WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 120: Radiant Wheel Technique (8)
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‘A fragment of Bodhidharma’s qi?’
It was a treasure that had dwelled within a treasured artifact from the City of Master Craftsmen. A cluster of light spread through the boy’s upper dantian.
They had called it spirituality. The power that could lead a weapon into the realm of divine weapons.
‘This is...’
It was as though a fire bomb had exploded inside his mind. The inspiration was that violent, as if it were drawing out every scrap of talent he possessed.
Bodhidharma.
The image of pure Buddhist martial arts surged within him, yet his Baihui acupoint did not suffer any strain.
Was Bodhidharma’s qi making up for the cost to his shortened lifespan?
The moment he sat in the lotus position, everything else was pushed from his mind. Detached was the right word for it.
The state of the battlefield, Ma Jin’s left arm, the Desolate Fortress martial artists being helplessly driven back, even the Seventh Apostle’s strange actions.
To complete a martial art that could change the course of the battle, he could not leave a single gap in his mind. He steadied his thoughts.
He imagined borrowing the mindset of the master craftsmen of the dwarven race from the City of Master Craftsmen.
The Tang Family Head’s cheerful teachings came vividly to mind. It had been a conversation with Hyeon Won-chang.
“Strike the hammer with your soul, and a weapon gains spirituality. That is what people commonly call divine swords, divine weapons, and rare artifacts.”
“Create it...? What exactly is spirituality?”
“It is an intent so faint that human eyes can barely perceive it, yet it is a power different from inner energy. Its nature is wondrous. Only craftsmen who have reached a certain realm can handle it.”
“Are you praising yourself?”
“Imagine a piece of iron with a chipped tooth repairing itself. How great would it be to create such a divine weapon? Like Pangu, the giant of creation myth, it is creating life with human hands.”
What Jeong Yeon-shin wished to create now was divine weapon qi.
A foundation that would let him endure the World Tree fruit and raise him to a higher realm.
He would breathe life into his martial arts.
‘Qi storage speed is what matters. I need to think of it as creating the fastest, most stable inner-energy method under heaven. Even if I can’t truly do that.’
While meditating, Jeong Yeon-shin contemplated the Baihui acupoint at the crown of his head.
It was as substantial as the upper dantian directly beneath it. He could keenly feel the end of his life, now only a little over three years away.
To survive.
He had to surpass Black Uniform and reach Purple Uniform. The rank of Divine Sword Squad Leader was another matter entirely.
Achievements would not simply roll in because he took that seat.
He also had to establish a reason that would leave the Lord of Desolate Fortress no choice but to give him the World Tree fruit.
The world Jeong Yeon-shin saw had only three years left. Its limit was fixed.
The day the world ended would come. He would die.
That was why this very moment mattered.
‘Today, I have to become the equal of the Black Uniform supreme masters.’
This inner-energy method was for that purpose.
He had already created the qi-circulation route. He had designed it without a single flaw.
From the Mara Roaring Blood Art to the Moon Spirit Harmonization Formula, he had dismantled every Static Training formula that countless people would covet.
He understood the effects produced by the qi-circulation routes through the body’s acupoints and the intent behind each inner-energy method.
He had broken down the functions of Static Training and devised a new route.
The boy had completed his preparations before arriving in the City of Master Craftsmen. He had completed the qi-circulation route and built its framework.
All he had awaited was an inspiration that would put the finishing touch on the Static Training method most suited to his body.
Intent.
When mental imagery and qi circulation became one, it was called an inner-energy method. The mind harmonized with the energy of nature and gave rise to inner energy.
‘All I need is the finishing touch.’
Jeong Yeon-shin recalled the first formula.
The intent of qi storage.
With desperate longing, he sought to breathe in and draw upon the energy of the great natural world.
The words came easily. There was only one thing the boy could hold in his heart with absolute sincerity.
[When sunset brushes past, another day is lost.
The flow of sun and moon is like the waves, yet this body is not even equal to a salmon swimming against the rapids.
I wish to defy heaven, yet I follow heaven’s order. No matter how I struggle, I cannot resist it.]
It was a formula for a Static Training method that did not yet have a name.
The first verse that gave rise to the intent of his new inner-energy method.
Saaah.
As he raised that intent alongside his qi circulation, there was a response. Natural qi began to enter with his breath.
It was the same as always.
What came after was the problem.
Worldly worries.
