Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time - Chapter 108

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 108: Divine Technique (2)

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Namgung Hwa-shin was the last.

That was what Jeong Yeon-shin thought.

Even after securing promises from those he had met today to join the expedition to Sichuan, he could not leave out the White Qilin.

That was why he had moved at once. He had briefly parted ways with Seom-ye’s Lineage and sent the Languid Flame Dragon back.

White Qilin, Namgung Hwa-shin.

He was a swordsman born with supreme senses.

The martial power he possessed was immense as well, enough for him to be considered the strongest of the younger generation.

Even Jeong Yeon-shin did not believe he would win all ten times if he and Namgung Hwa-shin fought ten times.

They had not properly crossed blades since he consumed the high-grade spiritual medicine, but he believed he would lose at least two or three times.

Perhaps even three or four. A fight was full of variables.

Jeong Yeon-shin intended to shamelessly ask for his help.

‘The Sichuan martial world is dangerous.’

Demon Wings had vanished there. They were not some insignificant group of martial artists.

He had to consider it a place where even the elite martial artists of the Nine Sects exercised caution. He desperately needed even one more Blue Uniform expert.

Jeong Yeon-shin, Namgung Hwa-shin, and the Languid Flame Dragon.

Ten Blue Uniform experts from Seom-ye’s Lineage, including Red Noon Sword.

More than thirty White Uniform martial artists besides them.

They were not enough to serve as the main force of the main fortress. Still, they were a force no one in Sichuan could easily dismiss.

‘But is this all right? Young Hero Namgung must be despondent.’

The boy pondered it even as he knocked on the gate.

Thump! Thump!

He grasped the cold door knocker and struck it downward.

This was the Swift Heaven Wing Squad’s hall within Desolate Fortress. Like Demon Wings, the place felt deserted.

He had heard that the Annihilation Squad and Demon Wings had departed on missions to Sichuan, along with members of the Swift Heaven Wing Squad.

Creak.

The door opened before ten breaths had passed. A young girl peeked out.

The character for “desolate” was embroidered on the white cloth draped over her shoulders. She was a White Uniform martial artist of the Swift Heaven Wing Squad.

“Seom-ye?”

Her eyes widened slightly.

Her slightly upturned eyes looked familiar to Jeong Yeon-shin. He remembered seeing her during the competition with Namgung Hwa-shin.

The tone she had used when she looked directly at Jeong Yeon-shin and spoke had left an impression. She had been quite bold.

“Young Hero Namgung’s path is a lonely one. You may be someone fit to walk beside him, though I cannot say for certain.”

She had assessed Jeong Yeon-shin while standing beside Namgung Hwa-shin during the competition.

Shin Bin-bin of the Swift Heaven Wing Squad. She was said to be Shin So-bin’s older sister, making her the cherished daughter of Desolate Fortress’s Shin Family.

“I came to see Young Hero Namgung.”

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke calmly. At once, Shin Bin-bin’s brows drew together.

“At this hour of the night...?”

“It’s urgent.”

Jeong Yeon-shin was the one in a hurry. He had come unannounced in the middle of the night, so it was rude by any standard.

He was in no position to criticize the speech of a White Uniform martial artist beneath him.

‘What is this?’

Shin Bin-bin was offended in her own way. She had never liked the boy called Seom-ye, Jeong Yeon-shin.

When he defeated White Qilin, her senior, during the mission competition, she had accepted it. It had been a fair contest, even if she disliked the outcome.

Yet the rumors that followed planted an ugly feeling in her heart.

‘So he covets merit that much?’

She had been cheering for the senior she secretly admired when she heard that Seom-ye had monopolized all the merit and prestige.

Namgung Hwa-shin had supposedly failed to settle even a single one of his personal grievances.

That was because Seom-ye had cut down both direct-lineage siblings of the Namgung Family before turning away.

‘He truly has no respect for anyone. And he was not even raised in a distinguished family.’

His arrival at this hour to handle his own affairs proved it. There was only one shichen left before midnight.

Arrogant. Overbearing.

He was a rude, greedy boy. His nature was unbearable.

His handsome appearance, outstanding ability, and young age only dressed up what he truly was.

Seom-ye, Jeong Yeon-shin.

