WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 112: Divine Technique (6)
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The mission’s destination was the Sichuan martial world. They had to account for the Tang Sect.
Naturally, with support from the Chief Steward's Office, the Returning Wings Squad had brought various antidotes.
However, poison arts were martial arts that could produce unforeseen variables.
Even if the Tang Sect experts before them were few in number, they had to prevent any possible loss of strength.
It meant avoiding a clash until they obtained reliable information.
'If it’s Myriad Flowers Rain, they’ll cooperate.'
Jeong Yeon-shin did not withdraw the energy gathered in his hand.
The two Returning Wings Squad experts reacted even faster. The Languid Flame Dragon stroked his chin.
He stared intently at the stone fragments swirling above Jeong Yeon-shin’s palm.
“The core formula of Myriad Flowers Rain?” he muttered.
“You’re saying you devised a martial formula simply by hearing the form of its moves?”
Namgung Hwa-shin, who had maintained his silence until then, also spoke.
Though he had yet to escape his despair, he was still a martial artist born with exceptional talent.
The way he discussed martial formulas was no different from the White Qilin of the past.
“How does one circulate qi to make that work? It isn’t even Remote Object Manipulation.”
“If one’s inner energy is deep enough... it may truly be possible to unleash a storm of hidden weapons. But controlling qi on that scale would be another matter.”
They were martial prodigies from Shandong and Southern Zhili. Their interest was immense.
“I’ve never even heard of anything like this. So this is why they kept calling you a founding master.”
The Languid Flame Dragon spoke with an intrigued expression. Jeong Yeon-shin ignored him.
“Tang Sect. It will not be exactly the same as your family’s ultimate art, but shouldn’t it be enough to serve as a reference?”
The boy spoke briefly. His gaze rested on the Twin Dragons and Phoenixes of Poison.
“...”
The young prodigies of mixed dwarven ancestry, a boy and a girl, stood frozen.
Poison Dragon’s mouth opened slightly, while Poison Phoenix’s eyelashes trembled.
They could only stare at the stone fragments spinning above the boy’s hand. The arrogance with which they had claimed the world was easy had vanished from their faces.
Yet that too revealed the siblings’ talent.
Had they felt nothing at all, they would have dismissed Jeong Yeon-shin with the same conceited expressions they had worn while boasting of their gifts.
They could not.
The faintly trembling aura, the fragments tracing a vortex, the delicate control of qi hidden within the phenomenon.
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke again.
“It is only an imitation of the introductory form. Even within Myriad Flowers Rain, its variations and application methods must branch into dozens of forms.”
That was true. Yet it was no ordinary imitation. The sight was enough to be considered a precursor to Myriad Flowers Rain.
It closely resembled the introductory form passed down through secret manuals and oral tradition.
Poison Dragon’s shock gradually showed on his face, his mouth falling further open.
Poison Phoenix brushed back the hair by her ear. Her pale hand trembled faintly.
They both recognized the value of this one move.
'This is... impossible...'
Poison Phoenix looked back and forth between Jeong Yeon-shin’s hand and face. Her pitch-black eyes moved up and down.
He created a martial formula after hearing the form of a martial art? That was already the realm of a Grandmaster.
Nor was it an ordinary martial art. He had built the foundation of a Divine Technique on the spot.
The martial world might be full of extraordinary people, but this hardly felt like something a human could do.
She found herself confronting an unwelcome humility.
Her reputation as an unprecedented prodigy of the Sichuan martial world had only just begun to spread.
She did not want to admit it yet.
“Rather than you acting on your own, young hero, is the Desolate Fortress looking into how to deal with the Tang Sect...?”
Poison Dragon’s trembling words were cut off when Poison Phoenix struck the back of his head.
“Get a grip! Are you an idiot? If numbers were enough, would our family be a gathering of fools? Don’t go courting trouble. Shut up...!”
She whispered fiercely. At some point, one hand had seized her twin brother by the ear as though she intended to tear it off.
Then she caught Jeong Yeon-shin’s calm gaze and quickly folded both hands demurely before her.
“We have shown you an unseemly side of ourselves upon our first meeting. You said you wanted information about our father?”
Jeong Yeon-shin nodded at Poison Phoenix’s words.
“Tell me everything. The martial arts he favored, the places in Sichuan where he might stay, and all the martial-world connections he had. If the Tang Family Head who left home truly is innocent as you say, there should be no problem.”
That was not true. Everything he had listed was information assassins always investigated before setting out to kill.
Still, Jeong Yeon-shin thought he could put on a shameless face. Demon Wings’ whereabouts depended on this lead.
