WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 115: Uicheon Sword Sect 3
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The first things Yuri felt when he regained consciousness were the softness of the bed, the smooth blanket against his skin, and a soothing fragrance that calmed his mind.
“...”
When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Haryeong’s face looking down at him.
“Y-you startled me.”
His voice trembled. Haryeong’s brows furrowed slightly at his mutter.
“Startled? I’m shocked. Why would you be startled by this Haryeong’s face?”
Haryeong grumbled, her face swathed in bandages.
“Please consider how I feel about seeing your bandaged face the instant I wake up.”
“This Haryeong doesn’t care how Yuri feels.”
“What’s with that way of talking?”
“I’ve heard it so often that it just slipped out.”
As she spoke, Haryeong glanced behind her. Fortunately, the door was firmly shut. She shot to her feet and grabbed Yuri by the shoulders.
“Why are you...”
Before he could finish, Haryeong’s hand came chopping toward the back of his neck. Yuri jerked up a hand and blocked it in horror.
“Fuck, what are you doing?”
“Please remain unconscious for one more day.”
Just how much had she suffered while he was out? Yuri cleared his throat.
“It’s all for your sake, Haryeong.”
“I used to think it was better to grow stronger quickly, even if it hurt. But now I think growing stronger slowly and comfortably might not be so bad.”
At first, she had thought the Calamity Star’s teachings were something no fortune could buy.
Only at first.
Yesterday, she had wondered why anyone would pay a fortune to suffer. By today, she felt that if it hurt this much, she ought to be paid a fortune instead.
“I believe I’m more gifted at learning by watching and listening than by experiencing things firsthand. When I was with the Dang Family, I stole martial arts by watching with my eyes and listening with my ears. Even yesterday, watching Yuri spar with the Uicheon Sword Gate Master felt as though something had opened my eyes.”
Haryeong kept glancing at the closed door as her voice quickened. Yuri focused and expanded his senses.
“Gaaah...”
“Urgh...”
“S-stop...”
Estor’s agonized groans and the sounds of relentless violence came through clearly. Even now, Lorelia was instructing Estor at the Righteous Sword Pavilion’s training grounds.
“So, Yuri, please speak to the priestess. I’m a delicate assassin unsuited to this kind of harsh training.”
“You cannot be an assassin!”
The instant Haryeong finished speaking, a furious shout shook the Righteous Sword Pavilion. Haryeong immediately squared her shoulders and straightened her back.
“Haryeong! Didn’t I tell you yesterday? You were an assassin in the past, but you cannot be one from now on!”
“Yes, Priestess. I have discarded my past as an assassin and been reborn as a martial artist.”
Had she received ideological training while unconscious as well? Lorelia had called her Dark Blossom before, yet now she was using her name. Apparently, quite a lot had happened while Yuri was out.
The door flew open. Lorelia entered, shaking blood from her fists, then beamed at Yuri.
“You’re awake too, Yuri! This Lorelia is very happy!”
“Is Estor... dead?”
Estor’s groans could no longer be heard outside. Lorelia gave a short laugh at Yuri’s worried question.
“Ahaha! What are you saying? Estor is perfectly alive. He only lost consciousness for a moment. He’ll wake up soon.”
Lorelia took out holy water from the Sect of War and handed it to Haryeong.
“Now, go give Estor a drop. And Haryeong, prepare yourself as well.”
“Yes, understood. I’m so, so happy to think I’ll receive the priestess’s teachings again. Hooray, hooray, hooray.”
With dead eyes, Haryeong muttered her cheers and headed outside.
“Isn’t this training a little too harsh...?”
“The more iron is hammered, the stronger it becomes. Humans are the same.”
“What if you hammer them too much and they break...?”
“If they’re weak enough to break from something like this, it’s better that they break quickly! But from what this Lorelia has seen, Haryeong and Estor won’t break from this much. Why do you think that is?”
“Talent?”
“Because they have will! Both of them have the will to accomplish what they must. People with that kind of will do not break easily.”
Lorelia strode over and sat beside the bed.
“Actually, this Lorelia was very worried that Yuri might break.”
“Did you think I lacked will?”
“Think back to when we first met! Back then, Yuri was empty, without will or ambition.”
He couldn’t deny it. Yuri gave a bitter smile, and Lorelia chuckled too.
“But you didn’t break. Instead, you’re becoming stronger.”
“Because I’m filling myself up.”
“Wonderful. Depending on what you fill yourself with, Yuri may become harder than diamond.”
Lorelia placed her hand over the back of Yuri’s. Her hand was callused and developed for striking.
Her smile deepened. Only two years had passed, but the time Yuri had lived through was surely too dense to call it merely two years.
“Yesterday’s spar was excellent. To be completely honest, Yuri did far better than this Lorelia expected, and adapted very quickly.”
