WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Chapter 13: Insight

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"You mean this elixir pill is mine?"

"Yes. Each squad of the Divine Sword Corps is a force comparable to the core strength of the Nine Sects. The supplies distributed with their budget include spiritual medicines and elixir pills. Not many, though... Of course, there is nothing as grand as Kongqing Stone Milk or Millennium Snow Ginseng. I heard Shaolin has the Great Revitalization Pill, but that is not under my authority."

Ma Jin grinned.

"You have the look of someone who wants to take me as a master. Unfortunately, the laws of Desolate Fortress forbid master-disciple ties between warriors of the main fortress. They are concerned that personal ties might affect missions."

"I am grateful, but I had not thought that far."

"I see."

"Should I perform the formal master-disciple rite, then? May I bow here?"

"If you are not afraid of the severe consequences of the law, give it a try."

With a snort of laughter, Ma Jin tossed him an elixir pill.

Jeong Yeon-shin caught it and looked down at the white pill in his hand.

He had never seen anything like it at the Jeong Family Manor. He had not even caught a glimpse of one.

It was not because the Family Head hated him. A backwater martial family simply had no reason to possess something like an elixir pill.

"At your level of inner energy, it should have a great effect. Have you ever taken spiritual medicine before?"

"No."

"Melting medicinal energy into inner energy cannot be done through ordinary qi circulation. If you are careless, you will only waste the precious medicine. I can help. Come."

"Squad Leader."

"Hm?"

"Why are you treating me so well?"

It was not a question someone stained by worldly affairs would ask.

It was a question only a boy with nowhere to go could bring himself to ask.

The scar crossing Ma Jin's face twitched pleasantly.

"I am not taking special care of you. Everyone in Demon Wings is the same. Once you experience a few missions where you stake your lives together, you will understand immediately."

Ma Jin tapped Yeon-shin on the shoulder, telling him to follow, then walked on.

After gazing at his retreating back, Yeon-shin slowly followed, giving Hyeon Won-chang's arm a light tap as Hyeon Won-chang watched with a face full of envy.

* * *

There were repercussions. The duel had not been witnessed only by the masters of the two martial squads, so the rumors spread quickly.

"One Lotus Sword Plum! I heard an extraordinary hidden dragon joined your side?"

"A hidden dragon?"

"Why? The rumor is already everywhere. That young swordsman who entered your White Uniform, the one who sparred with the Azure Sky Squad. Goo Ik-hwan of the Azure Sky Squad is a capable swordsman, is he not? He was not weak enough to disgrace a Desolate Fortress Blue Uniform."

"I do not know about a hidden dragon, but he does seem like a monster. How should I put it... More than anticipation, he makes me uneasy."

"Uneasy?"

Baek Mir-yeo, the One Lotus Sword Plum, spoke again to the warrior from another martial squad.

"He is diligent and does not act arrogant. It is annoying when he occasionally says the right thing without reading the room, but he is fundamentally polite. However..."

"However?"

"He is good, extremely good, at dissecting martial arts. Cheong Myeong, is that not right?"

The blue-eyed man beside her nodded with a faint smile.

"Talent unlike anything I have seen."

"When I use One-Inch Strike while sparring with someone, before I know it, that child is beside me displaying the same principle in a different stance. It is incredibly irritating, yet when I look back, the form has become far more precise. He has an innate talent for reinterpretation, enough to make me reluctant to use my unique martial arts before him."

"Before reinterpreting them, he learns them first."

Cheong Myeong added lightly.

"Right. In my opinion, if he had not entered Desolate Fortress, he would certainly have died away from home somewhere."

"Would a martial sect leave a talent like that alive?"

At some point, Baek Mir-yeo and Cheong Myeong had begun conversing between themselves. The warrior pushed aside from the conversation furrowed their brow.

"What are you two talking about? Are you making fun of me? I do not understand."

"Neither do I."

Baek Mir-yeo muttered, then gave Cheong Myeong a look as if telling him to send the warrior away.

Around the Demon Wings hall, Cheong Myeong, Baek Mir-yeo, and the other Blue Uniform masters of Demon Wings naturally formed a perimeter in every direction.

One warrior had concealed themselves atop the roof, while others spoke calmly with visitors without ever leaving their positions.

At the center of that security net was the interior of the hall.

Yeon-shin and Ma Jin were there.

Ma Jin placed a hand on the back of the boy sitting cross-legged and spoke.

