WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 103: Seom-ye Lineage (3)
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Donate Radiant River? Both his reason and his heart rejected the idea.
It was not simply because Namgung Se-jin had named the martial art for him.
‘Even a one-in-ten-thousand chance is something worth worrying about.’
Martial arts leaks did happen, if rarely.
They were supposedly even common in the lower reaches of the martial world, where small and mid-sized sects fought over territory.
It was not limited to betrayal or turning one’s back on one’s sect. Even a superhuman who had mastered martial arts might not withstand torture.
The martial arts he had donated thus far all had tremendous room for further development.
They could advance much further in Jeong Yeon-shin’s hands. He would even welcome someone developing counterforms against them.
Radiant River was different. By nature, it was bound to specific forms and patterns of qi circulation.
“You’re not donating it...?”
Shin So-bin asked weakly.
“That’s right. I’m not.”
“Ah, you’re not....”
Her deeply disappointed expression secretly amused him. Jeong Yeon-shin kept a calm face as he thought,
‘Even if I desperately need merit.’
The mnemonic formula of a nearly complete core martial art had to be protected. Sword Song and the Jeong Family Youth Technique were the same.
Besides, Radiant River was a single-strike martial art meant to kill in one blow.
Its weaknesses in activation time and precision were obvious. He could not reveal its mnemonic formula as well.
Anyone who knew the circumstances would say his survival was at stake.
‘Besides.’
Learning Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand had to come first. It was a martial art that no one had ever managed to learn.
That remained true even setting aside the Blood Flame Sect’s Mara Roaring Blood Art.
There was no reason to donate it.
“B-but you’ll be recognized for a huge amount of merit. A truly enormous amount. You only just got back, Senior, so you don’t know. It’s been absolute chaos.”
Shin So-bin spoke while watching Jeong Yeon-shin’s reaction.
“Is that so?”
The merit he had received in exchange for donating Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand had been mediocre.
For a martial art the Shaolin monks had called a divine art, it was a paltry amount.
The reward had been high considering that no one could learn it, but it had still fallen short of his expectations.
They had said it was only due to the rarity of martial arts using dharma power.
That was all.
‘Radiant River won’t bring much merit either.’
That was Desolate Fortress’s standard. Even for peerless martial arts, they considered versatility.
To master Radiant River, one had to first learn Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand, which no one had succeeded in learning.
There would be no one capable of learning it. There was absolutely no reason to accept the loss of revealing the formula.
“I just got back. I should circulate my qi first.”
The boy spoke, gently prying away the hands of the children clinging to his robes.
Meeting the unranked disciples’ eyes, Jeong Yeon-shin gave them a small smile.
‘They’re cute children.’
Although he had become a Blue Uniform, they still approached him without hesitation.
The slightly older children treated him with formality, but he did not expect that from the younger ones.
“Circulate your qi first. Ah, right, of course you should.”
Shin So-bin replied, flinching slightly.
Perhaps because she had subtly drawn herself in, the hem of her Desolate Fortress White Uniform robe wrinkled a little.
It had been immaculate enough to make her look dignified.
The Desolate Fortress Shin Family was her clan.
They said it enjoyed influence comparable to the Desolate Ma family, yet Shin So-bin’s behavior was not at all like that of the treasured daughter of a renowned family.
“Shin So-bin, where are the Squad Leader and the other seniors?”
“They left on a mission right after Senior Seom-ye departed. None of them have returned yet.”
“Sichuan?”
“That’s right.”
Before confronting the Namgung Family, Jeong Yeon-shin recalled the conversation he had shared with Ma Jin.
“I’ll have to head to Sichuan soon as well. It’s because of that thunderclap bomb you were badly hurt by. There’s information that the Sichuan Tang Clan is secretly producing fire bombs. The Chief Steward's Office told me to confirm it.”
“The Tang Sect... I heard the Sichuan martial world is dangerous. Isn’t it a place where even Demon Wings masters cannot guarantee their survival if they get swept up in the turmoil? The Sichuan Tang Clan, which competes for the top among the Eight Great Families, has three of the Nine Great Sects and three major factions of the Thirteen Heavens gathered there.”
He also remembered Ma Jin’s smiling reply. Ma Jin had said they were worried about Jeong Yeon-shin instead.
‘They still haven’t returned.’
Jeong Yeon-shin nodded once, then spoke.
“Let’s catch up later. I don’t have much else to say about Sihwa Boundless Hand... no, Sihwa Boundless Fist.”
He had begun adding Hand to the end of Sihwa Boundless Fist. He had created Radiant River, a palm technique, after the three fist forms.
“Yes, let’s do that!”
A shrill note slipped into her reply. Shin So-bin nodded her small head, then her face turned red.
