WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Chapter 12: Public Martial Competition (2)

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“A White Uniform challenged a Blue Uniform to a martial contest?”

“To be precise, I heard it is an instructional sparring match meant to broaden one’s experience.”

“That is not it. I know the inside story.”

For the first time in a while, all of Desolate Fortress buzzed with whispers.

Word had spread that a newly admitted youth and a Blue Uniform warrior of the Azure Sky Squad would compete for the honor of the Seventeen Squads.

The prevailing opinion was that the distinctions between Desolate Fortress’s White, Blue, Black, and Purple uniforms were far clearer than they appeared, so no one was particularly interested in who would win.

“How many moves do you think he will withstand?”

“Either way, he can only last ten moves at most.”

“I agree. A White Uniform who has only just entered, lasting more than ten moves against a Blue Uniform? I cannot picture it.”

“Isn’t it like an ordinary disciple of the Mount Hua Sect challenging a Plum Blossom Swordsman?”

On the day of the martial contest, the rumor had spread so widely that people from the other Seventeen Squads, as well as several from the Chief Steward’s office, came to watch.

The location was the Azure Sky Squad’s Training Hall.

Already there and receiving countless curious stares, Jeong Yeon-shin looked around.

Swords. Nothing but swords.

Seeing all manner of swords hanging from the weapon racks, he was reminded anew that the Azure Sky Squad was a sword unit renowned even in the martial world.

‘So they train only with swords here until they become Blue Uniforms?’

The commonly known Desolate Exam was an examination for accepting White Uniform warriors, but there were several other paths to entry as well.

The best known was much like that of ordinary major sects.

They accepted children as disciples before their acupoints became blocked by turbid energy, dressed them in whatever clothes were available, and gradually advanced them through white and blue.

This route was even more orthodox and promising for the future.

Yeon-shin could not forget the talented, lively children he had seen at the Demon Wings Hall. Even now, they had followed him here to cheer for him.

“You have to last five moves! We wagered treats with the Azure Sky Squad kids! Brother! Look over here! This way!”

“Brother! Do not disgrace the name of Demon Wings!”

“Junior brother! Hang in there!”

‘Junior brother?’

Yeon-shin let out a quiet laugh.

Unlike other sects, uniform color was everything in Desolate Fortress when it came to rank. In that regard, it resembled the military.

The children occasionally called him and Hyeon Won-chang junior brothers in jest. To Yeon-shin, who had never grown attached to a household, it felt fresh and endearing.

He waved to the roughly ten children. A loud cheer erupted. They were innocent children.

‘Come to think of it, there were friends my age too.’

There were also Demon Wings disciples older than those children.

It was said that even becoming a formal warrior in white after having one’s martial arts acknowledged was early at the age of twenty.

Yeon-shin was abnormally fast.

Naturally, there were disciples older than him, and unlike the children who had come to cheer, they were still awkward around him.

‘Time will resolve it.’

Setting aside the thought, he looked ahead.

The Azure Sky Squad warriors looked displeased.

They were displeased that a rookie from the Desolate Exam had requested a martial contest.

To one side, two supreme experts in pitch-black martial uniforms were engaging in a contest of auras. They were Ma Jin and the Azure Sky Squad Leader.

The Azure Sky Squad Leader was a renowned swordsman counted among the ten great swordsmen of Huguang. Though gaunt, the leader’s tall stature, long arms, and powerful eyes left an impression.

“Let us wager one elixir pill from each of our squads on ten moves. Naturally, I will bet that the rookie will not withstand ten moves.”

The Azure Sky Squad Leader spoke. Ma Jin’s face showed disbelief.

“An elixir pill? Isn’t that excessive?”

“Are you afraid? Do you think you will lose?”

“You provoke like a rookie. An elixir pill of Desolate Fortress is no small matter.”

“The honor of Demon Wings and the Azure Sky Squad is at stake. Is that a trivial matter?”

As Ma Jin appeared to hesitate, the Azure Sky Squad Leader pressed forcefully. The leader looked like a beast that had seized the momentum in a fight against another beast.

“Ma Jin. You seem weaker than usual. Did you cause such a commotion at the squad leaders’ meeting just to admit someone like that?”

“You seem to be holding quite a grudge.”

“Do not change the subject. Are you backing out?”

“Ha... Fine. I will accept.”

“Good. A leader of a group should know how to trust their subordinates.”