His mind was cluttered. With his current breathing, he could not complete the intake. The energy gathered, only to scatter away again.
The remnants of power lingering throughout his body were each different.
The Jeong Family Youth Technique, the Moon Spirit Harmonization Formula, the Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand, the Mara Roaring Blood Art...
It was because the Static Training method had not been fully completed.
He needed one last martial insight to connect those flows.
‘I need to bind them with the teachings of the Diamond Sutra.’
Bodhidharma’s spirituality was with him. Perhaps he could do it now.
Kiiiiiing!
His upper dantian honed every sensation in his body and strengthened the intent behind his qi control.
Through the Baihui acupoint, which kept opening endlessly regardless of his will, power flowed in without end.
As his consciousness rose, Jeong Yeon-shin’s innate energy also surged.
Fwoosh!
The Baihui acupoint filled with light. The light filled and pierced through even the fragment of Bodhidharma’s spirituality.
At this moment, it widened once more.
He did not care. It was fine.
Bodhidharma’s Emanation Body and Jeong Yeon-shin’s intent blended together in perfect harmony.
He recalled a passage from the Diamond Sutra.
‘Let the mind arise without abiding anywhere. Let the mind flow as it will. Know without attachment.’
Then mental imagery finally took shape. Sincerity accumulated through the mind was called Static Training.
‘Ah.’
To fully feel what one had already known was also enlightenment.
The flower of light within his mind bloomed in full.
It whirred as it revolved like a wheel, drawing the energy of nature into his body.
With his eyes closed, the boy thought.
...My worldly worries are nothing but the desire to burn away the short cycle allotted to me.
It was right to borrow the Buddha’s wheel and use it as a stepping stone.
‘That is why it is a Radiant Wheel.’
At the same instant, the energies scattered throughout his body heated white with a single color.
Even with his eyelids closed, his vision turned white. It was blindingly bright.
Yet he did not care. The boy’s consciousness continued to whisper.
If the fate assigned to me is heaven’s law,
then one day, I will surpass that law.
‘That is why it is Dharma-Transcending.’
Dharma-Transcending Radiant Wheel.
He gave his Static Training method a name. He defined its identity before the mysteries of the world.
At last, the finishing touch was complete. Bodhidharma’s spirituality and Jeong Yeon-shin’s intent covered the formless martial art.
The Jeong Family Youth Technique was a martial art that refined the body.
What he sought to create now was different. He fused the mysteries of the Jeong Family Youth Technique with the functions of an inner-energy method.
It would constantly operate qi storage and qi circulation.
A radiant current filled his body. It raced through every fine channel, meridian, and acupoint.
As one immense nature settled into all the energy inside his body, it surged like a raging tide. The qi of the Mara Roaring Blood Art became sacred.
The Jeong Family Youth Technique, Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand, and Moon Spirit Harmonization Formula melted together in the furnace of Static Training.
Blood Arts qi and orthodox qi.
Like different beasts transforming into spiritual beasts, his internal power gained spirituality and transformed into qi on an entirely different level.
Jeong Yeon-shin sensed it. It could smoothly become one at any time, or violently separate into two.
It was a completely different realm.
‘You, who have become one...’
He clearly envisioned the form he wanted. He grasped spirituality with his consciousness and forged it into a tangible shape.
At the same time, he gave it a concept he could always recognize clearly, just as the craftsmen of the City of Master Craftsmen did.
‘I will call you Record of the Dharma Light Wheel, and make you the standard by which I face the world!’
He shouted with his soul. A tremendous echo rang through the realm of his mental imagery.
Wooooong!
“What was that just now?”
“Temporary Squad Leader! Are you all right?”
Baek Mir-yeo’s and Languid Flame Dragon’s voices brushed past his ears.
The white current that had wrapped around Jeong Yeon-shin’s lotus-positioned body gathered into a single point.
It was around the pit of his stomach, the middle dantian. A whirlwind raged there.
The wheel that had spun within his mental imagery became clear. It settled inside his heart and took shape.
Wooooooong!
The resonant sound was deafening.
A ring of light.
The driving force of his new Static Training method.
He had fully borrowed a Buddhist myth.
They said the wheel of the Wheel-Turning Sacred King advanced without hindrance. It raced on, shattering mountains and rocks to spread its teachings.
‘This is my divine weapon qi.’
Jeong Yeon-shin opened his eyes.
There was something he could feel clearly even without contemplation.
The Radiant Wheel lodged in his heart was beating.