The fifth and sixth tiers differed by the opening of an additional dantian, making the adjustment period difficult. Quite a few sixth-tier martial artists remained unaccustomed to their Upper Dantian and Intent even after years had passed.
“But you have not adapted perfectly yet! Yuri has grown too strong too quickly.”
He had reached the sixth tier only two years after properly learning martial arts.
It was unprecedented. No monster like that existed in the world. Not even Ma Dobi, the unparalleled genius born to the Wi Family, nor Wi Jin-hwa, the Heavenly Demon considered the strongest in the Demonic Cult’s history, had grown as quickly as Yuri.
“Of course, Yuri’s body has developed in step with the rise in tier, and your inner power and consciousness are balanced as well. But as I said yesterday, the Upper Dantian is delicate and mysterious. If you get carried away and use it recklessly, disrupting that balance, Qi Deviation will come. And as quickly as you built yourself up, you will collapse.”
The price of Qi Deviation was more fatal for the Upper Dantian than for the other dantians. Yuri knew that well. What had become of the Blood Fiend, one of the Demonic Cult’s Seven Evils? He had once been a seventh-tier demonic martial artist.
“Yesterday’s overload happened because Yuri’s Intent went too far.”
“Are you saying I did too well?”
“Yes! You did so well that you couldn’t endure it, so let’s proceed a little more carefully.”
Smiling, Lorelia removed her hand from Yuri’s fist.
“Yuri, how do you feel right now?”
“I feel fine...”
He swallowed the rest of his answer.
“My head hurts, and my whole body aches.”
“You become stronger when you are hammered. Get up.”
“Shouldn’t Haryeong go first?”
“It’ll be over quickly!”
If he held out any longer, it felt as though she might grab him by the collar. Yuri let out a long sigh and climbed out of bed.
* * *
“Even so, isn’t giving them the entire Righteous Sword Pavilion and its surroundings too much?”
“Simply protecting a priestess of the Sect of Order could become a problem.”
Gongsun Myeong had listened silently to the elders’ dissatisfied remarks before opening his mouth.
“What do you expect me to do?”
The elders were the ones who had pushed him to settle things personally, saying the Calamity Star had likely come because they knew each other.
Thanks to that, Gongsun Myeong had gone alone to Sharp Sword Valley and had to watch carefully in case the Calamity Star raised a fist.
“I don’t think it’s excessive at all. It’s a hundred, a thousand times better than having them stay in Sharp Sword Valley. And protection? What protection?”
People with bad blood against the Sect of War or Transmigrators had been probing the Sect of Order to locate its Sacred Domain and pressure the entire sect.
If anyone had enough nerve to come looking after hearing that the Calamity Star had left the Sacred Domain and was here, Gongsun Myeong sincerely wanted to meet them.
“You told me to negotiate, and this is the result of the negotiation I made yesterday. So if any elder has a complaint, go to the Righteous Sword Pavilion and speak with the Calamity Star yourselves.”
“Urgh...”
The elders only groaned. Not one rose to head for the Righteous Sword Pavilion.
“And I believe this is a great opportunity for our gate. The Calamity Star said she would spar with me once a week. Through this opportunity, I will break through the wall into the eighth tier.”
“Are you really... all right with that?”
One elder asked, sweating nervously.
They remembered how Gongsun Myeong had left the sect decades ago to seek revenge, only to be dragged back by the Calamity Star before half a day had passed.
“Even so, isn’t once a week too frequent? If the Gate Master ends up worn down...”
“Urgh.”
This time, Gongsun Myeong had no choice but to groan.
Just yesterday, the Calamity Star had said she would hold back, but would not restrict her martial arts. That meant Gongsun Myeong would certainly suffer during their spars.
“For the gate’s future, it can’t be helped. I have already prepared myself.”
The Uicheon Sword Gate was one of the great gates among the Righteous Sects. Yet its future was not particularly bright.
A sect’s rise and fall depended on how many high-tier martial artists it possessed.
Gongsun Myeong, the Gate Master, was already an expert beyond the middle stage of the seventh tier. Still, with its current accomplishments, the Uicheon Sword Gate could not claim to be the foremost sword gate among the Righteous Sects.
What about the disciples who would lead its future? Among the hundreds of disciples, were there any young dragons or phoenixes who could lead the gate? There were not.
He had thought their disciples stood second to none compared to other sects, yet he kept comparing them to the Cloud Dragon he had seen yesterday...
‘To provide better instruction, I must first surpass that wall myself.’
Gongsun Myeong steeled his resolve and straightened his back.
“Oh...”
The elders quietly admired his resolute appearance.
“Regardless, that is how things stand. Elders, do not raise any more objections to the guests staying at the Righteous Sword Pavilion.”
“What about the disciples? Wouldn’t it be best to keep them from approaching the Righteous Sword Pavilion?”
“I don’t think there’s any need. The Calamity Star is not so unreasonable as to beat up our disciples, who have nothing to do with this.”