He could become even more shameless if necessary.
Namgung Hwa-shin was not the only one changing. The more Jeong Yeon-shin experienced the martial world, the more he became one of its people.
If he died without obtaining or accepting the World Tree fruit, he hoped at least the people dear to him and his martial arts would remain whole.
“That...”
Even so, Poison Phoenix did not raise her voice.
The truth was that she could not. Poison Phoenix and Poison Dragon were Tang Sect martial artists.
Instruction in the introductory form of Myriad Flowers Rain.
Its value was impossible to estimate.
An ultimate art that symbolized a prominent martial family was a treasure beyond measure, even in gold.
That was even more true if it was a peerless secret art renowned throughout the Central Plains.
“You’re asking us... to sell out our father...”
Poison Dragon raised his fierce gaze, then immediately lowered it.
Poison Phoenix had not even needed to tug on his sleeve.
The value of Myriad Flowers Rain was too great for him to continue speaking with hostility.
“We should be honoring him, not acting like this.”
After looking at her twin brother as though he were pathetic, Poison Phoenix turned to Jeong Yeon-shin again.
“I’m ashamed of what we said earlier about talent.”
“Will you accept the offer?”
Jeong Yeon-shin asked without hesitation. At the same time, Poison Phoenix stepped forward.
Step.
“Ryeo-ryeo of the Tang clan.”
Poison Phoenix, Tang Ryeo-ryeo, bent at the waist with an elegant motion. She pressed the fingers of both hands together, layering them like a roof.
“Greetings, Benefactor.”
Her lips moved softly. The sleeves of her green martial robe slipped slightly with her black hair.
The cloth looked exceptionally soft, as though it was not made from an ordinary material.
Though small in stature, she carried herself with refinement.
It was not a martial-world greeting.
A clasped-hands salute was uncommon in the Central Plains during the Ming. Tang Ryeo-ryeo’s gesture was an old custom passed down among common folk.
It was a way of humbling oneself and showing respect to another.
“Benefactor? This is an exchange. Do not leave me owing you a debt. Make it a transaction proportionate to what you receive.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke. His suspicions toward the Tang family had not yet been resolved.
He could not form a connection with them under the excuse of teaching them a martial art.
It was already burdensome enough that his Desolate Fortress companions treated him as a founding master.
Yet Tang Ryeo-ryeo shook her head.
“There is nothing in our family that could serve as payment worthy of Myriad Flowers Rain. Benefactor will receive much from us.”
“I’m not interested. Are you accepting the deal?”
“Yes. We will tell you anything.”
They intended to receive his instruction even if they had to sell information about their father. The saying that the Sichuan Tang Clan was ruthless was not wrong.
Jeong Yeon-shin was pleased. The technique he had created on the spot had untangled the conflict with the Tang Sect’s Twin Dragons and Phoenixes of Poison.
The Languid Flame Dragon, standing beside him, gave a thin smile. He glanced toward the Tang Sect guards blocked by the Returning Wings Squad martial artists.
“I was thinking of torturing them if things went wrong. After killing all those bastards over there.”
“Are you of the Demonic Sect?”
Namgung Hwa-shin asked as he continued to stroke his sword hilt.
Jeong Yeon-shin felt reassured.
Though the Tang Sect’s discipline was strict and the Sichuan martial world was powerful, the Returning Wings Squad already possessed the temperament of people prepared to contend with all of Sichuan.
“I’m Tang Yeo-hwa of the Shu Road Tang Sect.”
Poison Dragon, Tang Yeo-hwa, introduced himself. He resembled a slightly larger member of the dwarven race.
He placed Shu Road before the name Tang Sect. The treacherous road leading to Sichuan symbolized his own family.
It was the pride characteristic of Central Plains people who liked to make things sound grand.
Still, he could not hide his cowed appearance. Since seeing Jeong Yeon-shin’s technique, he had kept his gaze lowered.
His younger sister Tang Ryeo-ryeo seemed to think that was better.
“Keep your mouth shut. You cannot even reach the introductory form.”
After rebuking her brother, she turned around. When her eyes met Jeong Yeon-shin’s, the slight curve of her lips was graceful.
“Benefactor, allow us to speak first. You may teach us the martial art later. What would you like to know?”
Her manner and speech carried a shrewd intelligence.
She seemed to intend to offer satisfying answers first, then receive sincere instruction from him.
That was when it happened.
From below the abyss-dark cliff, Jeong Yeon-shin sensed a truly strange sound.
A faint thunderclap rose through the space where only the wind had struck hollowly against the rock. It sounded exactly like thunder.