* * *
When Jeong Yeon-shin broke away from the formation and charged ahead alone, Namgung Hwa-shin led the Returning Wings Squad into the battlefield.
Following Jeong Yeon-shin, four Blue Uniform masters, including Red Noon Sword, had rushed out.
Other than White Qilin, no one was fit to become deputy squad leader. They could not entrust the role to Languid Flame Dragon.
“The Ten Perfect Sect bastards brought their elite!”
“Their techniques are superb! Avoid crossing blades with them, then seize one exchange with the Quick Sword Formula!”
The Returning Wings Squad was quickly scattered. There were too many enemies of equal standing.
The difference between the Thirteen Heavens and Desolate Fortress had always been the number of martial artists.
Compared with each individual major faction of the Thirteen Heavens, Desolate Fortress was overwhelmingly larger. Yet if all the Thirteen Heavens were counted together, Desolate Fortress was at a disadvantage.
Now, it was the latter.
‘I have to take the leaders’ heads.’
Namgung Hwa-shin thought. It was the natural conclusion.
He turned his gaze.
The center of the fiercest fighting came into view.
Jeong Yeon-shin, vomiting blood, was being pulled in by the Blue-Eyed Demon Sword’s hand. The Seventh Apostle of the Blood Flame Sect had made some sort of move.
It was a battlefield where one could not predict what lay even an inch ahead. Namgung Hwa-shin’s emotions swung wildly.
Amid it all, Blue-Eyed Demon Sword Cheong Myeong struggled to deflect Sword Scorpion Demon Dokgo Gwang’s greatsword.
It did not look easy.
The Desolate Sword of the swordsman known as the foremost among Blue Uniform masters had already become considerably dull.
His movements were slow. He was barely holding on through the elven race’s innate ability to summon wondrous winds.
‘He must have been at a disadvantage for more than seven days and nights. It’s remarkable that he has endured this long.’
What an impressive senior.
Cheong Myeong was an extremely famous master.
He strictly divided people into those he liked and those he did not. As a pure-blooded member of the elven race, he enjoyed an invisible authority born from his status.
Yet that person, who had always been so relaxed, was in that state.
‘If he falls further, we will truly have no chance of winning.’
Namgung Hwa-shin ran.
He was as fast as an arrow. The blue sky seemed to fill his fluttering blue robe.
Fully deploying the secret movement art of Unimpeded Pure Current Body, he reached the center of the battlefield in an instant.
His skin tingled. It was because of the Sword Scorpion Demon’s overwhelming aura.
“Desolate Fortress. It truly is a den of monsters.”
The beard covering Sword Scorpion Demon Dokgo Gwang’s lips curled upward.
He had just forcefully knocked away Cheong Myeong’s Desolate Sword.
The elven swordsman’s body spun far backward through the air. It was terrifying sword force.
Even Namgung Hwa-shin’s hair, though he had only just arrived, whipped violently in its wake.
“There are too many extraordinary rising talents. The imperial family’s swords should not be so sharp. It is right that all of you die here.”
Killing intent colored Dokgo Gwang’s indifferent tone.
He swung his greatsword forward once more. It was a heavy sword form. Though he was not a member of the elven race, the wind released from his sword swept ahead like a cannonball.
Boom!
Namgung Hwa-shin met the sword wind with his Desolate Sword.
He could not avoid it. The White Uniform junior who had followed behind him, Shin Bin-bin, was fretting over him.
The qi waves scattered by the collision swept through every direction. Dust from the broad floor of the cavern scattered outward.
“Urk!”
A groan escaped him.
The force wave Jeong Yeon-shin had endured was truly heavy. It did not feel like the ultimate skill of a human at all.
Dokgo Gwang was clearly on a level above Namgung Hwa-shin. He was in the realm of Black Uniform.
The sword paths of Cheong Myeong, who had returned at once, and Namgung Hwa-shin drew two lines through the air.
Clang! Clang!
Dokgo Gwang’s greatsword was as long as seventy percent of his height.
It was a strange weapon used by only a few martial artists, yet he wielded that enormous blade with overwhelming ease.
The precision of his sword forms lived alongside strength that could not be opposed. With a single thrust, the upper part of Cheong Myeong’s ear was cut away.
Boom!
That was only because Cheong Myeong had reacted quickly.
Wind from the elven race accompanied his evasive movement art, yet blood still burst forth from fragments of force that exploded from Dokgo Gwang’s sword form.