"I do not know how much of the medicine you will absorb. Even if it seems to fall short of expectations, do not act rashly. Inner energy can always be accumulated, but if your dantian or acupoints are damaged, you will have to devote long years to recuperation. Remember this if you do not wish to remain at a standstill."

"Yes, Squad Leader."

The care Demon Wings as a whole poured upon its youngest was truly immense.

It felt excessive to Yeon-shin. Was this what belonging to a sect was like?

An emotion he had rarely felt tickled the crown of his head.

"Listen. It is astonishing that you have already achieved major circulation, so this will be easier to explain. There is no need to circulate qi through the acupoints of your lower body. Think of joining the Conception and Governing Vessels end to end, connecting the major acupoints of your upper body into one. Place the medicinal energy within the flow of qi, then keep circulating your energy without pause until it melts away. That is the essence of taking an elixir pill. I will intervene if your qi circulation becomes unstable, so do not be startled. Simply accept it."

"Yes."

Yeon-shin placed the elixir pill in his mouth. He chewed it, but it had no particular taste.

They said supreme elixir pills like Shaolin's Great Revitalization Pill melted on the tongue the moment they were eaten, but this one had to be chewed and swallowed.

Before long, energy arose from the elixir pill within his body.

His qi circulation ended in the time it took to drink two cups of tea.

Ma Jin had not even found an opportunity to help. He wore the expression of someone who had given up trying to understand.

"...Congratulations. You absorbed it completely. Every bit of the medicinal energy."

"Yes. The qi that has increased is very robust. It cannot compare to the energy I had before."

Having taken an elixir pill for the first time, Yeon-shin observed the inside of his body with wonder.

It was exactly as Yeon-shin had said.

The amount of inner energy he had originally possessed, pitifully meager as it was, had been inferior even to a single supply elixir pill from Desolate Fortress.

"You really fought with such little inner energy. Only now do you have qi befitting a White Uniform."

Ma Jin spoke with a face that had shed much of its disbelief.

"I should go out on missions. I cannot keep accepting this kind of care from the Squad Leader and the seniors."

"Do you feel burdened?"

The scar running down to Ma Jin's chin pulled upward. It was a smile that now felt familiar.

"There is no need. Once you go out into the martial world and risk your life alongside others a few times, it will become natural. The higher your martial arts rise, the better."

"Then I will earn merits in the process as well?"

One had to survive first to repay this kindness, whether great or small.

Seeing Ma Jin nod, Yeon-shin spoke as if talking to himself.

"I want to go out into the martial world."

* * *

He gave cupped-fist salutes of thanks to his seniors more than ten times. He felt exhausted from observing etiquette alone.

'Seniors Cheong Myeong and Baek Mir-yeo hardly seem like martial artists. They touch my shoulders and head without hesitation.'

Excessive physical contact between martial artists was usually uncomfortable.

The martial world was tangled with favors and grudges. Who knew whether someone might use an Internal Heavy-Hand Art to shake up the inside of another's body?

Though he had earned his seniors' favor through the duel with the Azure Sky Squad, Yeon-shin himself had not yet properly blended into Demon Wings.

The power he had gained from the elixir pill was stronger, but his mind was exhausted.

Things changed after he returned to his quarters.

"You are training again?"

Hyeon Won-chang asked with a thoroughly fed-up expression. Yeon-shin gave a rough nod and left the room.

'The Grand Training Hall feels burdensome right now.'

Demon Wings had two Training Halls.

The first was the Grand Training Hall, where they practiced coordination for group battles and received notices concerning missions, laws, and other matters.

The place he was heading to was the Small Training Hall, used by Demon Wings masters when practicing unique martial arts other than Demon's Light.

He passed behind the Grand Training Hall. A huge building without a ceiling came into view.

It felt as though the maze of an imperial tomb had been built above ground. The auras resonating from within already seemed extraordinary.

Yeon-shin was not the only one training.

For someone whose inner energy had reached a certain level, discerning another person's aura was not difficult.

He passed rooms occupied by people as he searched for an empty one.

Even when he sensed no energy, he passed by places where plain cloth hung as a door, just in case.

When he found an empty training room, someone called out to him.

-Youngest!

It was not an ordinary voice, but sound transmission. It was part of the etiquette of the Small Training Hall.

They were careful with one another in case someone might be on the verge of enlightenment.

Turning around, Yeon-shin saw Baek Mir-yeo, the One Lotus Sword Plum, standing with waves of qi pouring from both hands.

Her trained physique and stern aura suggested that she practiced a domineering martial art. She was a senior who was difficult to approach.

