WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 101: Seom-ye Lineage

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The group was finally setting out to part ways.

Seven days and nights had passed since Jeong Yeon-shin finished his private meeting with the Divine Sword Squad Leader. Wuchang was close.

It was the city where they would part with the Divine Sword Squad, as it held a relay station just before Desolate Fortress.

"This is a little too comfortable, isn't it? Not one of them has come. We've been expecting an attack since before we entered Southern Zhili."

At Yeon So-ha's words, the other experts of the Divine Sword Squad spoke up in turn.

"That's true. Our leader and the Namgung Family Head dueled. Anyone would assume one of them hadn't come through it unscathed. That's how people in the martial world think."

"Comfortable? We encountered the Blood Flame Sect, the Heart Martial Union, Yeoryeong, and even the Martial Dragon Society in Clear Night Valley. How can you say that after running into four major factions?"

"Right. Under normal circumstances, they would have clashed with us outright if the leader hadn't put on such a bold front. Those scheming Yeoryeong bastards might have kept watching until then, though."

"Anyone reckless enough to attack after facing the leader's aura wouldn't have waited until right after the duel in the first place. Peerless experts capable of challenging a Purple Uniform are usually tied down by the vast power structure of the Central Plains."

"Anyway."

Ak Su-rim cut in with a bright smile.

"It's thanks to Seom-ye. He somehow helped the leader circulate qi and recuperate amid that chaos. Thanks to him, we've had a rather comfortable journey."

She reached out. Ak Su-rim was shorter than Jeong Yeon-shin, so she raised her hand high as if to ruffle the boy's hair.

When Yeon-shin casually stepped aside, she gave an amused snort and merely patted his back.

"You're like a cat. Black Cat would suit you better than Seom-ye."

There was no need to answer.

'She would discern it if she touched my head. Senior Ak would, at least.'

The boy thought of his constitution, doomed to an early death, and Jeong Family Manor in Xinye County.

He had taken great care in explaining the situation to the Divine Sword Squad Leader. First and foremost, the leader was a great senior of the Purple Uniform.

Yeon-shin hadn't known how the leader would take it, but the Divine Sword Squad Leader showed no change in expression throughout.

None of the flippant remarks that occasionally slipped out came up then.

"So, you mean to push me aside?"

Only the final words had been playful. The Divine Sword Squad Leader's response was extraordinary in that way.

"Two Purple Uniform experts in the Divine Sword Squad. My heart races just thinking about it. Reach that point."

The leader had added that once Yeon-shin possessed the qualifications, they would gladly spar with him.

Those were words he had heard from the renowned Divine Sword Squad Leader. They were, by themselves, a goal Yeon-shin still could not imagine reaching.

He had thought he was reciting a pathetic family matter, yet that one remark eased his heart. The feeling surprised him anew.

Was it because the leader had taken someone so far beneath them seriously?

"My internal injuries have improved considerably as well. Spending seven days and nights doing nothing but recuperating was worth it."

The Divine Sword Squad Leader joked. Their eyes met, and the leader gave him a wink. Yeon-shin quietly turned his head away.

"That's Wuchang's main gate!"

Ak Su-rim responded to Yeon So-ha's shout.

"The inspection looks quite severe. Public sentiment must be poor because of the famine."

"Deputy Leader, stop idling around the main fortress and return to your main unit. At once."

The Divine Sword Squad Leader deliberately widened their eyes. Though they stood below Ak Su-rim in martial-world seniority, she merely smiled.

"Perhaps. It's been a while since I lined up the Squad Leaders of the Seventeen Squads and tightened discipline. I wonder if the Leader of Demon Wings is at the main fortress."

She glanced at Yeon-shin as she brushed back the hair beside her ear, her expression full of mischief.

The Divine Sword Squad experts, apparently used to this, chatted among themselves.

"Do you think something happened to the Elder Council Head? Why hasn't the Elder Council Head joined us?"

"What do you take a peerless Purple Uniform expert for? Unless two or more sect leaders of the Nine Sects or Lords of the Thirteen Heavens attacked, there is almost nothing in the world that could harm that person. Their martial attainment has already reached the Absolute Realm."

"Your assumption is absurd as well. The leaders of the Nine Sects and the Thirteen Heavens are the most honored people in the martial world. It's not as if they roam about like village dogs."

"What do you think, Family Head Ma?"

