WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 118: Radiant Wheel Technique (6)
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The massive stone gate was splitting open.
Poison Commander Dang Un-hwang suddenly stepped closer and spoke.
“Your surname is Jeong, and your courtesy name is Seom-ye, correct?”
“Yes, Family Head.”
Jeong Yeon-shin answered while staring straight ahead. His tone was calm.
Even with the Tang Family Head beside him, he could not spare Dang Un-hwang a glance. His life was about to be on the line.
He hoped Demon Wings were safe.
Dang Un-hwang did not seem to mind. After studying Yeon-shin quietly, he continued.
“There is refinement in your speech and bearing. You do not seem to be an ordinary wanderer. Do you know Hwa-cho Daoist?”
“The one who wrote Caigentan.”
The boy answered softly.
The Jeong Family Manor of Henan had been the foremost household in Xinye County. They feared flaunting their power would make them seem like newly rich upstarts.
Thus, members of the bloodline had to be cultured. Even disowned children could not let their studies lapse.
Yeon-shin had at least skimmed the Great Ming Compendium, the Four Books and Five Classics, and Caigentan.
Dang Un-hwang’s thick beard lifted at the corners of his mouth.
“You are well-read. He wove together Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism skillfully. It teaches one how to conduct oneself in life, and there are many words worth pondering.”
“...”
“Though night and day change in restless succession, that light remains unchanged beneath heaven, like the immutable myriad things. It speaks of the virtues of a gentleman.”
It was a passage Yeon-shin knew. He had memorized it all.
Even so, it struck him differently now. Perhaps it was the difference in the lives they had lived.
Rumble!
The stone gate of the City of Master Craftsmen’s Winter District differed from those they had passed before. It was exceptionally large.
As the gate slowly opened with the turning mechanism formation, Dang Un-hwang continued.
“Martial arts used in haste leave no room for what follows. When at ease, prepare for movement within stillness. When pressed, maintain stillness within movement. The same applies to swords and hidden weapons.”
It was advice from a supreme master. Profound mystery lay in his voice. Yeon-shin instinctively understood that this, too, was a fortuitous encounter.
The Languid Flame Dragon abruptly cut in.
“You seem to have a knack for speaking in riddles. Aren’t you simply saying that a hot temper gets one killed? It’s the most basic principle.”
“I had heard rumors that the Young Family Head of the Huangbo Family was unconventional in speech and conduct. They were true. You are right. Seom-ye, it seemed this friend needed a more relaxed state of mind.”
“Our temporary Squad Leader may be young, but he is an old man at heart. He’ll handle it himself.”
It was a remark meant to earn favor.
Yet even blatant flattery took on a peculiar air coming from the Languid Flame Dragon. Dang Un-hwang let out a hearty laugh.
“It is also something I tell myself. I have always repeated it. To fully avenge my wife, I must first survive. One must preserve one’s life even while seeking revenge.”
His voice was like wind brushing over dry fallen leaves.
Once peerless, he now stood alone in the martial world while carrying internal injuries.
It was because he had lost the companion of his life. Yeon-shin could not imagine the depths of that painful shackle.
‘Caigentan. Though night and day change, that light does not.’
He held the Tang Family Head’s words within himself and considered them once.
‘Operate qi calmly. Let the sword path hold stillness within movement.’
Then.
Jeong Yeon-shin stepped toward the light of the City of Master Craftsmen’s Winter District. His steps gradually quickened.
As he passed through the open gate without hesitation, his run transformed into a movement technique.
A stream of the elven race’s wind coiled around his legs. It was the secret body technique Cheong Myeong had taught him.
Bang!
The ground of the vast cavern pushed firmly against his feet. Yeon-shin charged onward.
The dim lighting of the City of Master Craftsmen had grown brighter.
The Winter District was different. From the entrance alone, it was vast, like a cavern inhabited by a serpent awaiting ascension.
The ceiling was beyond sight. How far underground had they descended?
Behind him, he sensed the Returning Wings Squad silently running alongside him. It was his only comfort.
‘They’re there...!’
His view opened wide. He had not even taken five breaths.
A ruined village.
The instant he took a few more steps, it came into view. It might as well have been a vast clearing. Not a single house remained intact, as if a typhoon had swept through the underground.
Within it, masters exchanged sword strikes.
There seemed to be more than fifty of them, and every one was an expert.
Swift body techniques created whirlwinds throughout the area.
Every part of his view had become a battlefield. Fierce clashes rang out from all directions.
Boom! Thud!
The air trembled. Force Projection-created force waves collided.
There was no shortage of stories about martial masters fighting for more than seven days and nights, yet this was the state of things the instant they entered.