Even then, the sword strike did not stop.
The thrust was immediately followed by a horizontal slash.
The enormous blade swept toward Namgung Hwa-shin.
At that moment, Namgung Hwa-shin pushed off the ground.
Slaaash!
The force wave from the sword strike tore open the front of his blue martial uniform. He barely avoided it.
It was the Namgung Family’s Infinite Step.
‘I can’t win. His breathing is different.’
A sharp pain rose in his chest.
A master’s breathing proved the level of their martial arts. They unleashed their forms on the exhale, then raised inner energy again on the inhale.
The cycle of performing sword forms was the measure by which a swordsman’s level was judged.
Dokgo Gwang’s breathing clearly overwhelmed Namgung Hwa-shin and Cheong Myeong. The number of sword strikes he could unleash in an instant was different.
Strength, technique, breathing.
It was hopeless. There was no way to keep up.
He felt once again the helplessness he had recently grown used to.
He had felt it when Jeong Yeon-shin killed his older half-brother Namgung Se-jin, and when Divine Sword Squad Deputy Leader Ak Su-rim knocked him unconscious.
‘If only I were Black Uniform.’
Black Uniform in Desolate Fortress was the realm of those called supreme masters.
Even across lands as vast as a small kingdom, it was difficult to find an equal.
The irreverent kingly epithets like Sword King and Fist King generally came from this realm.
“Famine continues across the lands outside, yet today’s City of Master Craftsmen is a truly bountiful harvest. To think I would take the heads of so many rising masters of Desolate Fortress. Fortune favors me. This makes up for the value of the treasure plaque that the Blood Flame Sect witch stole. It was a debt owed to the Pure Demon Alliance anyway.”
Dokgo Gwang stood proudly, his greatsword planted in the ground.
He was at ease. His attitude said he had no reason to hurry.
Namgung Hwa-shin ignored him and steadied his breathing.
This was not the time to consider the secret agreement between the Ten Perfect Sect and Pure Demon Alliance.
Cheong Myeong approached, breathing heavily.
“You said you were White Qilin, right? I remember you because you’re a junior with promise.”
“Senior Demon Sword.”
“The Ten Perfect Sect bastards train in all eighteen weapons. A peerless master from the military founded their sect, so in a way, they resemble Demon Wings. My Demon’s Light is inferior to that bastard’s weapon techniques. I’ve even seen him use a greatsword, then suddenly throw a dagger. He’s also proficient in Hand Arts and Leg Arts, so watch your distance. He’s a monster for whom close-range hand-to-hand combat is not an answer either.”
“...Yes.”
“He doesn’t seem to care much for his subordinates. The Tang Family Head is running wild, but he is relaxed. You can never understand the Sichuan bastards. Well, we should be grateful. Let’s look for an opening. Though I’m worried about the Squad Leader...”
Cheong Myeong glanced across the battlefield.
The one-armed Ma Jin moved dangerously as he struggled to avoid the Hand Arts of Pure Demon Divine Hand from the Pure Demon Alliance.
Dokgo Gwang laughed.
“Such words are fitting of the noble elven race. You know far too little. To train in all eighteen martial arts of our sect, one must inevitably claw their way through the edge of death. If the weakened Tang Family Head will serve as their opponent, I should be grateful instead. How strong will the disciples who survive become? I have already calculated the appropriate amount of time. All you need to do is display the martial arts of Desolate Fortress.”
His words carried a barb.
The Ten Perfect Sect was also famous for its counterforms. They used all kinds of weapons to pry apart the weaknesses in the martial arts of major factions.
This place.
They were treating it as a game.
They thoroughly exploited the martial world’s law of reverence for the strong.
Why was the Ten Perfect Sect counted among the Thirteen Heavens?
Dokgo Gwang’s words and conduct revealed the ways of the unorthodox sects in an instant.
Then it happened.
Wooooo!
An overwhelming sound of something cutting through the air rang out from behind. It was like a fierce wind echoing through a deep gorge.
At the same time, a pure-white flash passed between Cheong Myeong and Namgung Hwa-shin.
The storm struck only afterward.
Kwooooooosh!
It was Jeong Yeon-shin, pure-white radiance streaming from both eyes.
This was not a light, leaf-like movement art.
As though unable to contain the strength overflowing from his body, he tore through the air itself as he charged.
Dokgo Gwang’s eyes widened as he raised his greatsword.
Clang!