She could easily picture him accepting a winner-stays-on format because he trusted in his martial prowess, then using his silver tongue to persuade kind-hearted Namgung Hwa-shin.

Shin Bin-bin’s eyes narrowed.

Her words naturally came out curt.

“Brother Namgung has retired for the night.”

She addressed Namgung Hwa-shin as an older brother, a White Uniform martial artist calling a Blue Uniform expert by such a familiar title.

It was behavior that ignored rank, but Jeong Yeon-shin did not care. He had no time to waste on something so trivial.

“Demon Wings, who went to Sichuan, have gone missing. I formed a rescue party. I came to ask Young Hero Namgung to join us.”

“Demon Wings...?”

A flicker of surprise appeared in Shin Bin-bin’s eyes.

The news had only arrived this evening. Since she had remained in the Swift Heaven Wing Squad’s hall watching over Namgung Hwa-shin, it was understandable that she did not know.

Jeong Yeon-shin silently nodded.

If they were to leave at daybreak, he needed to secure Namgung Hwa-shin’s participation and urgently obtain approval from the Chief Steward's Office.

“I said it is urgent. Please inform him.”

However.

“Um...”

Shin Bin-bin pressed her small lips together. She showed no sign of moving away from the door.

Before long, emotion entered Jeong Yeon-shin’s voice.

“What is this? What are you doing?”

“Brother Namgung needs rest. His mental strain has been tremendous. He was someone who forgot food and sleep while immersing himself in martial arts, but after returning, he has even skipped his morning training. All thanks to someone who cared only for claiming merit, without a thought for his comrades.”

Her voice was sharp with accusation. Shin Bin-bin shot Jeong Yeon-shin an affronted glare.

Her lashes flickered with clear hostility. She did not regard him as an equal.

Is she mad?

Jeong Yeon-shin thought as he repeated the word to himself.

“Merit...?”

He had an idea what this was about.

Shin Bin-bin seemed to know nothing of the circumstances.

She did not know that Namgung Hwa-shin had been raised as the leader of the Namgung Family’s assassins.

She had never heard of the mental restriction placed upon White Qilin through sorcery arts.

Otherwise, she could not act like this.

That was why things had unfolded as they had. He had feared the brainwashing that prevented Namgung Hwa-shin from harming direct-lineage family members.

Had Namgung Hwa-shin been whole, he would never have agreed to a winner-stays-on format between juniors.

‘He told only me what was in his heart.’

The boy thought.

Namgung Hwa-shin had not shared his private story even with his companions in the Swift Heaven Wing Squad.

Had their clash of swords during the competition left some impression on him?

It seemed that, because White Qilin had acknowledged Jeong Yeon-shin as a martial artist, he had allowed him to hear of his hidden circumstances.

That made it even more impossible to tell Shin Bin-bin.

“You said Young Hero Namgung needs rest.”

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly moved his lips.

“...Is that really for you to decide?”

“What did you just say?”

Shin Bin-bin’s eyes flew open.

Jeong Yeon-shin decided not to care. She was weaker than him.

Even if she did not know the circumstances between him and Namgung Hwa-shin, the fact remained that a Divine Sword Squad combat unit stood at the brink of annihilation.

Shin Bin-bin was making an utterly unreasonable demand. There was no reason to argue with her.

‘I’ll have to jump over.’

The boy’s gaze naturally rose upward.

Whoosh!

Had she noticed his intent? Her aura stirred.

Shin Bin-bin made the first move. Before Jeong Yeon-shin could even leap up, her right hand shot forward.

It was not that he had lost in the realm of speed. She had simply started first.

It was insubordination.

Swish!

A light breeze blew from the front.

Her fluttering white robes entered his sight.

Shin Bin-bin’s joint-lock movement. The hilt of a treasured sword showed beneath her smooth sleeve.

It was not a Desolate Sword, but a famed sword of the Shin Family.

She flung the gate wide open with her other hand and closed in with a single step.

The refined aura unique to a prestigious family surged out.

Sky-blue lightning flashed from Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes.

“Not one step...”

The moment she opened her mouth, the boy’s body bent like a leaf.

Wind swept along his curved path, scraping up the gate of the Swift Heaven Wing Squad.