At her gesture, Yeon-shin cautiously approached.

-What is it?

The sound transmission he had learned alongside Demon's Light was still somewhat clumsy.

The voice had to be condensed firmly before being sent forth, but to Yeon-shin, it still resembled a gentle breeze.

His level of inner energy was still insufficient.

Fortunately, Baek Mir-yeo did not seem to mind much.

-I need an opponent. Will you receive a move from me?

-Did you gain some martial insight? Congratulations.

-It is only a small clue. You are not about to say you cannot trade moves after showing that kind of duel, are you?

-The noise will be considerable. Is that all right?

-Let us go outside.

The two left the Small Training Hall. They walked in silence, and when they neared the Grand Training Hall, Baek Mir-yeo spoke.

"I apologize if you had training planned. I am impatient because a fragment of inspiration came to me suddenly."

"I think this is better. I can train alone at any time, but receiving Senior One Lotus Sword Plum's Hand Arts is not a common opportunity."

"My signature art is swordsmanship. Why are you speaking of Hand Arts?"

"Were you not focusing on both hands while your sword remained sheathed? If you had been practicing drawing your sword, it might have been another matter. Senior One Lotus Sword Plum could immediately unleash swift sword arts no matter where your hands were."

Baek Mir-yeo smiled softly at his calm words. Despite her cold eyes, it was a smile that suited her remarkably well.

"Just call me Senior Baek."

As they spoke, they arrived at the Grand Training Hall.

A few who trained openly without caring who saw their forms, as well as those practicing Demon's Light, nodded at them.

"Come. Let us trade moves first."

"I will take the initiative."

Since coming to Desolate Fortress, Yeon-shin had heard enough people say they would yield him the initiative to grow tired of it.

At Yeon-shin's audacious words, Baek Mir-yeo snorted with laughter and gestured.

She held nothing in her bare hands, while Yeon-shin drew his sword without hesitation.

Then his wrist was seized with astonishing speed. She had rushed in and grabbed it in one motion.

It was an incredibly swift joint lock. A Blue Uniform warrior who was not caught off guard was this strong.

He had only seen her hand coming in a blur.

'Not yet. Demon's Light.'

His left hand remained free.

He tried to throw a straight punch along the trajectory drawn by his qi, but they were too close for him to put force into it. Instead, Baek Mir-yeo closed in further.

Then it happened.

The back of Baek Mir-yeo's hand, also only about an inch away, struck his abdomen.

"Hup!"

It was a single blow powerful enough to be unbelievable at that distance.

His body was driven back, but his seized wrist remained in her grasp.

Demon's Light immediately guided Yeon-shin's body on its own, and in an instant, he struck upward with a knee imbued with Ultimate Realm qi.

With a thud, Baek Mir-yeo's arm was knocked away. She rubbed it, astonishment and satisfaction mingling on her face.

"I flexibly controlled the qi I loaded into my Force Projection. I had a feeling, and indeed, One-Inch Strike has become more efficient. I may be able to add even more power."

She spoke with satisfaction.

"Were you training One-Inch Strike?"

"A swordsman who has learned Demon's Light cannot use only a sword. One-Inch Strike is extremely useful in close-quarters unarmed combat. Against someone who has layered qi over their body, you can begin by breaking their Protective Qi Technique."

Yeon-shin opened his mouth cautiously.

"May this unworthy newcomer offer a word? My aura sense has been keen since childhood, and Senior's control of qi caught my attention."

"You can see the movements of qi? Even for you, surely not."

"I only observe the ripples of qi spreading outward alongside the flow of force in Force Projection. How could I see qi that remains within the body?"

"Even that is difficult to believe. Such aura sense... Perhaps Purple Uniform masters are the only ones who possess it."

She was referring to Desolate Fortress's hierarchy of White, Blue, Black, and Purple Uniform.

Baek Mir-yeo's eyes widened slightly, then settled as she continued.

"But if it is you... we have sensed something as well. Very well. I will listen gratefully, youngest."

She smiled playfully at the end. Yeon-shin spoke with a puzzled expression.

"I have recently been learning Force Projection from the Squad Leader. Senior Baek's Palm Art seems more suited to internal force than One-Inch Strike. The ebb and flow of qi itself appears suited to the Internal Heavy-Hand Art."

"Hm?"

"If you used the same flow of force to release internal force, it would be far stronger... Ah, has your Internal Heavy-Hand Art already reached that level?"

"What?"

Baek Mir-yeo's eyes widened slightly.

Footnotes:

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