An explosive sound shook the cavern. The Desolate Sword and greatsword collided.
That was not the end.
Holding the sword hilt, Jeong Yeon-shin twisted his legs. With the blades pressed together, he worked a technique through his wrist.
He redirected the force to the side.
It was a sword form of Harmonizing Force he had created after being struck by a thunderclap bomb.
Dokgo Gwang’s greatsword fell past Jeong Yeon-shin’s head. The boy did not even blink.
He raised his eyebrows toward the exposed side. White light blazed from his eyes.
‘Is he even human...?!’
Dokgo Gwang’s eyes widened for the first time.
He felt sword force that had become impossible to suppress.
Could a human change so much?
He hurriedly detonated the qi in his Yongquan acupoint.
His leg immediately rose. It was extremely fast.
He intended to release Force Projection through a knee strike.
At that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin’s left hand appeared.
It was a form prepared from the moment he rose from the lotus position.
He had activated it in advance while coming here. Its usual weakness, the time required to perform it, became meaningless in this moment alone.
Its other weakness was its lack of precision, but Jeong Yeon-shin did not care as he extended his hand.
It was a straight path that reached Dokgo Gwang’s flank.
Radiant River.
Great force raged from his palm. Even its aftershock exerted destructive control over the surrounding space.
The ground around them shook violently. Force waves spiraled in every direction, gouging, smashing, and collapsing the cavern floor.
It continued until the strike arrived.
With overwhelming force.
He made up for the flawed point of impact with sheer power.
For an instant, Namgung Hwa-shin saw his older brother. He sensed the Imperial Sword Art.
It was as though the image of Seom-ye, Jeong Yeon-shin, and the spirit of Clear Qilin, Namgung Se-jin, had intertwined and overlapped.
It lasted only an instant. This was a realm where every moment mattered.
A colorless qi shield formed at Dokgo Gwang’s waist. It was an astonishing display of inner-energy control.
It was Protective Qi Technique with a texture so solid it looked like glass.
Their gazes met.
“...!”
Dokgo Gwang’s eyes widened as though they would split apart.
It was the sudden insight of a master. He sensed death.
The boy’s eyes, shining without emotion, came closer without hesitation. Pure-white radiance churned above his palm.
Kwoooooooong!
It struck directly.
The moment it touched the qi shield at Dokgo Gwang’s flank, it exploded. The City of Master Craftsmen shook.
The brutal sound of impact rang out in every direction. The echoes pressed against the air as though they had taken physical form.
That was not the end.
Seom-ye, Jeong Yeon-shin, emerged through the enormous cloud of dust.
Blood and dust scattered behind the hem of his fluttering robe.
Beyond the pale opening in the dust cloud, Dokgo Gwang’s upper body was flying away.
He died instantly.
He wielded light.
Just like his epithet, his Body Movement Scripture had become astonishingly fast.
He pushed between Leader of Demon Wings Ma Jin and Pure Demon Divine Hand of the Pure Demon Alliance in an instant.
Crack!
The hand blade about to strike down Ma Jin’s right arm was blocked.
A smaller hand had caught it.
It was Jeong Yeon-shin’s joint lock. He had seized the Hand Arts strike of a Pure Demon Alliance supreme master.
“What... are you?”
Pure Demon Divine Hand asked. His voice came out in clipped fragments.
He had sensed an unusual aura and intended to end the fight quickly.
Even when Radiant River exploded, only he and Ma Jin had continued fighting.
Silence had already fallen.
The fighting across the battlefield stopped.
The eyes of Desolate Fortress, Pure Demon Alliance, Ten Perfect Sect, Tang Sect, Beggars’ Sect, the masters of other major factions, and martial artists from countless small and medium sects silently turned.
They all faced the center of this place.
“You are no ordinary being. I must kill you here.”
The words of a demonic-path master were rough and bold.
Pure Demon Divine Hand Ha Yul-geuk poured qi into his hand blade. A terrifying aura of demonic arts stirred.
Even the flow of air around them changed irregularly.
Yet Jeong Yeon-shin’s hand did not move in the slightest.
Only the strength of his grip increased.
Record of the Dharma Light Wheel.
It was qi that constantly contained Buddhist dharma power.
“...”
Jeong Yeon-shin said nothing.
He held tightly to the hand blade that had taken his maternal uncle’s arm, while pure-white radiance flashed from his eyes.
The young Grandmaster began to breathe through a Divine Technique.
Footnotes:
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