Jeong Yeon-shin found it a little strange. It was an expression difficult to associate with her usual self.
Shin So-bin, White Cat of Demon Wings.
He recalled the time they had met Languid Flame Dragon during the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering mission.
Shin So-bin had been with him then, and while he practiced Sword Song, she had bluntly told him that he drew attention.
In other words, she had not hesitated to criticize a Blue Uniform expert. She had even openly discussed his abilities.
By nature, she was extremely bold. She had always been that way.
‘Why is she acting like that?’
Tilting his head inwardly, he took a step. Several hems brushed together.
The children, unranked disciples of Demon Wings, reluctantly stepped back.
They were boys and girls who had entered the sect through a more traditional route than the Desolate Exam.
They had grown up in their sect, Desolate Fortress, just like the disciples of other sects.
Despite their innocent appearances, they had learned in Demon Wings since birth.
They were accustomed to Desolate Fortress’s system of missions, rest, and training.
“That’s right. You should rest before telling us about your heroic exploits.”
“I called dibs first. Anyway, I’m first for Sihwa Boundless Fist. I don’t know how to put force into the True Barrier form properly!”
“What’s a weakling like you saying? Let’s settle it with a spar. Follow me to the Training Hall.”
“Fine! You think I’ll be scared?”
Amid the noisy chatter of youthful voices, Shin So-bin watched Jeong Yeon-shin’s retreating figure with a slightly blank expression.
The boy walked in silence, and no fatigue could be sensed from his retreating figure.
Only a quietly condensed air bore witness to his growth. The presence of his aura was immense.
‘His martial attainment rose again.’
Seom-ye’s advancement as a Blue Uniform expert was unmistakable to Shin So-bin.
A master rising to unfathomable heights.
She could no longer even estimate how many moves she could withstand against him.
All she could see was his back as he continued forward without pause.
Yet something mattered more than his attainment. It was his talent for creating martial arts.
Seom-ye of Demon Wings achieved growth and creation at the same time.
He advanced even as he invented martial arts. He no longer looked anything like a boy of her own age.
“Senior Shin, what’s wrong?”
“You’re being all hesitant. It’s weird.”
“That’s not like White Cat of Demon Wings!”
The children chirped teasingly. They were right.
It was a side of herself that almost never appeared. Had she perhaps developed feelings for Senior Seom-ye?
‘No way.’
No. Her feelings were not that shallow. The issue lay in something directly tied to a martial artist’s identity.
Shin So-bin inadvertently recalled something.
‘They called him a founding master.’
It was what Red Noon Sword of the Annihilation Squad had said when they met in the Gold-Piercing Martial Treasury.
A pioneer of a sect. One who had awakened first. An enlightened predecessor revered by all.
A martial artist’s values were generally rooted in martial arts.
Someone who created a lineage of martial learning, a peerless school, was treated with the respect due a founding master.
Those of the martial world revered Bodhidharma and Zhang Sanfeng more than Shakyamuni.
They were the founders of Shaolin’s supreme arts and the Wudang Sect’s Taiji martial arts. Both were called Grandmasters.
Seom-ye, Jeong Yeon-shin, was also creating a lineage. No one could treat him carelessly anymore.
‘Even if it’s still incomplete.’
Anyone walking the martial path ought to show respect.
‘Every martial artist with a proper head on their shoulders.’
Shin So-bin had studied the martial arts Jeong Yeon-shin had donated thus far.
She had felt it all. The overwhelming martial talent flowing through the mnemonic formulas, and the brilliant flashes of inspiration, confronted her in full.
It was different from simply looking upon a martial artist called Seom-ye. She even felt moved.
There were very few among the upper ranks of the martial world who possessed peerless martial arts.
That meant most martial artists would have to lower themselves after reading the words of the mnemonic formulas of the martial arts Jeong Yeon-shin had created.
It was not only Sihwa Boundless Fist. Phantom Wing Step, Ultimate Realm, and Radiant Sword Flow were all the same.
‘It’s Seom-ye’s Lineage.’
Only then did she understand her own feelings. Her bearing had changed at its foundation.
Unconsciously, she had adopted the attitude a learner ought to hold toward a founding master.
There was a problem with that.
There were more than just one or two Desolate Fortress martial artists like Shin So-bin.
Yet Desolate Fortress was a faction where master-disciple ties were forbidden by law.
There were no masters or martial brothers. There were only superiors and subordinates, seniors and juniors.
‘What if those rotten bastards find something to use against us...?’
As the legitimate daughter of the Shin Family, Shin So-bin had grown up moving through Desolate Fortress.
Faces came to mind the instant she frowned.
* * *
Three days passed.
With Ma Jin, who would assign him missions, away from Desolate Fortress, Jeong Yeon-shin could only wait for direct orders from the Chief Steward's Office.