The Azure Sky Squad Leader raised a corner of their mouth and turned away. As a result, the leader did not see Ma Jin’s smile.

* * *

“Jeong Yeon-shin, was it? White Uniform of Demon Wings.”

“Demon Wings, Jeong Yeon-shin.”

He respectfully performed a fist salute to his opponent. It had not been long since he introduced himself as Yeon-shin of Xinye, yet Demon Wings, which now described him, felt far more fitting.

From the bloodshed at Jeong Family Manor, through Nanyang in Henan, to Xiangyang in Huguang.

Regardless of how others viewed him, the chance to compete while representing a group felt unfamiliar yet precious.

The warrior who had asked his name stood indifferently ten paces away.

The warrior wore the blue martial uniform that symbolized Desolate Fortress’s main force. Their bearing was blade-sharp, and their eyes were fierce.

“I have trained in the Azure Heaven Sword Art for twenty years. They say a sword has no eyes, but the sword of an expert who has reached a high realm possesses eyes. However, I will not hold back. You should remember that.”

“Yes.”

At Yeon-shin’s brief answer, the warrior’s eyebrows twitched.

Without another word, the warrior placed a hand on their sword hilt. At the same time, frost-like pressure spread out in waves.

‘What sort of sword is it?’

There had been no intention to provoke in Yeon-shin’s short answer.

He was already unfolding Demon's Light and reading his opponent through qi.

According to what he had heard from his seniors, the Azure Heaven Sword Art had extremely diverse forms.

Depending on its practitioner, it could become a fast sword or display the power of a Heavy Sword.

‘They said that once one reaches the level of a Blue Uniform warrior, they have a specialty but have learned them all.’

Then Yeon-shin only needed to reveal his own martial arts.

‘Ultimate Realm.’

It was a unique martial art he had created despite the scant density and quantity of his qi.

As he stirred his mind, inner energy began to circulate in layers through his resilient acupoints.

It was a method of qi circulation possible only because he had mastered the Jeong Family Youth Technique and completely penetrated the acupoints throughout his body, including the twelve regular meridians and Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

Ultimate Realm was developing alongside his fast sword.

It was a realm in which he circulated qi while constantly identifying the areas that needed to bear weight and receive force.

“Come.”

The Blue Uniform warrior spoke. As though it were only natural, the warrior yielded the first move. Yeon-shin decided to see the warrior’s surprised expression.

“Hup.”

The moment he held his breath within his body, he drew his sword with True Step.

A qi-charged footfall struck the Training Hall with a thud. The quick-sword formula filled the blade of the Desolate Sword, where clear sunlight broke apart.

The strength that rose from beneath his feet gathered on his sword at extreme speed, tracing the sword path of Demon's Light.

Clang!

A smile appeared as vibrations rode up through his grip along with the sword resonance.

It had landed properly.

The strike had failed to cut the warrior, but the warrior’s broken composure and startled, wavering center of gravity were stamped into Yeon-shin’s sight as though he could grasp them.

When a sword became faster, its power inevitably became stronger as well. This was called sword force.

Using the same foot with which he had executed True Step, he pushed off the ground.

When properly employed, Ultimate Realm, which he judged to have reached two-tenths attainment, displayed twice the usual effectiveness of qi.

The scenery rushed past, and the warrior’s body loomed larger.

Demon's Light revealed its general route.

Now that he held a sword, that route had become a sword path.

It seemed that the warrior’s words about not holding back had been separate from the warrior’s carelessness.

Like those who had had their rhythm stolen by his boyish appearance and were defeated at once, the warrior’s broken balance was clearly visible.

‘Now.’

If not now, he could not win. In the vast Training Hall, surrounded by many people, Jeong Yeon-shin alone thought of victory.

Clang!

He could feel his sword force improving by leaps and bounds. The reverberation transmitted through his hand was tremendous.

The warrior’s eyes quickly turned serious, but Yeon-shin’s pouring sword strikes, though well below a Blue Uniform warrior’s caliber, prevented the warrior from assuming a proper opening stance.

At one side, Ma Jin was gathering the children and teaching them the importance of taking the initiative. How very composed.

Clang! Clang! Claang!

The sword path of Demon's Light drew white streaks and filled his vision.

He was bringing the effectiveness of the fast sword to its utmost limit.

As he relentlessly clung to the tempo and balance he had seized for a single instant, his opponent’s face gradually took on a weary expression.

Yeon-shin forgot how many moves they had exchanged.