How long had they been fighting? The pursuit seemed to have ended, and a full-scale battle had begun.
‘Demon Wings. Where are Demon Wings?’
He scanned the battlefield as he ran.
There were many corpses.
They said Heaven was indifferent and merciless. There was no way all his seniors would still be standing.
Yeon-shin was no longer inexperienced in the martial world. He did not expect everyone to survive.
He had already heard at Desolate Fortress that two White Uniform martial artists had died. He could only hope the number of additional casualties was small.
‘Senior O Yu-gwang. Senior Du Cheong-cheon.’
It was a fleeting hope. As his field of vision rapidly expanded, the corpses of White Uniform seniors came into view.
None of those still moving wore Desolate Fortress’s white martial robes. The White Uniforms had likely been wiped out.
Only around fifteen members of Demon Wings seemed to remain. Cheong Myeong and Baek Mir-yeo struggled on, their Blue Uniform robes soaked in blood.
Shing!
Before the Returning Wings Squad had been formed, Red Noon Sword had told him to draw the Desolate Sword at the vanguard.
There was no room to command anyone. Before he realized it, the boy had already drawn his sword.
“Hmm? Who is that?!”
“Desolate...! It’s Desolate Fortress!”
The voices of the approaching enemies rang out coldly. It was the moment Yeon-shin entered the battlefield and tightly gripped the sword hilt.
At the center of the fierce battle.
Clang!
The left sleeve of a Black Uniform robe flew through the air. A powerful arm rose alone.
The scar-covered left arm of the Demon Wings Squad Leader had been severed. As it flew away, it produced a storm of force waves he had not managed to release.
He had been facing two enemy supreme masters alone.
“Leader of Demon Wings! They said you were worthy of being called the strongest among the Black Uniforms. Your reputation was well deserved!”
The blond, blue-eyed man from the Western Regions who had severed Ma Jin’s left arm with a knife-hand strike shouted.
The foreign middle-aged man’s voice carried formidable inner-energy fluctuations. His intention was obvious.
He was trying to raise his side’s morale.
Ha Yul-geuk, the Pure Demon Divine Hand.
He was an extremely famous supreme master. His enormous build alone set him apart.
He stood six feet tall. His blue eyes were filled with majesty.
A sleeveless black outer robe hung from his back, the distinctive attire of the Pure Demon Alliance.
The Pure Demon Alliance of Sichuan.
It was a major faction of the Thirteen Heavens, a group descended from a branch of the Demon Cult that had been destroyed with the founding of the Ming Dynasty and had risen again.
Among them, the Pure Demon Divine Hand could be called the leader of the Thirteen Heavens’ elites gathered here.
He was the one who had severed Ma Jin’s arm through their combined assault. His savage aura cut against Yeon-shin’s skin. It meant he had entered the realm of Desolate Fortress Black Uniforms.
None of that mattered.
All thought vanished from Jeong Yeon-shin’s mind.
Boom!
Qi erupted from the Yongquan acupoint in the sole of his foot. The stone floor exploded beneath the stunned boy.
Whoosh!
He accelerated sharply. Leaving the Returning Wings Squad behind, Yeon-shin rushed toward the center of the fierce battle in an instant.
The enemies reacted quickly. They were the ones pressing Demon Wings.
Six men and women turned toward the boy.
The Ten Perfect Sect and the Pure Demon Alliance. The secret martial arts of two major factions filled the space before him.
Fists, spears, and sword strikes shot toward him, none of them ordinary.
A dim stream of light from the Radiant Sword Flow stirred at Yeon-shin’s fingertips. The Desolate Sword swung as though it were a club.
Crack! Boom!
He broke them all. Groans burst from the enemies’ mouths.
Weapon fragments, severed arms, everything fell behind Yeon-shin.
He could not slow his run even for a moment.
Fortunately, they were minor opponents. The enemy Blue Uniform-level masters seemed intent on wiping out Demon Wings.
Bang!
He reached the center in an instant. He had made full use of the element of surprise.
“Yeon-shin!”
One-armed Ma Jin shouted in surprise. He had been helplessly driven back by the Pure Demon Divine Hand and a Ten Perfect Sect supreme master.
“Reinforcements.”
An elderly man muttered. He had been standing beside the Pure Demon Divine Hand.
He lightly stepped forward and blocked Yeon-shin’s path. Amid the chaotic battlefield, he alone carried himself with ease.
He was a martial artist of the Ten Perfect Sect. His appearance was distinctive, clad in a dark blue battle robe like a great general’s and carrying a greatsword.