"...The Elder Council Head? Though they may seem careless in character, they are not someone who would die away from home in the martial world. It is shameful that brats like you would worry."

Perhaps because their parting was close, the Divine Sword Squad experts had grown talkative. None seemed truly worried about the Elder Council Head. Their faith in a Purple Uniform expert's strength was absolute.

"I suppose it's really time to part ways."

"Seom-ye, your martial arts have broadened my horizons. They were very creative, unique martial arts."

"Right. From your Hand Arts to your sword arts, all of them were."

Many of the Divine Sword Squad experts patted Yeon-shin as Ak Su-rim had.

They did not seem like people famed for being especially arrogant in the martial world.

Was it because they had watched his duel with Clear Qilin Namgung Se-jin, then spent a week building a friendship with him?

'This is good. One day, I need to bring them under my command.'

The boy had a thought anyone would call audacious.

Yet the experts of the Divine Sword Squad never mentioned recruiting him until the end. Yeon-shin reflected on it.

It was because he was not yet an expert they desperately needed.

The world of Desolate Fortress's Blue Uniform was that vast.

'Still, if I incorporate the insights I gained this time...'

What would happen if he wove the Jeong Family Youth Technique into the cultivation method he would soon create, and even improved the qi circulation of Radiant River?

He imagined reaching a level where he could contend for the finest of the Blue Uniform alongside Cheong Myeong and Baek Mir-yeo. When he met the Divine Sword Squad again, he would show them a different side of himself.

"That was quite enjoyable."

"Deputy Leader, you must return right away."

"Our Elder Ma, keep that temper in check."

Even their well-wishes were cheerful. Their strength supported those seemingly lighthearted dispositions.

"Let's go, then."

Ak Su-rim would return for a time with Jeong Yeon-shin and Ma Yeon-jeok. As the Divine Sword Squad's deputy leader, she needed to finish reporting the mission.

"Your palm arts are good, but don't neglect your sword arts too much. Your swordsmanship has plenty of room to grow."

The Divine Sword Squad Leader gave advice in place of a farewell. It came from a peerless expert who had displayed a light sword formed from qi.

Yeon-shin clasped his hands in salute and bowed his head in thanks.

"May fortune favor your martial path."

The moment he finished speaking, a hearty laugh rang out. Then a refreshing reply rode back on a gust of wind.

"You're the only one who wishes me luck."

Whoosh!

When Yeon-shin raised his head again, every member of the Divine Sword Squad had already vanished into the distance with their movement techniques.

Around twenty shadows advanced, blotting out the sunlight over the endlessly broad horizon. The Divine Sword Squad Leader's back was nowhere to be seen.

"Let us go."

Ma Yeon-jeok spoke. It was time to return.

* * *

It had happened the day before Jeong Yeon-shin departed for his duel with the Namgung Family.

The sunlight was bright.

Desolate Fortress's Gold-Piercing Martial Treasury was another castle within the main fortress.

Its pure white stone walls rose beautifully. Anyone unfamiliar with it would find it difficult to believe it was a library.

That was because it held Desolate Fortress's martial arts manuals.

It was called a compendium of martial learning. It had been built with foundational martial arts supplied by the imperial court.

Unique martial arts donated by warriors of the main fortress were also stored there.

Still, what martial arts library used marble walls? It was a thought first-time visitors usually had.

Such thoughts normally showed on their faces, yet the boy entering at that moment looked utterly calm.

Step.

The scribe responsible for the Gold-Piercing Martial Treasury knew him. When the unprecedented manual for the Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand had been donated, it had even needed to be reported to the imperial court.

Few times had the scribe poured so much care into the calligraphy of an official document.

"Young hero Seom-ye."

"Scribe O."

The boy returned Scribe O's clasped-hands salute. His greeting had a neat, composed quality.

The scribe found himself thinking that the boy who had gained fame so recently would suit the scent of paper here quite well.

Perhaps it was because of the books tucked under Jeong Yeon-shin's arm.

What would he have been like if he had walked a path other than martial arts? The scribe shook off the idle thought and asked.

"What are those?"

"I wish to donate them to the main fortress. They are my unique martial arts. I would also like you to assess the merit they carry."

Seom-ye Jeong Yeon-shin spoke. He explained only his business, with no particular expectation.

Even a street vendor selling sweets would not solicit customers so halfheartedly.

The scribe, who had needed to obtain an imperial decree because of the Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand, inwardly shuddered.

That matter had been handled in utmost secrecy so the martial sects would not notice.

