Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time - Chapter 136

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 136: The Turbulent Road Home

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Jeong Yeon-shin peered through the blue flames.

A blue hand technique blazed like fearsome Samadhi True Fire, while the Blood Flame Sect Master struggled as the Ten Perfect Sect Master had before.

The hand blade embedded in Ma Yeon-jeok's abdomen could not move.

The power of demon slaying suppressed the man's qi, while Ma Yeon-jeok's hardened abdominal muscles, reinforced by the power of his minor meridians, trapped the man's hand.

His attack had been completely sealed.

“Aaaaaaah!”

A fierce scream tore from pale lips.

The Blood Flame Sect Master's body could no longer employ its regenerative power.

Even the blood that formed the foundation of his Blood Arts was being burned away strand by strand.

The Blood Flame Sect Master's entire body burned alongside Ma Yeon-jeok.

Blue, then bluer still.

“Sect Master!”

“Lord Sect Master!”

The Blood Masters, who had focused on holding back Jeong Yeon-shin, now faced a changed situation.

Leaving the youth behind, they stamped their feet and rushed toward the two peerless masters with lightness-art footwork.

They were too late. The youth arrived first.

Boom!

His Black Uniform long robe billowed amid surging waves of power.

As every battle briefly paused, Jeong Yeon-shin shot forward like a ray of light.

Clang!

With a single Force Projection, he blasted aside and shattered the blade that came at him belatedly.

The youth kicked off the ground, cutting through iron sword fragments scattering in silver arcs.

Before him was the Azure Flame raised by Ma Yeon-jeok.

It was a martial art he had created. No one understood it better.

Yeon-shin had vaguely imagined martial arts taking this form upon reaching their peak. Now, the sight he had envisioned unfolded before him.

Along with his maternal grandfather's wounds.

To seal the Blood Flame Sect Master's regenerative power, Ma Yeon-jeok had seized his head at close range.

There had been no other way.

The Blood Flame Sect Master's methods, like supernatural abilities, were on an entirely different level from those of ordinary Blood Flame Sect followers.

Anyone could tell it was a mystery born of his cultivated upper dantian. They had to deal with his Baihui acupoint and upper dantian first.

Ordinary power would not suffice. They needed opposing power, and Ma Yeon-jeok had brought his grandson's Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand to great completion.

That was why things had come to this.

The dying Blood Flame Sect Master's struggle was the ultimate technique of a peerless master. They were pressed completely together.

The hand lodged in Ma Yeon-jeok's abdomen unleashed the heavy force wave of an internal heavy-hand technique.

It wielded the Ten Perfect Sect Master's qi, diminished but still formidable.

The youth saw it all.

Whoosh!

A stormlike gust swept urgently past Jeong Yeon-shin's ears.

The headwind from his lightness-art sprint seemed to press into his heart.

‘No.’

That was his maternal grandfather. He could not lose him to a blood demon like that. Even if his grandfather were to pass on, it could not be now.

It should be after Yeon-shin died without overcoming his constitution.

Thud! Thud!

He could clearly feel his footsteps leaving marks on the ground. He ran with nothing but the blue mass of flame in his sight.

He recalled the sunset that had gently flowed over Jeong Family Manor when he created the Jeong Family Youth Technique.

A distant orange glow spread forlornly across the window lattice.

The brushstrokes he had written while yearning for his mother echoed alone in the hazy light.

Then he would climb into bed, curl himself up, and fall asleep.

He never wanted to go through that again.

‘Move.’

The wheel of light in his heart responded.

Even as accumulated internal injuries weighed down the meridians throughout his body, the wheel of light began to turn.

It was the full-body circulation of the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel.

Hummm.

A pale, whitish glow of qi wrapped around his skin. It was a crudely formed inner-energy armor.

Blue flames had already filled his vision.

Jeong Yeon-shin arrived first. Only he was strong enough to enter the force waves of the Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand.

It was thanks to the dharma power dwelling in the protective qi covering his body. He took a step forward.

Fwoosh!

He entered a world of deep blue.

His eyes immediately met red ones.

The Blood Flame Sect Master.

The light in the man's pupils was fading.

He had already absorbed the Ten Perfect Sect Master's profound power.

It seemed he had lacked the opportunity to use the essence absorption of his Blood Arts on Ma Yeon-jeok.

‘You... come here...’

The Blood Flame Sect Master's lips moved.

He was addressing Jeong Yeon-shin.

He seemed to be trying to say something.

The youth stepped forward swiftly, the Desolate Sword in his right hand.