He spent those days refining his martial arts.
He wanted to spend as little time as possible at Desolate Fortress’s main fortress.
Merit was important, but he also needed to gain experience and broaden his knowledge of the martial world.
He had won the recent duel, but he could not be satisfied.
‘It was luck.’
He recalled his battle with Clear Qilin, Namgung Se-jin.
The flow of that day had favored Jeong Yeon-shin. That was all.
Both sides possessed martial arts capable of inflicting fatal wounds on the other.
The Imperial Sword Art was a new and overwhelming martial discipline, enough to seem like a supernatural ability. It would not have been strange for either of them to win.
‘I need to advance further.’
Martial arts were an academic system built from fighting others. They could not be learned alone.
Living martial prowess arose from interaction with an opponent.
One person immediately came to mind.
White Qilin, Namgung Hwa-shin.
Of everyone he might grow alongside, Namgung Hwa-shin was the only one who could keep up with Jeong Yeon-shin’s senses.
Yet the boy inwardly shook his head. Namgung Hwa-shin was likely drowning in despair.
He could not use Namgung Hwa-shin as a means of honing his martial arts.
‘When I can’t even offer comfort.’
Sparring with the Demon Wings martial artists no longer stimulated him.
They had become like family to one another. Training in practical combat arts had slowed to a crawl.
He simply could not feel any danger from them.
Besides, all the seniors had followed Ma Jin to Sichuan. Jeong Yeon-shin continued only with visualization training.
Perhaps because he had seen the Divine Sword Squad Leader and other peerless supreme masters during the Namgung Family mission, his thoughts grew increasingly intense. He almost wished someone would pick a fight with him.
So he could use his unique martial arts to his heart’s content.
‘What a thug-like thought.’
Shaking his head inwardly, he entered meditation. About two shichen passed.
Then sunlight distorted by the window lattice brushed across the boy’s cheek.
It was the breath of twilight hanging at the end of the day. That was when it happened.
[Is anyone there!]
A voice suddenly rang out, shaking the air.
The qi within it was truly immense. The ripples of power were at least at the Blue Uniform level.
Jeong Yeon-shin reacted at once. There were no Black Uniforms here, and he was currently Demon Wings’ only Blue Uniform.
Whooom!
He immediately used the Body Movement Scripture. Throwing open the door, he rushed outside.
Thud! Whoosh!
A fierce gust swept through his hair. He closed the distance in an instant.
Only one person stood before the hall.
“As of today, I’ve entered Desolate Fortress. I’ve been assigned to Demon Wings.”
A young man with exhausted shadows under his eyes smiled.
It was a gentle smile. The young man strode closer while holding a gourd flask, and the smell of alcohol spread as the distance closed.
The young man continued.
“We’ve met before, haven’t we? Your face stuck with me. You’re the one who called me slow.”
“...”
“I don’t know your name. I know your epithet, though. Seom-ye... was it?”
The young man seemed at least ten years older than Jeong Yeon-shin. His appearance made that clear.
Distinct, handsome features carried a strong air of weariness. Jeong Yeon-shin knew the face.
“Languid Flame Dragon of the Huangbo Family.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke.
Relaxing his body with the Jeong Family Youth Technique came first.
In an instant, every muscle in his body loosened like a beast preparing for battle.
At the same time, the boy took in the man before him.
“So you remember me too.”
Languid Flame Dragon smiled with a satisfied expression.
He wore shabby martial robes, yet carried a strange dignity.
The leaf held in his mouth also appeared to be an opium poppy.
How had he acquired it? His overall appearance was difficult to imagine within Desolate Fortress.
An arc formed in those dimly shadowed eyes, but Jeong Yeon-shin only watched him quietly.
“It couldn’t be helped. Aren’t our talents of the same kind? I have the Sun God Meridian, and you...”
Drawing out the end of the sentence, Languid Flame Dragon tilted his head slightly.
“What is it? Anyway.”
A terrifying energy blazed from his entire body.
He did not appear to be stirring much qi, yet he radiated heat. It was the power of blazing yang.
He felt even stronger, as if he had grown on his own.
“I’m not some Huangbo Young Family Head anymore. I’m just a nobody, an unranked disciple. Take care of me.”
His words and manner made him seem to have no attachment to anything in the world. He did not look like a Young Family Head at all.
That did not matter. The boy had a question.
Why had Desolate Fortress accepted the heir of a family it had destroyed?
Could the Chief Steward's Office decide something like that on its own?
As he sorted through his thoughts, Jeong Yeon-shin slowly parted his lips.
“Speak respectfully.”
“Hmm?”
“Speak respectfully, Languid Flame Dragon.”
Footnotes:
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