He closed the distance in an instant. Shin Bin-bin’s joint lock could not even graze his robes.

Bang!

A crushed breath burst from her as the back of his hand struck the side of her head like lightning.

Shin Bin-bin flew sideways with a gale that burst out like a cannon shot, then rolled helplessly across the ground.

“Urk... Ughhh...”

“You say I covet merit? You are right. I desire merit more than anyone.”

Jeong Yeon-shin looked down at her coldly.

“It does not matter how you judge me. But I cannot tolerate insubordination. You have even delayed my precious time. Be grateful I did not deal with you summarily.”

His voice came out rough.

He could not reveal Namgung Hwa-shin’s family circumstances just to correct a misunderstanding.

He could accept being misunderstood. It did not matter what accusations were made against him or how people pointed fingers at him.

‘Just do not interfere.’

She simply must not obstruct what he intended to do for Ma Jin, Hyeon Won-chang, Cheong Myeong, and Baek Mir-yeo, whose faces still lingered before his eyes.

His heart was sharper than ever.

He held a sword in his heart. If anyone caused further harm to his comrades in Demon Wings, he could cut them down, no matter who they were.

The Sichuan Tang Clan.

Jeomchang Sect, Qingcheng Sect, and Ami Sect.

Ten Perfect Sect, Pure Demon Alliance, and Dragon-Slaying Alliance.

They were the major factions of the Eight Great Families, Nine Sects, and Thirteen Heavens, all battling for dominance in Sichuan.

Jeomchang Sect had originally been based on Mount Diancang in Yunnan, but it was said to move throughout the Sichuan martial world to aid Qingcheng Sect and Ami Sect, which had been driven back by three of the Thirteen Heavens.

It was that chaotic a place.

‘I have to suspect them all.’

Demon Wings’ lightness skill was extraordinary.

If they truly meant to flee, even an elite group from a major faction would not have been capable of capturing them.

At least two major sects must have joined forces to corner Demon Wings.

Jeong Yeon-shin had to keep his thoughts flexible while keeping his actions decisive.

As he crossed the threshold, he spoke to Shin Bin-bin, who remained sprawled on the ground, unable to steady herself.

“The comrades at the main fortress are precious to me too.”

A conviction honed as sharply as a sword blade flowed through the boy’s voice.

The closer he came to creating a cultivation method, the higher the quality of his inner energy rose. He had reached a level where intent manifested through his aura.

At that moment, as he fortified his mental image through Shin Bin-bin, it was refined further.

It meant that his state of mind now rode the waves of qi.

“...!”

She was also a White Uniform martial artist who had cultivated her aura sense. Her eyes shook as she heard Jeong Yeon-shin’s voice.

‘Could there perhaps be some misunderstanding...?’

The boy gave her no chance to speak further. Leaving Shin Bin-bin behind, he continued onward.

To recruit White Qilin, Namgung Hwa-shin, the final piece of the expedition.

* * *

“I will go.”

Namgung Hwa-shin spoke.

Deep shadows lay beneath his eyes, like the Languid Flame Dragon’s.

It was difficult to find the mysterious, distinguished appearance that suited the epithet White Qilin.

Though he had agreed without hesitation, anguish could be felt within him. Even his eyes were clouded.

“Thank you.”

“No.”

He waved a hand at the bowing Jeong Yeon-shin. Namgung Hwa-shin continued.

“I only accepted because I thought perhaps I would feel better if I could at least wield my sword to my heart’s content. It is also something I should do.”

“...”

“I also apologize for Shin Bin-bin’s rudeness. I was slow to sense what was happening. Perhaps my aura sense has dulled.”

Namgung Hwa-shin spoke as though it were nothing.

At that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin realized that White Qilin’s nature had changed.

He did not care that a junior he cherished had been struck down.

He was no longer like the endlessly upright scholar he had once seemed to be.

Instead, he faintly resembled Jeong Yeon-shin when he entered a fight.

It meant he had become bolder in all things, unconcerned with small matters.

‘Is this all right?’

The boy thought.

Two Blue Uniform experts and one unranked disciple would lead the rescue party.

None of them were in good condition. At the very least, they were in no state to conduct themselves as members of an orthodox sect.