Perhaps because he had no time to think, the Blood Flame Sect Master was foolish.

Before trying to say anything, he should have withdrawn the internal heavy-hand technique he was using on the grandfather before his grandson's eyes.

Jeong Yeon-shin tightened his grip on the sword hilt and swung his arm.

The swift sword mnemonic formula.

The strength in his thumb and forefinger was suitably relaxed. It was now a sword formula that instinctively entered every slash he made.

Swish!

A thin trail raced through the flames. A white blade flashed out and cut across the man's neck.

The Desolate Sword's strike unfolded with astonishing smoothness.

There was not even the sensation of a qi shield catching his blade. The Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand seemed to have burned it all away.

A body collapsed limply beneath its head.

The Blood Flame Sect Master's crimson long robe, which had billowed without rest, finally went still.

Yet the Blood Flame Sect Master truly was not of the human race.

The head held in Ma Yeon-jeok's stiffened grip slowly curled its lips upward.

Though his brow furrowed, the man mouthed another message.

‘My stepdaughter is coming. This Seat is unlike your kind. I will never die.’

Jeong Yeon-shin paid him no heed. He immediately launched a second strike.

This attack was swift, yet exceedingly careful.

Before the Blood Flame Sect Master's body could fully collapse, Yeon-shin stepped to the side and cut downward.

Slash!

The arm embedded in his maternal grandfather's abdomen fell away.

He had used the swift sword together with the adhesion mnemonic formula.

The blood that spurted upward turned to mist within the brilliant blue flames.

Jeong Yeon-shin hastily pulled Ma Yeon-jeok into his arms and moved his left hand.

He tried to stop the bleeding from the penetrating abdominal wound by striking the acupoints.

It did not work well, but he forcibly poured power from the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel into Ma Yeon-jeok to stop the bleeding.

Ma Yeon-jeok's meridians and acupoints had already lost their resilience. Yeon-shin could not feel any qi either.

The Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand at great completion faded away.

The blue flames that had blanketed the entire area became heat haze and drifted upward.

The youth in the black long robe felt the skin of the maternal grandfather he supported.

It was terribly rough. The once imposing body had become gaunt before he knew it.

His maternal grandfather had the appearance of a desiccated mummy, as though all moisture had left him. His body was losing its vitality.

Slowly.

A wrinkled hand settled atop Jeong Yeon-shin's head.

It was incredibly warm.

That was all.

The Blood Flame Sect Master's head fell to the ground, and no further sound came from it.

The signs of life near Ma Yeon-jeok's heart also stopped.

‘Ah.’

Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes widened.

He remained still even as the Blood Flame Sect followers began to cry out at the sight.

He continued to stimulate his maternal grandfather's meridians and heart with the power of the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel.

“The Sect Master is an immortal human god! Recover his venerable body!”

“The Sect Master lives! His breathing is unmistakable!”

“We're leaving at once! Open the way!”

The Tang Sect experts blocked the Blood Masters' advance.

The Ten Perfect Sect martial artists, clad in every sort of armor, suddenly began to withdraw.

Their coordinated movements were remarkably orderly as they used the Body Movement Scripture to retrace the path by which they had come.

The Ten Perfect Sect Master seemed to have survived. He had not died from the brief essence absorption.

The presence of several Tang Sect experts pursuing them entered Jeong Yeon-shin's aura sense.

He paid no attention. His mind had drifted far from the battlefield.

Still, countless eyes turned toward him.

Seom-ye, Jeong Yeon-shin. A youth wearing Desolate Fortress's Black Uniform long robe.

He had forced his way into the domain of peerless masters and returned.

After slaying the Mangwol Light Halberd, he had created another miracle.

Even though he stood alone and still amid the chaotic battle, his presence was overwhelming.

Friend and foe alike watched him with respect, interest, and hostility.

Clatter!

Dang Un-hwang's steel petals swept through the Blood Flame Sect followers as they guarded Jeong Yeon-shin.

He had placed his pledge to the youth above avenging his wife.

Yet Jeong Yeon-shin had no room even to be grateful.

Holding Ma Yeon-jeok in his arms, he poured nearly half of his presently available power from the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel into him.

‘Please.’

There was a term in swordsmanship: living sword.

The inner-energy arts of Buddhist sects were not meant only to harm people.

They were said to be like a Buddha's hand, benefiting all living beings.

Dharma power was always mentioned when discussing the miracle of a living sword that saved lives.

