shaolin disciple gestured to the two of them. “Please come in.”

Guided inside by the deeply reluctant disciple, they were greeted by the faint, distinct scent of incense usually found in a Buddhist shrine.

“Almsgiver Jin.” Ilgak slowly turned to face them, looking at Jin Soun with a serene smile.

Jin Soun, however, scowled as if he had just chewed on feces. “Look, I told you I’m not an almsgiver.”

Ilgak completely ignored him and pressed his palms together in prayer. “What brings you all the way here, Almsgiver? Have you perhaps taken an interest in the will of the Buddha?”

“I don’t know about the Buddha’s will, but I’ve found myself in a bit of a tricky situation right now. I’m completely fine, but everyone around me is freaking out with worry.”

Ilgak asked with a feigned expression of utter innocence. “Hmm… What sort of matter would that be?”

“Oh, come on. Why don’t you drop the act and let’s just talk?”

“Hmm… I truly have no idea.”

As Ilgak tilted his head in mock confusion, Jin Soun took a step closer. “Strictly speaking, isn’t this current mess the Righteous Faction’s fault?”

Ilgak let out an awkward cough. “Ahem, what do you… The White Faction and the Righteous Faction may cooperate at times, but we do not deeply influence each other’s internal affairs.”

A despicable smirk spread across Jin Soun’s lips. “I knew it. You do know what’s going on.”

“Ahem… Hem.”

“Feigning ignorance to my face. Aren’t you ashamed to face the Buddha?”

At Jin Soun’s sarcasm, the disciple watching from the side finally interjected. “You may be Representative Jin, but how dare you speak such…!”

However, Ilgak raised a hand to silence the disciple. Jin Soun completely ignored the outburst, keeping his eyes entirely fixed on Ilgak.

“Almsgiver Jin, that mouth of yours is going to invite disaster upon you one day.”

“My very existence is already an invitation for disaster, so if my mouth is what actually brings it down on me, I wouldn’t really have any complaints.”

Realizing there was no winning a verbal spar with him, Ilgak let out a long sigh. “In any case, there is nothing the Righteous Faction can do regarding this matter. Jegal Jeonggi is not the sort of person to be moved by my words to begin with.”

“Ah, that’s not what I want anyway.”

A look of puzzlement crossed Ilgak’s face. “Hmm? Then what do you…”

Jin Soun leaned against the bed with a relaxed posture and dropped the bomb. “Join the executive committee.”

“Gasp!”

“…!”

The disciple and Namgung Seonhwa’s eyes bulged in shock. It was just a committee seat, but considering the sheer symbolism Ilgak held within the Righteous Faction…

It was absolutely impossible.

Even if Jegal Jeonggi ousted Jin Soun and took the Representative seat, Ilgak would never in a million years join the White Faction’s executive committee. Suggesting he join Jin Soun’s was pure absurdity.

“What kind of dog-shit nonsense is…”

Namgung Seonhwa unconsciously nodded in agreement at the disciple’s crude expression, which perfectly summed up how everyone in the room felt.

But Jin Soun just shrugged, acting as if there was absolutely no issue. “If the Righteous Faction hadn’t screwed up so massively in Sichuan in the first place, the White Faction wouldn’t be acting up like this now. Isn’t that right, Monk?”

“…Ugh.”

Jin Soun jabbed his finger accusingly at Ilgak and the disciple as he pressed on. “If I had just let the Righteous Faction get slaughtered by the Blood Cult’s plot, the White Faction wouldn’t be parading around trying to steal the empty seat. Isn’t that right, Monk?”

Under Jin Soun’s relentless attacks, beads of sweat began to form on Ilgak’s smooth forehead.

Watching the sweat trickle gracefully down his face, Jin Soun drove the final wedge in. “If I hadn’t stepped up to handle the Iron Jiangshi that Shaolin and Mount Diancang ran into, the White Faction wouldn’t be pulling these stunts right now. Don’t you agree, Monk?”

“…”

When Ilgak remained silent, Jin Soun cornered him even further. “As the Buddha said…”

“Enough… please stop, Almsgiver Jin. I understand what you are trying to say.” In contrast to Jin Soun’s wide grin, Ilgak wore a pained expression, as if consumed by deep worldly agony. “Almsgiver Jin… wouldn’t it be better if another individual who represents the Righteous Faction…”

“Declined! I won’t accept anyone else!”