A dharma power martial art.

It had caused such unseen commotion, and the scribe had been even more furious because the merit ultimately awarded to the boy had not been substantial.

It was said that the art did not suit the ideal of national wealth and military strength championed by Zhang Juzheng, who had served as Grand Chancellor of the Ming imperial court.

It was an abstruse discipline that no one else could even begin to learn. The scribe could not tell whether the higher-ups who made that decision belonged to the Chief Steward's Office or the imperial court.

'I hope this matter ends without trouble.'

He inwardly wished as he accepted the books from the boy's hands.

Then Jeong Yeon-shin spoke.

"Scribe O, you are skilled at speed-reading, are you not? Would it be possible for me to wait until you have assessed their rough value? I leave on a mission soon, so I would have to depart without receiving the results."

The assessment of donated martial arts took place from many angles.

Before a report was sent through the senior scribes of the Chief Steward's Office to several Black Uniform Squad Leaders and others above them, the martial art's capabilities, training method, and difficulty of mastery were organized.

Forming the outline of that report was the duty of a Gold-Piercing Martial Treasury scribe.

Naturally, the scribe had trained in martial arts. He prided himself on discernment no worse than that of an ordinary Blue Uniform expert. That was why he had been appointed to this post.

"Your mission is tomorrow... I have no other pressing duties today, so I will examine them carefully at once."

The scribe quickly picked up one of the books. Its title caught his eye.

Sihwa Boundless Fist.

The simply written cover was plain. It looked as though a standard form from the Chief Steward's Office had been hastily bound together.

The scribe inwardly smiled at the clumsy binding and turned the page.

"..."

Then he fell silent.

Slowly.

Very slowly, he sank into silence.

Sihwa Boundless Fist, Phantom Wing Step, Ultimate Realm, Radiant Sword Flow...

The four martial arts manuals passed before his eyes in order. In the silence, only the soft sound of turning pages echoed.

It continued until he had read every book inscribed with martial arts formulas.

"Hm..."

He raised his head with a low sound. His eyes were bloodshot, and shock flashed in his gaze as he looked at Jeong Yeon-shin.

His expression alone filled the brief silence.

The scribe slowly opened his mouth.

"As you know, donations of unique martial arts are converted into merit according to the main fortress's own standards. We assess their value by how much they generally strengthen the fighting power of the main fortress's warriors. We do not especially rely on the judgment of supreme experts, but if I may dare to speak of your martial arts this time, young hero Seom-ye..."

* * *

Abruptly, the scribe ended his recollection.

"Excuse me, but I have something to ask."

The voice was edged with impatience.

At the entrance of the vast library, the scribe was grinding ink at a desk furnished with brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. He sighed.

Without hearing more, he could already guess the purpose in detail. There had been more than ten people like this today. The scribe furrowed his brow.

"Seom-ye Martial Lineage has been transferred to the upper floor of this treasury."

He had said the same thing more than ten times.

'What a day for it.'

The Chief Steward's Office scribe of Desolate Fortress rubbed his tired eyes. He had spent the entire day dealing with martial artists who questioned and argued.

A Gold-Piercing Martial Treasury scribe's post was not normally like this.

"It's that young hero's fault."

The words slipped out like a sigh, a mutter scattering away with exhaustion.

The young man in plain clothes paid no mind to the monologue. Anger filled his face, and his voice steadily rose.

"Transferred? What do you mean, transferred? How can you say something so cruel?"

"It is the Chief Steward's Office's decision. Not just anyone can read them now. You must at least obtain an official White Uniform rank. Exceptional martial arts have always been treated this way. It is the Grand Chief Steward's intent to encourage self-improvement..."

"What kind of...! I was born and raised in Desolate Fortress! Are you saying a warrior who cannot wear white robes isn't even a person?"

"Formal assignment to the Seventeen Squads of the Divine Sword Squad begins with White Uniform warriors. You know that as well, do you not? If you dislike it, why not take the Desolate Exam?"

The scribe replied indifferently. It could not be helped. This was not the first or second time it had happened today.

It was an incident centered around the Gold-Piercing Martial Treasury.

The repercussions of transferring Seom-ye Martial Lineage had been immense. The scribe cursed inwardly.

'Damn it.'

News had now arrived that Jeong Yeon-shin had won the duel against the Namgung Family.

Desolate Fortress had been thrown into an uproar.

Footnotes:

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