His maternal grandfather had also cultivated the Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand and engraved dharma-powered martial arts throughout his body. Perhaps he could somehow cling to life.

With desperate resolve, Yeon-shin turned the wheel of light for a long time. He squeezed out every bit of energy he had, continuing until the Blood Masters were wiped out, the remaining Ten Perfect Sect martial artists vanished, and the servants and martial artists from the inner courtyard of Tang Family Fort finally began clearing the battlefield.

Time passed after that.

“Mm...”

Several groans reached his ears.

The Tang Sect physicians approached Ma Yeon-jeok again and again to examine his pulse.

Each time, they shook their heads, paid their respects, and left.

The sun set.

His maternal grandfather did not move.

When the youth finally came to his senses, Ma Yeon-jeok's body had been carried onto an extravagant marble bier.

He did not know when they had moved him. At some point, Jeong Yeon-shin had sunk blankly to the floor where he stood.

“You said the Blood Flame Sect Master's corpse was taken?”

“My apologies, Family Head. We were headed to the forge because we were told to place it in a furnace and burn it...”

“You could do nothing?”

“She was incredibly powerful.”

“Describe her appearance.”

“It was a woman wearing a bright red long robe. She wore an eyepatch seemingly made of precious material over her left eye, and her other eye was extremely red. I believe she was the Blood Flame Sect's Seventh Apostle.”

“...Anything unusual?”

“She was smiling, as if we did not even exist. She also muttered words we could not understand. It did not seem ordinary.”

“Speak.”

“She... said, ‘I need to bring the Grand Preceptor? I'll be the Sect Master.’”

Jeong Yeon-shin let the pointless conversation pass him by.

He staggered to his feet. The ground felt unusually hard.

The youth stared silently at his maternal grandfather, who lay peacefully before him.

“Master.”

Dang Un-hwang, who had been speaking with a subordinate, hurried over. He looked up at the youth with mournful eyes.

The Tang Family Head possessed the bearing of a great hero. Slowly, he lowered his gaze alongside Jeong Yeon-shin.

A great martial artist had closed his eyes.

Tyrant Hero Ma Yeon-jeok.

An old master in his seventy-sixth year.

In the end, he had ascended to immortality and reached Peach Blossom Paradise. He had only meant to take one of his grandson's enemies with him.

At thirty, he had worn a purple long robe and been called the Divine Sword until he reached seventy.

Though he looked like a mummy, he seemed ready to rise at any moment and draw his sword again.

“Senior Ma, may you rest in peace.”

Dang Un-hwang lowered his eyes slightly and bowed his head.

The Tang Sect family members lined up on either side cupped their fists toward the former Divine Sword Squad Leader.

They honored him as a benefactor of their family, alongside Seom-ye.

Then it happened.

Cough!

The mummy coughed.

* * *

One day later.

A notice was posted throughout Sichuan.

It was a long sheet of paper, posted along every official road and marketplace to announce an event far and wide.

[...Therefore, upon the Mid-Autumn Festival, we shall establish the Martial Alliance Assembly. We hope all fellow martial artists under heaven will welcome this joyous occasion...

...We invite esteemed martial artists to the grand founding ceremony of this Martial Alliance...

...The younger generation, who shall become the pillars of the martial world, will also grace this gathering.

Cloud Sword Dragon Weiji Myo-hwa, Little Sword Empress Chwi So-ok, Hidden Dragon of Mount Hua Yu Hyeon, ...Seom-ye Jeong Yeon-shin...]

“They listed every renowned expert's epithet, whether from the Nine Sects or the Eight Families. The sect leaders too. But isn't it funny? They prattle on about the younger generation, then invite Desolate Fortress experts however they please. Who do they think they are?”

It was the Languid Flame Dragon, now fully posing as a martial artist from the main fortress.

For once, he stood straight without his usual swagger.

He stared intently at Jeong Yeon-shin, who sat calmly in a chair.

Before the youth, who was glancing over a sheet of paper, Ma Yeon-jeok lay with his eyes closed amid golden silk bedding.

It was a large room.

The wooden carvings decorating every corner were extraordinarily lavish.

They took the forms of turtles, cranes, deer, and more. Even the landscape painting on the wall to the side appeared to be a precious work of art.

The paintings and carvings all symbolized longevity.

It was a thoughtful gesture from the Tang Sect.

“Well, this is nice.”

The Languid Flame Dragon looked around at the ten symbols of longevity. His expression was strangely complicated.

Jeong Yeon-shin, meanwhile, casually burned the invitation he had received from him.