“Or if the Righteous Faction officially pledges our support for you…”

“Declined! I don’t need empty, superficial support.”

At Jin Soun’s resolute attitude, Ilgak let out another long sigh. “Almsgiver Jin…”

But Jin Soun’s mouth showed no signs of stopping. “Think about it carefully. Do you know how much internal chaos there has been just over this one Representative seat?” Jin Soun deliberately struck at the core of Ilgak’s beliefs. “Is this truly the ‘Path of the Buddha’? It’s time for you to make a decision for the greater good.”

“…”

Ilgak’s eyelids fluttered as he looked up at Jin Soun, who was leisurely perched on the bed.

A brief silence hung in the air. Then, as if reaching a decision, Ilgak nodded. “Understood. I will join.”

“Gasp!”

“V-Venerable Monk! What do you mean?!”

Completely ignoring the shrieks of disbelief around him, Jin Soun flashed a triumphant smile and held out his hand to Ilgak.

Ilgak grasped it. “Almsgiver Jin…”

“I’d appreciate it if you’d drop the ‘Almsgiver’ part. Let’s work well together from now on.”

“Amitabha.”

After Jin Soun’s storm-like visitation finally ended, silence settled back over the room, save for the quiet echoes of Ilgak’s chanting.

It was a given rule never to disturb a monk in meditation, but the disciple simply could not comprehend what had just happened.

“Venerable Monk… may I ask you one question?”

Ilgak slowly opened his eyes and stopped chanting. He gave a slight nod, as if he already knew what the disciple was feeling. “Are you asking why I joined Jin Soun’s executive committee?”

“…Yes. It was too hasty a decision. Even if the Righteous Faction owes him a debt, absolutely no one in the Faction will be pleased to see you take that position.”

“I am well aware of that.”

“If you know that so well, then why…”

Ilgak slowly turned his head to look at the disciple. Overwhelmed by the radiant light pouring from Ilgak’s eyes, the disciple almost looked away instinctively, but he desperately held his gaze.

Ilgak, sitting as immovable as a mountain, murmured softly. “Because I wish to know.”

“…Know what, exactly?”

Ilgak cast his gaze far away, like an ascetic wondering what lay beyond distant mountains. “Whether he is an ‘Enlightened One’ or not.”

“…” The disciple’s hands trembled violently. “What do you mean…? No matter how extraordinary he might be, how could you say such a thing about someone so utterly shallow, who only cares about money and rewards…”

“Master Cheongwon, an eminent monk of our temple, lived his entire life exactly like a beggar.”

“…Ugh. But Master Cheongwon was…”

Ilgak cut him off. “Of course, he too made mistakes. He lost our temple’s sacred artifact, the Demon-Subduing Spirit Pearl… However, that does not mean his enlightenment was not passed down to future generations.”

With the mention of Master Cheongwon, the disciple could no longer argue. He now understood that Ilgak’s choice wasn’t simply to resolve a momentary crisis. No, he realized it was a choice made for something far greater.

“Then… Venerable Monk, do you believe he is someone who will change history?”

When one person’s life changes, it is called destiny. When the destinies of countless people change, it is called history. Ilgak was essentially saying that Jin Soun was a man who would alter the destinies of multitudes.

To that question, Ilgak slowly shook his head. “That, I do not know.”

Ilgak squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, as if recalling the past. It might have been a trick of the light, but back in Sichuan, Jin Soun had undeniably radiated a brilliance. And it was a brilliance that could never emit from an ordinary man.

Ilgak slowly opened his eyes again. His gaze shone with crystalline clarity, like an ascetic starving for enlightenment.

“What I am curious about is how far he will go. And…” He looked at the disciple and smiled warmly. “Wouldn’t the best place to witness that be right by his side?”

“…”

With those final words, Ilgak closed his eyes once more. Even knowing full well how much hardship this choice would bring him, he could not wipe the smile from his lips.

“Amitabha…”

The only thing the disciple could do was chant the Buddha’s name.