When he turned his gaze, the Languid Flame Dragon and Namgung Hwa-shin nodded.
“So it was not an auditory hallucination. Is there something down there?”
“I heard it too.”
They had sensed it as well.
Jeong Yeon-shin gestured lightly with his chin. This was where Demon Wings’ trail had ended.
If something strange lay before them, they had to investigate.
“We’re going down. You two come as well.”
The boy spoke.
The Tang siblings, equally startled, nodded. He had already seized the initiative.
They had never experienced such a thing while living as direct descendants of the Tang Sect. But with the introductory form of Myriad Flowers Rain at stake, they had no other choice.
“Down.”
At Jeong Yeon-shin’s brief command, the group began to move.
The Languid Flame Dragon, Namgung Hwa-shin, Red Noon Sword, and the rest of the Returning Wings Squad were the first to follow their young Squad Leader. They looked as though they were escorting him.
With the Twin Dragons and Phoenixes of Poison between them, the Tang Sect guards followed slowly behind.
They too had witnessed the precursor to Myriad Flowers Rain. The murderous intent that had raged like the canyon’s fierce wind dispersed like a gentle breeze.
“We cannot trust the Tang Sect too readily.”
Red Noon Sword stepped forward.
“Founding Master, how about dividing the personnel and keeping them in the middle of our main force?”
“Do that.”
Jeong Yeon-shin replied as he turned around. Since temporarily taking command of the squad, he had addressed the Returning Wings Squad martial artists informally.
For the moment, he was the head of a martial unit. There had to be a proper hierarchy.
“May we come with you as well? The Sichuan martial world must be unfamiliar to you. We will provide information, provided it does not threaten our Beggars’ Sect. At least until you enter a major battle.”
The Successor Beggar and the Beggars’ Sect beggars also wished to follow. Jeong Yeon-shin nodded.
Step.
The rapidly enlarged group moved onward. They took the narrow path leading beneath the cliff.
It was called a narrow path, but it barely deserved to be called a path.
Using the Body Movement Scripture, they leaped from one protruding rock on the cliff face to the next.
Whoosh!
Jeong Yeon-shin, the Languid Flame Dragon, and Namgung Hwa-shin descended first alongside the Tang siblings.
The five prodigies fluttered their robes as they stepped across the cliff face.
Even then, the Languid Flame Dragon and Namgung Hwa-shin positioned themselves above the Tang siblings.
There was no complete trust. The Returning Wings Squad showed no opening.
Flutter.
Tang Ryeo-ryeo and Tang Yeo-hwa were worthy of being called geniuses.
Their movements, fully revealing their superb footwork, were extremely light.
Though Jeong Yeon-shin had sealed their Yinjiao acupoints, they descended the rugged cliff without difficulty.
During that time, Jeong Yeon-shin heard about the Tang Family Head.
Poison Phoenix referred to her father as “Father,” while Poison Dragon simply called him “Dad.”
“Our father is smaller than we are. Our late grandmother was of the dwarven race, so the blood runs strong in him. Our mother was Han Chinese, but as you know, the villains of the Thirteen Heavens...”
“He’s also an incredible smith. The Vast Heaven Divine Sword was born from Dad’s hands.”
“He often visited the Iron Blossom Forge at the Patrol Office. It is a famous forge in Sichuan. Its furnace fires are known for burning white. If you teach us Myriad Flowers Rain, our family will turn your Desolate Sword into a divine weapon. I will make sure it happens.”
The twins did not have similar personalities.
The difference between the reserved young lady and the outgoing young gentleman was stark.
Poison Phoenix, Tang Ryeo-ryeo, explained things carefully, while Poison Dragon, Tang Yeo-hwa, began pouring out words as soon as he opened his mouth.
The Tang siblings tried to remain close to Jeong Yeon-shin.
They did so even when they reached the bottom of the precipice and darkness swallowed everything around them.
Thud.
His feet touched the ground. An unusually dull sensation traveled up through his soles.
“...!”
It happened in an instant.
The boy clutched the top of his head. His Baihui acupoint burned fiercely. Several visions flashed through his mind.
There was a vast space beneath the ground. Demon Wings faced a short-statured clan.
As though they had been betrayed, several senior members of Demon Wings bore long sword wounds across their backs.
He saw Baek Mir-yeo’s pale back. It had been stabbed several times. Cheong Myeong’s abdomen was the same.
Along with it came a whisper-like sensation. It belonged to the realm of precognition. The ability of his upper dantian, glowing white, told him.
Today, a Divine Technique would be born.
Footnotes:
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