With unusual attire and transcendent martial arts, it would be difficult not to become famous in the martial world.
Dokgo Gwang, the Sword Scorpion Demon.
He was a sword master of a major faction who had mastered eighteen kinds of weapon arts.
They said he led the sect’s strongest assault force. Even within the Ten Perfect Sect, he was exceptionally remarkable.
“The spirit of this youngster is astonishing. Such refined qi is truly remarkable. What is your name?”
The Sword Scorpion Demon asked. He appeared sincere. There was admiration in his gaze as it traveled over Yeon-shin’s body. It was almost shock.
“Your body has been tempered well. No, you possess a vessel I have never even seen before. Why have you come here now? Had you lived longer, you might have become a peerless master worthy of discussing the world.”
“...”
Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer.
He wanted to examine his maternal uncle’s condition across from him, but the presence of the supreme master before him was overwhelming.
Leisure was not for the weak. At this moment, the strong ones were the Sword Scorpion Demon and the Pure Demon Divine Hand.
No one could fault them for evaluating Yeon-shin and even showing regret.
Ma Jin faced the Pure Demon Divine Hand after losing an arm.
The Demon Wings seniors seemed hard-pressed just holding back the masters of the two major sects. They were outnumbered.
Behind him, he sensed the Returning Wings Squad joining them one after another.
Even so, he immediately felt the strain.
They had only shifted from being at a disadvantage to mounting a feeble offensive.
They lacked a master who could change the flow of the battlefield.
The Tang Family Head was cutting down the clustered martial artists of the Thirteen Heavens, but even if he reached them, his limit would be facing either the Sword Scorpion Demon or the Pure Demon Divine Hand.
It was because the Supreme Family Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan had injured him through a scheme.
‘I have to do it.’
The boy thought.
This was where the main forces of Desolate Fortress, the Pure Demon Alliance, and the Ten Perfect Sect were locked in battle.
Three supreme masters whose fame reached across the world had gathered here. He had unintentionally been placed upon a testing ground.
He had to win here.
“Come,” the Sword Scorpion Demon said with a smile.
Jeong Yeon-shin pushed the Jeong Family Youth Technique to its limit. Then he began adjusting every muscle in his body.
* * *
On a rocky ledge far from the battlefield.
Beggars sprawled about in relaxed poses.
They were all experts of the Beggars’ Sect, each with several knots hanging at their waists. Their manner as they watched the battlefield was unhurried.
“This situation is quite uncertain. Demon Wings were being pushed back more than I expected. Even if they faced twice as many opponents of equal level, they should have been able to hold on if they remained on the defensive.”
The Successor Beggar spoke to the Beggars’ Sect experts who had come with them.
“It seems to be because of the residents of the City of Master Craftsmen. Demon Wings appears to have evacuated them safely. That must have created an opening.”
“Well, that would be expected. They tried to save hostages with insufficient strength... Even we beggars should learn from Demon Wings’ chivalry.”
They answered, their brazenly sprawled postures oddly fitting them well.
“I can’t find a good opening. It seems Bodhidharma’s treasured artifact has already fallen into the Pure Demon Alliance’s hands... Oh dear, Forest-Slaying Sword has it. That is not someone who would easily be pushed back even by a Blue Uniform martial artist of Demon Wings. Is there no way for us to take it?”
The Successor Beggar muttered after stroking their chin once.
Then.
“I have something to ask.”
A woman’s voice sounded, and red light passed over the beggars.
Her gaze was faint yet chilling. The aura blooming around her was truly overwhelming.
“What...?”
The Successor Beggar and the others raised their heads. Their movements were stiff. They had instinctively recognized the presence of a master they could not oppose.
A moment later, cries of shock erupted.
A woman stood with her feet planted on the vertical stone wall, looking down at them. It was a terrifying display of the Body Movement Scripture.
Her hair flowed down like ebony, and her red eyes were striking.
The Pure Blood Robe, even redder than those eyes, wrapped around her entire body. She was both bewitching and lofty.
Eyes like red jade leisurely watched the Beggars’ Sect experts. They swallowed dryly.
“The fragment of an Emanation Body’s qi contained in that treasured artifact.”
She slowly moved her lips.
“...”
“Would it be good for the body? A boy about this tall will eat it.”
She raised a hand as white as jade and asked. At a glance, the gesture seemed innocent.
“...Of course, of course it must have wondrous effects! Wouldn’t some spiritual energy arise within the body? If it is Bodhidharma’s legacy, at least, it should not be harmful!”
The Successor Beggar answered. Their reply was desperately hurried.
“I see.”
The Seventh Apostle’s lips curved slightly upward.
Footnotes:
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