Completely immersed, he continued to comprehend Demon's Light.

The principles of martial arts accumulated atop the body honed by the Jeong Family Youth Technique.

The more the sword path tilted, the more he used his back muscles. If he twisted True Step while advancing one step diagonally, rotational force formed together with qi. This was the Spinning Thread Force Cheong Myeong had used!

Woooong!

Swirling qi filled the sword strike.

Clang!

The warrior took a step back. Yeon-shin raised his sword and spun at once.

Powerful, sharp wind scattered in all directions.

It was the power of Force Projection, fragments of pure force.

Along with the thrill of achievement racing down his spine, he named another move.

‘Charged Strike!’

The force he could not contain naturally led his body. He spun once more.

At that moment, he naturally realized that Charged Strike could also be used in consecutive attacks.

It was a martial art whose power increased with each successive move. Following the first Charged Strike, a second Charged Strike was unleashed from the tip of his sword.

Boom!

The Blue Uniform warrior’s body had not even completed its turn to create distance.

The warrior’s Desolate Sword was knocked away. The enormous sword force of Charged Strike shook the warrior’s entire upper body. One arm was flung above the warrior’s head.

“Ugh!”

The warrior, who nearly collapsed, barely regained their stance when a sword touched beneath their chin.

Jeong Yeon-shin was aiming his Desolate Sword at the warrior, wearing an odd expression.

Despite having blocked Yeon-shin’s sword strikes several times, the warrior’s blue uniform was remarkably clean. Only a few creases had formed.

Yet the White Uniform had won. Even if carelessness had caused it, there was no room for excuses.

“...”

Yeon-shin gazed quietly at the warrior.

It was luck.

A timely flash of inspiration had added strength to his surging momentum, allowing him to win.

If they fought again, it would never go the same way.

Had it been said that a Blue Uniform warrior of Desolate Fortress would not yield even to a Plum Blossom Swordsman of the Mount Hua Sect?

The fact that a difference of only one rank could be this great made him feel Desolate Fortress’s strength.

With martial prowess like that, it would be difficult to find a true opponent in the vast martial world. It felt as though he had found his first goal.

Yeon-shin sheathed his Desolate Sword. The fist salute he made with both hands soon afterward was filled with sincerity.

The warrior had allowed him to gain Charged Strike and given him a goal as well.

“Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to witness your profound swordsmanship.”

“...Your sword path and Spinning Thread Force were astonishing. Martial prowess that transcends your age.”

After staring at him for a moment while speaking, the Blue Uniform warrior rose. The slight lift at the corner of the warrior’s mouth suggested they were not in a bad mood.

Yeon-shin thought it had its own charm, how someone’s expression could change so easily after having their pride thoroughly crushed and receiving a single fist salute.

He turned his head. Their expressions varied, but most were visibly shocked, and some looked awestruck.

“How many moves was that? A White Uniform won?”

“They must have exchanged at least twenty moves.”

“Exchanged? No, that was not it. Truly extraordinary talent with the sword. Was it Seom-ye, Jeong Yeon-shin? Such martial prowess at that age is even more astonishing, beyond comprehension.”

“Demon Wings has taken in a treasure. I am so jealous I could go mad.”

The blank expressions of the bold Demon Wings children were amusing as well.

After greeting the Azure Sky Squad Leader with a fist salute, Yeon-shin walked toward the children.

Despite the intense exertion, his body, trained through the Jeong Family Youth Technique, was dissipating the impact accumulated from the clash of qi.

He was not particularly tired.

“Demon Wings. I did not disgrace our name, did I? Make sure you collect your treats.”

Squatting to meet the children’s eyes, Yeon-shin spoke.

He did not know how many moves they had exchanged, but he had certainly shattered the expectation that he would only last ten moves.

Hadn’t he won? The children, who had been blankly nodding, gradually regained the light in their eyes.

Before long, their eyes began sparkling so brightly that it was almost burdensome.

“Yes! We will make sure to collect the treats!”

“Brother, you are incredibly strong! You truly live up to being a White Uniform!”

“Wow...”

The child who had called him junior brother could only let out an awestruck exclamation.

Ma Jin strode over through the children’s noisy chatter.

A fragrant scent rose from the outstretched hand.

A round lump of medicine rested on Ma Jin’s strong-looking palm. Yeon-shin felt the dense flow of energy.

“It is yours.”

Ma Jin spoke as the scar beneath their lip lifted with a smile.

Footnotes:

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