“...”
“Ahem... Besides, I would rather have our disciples actively interact with the Three Heroes.”
“Are the Three Heroes truly that outstanding?”
The elders’ eyes gleamed. The Three Heroes were the young talents drawing the most attention in the eastern martial world. The Uicheon Sword Gate had several promising young disciples, but not one had earned the title of Dragon in their generation.
“Dark Blossom, who is said to be the Dark King’s younger sister, cannot be more than thirty, no matter her exact age. And the Sword Dragon is twenty-two, I believe?”
“Yes.”
“I watched the Sword Dragon and Dark Blossom receive instruction from the Calamity Star. If my eyes did not deceive me, the Sword Dragon is at the peak of the fifth tier, while Dark Blossom is around half a step behind.”
“Good heavens...”
“As expected of the Sword Emperor’s grandson. They said he has the greatest talent in the Orsia Family’s history...”
Gongsun Myeong smiled bitterly at the elders’ admiration.
“The Cloud Dragon is at the sixth tier.”
“What?”
“I-is that true?”
The elders’ eyes widened in shock.
“I heard he reached the sixth tier two days ago. I was ‘purely’ curious, so I personally confirmed the Cloud Dragon’s skill.”
He did not bother mentioning that the Calamity Star had forced him into that spar.
“He is an absurd genius. It was impossible to believe he had reached the sixth tier only two days ago.”
The Cloud Dragon’s martial prowess was already well known, but Hundred Swords Gongsun Myeong, the Uicheon Sword Gate Master, was not a man who praised easily. If he spoke so highly, the Cloud Dragon’s skill had to far exceed the rumors.
“In my opinion, if the Cloud Dragon continues to grow at this pace for ten years, he may become the youngest person ever to be named a Martial Apex Venerable.”
The future youngest Martial Apex Venerable, who was receiving such lavish praise, was currently sprawled on the ground and dry-heaving.
“Bleurgh...”
Ten years meant nothing. He felt like he was dying right now.
“Stop exaggerating and get up!”
He was not exaggerating. The fist that had struck his solar plexus had simply gone far too deep. More than anything, he wanted to ignore her and stay sprawled out like this until he lost consciousness.
Earth’s Lee Su-hyeok would probably have done that. Nobody wanted to do something painful and exhausting.
‘No.’
Yuri of this world could not do that. There was a road he had to walk. Things he wanted to do. He had to fill himself up more.
‘Stuff it all in.’
Yuri gritted his teeth and rose. Since reaching the sixth tier, he had realized something every time he sparred with Lorelia.
How to use his fists and feet. How to strike an opponent. How to evade, deflect, and block. The ultimate art of moving the body.
‘Everything.’
He barely managed to get up and look at Lorelia’s face. Her bright red eyes blinked several times, then curved into a radiant smile.
“Ah! Yuri’s expression right now is truly wonderful! Is this Lorelia’s instruction really that enjoyable for you?”
He thought he had risen with his teeth clenched, but a twisted smile had somehow appeared on his lips.
Fun.
The word that could not become a voice lingered in his mouth. Of course it was fun.
The only thing Earth’s Lee Su-hyeok had been good at was one game.
And it was not some online game played by countless people, one that anyone could play.
It was not even an e-sport where he could become a professional gamer.
It was a trash game that almost nobody knew.
But what about now? Because he had been good at that game, he had crossed into another world and gained a talent far greater than anything he had ever possessed, a talent that rewarded every effort with rapid progress.
Even now, that was happening. Every time Lorelia beat him up, he could feel himself growing stronger!
“It seems he has finally gone mad.”
Watching Yuri get beaten with an expression somewhere between laughter and tears, Haryeong shook her head.
No answer came even after she waited. When she glanced to the side, Estor was forcing his swollen face into a smile.
“Won-der-ful...”
“This one is broken too.”
Haryeong shook her head again and muttered.
‘Well, still...’
For a moment, she thought of the past.
The Dang Family. Days spent under oppression, without even the chance to properly learn martial arts or anyone willing to teach her.
What about the Salhomun? She had never learned martial arts from the Faceless Killer. No matter how often she asked, the answer was always that the Faceless Killer’s martial arts could not be taught.
Instead, she had undergone assassin training. That training had been hard enough, but it could not compare to this.
‘Come to think of it, is this my first time learning like this?’
If she had not come to that man, none of this would have happened.
“...”
She tried to think positively, but unlike the two who had gone mad and broken, she could not bring herself to smile...
Haryeong rubbed her throbbing, stiff cheek and looked at Yuri. He was still being beaten, wearing an expression that was neither smiling nor crying.
“...Pfft.”
The sight made her smile slightly. It had escaped before she realized it. Haryeong hurriedly swallowed her smile and composed her face.
Fortunately, Yuri did not seem to have heard or seen it.
Footnotes:
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